Hello Advent Family,

Have you ever noticed how, whether you like it or not, you end up picking up some of your parents habits or mannerisms?  Isaac certainly has the same issue.  He just has heard from God that God will be with him and bless him and his descendants.  He decides that God’s promise is not good enough and out of fear he tells people that his wife, Rebecca is his sister.  Does this sound familiar?  Let’s look together at the account found in Genesis 26.   

The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.” 8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” 10 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

This story to me teaches us a few different things.  First, we all need to trust in the promises of God and not try and take matters into our own hands.  As parents or grandparents we need to realize that we are leaving a legacy for those generations behind us.  Through what we say and teach, but more importantly, through how we act and live.  I’m certain that if Abraham knew Isaac would have the same struggle as him he might have had a second thought and trusted God more.  May we all learn from this and realize that our choices impact more than just our own lives.  Our choices are a legacy that we pass down to future generations.  May we all leave a legacy of great faith and trust in God.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave