Gen 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
Gen 26:2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
Gen 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Gen 26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Gen 26:6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Gen 26:7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
Gen 26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
Gen 26:9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Gen 26:10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Gen 26:11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Gen 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
Gen 26:13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
Gen 26:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
Gen 26:15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
Gen 26:16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
If we look back to Gen 20, Abimelech is tempted to take in Sarah as a concubine. Abraham had told the half truth that she was his sister so he wouldn't be killed for her. Abimelech was warned by God and did the right thing in returning Sarah to her husband. He was king of Gerar at the time.
Now, he is ascended to rulership over all the Philistines and Isaac and Rebekah come into his domain. Just like his dad, Isaac tells a lie about his wife to save his own neck. Abimelech begins to consider her as a possible wife or concubine for himself or one of the Philistines, when he observes the couple having some marital fun together. He is convinced that brother and sister don't act like this, they must be a couple.
Twice now, the providence of the Lord allows the king to dodge a bullet. He is allowed to bless Isaac as he did Abraham, and, according to the Abrahamic covenant, he was also greatly blessed.
Thank God for His leadership in our lives. How many are the times He keeps us from great error by speaking to us with His still small voice and allowing circumstances to steer us away from trouble.
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