He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8)
Even though there were not many events and details of the life of Isaac recorded within the Bible, God proclaimed multiple times to His chosen people: “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exo 3:15-16). God proclaimed Himself to be the God of Isaac, thus there is much to learn from his good example. He listened only to the words of God, relied solely upon Him, and he was able to dwell in the land God blessed him with forever. Today, God will also be the God of each and everyone of us, that we might have reunion in the Kingdom of the Everlasting and Living God. From the recordings in the Bible we can see that in terms of spiritual faith, Isaac was a good example, was blessed by the Lord and he gained the favour of the Lord.
Starting from a young age, Isaac was meek and was often mocked by Ishmael (Gen 21:8); in his youth, he was obedient to his father Abraham as the two walked together, having simple conversations until they arrived at the place appointed by God. There they built an altar, set up the wood that Isaac was carrying on his back, and bounded Isaac to be sacrificed as a burnt offering (Gen22:7-10). After Isaac grew up, he was also obedient to his father as he took a wife for Isaac (Gen 24:4,66-67). From these incidences we can see the wonderful characteristics of Isaac, he was meek, quiet, and obedient to both his father and to God.
During Abraham’s time, there was a famine in the southern part of the land, so he went down to Egypt (Gen 12:10), and after that he sojourned in Gerar which belonged to the Philistines (Gen 20:1-18). Abraham lied to the Pharaoh of Egypt and Abimelech, king of Gerar, stating that Sarah was his sister (Gen 12:1,2; 20:2). In the same way, there was also a famine during the time of Isaac, and he wanted to follow in the steps of his father and go down to Egypt, passing by Gerar and Abimelech on the way. He wanted to do so even though he was afraid of the inhabitants of Gerar that they might kill him due to the beauty of his wife Rebecca, however God wanted him to remain in Gerar and not leave. Thus, Isaac did the same as his father had done by lying and stating that Rebecca was his sister, which almost brought disaster upon himself. However, due to his obedience to God, he did not depart from Gerar, so the Lord abided with him and blessed him and promised to grant him a beautiful land as well as descendants like the stars of heaven, that all nations in the Earth shall be blessed through his descendants. This was all because of the promise God made concerning Abraham, and because of Abraham’s obedience by keeping His instructions, commandments, laws and statues (Gen 26:3-5). Isaac followed likewise, was blessed, had abundant lands, reaped a hundred-fold and gradually became a very wealthy and strong household.
Due to the envy of others, Isaac was forced to depart. After his departure, he reaped a hundred-fold and moved to the valley of Gerar. He pitched his tent and lived a simple life of sojourning, again digging and finding the plugged well which Abraham dug while he was also sojourning in this land, even naming this well in the same name which his father Abraham had named it. Isaac’s servants then dug a well of living water, which caused an argument with the local herdsmen, who claimed that his well belonged to them. In this dry and vast wilderness, both water and grass are as precious as life and no one would be willing to give them up. However, Isaac gave up the well, and later on his servants dug another well, again causing an argument. So Isaac gave up that well and moved elsewhere, where he dug again and found another well of living water. This time, no one dared to come and argue so he named that well ‘Rehoboth’ meaning broad places, believing that the Lord would grant him abundance. Within this nomadic lifestyle in the wilderness, a well is the fountain of life for both the men and the animals. It is not within the nature of a herdsman to let others take possession of the well which he dug, and it is not a practice a herdsman should do. However, Isaac relied on God and did what ordinary people did not dare to do. He did not quarrel, he had a humble heart, was full of mercy, and was abundant in peace and longsuffering. He exerted great love and was courageous to give up this well in his difficulty, so that others could see his pure heart before God and how he was willing to hand all things over to Him. This caused God to be pleased and he was blessed even more.
Even though Isaac was away in a foreign land due to disasters, he was still abundantly blessed by God. Throughout this time, he had faced the envy of others, departed from the land, dug wells, and gave up wells before finally arriving in Beersheba. The name of the place Beersheba means ‘well of the oath’ (Gen 21:31); and due to the abidance of God, his enemies were compelled to make a covenant with Isaac because they saw God’s abidance in him.
The beauty of the wonderful land of Canaan which God promised actually lies within His abidance, as well as the true peace and calmness within Him. As Isaac built an altar here and called on the Name of the Lord, Isaac returned to a life of faith with God as the centre, which was pleasing to God. Due to Isaac’s obedience, the foreign nations could see God abiding with him, which was why they made a covenant with Isaac and glorified the Name of God. He proclaimed a feast, invited and welcomed Abimelech and his servants instead of viewing them as an enemy, thus showing how brave and fearless he was due to his obedience in God.
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