Connecting Scriptures:  Genesis 12:10, Genesis 20:2, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 12:3, Proverbs 29:25, Psalm 27:1-3

I see this chapter like watching a race, where the baton of faith passes on.  Up unto this point, Isaac was a son of promise, but there has been no direct interaction between the Lord and Isaac.  There has been insight given to Rebekah about her sons, but not to Issac.  It is like a repeat of the call of Abraham, except instead of God calling him to “go”, he is telling him to stay put.  You can see the heart of Abraham in asking his servant to acquire a wife for Issac with the firm stance on his son not leaving the promised land.  It was based on an understanding that was given to him by God alone.    The LORD appears to Isaac and passes to him the same promises he gave to his father.  They are given by God and anchored in Abrahams faith.  Did Issac understand what faith really was?  Was it tethered to all his fathers actions?  Or was it the steady obedience to go or to stay.  Was it the understanding that the God of his father was real and desired a relationship with Abraham and his family?  

Whatever Issac did or didn’t understand, his next actions reflected his fathers fears more than anything.  Let us all collectively say together—AGAIN?!?  While he didn’t go as far as Egypt like his father had done the first “my wife is really my sister” ploy, Isaac’s obedience to remain in the promised earth brings old habits to the surface.  This is the same Abimelech that endured deceit from Abraham.  In fear for his own life, he lets his harboring nation believe that Rebekah is his sister.  The rouse is discovered when Abimelech sees the husband and wife obviously acting like they should, as two people obviously belonging to the other and he is flummoxed.  This has got to be a “fool me twice” circumstance.  Abimielech puts a warning to all the people that pretty much says, “See these folks? Steer clear of them, they are messed up.”  

Despite his fearful family tendencies, God uphold his promise to Issue and blesses him immensely in the land of Abimelech.  There is a repeat problem that Abraham faced with his nephew Lot that Isaac was now experiencing.  There was no room for him in this land, and he needed to keep moving within the place of promise to find the right place to settle down and for expansion.  At each well stop, God kept nudging him further into the right place for peace.  A place where Isaac could believe and worship.  A place that he would know that his fathers faith, could be his own.  He found a well of life for his family and a treaty similar to the one Abimelech made with Abraham.  The LORD re-affrims the covenant that we saw in the start of the chapter, reminding his that all this was because your father believed.  That is the key, not the might of man, or his cunning to deceive or self preserve, but faith.  

Meanwhile, there are two sons to whom the promise of land and provision is a tantalizing one.  It seems to be desired over a relationship with the LORD.  Esau in particular is making choices and causing havoc as men will do when they are for themselves.  He takes wives from among the people he lives around, Hittite women who have their own cruel gods and ways of life.  This decision sows seeds of bitterness between parent and child, and sets the stage for a future division.

Questions for Reflection:

1.  We see The LORD referencing Abrahams faith in each affirming of the promise he gave to Issac.  What part of Abrahams life did God desire for Isaac to emulate?  How important is legacy in passing down faith to future generations?

2.  We see Issac sowing seeds in the land and digging wells.  What faith connections can be made in these actions?