Digging Wells - Genesis 26:18-35

Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the

same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed

him. And the man became rich and continued to

grow richer until he became very wealthy. For

he had possessions of flocks and herds and a

great household, so that the Philistines envied

him. Now all the wells which his father's servants

had dug in the days of Abraham, his father, the

Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth.

Then Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us,

for you are too powerful for us. And Isaac departed

from there and camped in the valley of Gerar

and settled there. Then Isaac dug again the wells

of water. which had been dug in the days of his

father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped

him up after the death of Abraham. And he gave

them the same names which his father had given

them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley

and found there a well of flowing water, the

herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen

of Isaac, saying, The water is ours. So he named

the well Essek, because they contended with him.

Then they dug another well, and they quarreled

over it too, so he named it Sitna. He moved away

from there and dug another well, and they did

not quarrel over it, so he named it Rehoboth.

For he said, At last the Lord has made room for

us, and we will be fruitful in the land. Then

he went up from there to Beersheba. The Lord

appeared to him. the same night and said, I am

the God of your father Abraham. Do not fear,

for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply

your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.

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. Then Abimelech

came to him from Gerar with his advisor Ahuza

and Thekel, the commander of his army. Isaac

said to them, Why have you come to me since you

hate me and have sent me away from you? They

said, We see plainly that the Lord has been with

you. So we said, Let there now be an oath between

us, even 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.

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

In the morning they arose early and exchanged

oaths. Then Isaac sent them away. and they departed

with him in peace. Now it came about in the day

that Isaac's servants came. Now it came about

on the same day that Isaac's servants came in

and told him about the well which they had dug,

and said to him, We have found water. So he called

it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba

to this day. When Esau was 40 years old, he married

Judith, the daughter of Bere, the Hittite, and

Basemath, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite.

And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

I mentioned last week, or possibly two weeks

ago, concerning the importance of coming to the

word of God in faith. sitting under the Word

of God by faith. When we hear that, I think at

times we ask ourselves, well, what does that

mean? What does it look like to sit under the

Word of God in faith? What does it mean to come

to corporate worship in faith? What does that

look like in my own life? An old Puritan divine

said these words. He said the promises of God

should be The guide and measure of our desire

and expectations. Meaning the promises of God

ought to guide what we desire for and how we

desire. But it ought to also be the standard

for what we expect of the Lord. And what we expect

for the Lord to do. I want to remind us again

and encourage us again. When we come into corporate

worship, come with an expectant attitude. What

do you expect God to do in your life today as

the Word of God is preached? What are you looking

for? What are you watching for as we pray to

the living God? What do you expect God to do

as a result of our prayers in corporate worship?

What are you looking for God to do in somebody

else's life? Do you expect this time to be the

turning point or the changing point in somebody's

life? Maybe even your own. What do you expect

to change as a result of sitting under the preached

word and praising the living God? In many ways,

I believe this is what it means to come to the

word of God in faith. To come to the word expecting

God and looking for God to do what he has promised

to do in and through his word. So brothers and

sisters, Make your expectations and watch for

great things from the Lord during this time,

this whole hour in which we praise God, this

special time of worship. But especially as you

sit under the preached word and you hear from

the living God. Expect great things of God in

your heart and in the lives of others. So today

we're going to conclude Genesis chapter 26. We're

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

going to finish this chapter up and then we'll

be done with Genesis for a while. We'll have

an Easter sermon next week. Today we're going

to make our way through verses 12 through 35.

We're going to see the conflicts that Isaac experiences

in his... Pilgrim journeys through the promised

land. We're going to see the comforts that he

enjoys along the way as well. So we don't just

see that he has conflict, but we also see in

this text that he experiences and he enjoys great

comfort as a result of the Lord's faithfulness

in his life. But we'll also consider the evident

blessings on him. as a result of the Lord's covenant

faithfulness to him. And then lastly, we're going

to consider Isaac's faith throughout the times

of conflict and in the times of comfort and while

he is blessed of the Lord. Now, those four points

are primarily going to be explanatory, so we

won't do much application. We'll make some applications

following the last. And those Lord willing will

be in the same manner as the explanatory points.

