Genesis 26:12-22.
[12]Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
[13]And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
[14]For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
[15]For all the wells which his father\’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
[16]And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
[17]And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
[18]And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
[19]And Isaac\’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
[20]And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac\’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
[21]And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
[22]And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
Isaac according to bible story was a child born out of God’s promise. When Abram and the wife Sarai were old and were not able to bear children, Sarai thought that it was late to fulfill her obligation as a wife to her husband by not being able to bear a son for Abram . She decided to hand over her maid an Egyptian servant named Hagar to her husband Abram and she said to her husband “The Lord has prevented me from having children go and sleep with my servant perhaps I can have children through her”. (Genesis 16:2 )
Abram agreed with his wife Sarai and took Hagar slept with her and she became pregnant.
When Hagar found out that she was pregnant , she became arrogant and felt she can take the place of her madam and decided to dishonour Sarai her madam and treated her with disdain as a result Sarai was angry, she sent her away but the angel of the Lord said to Hagar who was alone by the spring side in the wilderness with cautioned to return back to her mistress and be submissive to her instructions. (Genesis 16:8-9).
However, God entered into another covenant with Abram and assured him that the term and condition for this covenant is to circumcise all the male children born in his family and there must be a strict adherence to His words and obedient to His commandment.
God again visited Abram and announced to him that he shall no longer be called Abram which means the exalted father rather he will be called Abraham, meaning the father of many nations.
As Abraham continued in obedient and in his faith with trust to God . One day God shocked Abraham by letting him know that Ishmael Hagar’s son will not be his Apparent Heir rather Sarah shall be the one who will bear him a son that will inherit God’s promise to Abraham even though with the birth of Ishmael Abraham thought that he had seen his Own son that will inherit the land. (Genesis 17:15-21).
God sees the end from the beginning ; whenever He promised, He surely will bring it to pass no matter how long it takes . Human being should learn to wait and not Faint.
Who could believe that Abraham and Sarah can have a child at their very old age when at 100 years Abraham and his wife Sarah at 90 years would had his son of promise Isaac and was still alive to raise him to adulthood up to a marriageable age. Yes with God all things are possible.
God Almighty is the God of impossibility what seems impossible with men but with God nothing is impossible. After repeated promises from angels and God Himself appearing to Abraham in concurring what the angels had said already to Abraham that his wife Sarah will give him a son that will enjoy the good things of the land .
Finally it happened and Sarah despite her worries, fears and doubts would have forfeited the peace and joy of the promised made by God but Because He hath promised, let human beings doubt all their doubt God must honor His word.
“God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of Man that he should repent, hath He said and shall not do it …” (numbers 23:19).
The best way to bring peace to your troubled mind when waiting is to focus on God’s promises and trust in His word.
Isaac was a child born out of God’s promised which later came at the appointed time. Abraham before he died tried to secured Isaac’s future and protects his interest according to the promises of God . Abraham called all his children and gave them gift and sent them far away from Isaac in other to allow Isaac inherit all that he had acquired.
Isaac did not relaxed on the fact that he had inherited all the wealth his father left for him yet he had some battles to fight, he had some enemies who do not want him to enjoy his father’s multiples of well which is the source of drawing water both for his domestic use and to water the flocks and herds.
He had to contend with the Philistines, there had always been struggles and wars between his men and the men of philistine who are in the habit of forcefully seized his father’s well to stop him access or they will stop the flow of water so that the well will dried up. At another time the enemies may decide to stock pile dirt in the well to render it unusable. All these excesses did not deter him from fordging ahead or discouraged him from moving forward.
There was a famine in the land and people moved to look for greener pastures but he was warned not to move out of his vicinity and he stayed and decided to invest in that particular time of difficulty and reaped 100 folds which ignited more troubles for him and his men and the king of the land king Abimelech, king of the philistines drove him away with his men, they left the land and moved to Gerar while he was there yet his men discovered another well where they found a fresh water but Shepherds from Gerar came and argued with his men seized the Well and drove them away .
They moved away once more and dug another well another dispute erupted and the people were hostile to him. Isaac moved on with his life and his men and relocated to another place. While there his men dug a well there and this time around nobody came to dispute with him and he decided to call the place REHOBOTH meaning “open space” he said at last “The Lord had created enough space for us to prosper in this land”. (Genesis 26: 12-22).
Isaac indeed prospered despite all the huddles, God’s promises to bless Isaac was fulfilled to the point of attracting envy of the people around and the neighboring nations. Several times Isaac was ready to give peace a chance by allowing people get at his way and he will be the first to compromise and move away not wanting to fight back or claim for his right like we would have claimed when faced with such situation.
We have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling ; I know to wait for a long time to manifest may be very tiring and at times disheartening whether it is for good or for bad expectation but if you ever heard from God that should make your waiting to be with high hope in trust to God without doubt. Isaac was able to maintain their family glory simple because of his obedient and trust to the God of his Father Abraham and he did not doubt or loose sight of what God can do in the lives of those who obeyed His Word.
If Isaac had quit because of all his troubles, he wouldn’t had reach his REHOBOTH a place where he enjoyed freedom with enough space to acquire massive wealth that attracted kings coming to enter into treaty with him and he began to command respect.
Don’t be in a hurry to quit ; there is your own REHOBOTH keep moving until you get to your PROMISED Land and do not depend on your father’s sources [well] try and dig your own well.
Thanks for Reading. Remain Blessed.
✍️ BlessingOnugha ❤️