Genesis 26:8 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. Isaac in adversity, by reason of a famine in the land, which, 1. Obliges him to change his quarters (Gen 26:1). But, 2. God visits him with direction and comfort (Gen 26:2-5). 3. He foolishly denies his wife, being in distress and is reproved for it by Abimelech (Gen 26:6-11). II. Isaac in prosperity, by the blessing of God upon him (Gen 26:12-14). And, 1. The Philistines were envious at him (Gen 26:14-17). 2. He continued industrious in his business (Gen 26:18-23). 3. God appeared to him, and encouraged him, and he devoutly acknowledged God (Gen 26:24, Gen 26:25). 4. The Philistines, at length, made court to him, and made a covenant with him (Gen 26:26-33). 5. The disagreeable marriage of his son Esau was an alloy to the comfort of his prosperity (Gen 26:34, Gen 26:35).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 26 This chapter treats of Isaac's removal to Gerar, occasioned by a famine, Gen 26:1; of the Lord's appearance to him there, advising him to sojourn in that place, and not go down to Egypt; renewing the covenant he had made with Abraham, concerning giving that country to him and his seed, Gen 26:2; of what happened unto him at Gerar on account of his wife, Gen 26:7; of Isaac's great prosperity and success, which drew the envy of the Philistines upon him, Gen 26:12; of his departure from hence to the valley of Gerar, at the instance of Abimelech; and of the contentions between his herdsmen, and those of Gerar, about wells of water, which caused him to remove to Beersheba, Gen 26:16; of the Lord's appearance to him there, renewing the above promise to him, where he built an altar, pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well, Gen 26:24; of Abimelech's coming to him thither, and making a covenant with him, Gen 26:26; which place had its name from the oath then made, and the well there dug, Gen 26:32; and lastly, of the marriage of Esau, which was a great grief to Isaac and Rebekah, Gen 26:34.

And Abimelech called Isaac,.... Sent a messenger to desire him to come to him: and said, behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and then perhaps told him of what he had observed that passed between them; which was a clear proof that they must be man and wife, or he would never have took such liberties with her: and how saidst thou, she is my sister? what reason hadst thou for it? what could induce thee to say so? and Isaac said unto him; not alleging, as Abraham did, any relation that was between them before marriage: because I said; that is, within himself, for, he did not speak it out to others: lest I die for her; for her sake, that another might have and enjoy her; it was fear of losing his life that led him to take such a step, and give out that she was his sister.

Isaac means “rejoicing.” The inquisitive king saw him playing with his wife and helpmate, Rebekah. The king (his name was Abimelech) represents, I believe, a wisdom above this world, looking down upon the mystery signified by such childlike playing. Rebekah means “submission.” Oh, what prudent playing! Rejoicing joined to submission, with the king as audience. The Spirit exults in such merrymaking in Christ, attended with submissiveness. This is in truth godly childlikeness.…It is possible to interpret the meaning of the inspired Word in still another sense: that it refers to our rejoicing and making merry because of our salvation, like Isaac’s. He rejoiced because he had been saved from death; that is why he played and rejoiced with his spouse, as we with our helpmate in salvation, the church. The church too has been given the reassuring name “submissive endurance,” either because its enduring continues for all eternity in unending joy or because it is formed of the submission of those who believe: of us who are the members of Christ. The testimony given by those who have submissively endured until the end, and their gratitude as well, is a mystical playing; the helpmate of this holy gladness of heart is salvation. The king is Christ, looking down from above on our rejoicing and “peering through the door,” as Scripture says, on our gratitude and benediction that works in us joy and cheerfulness with submission.

Now Isaac was there a long time. Abimelech looked out of the window and saw him fondling his wife, Rebekah; he summoned him and said to him, “So she is your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister?’ ” Since the good man was unmasked by this evidence, instead of dissembling any further, he admitted it and gave a clear explanation of why he brought himself to call her his sister. He said, “I was afraid I might be killed on her account; the fear of death drove me to this extreme.”Perhaps, however, he had been forewarned, since Isaac’s father too had saved his own life by devising such a stratagem, and, for this reason, Isaac followed the same path. The king, however, had a lively memory of what he had suffered in the case of the patriarch for abducting Sarah, and at once he admitted his liability to punishment from on high by saying to him, “Why did you do it? Some one of my people could easily have slept with your wife, whereas you would have had us be in ignorance.” This deception, he is saying, we have already undergone at the hands of your father, and in the present case had we not quickly come upon the truth, we were on the verge of undergoing the same. “You would have let us be in ignorance.” You see, that time too they were on the verge of sinning through ignorance, and this time you were within a hairsbreadth of causing us to fall into sin out of ignorance.

A famine in the land obliges Isaac to leave Beer-sheba and go to Gerar, v. 1. God appears to him, and warns him not to go to Egypt, v. 2. Renews the promises to him which he had made to his father Abraham, vv. 3-5. Isaac dwells at Gerar, v. 6. Being questioned concerning Rebekah, and fearing to lose his life on her account, he calls her his sister, v. 7. Abimelech the king discovers, by certain familiarities which he had noticed between Isaac and Rebekah, that she was his wife, v. 8. Calls Isaac and reproaches him for his insincerity, vv. 9, 10. He gives a strict command to all his people not to molest either Isaac or his wife, v. 11. Isaac applies himself to husbandry and breeding of cattle, and has a great increase, vv. 12-14. Is envied by the Philistines, who stop up the wells he had dug, v. 15. Is desired by Abimelech to remove, v. 16. He obeys, and fixes his tent in the valley of Gerar, v. 17. Opens the wells dug in the days of Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up, v. 18. Digs the well, Eze 19:1-14, 20; and the well Sitnah, Eze 20:21; and the well Rehoboth, Eze 20:22. Returns to Beer-sheba, Eze 20:23. God appears to him, and renews his promises, Eze 20:24. He builds an altar there, pitches his tent, and digs a well, Eze 20:25. Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phichol, visit him, Eze 20:26. Isaac accuses them of unkindness, Eze 20:27. They beg him to make a covenant with them, Eze 20:28, Eze 20:29. He makes them a feast, and they bind themselves to each other by an oath, Eze 20:30, Eze 20:31. The well dug by Isaac's servants (Gen 26:25) called Shebah, Gen 26:33. Esau, at forty years of age, marries two wives of the Hittites, Gen 26:34, at which Isaac and Rebekah are grieved, Gen 26:35.

Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife - Whatever may be the precise meaning of the word, it evidently implies that there were liberties taken and freedom used on the occasion, which were not lawful but between man and wife.

SOJOURN IN GERAR. (Gen. 26:1-35) And there was a famine in the land . . . And Isaac went unto . . . Gerar--The pressure of famine in Canaan forced Isaac with his family and flocks to migrate into the land of the Philistines, where he was exposed to personal danger, as his father had been on account of his wife's beauty; but through the seasonable interposition of Providence, he was preserved (Psa 105:14-15).