So first, let's consider the conflict that Isaac

experienced while he sojourned in the land of

promise. It begins, really, we see in verses

15 and 16. If you notice in this text that the

Philistines actually were hostile toward Isaac

before any hostility actually manifested itself.

So if you recall, Abraham, Isaac's father, made

a pact or a covenant with Abimelech. We don't

know exactly how many years before, but... The

Philistines obviously had negated or abolished

or conveniently forgotten that oath or that pact.

Because the wells, which they agreed were Abraham's,

are now stuffed up and filled with dirt and rubble.

And so we see this animosity building. We're

actually told that they envied him. Because,

in verse 14, because of his great power and his

great influence and the wealth and the riches

that the Lord had bestowed on him. So what we

see is this envy of the Philistines bubble and

grow in such a way that it turns into animosity

and hatred toward the patriarch and his household.

So we see it starts with them filling up the

wells of his father. But then we see that it

continues and it shows itself and that he experiences

expulsion from Gerar. We notice in verse 16 that

Abimelech says, Go away from us, for you are

too powerful for us. We don't want you around

here anymore. You threaten us too much because

the Lord has blessed you. to too great of an

extent. Most likely, it also meant that there

was a strain on the local agricultural and economy

in that area. Because of the Lord's great blessing

and the Lord's great favor on him, they wanted

him to go away. They didn't want anything to

do with him. They wanted separation. We see this

conflict starting to manifest itself. But then

we see after Isaac moves, what's he do? He starts

to subtly, it seems as though he subtly begins

to dig up the wells that his father had previously

dug. And immediately, as soon as they hit flowing

water, not just a well with water, but a great

well with lots of water that's flowing, a plentiful

well, as soon as that takes place, we see the

herdsmen of that area. They say, that's ours.

That's mine. You can't have that. So now we see

this conflict growing. Then we see the same thing

happen again. And to such a degree, and this

is such a defining characteristic of this part

of Isaac's life, what does he do with those last

two wells? He names them. He names one because

of the contention. and he names the other because

of the quarreling that was so present in his

life. It means, listen, this part of his life

was marked by contention, and this part of his

life was marked by quarreling, by opposition,

by hardship. And it's even seen, and it's continued

later on in verses 34 and... 35, when we see

that there's animosity between Isaac and Rebecca

and Esau and his wives. So this is something

that continues throughout his life. It persists.

It doesn't just die out once the Lord provides

a good place for them. It continues. Surely there

was ups and there was downs in this time of conflict.

But here's something we need to understand and

we need to remember about this. There's one man

in the world at that time. One man in the world

at that time that God had given these promises

to. There's one man on planet Earth that the

Messiah would come through, brothers and sisters.

And was this man spared of hardship? No. The

church in the world in that day and in that age.

suffered at the hands of unbelieving men. There

was contention, there was opposition, and there

was struggle. Not to mention the constant labor

that was involved in this work. Yes, it was his

servants doing these things, but brothers and

sisters, digging wells in those days That was

an undertaking. That was a task in and of itself.

It was hard work. There was general difficulty

involved surrounding and as a part of Isaac's

life. He was not spared trial, hardship, and

suffering. Not to mention, it's famine time.

Even though the Lord has blessed him extensively,

he still has to deal with the famine. The primary

reason that we see that he is so constantly seeking

to dig a well is why, brothers and sisters? Because

he desperately needs water. Because his household,

which has grown and expanded so extensively,

needs water, life -giving resource from the earth

so that they can persist and so they can continue

and persevere as a family, literally, bodily,

and physically. He had to keep digging wells.

So we see that he's not spared conflict in this

world, but it's not just conflict that Isaac

experiences in his life. It's not just hardship.

