Schoolmaster to Christ
GENESIS CHAPTER 26

Scripture Reading: Genesis 26 (KJV)

The opening verse of this chapter connects with Genesis 12. "There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham." The trials that meet God's people tend to reveal if the heart has found its all in God. Rarely do we walk in such sweet communion with God as to be rendered entirely independent of things and people here. The Egypts and the Gerars, on our right hand and on our left, present great temptations, either to turn aside from the right way, or to stop short of our true position as servants of the true and living God.

"And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, unto Gerar." There is a difference between Egypt and Gerar. Egypt is the expression of the world in its natural resources – its independence of God. "My river is mine own," is the language of an Egyptian who knew not Jehovah, and thought not of looking to Him for anything. Locally, Egypt was further removed from Canaan than Gerar; morally, it expresses a condition of soul further from God. Gerar is referred to in this way: "And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza as thou goest unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha" (Gen. 10:19). We are informed that "from Gerar to Jerusalem was three days' journey." Therefore, compared with Egypt, it was an advanced position; but still it was within the range of dangerous influences. Abraham got into trouble there, and in this chapter, so does Isaac, and in the same way. Abraham denied his wife, and so does Isaac. This is peculiarly solemn. To see both the father and son fall into the same evil, in the same place, plainly tells us that the influence of that place was not good.

Had Isaac not gone to Abimelech, king of Gerar, he would have had no necessity for denying his wife; but the slightest divergence from the true line of conduct superinduces spiritual weakness. It was when Peter stood and warmed himself at the high priest's fire that he denied his Master. It is now revealed that Isaac was not really happy in Gerar. True, the Lord says unto him, "sojourn in this land;" but how often does the Lord give directions to His people morally suitable to the condition He knows them to be in, and calculated also to arouse them to a true sense of that condition? For instance, in Numbers 13 God directed Moses to send men to search the land of Canaan; but had they not been in a low moral condition, such a step would not have been necessary. We know well that faith does not need "to spy out" when God's promise lies before us. Again, God directed Moses to choose seventy elders to help him in the work; but had Moses entered fully into the dignity and blessedness of his position, he would not have needed such direction. Another example is the setting up of a king in 1 Samuel 8, which they did not need. With all this in mind, should we not take into consideration the condition of an individual or a people to whom a direction is given, before forming a judgment as to direction?

But it might be said, if Isaac's position in Gerar was wrong, why do we read, "Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received the same year an hundred-fold: and the Lord blessed him" (Gen. 26:12). The answer is that we can never judge whether a person's condition is right because of prosperous circumstances. In our study of Genesis, we have already observed that there is a great difference between the Lord's presence and His blessing. Some have the latter without the former; and the heart is prone to mistake one for the other – prone to mistake the blessing for the presence. A few even argue that the one always accompanies the other. But this is a mistake. How often are we surrounded by God's blessings, when we neither have, nor wish for, God's presence? It is important to understand this. A man may "wax great, and go forward, and grow until he becomes very great, and have possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants," and all the while not have the full, unhindered joy of the Lord's presence. Flocks and herds are not the Lord. Such things might cause the Philistines to envy Isaac, when they would never do so because of the Lord's presence. He might have been enjoying the sweetest and richest communion with God, and the Philistines would have thought nothing whatever about it. Why? Because they had no heart to understand or appreciate such a reality. Flocks, herds, servants, and wells of water they could appreciate; but God’s presence they could not.

However, at length Isaac makes his way from among the Philistines, and gets up to Beersheba. "And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee" (v 24.) Now it was not merely the Lord's blessing, but the Lord Himself; and the reason was because Isaac had left the Philistines. He had left their envy, strife, and contention behind, and had gone up to Beersheba. Here the Lord could show Himself to His servant. His liberal hand might follow him during his sojourn in Gerar; but His presence could not be enjoyed there. To enjoy God's presence, we must be where He is, and He certainly is not to be found amid the strife and contention of an ungodly world. Therefore, the sooner the child of God gets away from such, the better. So Isaac found it. He had no rest in his own spirit; and he certainly did not serve the Philistines by his sojourn among them. It is a common error to imagine that we serve those of this world by mixing with them in their associations and ways. The true way to serve them is to stand apart in the power of communion with God, showing them the pattern of a more excellent way.

Observe the progress in Isaac's soul, and the moral effect of his course. "He went up from thence," "The Lord appeared unto him," "he builded an altar," "he called upon the name of the Lord," "he pitched his tent," "his servants digged a well." Here we have blessed progress. Isaac took a step in the right direction; at that moment he went from strength to strength. He entered into the joy of God's presence and tasted the sweets of true worship. He exhibited the character of a stranger and pilgrim, and found peaceful refreshment, an undisputed well, which the Philistines could not stop or hinder because they were not there.

These were blessed results for Isaac himself; and now observe the effect produced on others.

"Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phicol, the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there now be an oath betwixt us …" etc.

The true way to act on the hearts and consciences of the worldly is to stand in decided separation from them, while dealing in perfect grace toward them. As long as Isaac continued in Gerar, there was nothing but strife and contention. He was reaping sorrow for himself, producing no effect whatever on those around him. On the contrary, the moment he went away from them, their hearts were touched, and they followed him, and desired a covenant. This is very instructive. The principle unfolded here is constantly exemplified in the history of the children of God. The first point with the heart should be to make sure that our position is right with God. When we are right with God, we may expect to act salutary on others. The moment Isaac got up to Beersheba; the moment he took his place as a worshipper, his own soul was refreshed and he was used by God to act on others. As long as we continue in a low position, we are robbing ourselves of blessing, and failing in our testimony and service.

When in a wrong position, we should not stop to inquire, as we so often do, "Where can I find anything better?" God's order is, "Cease to do evil;" and when we have acted on that holy precept, we are furnished with another, "learn to do well." If we expect to "learn" how “to do well," before we "cease to do evil," we are entirely mistaken. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from among the dead." And what then? "Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5:14).

---

    

Copyright © StudyJesus.com