Isaac’s Wells And Covenant. They said, “We see clearly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, ‘There should now be an oath between us [with a curse for the one who breaks it], that is, between you and us, and let us make a covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you,
that you will not harm us, just as we have not touched you and have done nothing but good to you and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed and favored of the LORD!'” Gen 26:28-29
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. GOD AND THE CHOSEN FAMILY, Genesis 12-50
2. The History of Isaac and Jacob, Genesis 25:19-35:29
46. What wells did Isaac dig and what may we learn from them?
ISAAC’S WELLS AND COVENANT
Now Isaac again dug [and reopened] the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, because the Philistines had filled them up [with dirt] after the death of Abraham; and he gave the wells the same names that his father had given them.
But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing [spring] water,
the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek (quarreling), because they quarreled with him.
Then his servants dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so Isaac named it Sitnah (enmity).
He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over that one; so he named it Rehoboth (broad places), saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be prosperous in the land.”
Then he went up from there to Beersheba.
The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father; Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless and favor you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham.”
So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD [in prayer]. He pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, his [close friend and confidential] adviser, and Phicol, the commander of his army.
Isaac said to them, “Why have you [people] come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”
They said, “We see clearly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, ‘There should now be an oath between us [with a curse for the one who breaks it], that is, between you and us, and let us make a covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you,
that you will not harm us, just as we have not touched you and have done nothing but good to you and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed and favored of the LORD!'”
Then Isaac held a [formal] banquet (covenant feast) for them, and they ate and drank.
They got up early in the morning and swore oaths [pledging to do nothing but good to each other]; and Isaac sent them on their way and they left him in peace.
Now on the same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, saying, “We have found water.”
So he named the well Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. [Gen_21:31]
When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite as his wives;
and they were a source of grief to [Esau’s parents] Isaac and Rebekah.
ISAAC’S WELLS AND COVENANT
It is interesting to follow Isaac in his well-digging. Let us also dig wells and set streams flowing, which will bless men long after we have gone home to heaven. The first well was Esek-strife. The second, Sitnah-hatred. The third, Rehoboth-room. Thus is human life, too often, till it ends with Sheba-oath or covenant. But even the outward repose to which life may attain, as the result of the struggles of earlier life, may be interrupted by anxiety and trial, caused by children or grandchildren. Esau’s marriage brought endless trouble in its train. And grief of mind will sow life with thorns. Let children take care lest they give needless pain to those who love them. That which hurts tender and true hearts is not likely to carry with it the blessing of God. As soon as a wandering soul gets back to God even his enemies make peace with him; he is at least secure from their hurt. See Pro_16:7.
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 26:18-35
II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)
B. Isaac (25:19–26:35)
2. Isaac and Abimelech (Chap. 26)
26:18-25 The Philistines had stopped up the wells which Abraham had dug—an unfriendly act signifying that the newcomers were not welcome. Isaac cleaned out the wells. Strife ensued with the Philistines at Esek (contention) and Sitnah (enmity). Finally Isaac moved away from the Philistines. This time there was no strife when he dug a well, so he called it Rehoboth (broad places or room). He went from there to Beersheba, where the LORD reassured him with the promise of blessing, and where Isaac built an altar (worship), pitched a tent (abiding), and dug a well (refreshment). Just as water is a basic essential in the physical realm, so is the water of the Word in the spiritual.
26:26-33 Concerning verses 26-31, Williams says:
It is when Isaac definitely separates himself from the men of Gerar that they come to him seeking blessing from God . . . . The Christian best helps the world when living in separation from it. . . .
Isaac’s servants . . . found water the same day that Isaac made a nonaggression pact with Abimelech. Abraham had previously named the place Beersheba because he made a covenant there with his contemporary, Abimelech (Gen_21:31). Now, under similar circumstances, Isaac renames it Shebah or Beersheba.
26:34, 35 Esau’s marriage to Judith and Basemath, two pagan women, caused grief to his parents, as have many other unequal yokes since then. It also brought out further his unfitness for the birthright.
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