We also see that he enjoys and he comes to experience

great comforts in his life as well. So we see

this, really, starting in verse 22. This is the

second thing we have to consider. The comforts

he came to enjoy. We see immediately in verse

22 that he moves away. most likely to southeastern

Beersheba. We don't know the exact location he

moves to. But he moves again, and immediately

he dug another well, and there was no quarreling

over it. So he moves, they dig a well, and all

of a sudden, he has peace. His family has peace.

It's pleasant for them to live and dwell in that

area. And what does he do as soon as he enjoys

this peace? He attributes that to God. He attributes

it to the providential hand of God. What does

he say? At last the Lord has made room for us.

And we see. that he commits himself to being

fruitful in that place. The Lord gives him comfort,

peace, and rest for a season in his life. He

praises God, he thanks God, and he gets back

to work, and he says, we're going to be faithful,

we're going to be fruitful in this place. Now,

isn't it interesting that the comfort in this

situation, in this scenario, is not... directly

in the period of conflict. But the comfort that

he receives during this time comes following

conflict or on the heels of conflict during the

time of peace and rest and comfort in his life.

Now, we certainly know that there's other times

throughout Scripture, and we see it time and

time again. We saw it earlier. chapter 26, where

the Lord comes to him and gives him the promise.

But here we see that the comfort he receives,

the providential comfort and kindness, is in

the time of comfort following conflict. Now,

we see another comfort that he enjoys, and that

is the fact that the Lord appears to him again.

The Lord comes to him again and reiterates and

reaffirms the promise to him. We see this in

verse 24. The Lord appeared to him the same night

and said, I am the God of your father Abraham.

Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless

you and multiply your descendants for the sake

of my servant Abraham. Brothers and sisters,

this is an extreme kindness of God. We see the

generosity. And we see the kindness of God in

display. Here's this man who's been in the midst

of contention all these, we don't know how long,

most likely for years and years. He's been struggling

to keep his family going. Because of water, not

necessarily because of resources, because the

Lord has blessed him. But we see this man who's

persevering in faith while still struggling in

faith. He's wrestling along and then all of a

sudden the Lord comes in and reaffirms the promise

to him again. That's kindness. That's the gracious

person of God coming to a servant. and saying,

I am with you. I am your God, I'm the God of

your Father, and I am with you, and I will bless

you. That's one of the unique things about this.

Notice that he says, do not fear, for I am with

you. Do you remember earlier in chapter 26 when

God gave him the promise? Starting in verse 3

of chapter 26. He says, Sojourn in this land,

and I will be with you. And I will be with you

and bless you. And here, when God comes to him,

brothers and sisters, what does God say? He says,

I am with you. He's reminding Isaac that even

though it's been difficult and trying, that God

has been with him in the midst. Of those hardships

and those difficulties. And those trials. It's

a great kindness of him. And then he reassures

him. Of the blessing in the future. Of the blessing.

With regards to his descendants. And the offspring.

He says don't forget. I am going to bring about

my promises in your life. Don't forget, I am

going to multiply your descendants, and you are

going to be a blessing to the nations. He's reassuring

him of his word that he has given to him previously.

And what is Isaac's response to this? Much like

his enjoyment of that initial comfort and finding

a well where there was no quarreling, what do

we find here? He responds with worship. He sets

up... He builds an altar. And he calls on the

name of God. This is the Old Testament's way

of saying he worshipped God. He praised God.

He called on the name of the Lord. We see in

this text something that separates and distinguishes

the Christian religion from every single other

religion that's ever existed. Whether it be Old

Testament or New Testament, brothers and sisters,

there's something here that distinguishes Christianity.

And what is that? We see that God, in His kindness,

comes down, condescends, comes to a servant,

and declares blessing, declares His grace, and

then the servant worships Him. Every other religion,

what do they do? They worship God to twist His

arm to get blessing or to get in good standing.

Christianity worships the living God because

we know that everything's of grace and we know,

brothers and sisters, that He has been gracious

to us. It's because He has made known, He has

declared, He has announced His blessing upon

His people. because of the work that he has done.

