Abraham is 99 years old and God says, “You are going to have a son,” and he falls on his face and breaks out in laughter, not in tears, laughter. Gen. 17:17. Isaac or Yitzhak was born in Gen. 21:1-8, circumcised on the 8th day, and weaned from his mother on his third birthday, that’s how it was done. The next day Hagar and Ishmael his half brother are driven out, expelled, with nothing more than a loaf of bread and a bottle of water. 37 years pass between Gen. 21:22 and Gen. 22:1 and Abraham’s sacrifice on Mt. Moriah. Thirty seven years between that period and the next capitol letter. So, we know nothing about Isaac’s early life as we do Ishmael’s. Isaac’s early life is a mystery, just like the early life of Yeshua, Jesus. However, we do know he stayed on Mt. Moriah with the Angel of Jehovah when his father Abraham left to return home to his mother Sarah in Gen. 22:19 with the two servants, as seen in the Hebrew text, why? To commune alone with the LORD like Joshua did in Ex. 33:11. Do you take time to commune alone with the LORD? Do you? What does it mean to commune with the LORD? Could this be where Isaac learned to meditate on the LORD? Gen. 24:63.

In Gen. 23, Sarah, Isaac’s mother dies, whom he loved very much and he mourns her death and lived in her tent. He was very close to Sarah as Ishmael was very close to Abraham and Hagar. How do we know this? Gen. 24:67 says, he is finally comforted, (na-cham) consoled, eased of grief following his mother Sarah’s death. Question, where did he take Rebekah? Into his mother Sarah’s tent. He was living there while Abraham his father was living with Keturah, his new wife which means incense, who bore him six more sons, at 140.  The ancient Rabbis believe this is Hagar who came back after Sarah died. In Gen. 24, Abraham’s eldest servant, probably Eliezer (God’s – helper) of Damascus  goes to Iraq to get Isaac a wife, namely Rebekah the second matriarch. Her beauty and character were captivating, like a noose around your neck and Isaac’s grief was immediately lost in his love for his newly arrived bride. The first time we find Isaac as an adult other than on Mt. Moriah is in Gen. 24:63 where we find him meditating in the field near Lahairoi, “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide: and he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold the camels were coming,” his father taught him well, or the Angel of the LORD did. The next time we find Isaac is in Gen. 25:19-23 where he ‘Entreats’ the LORD for children for his wife at the age of 60. Three things stand out here: 1 – He knew how to Commune with the LORD; 2 – He knew how to Meditate on the LORD; 3 – He knew how to Entreat to the LORD.

Abraham is still alive and 160 years old when his grandsons Esau and Jacob are born. They are about 15 years old when Abraham dies so he had time to influence their lives. There is another famine and the LORD tells Isaac to go to Gerar not Egypt and confirms Abraham’s Covenant with him in Lahairoi which we know as the ‘Gaza Strip’ today. Abraham is dead at this point because Isaac becomes the new Patriarch with the confirmation of the covenant just like Abraham did when his father Terah died in Haran in Gen. 11:32. Isaac lies about his wife Rebekah, being his sister and she is about 60 years old and very beautiful, (like father like son) or like they say, ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!’ What is ironic is the only verse in the Bible like this is Ezek. 16:45 which says, “Like mother like daughter.” But we will leave that one alone for now 🙂 Then Isaac enters a new career, a new occupation, a new calling if you will. We had; Adam the ‘Garden-Tiller;’ Enoch the ‘God-Pleaser;’ Noah the ‘Ship-Builder;’ Abraham the ‘Altar-Builder;’ Hagar the ‘Run-Away;’ Moriah the ‘God-Seer;’ Ishmael the ‘Great-Archer;’ Some missed ‘Brush-Strokes;’ The ‘Adam’s Family;’ and now, Isaac the ‘Well-Digger;’ Here’s something to put on your frig;   “A person’s prayer life, should encompass more than their prayer list!” (ponder that thought a moment)

Wells are very important, especially in the desert where water is very scarce. To name a well denoted the right of property and to stop or destroy one was a mark of territorial conquest or encroachment. Just keep that in mind! A dug well many times was a source of living, you paid to drink or bestowed gifts on the owner. Esau married Judith whose father owned a well, which made him rich, his name was Beeri, (Well) Gen. 26:34. Water is essential to life, you need it to cook, clean, drink, irrigate; Dr. Shelton who studied fasting stated, a man can go without food for 40 days, without water for three days, without air for 8 minutes, and without hope for 30 seconds. Starvation begins on the 41st day when the stored food reserves in your tissues are used up. (Interesting Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Jesus all fasted for 40 days not 41). We take water for granted, we just turn a faucet, but in Isaac’s day you either lived by a river, dug a well or died of thirst and dehydration. A dug well indicated that you liked the area and that you planned on staying there for awhile with your family. Now Abimelech and the Philistines envied Isaac and filled his father’s wells with stones and told him to move on! To get out of their territory, Gen. 26:14-16, sound familiar? So, he departed from Gerar City and dwelt in Gerar Valley. By the way, Gerar is the Gaza Strip and is the modern city of, ‘Umm.’ The root word for Gerar means, ‘to drag off or away.’ Sometimes my friend, God has to drag us off or away from something so we can hear His voice and know His will. We like security, the unknown is a scary thing. Most of us don’t like to live ‘by faith!’ He was, ‘at ease in Zion,’ to use a common phrase and God dragged him off to the valley where He could use him and speak to him. We don’t live on the Mt. top of transfiguration, we live in the valley with the demons Matt. 17. Question, where has God dragged you off to today? Do you feel lonely, lost, destitute, hopeless, and helpless? Then you are right where God wants you, in the valley where the enemy has chased you! Isaac could have stayed and fought but it was God’s will to move on. He had something to do for God and something to hear from Him.

There are times in our lives when circumstances cause us to move on, to make changes, and to adjust to whatever God is allowing to happen to us. Remember, God led him to Gerar during the famine, Gen. 26:13, and then he became great, “And the man became great and went forward and grew until he became very great.” Sometimes God’s servants stay too long in one place and sometimes they don’t stay long enough to make a difference. Isaac could have gotten mad at the Philistines but instead he just moved on, and on, and on. It is no different with us today either, sometimes God allows circumstances to occur in our lives to “Gerar” drag us out kicking and screaming or He has to use the enemy to shove us out the door so He can speak to us and use us for His glory. So don’t get mad, get moving, pitch a tent, not a fit, grab a shovel, dig a well, dip your cup in, try some living water and be still and listen to that small, still voice and wait on Him! That’s what I had to do in the fall of 2006, when He said, “Step out of the boat!” I’ve never looked back, not one time, and I’ve never, ever regretted stepping out of that boat!     “Between The Lines”

“Abba, Father, Thank You for leading us along the way, showing us the way, teaching us the way, even when we have to come kicking and screaming. You know what’s best, Abba always knows best, because only You know the end from the beginning. Show us Abba, the way in which we should walk, the right paths, so we may commune with You and Your Son, meditate on You and Your Word and entreat with You and Your Spirit.” In ha shem Yeshua we pray, Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – ‘Isaac The Welldigger-1’