Isaac’s father, Abraham, and mother, Sarah, waited long for his birth. God promised Isaac 13 years before he actually arrived. And, as you know, in the meantime, putting reason above patience, they adopted a plan of their own, conceiving Ishmael through Sarah’s maid, Hagar. Two sons (Ishmael, father of Arab nation, and Isaac, the promised son of the Covenant) through whom conflict and unrest still persist today! While God blessed Ishmael, His covenant would continue through Isaac, the promised one. And, in many ways, he pointed to a greater One to come, One who would bring deliverance to any who would accept, leading out of the bondage of sin! In Galatians 4:21-31, Paul speaks of Abraham’s two children, son of a slave woman (Ishmael) and son of a free woman (Isaac). He weaves for us a picture of our relationship with God. Once we are born again of His Spirit, we are no longer bound by law but have been freed by grace. Amazingly, we who are His are children of the free woman and slave to sin no more! We are made completely new. Isaac, whose names means laughter, may have been 13 years in coming, but, without a doubt, he was right on time. Through him, God would send One able to offer and uphold His promised covenant of grace…
At the age of twenty, we meet Isaac again, this time atop Mt. Moriah, poised and bound to be sacrifice simply because God commanded it (Genesis 22). His single question of his father (found in verse 7) is this: “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replies, full of faith, that God would provide. What gets me is that while Isaac must not have understood, he was yet willing. We find in verse 9 that he allowed Abraham to bind him on the altar, and at the very last moment, God commanded a pause. He knew then of them that they feared Him and loved Him more than anything else. And just as Abraham knew, provide He did! Abraham lifted up his eyes to see a ram and offered it in exchange. Jehovah Jireh, (the Lord who Provides), proved Himself faithful in a mighty way that day on Mt. Moriah. Interestingly enough, Mt. Moriah would later be the site of Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 3:1; 2 Sam. 24:18). What’s more, both Abraham’s altar and the altar of sacrifice in Solomon’s temple pointed forward to a once-and-for-all sacrifice. Just as Isaac carried wood for his father, Christ would one day bear a cross up a hill to make provision in exchange for what we could not pay. He was obedient just as Isaac was willing to be! Abraham’s faith coupled with Isaac’s question, a profound picture of God’s love for the world. He made provision and asks us simply to have faith! Yes, God provided – His Mt. Moriah Calvary, His wood His Cross, and His Lamb His Son! What better starting and sustaining point for faith is there than that? Amazingly, Isaac’s question was dead on. Where was the Lamb? The Lamb was just where God wanted Him to be! First caught up in the thicket… and then victorious on the cross.
In Genesis 24, we see Abraham, after the death and burial of Sarah, search for a wife for Isaac. He sends his servant back to his family, his homeland, to find a woman willing to return with him rather than choose a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites. The servant prays that God will grant him success, and that he will know the one meant for Isaac. Boldly, he prays that when he asks for water, God would reveal the girl’s identity through her answer to him. Very specifically, he asks that she answer with “Drink, and I will water the camels also” (verse 14). Before he was finished speaking, Rebekah came with her watering jar to the well. When asked for water, she replied with a faithful “Drink, my lord” and then with this: “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking” (verses 18,19). Oddly enough, in this manner, the servant’s prayer was answered! He prayed boldly and specifically, and God answered! Astounding, isn’t it? It seems so easy to read right past, but pause here with me to examine Rebekah’s reply. Amazing is this: Not only did she offer water to the servant, but she also willingly offered to draw water for his ten camels… not just once, but until they finished drinking! I haven’t done the math, but somehow, I think fetching water for ten thirsty camels might just measure up to a great amount of effort!
