The 10th July 2011 [Isaac, the meek] Scripture — Genesis 26:15-25 (NCV unless indicated otherwise) —
1. Isaac, a foreigner
We are reading the Book of Genesis and today’s given passage is chapter 26:15-25. It tells about Isaac. The Book spends 13 chapters (12th to 25th) to the life of Abraham and 34 (from 27th to 50th) to Jacob. In contrast, Isaac’s part is only chapter 26. Apparently, the writers gave less importance to him than to his father and son. However Isaac’s way of living still teaches us another type of faith different from Abraham and Jacob. Personality of Isaac shows the virtue of gentleness and tolerance. We will reflect on the fruit of his faith by reading chapter 26 from the beginning.
After the death of Abraham, Isaac succeeded the place of his father as the leader of the tribe. He had lived in Negev, a southern region to Canaan. But hunger struck the land and he had to move to Egypt to find water and food. It was a common choice of inhabitants in Palestine of the era in the case of draught. (see Genesis 12:10-20, also in NIV) Generally, they took the seaside road by Gerar (Today’s Gaza). When Isaac arrived at Gerar, ; - The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt, but live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give you and your descendants all these lands, and I will keep the oath I made to Abraham your father.(see Genesis 26:2-3)
God ordered Isaac to stay in Gerar probably to prevent him from committing the same sin of Abraham in Egypt. Nonetheless, Isaac behaved in Gerar similarly to his father. In the ancient world, foreigners in unfamiliar lands were often exposed to aggressions of inhabitants. Furthermore, ; - His wife Rebekah was very beautiful, and the men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her.(see Genesis 26:7)
He tried to secure his life by lying. Abraham did likewise in Egypt (See Genesis 12 and 20). The father and son did the same wrongdoing. We cannot prove that the two cases literally happened. And I guess that both of them were formed from the same historical base. It seems that foreigners of the era behaved commonly in that way. Anyway, regardless of the lie, God protected Isaac and Rebekah. The tribe of Isaac started to cultivate fields there though they were originally nomads. Abraham had dug wells in Gerar and thanks to them, Isaac’s family could have water for fields and flocks. God’s blessing remained on Isaac there. As a result, ; - …he became rich. He gathered more wealth until he became a very rich man.(Genesis 26:13)
But Isaac’s wealth made the Philistines (inhabitants of Gerar) jealous. And they filled his wells with dirt.(see Genesis 26:15)
2. Isaac, the meek
Genesis continues the story. ; - So they stopped up all the wells the servants of Isaac’s father Abraham had dug. (They had dug them when Abraham was alive.) The Philistines filled those wells with dirt. And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country because you have become much more powerful than we are.”(Genesis 26:15-16)
In dry regions like Palestine, supply of water determines life or death. Inhabitants of Gerar seemed afraid that the abundant spring from Isaac’s wells would cause shortage of their owns. Or, they were simply envious of the rich yield of that foreigner. Anyway, the king Abimelech gat involved in the issue and gave the order. It must be unacceptable for Isaac to give up the fields which was the entity of his wealth. Besides it should annualize God’s oath, ; - “… I will give you and your descendants all these lands, and I will keep the oath I made to Abraham your father.(Genesis 26:3 )
Isaac could have argued against the order. Nonetheless, ; - … Isaac left that place and camped in the Valley of Gerar and lived there.(Genesis 26:17)
That new place had also wells that Abraham had dug. But Philistines had already filled those wells with dirt too. So Isaac made his servants to dug them again and it worked successfully. ; - But the herdsmen of Gerar argued with them and said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named that well Argue because they argued with him.(Genesis 26:20)
‘Argue’ in hebrew is ‘עֵשֶׂק (esek).’ And Isaac remaind patient and pacifist. ; - He moved from there and dug another well. No one argued about this one, so he named it Room Enough. Isaac said, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be successful in this land.”(Genesis 26:22)
He underwent hard processes to have after all his wells in peace. In dry lands, layers of underground water are difficult to find and dig. Besides it was sometimes very difficult to reach them because of hard rocks. Bur he achieved the goal. And no Philistines argued with him then. The place might be too far from Gerar. ‘Room Enough’ is ‘רְחֹבוֹת (rehoboth)’ in Hebrew.
Then Isaac received the blessing directly from God. ; - The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my servant Abraham.”(Genesis 26:24)
So Isaac made his servants dig another well and named it Shibah. After that name, that city is called Beersheba still now. (see Genesis 26:31-33) He build there an altar and called for the mane of God. ‘Shibah’ is ‘שבועה’ in Hebrew and means ‘oath.’ God’s oath was given to him there and he blessing was always on him.
