This teaching is our 23rd session in our verse-by-verse study of the Book of Genesis by pastor Barry – given as part of our family service on 20th August 2017.
In Genesis 26, we see Isaac come to a moment of decision brought about by a famine in the land. God specifically tells Isaac not to go to Egypt, so in obedience, he stays in the land and moves to Gerar, the area inhabited by the Philistines.
Famines always bring us to a point of decision (cf the Prodigal Son. Luke 15:11-32), whether it be a famine of food or another type of ‘famine’ in our lives. Often God will engineer circumstances to cause us to step out on faith and trust. Chuck Missler said: “We can’t conceive of a holy God wanting anything less than His very best for His children, and the very best He can give us is a holy character”. This is why God will allow ‘famines’ in our lives, in order that (as with the prodigal son) we might turn to seek our Father.
As we noted in our study, there was a custom in Mesopotamia to make a wife a ‘legal’ sister. This came to light with the discovery of the Nuzi tablets in 1925-33 in Northern Iraq. Abraham ‘applied’ this in Gen 12:13 / 20:2, and Isaac now seemingly follows suit. By doing so the wife was elevated to joint-heir with her husband. In this see a wonderful model as this is what Christ has done with his wife (the Church), for we have been made ‘joint heirs’!
We also saw how Isaac (just as Abraham had done) strived with the Philistines trying to dig wells to find water.
What a difference the Cross has made!
We no longer have to strive for that life-giving-water. It is freely available in Christ for anyone who comes!
As we saw God do for Isaac, may God richly bless you as you walk in obedience by grace through faith!
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for listening to later. We have also made available the Powerpoint slides (in PDF format) that outline the key points of this study.
We hope and pray this teaching will bless you and encourage you to undertake your own personal study and adventure in God’s Word!
