Isaac's Blessed Life Now

Let's Open up God's word this morning. I want to invite you to turn to Genesis chapter 26 for our time of study in the word this morning. We're doing a series through the book of Genesis, and as we continue in our series through this book, we come to Genesis 26. We're gonna look at verses 1 through 14 today and if you want to give a title to the message this morning, it would be, Isaac's Blessed Life now.

On one level, it, it would seem that Isaac gets shortchanged in the Book of Genesis. think of the four patriarchs that end up being talked about through most of the book of Genesis. There's Abraham and Isaac, Jacob, and then Joseph. From Genesis 12 all the way to the end, chapter 50, you can break down.

All of the chapters by their devotion to one of those four patriarchs. And among those four, Abraham gets 14 chapters, 12 to 25, Jacob gets 10 chapters, chapters 27 to 36, Joseph gets 14 chapters. Verses 37 through 50. And Isaac.

Well, he gets one chapter. Genesis 26. one chapter that is devoted exclusively to him and this is the chapter that we'll be looking at today. But don't feel sorry for Isaac.

What he lacks in chapters he makes up for and blessings from God that we find in this chapter. in fact, this chapter provides for us a most amazing glimpse into the life of one of the most truly blessed men. In all of the Bible. In fact, the word bless is the theme of the passage that will be Looking at today verses 1 through 14.

In verse 3, God says to Isaac, I will bless you. In verse 4, God says to Isaac, by your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. There's that word again. In verse 12, the text says, the Lord blessed.

Him. So clearly, God is blessing Isaac in these chapters. Yet, here's what's interesting and I think in a weird way, this is gonna be an encouragement to all of us. In this very chapter in which we are given A threefold affirmation of God's blessing.

Upon Isaac, we see Isaac experiencing famine in verse one. That was so severe, he had to uproot and move. We see him giving way to fear and lying about his wife in verse 7. We see him being rebuked by King Abimelech in verse 9.

We see Isaac experiencing the envy of the Philistines in verse 14, and then what follows after verse 14. Is Isaac's property being vandalized by the Philistines along with episodes of quarreling. And contention. With the Philistines.

At the end of the chapter, This is how the chapter ends. We see Isaac and Rebecca being sorely grieved by choices. that their son Esau. is making In other words, Isaac's life of blessing.

is a lot like our lives. His life is a life full of genuine blessing from God, yet also a life that is pockmarked with personal failure. and for us, our life is often Filled with personal failure, shame of our own making, as well as contention. And quarrels and frustrations and grief of our own and sometimes of other people's making.

No one on the planet is living a more blessed life than Isaac is in this chapter, yet he also had trials and hardships included inside of that blessed life. And this teaches us guys that it's possible to have a genuinely blessed life. And also have trials and car accidents and appendicitis, and your property being stolen and vandalized and experiencing grief over choices that family members are making. The presence of one does not exclude the other.

We in the midst of those trials and hardships, can genuinely experience the blessing of God the way that Isaac does in this, chapter. The blessed life in heaven will be totally free of all such trials, but this is what our life and this is what Isaac's blessed life now. Looks like So let's look at the 1st 14 verses of this chapter and let's observe together Isaac's blessed life and maybe we can gain some perspective as we do so for our own lives. And what we'll do today is we'll observe 6 developments in the story of Isaac's life under the blessing of God.

6 developments in the story of Isaac's life under the blessing of God. Number 1, Isaac moves to Gerar when famine comes to the Land of Promise. In verse one, it says, now there was a famine in the land besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And the previous famine that he's referring to is the one that happened in Genesis 12.

About 100 years prior, so obviously this is a different famine than that. But guys, it should strike us as instructive. That Isaac is in the very land where God wants him to live. Yet there is a famine being encountered by Isaac in the very place of God's provision for him, in the very center of God's will for him.

I love what Bruce Walke says. He says there are famines in the ambiguities and hard reality of God's providence. I think that's wonderfully put. And it is in these ambiguities that our faith is tested and our character is often revealed, and it's in these moments when we can draw close to God and And in which we can learn lessons and truly grow spiritually, and that's essentially what's happening to Isaac here.

He's living in a region that is dependent upon seasonal rains, but those rains have not been falling. Creating conditions where water is scarce and famine prevails, right in the place of God's provision. In the land of Promise. Observe what Isaac does in these conditions of famine.