We don't worship God to get from God. We don't

worship God, brothers and sisters, to twist his

hand or to twist his arm to make him do something

in our lives that we want. That's pagan religion.

They offer sacrifices of worship and praise to

God to change their lives. To get blessing in

their lives. That's not what we do as Christians,

as the Christian church. We worship because God

has done something in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So our worship is responsive at its core. Because

of the work that God has done in Christ. We always

need to ask ourselves. Why am I worshiping God?

Why am I praising God? Why am I coming to his

throne? Why am I sitting under the preaching?

Why am I going to church? Why am I a member of

the church? Is it because I want to get something

out of it for my life to make it better and to

improve something? Or to change something? Is

it because I want God to love me? Is it because

I want God's favor in my life? If that's the

case, listen, young people or old people or middle

-aged people, you're approaching it all wrong.

All wrong. We do these things because of what

God has done in Christ. We do these things because

God has come to us and announced the blessings

and the promises that he has brought about and

he has accomplished and he will bring about and

he will accomplish in and through the Lord Jesus

Christ. We come here because God has been gracious,

brothers and sisters. We sing to God because

he has. Loved us first. We sit under the preaching

because God has worked in our hearts and we want

to hear from his voice. We want to hear from

him. We don't come to get. We come to give blessing

and praise and honor to him because of what he

has done in our lives. Isaac gives us a shining

example. of what it means to worship the living

and true God in a distinct way apart from and

different from the pagan religions of the world.

Now, we can't be deceived in thinking those things

don't take place in the United States of America.

Brothers and sisters, there is much of evangelical

Christianity that mirrors and reflects pagan

Christianity to the core. The Christian church

must come because of grace, not to get grace.

The Christian church must worship God and give

themselves and consecrate themselves to God and

the worship of God and to His church because

of His divine redemptive blessings, not To get

redemptive blessings from him. So we see that

he experiences great comfort in his life. And

this comfort brings about this worship in his

life. It causes him to praise God. Now consider

the evident blessing upon Isaac. Now it's important

that we understand. the source of these blessings.

We read earlier in verses 12 through 14, and

listen to these words. Now Isaac sowed in that

land and reaped the same year a hundredfold.

That's a massive increase in multiplication in

a famine year. Almost miraculous. And it says

at the end of verse 12, And the Lord blessed

him. And the man became rich and continued to

grow richer, and he became very wealthy, for

he had possessions of flocks and herds and a

great household, so that the Philistines envied

him. Notice the threefold repetition of his wealth

and his riches. The threefold repetition. Why

does the author do that? Because he's emphasizing

that his wealth was expansive. His wealth and

his riches were great. And where does the text

explicitly tell us these riches and this wealth

came from? The Lord. God himself had his hand

upon Isaac in the world. God himself was favorably

disposed toward him, was blessing him. But it's

interesting that these blessings were actually

the cause of much of the difficulty and the hardship

that Isaac experiences. Because God was with

him, because God had blessed him, he's driven

out. He's forced to move. He's forced to travel

and wander. He's forced to be a pilgrim and to

sojourn. Because of God's providential blessing,

these quarrels are brought about because he keeps

finding water, it seems. The Lord keeps giving

him success, but people don't like it. So these

blessings bring about hardships and difficulties.

They make him distinct from the rest of the world.

The Philistines, we could say. They make him

different than the Philistines. And they don't

care for it one bit. Now, this leads us to consider

this covenant that Abimelech seeks to get with

Isaac. Abimelech comes to Isaac. We don't know

how long it's been since he's been driven out

of Gerar. But Abimelech seeks him out. He brings

his... His advisor and his military commander,

very similar to what happened with Abraham when

they made a covenant with a former Abimelech

and a formal fecal commander of his army. These

are not the same individuals most likely. Probably

it's a title that was reserved or held for those

individuals in that monarchy at that time. So

probably... the king was always called Abimelech.

Probably there was always the commander of the

army named Fecal. We don't know for certain.

