Repeated phrases:
(1) v.1-6 the promise of Abraham
The LORD appeared to Isasac and repeated His promise to Abraham with 2 additional elements
a. New command and promise to Isaac:
v.2b-3 ...“Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you.Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you..."
b. God reminded Isaac the reason for Abrahamic covenant:
v.5 All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
Not only did Abraham obeyed God Isaac obeyed God.
After hearing the command from God Isaac settled in Gerar v.6 as what God told him to do v.2.
Reflection: I taught children Sunday school yesterday about the obedience of Abraham. Not all the children welcomed the teaching of obedience to their parents in Ephesians 6:1-3. However, it is a very clear in the Bible that obedience was the key to the blessings from God.
(2) v.7-11 "Like father like son"
Isaac copied what Abraham did in ch 12 and 20. They both lied to avoid the problem (NET). God intervened in both of their lives.
26:8 After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
(NET) ...probably caressing or fondling, that indicated immediately that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife, not his sister. Isaac’s deception made a mockery of God’s covenantal promise. Ignoring God’s promise to protect and bless him, Isaac lied to protect himself and acted in bad faith to the men of Gerar.
Reflection: God is the One who protect Isaac and Isaac made himself a fool in front of God and man.
Lately, I was evaluating myself. I spent a lot of my energy to think and talk about 2 things: my sleep and my health. I was thinking how to improve in these 2 areas all the time.
Now, I chose to pray to God. I asked Him to protect me and then I move on and focus myself for other things which He wanted me to think/talk about.
Audrey
2026
1. When was the time ch 26 happened?
UBSH-chapter 26 does not seem to begin where chapter 25 ended...Another possibility that translators may wish to consider is to assume that Isaac, who was last mentioned as living at Beerlahairoi in 25:11, was still located there when the famine in verse 1 occurred
2. Interaction between God and Issac
2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt... 3 Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you...v.5 All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge...
6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
v.7 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me to get
v.11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, because the LORD blessed him.
God spoke to Isaac and gave him specific command. If he obeyed then God will bless him together with what He promised to Ab. God made it clear that the reason God bless him with what He promised to Ab was due to the obedience of Ab. In other word, Ab's obedience encouraged Isaac to follow and he did. He stayed in Gerar and did not go down to Egypt.
However, his faith was weak in God. God said He will be with him and will bless him. (NET-The promise of divine presence is a promise to intervene to protect and to bless). Isaac was afraid of being killed. Only through Abimelech, he was saved him from his weakness. It is unnatural for the connection between v.11 the weakness being saved from a gentile king to v.12, "the LORD blessed him." Will it be possible that the saving from the gentile kind is also an intervention from the LORD. Then v.11 is about the intervention of the LORD through Abimelech, then the LORD blessed him with the produce.
If that is the case then the LORD is merciful to Isaac.
3. Summary: When we obeyed God but our faith is weak we made provision for ourselves contradicting to what God has promised to us. However, God did not give up on us and still shows mercy to us. Both Ab and Isaac experienced that.
Reflection: I dont think this passage encourages me to have weak faith. Rather, I see the examples from the Bible from a realistic perspective. The Bible wants us to see the truth of the patriarchs. Am I transparent of my weaknesses. Maybe I am obedience to God in some areas, but my faith is still weak and be afraid in losing my life. Am I willing to admit that?
God's mercy cannot be explain. For a coward like Isaac He not only intervened, but continued to bless him and made him great. I'm also a coward and looking for the mercy of God.
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