Say, so Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech, king of the Philistines. Gerar is in the southwestern part of the land of Canaan. And the common route from Canaan down to Egypt essentially ran right through this particular region. And the feeling that we're going to get from the passage is that Isaac is coming into Gar.

As the first leg of his journey. Onward toward Egypt. With the intention of going down to Egypt, where the sure waters of the Nile could water his flocks and he could escape the famine. This is exactly what Abraham did back in Genesis 12, right?

And it seems that Isaac intends to do. Something similar. Apparently, the famine in the land of Canaan right now would have included Gerard, but perhaps King Abimelech had planned ahead and he had storehouses of grain. Or perhaps the famine was not yet quite so severe in this region of Gerar as it was elsewhere.

Nonetheless, this is clearly a hugely pivotal moment in Isaac's life and perhaps in God's plan of redemption. If Isaac is only thinking in terms of his material needs, he may end up going down into Egypt and maybe never return from a human standpoint. So once Isaac gets as far as Gerard and settles there temporarily, God intervenes. God shows up, and this brings us to the second development in this account of Isaac's life under the blessing of God, and that is that God instructs Isaac to stay in the land and experience his blessing.

Observe what happens in verse 2. says the Lord appeared to him. And said, do not go down to Egypt. Stay in the land of which I shall tell you, sojourn in this land.

God's command for Isaac not to go down to Egypt is the reason that most commentators presume that Isaac was in all likelihood intending to go down. Eventually to Egypt, which is why God has to say don't do this. Egypt obviously would have been a very attractive option for Isaac. The Nile River ran right through the heart of Egypt and its various branches provided the water that the Egyptians needed to support their livestock and their agriculture.

Because of the Nile, Egypt experienced. Fewer famines than people living in lands that were more dependent on seasonal rains like the land. of Canaan. Yet as appealing as Egypt would have been for Isaac to go to from a simply human standpoint, God says, don't go.

Don't go down To Egypt. Don't do what your father did. 100 years ago. God then says, stay in the land of which I shall tell you what land is that.

Verse 3, God says sojourn in this land, and that word sojourn, basically what God is saying to Isaac is dwell temporarily as a resident alien in this particular land of Gerard with a spirit of subordination to the authorities who are there. Go ahead and settle here. Temporarily, God says. God then does more than gives a command.

He begins to give promises to Isaac, all of which serve as restatements of the promises that God had made to Abraham on many occasions prior. And, and perhaps because of the famine that Isaac was enduring, maybe he had begun to doubt the earlier promises that God had given to his father. Perhaps he's thinking that maybe those promises don't apply to me like they did to my dad, or maybe Isaac fears that just in the fog of years and decades that God has forgotten. His promises and isn't so committed to them anymore as he was initially.

So in this hugely pivotal moment of Isaac's life, God appears and speaks and makes promises to Isaac. And listen to what he promises. He says to Isaac, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants, I will give all these lands. God here is promising his own companionship with Isaac, saying, I will be with you.

And when God promises to be with someone, what he's saying is, I will be your friend. I will make your interest, my interest, and I will prosper you. That's why God attaches to this promise the words, I will bless you. God will bless Isaac in manifold ways and the greatest blessing of all is his companionship.

With Isaac. As one expression of that blessing, God says to Isaac, for to you and to your descendants, I will give all this land. In other words, all the land of Canaan. With its varied regions under various rulers at this time, and that would include even the city, the region of Gar where Isaac is right now.

Right now, Gar belongs to Abimelech and to the Philistines. But one day God is saying this even will belong to your descendants. God then says in verse 3, and I will establish the oath which I swore. To your father, Abraham.

And here he's pointing back to all the promises that he's made to Abraham, and especially to the time when God actually swore by himself. Write down this reference, Genesis 22:16, God swore an oath by himself and he uttered promises on the mountain of Moriah. After Abraham had offered up his son as a sacrifice there. And here in our passage today, God is assuring Isaac that he will be further implementing those promises to and through Isaac.

What promises? Well, clearly the promises he's already stated, but Also, the promises that he states in verse 4 where God says, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and will give your descendants all these lands and by your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. God had twice told Abraham, I'm gonna give you descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven, and here he's saying the same thing now to Isaac. And promising.

That his descendants would be given all these various regions in the land of Canaan. And he also says, by your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. God essentially gave that promise to Abraham on two occasions and now he gives this promise to Isaac. By your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

We know from the New Testament that this is primarily a Messianic promise. Yes, Isaac's descendants will become a nation that will be a light to the world, but that nation will go on to produce a Messiah who will provide a salvation that will go to all of the nations of the earth. Which we who are gathered here are included in. Now why is God making these promises to Isaac?

