261 Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. 2 And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge: 3 Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham; 4 I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth; 5 Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws.
6 So Isaac went on living in Gerar; 7 And when he was questioned by the men of the place about his wife, he said, She is my sister; fearing to say, She is my wife; for, he said, the men of the place may put me to death on account of Rebekah; because she is very beautiful. 8 And when he had been there for some time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking through a window, saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife. 9 And he said to Isaac, It is clear that she is your wife: why then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said, For fear that I might be put to death because of her. 10 Then Abimelech said, What have you done to us? one of the people might well have had connection with your wife, and the sin would have been ours. 11 And Abimelech gave orders to his people that anyone touching Isaac or his wife was to be put to death.
12 Now Isaac, planting seed in that land, got in the same year fruit a hundred times as much, for the blessing of the Lord was on him. 13 And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more; 14 For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy. 15 Now all the water-holes, which his father's servants had made in the days of Abraham, had been stopped up with earth by the Philistines. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are. 17 So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there. 18 And he made again the water-holes which had been made in the days of Abraham his father, and which had been stopped up by the Philistines; and he gave them the names which his father had given them. 19 Now Isaac's servants made holes in the valley, and came to a spring of flowing water. 20 But the herdmen of Gerar had a fight with Isaac's herdmen, for they said, The spring is ours: so he gave the spring the name of Esek, because there was a fight about it. 21 Then they made another water-hole, and there was a fight about that, so he gave it the name of Sitnah. 22 Then he went away from there, and made another water-hole, about which there was no fighting: so he gave it the name of Rehoboth, for he said, Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will have fruit in this land.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 26:1-22
Commentary on Genesis 26:1-5
(Read Genesis 26:1-5)
Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence upon the Divine grant of the land of Canaan to him and his heirs; and now that there is a famine in the land, Isaac still cleaves to the covenant. The real worth of God's promises cannot be lessened to a believer by any cross providences that may befall him. If God engage to be with us, and we are where he would have us to be, nothing but our own unbelief and distrust can prevent our comfort. The obedience of Abraham to the Divine command, was evidence of that faith, whereby, as a sinner, he was justified before God, and the effect of that love whereby true faith works. God testifies that he approved this obedience, to encourage others, especially Isaac.
Commentary on Genesis 26:6-11
(Read Genesis 26:6-11)
There is nothing in Isaac's denial of his wife to be imitated, nor even excused. The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which overcame his father, and that in two instances. This rendered his conduct the greater sin. The falls of those who are gone before us are so many rocks on which others have split; and the recording of them is like placing buoys to save future mariners. This Abimelech was not the same that lived in Abraham's days, but both acted rightly. The sins of professors shame them before those that are not themselves religious.
Commentary on Genesis 26:12-17
(Read Genesis 26:12-17)
God blessed Isaac. Be it observed, for the encouragement of poor tenants who occupy other people's lands, and are honest and industrious, that God blessed him with a great increase. The Philistines envied Isaac. It is an instance of the vanity of the world; for the more men have of it, the more they are envied, and exposed to censure and injury. Also of the corruption of nature; for that is an ill principle indeed, which makes men grieve at the good of others. They made Isaac go out of their country. That wisdom which is from above, will teach us to give up our right, and to draw back from contentions. If we are wrongfully driven from one place, the Lord will make room for us in another.
Commentary on Genesis 26:18-25
(Read Genesis 26:18-25)
Isaac met with much opposition in digging wells. Two were called Contention and Hatred. See the nature of worldly things; they make quarrels, and are occasions of strife; and what is often the lot of the most quiet and peaceable; those who avoid striving, yet cannot avoid being striven with. And what a mercy it is to have plenty of water; to have it without striving for it! The more common this mercy is, the more reason to be thankful for it. At length Isaac digged a well, for which they strove not. Those that study to be quiet, seldom fail of being so. When men are false and unkind, still God is faithful and gracious; and his time to show himself so is, when we are most disappointed by men. The same night that Isaac came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba, God brought comforts to his soul. Those may remove with comfort who are sure of God's presence.