Genesis 26
Theme: The God Of Isaac
Key Text: Verse 24

            It was a very sad hour! Abraham was dead! Because he was the spiritual leader of his family and of the Canaan land, he would be greatly missed. However, it was not the end! The God of Abraham was very much alive! His purposes were not in jeopardy! His plans were not thwarted! He would continue to execute His will in the earth! So, with the decease of the patriarch, the Lord began to make Himself known to the promised seed, Isaac. What is so clear throughout the Scriptures, surfaces in a special way in this division - - the God of Abraham was also the God of Isaac!

1. The God Of Many Promises
            It was very evident that God would work in the life of Isaac on the basis of how He had worked in the life of Abraham. In His very first appearance to Isaac, He repeated many of the same promises He had made to his father: “I will be with thee . . . and will bless thee” (26:3); “I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven . . . and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (26:4). Too, as the Lord gave the promises, they were associated with the father of faith by name. He mentioned "the oath" which He had made to Abraham (26:3), and also commended the patriarch's obedience (see 26:5).

2. The God Of Much Patience
            Although at first it may look like Isaac had hand-me-down religion, handed down from father to son, the Lord’s work was very personal in his life. You would think he had learned something from the failures of his father. However, Isaac (like father, like son) ended up making the same mistake Abraham had made - - he doubted Divine protection. Because he feared his own life, he lied about Rebekah, saying that she was his sister instead of his wife (see 26:7), and of course, this had to be dealt with (see 26:8-11). But, patiently and constantly, the Lord helped him get beyond his spiritual obstacles.

3. The God Of More Provisions
            It became very evident that the Lord was with Isaac, as He had been with Abraham. We’re told that “the Lord blessed him” (26:12) and that “he became very great” (26:13). Although “the Philistines envied him” (26:14) and even laid claim on the wells Isaac reopened (see 26:18-21), he eventually confessed with triumph, “the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land” (26:22). Isaac’s concluding agreement with Abimelech and company (see 26:26-33) reminds us that, “when a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Pro. 16:7).

Illustration

            A Sunday School teacher was using Christ’s message on the Vine and the branches to emphasize how his young students must utterly dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. When he finished the lesson, one of the young boys responded, “Teacher, if Jesus is the Vine, and grown-up people are the branches, then we children must be the buds.” The child may have added a little bit to the story, but, thank God, the God of one generation is also the God of the next generation. The God of Abraham is also the God of Isaac. May each of us seek to know Him in a personal way in this hour!