Genesis 26

God reaffirms his covenant with Issac and blesses him

A new famine comes to the land of Canaan just as it did in Abraham's day. Unlike Abraham's day, God asks Isaac to stay and not go to Egypt and God will care for him. He also tells Isaac that if he follows God like his father, he will bless him like his father, and not just because he is Abraham's son. 

Just like his father, Isaac tells those around that Rebekah is his sister and not his wife. After Abimelech spies that Isaac and Rebekah are friendlier than brother and sister should be, he accuses Isaac of trying to bring mischief to the Philistine people. Abimelech, who may be the son of the Abimelech of Abraham's day, commands all his people not to harm or touch Rebekah. 

God not only blesses Isaac in a time of famine, but allows him to receive a hundred fold from his crops and flocks. Nothing is impossible for God if we will put our faith and trust in him. All these blessings though cause jealousy with the Philistines. After fighting over wells and flocks, Abimelech approaches Isaac and asks him to leave and go further away so that there are no wars or fighting between them. This is good for us to do as Christians that we would be peaceable with all people and rather go somewhere else than let the name of God suffer. 

Notice that Isaac digs up the wells that his father dug up. It is well to follow after the example of our forefather if there example is just and holy. If our parents or mentors were Godly, it is always good to follow after their example so that we might have the same relationship and success with God. After God reaffirms the covenant with Isaac, he again does what his father would do and builds and altar and sacrifices to God. 

When God blesses your life and the things that you do for his name, people will take notice. Even though Isaac was further away from Abimelech, they still heard and saw what God was doing for them. It worried them so much that if God was going to bless Isaac to become a mighty ruler, they wanted a peace treaty between them so that they would have peace and not have to fight against God. Oh that the world would have the same respect and fear for God's church because they see how he blesses it. 

Genesis 21

Isaac is Born

Sarah conceives a son just as the Lord had promised. It truly is a miracle for Sarah is well past child bearing age. This goes along with our faith in Jesus Christ. We were dead in sin with no hope of new life until Jesus made a sacrifice on the cross that gave us life where none before existed. It says that the Lord visited her, just as he visits us to draw us out of sin and into his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him). 

They called him Isaac which means laughter. Abraham and Sarah both laughed when it came to believing God and his promise, but now they laugh with a joy and unbelief of God's mercy. So there is this time of joy and reaping that we will all enjoy from time to time. The season, as all of life is, is just passing though. It is not long before strife comes to the tents of Abraham. Ishmael mocks Isaac and Sarah sees it. It seems that Ishmael is not old enough to come to this understanding on his own, and he had some encouragement from Hagar; we don't know this for certain, but it seems likely. 

Sarah wants Hagar and Ishmael gone from there presence. God tells Abraham to go ahead and send Ishmael out of the camp, but make no mistake, they are still paying for past sins. After Hagar and the child are cast out, God remembers his covenant with Abraham about his seed, even though Ishmael was not the one God had originally meant when he created the covenant with Abraham. God looks after Hagar and promises that Ishmael will become a great nation. 

Some time passes and we encounter Abimelech again. He wants what we would now call an alliance or peace treaty with Abraham. Abimelech knows that God had blessed Abraham and that Abraham is growing in God's blessings. It doesn't hurt that Abimelech been warned of God in the past about Abraham when Abimelech took Sarah. After Abraham corrects Abimelech about a fight at a well, they enter into their alliance. We would do well to make friends and bonds with all of God's faithful servants. 

Genesis 20

Genesis chapter 20

Abraham picks up and moves south. The only reason given for this is that 'God caused me to wander'. We know that we will do a some 'wandering' of our own in this life. The geographic location we are in does not have any baring on our relationship with our savior. Our communion with God is done in our hearts and on our knees in prayer, not in a certain place. God is still God no matter where we are or what condition we are in and he can and does answer prayers no matter what.

When they come to the land of Gerar, Abimelech the king takes Sarah. Even that this advanced age it appears that she is still very beautiful. Unfortunately this is familiar territory for Abraham, having been in this situation with Pharaoh in Egypt. When Abraham was in a strange place he would tell Sarah to tell anyone they ran into that they were brother and sisters. This was a fact and not a lie because Abraham and Sarah had the same father, just not the same mother. He did this so that they would not kill Abraham and take Sarah all to themselves. I commented earlier that this does show a lack of faith on Abraham's part. In an evil land with evil leaders, you can see what he is trying to accomplish, but we need to go and let God work out the details.

God wastes no time in protecting his own people and the covenant that he has promised both Abraham, Sarah, and all of mankind. He visits Abimelech in a dream and tells him in no uncertain terms that he is a dead man for what he has done. Abimelech pleads with God and tells him he has not touched the woman and only took her because he was somewhat mislead by Abraham. God puts a plague on Abimelech and all his house that they won't reproduce until all is returned. Abimelech doesn't harden his heart like the Pharaoh many years later in his dealings with Moses.

Abimelech not only gives Sarah back, but gives silver and riches as well. Abraham prays for Abimelech and his household and the Lord lifts the curse. When we encounter troubles, we out to be quick to seek forgiveness and restore anything to our brothers and sisters that we have taken unjustly or even by accident; so that the Lord will bless our Christian life.

1st Week of July 2012 Sunday School Lesson - Judges

Judges chapter 9

Gideon decided he wanted a lot of wives. He was not content with that, but had at least one but probably more concubines. Gideon had 70 sons by his wives and another by a concubine named Abimelech. Having an appetite for more than what God intends us to have will never lead to God's purpose. He can still work with us and through us, but we can change the original intent of our lives for him. This is exactly what Gideon did.

We see with the wives and the concubines, Gideon in some ways lived like the king for Israel he said he wouldn't be. He should have taken his own advice, lived simply, and just judged Israel. After Gideon dies, it appears to leave a great vacuum in leadership in Israel. The bible records that they were already following after Baalim again. In this godless vacuum, Abimelech rises up with the support of his direct bloodline through his mother, and attacks and kills all of his half brothers but one. Jotham, the youngest of Gideon's sons, escapes, and prophecies the troubling end to Abimelech's life. Abimelech is not a full blooded son of Gideon, and Jotham makes sure everyone knows it.

Abimelech doesn't have a peaceful reign in Israel for his 3 years of rule. There are those that don't want him to rule and it causes a civil war of sorts with the surrounding cities and villages. They rise up against him, and then he strikes out at them. This goes back and forth for some time until you can almost see, as if you are waiting for the other shoe to drop, the end of Abimelech coming.

After all of this fighting, and during an attack on a raised tower of sorts, a woman drops a great rock on his head. He doesn't want the dishonor of being finished by a woman and asks that one of his men run him through. In the end the people of Shechem and Abimelech got exactly Jotham said would come. God fulfills his word.