GENESIS 26
12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.
14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” – Genesis 26:12-22
GENESIS 26 CONTENTIONS OVER TERRITORIES
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
As soon as Isaac’s wealth and riches become obvious
The Philistines wanted him out of their nation
Then as he moved to Gerar to redo the wells that his father dug
More contentions come about because of the spring water there
When he moved again, he finally dug a well and called it Rehoboth
This name means that the Lord allowed them to be fruitful there.
Isaac is now reaping the promises that the Lord gave to his father, Abraham. But wealth and riches always bring about contentions. Once someone gets an outpouring of gifts from the Lord, there will always be someone who will become envious of that. When the Philistines saw his growth in wealth and riches, they asked him to leave their land. So, Isaac journeyed to Gerar and settled there. But it didn’t stop the people in that place to claim the well that Abraham dug as theirs. We clearly see the sinfulness of humans especially when it involves something that is profitable.
REFLECTION
- Where do quarrels come from? What does James 4 say about this?
