Like Father, Like Son

Please take your Bibles and let's open them up this morning to Genesis chapter 26.

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

! Genesis chapter 26. We're continuing our series through the book of Genesis.

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

And if you don't have your own Bible with you this morning, that's okay.

We provide those in the seat back nearby.

It should be one in the seat back in front of you.

I think our passage this morning is on page 18 or thereabouts, 18 or 19.

You will want to have a copy of God's Word open with you as we walk through this passage together.

So Genesis chapter 26.

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

And when you found it, let's stand this morning in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

Now there was a famine in the land besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham.

And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech, king of the Philistines.

And the Lord appeared to him and said,

Do not go down to Egypt.

Dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.

Sojourn in this land.

And I will be with you and will bless you.

For to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands.

And I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands.

And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

And when the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said,

She is my sister.

For he feared to say, my wife, thinking,

Lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,

because she was attractive in appearance.

When he had been there a long time,

Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window

and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah, his wife.

So Abimelech called Isaac and said,

Behold, she is your wife.

How then could you say she is my sister?

Isaac said to him,

Because I thought, lest I die because of her.

Abimelech said,

What is this you have done to us?

One of the people might easily have lain with your wife,

and you would have brought guilt upon us.

So Abimelech warned all the people, saying,

Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold.

The Lord blessed him.

And the man became rich and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.

He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants.

So that the Philistines envied him.

Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells

that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.

And Abimelech said to Isaac,

Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.

So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the valley of Gerar and settled there.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father,

which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham.

And he gave them the names that his father had given them.

But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,

the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying,

The water is ours.

So he called the name of that well, Isek, because they contended with him.

Then they dug another well and they quarreled over that one also.

So he called its name Sitna.

And he moved from there and dug another well.

And they did not quarrel over it.

So he called its name Rehoboth, saying,

For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

From there he went up to Beersheba.

And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said,

I am the God of Abraham your father.

Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.

So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there.

And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzeth, his advisor, and Phicol, the commander of his army,

Isaac said to him,

Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?

And they said,

We see plainly that the Lord has been with you.

So we said,

Let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us,

and let us make a covenant with you,

that you will do us no harm,

just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good,

and have sent you away in peace.

You are now the blessed of the Lord.

So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths,

and Isaac sent them on their way,

and they departed from him in peace.

That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug,

and said to him,

We have found water.

He called its name Sheba.

Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

When Esau was 40 years old,

he took Judith, the daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, to be his wife,

and Basamat, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite,

and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

The grass withers, and the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we ask now as we open up your word,

as we step back into what seems like a familiar story.

God, would you teach us yet again?

Would you open up our eyes to see and our ears to hear

and our hearts to receive the truth this morning?

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

You've probably heard the phrase,

History repeats itself.

Mark Twain would say,

No, history does not repeat itself,

but it often rhymes.

Most of you are familiar with the story of the Titanic.

I assume the Titanic was billed as the unsinkable ship,

but we all know, of course, how that turned out.

The captain of the ship, Edward Smith,

he ignored repeated warnings, several warnings,

before eventually crashing into the iceberg

and sinking the Titanic,

ultimately leading to the death of over 1,500 passengers.

What you may not be as familiar with

is the story of the Titan.

The Titan was a much smaller vessel than the Titanic.

It was a submersible vessel.

It could only hold maybe five people,

but it actually met a similar fate as the Titanic.

The submersible Titan imploded about three years ago

on its way down into the depths of the ocean

to explore, guess what?

The wreckage of the Titanic.

And the similarities between the two stories

are pretty eerie when you start digging into it.

Just like the designers of the Titanic,

the designers of the Titan thought that their design,

their vessel, was unsinkable.

And just like Captain Smith of the Titanic,

Captain Rush of the Titan,

ignored many clear and repeated warnings.

Just like the Titanic,

the Titan now is destroyed

along with the lives of all those who were on board.

If you pay attention,

if you live long enough,

you might notice some of these repeated rhymes

and different events throughout history.

You might have seen some several repeated instances

even in your own life.

And as you read through the Bible,

it's interesting,

you see a lot of this repetition

even in the pages of Scripture.

Our passage this morning

ought to sound very familiar to you.

If you were here

when we preached through Genesis chapter 12

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

and then again with Genesis chapter 20,

Genesis 20 · chapter mention

what you'll notice is that

many of the same events

that Abraham went through

in chapter 12 and in chapter 20

are happening again here

a generation later

in the life of Isaac.

