By
Dan & Brenda Cathcart
The
video version is available at: https://youtu.be/ajiuU80-2JE
The
Scripture reading is Genesis 26:1-35
The
Torah portion this week, titled Toldot which means generations, tells us the
story of Isaac and his sons. As the story begins, we see many parallels with
the life of his father Abraham. They both had wives who were barren; they had
sons who were at odds with each other. They both had an encounter with King
Abimelech which ended in the establishment of a covenant. What do these
parallels tell us about the promised seed that would come through Abraham and
Isaac? What does Isaac’s life teach us about walking with God?
As
the Torah portion opens, we learn that Isaac was forty years old when he married
Rebekah.
Genesis 25:19-20 NKJV 19 This is the
genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty
years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of
Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.
We
pick up the account of Isaac’s life when he is a grown man of forty, which is three
years after the death of his mother Sarah. The only event that we know about of
Isaac’s life prior to Sarah’s death is that of his own near death by sacrifice.
Jewish tradition credits the binding of Isaac as the cause of Sarah’s death.
The sages teach that the narratives of
Sarah’s death and the Akeidah follow one another to indicate that she died as a
result of that event. She was told by Satan that Abraham had actually
slaughtered Isaac, and she cried out in grief and died (Targum Yonason).[i]
If
the binding of Isaac was the cause of Sarah’s death, then Isaac would have been
thirty-seven years old and Abraham one hundred thirty-seven years old when
Isaac consented to be bound for the sacrifice. At those ages, Abraham would not
have been able to forcibly bind Isaac. That Isaac consented to being bound
demonstrates his complete trust and faith in both Abraham and God.
The
death of his mother, however, deeply grieved Isaac. He lived away from Abraham
near Beer Lahai Roi which means the “Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” Isaac
was out in the field when Eliezer arrived with Rebekah.
Genesis 24:63 NKJV 63 And Isaac went
out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked,
and there, the camels were coming.
The
Hebrew word translated as “meditate” is used in only this one place in
scripture. The Stone Edition Chumash translates the word as “supplicate”
instead of “meditate.” Isaac was in the field meditating or in supplication
with God, perhaps asking for comfort after his mother’s death. When Eliezer
presented Rebekah as his wife, Isaac found comfort for his mother’s death.
Genesis 24:67 NKJV 67 Then Isaac
brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became
his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Even
after his marriage to Rebekah, Isaac’s life was not easy or smooth. Rebekah,
like Isaac’s mother Sarah, was barren. Isaac once more went to the LORD with
his needs.
Genesis 25:21 NKJV 21 Now Isaac
pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD
granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
The
word translated as “pleaded” is the Hebrew word “aw-thar,” number 6279 in
Strong’s Concordance meaning to burn incense in worship, intercede, entreat, or
pray. In the King James translation of the Bible, this word is most often
translated as “entreat” which implies an ongoing activity. These words are
similar in meaning to the word supplicate. Isaac approached God in supplication
when he needed comfort over the death of his mother. He again approached God in
supplication that Rebekah would conceive, and he continued his entreaty until
God answered.
Yeshua
tells his followers that we should be persistent in prayer.
Luke 18:1 NKJV 1 Then He spoke a
parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
The
parable was about a widow who pestered an unjust judge until he acted for her in
order to get her to stop bothering him. Yeshua concluded that if the unjust
judge will act reluctantly to bring justice, then the righteous God of all the
universe will surely answer the persistent calls of His own people to bring
justice.
Luke 18:6-7 NKJV 6 Then the Lord said,
"Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 "And shall God not avenge His own
elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
Isaac
knew that the promise given to Abraham would be passed on through his line. I’m
sure that both Abraham and Sarah would have told Isaac about his incredible
birth as a result of God’s promise to them.
Genesis 17:19 MKJV 19 And God said,
Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed. And you shall call his name Isaac.
And I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with
his seed after him.
Abraham,
who was still living at this time, would have reminded Isaac of this promise
that God would establish a covenant with him and his descendants. Finally, when
Isaac was sixty years old, after twenty years of entreating God, Rebekah gave
birth to twins, Esau and Jacob.
The
next significant event as related to Isaac is the arrival of a famine in the
land similar to the famine when Abraham first entered the land. While Abraham
went to Egypt to escape the famine, God had other plans for Isaac. God appeared
to Isaac at the beginning and the end of the famine. He instructed Isaac not to
go to Egypt but to stay in the land in the place where God directed him to go.