There is the slight possibility that this is

the same Abimelech and the same Fecal. Doubtful,

but there does seem to be the possibility that

this man dealt with his father. Now he's dealing

with the son. I don't think that's the case.

This man, Abimelech, comes and he initiates and

he proactively is seeking out a covenant with

the patriarch of God's people. We see this in

26 through 31. Now, why does Abimelech come to

Isaac? What's his reasoning? What's his rationale

according to the text? Listen to verse 28. We

see plainly that the Lord has been with you.

And then look at the end of verse 29. You are

now the blessed of the Lord. So why do we speak

of this covenant under the heading? Of God's

evident blessings in Isaac's life. Because here

we have a pagan king. We have a pagan monarch.

One who does not have the promises of God. One

who has not been given these glorious promises.

But here we have a pagan king. That recognizes

the divine hand of God. On this man. This pagan

king sees. That God is, in fact, with Isaac,

the man of God. He confirms it. He knows it.

And he knows that it is futile and vain to oppose

this man because he knows that he cannot succeed.

Because God is with him. It's clear. Now, these

blessings... that Abimelech recognizes? What

is their nature? Some might come to this text

and they might say, well, here you go. If you're

a part of the church, God's will is to bless

you abundantly with monetary and financial blessing

to grow your household. Is that what's taking

place here, brothers and sisters? Absolutely

not. These are tokens and signs of God's favor

in the life of the patriarch of God's people

who was the sole man on the earth who had the

promises of God. They are tokens of the blessings

which he would give and he would bring in the

Lord Jesus Christ. They display the fact that

God's presence and God's favor is with This one

man. This one man's household. Nobody else. Nobody

else in the world except for Isaac because he

had been given the promises of God. There's something

exceptional about this man and his household.

And what is it? It's the blessings and the presence

of God. It's not so much Isaac. It's the fact

that God has determined to be with him. and that

God has given him the blessings. So we see that

these are tokens of what God had promised. If

you remember back again to chapter 26 earlier

on, the Lord says, Sojourn in this land, and

I will be with you and bless you. For to your

descendants I will give you all these lands.

It's as if he's saying, I'm going to give you

a taste materially and physically as the patriarch

of the grand blessings which are to come in the

Lord Jesus Christ. Of the grand redemptive blessings

which are more supreme, more preeminent, and

greater than even this hundred -fold blessing

that I bestow on you. So he's evidently blessed

of the Lord. Now what about Isaac's faith? During

the conflict, the comfort, and while he was blessed.

This is the last thing we have to consider. It's

important for us to recognize the movements throughout

this text. Notice how often Isaac is moving.

He's going from one place to another place to

another place and another place. And there's

a common theme. He's constantly digging wells.

He's constantly digging into the ground looking

for water. So if we want to consider the faith

of Isaac during this period of his life, throughout

this overview, we could say. we have to recognize

that there's an unwillingness in him to leave

the land. And present within him is a settled

determination to remain or stay in the land.

In all of his movements, he never departs the

promised land. Consider that. He moves, he moves,

he moves, he moves. He digs, he digs, he digs,

he digs. He stays in the land that God promised

him. It's faith, brothers and sisters. He doesn't

leave it. He's unwilling to leave the land. He

might move a little bit here and he might move

a little bit there, but he's going to remain

in the land that God himself said, I will be

with you here. I will bless you here. He's believing

God. And he's unwilling to leave that area. He's

unwilling to give it up. Because God has promised

him that land. Because God has said, it's here

in this land that my blessing will be upon you.

And that I myself will be with you in your time,

in your travels. So he stays, and in spite of

great hardship. It wasn't just a simple task

or a simple thing to stay in the land during

famine, especially with this massive caravan

that existed in his household. Think about...

how hard it would have been for him just to pick

up and leave. Now, they were trained and they

practiced and that was their way of life. But

listen, that's a lot of people. That's a lot

of time. He'd up and move. But he'd never leave

the land. And he was always in the face of hardship.

