Transcendence

Ten: Blessings of Offspring

Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whom Sarah's maidservant Hagar, the Egyptian, bore to him had twelve sons. Nebaioth was the first born, then came Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These men, his sons,became twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. (Just as God promised Abraham, Ishmael would bear many offspring and create a numerous lineage.) All together Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt. The problem with these clans however, were that they lived in hostility toward all their brothers. ( Just as God had predicted to Hagar.)

Isaac, Abraham's son bore to him by Sarah, was forty years old when he married Rebekah (Daughter of Bethuel and sister of Laban the Aramean). Isaac loved his wife very much. He was happy. But, unlike his brother Ishmael, Isaac and Rebekah were not being blessed with children. Rebekah was barren. Though they were happy and very much in love they were devastated and heart broken that she wasn't getting pregnant. They both wanted children very much. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, asking the Lord to bless them with a child. Meanwhile they thanked the Lord for all the other many blessings and was truly thankful for all God did for them.

The Lord answered Isaac's prayer, but not nearly as quickly as Isaac had hoped. He never lost faith though because he knew God's plan was best. But in God's perfect timing, twenty years after they were married to be more precise, Rebekah became pregnant. ( Twenty years to wait for a prayer to be answered is a long time, but God knows what is best. His timing is always better than ours, we have to remember that God can see the bigger picture. He has a perfect plan for our lives as long as we wait for him. The waiting is always the hardest part.)

Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah became pregnant. She was ecstatic to learn that she was going to have twins. Further along in the pregnancy she became very concerned when she noticed the babies jostled each other within the womb. She prayed to the Lord and asked why this was happening. The Lord answered her saying, "Two nations are in your womb, the two peoples will be separated. One will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

When it was time for her to give birth the first to come out was Esau, he was red and his whole body was hairy. His brother came out next with his hand grasping Esau's heel. He was named Jacob. The boys grew up and Esau became a skillful hunter, who had a love of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet boy, staying among the tents near his mother. Their father Isaac had a taste for wild game and therefore favored his son Esau, while Rebekah loved Jacob the most.

They grew up together but knew of their parents obvious favoritism. Because of this as they got older their jealousy toward each other became more prominent. Once when Jacob was cooking some stew Esau came in from a long hunt in the open country completely famished. He asked his brother for some stew explaining how completely starved he felt. Jacob saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of Esau and said, "First sell me your birthright."

In a moment of weakness, Esau let his hunger overwhelm his concern for things of lasting value when he answered, "Look, I am about to die. What good is my birthright to me?" Then he swore to Jacob to sell him his inheritance for a meal. (In God's eyes in this moment Esau had despised his birthright to give it up so easily in what was a fleeting weak moment. God wants us to avoid temptation in every form. He wants us to be strong and hold on to things of value even when some situations seem to feel like life or death.)

Some time later there was a great famine in the land. (This was not the same as the earlier famine of Abraham's time. ) In desperation, Isaac went to the Philistine King, Abimelech, in Grear, in search of food. The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him to stay there in that land for a while, explaining that He would continue to bless him just as he promised his father Abraham. He reminded Isaac of His sworn oath with his father Abraham to give his descendants the land in Canaan and to bless him through all of his offspring because he had obeyed him, kept his requirements, his commands, and his decrees. Isaac had faith in God, knew of his own father's love for God and he too chose to obey by staying in Gerar as God commanded him. He knew that God was telling him to stay there because the famine was severe and he would be safe there until things were better in his own land.

It was very scary time for Isaac to be in a foreigh city. People were sinning and those in the city would take advantage of outsiders. So, in order to protect his family, just as Abraham had lied about his wife in a time of fear, Isaac lied to the king about Rebekah being his wife and insisted she was his sister. He was terrified the people would kill him if they knew she was his wife. They would kill him so that they could have her for themselves. The lie probably saved his life in the moment, but one day when Abimelech looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah he called Isaac in and in anger asked, "Why had you claimed she is your sister when she is really your wife? One of the men could have laid with her and brought guilt upon all of us!" Isaac explained his fear and Abimelech wanted to reassure him so he quickly gave the order that if anyone laid a hand on Rebekah or Isaac that person would be put to death.

Isaac began to see more of God's blessings pour upon him throughout the years as they stayed on in Gerar. He planted crops in the land and in the same year reaped a hundredfold. He became rich. His wealth continued to grow and grow. In time with God's blessings pouring out, he owned so many herds, flocks, and servants that the Philistines began to envy him. In jealousy, using dirt they filled up the water wells that Isaac's father Abraham had dug during his time. (This was their attempt to either kill Isaac or force him to move away. The animals would die without fresh water.)

Abimelech realized the tension, and problems arising between his people and Isaac. He finally asked Isaac to move away saying, "You have became too powerful for us."

So Isaac moved away to the valley, and in time he opened back up the wells that had originally been dug by his father. Isaac's servants also dug a well in the valley where they were settled and discovered fresh water. But the herdsmen of Gerar argued that it was theirs. Isaac dug another well and they claimed that too. ( Wells in those days meant life or death for all of their people as well as their herds. The wells were very important and took a very long time to dig. Having a well on their property meant sustained life.)

He went on and dug a third well, and when they didn't argue with him and claim it Isaac felt satisfied that God allowed him to claim the well and to spread out and flourish in the land. Isaac went up to Beersheba and that night the Lord appeared to him saying, "Do not be afraid. I am the God of your father Abraham. I will bless you and increase your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."

Isaac built an alter there.

(Life question: Waiting for answers to our prayers is always very hard. Are you still faithful when the answer to your prayer is wait? )