Genesis 26 gives us an account of much of Isaac’s life. Not much time is spent on Abraham’s son, Isaac. However, what we read in chapter 26 gives us a very interesting story that we can apply to ourselves and our own Christian experience. We know that water is important to all life on our planet. That fact is important to each of us, but even more so to someone with a large herd of livestock. Isaac had inherited all that his father had owned plus what he had accumulated himself. In those days wealth was measured by the size of the herds, flocks and livestock owned by an individual. The more they had, the richer they were considered. But as we have established, wealth in the form of livestock depends greatly on having places where they can graze and have a huge supply of water available.
A famine had hit the land and apparently there was food and water in the land of the Philistines, under the ruler, Abimelech. Even though God had promised Abraham and his descendants all the land on which they stepped foot on, as far as legal ownership, the only land that actually belonged to Isaac at this time was the field on which was the burial cave Abraham had purchased. So they were actually borrowing the land on which they fed and watered their livestock. Isaac took his family and his herds to Philistia in order to survive.
Another story took place that caused a rife between Isaac and Abimelech, which is something to be shared another time. What we need to see today is that Isaac’s wealth and livestock had grown to the point that he had too much and was too powerful for the Philistines so Abimelech came to Isaac and asked them to leave. Isaac didn’t give any resistance and did as he was asked. In Genesis 26 we read that the Philistines had stopped up all the wells that Abraham had dug. That being the case, Isaac was forced to reopen them.
We are told that he first went to the valley of Gerar to live and there he dug a well. But the people of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s servants telling them that even though they had dug the well, that the water belonged to them. Isaac and his people had to move own, and so he gave the name “Esek” to the well. That name means “Quarrel.” Moving on, they dug another well and the people of the land fought over that one too, and so Isaac called it “Sitnah” which means “Enmity.” They moved again and once again dug a third well. No one claimed that one and so Isaac called it “Rehoboth” meaning “Spacious,” because they had finally found space enough for themselves.
Traveling on, they went to a place called Beersheba and the LORD came to him that night assuring Isaac that the blessings He had promised to Abraham were still coming and that He would be with Isaac for his father, Abraham’s sake. And – You guessed it, they dug another well.
Finally, we are told how that Abimelech came to Isaac, bringing with him a friend named Ahuzzath and Phichol who was the captain of his army. They met with Isaac reminding him that they had treated him fairly and wanted to make a treaty with him because they feared Isaac would grow so great that he just might become an enemy, and conquer them. (They did many hundreds of years later, by the way). After they had left, Isaac’s servants told him that they had dug yet another well. Because of their meeting, Isaac named it Shebah, meaning “Oath,” or “Seven.” That’s why the place was called Beershebah meaning, “Well of the Oath or Seven.”
That’s the story, but how does this apply to us? What I felt the LORD speaking to me was that we don’t read that Isaac retaliated against Abimelech or his people during the digging of any of these wells. I don’t like digging. Digging is hard, back-breaking work. Honestly, if I had been in Isaac’s shoes the story may have gone a whole lot differently. But what we read of Isaac in these situations, tells me that he was a man of patience. Instead of fighting (which is what Abimelech feared in that final meeting with Isaac, because he recognized that the house of Isaac was more powerful that he was), Isaac simply moved on.
In my mind I can picture Isaac and his men doing the hard, laborious work of digging until they hit water. They had no power equipment with which to drill, and so it was one shovel-full at a time. Not easy. But he moved on past the quarrel and he moved on past the enmity, until he came to the place where there was space. But they didn’t stop there. Instead they kept digging wells.
This is an example to us. We too need to be welldiggers. We have to keep on digging. We can stop and fuss and argue when we are confronted over the well we have made in our lives. It may seem as though we have finally etched out a living, only to have it consumed by one need or another. We may feel like crying out “Life is impossible! I will never get ahead!”
But I want to tell you today that you and I need to keep on digging. We dig until we find that well that says “finally there is space.” We dig, and life or someone takes it away and so, well, we dig another. Instead of stopping let’s just say “well” and go to the next. In other words, what comes after the well? Will we say, “Well we will just stop,” or will we say, “Well, let’s just move on”? We go from one well to another but we need to quit quarreling with life and making our bad situations our enemy. Well, let’s instead look for space – Space in which we can grow. Space that gives us relief. Space that says “we won’t stop until God gives us room.” And He will.
In fact, God could be causing the strife over our “wells” in order to force us to move to that spacious place. We might otherwise be satisfied with little when we can have much. I’m not talking about physical riches now, but spiritual riches. Being content is a wealth all in itself. Saying “I’m happy and content with what God has provided” is a large space.
It seemed that God had called Isaac to dig wells. The first few he dug didn’t turn out so well. But he kept going, and he kept digging. Maybe God has called you. Perhaps you are a pastor and it seems the congregation over which you have been appointed will never grow. Maybe your congregation is your own children. You long to do more but for now this is the well God has given you. Just remember that as we are faithful over what God has given, He will take you to other wells. We just have to be patient and content with this one until God moves us on.
God doesn’t call you to do what you have been called to do and not provide. It may seem like that sometimes. But keep on digging those wells. One of these days you are going to strike an ocean. And then there will be a spacious place for the “well digger.”
— Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.” Newer books include “Finality” and “Dividing God’s Church.” Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these.