Genesis 26 ... Viewing the works of God through scripture

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 

2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

There is a very strange doctrine that goes about in Christian circles which professes that once you choose Jesus and become Christian everything will go well for you.   This is not what Peter said to us ...

I Peter 4 ... 12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

And Paul says ... I Thess. 3 ... 3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions:for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. 4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

Paul warns ... I Tim. 3 ... 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

(back to Isaac / Gen. 26) ... Isaac obeyed God ... there was trouble after that ...

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister:for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. 

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife:and how saidst thou, She is my sister? 

And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. 

(Remember God told Isaac not to go down into Egypt during that famine.  Isaac stayed where he was because of what God said to him.)

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold:and the Lord blessed him. 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants:and the Philistines envied him. 

(Envy brings trouble ... certainly trouble was going to come though God had blessed Isaac)
 
15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
 
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 them. 

19 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. 33 And he called it Shebah:therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
 
34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

(Circumstances to come ... arranged by God ... were going to take Jacob a completely different direction from Esau... Jacob was the elect of God ... God loved Jacob and hated Esau even before the twins were born.  Romans 9)