This is not accidental.

When we see this sort of repetition in Scripture,

I think we're meant to stop

and ask ourselves,

why is history repeating like this?

We're meant to connect the dots

and see what is it that connects

these similar events

and then to take it one step beyond that

to see what is it that connects us

to these events.

Is there any similarities here

between Abraham's experience

and then Isaac's experience

and then all the way to us

and our experience in Christ?

And what I think you'll see

as we walk through the passage this morning

is that yes,

there is many, many, many rhymes

with our own experience.

Here's the big idea this morning for us.

We, like Isaac,

and like Abraham before him,

face all sorts of problems in this life.

But we do so with all the confidence

of the promises of God for us in Christ.

And we'll see this in two parts this morning.

If you're taking notes,

this will be our outline.

We'll see both the promises first

and then second,

we'll see the problems.

So let's look first here at the promises.

The promises.

Look there with me,

starting in verse one.

And I wonder if you notice

the way that this chapter is structured,

it's sort of like a sandwich.

Now you have these promises of God here

followed by all sorts of dramatic problems.

And then at the end,

it ends again with these same

glorious promises of God.

So we have promises,

problems, promises.

We should notice also

that this story is out of chronological order.

Did you notice that?

You know, last week we saw

the birth of Jacob and Esau.

We're supposed to be moving on.

But now Moses is bringing us back.

We're going back in time

to this story of Isaac

journeying through the land.

It's like Moses is telling us.

This similar cycle of sin,

opposition,

trials,

problems,

problems,

problems that happened with Abraham

that's carrying on here with Isaac.

So we can probably safely assume

that's going to keep happening with Jacob

and on and on and on down the line

all the way to you, Christian.

We see here in verse 1,

a famine in the land

forces Isaac to relocate,

just like with Abraham in chapter 12

where a famine forced Abraham

to sojourn in Egypt.

So here,

this repetition,

a famine forces Isaac to relocate

to Gerar in the Negev.

Here a whole generation later,

not much has really changed,

has it?

The land is still rough.

The terrain is still harsh.

There's still famine.

And now Isaac,

like Abraham before him,

he's still a sojourner.

He's still living in tents.

He has no permanent dwelling

here in the land

that God's promised would be his.

I think it's clear to us

that yes,

God has promised this,

but the realization of his promise

is yet to come.

It's not immediate.

It's not instant gratification.

There's a delay here

where God's people

must live by faith

in the promises of God.

So this famine

has forced Isaac

to pick up and relocate.

He goes down to Gerar,

and here he encounters Abimelech.

Now,

I don't know if this is the same Abimelech

that Abraham dealt with

in chapter 20

when he went down to Gerar or not.

It could be,

but not necessarily.

That name Abimelech

is actually a title.

It means son of the king.

And so while it could be the same guy,

it could also just be another guy

in the same position.

That's what I tend to think.

But regardless,

Isaac goes down

to the king of the land,

but as he goes down

into enemy territory,

as he goes wandering

through the desert,

as he walks in the middle of famine,

look what happens.

He encounters the true king.

The Lord speaks to Isaac.

And more than that,

verse 2,

it says that the Lord

appears to Isaac.

And this is the same language

that we see other places

where this is a physical,

visible manifestation

of the presence of God.

It's what we call a theophany.

God appears in visible form

to come and speak with Isaac.

And what does he say?

Do not go down to Egypt.

Dwell in the land

of which I will tell you.

Sojourn in this land.

You know,

that might not have been

what Isaac wanted to hear.

Don't go down to Egypt

where it's lush

and plentiful

and where the crops are growing

and where there's plenty of water.

keep wandering,

keep living as a sojourner,

stay right here

in the middle of this empty desert,

stay right here

in the middle of this famine.

That's probably not the counsel

that he wanted to hear,

don't you think?

You and I,

it's human nature

that we want to seek out

ease and comfort,

don't we?

I mean,

naturally,

when we're in the middle

of some sort of trial,

we want God to lead us

out of that

as quickly as possible.

But sometimes,

we should recognize,

even in the midst

of incredible difficulty,

sometimes,

we are exactly

where God wants us to be.

We may not want to hear that,

but listen to the assurance

that God gives him here.

He says,

Isaac,

I will be with you.

This Emmanuel promise,

promise God with us,

and I will bless you.

For to you and to your offspring,

I will give all these lands.

