Isaac: Redigging Old Wells

by Crown of Beauty

“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.”
Genesis 26:18

Bible Passage: Genesis 26

Genesis 26 opens with a famine in the land and Isaac on his way to Egypt. God tells him not to go down to Egypt, but to remain in Gerar. In that place God promises to bless him.

Isaac obeys, and indeed, the promised blessing begins to manifest.

With the increase of flocks and herds, having a steady water supply becomes Isaac’s priority. For some reason, all the wells that Abraham had dug were filled with earth by the Philistines. Isaac therefore instructs his servants to look for these old wells, and to dig them again.

The servants initially discover two of the wells, but upon being reopened, the wells become a cause of strife between Isaac’s men and the herdsmen of Gerar. Thus Isaac names the wells Esek, meaning Contention, and Sitnah, or Enmity.

A third well is re-discovered, and this time no one quarrels over it. Isaac calls the well Rehoboth, saying “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” Rehoboth literally means “Spaciousness, or Broad Places.”

Shortly after Rehoboth is re-dug, Isaac goes up to Beersheba.

What is so special about Beersheba?

In this passage we see how history repeats itself in the lives of Abraham and Isaac. Years earlier, the men of Gerar had also disputed with Abraham regarding his wells. In this place, King Abimelech and Abraham made a covenant, or an oath, to live in peace with each other (Genesis 21:31). The place is called Beersheba, meaning The Well of the Oath, or the Well of Seven, “seven” being an ancient word that also means “oath.” Here in Beersheba Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and called on the name of the Lord as “The Eternal, or Everlasting, God.” In Gen 22:19 we read that after Abraham encounters God on Mt. Moriah, he and the boy Isaac set off together for Beersheba where they both remain for a time.

Apparently this place holds a special meaning for both Abraham and Isaac. After digging Rehoboth, or the “Well of Broad Places”, Isaac revisits Beersheba.

It’s as if the Lord was just waiting for him to get there. That very night, the Lord appears again to Isaac, saying “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid for I am with you, I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

In those days, whenever one of the persons in a covenant agreement died, the terms of the covenant was again made clear to the next of kin, to ensure that the covenant remains in force. Abraham having died, it was Isaac’s turn to personally receive the words of the covenant promise. God honors his covenant with Abraham, and speaks to Isaac about it. God is so clear with his words to Isaac in Gen. 26:3: “I will be with you and I will bless you…I will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham….”

And there, after God appears to him, Isaac builds an altar and calls on the name of the Lord, just as Abraham his father did. His servants also reopen a fourth well, and Isaac calls it by the same name that Abraham called it: Sheba, or Oath.

Real Life:

These past weeks I have sensed that God has a special message for me from Genesis 26. Almost everyday, I have kept going back to this chapter, as if there was a magnet pulling me to keep reading, and re-reading, the verses. I have also begun thinking deeply about its personal application in my own life.

The account, so beautiful, is beyond words to describe. It’s like finding myself in a cave full of hidden treasures. I choose one, a multi-faceted gem, and I am speechless as I hold it up to the light. In the light I see its unique design and colors. And I want to keep going back for more. It is one of those Bible passages with characters, places and events that cannot be adequately explained…only experienced.

Abraham is the prototype man of faith, obedience and prayer,
who always built an altar at significant stops in his journey,
who always called on the name of the Lord,
who dug the wells for the next generation.

Isaac is the man who knew how to go back in time, to the revisit the past, and reopen the life sources that his father had tapped into in his lifetime. Isaac knew that there were secrets to his father’s spiritual strength; ancient wells that he needed to rediscover and personally drink from.

I need to be like Isaac. I need to review my life story, and rediscover waterholes that have nourished me in earlier years but have somehow been stopped, filled with earth, through neglect, complacency, or wrong priorities. Many areas in my life that I have taken for granted. Valuable lessons that I have simply forgotten. Unwatered portions in the garden of my heart where the soil has become hard and overtaken by weeds.

This is interesting. Gerar, where Isaac dwelt, means “to bring up the cud.” To meditate. Literally, to ruminate.

We hardly use that word these days – to ruminate. To chew, to swallow, and to chew again. To roll something around in your mouth. I need to find my own Valley of Rumination, like Gerar where both Abraham and Isaac dwelt for a time.

And while I need to dig new wells, this time God was clearly telling me, “Revisit your past. Rediscover, re-dig the ancient wells of revival in your life. There is fresh water in those wells.”

Many people tend to look at time as a straight line. But actually, time is circular. I didn’t know this before. But it made much sense when someone explained it to me so clearly. Our life history is not linear. It is a circle, or more accurately, a spiral. It starts with a point, and then we go around, the circle getting bigger as we go back to past lessons and learn something new. We often think the past is past and that there’s no use crying over spilled milk. But God is always giving us a fresh perspective, and His correct re-interpretation of the past events of our life. I’m not saying that we live in the past, but that we must not just fill up our past with sand. We can choose to discover the clear blue waters at its bottom, waiting to be re-visited and re-discovered, and drank from!

ACTION STEPS:
Set one day aside to prayerfully read and re-read Genesis 21 and 26. Think about your own life story. Listen to the questions that arise.

Are there wells you need to re-dig, places you need to re-visit? Relationships that need to heal? Maybe a friendship you have neglected? An insult you need to forgive, an offense you need to let go of?

Is your life like a dimly burning lamp whose wick needs to be trimmed, and re-filled with oil?
Is there a painful area in your life that you have simply shoved under the rug and forgotten about? Is there a past event, a buried family heritage that you need to re-connect with? Where are your spiritual roots?

Do you need to re-kindle your First Love and let passion for Jesus beat once more in your heart?
Whatever it is, face it this time. Maybe it is an old lesson that needs to be re-learned, or unlearned. Ask God to speak to you about it. Ask him about your Esek, your Sitnah, and your Rehoboth.

Re-visit your Beersheba. Build an altar. Call upon the name of the Lord.

PRAYER:
“My Father, the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, re-open in my life the ancient well of Broad Places, the well of Abundance. Bring me to a place of enlargement, where there is enough room be fruitful, to know You in a deeper way. You desire to show and reveal to me the unfathomable, unsearchable things of Your heart. Oh, dear God, help me to know which old wells I need to re-dig. Light my fire again, dear Lord. I need Your fresh water to seep through the parched places in my garden.”