Genesis 26:2-3 NKJV 2 Then the LORD
appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of
which I shall tell you. 3 "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and
bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will
perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
God
reassured Isaac that in spite of the famine, the land would still eventually go
to his descendants, and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed
because of Abraham’s obedience to God’s voice. This is the first time the
scripture records that God appeared to Isaac and confirmed that the promise He
gave to Abraham had now been passed to Isaac. It could be that this was shortly
after Abraham’s death which was when Isaac was seventy-five and his sons were
fifteen years old.
Isaac
followed God’s instructions and moved west near the coast into the land of the
Philistine King Abimelech. Abraham had an earlier agreement with King Abimelech
who was probably the father of the King Abimelech that Isaac encountered.
Abraham’s agreement with Abimelech was that he could dwell anywhere in
Abimelech’s territory.
Following
in the pattern of Abraham, Isaac passed Rebekah off as his sister.
Genesis 26:6-7 NKJV 6 So Isaac dwelt
in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said,
"She is my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "She is my
wife," because he thought, "lest the men of the place kill me for
Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold."
Fortunately,
Abimelech discovered the truth about Rebekah before anyone tried to take her as
a wife. However, Isaac’s actions put others in jeopardy of unknowingly
committing a sin. Abimelech calls him out on his thoughtless actions.
Genesis 26:10-11 NKJV 10 And Abimelech
said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have
lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us." 11 So
Abimelech charged all his people, saying, "He who touches this man or his
wife shall surely be put to death."
In
spite of Isaac dealing deceitfully with him, Abimelech assured Isaac of the
safety of his entire household while in his land. Abimelech honored his
agreement with Abraham. Only after the deceit is uncovered and everything is out
in the open, do we read that Isaac prospered in the land of Abimelech.
Genesis 26:12-14 NKJV 12 Then Isaac
sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD
blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he
became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of
herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.
Abraham’s
sojourn in Egypt during the famine of his time foreshadowed the sojourn in
Egypt of the children of Israel. Their deliverance from Egypt marked the
fulfillment of God’s promise that the seed of Abraham would receive the
Promised Land. Isaac’s sojourn in the land of the Philistines seems to
foreshadow Israel’s sojourn among the nations. When there is respect between
Israel and the people of the nation in which they are dwelling, Israel prospers
and so does that nation. However, jealousy soon rears its head. When the
Philistines became envious of God’s blessing on Isaac, they began to sabotage
his crops and livestock by stopping up the wells that dated back to the time
that Abraham lived among the Philistines.
Genesis 26:15-16 NKJV 15 Now the
Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in
the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And
Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than
we."
Isaac
moved his dwelling place which would have involved leaving behind the fields
that he had sowed and reaped. As he went, he dug new wells. But everywhere he
went, he was unwelcome. Any well he dug was claimed by the residents of the
land. Finally, he found a place where he was not driven away.
Genesis 26:22 NKJV 22 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."
Eventually
the famine ended, and Isaac moved back east to the region of Beersheba. At this
time, the LORD appeared for a second time to Isaac.
Genesis 26:23-25 NKJV 23 Then he went
up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and
said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with
you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's
sake." 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD,
and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
The
whole narrative of Isaac’s time among the Philistines is structured around the
building of wells. In a time of famine, water is even more precious than usual.
It is not surprising that Isaac marked his arrival in Beersheba by digging a
well. What may have been surprising is that Abimelech followed Isaac to
Beersheba for the purpose of making a covenant with him. Abimelech saw and
understood that the LORD was with Isaac.
Genesis 26:28-29 NKJV 28 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, 29 '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.'"
The
covenant that Abraham made with Abimelech was that Abraham could live among the
Philistines. The covenant that Isaac made established peace between their
peoples. The well that Isaac’s men had just dug was named in honor of this
agreement. The name “Beersheba” means the well of the oath.
Isaac
and his family settled in at Beersheba. His son Esau married two Hittite women
when he was forty years old. All the reasons that Abraham had secured a wife
for Isaac from his own people and not the Canaanites should have applied to
Esau. In fact, Esau’s wives caused grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Genesis 26:34-35 NKJV 34 When Esau was
forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and
Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to
Isaac and Rebekah.
Isaac
was now over one hundred years old, and his eyesight began to dim. He decided
it was time to pass on the blessing and the promise to his eldest son.
Genesis 27:1 NKJV 1 Now it came to
pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that
he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." And he
answered him, "Here I am."
Isaac
not only had trouble with his physical sight, he also had trouble with his
spiritual sight. He did not see the faults of his older son Esau. Esau was
described as a man of the world and a skilled hunter.