I will establish the oath

that I gave to Abraham,

your father.

I will multiply your offspring

as the stars of heaven.

I will give your offspring

all these lands,

and in your offspring,

all the nations of the earth

shall be blessed,

because Abraham obeyed my voice

and kept my charge,

my commandments,

my statutes,

and my laws.

It's as if to say,

Isaac,

I know your circumstances

are difficult.

Isaac,

I know that you're

in the middle of a famine.

Isaac,

I know that my promises

have been slow in your eyes

to come to pass,

but my promises

have not changed,

and I will do it

in my time.

Do these promises

sound familiar to you?

This is an echo,

almost exactly an echo,

this rhyme,

this repetition.

The Lord is reaffirming

the promises

that He made to Abraham.

Only now,

it's to Isaac

a generation later.

Only did you notice

a slight difference

in the promises?

Verse 3,

He says,

to your offspring,

I will give

all these lands.

as small hint

that maybe,

maybe Canaan

is not the only

piece of land

that's promised

to God's people.

In fact,

as we see later on

and we flip over

to the pages

of the New Testament,

Romans chapter 4

Romans 4 · chapter mention

tells us clearly

that Abraham

and his offspring,

that is,

all those who share

the faith of Abraham,

will be heirs

not just of Canaan,

but heirs

of the whole world.

All these lands

will come

to the one

true people

of God.

All those who trust

in the promises of God.

Or as we can say

on this side of the cross,

all those who trust

in the promises

of God

in Christ.

Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

says that

by faith,

that is,

faith in the promises

of God,

by faith,

Abraham obeyed

when he was called

to go out to a place

that he was to receive

as an inheritance.

And he went out

not knowing

where he was going.

And by faith,

he went to live

in the land of promise

as in a foreign land,

living in tents

with Isaac

and Jacob,

heirs with him

of the same promise.

Why?

For he was looking

forward to the city

that has foundations,

whose designer

and builder

is God.

See,

Abraham

and Isaac

were content

to live

in harsh circumstances,

to live

as sojourners,

to live

in the midst

of great difficulty,

to live

in enemy territory.

Why?

Because they trusted

by faith

that God

had promised

a better

eternal home

for them.

Not just Canaan,

the whole world

renewed.

the new heavens

and the new earth.

All creation

freed from the curse

of sin.

A world where

there is no famine.

Can you imagine?

A world where

there is no sin.

A world where

we no longer

move from place

to place,

dwelling in temporary

shelters,

but a place

where we are

finally home.

Church,

do you realize

in Christ

we share this promise?

It's God's promises

that carry us

through our time

here as an exile.

We,

like Isaac,

are sojourners

in a land

that belongs to us,

that's been promised

to us,

but not quite yet.

We are exiles

and strangers

in a land

that we know

will one day

be full of beauty

and free from the effects

of the curse of sin,

but not quite yet.

Right now

it's prone

to all sorts

of famine

and danger

and harsh conditions,

but one day

soon

and very soon

God has promised us

Christ will come,

Jesus will return,

and all the world

will be remade.

All the world

will be freed

from sin

and it will all

be ours.

All who have

faith in Christ

share this

glorious promise.

The time is coming

when we will

inherit the land,

but in the meantime,

like Isaac,

we face all sorts

of problems,

don't we?

Let's look here

a second

to the problems

that we face.

While we wonder

here as sojourners

and exiles

waiting for these

promises to come

to pass,

we face all sorts

of problems,

don't we?

Amen?

I'm glad I'm not

the only one.

And these problems

come at us

from two main

directions.

we face both

internal problems

and we face

external problems.

And we see both

of them here

in the passage.

Look with me

starting in verse 7.

And here we see

some of the internal

problems that

Isaac's facing.

Isaac shows up

and Gerar

and verse 7

says that the men

of the place

begin asking

about his wife,

Rebecca,

because apparently

she's very beautiful

in appearance.

And so what

does he do?

Like Abraham

before him,

he lies.

He tells everybody

that his wife

is his sister.

Why?

To save his own

skin.

Right?

To protect himself

so his own life

would be spared.

I mean,

at least when Abraham

did it,

it was kind of

a half lie,

right?

Sarah was his

half sister.

I know that's weird.

Times were different

back then.

But here,

I mean,

it's just a complete

full out,

flat out lie.

Didn't God

just promise

like two seconds

ago?

