GENESIS LESSON 38
We will begin this lesson with Genesis 26:23"And he went up
from thence to Beer-sheba."
I must lay a little ground work for this lesson. In the last
lesson, Abimelech had asked Isaac to leave, and he had gone to the
valley Gerar. There his herdsman and the herdsman of the land had
trouble over two of the wells. They finally dug the third well over
which there was no dispute. The third well was named Rehoboth. Now, it
appears Isaac had gone up to Beersheba. "Beersheba" means well of the
oath, or of seven.
Genesis 26:24 "And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and
said, I [am] the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I [am] with
thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant
Abraham's sake."
God reassured Isaac that he was not only with his father, but
that he was with Isaac, also. This reconfirmed God's oath to Abraham.
This was a three-fold blessing. "....I am with thee, will bless thee,
will multiply thy seed....."
Genesis 26:25 "And he builded an altar there, and called upon the
name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's
servants digged a well."
Isaac was a believer, also. The first thing he did was build an
altar, and worship God. He settled there where he met God. Again, Isaac
had his servants to dig a well. Isaac could have digged a well anywhere,
and there would have been water.
Genesis 26:26 "Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and
Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his
army."
Genesis 26:27 "And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me,
seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?"
Isaac was confused, Abimelech was the one who told him to leave.
Now, here, he was and with two of his men. Isaac could not understand
why they would follow him. Isaac even felt that they hated him,
but I believe it was closer to jealousy.
Genesis 26:28 "And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was
with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, [even]
betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;"
It was no secret that God was with Isaac. His crop that produced
a hundred fold was one witness. The four wells that he dug, that
produced in such a dry land, was another. Even someone looking on, who was
not acquainted with God, could easily see that Isaac was blessed above
other men. Abimelech wanted an agreement that there would be no trouble
between them. He knew which one God will help in a battle, and it
would not be him. God and one is a majority. There was no question who
would win.
Genesis 26:29 "That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not
touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have
sent thee away in peace: thou [art] now the blessed of the LORD."
Abimelech was reminding Isaac that he did not harm him in any way.
I do not believe it was out of the goodness of his heart that this was
so. Abimelech knew that God was with Isaac, and he feared to do him
any harm, because of the reprisal from God. He forgot his men gave
Isaac a hard time about the first two wells, and Isaac just moved on
to keep from having trouble with them.
Genesis 26:30 "And he made them a feast, and they did eat and
drink."
Genesis 26:31 "And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware
one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him
in peace."
Isaac was a good host. He made them a feast and they ate,
drink, and fellowshipped together. They got up the next morning and
agreed on a peace treaty between them. They sealed this agreement with
an oath. I do not believe that the statement "Isaac sent them away"
meant "forcefully". He just let them go in peace.
Genesis 26:32 "And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's
servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged,
and said unto him, We have found water."
You know, it was a well like this where Jesus talked to the woman
at the well. It was spoken of that Abraham had dug the well. These
wells that God blesses never go dry. They flow generation after
generation. At any rate, this well that Isaac's men dug like all the
others, found water. Water symbolically can mean so many things (the
Word, the Holy Spirit}. Without water {spiritual and physical}, it
would be next to impossible to live.
Genesis 26:33 "And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the
city [is] Beer-sheba unto this day."
"Beersheba" means well of the oath, as we mentioned before. This
was a favorite place for Abraham and Isaac. This city was located in the
southern part of Palestine, about half way between the Mediterranean
and the Dead Sea.
Genesis 26:34 "And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife
Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter
of Elon the Hittite:"
Genesis 26:35 "Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to
Rebekah."
This sorrow, that Esau brought on his family, had several facets
to it. Hebrew men were not to marry out of their faith. These two women
were from the Hittites. God had forbidden Hebrew men to intermarry
with them. To marry two of them, made it doubly bad. This son was of
marrying age {40}. He broke the custom of the Hebrews. Esau went out
on his own and sought wives of his own choosing, not the one his father
and mother had chosen for him. Easu was a rebellious son, who did not
like authority. He would be nothing but grief to his mother.
He was attempting to satisfy his lustful flesh, rather than to wait
and marry someone God had chosen for him.
His children would be worldly. He didn't regard spiritual things very
highly, or he would not have sold his birthright for a bowl of soup.
We are looking at a very selfish man, who thought only of himself.
For the next lesson, study chapter 27.
Genesis questions 38
1. When Isaac left Abimelech, where did he go?
2. What does Beersheba mean?
3. When did the Lord appear to him?
4. Who did God say He was?
5. What three promises did God make to Isaac?
6. What was this encounter with God for Isaac?
7. What did Isaac do to honor God?
8. What did Isaac move to another location?
9. Who did Abimelech bring with him to meet Isaac?
10. Why was Isaac surprised at their visit?
11. Why did they want an agreement with Isaac?
12. What was Abimelech quick to remind Isaac of?
13. What did Isaac do to show his hospitality?
14. How do they seal the agreement?
15. Name two things water can mean symbolically?
16. Where is Beersheba located?
17. How old was Esau, when he took a wife?
18. Who did he marry?
19. What nationality were they?
20. How did this effect Isaac and Rebekah?
21. What was a Hebrew man not to do pertaining to marriage?
22. What custom did Easu break?
23. What could you call Esau that means witchcraft?
24. What would his children be from this type marriage?
25. What did he trade his birthright for?
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