Is it, is it because of anything good that he sees in Isaac? Is it because Isaac has been so obedient to him? Not really. Look at what God says in verse 5.

Because, here's why I'm making these promises to you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and My laws. God isn't promising to bless Isaac in these ways because of Isaac's obedience. He makes these promises to Isaac because of Abraham's obedience. Literally, the Hebrew reads, because Abraham obeyed my voice.

Which is exactly how God described Abraham's actions back in Genesis 22:18. On the mountain of Moriah, when Abraham had shown his willingness to surrender his son Isaac on the altar to God. In that earlier passage, God makes promises to Abraham and says that he is doing so, quote, because you, Abraham, have obeyed my voice, unquote. Yet here in our passage today, God is speaking some of these same promises to Isaac and he's telling him that he's giving him these promises.

To Isaac because his father, Abraham. was obedient to him. And God conveys this. In a couple of ways, saying Abraham obeyed me.

He obeyed my voice. He also says he kept my charge. Literally the Hebrew of that reads, he took care of my care. In other words, God is saying that Abraham made the things that Jehovah cares about, the things that he himself cared about.

Abraham cared about the things that God cared about, and beyond that, God also says, Abraham kept my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The accumulation of These words speak of an all-absorbing life of ongoing obedience that Abraham manifested toward God. We clearly saw in earlier chapters of Genesis how that Abraham was not a perfect man. He disobeyed God and failed to believe on a handful of occasions, but as a general rule, he sought to obey God and his obedience was radical.

And God is telling Isaac that it is because of Abraham's obedience that he's now lavishing these incredible promises on Isaac. So let me ask you a question at this point of the message. How would you respond if God personally made an appearance to you like he is Isaac? tells you not to go down to Egypt, tells you to stay in the land where you presently are, and then he makes all of these promises of blessing and companionship.

To you. How would you respond? Would you obey? Would you just have total trust in the Lord?

With those commands, with those promises impact you? And alter the way you think and live. Well, we see how Isaac responds in the next verses, which brings us to the 3rd development in the story of Isaac living under the blessing of God, and that is that Isaac, in obedience to God, he stays in Gerard, but lies about Rebecca. Out of fear for his life.

Look at Isaac's response in verse 6. So Isaac lived in Gerard. This means that Isaac obeys God's instruction. To settle for the time being in this particular region.

And it also means that he obeys God's command not to go down. To Egypt. It seems that Isaac is comforted by God's promises of presence and blessing, at least sufficiently enough to decide to not go down to Egypt and to obey God and stay where he was. This is good But Isaac's weakness shows up in the next verse.

As one commentator says, one would think that the recent Theophony. Which is an appearance of God, with its promise of blessing, as well as the divine presence would have engendered courage. In the patriarch, Isaac, but ironically, it did not. R.

Kent Hughes says Isaac mingled fear. With his faith A combination that produces a shameful lowness and meanness that we see. In verse 7 Amazingly, observe what Isaac does while living. In the land of Gerar.

Verse 7, when the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, she is my Sister. Evidently, Rebecca is beautiful. She catches the eye of the men of Gerard and some of them come calling. And the text says that the men of the place asked about her.

Who is she? What is her name? Whom does she belong to? They're asking because they're possibly interested in pursuing her, and there's nothing wrong with them asking such questions, but it seems that Isaac felt threatened.

By these questions from these men and in the heat of the moment he lies and says, oh, Rebecca, yes, she's my sister. And once he told that lie once. He had to keep telling the lie. In Genesis 12 and in Genesis 20, we saw two earlier instances in which Abraham did exactly this very thing, saying that Sarah was his sister in order to protect his own hide, to protect himself from being killed by someone who would want to take Sarah as their wife.

In Abraham's case, He was telling a half lie because Sarah was indeed his half sister. But here we see Isaac speaking a whole lie. Because Rebecca was not even His half-sister We're actually told Isaac's thinking process that explains why he lies about Rebecca. The text says, for he was afraid to say, my wife, thinking the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebecca, for she is beautiful.

Isaac here is doing some fearful thinking. And in the scenario, he has pictured in his head, someone is gonna hear that Rebecca is his wife. And then kill Isaac so that they can take Rebecca away from him. And Isaac is thinking this way after God has appeared to him and made the incredible promises that he made to him of companionship and of blessing.

