The Book of Genesis
Part 48
Before pursuing our studies in the life of Isaac, we must finish our brief examination into the characters of Esau and Jacob. Later we shall return to investigate the details of the life of Jacob. In the meantime, notice:
He was deceptive: There was little deception in the purchase of the birthright, it was open barter; but in the matter of the patriarchal blessing Jacob became notoriously deceptive. Throughout life it seems as if he reaped the harvest of his own sowing. Laban beguiled him on his wedding day, and on ten occasions changed his wages (Gen. 31:41). Jacob’s life is a proof that “whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).
He was loving: if the fraud committed by Jacob has become proverbial, similarly, his love for Rachel has become famous, “Jacob loved Rachel; … And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her” (Gen. 29:20).
He was loyal: Only a loyal and responsible person would have remained so long with Laban. Amidst all his failures there is readily detected in Jacob an admirable fidelity to others. What a rare quality today! A constant fidelity to friends frequently compensates for the lack of other qualities in personality.
He was a learner: We shall see as we persue our study of Jacob that through divine discipline in the school of experience, Jacob was being taught of God. That he learned some of his lessons well seems obvious for he is found among the heroes of faith mentioned in the New Testament, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph: and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff” (Heb. 11:21). He who in early life was a deceiver, at its close was a disciple. He who worried during his prime, worshipped in his decline. He who plotted schemes for selfish purposes, closed his days presenting spiritual sacrifices to God’s praise.
In the Community
We have considered Isaac’s life in his sorrow and in his home. We must now consider his behaviour in the community.
There are three different experiences recorded as taking place in the different communities in which the patriarch resided. Let us investigate these experiences separately.
The trial: “There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham.” This, no doubt, was a test of faith. How frequently the traits and tendencies of a father are reproduced in a son! The power of an example is immeasurable! We read about Abraham, “There was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there” (Gen. 12:10). It was during this period in Egypt that Abraham obtained Hagar, the young woman whose presence in his home resulted in much grief.
One cannot believe that Isaac was totally ignorant of Abraham’s departure from the land under the circumstances of a famine and its resulting sorrow. In spite of his probable understanding of this episode in his father’s life, the first intention of Isaac, under the same circumstance, was to follow his father’s example and go down into Egypt for help.
James declares, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life” (Jas. 1:12). Peter adds to this a word of encouragement, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:7).
The promise: How wonderful are the interventions of divine grace! At this critical point, we read, “The Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn this land (Gerar), and I will be with thee.” Moreover, at this time God confirmed to Isaac the covenant that He made with his father Abraham, saying, “I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.”
If Isaac, without seeking counsel from God, had started out for Egypt, walking by sight, in the grace of His heart the Lord set before him the pathway of faith. Isaac intended to go to Egypt in search of bread; God stopped him on the way and gave him a covenant. He sought contentment for the natural man; God gave him satisfaction for the spiritual man.
The failure: At Gerar, the father’s weaknesses are reproduced in the son. Isaac, because of his beautiful wife, even as was Abraham, is filled with the dread of the corrupt men of the place. To save himself from a feared violent death, he tells a deliberate lie and exposes his wife to grave moral danger. His degraded expediency which according to verse eight must have been for “a long time,” resulted in a sharp rebuke from the heathen Abimelch, who apparently was a man of high moral integrity. There is nothing sadder than that a child of God be rebuked for his sin by a man of the world.
In spite of the gracious blessing of the Lord upon him, we could not conclude that Isaac’s sojourn in Gerar was a spiritual success.