Are you honest?
Are you prosperous? Do you choose your battles wisely? And what do these have
to do with peace?
Today in our study we’re returning
to peace. Specifically Shalom, again.
A peace characterized by wellness, happiness, friendliness, and welfare. Other
examples include health, prosperity, peace — having or finding a friend, favor,
rest, and safety.
It’s the type of peace I think most
of us would like to possess and rest in. It’s certainly something worth seeking
and working toward — a heart soaked in peace; a life and position of favor with
God and man; a spirit confidently and serenely at rest, and a life hedged in
safety.
As we move forward (after examining
peace in death) in the Book of Genesis, we arrive at Shalom again in Genesis
26:29-31. But to fully understand what is happening here and why Shalom is the
subject (and result), we’ll backtrack to the beginning of Chapter 26. There we
find a famine breaking out that causes Abraham’s son Isaac to pack up his tent
and family and go in search of a new, more fruitful dwelling place. He ends up
making friends with the Philistine king, Abimelech, and settling in a place
called Gerar, after God tells him to plunk his tent pins down there.
Unfortunately, Isaac doesn’t get off
on the right foot with the Philistine King. In order to save his own skin,
Isaac lies to King Abimelech when he tells the King that his wife, Rebekah, is
his sister. (A sorry lie his own father Abraham told about his own wife, Sarah,
for the same feeble reason.) The King figures out Isaac’s lie after Abimelech sees
Isaac and Rebekkah being romantic with one another. He calls Isaac out on his
lie, and Isaac confesses. Abimelech graciously lets it go and establishes an
official charge of protection over Isaac in the land.
So, after his confession, Isaac
establishes himself there and becomes exceedingly prosperous. (In those days,
that means acquiring a lot of good, bountiful crops, animal herds, flocks, and
servants.) And, as happens so frequently where human egos and coveting hearts
are involved, the Philistines eyeball Isaac’s prosperity and — surprise! — are
smitten with envy. And King Abimelech boots Isaac out of the area because he
fears Isaac’s prosperity. (It could also be that Abimelech is trying to un-do
Isaac’s prosperity and believes
running him off will weaken Isaac’s wealth.)
Isaac doesn’t argue. He packs up,
leaves his prosperous land, relocates to the Valley of Gerar and re-digs a well
his father Abraham had previously dug, and that been backfilled with earth and
stopped-up by the Philistines. Then Isaac digs another well that produces
running water. The Philistine herdsmen get into a quarrel with Isaac’s herdsmen
about who has rights to the well and its water. The Philistine herdsmen say
it’s theirs. Isaac doesn’t combat them; he just digs another well, and the same
thing happens — quarreling over water rights. So, once again, Isaac gives up
that well and successfully digs yet another one.
On this third well, he doesn’t
encounter any quarreling or water rights problems. Hallelujah! (Translation:
Praise Be to God!) And at this location, God tells him to pitch his tent. He
also tells Isaac that he will prosper, per the agreement God had already set up
with Isaac’s dad, Abraham. God is making good on a generational promise. And
Isaac is the recipient. He builds an altar to God there and digs another well
to sustain his burgeoning flocks.
Well…all of this news about
successful digging (Isaac found good and plentiful water wherever he went) and
continual prosperity (remember, there’s a famine in the land) must have gotten
back to good King Abimelech because the king himself goes through the hassle of
mounting up (on a horse or camel, Scripture doesn’t say what) and riding out to
have a chat with Isaac. Abimelech also takes along a friend and the commander
of his army, so this meeting is an official, and friendly, get-together. And
Abimelech is pretty wise in making sure he has witnesses on his side for this
meeting.
And that is where we pick up the
story, at verse 27.
And Isaac said to them, “Why have
you come to me, since you hate me and have
sent me away from you?”
But they said, “We have certainly
seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, ‘Let there
now be an oath
between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you,
that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and
since we have done
nothing to you but good and have sent you away
in Shalom. You are now the blessed of
the LORD."
So he made them a feast, and they
ate and drank. Then they arose early in the morning
and swore an oath
with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from
him in
peace.
Isaac doesn’t rehash the stories of
all of the quarreling and moving and quarreling and moving, or utter negative
assessments about the greedy Philistine herdsmen. He’s generous toward
Abimelech, and they come to a peace treaty. A treaty of Shalom. Where it will
be well with everyone; and there will be prosperity, rest, and safety.
And it will go well with Isaac.
Just like it can go well with you!
Questions to Ponder
1. Like King
Abimelech, have you ever forfeited the peace in your heart because you have
looked upon someone else’s prosperity and envied it, and them? Write down some
situations that come to mind.
Has your friendship with someone been
broken because of prosperity envy? Did you “send
them away” because it
bothered your heart so much to see them prosper when you were
not
prospering? Write down the person's name and the source of your envy and ask God to
help remove that envy from your heart. After your envy is removed, contact that person
to ask them to forgive you for your envy of them.
Has anyone ever envied you because
of your prosperity? How did they react to it, and
you? How did you
handle the situation? Did you remove yourself from them like Isaac
did?
