창세기 Chapter 26

Translation: ESV

1

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.

Key Message

People of faith also encounter difficult situations; which choices they make in those situations reveals their faith.

▸Famine strikes again in Isaac's day.

Famine strikes again in Isaac's day. The mention that there was also a famine in Abraham's time shows that Isaac's situation is similar to Abraham's. Isaac goes to Gerar, which was a middle choice between going down to Egypt.

Related Verses

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
2

And the LORD appeared to him and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.'

Key Message

Hearing God's word in times of crisis takes priority over seeking human solutions.

▸God appears directly to Isaac and commands him not to go down to Egypt.

3

'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.'

Key Message

God's covenant transcends generations; God's presence is the greatest blessing given to those who obey.

▸God promises Isaac three things: His presence, blessing, and the gift of land.

4

'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,'

Key Message

Israel's existence is not for its own blessing but to become a channel of blessing toward the whole world.

▸The three elements of the covenant given to Abraham — multiplying offspring, the promise of land, and blessing to all nations — are repeated exactly to Isaac.

5

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

Key Message

Faith manifests in action; Abraham's obedience left a legacy that became a blessing for his descendants.

▸Abraham's obedience is given as the reason the covenant is transferred to Isaac.

6

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Key Message

Obedience sometimes looks like a brief decision, but its results lead to God's abundant blessing.

▸Isaac obeys God's word and remains in Gerar.

7

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.

Key Message

Even people of faith make mistakes in the face of fear; this is why Scripture records people as they are.

▸Isaac repeats the same mistake as his father Abraham.

8

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.

Key Message

Human truth is eventually revealed; relationships built on deception are always exposed to danger.

▸Abimelech witnesses Isaac and Rebekah's intimate behavior.

9

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."'

Key Message

Fear does not justify lying; faith that trusts God overcomes fear.

▸When Abimelech confronts Isaac, Isaac honestly admits he lied because of fear.

10

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.'

Key Message

The lies that arise from faithless fear bring the whole community into a crisis of sin.

▸Abimelech's rebuke is justified.

11

So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, 'Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.'

Key Message

God protects His people in unexpected ways, sometimes even through foreigners.

▸Abimelech issues a command to protect Isaac and Rebekah.

12

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him.

Key Message

For those who obey God's word, God's blessing overflows even in a year of famine.

▸When Isaac farms in obedience and remains in Gerar, he reaps a 'hundredfold' harvest.

13

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

Key Message

God's blessing increases progressively; a person of faith can prosper even in a foreign land.

▸Isaac's prosperity increases progressively.

14

He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.

Key Message

Those who receive God's blessing encounter the world's envy, but God's blessing cannot be taken away by human envy.

▸Isaac's prosperity provokes the Philistines' envy.

15

(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.)

Key Message

Even when the world tries to stop what the ancestors of faith built, God opens a new way.

▸The Philistines stop up the wells Abraham had dug.

16

And Abimelech said to Isaac, 'Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.'

Key Message

God's blessing is evident enough for the world to see with their eyes, and sometimes one experiences persecution because of that blessing.

▸Abimelech asks Isaac to leave.

17

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

Key Message

Those who trust God choose peace over asserting their rights, and God opens the way for them.

▸Isaac departs without conflict.

18

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.

Key Message

Restoring and carrying on the faith heritage is an important task for the next generation.

▸Isaac redigits the wells that his father Abraham had dug.

19

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

Key Message

God is the one who gives new blessings beyond what was taken.

▸Isaac's servants dig a new well and find 'spring water (mayim chayyim, living water).

20

the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, 'The water is ours.' So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

Key Message

The gentle person chooses peace over quarreling even at a loss, and God gives them something greater.

▸The Philistine herdsmen take the well Isaac dug.

21

Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.

Key Message

Patience without retaliation in the face of continued persecution ultimately leads to victory in God's time.

▸Isaac digs a second well, and the Philistines quarrel over it again.

22

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.'

Key Message

God ultimately gives the patient person a broad place; all prosperity is God's gift, which one is made to confess.

▸At the third well, there was finally no quarreling.

23

From there he went up to Beersheba.

Key Message

The faith journey sometimes leads us to where the faith heritage of our fathers resides.

▸Isaac moves to Beersheba.

24

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.'

Key Message

God knows our fears and appears at the moment of greatest need, encouraging us with His presence and promise.

▸God appears to Isaac again.

25

So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And Isaac's servants dug a well there.

Key Message

The appropriate response of a believer after experiencing God's presence is immediate worship.

▸Isaac responds to God's revelation by building an altar, calling on the name of the LORD, pitching his tent, and digging a well.

26

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

Key Message

God made the enemy come to seek peace with Isaac who responded with patience and gentleness.

▸Remarkably, Abimelech himself comes to Isaac.

27

Isaac said to them, 'Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?'

Key Message

True reconciliation begins with honestly acknowledging and dealing with past wrongdoing.

▸Isaac questions the intention of Abimelech's visit.

28

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,'

Key Message

The life of one who lives by faith becomes a living testimony that witnesses to God for the people of the world.

▸Abimelech's reason for coming to Isaac is stated clearly: 'We see plainly that the LORD has been with you.

29

'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.'

Key Message

The life of those who receive God's blessing becomes a light recognized even by the world.

▸Abimelech claims that they 'dealt well' with Isaac in the past.

30

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

Key Message

True reconciliation is expressed in forgiveness and hospitality; one can rejoice together even with former enemies.

▸Isaac holds a feast for Abimelech who came seeking peace.

31

In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.

Key Message

Patience and gentleness ultimately bring peaceful reconciliation; this is the gift that a person of faith gives to the world.

▸After Isaac and Abimelech swear oaths and make a covenant, they part peacefully.

32

That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, 'We have found water.'

Key Message

God's blessing often arrives at the very moment we restore right relationships.

▸On the very same day that reconciliation with Abimelech is achieved, Isaac's servants bring news that they found water in a new well.

33

He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

Key Message

The history of faith inscribed in place names becomes the memory that testifies God's faithfulness to the next generation.

▸The new well's name becomes 'Shibah (seven, or oath),' and the region comes to be called Beersheba.

34

When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,

Key Message

The choice of a marriage partner is not merely a personal decision but an expression of faith and values.

▸At age 40, Esau marries two Hittite women.

35

and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Key Message

Children's faith choices deeply affect parents; the prayer and teaching of parents for the faith of the next generation is important.

▸Esau's marriages with Canaanite women become 'a grief (morat ruach)' to Isaac and Rebekah.