June 3, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 16
FAMILY BIBLE SERIES:
God's people are to propogate peace purposely
___Genesis 26:12-33
___By Barbara Kent
___University Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___Looking around at the world, very little peace is to be seen. Violence, conflict, war, rage and terrorism lead the headlines of every news broadcast and of every daily newspaper. Anything but peace characterizes many homes and families. Even churches and denominations quarrel.
___Is this what the Lord wants? What does he expect from his people? Is peace possible? How can we achieve it?
___Isaac: An unlikely _peacemaker
___Isaac, the son of Abraham, spent most of his life overshadowed by his father and other family members. Except for the promises God made to him, it would be easy to relegate him to the back benches of the Bible. However, the promises God made to Isaac outshine any Abraham received.
___Certainly there was little in Isaac's character to endear him as one of the great patriarchs, but God had a purpose for Isaac. And as my Old Testament professor husband says, "God can hit a hard lick with a crooked stick."
___Isaac failed more tests of faith than he passed. Still, God used him as a peacemaker. This study focuses on a vignette from his life that shows Isaac as a peacemaker, even if an unlikely one.
___In the path of conflict
___God did not allow Isaac to flee to Egypt in the midst of famine. Instead, he instructed Isaac to settle in Gerar where Abimelech was king (26:1-2). God promised to be with Isaac and to bless him and his descendants. And so Isaac stayed.
___His first test in trusting the Lord came when the men of Gerar were attracted to his wife, Rebekah. Fearing for himself but demonstrating no concern for Rebekah, Isaac told the men she was his sister (26:6-8). Apparently nothing happened to Rebekah because of Isaac's selfish action, but she, more than he, was at risk.
___One day by accident, Abimelech happened to see Isaac tenderly touching Rebekah and realized she was his wife (26:8-9). Abimelech confronted Isaac to say his actions might have brought serious consequences for Rebekah and guilt to the men of Gerar (26:10). Isaac was saved from his foolishness by accident, but saved he was.
___God's blessings produce jealousy and quarrels
___Isaac stayed in Gerar long enough to plant crops and reap an abundant harvest and become wealthy (vv. 12-13). He was the envy of his Philistine neighbors. They demonstrated their envy by filling the wells that had been dug by the servants of Abraham (v. 15). Abimelech told Isaac to leave because he had become too powerful for the two men to coexist (v. 16).
___So Isaac moved farther away from Abimelech to an area known as Wadi Gerar, an area where the availability of water depended on the amount of rainfall. Isaac responded to the vandalism of the Philistines in a peaceful way. Instead of retaliating, he simply redug the wells that had been filled, giving them the names Abraham had given them (v. 18).
___His servants dug a new well. Again, the Philistine herdsmen quarreled with Isaac's servants, saying the water was theirs. This happened more than once. Finally, Isaac dug a completely new well and named it Rehoboth, saying, "For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land" (v. 22).
___To his credit, Isaac responded to all of the trouble in a peaceful manner. He demonstrated patience and perseverance. Rather than fight back, he showed contentment in finding a place to settle where he was not challenged. He gave the Lord credit for providing a place for him (v. 22).
___God continues to bless Isaac
___Isaac moved again, this time to Beersheba. The Lord appeared to him and again promised to be with him and to bless him. Isaac built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, settled in, and his servants again dug a well.
___Abimelech had been aware the Lord was with Isaac (v. 26). He made the trip from Gerar to Beersheba to see Isaac. Isaac was surprised to see him. Abimelech acknowledged it was evident the Lord was with Isaac. He obviously felt he was no match for the Lord, and so he asked Isaac to covenant to do him no harm and to live in peace. Isaac agreed. Isaac was the unlikely peacemaker, blessed by the Lord, and given peace because of those blessings.
___Learning from Isaac
___Isaac did not seek the role of peacemaker, but he did face difficult situations in a peaceful manner. We can learn from his example. We, too, encounter people who do not act as they should, who are quarrelsome and hostile. Isaac was blessed by the Lord. So are we. Isaac acknowledged God's blessings and responded in appropriate worship. So can we. Because of our relationship to the Lord, we have inner peace. The peace which God gives to us can enable us to live in peace in a hostile world.
___Questions for discussion
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