Just Like His Father

Thanks to Abraham’s obedience to god, and his relationship with the people around him, Isaac had never had to move to new lands or face most of the temptations and dangers Abraham had faced, but as Matthew 5:45 tells us, God “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” God’s people experience the same events other people experience.  Weather patterns tend to repeat themselves periodically, and over a hundred years after Abraham went to Egypt to escape a famine, there was another famine, as Genesis 26:1-5 describes. 

“And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.  And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. “

God told Isaac not to go to Egypt but to remain in the land, and trust him to provide for them.  He had promised Abraham’s descendants that land, and he would give it to them as he had promised as a result of Abraham’s obedience.  Stayed in the area, but moved to Gerar, because the water sources there were more dependable, as Genesis 26:6-7 tells us.  “And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. “ 

Though he had been protected from the temptations Abraham faced, Isaac had developed some of the same attitudes he learned from Abraham, even though Abraham had not intended for him to learn this pattern.     Sometimes we get frustrated when our kids repeat our mistakes, but we need to realize we may have taught them to have that attitude that resulted in the action.   When questioned about his wife, Isaac responded exactly the same way Abraham had responded in both Gerar and Egypt, telling them she was his sister rather than his wife.  Fortunately, the Philistines in Gerar had learned from their experience with Abraham, and though they were interested in Rebekah, they were cautious and did not immediately try to seduce her.  Eventually, they learned the truth as Genesis 26:8-11 describes. 

”And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.  And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister?

And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.  And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 

After seeing Isaac making out with Rebekah, Abimelech confronted Isaac, reminding him that his lie had placed the entire Philistine nation in danger of experiencing God’s judgment for a sin they knew nothing about.  He gave strict orders that anyone who bothered either Isaac or Rebekah was to be executed.

To prevent our children making the same mistakes we made, we need to make a special effort to allow the Holy Spirit to change our attitudes so that our children don't develop the same attitudes.