Didn't God

just promise

that I will

give you

as numerous

offspring

as the stars

in the sky?

Didn't he

just promise

that through

your offspring

all the earth

will be blessed?

But here,

Isaac,

just like Abraham

before him,

he shows this

deep disregard

for the faithfulness

of God.

And like Abraham

before him,

he takes matters

into his own hands

and this hero

of the faith

lies to preserve

his own life.

Now,

let me chase a quick

rabbit trail here.

This is one reason

why we as good

Protestants

don't venerate

the saints

like our Catholic

friends do,

right?

You know what I mean

by veneration

of the saints.

Our Catholic

friends,

they honor the saints,

they want to be

reminded of their lives

and so they'll put up

images of them

throughout their churches,

they'll give lessons

from their lives,

all that is fine enough.

But then they take it

one step further

and they will pray

to these men

and seek their intercession

that these men

might pray on their

behalf to the Lord.

They seek their blessing

that some of their

righteousness

might be overflowed

and credited

to their account.

So they lift

these men up

to this place

of reverence

and honor

but it seems

to me

that they miss

the fact

that even

these great heroes

of the faith

like you and I

are sinners

in need

of a Savior.

You know,

maybe one reason

why Moses

goes back in time

to give us this story

is to make sure

we don't miss

the fact

that Isaac

like you and I

is a sinner.

Just like Abraham

before him

was a sinner.

We may not have

that problem

of veneration

of the saints

but I wonder,

you know,

church,

your favorite

Bible teacher

and the one

whose Bible study

you buy right

when it comes out

the one

whose sermon

podcast

you're quick

to soak up

the pastor,

the preacher,

the teacher

that's ministry

has just blessed

you tremendously.

Do we remember

that they too

are a sinner

in need

of a Savior?

Isaac tells us

a lie here

and proves himself

to be a sinner

and verse 8

says that

they were actually

able to keep this

up for a long time.

They lived in the land

for a long time

until Abimelech

looks out of the window

and he sees Isaac

laughing with his wife

except I think

that's kind of

an unclear translation.

I don't know

exactly what they

were doing

but it was enough

that Abimelech

saw it

and he knew

that that was

not his sister.

He knew instantly

that he had been

lied to

that they are

in fact

married

and so this king

calls him out

and says

what have you

done to us?

You've put us

in the position

where anyone

here could have

lain with your wife

and you would have

brought this guilt

upon us.

Isaac has put

the king

and his people

in this position

where even

unknowingly

they could have

done something sinful

and broken

the seventh commandment

and committed adultery.

Isn't it shocking

to you

that this pagan

king seems

more sensitive

to righteousness

than Isaac?

He seems

a little bit

more sensitive

to the dangers

of sin

than this father

of the faith?

Here yet again

just as we saw

with Abraham

this pagan king

looks more righteous

than this chosen

vessel of the Lord.

What a shame.

Isaac's in a world

of trouble

isn't he?

But ask yourself

whose fault

is that?

This whole situation

this whole issue

here is

entirely

of Isaac's

own doing

at the core

of this problem

is Isaac's

own sin

and often

church

that is the

first layer

of problems

that we have

to deal with.

I know

you go through

problems

and you experience

trials

we all do

but when you

face these trials

you face

these problems

you walk

through these

issues in your life

how often

do you stop

and ask

how much

of this problem

is because of me?

