Genesis 26:17 – 27:10 Bible Teaching

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Genesis 26.17 – 27.10
March 5th 2023
Ratio Christi – Round 3
1pm lunch
2pm teaching

So, we left off with the Philistines filling the wells dug by Abraham because of envy. Let’s pick it up at verse 17 and read to the end of this chapter touching on the principles therein for us today.

17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of
Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
22 And he (Isaac) removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
23 And he (Isaac) went up from thence to Beersheba.
24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.
30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Alright back to verse 17-19

17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of
Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

I was unable to really get my mind around the difference between a well that supplies water and a well that supplies living water or water that springs up continually but it seems that the difference between the two is quantity, quality, source and time.

Regular wells appear to tap into existing water and they can run dry because that water is of limited quantity and sort of exists as an underground pond but a living well or spring is one that never runs dry but has instead tapped into a constantly replenishing supply like an underground river.

Living well is synonymous with what they called a spring and there are numerous references to this source of water in the scripture the most obvious being Jesus telling the Samaritan woman that He could give her living water that would never run out – (this He meant spiritually) and then there is the same thing mentioned in the book of Revelation called a fountain of living water where all the world is invited to come and freely drink.

Of course these are symbols for the endlessly flowing grace, light, love and influences of the Spirit of God given to all who seek and receive Him by faith.

Of course in this age of fulfillment I suggest that this fountain of living water is here flowing for any and all who seek it.

I love the imagery though as we might see wells that run dry as the material temporal things we tap into in life, trusting that they might sustain us forever only to discover that they often run dry and we are forced to dig for another source in another place.

We could almost teach a whole lesson on wells that run dry in our lives – spouses through intimacy, divorce or death, children that grow and go different directions, money that is stolen, spent or lost, health that fades with disease and aging – all such things compared to the well of living water – like the water Jesus offered the Samaritan woman and that the Book of Revelation depicts.

We might see all of life as a series of water sources we choose to live by – ones where we will not only thirst again but that can also run dry – or the one where we never thirst again and is a constant here and in the Kingdom above.

Quite a fascinating illustration when we think about it. (verse 20)

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

Where last week I openly wondered about Isaac and Rebekah, these verses lend to the good character of the man who appears to surrender each of these wells over to the Philistine herdsmen who took ownership of them. But he did not give up (verse 22)

22 And he (Isaac) removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

I have to admit that this appears to paint Isaac in great light in terms of faith. He seems to trust in God to the point that whatever God allows to happen to him, he accepts, but moves on until he and his own are taken care of.

I love the tenacity and approach from Isaac. Jesus speaks to this attitude in the Beautitudes, saying,

Matthew 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

And Paul touches on it when he criticizes the believers in Corinth who were apparently suing each other and so he wrote in the sixth chapter of Corinthians

1st Corinthians 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
6 But brother “goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

It’s a mindset – admittedly not a great one in this world because it is focused on bigger things, spiritual things, that please the father but I would embrace it more and more as the Lord allows me to let go and trust that He will manage the bad actions of others – especially those of believers.

We recall that thousand plus years later from this moment Jesus will teach

Blessed are their peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. Isaac appears, even in the face of being wronged, to embrace this attitude.

As you all know, seeking peace, especially among believers, is a sign of spiritual maturity. It depicts the desire to get along as children of God are adopted into His family and the peace we seek to keep is a direct reflection of our love for Him and His naturally born Son whom we follow.

Again, Paul to the church at Corinth makes it plain why they are babes in the faith, and not mature when he says in 1st Corinthians 3

1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Meet someone who claims Christ as Lord – strive to abide with them in peace, allowing them to live the faith as they see fit, to believe what they want, practice how they want – they will anyway. But take the time to build them up in Him.

Discuss truth? Seek to grow each other? Sure. But refuse to strive as it is the hallmark of “zealous infants” demanding everything be their way and that they have everything right.

