Genesis 26 – February 28

Today you are going to notice that there are many parallels, both good and bad, between Abraham and his son, Isaac. Let’s consider a few.

First, we find God passing the covenant promises to Isaac. Just like Abraham, the Lord promised to protect Isaac. The Lord promised to multiply his offspring. The most substantial of these promises is found in verse 4, “And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. The key is that all of the covenant is intact, and not one promise will be lost. “I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.”

However, the covenant was not the only thing that was passed down. Isaac also inherited his father’s sin nature, just like you and I received a sin nature from our parents. We quickly learn that the apple did not fall too far from the tree. We all have a tendency to learn from our parent’s actions just as much or more than we do from their words. You are probably much more like your parents than you want to admit. Isaac had probably heard about his father’s attempts to protect himself by lying about the kind of relationship he has with his wife. Parents, this should be a warning to us that our children are watching us. They are learning from what we do, even the things that we have done before they were born. Isaac copied the very worst parts of his father’s history.

It seems from the ongoing narrative that this event may be the downfall of what had previously been a wonderful marriage. In the previous chapter, we saw what appeared to be deep and genuine love between two people that were both submissive to God. After this big lie, we never see Rebekah respect her husband again. We never see closeness between them moving forward. They are at odds, and Rebekah works together with her own son to deceive her husband. It is also very telling that there is no funeral for Rebekah in Genesis. All of the other patriarchs and their wives receive extensive writing about their deaths. Even Rebekah’s nursemaid has a funeral section. But, from this point forward, Rebekah is never spoken of well. And it likely stems from the strain that this great sin put on their relationship, and it only happened because Isaac did not trust the Lord’s promise of protection.

Another parallel is the person who is being sinned against: Abimelech. It is possible that this is not actually a name, but a title. The name Abimelech means, “my father is (or was) the king.” [You can probably recognize the Hebrew words Abba (father) and Melek (king).] Perhaps it was indeed the very same man. That would explain how he so easily discerned that Isaac and Rebekah were lying to him from the way they laughed with each other. Whether it was the same person or not, the story of Abraham’s lie was probably well-known among them. 

One of the key points for us to note from this chapter is that God did not establish His covenant with Abraham or Isaac because they were good people. They were sinners, just like Abimelech. In many ways, it appears that Abimelech was more honorable than any of the patriarchs. So, why is it that God chose Abraham and his line? For the same reason that He chose you and me to be recipients of the promise. Because He wanted to. I realize that for some people that answer is uncomfortable. They want some kind of a formula or a series of hoops to jump through in order to be made worthy of God’s love. That just isn’t how it works. We are saved by grace through faith, it is a gift so that no one can boast. Abraham and Isaac and every subsequent generation were unworthy of the promise. But, God is gracious and committed to saving His people in spite of themselves.