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Now we have arrived at a point during this account where the relationship between Isaac and king Abimelech had started to turn sour. As noted in the last article the king and the rest of the Philistines had grown very jealous of Isaac and his newly found favor with the Lord and awarded wealth. And it would be at this time that the Sacred Record would reveal that the king had this to say to Isaac: "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." Being the man that Isaac was, he would not resist, or challenge the king. Make no mistake, there's no doubt that Isaac could have done just that, but instead Isaac would keep strife at bay and move away from the Philistine town. He would eventually settle in an area which was known as "The Valley of Gerar". Isaac would continue to be very industrious, for he was very skilled when it came to taking care of his flocks and the cultivating of the land. Next the Sacred Record would reveal that Isaac would begin to unearth the water-wells that his father had once dug. Come to find out that after Abraham had died for whatever reason (possibly because of the envy that now held for Isaac), the Philistines had filled the water-wells up with dirt. So now we find that Isaac would honor and bring remembrance to his father buy unearthing the water-wells, and he named them the same names that his father had originally given them. But Isaac wouldn't stop there, for he would have his servants to continue to dig within the valley and because of this, they had discovered a fresh water resource. Now this would bring about immediate opposition from the herdsmen of Gerar. Also keep in mind that this was during the time in which a great famine was wrecking havoc upon the land -- so therefore, water was a very rare and valuable commodity at this point. Now the "herdsmen of Gerar" would lay claim to the new water-well that Isaac had discovered and dug through some type of force, or intimidation tactic. And it was this dispute that caused Isaac to name that water-well "Esek" which meant "contention". Once again being the man that he was Isaac did not challenge the "herdsmen of Gerar". He instead went about his business, and had his servants dig another water-well. And just like before, the "herdsmen of Gerar" would find out, and immediately lay claim to that water-well as well. This particular quarrel would lead Isaac to name that water-well "Sitnah" which meant "hatred". And once again, Isaac being a man of great means and power did not fight - instead, he moved on and had his servants dig another water-well. Once Isaac had saw that the "herdsmen of Gerar" did not come and quarrel over it, Isaac would name this water-well "Rehoboth" which meant "enlargements" : "Now the Lord has given us room, and we will flourish in the land." Isaac had vowed. A short while later we're now told that Isaac would venture back up to "Beer-sheba" the place that he had resided at when the famine had first struck. That night the Lord would appear and visit Isaac: "I am the God of your father Abraham, do not be afraid for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." After Isaac had been reminded of the Lord's covenant that He had bestowed on Abraham and his seed, Isaac would build an altar unto the Lord in that place. Isaac would have his servants dig a water-well nearby being that he had now decided to settle in Beer-sheba for awhile. Now a little time had gone by and we are now told that Isaac would receive another visit. But this time it wasn't from the Lord - the visit would come from king Abimelech and his personal advisor Ahuzzath, along with Phicol the commander of his forces. Now keep in mind that this is not the same "Phicol" that had visited along with Abimelech back in the days of Abraham, some one-hundred years ago. So it's for this reason we could also assume that the name "Phicol" is also title of some sorts for the name means "the mouth of all". Now what's even more interesting is that Abimelech just like his father, or grandfather before him, appears to have come to his senses. Remember that Abimelech's father, or grandfather had been placed under a judgment by the Lord, and only the intercessory prayers from Abraham could remove that judgment at the time, which kept it from being executed. The Lord told Abimelech some one-hundred years before... "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman." the Lord would tell the king. But being that Abimelech had not yet touch her, and did not know that she was Abraham's wife; he would plea his case before God: "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands." After hearing this, the Lord would say: "Yes I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I didn't let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die." -- (Genesis 20:3-7) And because of this visitation from the Lord, the previous Abimelech household had made the right move to recognize that it would be best for them to be a friend towards Abraham instead of an enemy. Now here we are around one-hundred years later and we find that the current royal family, would also find it in their best interest to do the same with Isaac. And this is where the Sacred Record reveals that Isaac had become miffed at the king (and rightfully so), being that it was Abimelech that had order Isaac to leave from their town in the first place: "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away." Isaac asked the king. Abimelech responded by saying: "We saw clearly that the Lord was with you, so we said: 'There ought to be a sworn agreement between us' -- between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you, that you will do us no harm; just as we did not molest you, but always treated you well; and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the Lord." Abimelech asked Isaac. So just like his father had done before him, Isaac has a feast made for the king and his officials, and Abimelech and his men did eat and drink. Later on the men would retire for that night, and when morning had arrived -- Isaac and Abimelech would swear on an oath with each other. After this had happened, Isaac would then send Abimelech and his officials on their way back to Gerar. Soon after, Isaac's servants had came, and informed their master about the water-well that they had just dug: "We found water!" They exclaimed. After Isaac had heard the good news about the new water-well, he would name it "Shibah" or, "Shebah." This is the same name that his father had given to the water-well that he had acquired right after he made his oath with the previous king Abimelech back during his day. So therefore, we now have Isaac doing the same for this particular water-well that he had acquired right after his oath with the current royal family. For the name "Shibah" or, "Shebah" is the same as "Beer-sheba" which means "The well of the oath". Now we begin to move away from king Abimelech and we now switch back to Isaac's sons Esau and Jacob. A lot has changed for Isaac and his household the last time we explored the accounts of Esau and Jacob. Isaac is now in a much better place, could it be possible that Esau is now having second thoughts when it comes to his birthright that he had given away earlier? **YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE** Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty 28) The Twelve Rulers of Ishmael 30) Esau & Jacob - The Birthright 31) Isaac and the Canaan Famine 33) The Envious King Abimelech 34) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 39) Jacob - Loyalty or Deception 40) Deceitful Hearts 43) Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty  |
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