Yes

of course

we face

an enemy

we have

external issues

we live

in a fallen world

we're going to get

to all that

in a minute

but before

we point

the finger

outward

and go

and blame

others

even go

and blame

the devil

himself

we need

to stop

and ask

how much

of my

suffering

is tied

to my

own

sinful

choices

and Peter

tells us

we just read

in 1 Peter

that we

shouldn't be

surprised

when the fiery

trials come

upon you

Christian

you will

encounter

suffering

but then he

goes on

to say

but don't

suffer

as a

murderer

and don't

suffer

as a

thief

and don't

suffer

as an

evildoer

don't

suffer

as a

meddler

in other

words

you are

going

to

suffer

but don't

bring it

upon yourself

because of

your own

sin

but of course

we also see

here Isaac

faces also

great external

problems

as well

just as we

do

church

look there

starting

in verse 12

it says

after all

this

apparently

despite

Isaac's

sin

God

continues

to bless

Isaac

doesn't he

and despite

the famine

in the land

it says

Isaac

sowed

in that

land

and he

reaped

in the

same

year

a hundred

fold

I don't

know much

about

agriculture

or farming

but that

seems pretty

impressive to

me

to sow

seed

in the

midst

of a

famine

and in

the same

year

to reap

a hundred

fold

I mean

he is

flourishing

there

he's

reaping

an

incredible

harvest

Isaac

gets a

taste

here

of this

future

blessing

that God

has

promised

he becomes

rich

he gains

flocks

he gains

herds

he gains

servants

and with

all of that

guess what

he also

gains

enemies

the

Philistines

they see

his success

and they

see the

blessing of

God

in his

life

and it

says that

they envied

him

Abimelech

the king

he doesn't

like how

strong

and prosperous

and successful

Isaac

is becoming

he's a

threat

now

so he

tells him

to get

out

and the

Philistines

go a step

further than

that don't

they

they go

and they

get a bunch

of dirt

and they

fill up

all the

wells

that Abraham

dug

they fill

them up

with dirt

and this

is not a

subtle

message

is it

the message

is we

want to

snuff

you out

you don't

belong

here in

this land

look at what

Isaac does

verse 17

it says

Isaac

leaves

he goes

to the

valley

of Gerar

and what

does he

do

he digs

up those

same

wells

again

those same

wells

that Abraham

his father

dug

and he

gives them

names

not new

names

he gives

them the

same old

names

that Abraham

his father

gave him

what's he

doing

it's almost

like he's

saying

you can

try to

stop

us

but God

has promised

me this

land

and so

yeah

you can

try to

snuff

me

out

but it's

not

going to

work

what is

he doing

he faces

this external

opposition

how

by

clinging

to

and living

in light

of

the promises

of God

verse 19

says

they dug

in the

valley

and guess

what

they find

water

God

here even

in the midst

of famine

and here

even

with all

the Philistines

filling up

the wells

with dirt

and here

with the king

sending Isaac

out as a

wanderer

yet again

God

provides

this blessing

of water

and with it

yet again

there's an issue

the herdsmen

of Gerar

they contend

with Isaac's

herdsmen

and they say

this water

is ours

and so

what does

Isaac do

he names

that well

a sack

which means

contention

it's like

he's getting

used to this

by now

right

problems

and promises

problems

and promises

so what does

he do

he moves

on

he digs

another

well

and apparently

that well

also produces

water

here's some

blessing

and guess

what

there's another

fight

and so he

names that

well

Sitna

which means

enmity

and so what

does he do

it's probably

time to give up

now right

probably time

just to

throw it

throw in the

towel

and move

on and be

done

no

Isaac moves

on and he

digs yet

another

well

and finally

at last

it says

there is

peace

so he calls

its name

Rehoboth

which means

room

saying

the Lord

has made

room

for us

and we

shall be

fruitful

in the land

church

do you see

this beautiful

picture of the

Christian experience

do you see

how

how this

rhymes

with our

experience

in Christ

the Lord

has told

us

I will put

enmity

between you

and the woman

Genesis 3

between your

seed

and her

seed

ultimately

this is

enmity

it's contention

between Christ

and the enemy

Satan

but it's also

enmity

it's contention

between the

offspring of

Satan

and the

offspring of

God

and Christ

in every

age

and in

every

place

God's

people

are at

war

contending

with the

forces

of evil

we do

not wrestle

against flesh

and blood

but against

the rulers

against the

authorities

against the

cosmic powers

over this

present darkness

against the

spiritual forces

of evil

in the heavenly

places

we face

an enemy

that prowls

around like a

roaring

lion

seeking

someone to

devour

we shouldn't

be surprised

then church

when trials

come our way

if you want

to live a life

of faithfulness

to Christ

then church

you can expect

the enemy

will want to

snuff you out

stop you

from doing so

but

those who

persevere

in Christ

like Isaac

eventually

will

overcome

come

the trial

is not

forever

the good

news is

the opposition

is not

