https://open.spotify.com/episode/7b0m4mGg0R7pvYvT6A62bd

A famine, similar to the one during Abraham’s time, ravishes the land and Isaac, like his father moved to the land of Gerar. The age old saying that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree holds true as we see Isaac introducing Rebekah as his sister to Abimelek.

Like his father misjudged Abimelek, similarly Isaac distanced himself with Rebekah for no apparent reason. The king of Gerar never laid a hand on him even after finding out that Isaac had lied to him.

In the second part of the chapter we see that Issac had become too prosperous for Abimelek’s liking and he eventually asked Isaac to move away from their land.

We admire Jesus for his now infamous sermon on the mount but they remain as quotable verses for us and not as the guiding principles of our lives.

If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. – Matthew 5:39

We see how God continually blessed Isaac wherever he went. Isaac would come to a new place and lo and behold that place would become the most prosperous place in the land. Isaac had the confidence that God will continue to provide in a similar fashion. He had no problem turning the other cheek and kept moving away from quarrels.

Sometimes we get embroiled in quarrels and fighting for what we believe is our right, that we ignore God’s will in our lives. That is exactly what satan was hoping for when he brought the quarrels in your lives. Our time and energy is spent in proving our case rather than moving forward and obeying the will of God in our lives.

Like Isaac, I pray that we can all trust that the Lord will continue to provide even when the circumstances seem to be to overwhelming. God did provide the ram in lieu of Isaac and God will surely provide us with new beginnings if we let go of our past.

Questions Discussed in this Podcast –
V2: Why did God command Isaac to not go down to Egypt during the famine?
V7: Why did Isaac lie just like his father?
V11: Why is Abimelek showing kindness to Isaac?
V19: Why were wells so important?
What can we learn from Isaac’s attitude of always moving to another land when others seized his wells?