The Prosperity Test
One of the hardest tests in life is the test of prosperity. Most people turn to God easily when they have nothing left. Rock bottom often cracks even the toughest nuts. But prosperity is different. It's much more potent in the heart of those who have been called by God to trust Him alone. Isaac exemplifies a struggle with prosperity and how not letting go only delays God's best.
Isaac has moved to Gerar in the land of the Philistines because of a famine in the land. That alone was probably enough to mess with him. If God is here, why is there no food? He departs for greener pastures and he ends up doing quite well for himself in a foreign land.
Genesis 26:12–14 (ESV) And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.
Genesis 26:17–18 (ESV) So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them.
He moves from Gerar to the Valley of Gerar. Not exactly a life altering event. Also, he digs up those wells again and names them. In Genesis, the act of naming something is the act of taking authority over it. Adam was given authority over the animals by naming them. God has authority in naming Adam, renaming Abraham and Sarah. Interestingly, the first thing Adam does after the fall is name "Eve." The curse didn't take long to mess with their marriage.
What is Isaac doing here? He's trying to shore up his power and position. He's doing what we do when we don't trust God. He's acting as if taking matters into his own hands is the way to get ahead or stay ahead.
What does it get him? Strife and conflict.
Genesis 26:19–21 (ESV) But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek ("contention"), because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah ("emnity").
From there he ends up in Rehoboth ("broad places") and it seems as if all is well:
Genesis 26:22 (ESV) And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
The text deliberately shows us something in the next scene. Isaac moves on from Rehoboth to the original stopping place of Abraham, "Beersheba." And it is only THERE when something powerful happens.
Genesis 26:24–25 (ESV) And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
You could almost call this moment Isaac's conversion moment. He's not been doing well with prosperity. He's experienced the trouble too much success can bring. And perhaps in Rehoboth he had it all, but still there was something missing. A lot of God's people are living right there... trying to find meaning in building the life they want for themselves.
It doesn't work for Isaac. He goes back to the land. He basically just crosses the border as Beersheba is on the souther most point of Israel's territory, and the moment he cross over does ("that same night"), God speaks. It's as if God couldn't wait to show up in Isaac's life when he finally gave up trying to control his own destiny. The result is Isaac worships (verse 25) and settles down where God originally planned him to be.
What's the lesson from this vague story?
You can be incredibly successful and prosperous and still not feel at home. Home is when your heart is where God wants it to be.
Isaac has moved to Gerar in the land of the Philistines because of a famine in the land. That alone was probably enough to mess with him. If God is here, why is there no food? He departs for greener pastures and he ends up doing quite well for himself in a foreign land.
Genesis 26:12–14 (ESV) And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.
His success breeds the contempt of his neighbors and they start at first to undermine him by stopping up his wells, and then the king asks him directly to leave. Where does he go? He moves across town:
Genesis 26:17–18 (ESV) So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them.
He moves from Gerar to the Valley of Gerar. Not exactly a life altering event. Also, he digs up those wells again and names them. In Genesis, the act of naming something is the act of taking authority over it. Adam was given authority over the animals by naming them. God has authority in naming Adam, renaming Abraham and Sarah. Interestingly, the first thing Adam does after the fall is name "Eve." The curse didn't take long to mess with their marriage.
What is Isaac doing here? He's trying to shore up his power and position. He's doing what we do when we don't trust God. He's acting as if taking matters into his own hands is the way to get ahead or stay ahead.
What does it get him? Strife and conflict.
Genesis 26:19–21 (ESV) But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek ("contention"), because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah ("emnity").
From there he ends up in Rehoboth ("broad places") and it seems as if all is well:
Genesis 26:22 (ESV) And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
The text deliberately shows us something in the next scene. Isaac moves on from Rehoboth to the original stopping place of Abraham, "Beersheba." And it is only THERE when something powerful happens.
Genesis 26:24–25 (ESV) And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
You could almost call this moment Isaac's conversion moment. He's not been doing well with prosperity. He's experienced the trouble too much success can bring. And perhaps in Rehoboth he had it all, but still there was something missing. A lot of God's people are living right there... trying to find meaning in building the life they want for themselves.
It doesn't work for Isaac. He goes back to the land. He basically just crosses the border as Beersheba is on the souther most point of Israel's territory, and the moment he cross over does ("that same night"), God speaks. It's as if God couldn't wait to show up in Isaac's life when he finally gave up trying to control his own destiny. The result is Isaac worships (verse 25) and settles down where God originally planned him to be.
What's the lesson from this vague story?
You can be incredibly successful and prosperous and still not feel at home. Home is when your heart is where God wants it to be.
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