Amazingly though, these promises are not enough to keep Isaac from lying to Protect himself. And I think we'll all agree that such deception is totally unbecoming to a man who has just received these assurances from God, and it's selfish too. His deception puts Rebecca in grave danger and it puts the people of Gerar in danger also, as we'll see. And by the way, we might look at what Isaac is doing here and shake our heads and be disgusted that he would resort to such deceptive and sinful means to protect himself.

After God has just spoken these amazing promises to him. Yet guys, whenever we fail to trust God, We sin in the face of even greater promises. That God has given to you and to me. So if you want to criticize Isaac, do that, he deserves it, but look in the mirror first.

What happens as a result of Isaac's deception is revealed in verse 8. This brings us to the next development in the story of life's Isaac's life of gracious blessing under God's goodness. Number 4, King Abimelechk discovers and rebukes Isaac's deception. Observe what happens in verse 8.

It came about when he had been there a long time that Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out through a window and saw and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife, Rebecca. Notice that the text says that Isaac had been there a long time, which means that this deception had gone on for a long time. A long time went by with Isaac telling people that Rebecca was his sister. A long time had gone by with Isaac living a double life, relating to Rebecca as his wife when they were in the privacy of their tent, but then acting like her brother when they are out in public.

And we, we shouldn't lose sight of how intentional. And deliberate, Isaac and Rebecca would have to have been. In order to keep up. This deception.

This wasn't just one lie that was told once, but a daily lie being acted out by them day by day, and we're told this went on for a long time until one day they slipped up. Or at least Isaac did. Verse 8, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out through a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife, Rebecca. Notice three words for seeing.

In verse 8, Abimelech looked And saw. And behold, Isaac was caressing. His wife The Hebrew word that is translated caressing is actually the root word that we get the name Isaac from. Literally, the Hebrew reads, behold, Isaac was Isaac ing.

His wife We've already seen that the word Isaac means laughter, representing how Abraham and Sarah laughed. With disbelief when God told them that they would have a son, and it also was used to represent their laughter at the birth. Of Isaac. The Hebrew word for Isaac can mean to laugh, to play, to make sport of, to mock.

And it can even mean to engage in sexual play. In fact, Potiphar's wife uses this very word later in Genesis in her accusation against Joseph saying, and I quote, the Hebrew slave came in to me, to Isaac me. In other words, he came in to engage in sexual play. With me.

So we don't know exactly the play. That Isaac was engaging in with Rebecca, but whatever it was, it was the play that clearly told Abimelech. That Isaac and Rebecca are husband and wife and not brother and sister. For whatever it's worth in my, just the way I see it, they were probably making out or something like that.

And Abimelech saw them doing this. Look at how Abimelech responds verse 9. Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, certainly she is your wife. How then did you say she is my sister?

What a sad moment This is As R. Kent Hughes says, what a sorry state of affairs when unbelievers rightly decry the conduct of believers. And Abimelech is calling Isaac on his deception, saying, what, what is the thinking process that would lead you to deceive us in this way? Well, Isaac gives a fairly transparent answer.

In verse 9, the text says, and Isaac said to him, Because I said I might die on account of her. The King James Version has Isaac saying, because I said lest I die for her. Boy, Isaac is a dream catch, isn't he? Wouldn't you single gals love to find a guy like this who makes decisions out of fear of ever having to die for you?

Isaac's explanation is even worse than that because it embodies an element of blame shifting. What he's really saying is the reason I lied is because the people of this culture are evidently of such a character and they're being ruled over by leaders whose legal system is of such a nature that I had reason to fear that men might kill me if they knew that Rebecca was my wife. Well, that explanation doesn't fly with Abimelech. Listen to what he says in verse 10.

Abimelech said, what is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife and you would have brought guilt upon us. He wants Isaac to think about what he's done and telling. This lie and lying, Isaac has misled the people and one of these misled men of Gerard could have easily taken Rebecca and lain with her, thus bringing danger to Rebecca, but more importantly, bringing guilt upon the entire city.

This is a stunning rebuke to Isaac. Isaac has been thinking only of himself. And Abimelech is thinking of other people. When you read this account, Abimelech actually comes off as the more righteous of, of the two, at least in this moment.

And he doesn't even know the half of it. Abimelech doesn't know that God has just appeared to Isaac and made promises to him, and that Isaac is resorting to this tactic of deception in order to preserve his own life when in fact God has already given him assurance. And many promises to be with him and to bless him. So how does Abimelech respond?