The story reminds me activity of Dr. Tetsu Nakamura, the founder of the Peshawar-kai*1. Dr. Nakamura was originally a physician who was sent to Peshawar, a town near the boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan. His task was to treat there patients of Hansen disease. But medical treatments could not cure patients. Living conditions in the region were too bad because of unclean water and poor meals. Harsh environments taught Dr. Nakamura that he must before all supply patients with drinkable water and healthy foods. So he started to dig wells and construct canals to change the desert to fields. After 25 years of hard work, his groupe achieved almost 1000 wells and the commitment is now his lifework. They spent also 10 years constructing canals from Indus River. The desert which was called, ‘the Valley of death’ is now covered with green grasses. We can see a modern Isaac behind the activity of Dr. Nakamura.
*1 Peshawar http://www1a.biglobe.ne.jp/peshawar/eg/index2.html
3. They are blessed who are humble
Today’s invocation verse is Psalm 37:11 ; - People who are not proud will inherit the land and will enjoy complete peace.
Jesus taught in the sermon on the Mount, ;- “They are blessed who are humble, for the whole earth will be theirs.(Matthew 5:5)”
The word ‘humble’ was translated from ‘πραΰς (prah-ooce)’ which means ‘gentle and meek.’ And the same expression in original Psalm is ‘עֲנָוִים(anaviym)’ which also means those who trust their life to God under opression. Psalm teaches that those who live on God inherit the promised land. The humble are not simply week or obedient persons but who can control themselves to stand against oppression of the powerful and evil. They can restrain their emotion and wait calmly for God’s help. That stance requires storng will in addition to tranquility. Week character is not enough to inherit the land.
Genesis 26 tells that Isaac conceded each time. That attitude might seem spineless to today’s eyes. They may say that he wasn’t capable to protect his own right. But from the point of faith, behaviors of Isaac show a virtue of humbleness. Isaac believed in God’s oath, ‘I give you and your descendants this land.’ At that time, he must think that God promised him peaceful environments to live in with neighbors. And he thought that when he must face aggressive persons, the places cannot be the promised land. Therefore he gave up his wells and dug others. He accepted the last one as his own because no persons protested there.
When the faith becomes authentic, we won’t claim stubbornly our right. We won’t say any longer, ‘ It’s my well because I dug it,’ or ‘It’s my field because I cultivated it.’ That is the way of living for the humble. If the Israelis had learned Isaac’s humbleness as his descendants, Israeli–Palestinian conflict would have been fixed. The peace in the region should have taken root in less than 60 years. But the Israeli continued enlarging their territory as realization of God’s oath. Consequently, Palestinian terrorists attack them to prevent the movement as the descendant of Abimelech. It is very significant that Gerar, the place where Isaac stayed, is today’s Gaza. To some extent, the coincidence seems linking to the conflict which occurred 3500 years before.
As Psalms teaches, ‘People who are not proud will inherit the land and will enjoy complete peace,’ the faith must lead us to live in a mutual relationship with neighbors. In contrast, when we remain egocentric, we fall from God and lose the peace in mind. Isaac’s life was not easy at all. When he was young, he was almost killed by his own father as a sacrifice to the altar. Then he suffered from disagreements inside the household. His two sons hated each other and the second one Jacob stole the right of the eldest from his brother Esau. Due to that dishonest act, Jacob had to run away from the homeland and Esau had to become a gentile by marring Hittete women. Esau could not remain in the tribe after abandonning the right of the eldest. The Book did not conceal it, ; - When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittite women—Judith daughter of Beeri and Basemath daughter of Elon. These women brought much sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah. (Genesis 26:34-35)
Besides, Isaac lost the sight. ; - When Isaac was old, his eyesight was poor, so he could not see clearly.(Genesis27:1)
Isaac was not like Abraham, the founder of the faith. He was not like Jacob who prospered with family and formed the tribe. However he inherited the blessing of God and transmitted it to others. Being blessed by God doesn’t signify an easy life or earthy satisfaction. It is to live a meaningful life. Those who find significance of their life is in blessing and peace of God. Genesis tells from chapter 26 that Isaac visited the king of Gerar after defeating him. And the men of king said to Isaac, ; - “Now we know that the Lord is with you. Let us swear an oath to each other. Let us make an agreement with you(Genesis 26:28)
Those gentiles saw God’s act behind the man who gave up his wells without fighting. He continued digging until he could get the rich fountain in peaceful environments. Then Isaac blessed those gentiles. The mission for the church is suggested in that episode. We will follow in the footsteps of Isaac. We show God’s love to neighbors through our behaviors, instead of preaching loudly. They must understand that God is always with us. I wish that this congregation spreads the Good news in that way.
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