Genesis 26:1-11
Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer-Lord, Open my heart and open my mind and help me learn.
1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do
not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring [
] all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful."
8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her."
10 Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."
11 So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
Footnotes:
Genesis 26:4 Or seed
Like Father-like son. Isaac does listen to God, and even during times of famine he does not retreat to Egypt. He goes and lives with the Philistines there in Canaan. This tribe of people would grow to be enemies of the tribes of Israel,(remember Goliath?)
As he lived with the, he became scared because his wife was hot, (sound familiar?) And said she was his sister. Abraham, Isaac’s father did this trick not once-but twice, and it was a disaster both times. Isaac did not learn.
You know that the other nations around the early Hebrew people thought they must be a little weird. Abraham and Isaac told rulers their wives were sisters, then people saw them being ‘nice" to these women. I am from the South, so I won’t make the obvious comparisons. When the other rulers find out, and they always do, they are mad. They are mad because the lies of the patriarchs might have caused them or their people to sin.
We have to trust God. If He tells us to go somewhere, we have to have faith that He will protect us. If we can’t do that, what can we have faith in?
Prayer- Dear Lord, protect us in all our travels and adventures. Thank you for your gifts you give us. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Things to do-Come to the College fellowship and worship tonight@6:30.
Prayer-Lord, Open my heart and open my mind and help me learn.
1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do
not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring [
] all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful."
8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her."
10 Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."
11 So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
Footnotes:
Genesis 26:4 Or seed
Like Father-like son. Isaac does listen to God, and even during times of famine he does not retreat to Egypt. He goes and lives with the Philistines there in Canaan. This tribe of people would grow to be enemies of the tribes of Israel,(remember Goliath?)
As he lived with the, he became scared because his wife was hot, (sound familiar?) And said she was his sister. Abraham, Isaac’s father did this trick not once-but twice, and it was a disaster both times. Isaac did not learn.
You know that the other nations around the early Hebrew people thought they must be a little weird. Abraham and Isaac told rulers their wives were sisters, then people saw them being ‘nice" to these women. I am from the South, so I won’t make the obvious comparisons. When the other rulers find out, and they always do, they are mad. They are mad because the lies of the patriarchs might have caused them or their people to sin.
We have to trust God. If He tells us to go somewhere, we have to have faith that He will protect us. If we can’t do that, what can we have faith in?
Prayer- Dear Lord, protect us in all our travels and adventures. Thank you for your gifts you give us. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Things to do-Come to the College fellowship and worship tonight@6:30.
posted by Steve Killam TMTL | 6:05 AM
1 Comments:
Good question Chad. The reason Isaac and his father tried to protect themselves by saying their wives were sisters is that if a ruler wanted to "marry" their wife, they would have to kill them and "marry" the widow. Hopefully, we don't kill people anymore just to marry their spouces-or do we?
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