THE PROSPERITY OF ISAAC
‘Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.’
(Genesis 26:1-3)
In Genesis 26, the Bible shows that there was a famine in the land where Isaac was living. In a very normal reaction, Isaac intended on travelling to Egypt for survival but God stopped him. Furthermore, God told Isaac to stay and he prospered in the midst of famine.
Isaac inherited the blessing that was bestowed on his father Abraham. That blessing empowered him to prosper in the midst of crisis.
Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek,because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
(Genesis 26:12-22)
Isaac prospered in a land struck by economic crises to the point where he was seen as too powerful. In a land lacking resources, Isaac and his servants were able to dig three wells that had water.
The year 2026 and the many to come represent a heavy end time season where economic and social crises will likely rise. Within this context, here are a few lessons to learn:
- We have to live where God wants us to live. Isaac tried to go to Egypt but God told him to stay in Gerar. Where God wants you to be , it is where you will flourish.
- Galatians 3:29 states that ‘we are heirs of Abraham if we belong to Christ.' This means that as Christians we can tap into the blessing that Isaac had. The blessing that Isaac had, we all also have it.
- God can raise rare resources from under the ground, even during a dry season. God can prosper His people during crises.
How do we activate the blessing like Isaac did?
Simply because a Christian is an heir of Abraham, it does not mean that they will experience the effects of Abraham’s blessing. I say this because there is a difference between ‘being blessed’ and ‘activating the blessing’.
All born again Christians are blessed but not all of them manage to activate the blessing. Someone might debate my statement but there is much real life evidence showing that many Christians are struggling.
These are key elements to apply in order to activate the blessing:
- Obeying God: Abraham obeyed God, Isaaac obeyed God. Their obedience made it possible to stay where God wanted them to stay. Disobedience will obviously lead a Christian to miss the mark. If Isaac would have gone down to Egypt, he would have missed the prosperity of Gerar.
- Maintain a work ethic: ‘ In Genesis 26:12, Isaac sowed as a farmer. He maintained a work ethnic that disregarded the economic circumstances. Simply because an economic crisis occurs, it does not mean that Christians must eradicate any form of work ethic. Isaac did not wait for a better time to do some work. In spite of the famine, he sowed as a farmer and with his team they dug wells. They did not fold their arms.
In Deuteronomy 28:12, the Bible says that God blesses the work of our hands. Sometimes, many of us wrongly assume that we just need to fold our hands and wait for everything to come on laps. Let us remember that God blesses the work of our hands.
- Meditate the book of the Law: In Joshua 1:8, God tells Joshua to meditate the book of the Law ‘day and night’. As a result of such meditation, the work of our hands will be blessed.
- Be generous: Jesus said: ‘Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38).
- Save for the future: ‘ saving is part of wisdom. In Proverbs 21:20, the Bible says:‘The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.’ (NIV)
‘There is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it.’ (NKJV)
A culture of saving is an indication of wisdom.
A blessed person works. A blessed person obeys the Lord. A blessed person enjoys meditating on God’s Laws. A blessed person is generous. A blessed person saves for the future.