In dealing with the outside world, this approach it seems to be just as important a rule of thumb. Remembering

Romans 12:17-18 which says, Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

He adds at

Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

And the writer of Hebrews says

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

But there is another reason to make peace with all men besides the witness we give to the world that we are of Him and that is people who live and operate in this world and by its rules are better equipped to thrive in this place that children of Light.

The world has their wisdom in the Spirit of Man, their hearts relate to the ways of this place in contrast to us who hopefully have hearts and minds that relate and operate by the things of the Spirit.

Make war with the world and the typical outcome will be that the truly faith-filled will lose. If I have learned anything about myself in this world is I am not equipped to capitalize or thrive by its rules and ways.

I haven’t given enough of my heart and mind to learn them and whenever I step in the ring with a worldly opponent I typically get my head handed to me.

Speaking to this, Jesus said that

“the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”

Most of you know that both of my parents died within a hundred days of each other last year and I was left executor of their estate.

Without going into all the sordid details, family issues are always emotional but in the McCraney family the challenges were exceptionally ardent as my siblings are all fiercely independent, with one, an attorney, exceptional in the ways of the world and she was greatly insulted that I was left in charge.

This resulted in accusations flying, legal teams hired, ruthlessness, and threats and flat out mean-spiritedness.

After years of tutorials from the Word through the Spirit I was able, only by the grace of God, to meet every single attack, vicious insult against me and my person, and ever legal maneuver with peace, love and understanding.

It was not felt. It was a choice. But it was really my only true defense because had I got in the ring and attempted to battle it out legally or strategically or in any other way I would have lost.

My ego thinks I can handle things but the reality is I’m just not equipped.

I share this with you because the Lord showed me in and through this arduous road that when we Choose to embrace Him and reflect His ways, and look to Him in and through such, we, as believers, can survive.

And we have survived, even thrived with the estate being all but settled fairly, rightly and with me being able to show my LDS and atheist family, who were all watching everything I said and did, if I was who I claim to be.

So, let Him direct you, keep a light touch on the things of this world, allow the children of this world to have their way and when push comes to shove, trust that God will make all things right – He will. Then move on – like Isaac here. (verse 23)

23 And he (Isaac) went up from thence to Beersheba.
24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.

Are you a biblical literalist? Then what do you do with the lines:

And the LORD appeared unto Him the same night” compared to Jesus words in John 1:18

“No man hath seen God at any time?”

If you say that this was Jesus preincarnate then are you saying that Jesus is not YHWH?

And if you say that this was an angel or messenger of the LORD (like in other examples we have seen) then can you continue to claim to be a literalist?

As you know, I maintain that anytime we read about YHWH appearing to anyone anywhere in the Bible it is always a messenger of YHWH or a non-literal version of Him (like a fire, wind, or voice). Period. This is just another example of this (verse 25)

25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

Which means He invoked the name of the Living God (YHWH) whom He sought and served and was a very different deity than what the rest of the world operated by or gave allegiance.

This God would lead Him, His children and all of us who by faith are adopted into this very family in and through His promised Son in the future.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

We recall last week that Abimelech had asked Isaac to leave the area because the Philistines had envied him too much over him “becoming so great.” Now they appear to have come back to Isaac in his new area and he is asking why since they appeared to hate him when they sent him away.

28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.
30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

Reconciliation has been made between the men and especially in the heart of Isaac who appears to have felt slighted when Abimelech asked him to leave the area.

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

Shebah means, “an oath” and Beersheba means, “the well of the oath.” This gets a bit confusing if you are following along and trying to keep up with names as this was probably the same well which was called Beersheba in the time of Abraham but the Philistines appear to have filled it up, but now the servants of Isaac had reopened it. Therefore, the same name is given to it that it had before with the addition of a letter that added emphasis to its existence as not only meaning an oath but well of the oath.”

Then when it says that “the name of the city is Beer-sheba” this speaks to the name that was given to it a hundred years before this time but since the well from which it got its name originally was closed up by the Philistines the city name could have been lost during those years.
When Isaac reopened the well, he restored the ancient name of the place.

