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.

Genesis 26:23-25 (ESV)

Up to Beersheba

Isaac keeps getting kicked out of the area he chooses to settle. Yesterday he finally landed in a place that he didn’t need to struggle in. We don’t know how long he stayed there. Today we find him moving to another place, South of Gerar. Northern Hemisphere folk often think of going South as “down”. But he went a bit up in elevation. We’ll see tomorrow that he makes an oath there so the name of the place becomes Beersheba (which means oath).

God appears

When he gets to this land, God appears to Isaac that night, right away, and confirms the blessing of descendents…for Abraham’s sake. It’s almost like Isaac kept looking for a place to rest and as soon as he got to the place, God came and confirmed it. This is now the second time the Lord appeared to Isaac. The first was Genesis 26:2. 

 What is the other part of His message? “Fear not for I am with you.” Up to now, Isaac had not demonstrated any fear, he just peacefully moved on. Maybe God knew that after the continued troubles he was beginning to fear. It’s always an encouragement to know the Lord is with us.

Isaac responds

And when God appears, Isaac responds immediately by calling on the name of the Lord and pitching his tent there – meaning he started living there. And his servants went out to dig another well since they would be there for a while. We’ll see tomorrow what happens.

RЯeflection

• How encouraging it is when we know the Lord is with us and we have nothing to fear! Are you in a fearful situation right now? Know that the Lord is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you! (Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20)

“God kept His covenant with Isaac for Abraham’s sake. After the same pattern, God keeps His covenant with us for Jesus’ sake.” (enduringword.com)