Should you have removed yourself, in order to diffuse the envy and
resulting
tension? How might that have helped both you and the envier?
2. In today’s study,
we read about how God blessed Isaac because of the promise He made to Isaac’s
father Abraham to do so. Abraham was a man of God, and God blessed him for his
faithfulness. (See the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, for a
list of people God blessed for their faithfulness.) Isaac received the blessing of peace because of a promise made to someone else.
Can you think of any blessings you
receive because of the faithfulness of your fathers
or forefathers?
Can you think of ways that your
faithfulness in God can become a blessing to your
children and grandchildren — a
multigenerational blessing? Ask God to give you insight
on how you can pass
on blessings to your children through your faithfulness.
Pray a prayer of thanks to your
fathers, for the blessings you are receiving
now that are the result of them and
their actions.
3. Isaac does
not fight back or make a stake on his hard-earned claim. (It’s not easy to dig a good well
in a famished land!) After his herdsmen quarrel with the Philistine herdsmen
over water rights, and even after all of that labor had been done, Isaac does not put his foot
down, stand his ground, and go head-to-head with the Philistine herdsmen. He
packs up his belongings and family and moves on. He trusts God to provide for
him wherever he goes.
Is there a time in your life where you should not have
fought so hard for your “rights”?
Would peace have resulted more quickly and fully if you had walked away and let
injustice
prevail?
Obviously, there are clearly times
when we must stand our ground and
seek justice, but
those times
and events require much prayer, wisdom and discernment. If there is
a confrontation
facing you right now, ask God for wisdom on whether you should
endure a fight for “justice” or simply walk away and seek peace, without
retribution.
If you want to follow God’s leading
and walk away, but your ego stands in
the way of that action, ask God to
give you the strength to pursue peace.
4. In the end, King
Abimelech heard about Isaac’s prosperity, and he reacted wisely to that
knowledge.
Do others notice that you are
prosperous and blessed? Do they make comments about
it? In positive, or
derogatory ways?
Do you try to downplay your blessings? (Isaac did not.) Do
you give credit to the One
who is bestowing
those blessings upon you, like Isaac did, by building his altar and
praising God?
Notice what King Abimelech says to
Isaac: “We have certainly seen that the LORD is
with you.”
Abimelech, a pagan, acknowledges who is making Isaac prosperous, and I
think
Abimelech is smart enough to know that not even he can, or
should, combat that
reality.
There’s a true story about a very
successful businessman who purchased some land he hoped would not be so
prosperous and would help reduce his substantial income taxes. But not only was
this man prosperous, he was also extremely generous with his bounty. His
intentions did not go as planned, however. The land he bought ended up making
him a lot of extra money, which he proceeded to give away. When asked how was
it that he was so prosperous in all things, he responded, “Well, I shovel it
out and God shovels it back in. And God’s got a bigger shovel!”
King Abimelech, and this man, give
credit to whom credit is due. Is it the same with you,
or do you take credit
for your prosperity? Although prosperity does
require hard work
(like ardent well digging) rarely does a person become prosperous without being helped
or
mentored by someone else. (Like King Abimelech
who let Isaac stay in his land.)
Take some time to think about all of
the people, and prayers, that have
gone into making you prosperous.
Write them down. Thank God for them.
5. From this
passage, there is a distinct implication that when you are strong and
prosperous, others notice and are more likely to take steps to live in peace
with you.
How might that fact apply to your
life, or your country’s stability?
6. Finally, obviously,
Abimelech recognized something special in Isaac, and he wanted to reap
some
benefits from that. What kind of positive effects can your prosperity have on others, especially
if they’re watching you and your life? Are you ready to tell them the source of your prosperity
when they ask you about it? Are you willing to share that good news, and your prosperity with
them?
What things did
we learn from today’s study?
1. Isaac chose
his battles wisely.
2. Isaac was
prosperous — and able to live in Shalom — because of a promise made to someone
else.
3. Isaac became
prosperous, and lived in peace, through another person’s generosity.
4. Isaac became
prosperous, and lived in peace, because God made Him prosperous.
5. Isaac started
on his road to prosperity and peace by being honest.
6. Both Isaac
and King Abimelech give credit where credit is due. And Isaac
builds an altar
of thanks to the Lord for His blessings.
7. When you are
strong and prosperous, others notice. While some may try to take that
prosperity from you, others are more likely to take steps to live in peace with
you. (Note: I am not using this passage to preach a “prosperity gospel.” I am
using it to establish a foundation by which we can better live in Shalom with
others.)
Next week we
will take our peace-hunting treasure map and take a time-machine jump forward
to see what Isaac’s son Jacob is up to, and how he seeks a Shalom type of
peace.
Until then, may
your week be full of blessings that you receive and give, your heart be full of joy and
thankfulness, and your days be filled with laughter! Build a little heaven in
your life right now, and watch your heavenly garden grow!
In
Christ’s love and peace,
Andrea
When the eyes of the soul looking
out meet the eyes of God looking in, heaven has begun right here on earth. ~ A. W. Tozer
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