“17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called the19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord.30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.”  Genesis 26:17-32

COMMENTS:  Isaac enjoyed the same fellowship with God that his father, Abraham did. He also enjoyed the wealth and prosperity his father possesses.  Digging wells was hard work with no guarantee of finding water.  The Philistines plugged the wells Abraham had dug.  They filled and ruined perfectly good wells to hurt and torment Abraham and his family.

As Isaac would move and dig wells, any that found water would be taken over by local tribal herdsmen of Gerar who would confront and quarrel with Isaac everywhere he went.  Isaac would let them take the wells and he would move on and dig wells again just to be confronted again.  But finally, Isaac found land and dug a good well without quarrel or someone attempting to take it from him.  Yet God continued to bless Isaac and help him locate where to dig his well to find water.  To find the right place to dig and find a good supply of clean water was difficult and a price for those who possessed one.

Everyone wants to be friends during good times, especially if we are generous with them.  But during times of need, we find out who our true friends really are.  You’ve heard it said “A friend while in need is a friend indeed”.  Picking friends who remain true in bad times are priceless. 

Christ is such a friend to us!  Consider who enabled Isaac to prosper and gain wealth and herds and land and good wells.  Who helped Isaac dig where he would find a good water source?  Digging those wells was still hard work but the difference following God’s commands and instruction was noticed by Isaac’s pagan neighbors. They wanted the prosperity but not the commitment to God.  So, they thought if they would be friends with Isaac, they would be blessed like him without giving up their pagan gods and sinful lifestyles.

But they could have had so much more, like Rehab and Ruth.  God desired Isaac to be witness leading pagan nations to Him, but instead Israel repeatedly followed the pagan gods instead.  God instructed Jonah to preach repentance to the Ninevites, the pagan people who invaded and killed Jonah’s people and family.  When Jonah refused, he ended up in the belly of a large fish until he repented.  The people of Nineveh did repent were spared judgment.  

Do you want God’s blessings without giving up your gods and selfish and sinful pleasures?  This didn’t work for the pagan neighbors of Isaac.  I didn’t even work for Isaac’s dependents, the Israelites.  It doesn’t work for you and me either.  Associating with Christians or even being a part of a church doesn’t entitle us to God’s blessings or eternal life.  We need Him in our souls and receive His redemptive forgiveness in order to receive God’s gifts He intends for us.  Otherwise, we are trying to steal from God and from His people.  That may appear to go well for a time but God will not tolerate that forever.  Satan steals from God for a time but not forever.  God will say enough is enough and will reign judgment.  History and scripture gives us countless examples. 

God has so much more for us than just material possessions.  His love and forgiveness and continual fellowship are so much more priceless than anything we can acquire on this world.  Sure, we need food and money and water and shelter and family to thrive.  We need fellowship with Christ so much more and 100 years from now, the things of this world will be gone but our relationship with Christ will remain and be what we value most.  We need to seek and value Him now more than what things we want Him to give us.  So, lets seek what HE wants and trust Him to give us material things we need and recognize we may need to let go of wanting some things we don’t need but just want because His wisdom determines what is best for us and our family and also best to fulfill His Will. 

War is an all too familiar environment in every generation. The most dangerous enemies are not those who confront us face us as visible discernable invaders but those who infiltrate our communities and families looking and pretending to be like us and our friends.  Islam terrorists come into a community and live among it’s people until called to service and reign death and destruction on that community through a bomb or gun or other deadly force.  They are not suspected until it is too late. No defense is able to discern and warn or fight such an enemy without knowledge to search out and confront that enemy.

The same is true of our battle with satan.  He and his demons come hidden or as friends or providing opportunities pleasing to us.  Their skills in tempting us to sin and get involved in evil are polished by thousands of years of practice.  We are not equipped or knowledgeable enough to fight such an enemy ourselves.  Lust of the eye and pride of life are most common and most effective ways satan used to draw us into his trap. 

Such was also true even in the first century church.  You may wonder why anyone would preach a false gospel when Christ’s gospel is so wonderful and brings eternal life?  But think again about the temptation of pride of life and lust of the eye.   Service Christ keeps the honor and credit on Him and not on the one preaching or teaching.  When we like getting the credit and praise for good deeds and wise teaching, we quickly put ourselves at risk of falling prey to distorting the Gospel into something that no longer honors Christ nor follows His teaching.  The distortion likely starts out small and maybe harmless but is none the less not pure and true. 

False teachers and prophets often are sincere in their teaching.  They may have started out true but slowly wondered from Christ without even noticing the separation and fell prey to satan’s deception and tricks.  They then become an enemy of the church and no longer a friend and partner in ministry.  That is why it is so important to be on guard so we don’t become deceived and then become deceivers instead of servants.

Considering this may make us wonder what can we do or what hope do we have to succeed?  First of all, realize we have no hope alone and any temptation to fight this battle alone is destined for failure.  Today’s scripture tells us any gospel that is not centered on Christ, His human life here, and His death and resurrection and redemptive sacrifice is not of Him.  When our life and focus and fellowship is focused on Him, then He equips us to discern and defeat satan’s temptations of all kinds.  He will prick our spirit when we begin to wonder off alone.  Even David did not notice when the “lust of the eye” drew him into adultery and murder.  He went a year without fellowship with God, which he had known and relied on many years before, without even noticing the loss until the prophet Nathan confronted him and exposed his sin.  If such could happen to David, how much easier can it happen to us.  If David would have fled to God when he first felt the temptation, all would have been different.  We need to learn the lesson and be and stay diligent too. 

Our help and only hope lies in our relationship with Christ.  By keeping our eyes on Him and staying open to the Holy Spirit’s abiding influence, we are and stay equipped with the tools and strength to expose and defeat satan’s attacks no matter how or how often they attack us.  Stop and reflect on those you know who seem to maintain a joyous attitude in the midst of amazing hardships while others seem to be defeated and miserable giving in to every temptation that comes their way.  The difference is who they are holding on to.    The old saying “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” refers to working and staying focused on fixing your own problems.  But have you ever tried to lift yourself up by your shoe strings?  Impossible.  So why do we try to fix our own problems alone?  Why not seek help especially from the One who knows best how to fix us and help us and is so eager to help.  HE paid a great price so we can and He will.  We only need to ask, like the prodigal and He will come running to us.  He has promised to do so and is patiently waiting for us to ask.   SO, ASK ALREADY!!!  I’m asking too because we never grow so far, we still can’t go it alone without His constant abiding council and help and strength and wisdom.  AMEN?  AMEN!

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