I don’t know if this will hit home for you or not, but it certainly does tonight for this tired mama. You know, Rebekah didn’t have to offer that, but she did. She spent herself filling jar after jar after jar with water for a thirsty servant and his ten camels. I can’t help but ask of myself questions I only hope you also will consider… How many times does God call me to go an extra mile? And when He does, am I willing? With much humility, my answer remains at best a sometimes. I would love to say that I get it all the time, that I always make the right choice with the right attitude, but it is just not true. And if it were, then I would know nothing of His strength, His patience, and His love sufficient for me in all things because I would always be acting in my own element! Regardless, of one thing you can be certain – I will be keeping thirsty camels and Rebekah’s willing and enthusiastic answer on my mind! You do the same. And when He calls us to water, may we answer “Yes, Lord… until they are finished drinking”! Yes, friend, at the end of the chapter, Rebekah would return, an end to Abraham’s search, an answer to a servant’s prayer, and a bride for Isaac, but not without first giving us a precious portrait that I suspect many of us needed desperately to see. Until they finished drinking – May our choice be the same, our efforts for His glory, and our very strength found in Him!
Rebekah returned with Abraham’s servant to Canaan, leaving her family and all she knew. Upon her return, devoted son grieving a mother’s death, Isaac (40 yrs old) “took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her” (Genesis 24:67; 25:20). And not only did he love her, he prayed for her! We find him again in verse 19 of chapter 25 praying on barren Rebekah’s behalf. When I read this, I have to wonder about Isaac and all he knew about his own story and birth. He must have known the covenant God made with his father, must have known that he was that promised son, and certainly must have wondered when his own lineage would continue… And so, he did what he could. He prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife! God heard and answered as Rebekah held within her womb twins! Look closely, however, and you will see a difference of twenty years between wedding and birth! (Genesis 25:20, 26) Certainly in the wait, their faith stood challenged, their prayer persistent, their patience requiring effort, and I have to marvel that, when the answer finally came, they must have appreciated it even more. Isn’t that just like God –to work out something in us during the wait and to make us realize at the end of a road that He was right all along? However, after the wait, ironically, Rebekah remained troubled as the twins within her struggled. She inquired of the Lord, again, this time asking, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” After long being childless and then acquiring them as an obvious answer to prayer, she wondered aloud to God why it was this way. To me, there exists comfort. In her doubt, she still inquired of the Lord. And she even asked of Him why.
We find God’s answer to her why in 25:23. Two nations were with her womb, two peoples who would be separated (one stronger than the other with the older serving the younger.) Interestingly enough, they struggled within the womb, came forth struggling, and would continue their struggle throughout their lifetime (later reconciled at the death of their father, Isaac, Genesis 33). Esau, came forth “red and hairy” and the second, Jacob, came forth “holding onto his brother’s heel.”As they grew, Isaac favored Esau while Rebekah favored Jacob. Just as we saw Abraham’s parenting folly, we now are glimpsing Isaac’s! In favoring their children, they unknowingly drove a wedge into their family that would prove to wreak havoc, in their own lives, in the lives of Jacob and Esau, and even for generations to come!
We go on to learn that Esau was a skilled hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob preferred remaining in the tents – polar opposites in all respects! Esau, in his folly, sold his birthright to Jacob, the double portion of inheritance given to the oldest son, for stew when he was hungry! (Genesis 25:27-34) And in Genesis 27:1-28:7, we find an elderly Isaac ready to bestow blessing on his two sons. Deceived by Jacob, Isaac blesses him in Esau’s place. As a result, Esau, in anger, threatens his brother’s life and Jacob flees. Yes, two sons to Isaac God gave. And God blessed them both, making them fathers of nations just as God promised Rebekah, Jacob of Israel’s twelve tribes and Esau of the Edomites. (You might find it interesting that in the years following the death of Jacob/Esau, the Edomites repeatedly showed themselves as an enemy of Israel, all out hatred between the offspring of Jacob and Esau!) It was through Jacob, however, that God would continue His covenant promise…
In chapter 26 of Genesis, we find Isaac digging wells. In this chapter, we find him settling in Gerar because of famine and most certainly because of God’s command to do so (see verses 3-5). I find it ironic that just as his father Abraham did, Isaac lies (claiming Rebekah as his sister). However, the Philistine king, Abimelech, realized she was no such thing and proclaimed protection over them both. While in Gerar, God blessed Isaac with great wealth. And it certainly didn’t take his new neighbors long to notice! When finally asked to leave, Isaac moved on and began to reopen the wells of his father Abraham, the same ones the Philistines had filled in with dirt! In this particular passage, he digs four wells and names each. The first is Esek, meaning contention; the second, Sitnah, meaning opposition; the third, Rehoboth, meaning room enough; and the fourth Shibah, meaning oath or well of the oath. While it might be easiest to simply gloss over the names, we might miss significance! Here, my friends, is a chance for us to dig just as promised.