It didn't deter him. It would have been easier

to leave the land. and to go find somewhere where

there was no famine, like Egypt, when he originally

wanted to go to Egypt. But he stays put where

God tells him, even though it necessitated dealing

with quarrels, contention, hardship, trials,

and struggles. The faith of the patriarch, I

believe, is most clearly seen in the fact that

he was... The fact of his constant pursuit of

water to live in that place. Why was he constantly

digging wells? We've touched on this briefly.

Why was he constantly digging wells in those

places? Why does he dig up the wells of his father?

Why does he dig up... Why does he find water

in Beersheba, the very place that Abraham settled,

and Abraham dug a well and made a path with Abimelech?

Because that was the place, the site of the promise,

brothers and sisters. That was the place that

God had promised to his father, and that was

the place that he knew God would give him as

well. The fact that he's constantly digging up

wells to drink the water of that place, to live

in that place, is clear evidence that he is believing

God, that he's trusting the Lord. This is epitomized,

I think, in verse 25. After the Lord gives him

the promise, listen to these three things he

does. One, so he built an altar there. He built

an altar to stay and worship. That was going

to be home. I'm going to worship God here. and

Beersheba. Two, he pitched his tent there. This

is my pilgrim home, I could say. And three, Isaac's

servants dug a well. God's promised him the land.

And he believed that God would give him the land.

So what does he do? He stays in the land. This

is a demonstration of the faith of the patriarch.

There's many things that we could come to this

text and we can say this is applicable to our

lives. There's so many other sermons and messages

bound up in this narrative. But there's a few

things, I think, that are in keeping with the

text. most clearly. Brothers and sisters, the

Christian life is always going to involve conflict.

Always. Will there be seasons and times and periods

where we go up and we go down, where we enjoy

peace more than others? Yes. In God's grace,

in God's kindness, That is the case. But we can't

escape hardship in this life. I don't remind

you of this because I want to be cruel, but I

remind you of this, brothers and sisters, because

the Bible constantly reminds us of this. It is

a common and universal experience among the people

of God that hardship and trials and conflict

will be a part of your life. Now there's positive

things to this, isn't there? There's beneficial

things to hardship. One is that it puts us in

a place where we enjoy and we experience the

comforting hand of God. But what if we were to

say as a church or as individual Christians,

I have no conflict with the Philistines. What

if you as a believer said, I have no conflict

with the world around me. I don't mind the morality

of the world. It doesn't bother me, the ethics

and the ideology of the culture that's anti -God,

anti -Christ. That doesn't affect me. There's

no conflict there. That would be an issue, wouldn't

it, brothers and sisters? By nature of who you

are in Christ and what you've been made into

as a new creature in Christ, being born again

to a living hope in Christ, by the nature of

that, you must have conflict with the world.

If there is no conflict in your soul with the

world around you, then I am concerned for your

very soul. The Holy Spirit of God, dwells within

you. You have been given a new nature. You are

a new creature in Christ. All things have passed

away. All things have been made new. How can

you not have conflict with the world around you

that is fallen and sinful and ruled by the devil?

You have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness

and transferred into the kingdom of the beloved

Son, the kingdom of light. There must be conflict

within you. There are positives to this, brothers

and sisters. One, it brings us into a place where

we enjoy the comforting hand of God. But also,

we have to remember that when there is conflict

between our souls and the world, oftentimes it

is a sign. of God's divine favor and God's divine

work in our own lives. Paul talks about this

several times, where he talks about the suffering,

persecution, and trials of the New Testament

church being a clear indication of the destruction

of the enemies of the cross and a sign of salvation

for you. So when you have conflict and hardship

and trial in your life, when you're like Isaac,

remember what Jesus said in the Beatitudes. Blessed

are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

It is a common mark of kingdom members in the

New Covenant to have a great need to be comforted.

Because they mourn in this life over the brokenness

of the world, over the brokenness in their souls,

over the brokenness around them. But they have

the promise of comfort in their souls. They have

the promise of comfort following their death.

