Genesis 26
“Fear and blessing”

Fear...
I want to begin this morning with a little bit of self-disclosure, though I suspect that it’s something that most of us know already, and that is the fact that I grew up not in this part of town but over on the North Shore - in St Ives, in fact. That was where I spent the first twenty or so years of my life, and I’d have to say looking back that for those first couple of decades, the boundaries of the North Shore really were the boundaries of my universe. I knew that there were other parts of Sydney out there, but until I started Uni I hardly ever visited them and I knew almost nothing about them.

The Inner West, for example, where I live now, was back then an almost completely foreign territory. The only time we ever drove through Petersham was when we were on our way through to the airport, and when we did we would lock our doors in case someone jumped in when we were at the lights.

We were like that with the North Shore and the rest of Sydney; we were also like that with the Christian world and the wider non-Christian society. The dominant force that shaped how we related to the non-Christian world around us was fear. We grew up as kids knowing that when you walked down the street if you came near a pub you crossed the street a block before it and then crossed back over a block after, so you didn’t need to walk past the open door and smell the beer and hear the obscenities. We were never allowed to go to parties after the age of about 13 in case there was drugs or alcohol or dancing. In a whole host of ways, we were not just different from the society around us; we were almost completely disengaged from it, largely I think because we were afraid of it.

Gradually, as I grew up, I came to realise that not all Christians were like that. Some Christians were much like us but just a bit less extreme. They didn’t build the fences quite so high, but the fences were still there, and they managed by surrounding themselves with so many Christian friends and so much church activity to avoid having any serious engagement with the non-Christian world at all. Other kids from Christian families threw themselves into the non-Christian society around them and were almost completely indistinguishable. And then others lived a strange kind of double life, where they pretended on Sunday to be one thing, and then pretended on Monday to Saturday to be something quite different.

But in all of those cases what they had in common was the same fear that drove our family’s way of doing things - the same fear just expressed in different ways. In the one case, it was a fear that expressed itself in avoidance and withdrawal; in the other cases it expressed itself in a kind of assimilation that was afraid to be different, or in a life of pretence or hypocrisy that was afraid to be honest. However it expressed itself in those various ways, the common factor was a sort of anxious fear, and when I came across Christians who were not like that - Christians who were genuinely engaged with the world and unashamedly different from it - the times when I came across kids with that sort of integrity were a real breath of fresh air.

It’s not just a teenage issue, I think; nor is it just an issue for our particular generation; as long as there have been people in relationship with God living in the midst of a wider society made up mainly of people who don’t know God - as long as that has been the case, the relationship between the people of God and the world around has been a problematic one, and people have been tempted by fear into those strategies of withdrawal and assimilation and pretence.

It goes back all the way to Jesus and the first community of disciples, when he prayed for them in John chapter 17, on the eve of his death, that God would preserve them so that they were in the world but not of the world, and when he taught them in the sermon on the mount that they were to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It goes all the way back to Jesus and it goes back further too, right back through the history of Israel and the surrounding nations. And it goes back beyond that as well, to the days before Israel was a nation at all, when they were a family of nomads, living in the promised land as tent dwellers and sojourners, completely immersed in and surrounded by the pagan nations who lived in the land of Canaan. And here in Genesis chapter 26 we have one of the very earliest stories of that relationship and how it played out. There are two episodes in the chapter, one in Gerar and the other in Beersheba, and there are a number of quite deliberate parallels and contrasts between the two.

Isaac and the Philistines
In Gerar (v.1-22)
Promises (v.1-6)
The episose in Gerar, the first story in Genesis chapter 26, begins with a word from God to Isaac about the promises that God gave to his father Abraham.

If you were here last week, or if you’ve been reading through Genesis, you may have noticed that this story seems to be a kind of flash-back in the way that the narrative sequence works. We’ve been introduced to Jacob in chapter 25, and to his brother Esau, and the story about those two brothers dominates the second half of that chapter and the chapters that come after this one. But here in chapter 26, it’s as if Jacob and Esau haven’t been born yet, and everything about the way the story unfolds feels like the two boys aren’t part of the picture at all. It’s a reminder that the story of Jacob and Esau is part of an unfolding story that is bigger than either of them - one that includes their father Isaac and his father before him, and eventually all the nations of the world. It’s a reminder that the story of Isaac and Jacob and Esau is being driven not only by the words that God speaks to Rebekah in Genesis chapter 25, but also by the earlier words that God has spoken to Abraham in chapter 12 and chapter 15 and chapter 17 and chapter 22.

And its those words that God reminds Isaac of here, in a kind of composite echo of all the promises that God gave to Isaac’s father Abraham.

Verse 1: ‘Now there was a famine in the land — besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time — and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.’

It’s a reminder of all the promises God made to Abraham, and in particular, it’s a reminder of the promises that relate to the land that they were living in and the nations around them. And God says to Isaac, on the basis of those promises, don’t run away because of the famine and try to find shelter in Egypt. Don’t look to Egypt for your security and make it your home - this land is where your home is; this is where your future is, and your security is in me and in my promises.

Fear (v.7-11)
So Isaac stays in Canaan - unlike generations of Israelites after him who are continually running off to Egypt to try and find security under the wings of the local superpower. Isaac stays in Canaan; in particular, he stays in the south western corner of the land, in the land of Gerar, the corner that’s closest to Egypt, just near the bit that these days is called the Gaza strip.

But he’s frightened of the people who live there, so he thinks up a little scheme that he thinks will keep him safe - exactly the same scheme that his father Abraham tried when he was living there.

