Bible ReadingGenesis 26:1–331. Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.
[47:56]2. And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.
[49:18]3. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
4. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
5. because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6. So Isaac settled in Gerar.
7. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance.
8. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife.
9. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”
10. Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
11. So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12. And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him.
[50:53]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.
[50:53]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.)
[50:53]16. And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
[53:34]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.
[53:34]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.”
[55:54]23. From there he went up to Beersheba.
24. And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
25. So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
[01:15:41]26. When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army,
27. Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?”
28. They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you,
29. that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.”
30. So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
31. In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.
32. That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.”
33. He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
[01:21:35]Psalm 127:1–21. Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
2. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
[01:08:03]Observation questions- What does God tell Isaac to do during the famine, and what promises does God connect to Isaac staying in Gerar? [49:18]
- What events show the sharp contrast between Isaac’s hundredfold harvest and the Philistines’ response to him?
- What pattern appears in Isaac’s actions after Abimelech sends him away and after the herdsmen quarrel over the wells? [55:54]
- What do Abimelech and his companions finally recognize about Isaac, and how does Isaac respond to their request for peace? [01:18:30]
Interpretation questions- Why might God’s instruction for Isaac to remain in Gerar during a famine have required trust rather than mere human logic? [49:32]
- Isaac works, moves, redigs wells, and keeps going. How does this show that biblical rest is not the same as doing nothing? [01:11:43]
- Psalm 127 calls anxious labor “vain,” while Genesis 26 shows Isaac working faithfully. What is the difference between faithful work and anxious striving?
- Isaac had a real claim to the wells, yet he did not fight every conflict. How can a believer discern when it is wise to address a wrong and when it is wiser to pursue peace? [01:14:17]
Application questions- Where have you recently been tempted to take full credit for a good outcome—at work, in school, in family, in ministry, or in a relationship? How can you thank God specifically while still valuing faithful effort? [57:16]
- Is there an area where you are carrying all the blame because something is not working out, even though you have done what you can? What would it look like to give God the weight that only God can carry? [01:00:25]
- What “well” are you most afraid of losing right now—an opportunity, income, relationship, reputation, position, or plan? How might that fear be revealing where your rest has been placed? [01:24:07]
- Where do you sense God inviting you to “keep digging”—to keep obeying, serving, applying, repairing, praying, or showing up—without trying to control the outcome? [01:12:08]
- Is there a current conflict where you feel strongly that you are right? What would choosing peace over pride look like in one concrete conversation, message, or decision this week? [01:15:05]
- Who is an “Abimelech” in your life: someone who has blocked you, misunderstood you, treated you unfairly, or rewritten the story? What might forgiveness, honesty, and peace look like without pretending that the wrong never happened? [01:20:28]
- When your “well” feels dry, what practices help you remember that God—not your circumstances, success, or security—is your true source? [01:24:19]