Does he send Isaac and Rebecca out of Gerar like Pharaoh did to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12? Does he punish Isaac? Actually, amazingly, just the opposite. And this brings us to the 5th development.

In the story of Isaac living under the most gracious blessing of God. Number 5, Abimelech delivers a decree to protect Isaac and Rebecca. Observe what he does in verse 11. So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

Now, as positive as this sounds, there is a certain embarrassment that would come to Isaac in this announcement. Isaac has been telling everyone that he and Rebecca are brother and sister. Now Abimelech, we're told here in the text that he's speaking to all the people and he's setting the record straight, announcing to everyone that Rebecca is actually Isaac's wife. Now everyone knows in the city that Isaac has been lying to them.

Nonetheless, this is a blessing from God upon Isaac. God has allowed this deception to go on for a long time. But now God has orchestrated the discovery. Of the deception and is orchestrating this announcement because God wants Isaac to be walking in truthfulness and authenticity before God.

And before the people of Gerar, just like God wants us. To do As his people And it's God's merciful providence at work in Abimelech that causes him to be kindly enough disposed toward Isaac and Rebecca that he would deliver this decree. And say, he who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. It's as if, guys, these words are added to the laws.

Gerard. The word touch would have had a twofold meaning. Abimelech is saying whoever touches Isaac in any abusive or hurtful way. That brings injury to him, and he's saying whoever touches Rebecca in any way that's sexual or inappropriate.

To touch a married woman belonging to another man, Abimelech is saying whoever wrongly touches Isaac or Rebecca in any such way will be put to death. That means that to mess with Isaac and Rebecca in any way is a capital offense that brings the death sentence. On the violator. Imagine our country passing a law.

For your benefit that says anyone who so much as wrongly touches you dies. That's basically the law that's being enacted here. For Isaac and Rebecca's benefit. This is the last thing that Isaac deserves, but God has given him favor.

In the eyes of Abimelech leading Abimelech to deliver this decree. And just as we get to this point of the passage, a question for you to ponder, do you think Isaac would now feel safe or safer? And more secure now that Abimelech has spoken. This decree Probably But consider the irony of that.

Isaac was apparently not sufficiently comforted by God's decrees and God's promises. To be with him and to bless him. Yet now Isaac is probably quite comforted by the decree of a human king. Either way, this is the most gracious blessing from God to move the heart of Abimelech to deliver this decree.

He clearly wants Isaac and Rebecca to stay. In the land and dwell with them and so he provides this protection for them. This brings us to the final development in this account of Isaac's life under the blessing. Of God.

Number 6. God prospers Isaac and Gerard to an enviable degree. Look at what happens in verse 12. Now, Isaac sowed in that land.

Guys, this is what someone does who plans on staying for a while, at least until harvest time. You plant crops in the spring because you plan to be around at harvest time in the fall and you harvest because you plan on enjoying that harvest. So Isaac sows in the land and we're told, and he reaped in the same year a hundredfold and the Lord blessed him. Keep in mind that the land of Canaan is under famine conditions right now, although it, it may be that the famine was a little less severe in this region than in other parts of the land of Canaan.

Yet we're told here that Isaac reaped a hundredfold. What this means is that whatever Isaac's costs were in planting and maintaining his crops, whatever his costs were, he reaped. 100 times that cost. In other words, for every $1 he spent in planting.

And paying workers and what have you and paying for supplies and tools, he reaped enough of a harvest to generate $100 in income for every $1. that he had spent We're told in verse 12 that this is happening to Isaac because the Lord blessed him. There's no other explanation for this. God is blessing him just as he promised that he would do.

And it gets even better than crops too. Imagine how many people would be coming to Isaac from the surrounding famine scorched regions. To purchase produce from him and the money that Isaac would make from that. So we're not surprised to read the following in verses 13 and 14.

actually, I don't think I have that. on there, but Maybe, maybe I do. We're gonna look at verse 13. It says, and the man became rich and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy.

And we missed this in the English, but the Hebrew word for great shows up 3 times in verse 13. Literally, we could translate the verse this way, and the man became great and was going on, going on and becoming great until he had become very great. That's the Hebrew of the passage. And the greatness being spoken about here is clearly the greatness of riches, which is what the New American Standard translators try to capture as the text tells us that Isaac grows rich and then once he became rich, we're told that he continued to grow richer and he kept growing richer until he became very wealthy.