Verse 7: ‘When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.” 8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” 10 Then Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”’

Blessing (v.12-13)
Thankfully, God preserves Isaac from the disaster that could have resulted from his foolish, cowardly scheme, and the remainder of his time in Gerar turns out to be a time not of disaster but of blessing. Verse 12: ‘Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.’ It’s a foretaste of the future; it’s a foretaste of the day when this land is going to belong to his descendants, and they will be nomads no longer, and they will own the land and plant crops in it; God gives Isaac a foretaste of that future, and of the blessing tied up with this land that God has told him to stay in, even though he has no permanent home here yet.

Expulsion (v.14-16)
And so he prospers economically, but it is still painfully clear that this land is still not his land yet. Verse 14: ‘He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”’

Quarrels and blessing (v.17-22)
And so, verses 17-22, he moves away just a little tiny bit to the valley up the river, back away from the coastal plain, and the experiences from downstream of blessings and quarrels seem to follow him up the valley.

Verse 17: ‘So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.’ 19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”’

Like his father, Isaac seems to be good for this land that he’s living in - he finds the wells and he opens them up and he makes the land flourish and he flourishes in the land. But the quarrels follow him as well, and eventually, when he gets to Rehoboth and he digs another well and this time no-one follows him to fight over it and to try and grab it back off him, he still decides that he’ll move away and just go to a place where he’s going to be in nobody’s road - he’ll run away from them before they come looking for him. He knows that God has given him room here at the top of the valley - verse 22 - and he knows God has told him that he will flourish in this land, but he is still frightened of Abimelech, it seems, so before Abimelech’s men can come looking for him he abandons the well and retreats even further inland, as a kind of preemptive withdrawal.

In Beersheba (v.23-34)
And so, verse 23, begins the second half of the chapter, the half that takes place in Beersheba.

Promises (v.23-25)
It begins with another round of promises from God - or rather, another reminder of the promises that God has already given to Isaac through his father Abraham. Verse 24: ‘That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”’ It’s a reminder that comes with a command this time. ‘Do not be afraid’. Don’t be scared of Abimelech and his men. Don’t tell lies to them and try to manipulate them into being nice to you; and don’t keep running away from them either. Just trust me and stand your ground and speak the truth to them. ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you’.

And this time Isaac seems to hear the promise a little more clearly. He builds an altar, verse 25, and he calls on God’s name, and he pitches his tent and he digs a well.

Peace and blessing (v.26-33)
And so this time, verses 26 to 33, when Abimelech comes along with his two right hand men, Isaac doesn’t run away and he doesn’t tell lies: he stands his ground and he talks to them.

Verse 26: Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?” 28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.” 30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. 32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.’

And so the chapter closes with a scene of peace and blessing; Isaac has finally stopped running away from his neighbours, and he has stopped telling lies to them, and on their side they have realised that if Isaac’s God is with him then they should fear that God and treat Isaac well and enter into some kind of relationship with him. If the promises of God to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 are like the gospel of the Old Testament, then these Philistines have begun to understand the gospel - they’ve started to figure out that whoever curses Abraham’s family will be cursed, and whoever blesses them will be blessed, and there is another tiny foretaste of the future - another tiny foretaste of the day when the nations of the world will be blessed through Abraham’s seed.

Us and our world (cf. 1 Peter 3:8-16)
Well, that’s the story, and the implications for us become fairly obvious, don’t they. If we are Abraham’s descendants - if we are in Jesus, and if it is in Jesus that the promise to Abraham finds its ultimate fulfilment - if that is how we connect with this story, then we need to learn the same kind of things that Isaac needed to learn about the way God’s promises ought to shape us in our attitude to the people around us.

Listen to the way that Peter the apostle writes in 1 Peter chapter 3. He’s writing to a bunch of first century Christian communities in Asia minor, to Christians who are painfully aware of the differences between them and the pagans who live around them. He says to them, chapter 4 verse 2: “you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do — living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.” How does he tell them to respond to a situation like that?

Listen to what he writes in chapter 3 verse 8: ‘Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.’

Don’t be afraid
It’s the same message as Genesis chapter 26, isn’t it. On the one hand, he says, don’t be afraid. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” In your heart, set apart Christ as Lord - make it very clear to yourself that you answer to one Lord, Jesus, that you’re not ruled by the fashions of society or the opinions of others. Stand your ground, not agressively but gently and peaceably and courageously. Don’t go looking for a fight, but don’t cave in or run away either. “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” Don’t be afraid.

Do be a blessing
And at the same time, do be a blessing. Don’t just relate to the world around you as a threat that needs to be survived. Relate positively, as someone who is driven and motivated not by fear but by love. Verse 9: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing”. Verse 10: ‘For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.’ Verse 13: ‘Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?’

Do you get the feel of the passage? It’s saying, if you are the person who is inheriting the blessing of God, then you are blessed in order to be a blessing. So get on and be one. Live out generosity and kindness and justice and mercy and peace in your relationships with the people around you. Have a relationship with the people around you - not the kind of relationship where you just blend in with all the opinions and attitudes and lifestyle choices of the world around you, but where you stand out and shine out as different - as someone who is motivated not by getting ahead in this life but by hope and eternity in the next. Stand out as different and do good. Don’t be afraid to be called a ‘do-gooder’ - just get on with doing good.

And last of all, verse 15, remember the reason why you live this way, and always be ready to explain the reason for it - remember the fact that Christ is your Lord, and remember the hope of the kingdom of God that is your motivation and your reason for living differently, and pray that God will give you opportunities as you explain the reason for your hope - pray that God will give you opportunities not only to be a blessing to people in this life but also to some in eternity.