Genesis Chapter 26
A Picture of God’s Guidance
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, although I have wandered here and there searching for the truth, You continued to guide me to and settled in the place You prepared for me by the well of Living Water. As I refresh my soul daily, I praise You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Introduction:
In our young and foolish days, my husband and I belonged to a four-wheel drive club. At one event, we participated in an adult Easter egg hunt. Childish? Not really. It was plain stupid. With verbal commands, the co-pilot (me) directed the blindfolded driver (Gene) through the course getting him close enough without hitting the trees to grab eggs, which dangled on threads from the branches. Not only did we have to get the most eggs, we had to have the best time to win the event. We did! One of the few things we have ever won. And what was the grand prize worth risking neck and limb for? A sleeping bag. Hee-haw! The event definitely gave new meaning to the term “driven out of your comfort zone.”
The Lesson:
When Almighty God drives us out of our comfort zones, it often feels like He has blindfolded us and is leading us through an obstacle course. The LORD has a myriad of methods to get us to step on the accelerator and move to the designated location at His pace. For Isaac, a famine prompted him to roam in unfamiliar territory.
On the way, the LORD appeared to Isaac with specific instructions.
1. “Do not go into Egypt” no explanation is given and none necessary.
Spiritually speaking Egypt is synonymous with rebellion and oppression of God’s people. The LORD warns His people, Take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them [heathen nations], after that they be destroyed from before you; and that you enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. You shall not do so to the LORD your God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hates, have they done to their gods (Deuteronomy 12:30-31a).
Currently, many Christians are “enquiring after other gods” through such practices as transcendental meditation, mysticism, and yoga. Without going into depth, such practices are religious whether we use them to honor pagan gods or not. They were derived with the intentions of connecting with the spirit world in ways that God strictly forbids His children to do as the above verse clearly notes. In relying on these exercises, we refuse to accept God’s choice of communication with us. Thus, it is an act of rebellion. (a spiritual Egypt.)
Christians need not transcend to God. He has promised to be with us and dwell among us. Throughout history, God has come to man. In the beginning, He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He appeared to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through Jesus Christ, God descended to humanity in human form to take our sins and reconcile us to Himself. Almighty God has never implied that we must transcend to Him. It would be like a father expecting a distressed infant to jump into his arms instead of the father bending down to pick her up. Before His crucifixion, Jesus promised: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth’ whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him” but you know him’ for he dwells with you , and shall be in you (John 14:16-17). We have no need to attempt to connect with God. He connected with us through Jesus Christ. There is no greater stress reliever than to know that my prayers need go no higher than my tearstained pillow because God is here with me always.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are required to obey Him. He owes us nothing, least of all explanations of His basic commands.
2. “Go to the land which I shall tell you of” God doesn’t give Isaac anything specific here, just a basic “follow my lead.” When you’re driving a vehicle blindfolded, you learn quickly to listen to every detail and follow instructions precisely. Likewise, we have no choice but to follow Jesus’ commands precisely if we desire to please Him and receive our promised reward. Jesus warns us to follow closely, Enter the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 13-14).
3. “I will be with you and bless you” God reaffirms His covenant, which He made with Abraham. Praise God, we don’t have to survive on hearsay. He reaffirms His salvation plan and our eternal inheritance to each of us individually as we submit our lives to Jesus Christ. Jesus answered and said to him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him (John 14:23).
Almighty God led Isaac into the land of Gerar where Abimelech king of the Philistines dwelt. This man apparently is not the same king with whom Abraham had acquaintance (chapter 20). The word Abimelech is another title for a king as is the word Pharaoh.
Our children learn our mannerisms and behaviors—good or bad—without much effort on our part to teach them. Isaac was no exception. When he entered Gerar, he feared for his life and lied about his relationship with Rebekah just as his father had lied about Sarah. God shielded him despite Isaac’s obvious lack of faith. It was no coincidence that Abimelech observed Isaac “sporting” with Rebekah signaling their true relationship. Nor can we surmise anything less than God’s provision when the king set a decree protecting both Isaac and Rebekah.
Isaac sewed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him (Genesis 26:12). Do you remember Abraham’s encounter with the other Abimelech? The king asked Abraham to take his wife and leave, but not without presenting him with livestock and servants. This illustrates God’s mercy and grace on each of us. He chooses the best for all of us. Can we say that God provides only when the pleasures of this life come in abundance and with ease as with Abraham? No! More frequently, God chooses to bless us as He did Isaac, through our labor.
The time had come for God to move Isaac from his present comfort zone. As his flocks, herds, and “store of servants” grew, the Philistines envied Isaac to the point that Abimelech asked him to depart from them. Again, we observe the LORD driving Isaac from point to point through the vice of conflict between him and his neighbors. In the end, Isaac continued to follow God’s commands and found a place of rest and favor with the LORD.
Conclusion and Challenge:
Although God’s directions may seem to demand blind obedience, He has good reason for not allowing us to “see” the course. Perhaps, we’d panic and refuse to move forward. But I think the possibility that we’d zoom forward without carefully following His instructions is a greater risk. While God does not desire us to respond to Him in blind faith, at times, He does require blind obedience. Almighty God has given us irrefutable evidence of His existence, His mercy, His love, and His guidance to enable us respond to Him intellectually as well as emotionally.
The LORD does not always lead us in paths of still waters. At times, the water is deep and turbulent. He doesn’t often give explanations of the path His chooses for us. But He always expects obedience and praise. And rightfully so. His will for us is to shape us into the likeness of His Son, our Savior until we, like Job, can say, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. . .He also shall be my salvation (Job 13:15a and 16a). Job was clueless to why he suffered, but he realized that all things including disaster came from God’s hand. That maybe blind obedience, but blind faith—NEVER!
The toughest assignment we can receive from the Teacher Jesus is to endure hardship and praise God for it while we do not understand the reasoning behind it. Almighty God desires witnesses and at times, our greatest testimony is our actions during affliction.