At this point we come back to Esau, first natural son of Isaac and Rebekah and the man who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage as Moses gives us an update on what he has been doing

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Esau is a natural man so there is no surprise that he took two wives that were not from their own people.

Scholars believe that these women were very likely daughters of chiefs among the Hittites and in and through these marriages Esau increased his secular power and influence in the land.

Where we read that these marriages were “a grief” of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah it speaks not to marriage itself but to whom he married.

The translation best means that it brought bitterness of spirit to the hearts of both Isaac and Rebekah and the “Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel,” adds that they “were addicted to idol worship causing Esau to rebel against his parents and the living God whom they served.”

We remember the Hittites being first mentioned when Abraham was alive and sought to purchase a cave in Canaan from one Ephrom the Hitte.

We will see them mentioned as a people that inhabited the Promised Land in Exodus 23:28, are mentioned as close allies with the Amorites and are frequently mentioned with them as inhabiting the mountains of Palestine.

According to Joshua, the Hittites will war against the Israelites later on but after this there aren’t many references to them in scripture except for a guy named “Ahimelech the Hittite” (in 1st Samuel 26:6) and then that of “Uriah the Hittite,” who was one of David’s “mighty men” whom David had killed to take his wife, Bathsheba.

We will hear of them as a people throughout the book of Kings.

From secular anthropologists we know what they looked like however as monuments depict them, without characterization, as people with yellow skin and with features fitting the Mogols with receding foreheads, oblique eyes, and protruding upper jaws.

Alright then, let’s get into Chapter 27 which lays out the big story between Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau.

Let’s read the verses we have time to cover starting at verse 1-10

Genesis 27:1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.
2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

Alright, back to verse 1 of chapter 27

Genesis 27:1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

It is believed, on pretty good information, that Isaac was now about 117 years of age and that Jacob and Esau are about fifty-seven.

The common view is Isaac is 137 and Jacob is seventy-seven. Who knows. All we can generally say is Isaac is old. But not that old relative to how long he lives from this point because we know that he lived another forty to forty-three years after this time because he will be alive when Jacob returns from “Padan-aram as recorded in Genesis 35:27.

So, Isaac calls for Esau who has married two Hittite women,

And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

It seems Isaac thought he was gonna die and was getting his house in order.

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

Regarding these words, weapons, quiver, and even bow, they cannot be taken literally, but they may be exact – can’t tell. Whatever Esau used – shields, swords, knives – “use them,” Isaac says and “go out and hunt.”

The word venison refers to any kind of antlered meat and comes from a Latin term that means, “to hunt.” I am so dumb in the things of this world I actually thought venison was the meat from a specific animal – like an Elk or even perhaps, the rarely seen, Venis animal.

All jokes aside all Isaac was telling him was to go and get some game via hunting (verse 4)

4 And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

Now, according to several sources, eating was a common precursor in that day and perhaps even today to the making of contracts, deals and religious rituals.

We see business carried out over means all over this world, right? Well, it was part of the Hebrew world too.

We see this in Jesus day, especially in the Last supper and quite frankly we would GREATLY employ eating here IF the call on my life was not to feed the flock the word of God.

My wife knows that I thoroughly enjoy hosting – hard to believe, I know – and love supplying people with food and drink.

If I believed that church was necessary and important to the faith today we would have had a kitchen here and food would be a huge part of our culture – because it does unite people in fellowship.

But I have a different focus.

Here, with Isaac and Esau, he tells his son go out and hunt, then make a savory dish that I love “THAT my soul may bless thee before I die.”

The scholars do not see this request as Isaac just being hungry or getting Esau to earn his blessing but instead with eating and drinking being used in almost all religious occasions (remember how a covenant was made? Dividing animals, or cutting them and walking between the parts) it is reasonable to suppose that something of this kind was essential to this event and that perhaps Isaac felt he could not even convey the right until he had eaten of the meat provided by the son who was to receive it.

Even pragmatically, eating and drinking would revive Isaac and strengthen him to bestow upon his eldest son the words which God would want him to say.