And this wealth came from the fact that in part, he had possessions of flocks. And herds, which were significant items in the currency of the day. And we're also told that Isaac had a great household. Literally this reads a plentiful service.

Or an abundant contingent of servants which would have included many servants and employees who were managing all of Isaac's various enterprises. And all of this flourishing is happening for Isaac. While famine is raging in the land of Canaan. I am sure Isaac is thankful to God for his merciful goodness.

Clearly, Isaac had done the right thing to obey God and not go down into Egypt, but to trust God, though it didn't make sense and to stay. In the land where God told him to stay and where God told him that he would bless him. At the end of verse 14, we're told that the blessing of God upon Isaac was so great, and his wealth increased to such an extent, look at the end of the verse, so that the Philistines envied him. They envied him because they're not prospering like Isaac is prospering.

Here he is dwelling as a sojourner in their land, and he's prospering more than they are prospering. And this sets in motion some of the conflict. That we will see in the coming verses when we come back. To this chapter in a couple of weeks.

But for today, we're gonna stop here. And ponder just a few. Thoughts First of all, guys, let's ponder. God's blessing on Isaac and where it came from.

In our passage today, God blesses Isaac in these verses for two reasons. Number one, because he had promised or he had sworn an oath to Abraham. Decades prior, and number 2, because Abraham had obeyed God. And his obedience served as the basis for God's promises to Isaac, together with the oath that God had sworn decades earlier to Abraham.

And guys, this, this should resonate with us, I think. God is a God who makes promises and he's true to his word to us. He says what he means, and he means what he says. And when God makes a promise, he keeps his promises.

He may have stated a particular promise 100 years prior, or even 2000 years ago, but every promise that God has ever spoken. is always as fresh and always as vivid as if he spoke it one minute ago. Take all the promises that God has spoken to you as a Christian. And the promises are numerous.

He's told Isaac, I'll be with you and Jesus says to us, lo, I am with you always, even at the end of the age. And God says to us in Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave you or forsake you. God doesn't just promise to bless us, but he says that he has in fact blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. In 1 Peter 3.

God tells us to give a blessing to others because we have been savingly called to inherit a blessing. On and on and on the promises of God go. According to 2 Peter 1:4, the promises that God gives to us are exceeding great and precious promises. And these promises are just as vivid in God's mind right now as they were when he spoke them.

And as if he spoke to them a minute ago. So how will you live your life today? How will you live your life this week? In the face of these promises, will you walk in obedience?

Will you walk in faith? Or will you doubt God's promises? I know you'd like to think, as I do, that man, I want to trust God's promises. But guys, imagine that God just spoke promises to you right now.

Before you leave this room, he appears to you and speaks promises that are found in the New Testament. He speaks them to you, would it affect how you live today? Distance and time makes no difference. The promises God gives you in the New Testament, yes, they were spoken 2000 years ago, but they are as fresh and vivid in his mind as if he spoke them.

Right now. And these promises that God gives to us guys, they're not based on Many of them are not based upon our obedience. But they're given to us because Jesus earned them for us. Because someone greater than Abraham has been obedient on our behalf, and that is Jesus Christ.

Jesus obeyed his father even when the father called him to the cross to die for our sins. And if you're a believer in Jesus this morning, God makes promises to you. Because of the obedience of Christ, and he's gonna keep those promises to you. Because of Christ's obedience.

And this should be a relief to all of us. God's greatest promises to us they are not based on how we perform from day to day. Just take the promise of justification, forgiveness. God declaring us righteous in Christ.

God justified us on the day of our conversion. And thereby promise to always think of us as having our sins forgiven and righteous with the very righteousness of Jesus. And if you have a bad day, God doesn't look at you and say, what, I take that promise back. You're not justified anymore.

No, your justification, God's promises embodied in his justification of you are not based upon your performance, but solely based upon the obedience of Jesus. And because of that They don't waiver from day to day. We can rest in God's goodness. And in his promises.

We can be encouraged from this passage. Along these lines, but I think we can also be sobered as we observe the partial obedience of Isaac He obeyed God by staying in Gerrard. That was a good thing, but he lies about his wife. That's a bad thing.

He trusted God on one front, but distrusted God on another. Does that remind you of anybody? Yeah, you and me. We are recipients of the promises of God, yet we still Believe him in some ways and turn around and disbelieve him in others.