And they have the ultimate consolation that one

day their bodies will be raised and united to

their souls and they will have no more pain and

no more suffering. You shall be comforted is

what the Lord Jesus Christ has said. So there's

always going to be a conflict involved in the

Christian life. But the Christian life will always

involve the experience of comfort as well. Just

like Isaac experienced he also experienced comfort.

And what is the greatest comfort for the believer

in Jesus Christ? The greatest comfort for the

believer in Jesus Christ is God's faithfulness

to his own promises. It is God's faithfulness

to what he has promised he will do. regarding

His promises and His work. We have to work in

our lives and discipline ourselves, brothers

and sisters, where that consolation overshadows

and overwhelms every other little comfort we

might have in this life. Now why is that the

greatest consolation of the believer? That is

the greatest consolation and comfort of the believer

because this means God's faithfulness to his

own promises, because this means that God's divine

favor, his preservation, and his work in your

life is anchored to something holy and completely

outside of you. And the finished, completed,

and... perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We could say in Isaac's life that God was very,

very faithful to Isaac. But remember, God's faithfulness

was bound first to his promise. And out of that

came his faithfulness to Isaac. The same is true

for us, brothers and sisters. God will always

be faithful to you as a believer in Jesus Christ.

He will always love you and care for you. He

will always watch over you. He will always preserve

you. He will always sanctify you. He will bring

about every single promise in your life as those

in Christ. And why? Because of the Lord Jesus

Christ. Because of Calvary. Because of the completed

work of the cross. Because of his life, his death,

and his resurrection. Because those things are

done. He is now faithful to you as a believer.

This means that God's faithfulness to his promises

is not dependent upon you or your subjective

life and your subjective experiences. Praise

be to God. Some of you might say, well, I kind

of thought they were. I kind of thought that

God was faithful to me and that God loves me

because I'm good and I'm faithful to Him. The

only way that you will know the goodness and

grace of God. Is because Jesus Christ died in

the place of sinners. You must believe in him.

So that his work is vicariously given to you.

He is a substitute in your place. Your righteousness

which is so called righteousness. And your faithfulness

cannot gain. The favor of God. Only the Lord

Jesus Christ secures God's faithful hand in the

life of his people. This is why God's faithfulness

to his own promises must be the highest consolation

of comfort and hope in the believer's life. Brothers

and sisters, listen. That means when you start

condemning yourself, when you start beating yourself

up because of your own sin and your transgression

or because of the hopelessness in your own life,

look to the righteousness of Christ. There is

therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ.

That means, believer, when you start thinking

too much of your good works or your... The good

works that proceed from your sanctification.

As a result of God's work in your life. Look

to Christ and his righteousness. And it will

humble you. It's only the gospel which delivers

us from the power of sin as believers. There's

so many implications to this reality. We must...

discipline ourselves to make this our highest

consolation, our highest comfort in life. Now,

we hear that, and some of us might say, well,

that means I don't do anything. That means I

don't have anything to do because God is faithful

to me based on Christ. Now, we have to be careful

about this, don't we, brothers and sisters? Because

we also see in this text that Isaac went around

digging wells. That he went around seeking to

be fruitful and faithful in the land, believing

what God has said. God gave this man faith. And

true, saving, justifying faith is a faith which

works in love. It produces good works, and it

produces fruitfulness in the life of believers.

It's a faith that is resilient, patient, we could

even say, and perseveres in the life of the believer.

J .I. Packer made a quote, and he made this quote

in contrast to another ideology that was going

around at the time. The ideology was this. Let

go and let God. That's what a certain movement

taught for years. I just need to let go of everything

and let God do everything. J .I. Packer, in response

to that, said this. The Christian's motto ought

to be, trust God and get going. And that's exactly

what we see in the life of Isaac. He trusted

God. He trusted the promises. But brothers and

sisters, he dug one well after another. He moved

and he stayed. He moved and he stayed. Dig another

well, brothers and sisters.