“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the Lord appeared to him and said: Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you” (vs1-2).
Obedience is blessed of God and brings fruit.
First, we are better off doing what God says do, because He is with us and will bless it. He says, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you” (vs1-5). We have our fears, but He cares for us as we do His will, providing all that we need, the Spirit.
We get the most by doing God's will, which is loving each other as He gave command. Our Lord said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ” (John 14:34). Walking in Christ is superior to the flesh, blessed, and pleasurable to the doer. Obedience, as seen by the life of Abraham and Jesus, is the path of more blessing; it is rewarded by the Lord who blesses righteousness and loves those who obey Him. He said, “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Gen 26:4-5). Never forget sin is the enemy, and obedience is the remedy.
Secondly, believer's seek peace (vs12-22). God's blessing makes men hate us, but being blessed and a blessing, we do them good, loving when they are wrong. Isaac built wells, had strife over them, and then peaceably left to build others. We read, “Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, The water is ours. So he called the name of the well Esek... Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land” (vs19-22). If love rules, then blessings continue, and we are inwardly changed to surrender our "rights" and do sinners good when they are wrong. We read, “Therefore, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head” (Rom 12:20). We forgive, give, compromise, and do what we can as peacemakers, and thereby peace grows and man's hate drives us more singularly to Christ and thereby more fruit and love come because of it. Don't say, “They hate me, so I will handle it myself”. Keep obeying, and God is pleased.
Lastly, if we come to Christ or His elect sons seeking peace, then we get it (vs26-31). If we see Him “blessed”, and want in on it, even if we've been wrong, He'll help us, making covenant promise to do us good, and not evil. Abimelech saw that Isaac was blessed and eventually “came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 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, 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 peace. 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” (vs26-31). He forgives sin and willingly saves sinners , forgetting the past in His blood and giving us the good, though we're sinners still. Abimelech wrongly said, “since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good”, but God received him anyway. Thus, if you see Christ exalted, if you see the saints blessed of God, then get in on it. We receive broken sinners FREELY!
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