We obey God on one front, but we refuse to trust him on another front. We settle for living lives of partial obedience to God and partial trust in Him. For the life of me. I, I still can't figure out how I myself can trust God so totally on one day and then not trust him on the next day.

Or how I can so totally trust God in one area on a given day, and yet on that same day, at the very same time, fail to trust God. In another area. But I see this contradiction. In me, and it reminds me of why I need a savior.

Every day. To grow me and strengthen me in grace and in faith. Isaac may have stayed in Gerar and may have prided himself for not going down to Egypt like his father did. And yet he turns around and does exactly what his father did twice.

Let those who think they stand take heed lest They fall. We also learned something in these verses about the power of a parent's example, do we not? Abraham gave way to fear, lied about Sarah. Being a sister in Genesis 12 and Genesis 20, here we see Isaac giving way to fear and engaging in the same sin that his dad had committed.

And the interesting thing, guys, is the deceptions of Abraham along these lines in Genesis 12 and 20 had happened before Isaac was even born. Isaac may have never actually witnessed his dad engaging in these deceptions, but simply heard about it. Which means maybe that the sins that Abraham committed before Isaac was born still may have had some influence on Isaac's decision making. Perhaps, at the very least, parents, I think we can be forewarned and be careful about the choices that we make.

And how our choices may influence our children, and, and that doesn't just start when your child is born. Those of you that are unmarried or you're married and you have no children yet, be careful about the choices that you're making even now. Even if you're single or childless right now, you should ask yourself, would I want my children engaging in this behavior when they are at the age that I am at now. And if you don't want them engaging in that behavior, Don't do it.

Let that thought keep you from doing something stupid. I've seen children who, who think this way about their parents' former sins that their parents committed when they were younger, even before the children were born. And they think, well, my mom or dad did this when they were younger and look at them, they turned out OK. And thus they can feel emboldened to commit the same sin.

I've had my own children at times say something similar to me. I've tried to warn them about some sin to avoid that I did not avoid when I was younger and they've said, well, you turned out OK. And my response is always, who said I'm OK? Yeah.

I'm not OK And this may have been what happened to Isaac. Henry Morris says perhaps Isaac may have reasoned that even though Abraham had been embarrassed through this type of deception, he had at least come out of it alive and so had Sarah, so maybe it was the best course of action to follow. Parents, your children are watching the steps that you take, not just on your good days, but also on your bad days. And they also may at some point be giving consideration to the way you lived your life even before they were born.

Be careful of the example that you set for them. Just like Isaac should be right now thinking, even regarding his own two boys. In fact, one of the great ironies here is that in Genesis 26, It is Isaac who is deceiving others, and in Genesis 27, it is Isaac being deceived by his own son. who probably witnessed The deception of Isaac in the previous chapter.

So be careful moms and dads, and if you have sinned and you have failed and all of us have, there's forgiveness with God. If you have set a bad example for your children in some way, repent, receive God's forgiveness. And receive your children's forgiveness. Be an example to your children now of courageous and humble repentance.

Maybe you've blown the opportunity to be a perfect parent. You've blown the opportunity to give to your children the gift of a perfect parent. But having blown that opportunity, you now have a chance to give them an even greater gift, and that is the gift of a repentant. Parent.

Repent Give them the gift of a repenting gospel clinging parent. I think in the end that's the greatest gift of all. Let's pray together what the greatest, deepest need that all of us have in our hearts is to be loved by someone who loves us so much they're willing to die for us. And Rebecca, at least at this point in time, did not have a husband who was willing to die on account of her, but Jesus did die.

For sinners like us. So that we would have atonement for all the ways that we fall short. Embrace the grace of that if you're a child of God this morning, but if you're not a child of God this morning, look to Christ and believe in Him. And receive forgiveness.

For your sins. Lord, we thank you for this text and for the good that is in it. Give us hearts that are open to all that you have for us, make us wiser, more careful, more humble, better parents, more repentant men and women. And leave us, Lord, more dazzled by the amazing grace that you lavish upon us, a grace and a blessing we don't deserve, but it comes to us because of Jesus and what He has done.

And those who are forgiven much, love much, and may we love you much. Because of the great grace that you have bestowed upon us in Christ. We thank you for this opportunity to give up our offerings to you, Lord, receive these funds, do much with all. That is given In the name of Jesus.

And for the glory. Of you, Lord. And the expansion of your kingdom. It's in his name we pray, and all God's people said.