Clearly, Isaac met with much struggle while digging, naming the first two contention and opposition, moving on from both places to dig elsewhere. I love the fact that he went elsewhere! He certainly didn’t have to. Rather than promote conflict, however, he chose another way. He simply moved on. I am wondering today how ridiculously hard I find it sometimes to do just that, to hold my tongue, or to lay something at His feet and likewise be able to let it go! Our Isaac, digger of wells, knew when and what to let go and I want discernment to do the same… And then, after two attempts, he dug a well over which no one quarreled, Rehoboth, and would there flourish! There was room enough!
Three wells into the study, I find myself overcome once again as I sit in wonder of all He has done. Room enough? I know of another well Jehovah Jireh provided for us, one with depths of grace and abundance of reserve for any who would come beneath its forgiving fountain! Romans
Next, we see Isaac move on to Beersheba. In verses 23-24 of chapter 26 we find that “The Lord appeared to him the same night and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; Do no fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.” God confirmed His covenant with him just as He did with Abraham! There, Isaac built an altar, staked his tent, worshiped, and, of course, dug a well! Before we move on to the meaning of that well, we must pause to see Abimelech, King of the Philistines, come on the scene once more. (Remember he is the same who drove Isaac from the land because he had become too wealthy.) Certainly their previous parting was not pleasant. Isaac himself says, “Why have you come to me since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” The same Abimelech, yes, but a different tune – this time one of peace. Isaac, when he didn’t have to, chose to welcome the one who had previously driven him from the land and made a covenant of peace with him. That same day, the well in Beersheba struck water. Isaac called that well Shibah, meaning oath. I keep thinking about Isaac welcoming Abimelech. Would I do the same? I am reminded that just before he did so, the Lord appeared to Him and spoke over his life! He responded in worship, with perspective righted, and must have been, as a result, certainly more apt to make proper choices. Fully yielded, perspective righted, and full of Him – only He can make me adequate. Do I get myself out of the way, every day, to let Him? Although Isaac named the well just after the treaty he made with Abimelech, still I am reminded to be ever thankful for God’s oath over my own life. His promise to me, never to fail, never to forsake, never to forget, remains. And in the midst of all I encounter in my everyday day, may I still this heart and mind long enough to hear Him speak it over me!
In Genesis 35:28, we find Isaac, at the age of one hundred and eighty years, buried by his two sons, Jacob and Esau. The one whose name meant Laughter had come full circle. God was making His promise a reality! In conclusion, I think it worthy to note the actions Isaac took after God appeared and spoke to him in Genesis 26:25. First, he built an altar, remembrance for One worthy. Second, he called on His name, worship for the One worthy. Third, he pitched his tent, devotion to the One worthy. And finally, he dug a well, desire for the One worthy! We are digging deep, my friend, and, just as He wants, finding ourselves looking, once again, within our own hearts! God is sweeping across mine, and I have prayed for Him to do the same over yours. I am overwhelmed with questions piercing within that I, once again, hope you will ask of yourself…. How often do I lose myself in my day and forget all He has done for me? And how many opportunities for worship, sweet worship, have I neglected? Did I today drive my tent stakes in His Word? And am I, above all else, willing to seek after Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength?
Yes, Isaac taught us much. But for me, above all else remains that he was a digger of wells. Who would have thought that is what I would take away from his story. But precious it has become. Isaac knew what he needed, knew where to look for it, and pursued until he found it. He is what I need. I know where to look. I choose to pursue. Sweet reader, have you remembrance, have you worship, have you devotion, and have you desire for the One worthy? He promises He will go before, making smooth the rough, giving you hidden treasures of the deep, and in the midst calling you by name! Search for Him with all your heart, and find Him you will! Yes, friend, a well worth digging, room enough for all!
“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the door of bronze and cut through their iron bars. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that is it I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.” Isaiah 45:2-3
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19
Andrea Schlappi