- They lived in Canaan
- Both were rich
- They built an altar and called on the name of the Lord
- Told Abimelech (a title) that their wife was their sister to protect their own lives
- Wives were both beautiful
- God promised them that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars
- There was a famine in the land
- Abraham prayed for God to heal the women that were barren, Isaac prayed for his wife Rebekah because she was barren
- God healed these women after they prayed
- Abraham and Isaac's two firstborn children were sons that did not get along
Now some of this you could chalk up to the regular similarities in families: social class, location, marriage and kids. But they both lied to the king of Gerar and said their wives were their sisters. They both did this for fear of losing their own lives, thinking the king would want their beautiful wives for himself. Both times this is after God told them they would have as many descendants as the number of stars!
I am trying to wrap my head around this. We just read a few sentences in context of the whole Bible and we think, why do these people struggle so much? Why don't they get it? God's got this. But as we try to put ourselves in their circumstances we might realize how similar we are.
Isaac, while one of the Patriarchs, didn't have an easy life. His dad bound him on an altar and lifted a sword to sacrifice him. He had a difficult, at best, relationship with his older 1/2 brother. Both of his parents had died. It took 20 years for his wife to get pregnant. His twin boys did not get along. And now there is a famine in the land. Not an ideal life.
Instead of going to Egypt for food, God tells Isaac to stay in Gerar. And he obeys. He is now living among the Philistines, who must be pretty horrible if Isaac fears for his life. I wonder if Isaac's eyes had drifted from looking up at the stars, remembering God and His promises. And now they are on his difficult circumstances. Had his dad warned him about Gerar,or the people there? Did Isaac have fear already instilled in him? I can't get over this generational sin...
No matter how they arrived there, we know that fear is not from God. Are you fearful of someone or some circumstance? Maybe you can look up into the night sky (or imagine it if it is cloudy where you are too) and see those same stars shown to Abraham and Isaac. And remember Genesis 18:14 when Isaac is promised to Sarah and God says, "Is anything too difficult for the LORD?"
No, nothing is too difficult, even changing your legacy. If you have some sin that keeps repeating in your family, ask God to intervene, acknowledge that you need His help. As we depend on Him, He can rewrite our story instead of us repeating past mistakes.
I am trying to wrap my head around this. We just read a few sentences in context of the whole Bible and we think, why do these people struggle so much? Why don't they get it? God's got this. But as we try to put ourselves in their circumstances we might realize how similar we are.
Isaac, while one of the Patriarchs, didn't have an easy life. His dad bound him on an altar and lifted a sword to sacrifice him. He had a difficult, at best, relationship with his older 1/2 brother. Both of his parents had died. It took 20 years for his wife to get pregnant. His twin boys did not get along. And now there is a famine in the land. Not an ideal life.
Instead of going to Egypt for food, God tells Isaac to stay in Gerar. And he obeys. He is now living among the Philistines, who must be pretty horrible if Isaac fears for his life. I wonder if Isaac's eyes had drifted from looking up at the stars, remembering God and His promises. And now they are on his difficult circumstances. Had his dad warned him about Gerar,or the people there? Did Isaac have fear already instilled in him? I can't get over this generational sin...
No matter how they arrived there, we know that fear is not from God. Are you fearful of someone or some circumstance? Maybe you can look up into the night sky (or imagine it if it is cloudy where you are too) and see those same stars shown to Abraham and Isaac. And remember Genesis 18:14 when Isaac is promised to Sarah and God says, "Is anything too difficult for the LORD?"
No, nothing is too difficult, even changing your legacy. If you have some sin that keeps repeating in your family, ask God to intervene, acknowledge that you need His help. As we depend on Him, He can rewrite our story instead of us repeating past mistakes.
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