Genesis 25:27-28 NKJV 27 So the boys
grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild
man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but
Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esau
demonstrated physical prowess and enjoyed going out among the residents of the
land. He catered to his father’s desire for wild game. In today’s world, Esau
would be the star athlete and Isaac would delight in his skill and popularity.
Jacob on the other hand is described, at least in our English translations, as
quiet, mild, or plain preferring to stay at home in the tents. However, our
English translations totally miss the meaning of the Hebrew. The Hebrew word that
describes Jacob is “tawm,” number 8535 meaning complete, morally upright,
perfect. Every other place where this word is used in the scriptures it is
translated as perfect, upright, or undefiled! When correctly translated, the
description of Jacob stands in contrast to Esau. Esau loved the field which is
often a metaphor for the world. Jacob loved being in the tent. The author of
Hebrews states that living in the tent with Abraham and Isaac symbolized that
they were looking for a city that was not in this world.
Hebrews 11:9-10 NIV 9 By faith he made
his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in
tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and
builder is God.
Esau
demonstrated his lack of moral uprightness when he sold his birthright for a
bowl of stew.
Genesis 25:30-34 NKJV 30 And Esau said
to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary."
Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, "Sell me your
birthright as of this day." 32 And Esau said, "Look, I am about to
die; so what is this birthright to me?" 33 Then Jacob said, "Swear to
me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose,
and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Esau
got his nickname of Edom meaning red from this event. The event must have been
witnessed by others in order for the nickname to have been bestowed on him.
Every time Esau was called Edom, it was a reminder that he had sold the
birthright. This was a legally witnessed transaction. The birthright legally
belonged to Jacob. Did Isaac choose to ignore this transaction when he decided
to give the blessing to Esau instead?
After
the fiasco of the deceit of Jacob passing himself off as Esau to obtain the
blessing that legally belonged to him, Isaac seems to have finally understood
that the line of the promised seed was to go through Jacob and not Esau.
Rebekah pointed out that Esau’s Hittite wives were incompatible with the
promise.
Genesis 27:46 NKJV 46 And Rebekah said
to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if
Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters
of the land, what good will my life be to me?"
What
good would it have been for Rebekah to have left her land and her family behind
if the promise ended up going through the Canaanites. Further, Rebekah had
received a message from the LORD before Esau and Jacob were born that Esau
would serve Jacob.
Isaac
responds by sending Jacob to Padan Haram in the region of Haran to take a wife
from the daughters of Rebekah’s brother. As he sends Jacob off, Isaac formally
passes on the blessing God gave to Abraham.
Genesis 28:3-4 NKJV 3 "May God
Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an
assembly of peoples; 4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your
descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a
stranger, Which God gave to Abraham."
God
chose Abraham from out of all the families of the earth to be the one through
whom the Promised Messiah would come. From Abraham’s sons, God chose Isaac the
son of his wife Sarah to carry on the promise. Then God chose Jacob to bring
the promise to the next generation. Jacob was the one that God chose to establish
an entire nation with all of his sons inheriting in the Promised Land. God did
not automatically choose the firstborn son as man would. God looked on the
heart and chose the man who had a heart to walk in God’s ways. When God sent
Isaac to the land of the Philistines during the time of the famine, he told
Isaac that he would inherit the land because Abraham obeyed God’s voice and
walked in His ways.
Genesis 26:4-5 NKJV 4 "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; 5 "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge,
My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."
Isaac’s
life teaches us that walking with God is a journey and a process. We will not
be perfect in our walk. There are times when we walk closer to God than others,
but we should always strive to follow His ways.
Study
Questions:
2.
What would the Philistines have learned
about God while Isaac lived among them? Compare this to Deuteronomy 4:5-6. How
are we to live while among a non-believing population?
3.
What do the parallels between Abraham’s
life and Isaac’s life tell us about the coming of the promised Messiah? What do
they tell us about the walk of faith in general?
General Portion
Questions
4.
What evidence do we have that Esau was
not worthy of being the one through whom the promised Messiah would come? How
was Isaac blind to Esau’s faults?
5.
Jacob’s name means heel. God’s words to
the serpent were that the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of Eve
(Gen. 3:15). How has this been fulfilled?
6.
What other insights did you gain from
this teaching? What indicators are there in this Torah Portion that point to
Messiah Yeshua?
©
2022 Moed Ministries International. All rights reserved.
[i] The
Stone Edition Chumash. General Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah
Publications, ltd. ©1998, 2000 Mesorah Publications, ltd. Page 106.
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