forever

the good

news is

eventually

all who

persevere

will know

the full

blessing

of knowing

the Lord

eventually

those who

persevere

will know

the peace

that God

has promised

free from

our enemies

I wonder

what sort

of

opposition

faces

you

believer

what would

keep you

from prayer

this week

what would

keep you

from spending

time in the

word

this week

what would

prevent you

from sharing

the gospel

with a friend

this week

a neighbor

this week

a family

member

this week

what would

prevent you

from coming

and gathering

with God's

people for

worship

next Sunday

what would

prevent you

from spending

time building

up one another

in conversations

about the Lord

and in discipleship

this week

the enemy

would love

to fill those

wells up

with dirt

we face

these issues

these trials

by like

Isaac

clinging

to the

promises

of God

for us

in Christ

look there

with me

to verse 26

after all

of this

all of these

problems

we see the

Lord appears

yet again

to Isaac

and yet again

he speaks

and yet again

he reminds

him and us

of his promises

he says

I am the

God

of your

father

Abraham

fear not

I am

with you

I will

bless you

I will

multiply

your offspring

for my

servant

Abraham's

sake

how does

Isaac

respond

he says

he builds

an altar

and he

worships

the Lord

and he

pitches

his tent

there in

the land

and he

digs

another

well

this passage

ends

with

another

reminder

of these

unshakable

promises

of God

much has

changed

since the

beginning

of the

chapter

Isaac's

been through

a lot

but the

promises

of God

have not

changed

his

faithfulness

has not

changed

and if you

wondered

well what about

his enemies

are they gone

yet

no

no they're

not

but we get

here at the

end of this

passage

some resolution

here starting

in verse 26

don't we

this passage

ends

with a

reversal

and with

a

reminder

as for

Abimelech

he comes

to Isaac

with his

advisor

and with

his military

commander

and Isaac

at this

point

he puffs

out his

chest

a little

bit

doesn't

he

he's

like

what

are you

doing

here

don't

you

hate

me

you

sent

me

away

and he's

right

isn't

he

but look

how they

respond

they say

we see

plainly

that the

Lord

has been

with you

we see

plainly

that the

Lord

has been

with you

make a

covenant

with us

that you'll

do us

no harm

just as

just as

we've done

you no

harm

and have

done

nothing

but good

to you

and have

sent you

away

in peace

that's

not exactly

true

is it

but Isaac

doesn't make

an issue

of it

God

is giving

him

peace

in the

land

he is

despite

all the

apparent

issues

God

is making

a way

here

to

fulfill

his

promises

it's a

reversal

in Isaac's

favor

and so

he makes

a feast

they eat

and they

drink

the next

morning

they go

out

in peace

and that

same

day

Isaac's

servants

come

and tell

him

they've

dug

a well

and he

calls

it

Sheba

which

means

oh

there's

a

complete

reversal

in

Isaac's

favor

it

seems

finally

like

everything's

going to

be okay

with

Isaac

doesn't

it

except

we know

better

we get

snapped

back to

the present

here

in verse

34

and we're

reminded

a generation

later

problems

still

remain

we still

have

these issues

Esau

is marrying

Hittite women

he's making

life bitter

for Isaac

and for

Rebecca

the promises

remain

but so

do

the problems

we get a

small taste

of blessing

but it's

always mixed

up with

all of

these

issues

and this

is exactly

how it is

with us

in Christ

until he

comes

isn't it

church

John Calvin

says something

interesting about

this passage

he says

that

this history

teaches us

that the

blessings

of God

which pertain

to the present

earthly life

are never

pure and

perfect

but are

always mixed

with some

troubles

is that true

with your

experience

blessings

in this

life

are always

mixed up

with trial

and problems

children are a

blessing from

the Lord

but that

blessing is not

without trial

money

is a blessing

from the Lord

but that

blessing is not

without trial

homes

are a blessing

from the Lord

but you get

HOAs that make

your life

miserable

blessing

often comes

with difficulty

why

he says

these blessings

are mixed

with troubles

lest quiet

and indulgence

should render

us negligent

it's to remind

us

church

that like

Isaac

we are not

yet

home

we must

persevere

to the true

blessing

that remains

ahead of us

for all

who know

the Lord

Jesus Christ

by faith

a true

unbothered

undiluted

unmixed

blessing

is yet

ahead of us

church

but until

then

we are

sojourners

the problems

remain

and so do

the promises

church

until he

comes

if you

wrestle with

patterns of sin

in your own

life

take heart

so did

Abraham

and so

did

Isaac

and so

does every

single pastor

you look up

to

so do I

and so

does every

hero of the

faith

everyone

but Jesus

who was

tempted and

tried in

every way

as we

are yet

without

sin

the only

hope for

sinners

like us

is that

Christ

Jesus

has come

to live

and to die

and to rise

for us

so that

any

sinner

who

trust

in him

will be

forgiven

of their

sin

and made

heirs

of all

these

wonderful