Genesis 26
There’s another famine in Canaan---but the Lord tells Isaac to stay there in Gerar---not to go to Egypt. God confirms His covenant with Isaac that He had made with Abraham.
In fear of being killed Isaac tells the local men that his beautiful wife Rebekah is his sister—but King Abimeleth catches on, confronts Isaac and tells the people that whoever touches Isaac or Rebekah will be put to death. Isaac sowed in the land and reaped one hundredfold. The Lord blessed him.
The Philistines are jealous of Isaac’s prosperity---so they fill up his wells with dirt. Isaac left Gerar, moving to the valley. There he dug more wells---which the local herdsmen claimed. Isaac moved to Beersheba where the Lord blessed him. King Abimelech, recognizing that the Lord blessed Isaac, came to him and made an oath with him. Isaac prepared a feast for Abimelech and his staff.
The Lord has promised to prepare a feast for us in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23). Although David wrote that long after Isaac, it is notable that the promise it there. In this case the oath that Abimelech made with Isaac took away the status of “enemies.”
Have you considered creating an oath with those who would treat you as Abimelech treated Isaac---asking him to leave their town? What does creating an oath entail? Do you offer a feast to those who aren’t your closest friends?
Consider how our Lord treated those that treated Him unjustly---how He ate with the unloved and unlovable people. Can you do any less?
Lord, help me to treat others justly, as you would, to be honest and willing to serve those we may consider as “enemies”.
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