Genesis 12-50 shows the spiritual life of four men chosen by God and through them He would reveal His purpose for all of humanity. God chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. They were not perfect, but God gives them grace as he gives us today. God chose Abraham to receive His great promise. This promise was passed on to his son, Isaac. In this post our lesson focuses on Isaac.
Genesis 25:1-18 – The Will of Abraham
Abraham’s Obituary – He lived to be 175 years old. He walked with God for 100 years. He was a friend of God. His life wasn’t easy, but he walked by faith. He was real and made mistakes, but God used him. He gave all his possession to his son Isaac. He left something for each of us – An example to live by faith; an example of living and walking by faith; a savior – Matt. 1:1. Ishmael and Isaac together buried Abraham with his wife Sarah. Ishmael lived to be 137 years old and Isaac lived to be 140 years old.
Principle: Our trust in Christ today impacts our faith for the future generation.
Genesis 25:19-34 – Submissive Faith Prays
Isaac’s life is characterized by submissive faith. He knew from the beginning his birth was a miracle. He knew his parents were devoted to the Lord. He knew God had special plans for his life even as a small boy. We saw Isaac was submissive to Abraham in chapter 22. To be submissive is an act of accepting or yielding to authority. Being submissive is like being humble or meek.
God made promises to Abraham and his descendants. He had many sons, but God’s promises were for Isaac alone so it was important for Isaac to have a son. Isaac and Rebekah prayed to God because Rebekah was barren. They waited 20 years before their sons were born. Then Rebekah became pregnant with twin sons and they jostled within her so she asked the Lord why this was happening. The Lord said, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” – Gen. 25:23. God knew the character of each son even before they were born. Esau was born first then Jacob. As they grew they were very different. Esau was hairy and became a skillful hunter. Jacob was quiet and stayed among the tents. Isaac favored Esau because he liked to eat wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Prayer reveals our heart. It shows our fear, our desires, our priorities, our hurts, etc. Isaac’s prayer is submissive faith in action to God’s authority and dependence in His power.
Esau was the oldest, but Jacob was desperate to gain the benefit of God’s promises. This benefit or birthright was usually given to the oldest son. Esau acted as if this special blessing of birthright and God’s promises were not important to him so Jacob took advantage of Esau when he was weak. One day Jacob was cooking stew and Esau came in very hungry and wanted to eat the stew. Jacob made him swear that he would sell his birthright before he would give him anything to eat. Esau despised his birthright so he agreed.
As Christians we have a birthright that comes directly from our God. Instead it being in material possession, our inheritance lies in an identity from God. We are children of God and participate in His blessings as our spiritual birthright. Our birthright is to inherit all that Christ offers. We are heirs of God (Rom. 8:17) and we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
Principle: Living for instant gratification will rob you of spiritual blessings.
Genesis 26:1-35 – Submissive Faith Perseveres
There was a famine in the land and although Isaac lived in the land God had promised, it didn’t mean life would not be challenging. So Isaac went south to Abimelech’s land. Abimelech was the king of the Philistines in Gerar. The ruler of Gerar was called Abimelech as a title, not his personal name. The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him not to go any further but to say there for a while and He would bless him and keep the oath He had made to his father, Abraham. He would make his descendants as numerous as the stars and give them all these lands and through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed. God commends Abraham although he was not perfect. (Gen. 26:1-6) Isaac obeyed God and stayed in Gerar.
We all face a famine. Maybe it’s a loss of a job, disobedient child, sickness, or problems in the family. But God is always with us in it all. How is God helping you respond to your famine? What does God’s presence mean to you? God’s presence brings immeasurable blessing, but does not stop the famine. The enemy is trying to steal, kill and destroy. God blesses people even though they may be undeserving. Sometime we hang in there and sometime we don’t, but God’s presence is always with us.
Isaac was blessed with a beautiful wife like his father. Isaac lied just as Abraham had in chapter 20 by telling the king that his wife was his sister, because she was beautiful and he was afraid they would kill him because of her. Then the king found out that she was his wife and gave orders to all the people that no one was to molest Rebekah. (Gen. 26:7-11) The sin you think was hidden is often obvious to others.
Had Isaac’s father warned him, maybe he would not have lied. Isaac couldn’t learn from his father, if his father did not share this with him. Lying is a sin and can never truly help us. God is gracious and slow to anger, but He doesn’t overlook sin. There will be consequences to our sin. Your sin will find you out just as Isaac’s did. Abraham should have taught Isaac better. He should have told him that he himself learned a hard lesson when he lied. He should have explained that he made a terrible mistake long ago so Isaac could learn from his father’s mistakes and not make the same one.
Isaac was not perfect. He took matters into his own hands when he was afraid of Abimelech. How have you taken things into your own hands? What were the results? What mistakes have you made that you would like to take back? God was still there for Isaac. He is still there for you. God is faithful to His promises.
Isaac became very prosperous and powerful so the king told Isaac to move away. Isaac didn’t want to argue. He wanted peace so he moved to the valley of Gerar. Isaac stayed in the land and the Lord blessed him. He planted crops and became very wealthy. There he dug new wells, but the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with him saying the water was theirs. Isaac moved on and dug another well and no one quarreled over it. The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him not to be afraid and that he would be blessed. Isaac then built an altar and worshipped the Lord. Abimelech realized that the Lord was with Isaac and they swore an agreement together. (Gen. 26:12-33)
Isaac lied to the king about his wife, but God still blessed him. Why? That is a glimpse of the mercy, grace, forgiveness, and the faithfulness of God. He blessed him although he didn’t deserve it just as He blesses us when we don’t deserve it.
Principle: Submissive faith that perseveres in adversity reveals the faith fullness of God.
When Esau was forty years he married a Hittite. This was against Abraham’s wishes that his descendants should not marry the women of Canaan. This grieved his parents, Isaac and Rebekah. (Gen 26:34-35)
Abraham didn’t want his sons or grandsons to marry Canaanite women because they were considered to be corrupt and immoral. They were pagans and didn’t worship the true living God. The Bible says to not be unequally yoked together. “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?” – 2 Cor. 6:14.
Join me here next week for the next chapter in Genesis. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
__________________________________________
If you have enjoyed my post and have found if helpful, please leave a comment or share this post with the buttons below.
You can follow this blog by clicking "Subscribe by Email". If you follow by email, you will receive an email every time there is a new post.