Therefore, bringing it all together then is seems that some:

covenants were deemed binding unless the parties had eaten together;
that to convey this blessing some ritual of this kind was necessary; and,
that Isaac’s strength was now greatly exhausted, insomuch that he supposed himself to be dying

We could just assume that this is what helps establish the treachery that was about to happen, but contextually it seems these elements had to be included in the narrative which Rebekah took advantage of. (verse 5)

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

Some souls suggest, without scriptural support, that Rebekah was lead of the Lord, verbally, through inspiration or via visitation, to do what she is about to do.

If this was true, I doubt she would have been led or required to use deceptive means to obtain the blessing for Jacob.

I think Rebekah had nothing of the kind happen and therefore had to resort to these highly dramatic and deceptive acts to accomplish her end goal. So, she says to Jacob

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

This plan of Rebekah to secure the patriarchal blessing for Jacob and therefore to seal his birthright leaves us with a central question: Did YHWH
approve of her deceit? (BEAT?)

Last week Ethan approached me with the question of, “Is it ever okay to lie?”

It’s not simple but there is an answer in my estimation. But let’s talk about this situation with Esau, Jacob, Isaac and Rebekah.

There are some other biblical examples that suggest that deception may sometimes serve the cause of righteousness and actually please the Lord.

One example of this is seen in Exodus where the COI before the Exodus are told to borrow jewelry from the Egyptians but they never return it, or where Jesus says to “agree with your adversary quickly,” or where He instructs his apostles to be wise as serpents and harmless as sheep.

One of the most intriguing parables Jesus tells in his life is the one about the wise steward found in Luke 16 where we read but will not cover today. There he says

1 There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

What are we to say to that?

I am also confronted in my mind with the importance of obscurity or transparency in doing the will of God when Jesus was being questioned by the Jews at his trial and says in John 18:19-20

The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.

But we know that He did privately teach His apostles things between themselves as a means to prepare them for what they would do in His name that were NOT shared with the public.

Is there a time when believers, on God’s errand, should be wise as serpents and harmless as doves?

A time when asked questions to withhold honest or open responses?

It seems so. And it seems God authored.

But in the case of Rebekah, we have a different situation because this was not God authored nor did she approach the issue, according to the text, honestly.

We never read of God correcting her but as typical of Hebrew literature the discipline from God will come down the pike on those who do wrong in God’s eyes.

Will he let them act? Yes, and this is a straight up witness to Him using our evil choices to bring about His means.

But we do have some things that suggest God was not pleased with the way in which the patriarchal blessing was obtained though he used the way to bring about His will.

First, Rebekah, at least based on what was written, never appears to try and get Isaac to change his mind about giving the blessing to Jacob first.

If God was leading her and Isaac chose to ignore the advice we might see her act as acceptable. But this does not seem to be the case.

Pointing to God’s disapproval we notice that Moses never mentions Rebekah’s death which is unusual because all the other patriarchal wives are yet she is given no memorial or record of burial.

Then we will see how God works with Jacob who here was not afraid of deceiving his father but was only afraid of being caught.

I mean he will go so far as to literally blaspheme the name of God to Isaac in the truest sense when he pretends to have been blessed of God in a fictional hunt.

God will reprimand Jacob for his ways later but Jacob was ordained for a specific calling in God’s redemptive plan, and so God appears to allows the craftiness of mother and son to pass the blessing from Isaac to Jacob.

The subject gets tricky when we consider God being all knowing but we don’t have time to travel down that road.

In the end it seems that God’s providence is such that His plans will never be thwarted but being Good he would never endorse or move people to sin to bring His will about.

This speaks volumes on His working in and through fallen Man to accomplish His plans.

I mean He often uses our weakness, sins and failures to accomplish his redemption for the world and it is in this sense I think we should see the Rebekah/Jacob story.

We will stop here and continue on next week.

Questions/Comments/Prayer

David
Laura
Eric
My own family – daughters, sons in law, wife and grandchildren
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