GENESIS 26
This chapter shows the exercises of saints, blessed of God, in relation to the Philistines. We find Isaac dwelling in Gerar: he is amongst the Philistines. In the early part of the previous chapter he was dwelling at the well Beer-lahai-roi — the well of the living One who reveals Himself; that speaks of the saint in his relation with God; enjoying the refreshment in spiritual life and vigour that comes from being in the good of the revelation of God. Isaac dwelt in the south country by that wondrous well: it is in figure the normal place of the saint. But this chapter is taken up with his relations to the Philistines. We find him warned of God not to go to Egypt; and encouraged by divine promises. It seems to me that Jehovah would have encouraged him to hold things confidently even in the presence of the Philistines; but it is just at this point that he failed. He had not [p. 194] confidence to hold his ground. He denied his relationship with Rebecca, a kind of thing Abraham had done twice before, which shows the importance of taking heed to it as a warning. Eventually he was brought back to his true place, so that the Philistines had to acknowledge that God was with him. It is an instructive chapter for us.
The Philistines typify persons who occupy Christian position without having the exercises and experiences of faith. They represent people nominally on Christian ground, who have never participated in the exercises of faith. They have never been subjects of the divine call, the God of glory has never appeared to them, and they have no tent or altar; they have no real link with the testimony of God. This chapter shows the exercise the saint passes through in relation to that class of people. It is only too manifest that there are many outwardly on Christian ground without ever having participated in the divine calling, and having none of the privileges or exercises of faith. Those in the path of faith have to take up exercises in relation to them; we are affected by the character of things around.
The Scripture says, “From these turn away”, 2 Timothy 3: 5, and Isaac had to come to that at the end of the chapter; all his exercises were to teach him to do so; then he arrived at his true position and enjoyed it. Have we arrived at our true position in relation to the Christian profession around, so that we can really enjoy with God the portion He intends us to enjoy? We are all liable to surrender what is of God. Isaac was not in type a worldly man, he did not go down to Egypt. Many are like that now, but they suffer from the injurious effect of the presence [p. 195] of the Philistines; and surrender much that they should maintain, and lose practically many sources of divine refreshment.
There is a divine antidote at the beginning of the chapter. Jehovah appeared to Isaac and encouraged him: “Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee and bless thee”. Jehovah was encouraging him to hold confidently to every divine thought even in the presence of the Philistines. God recognised him in the position where he was, and said, “I will be with thee”. This should have encouraged him not to surrender. If Isaac had been in the faith of this appearing of Jehovah, and His “I will be with thee”, he would not have had any fear of the Philistines. In the end of the chapter he was brought to that, and the chapter is interesting as showing how the elements of weakness in a saint are eliminated. Isaac was brought into his true position so that even the Philistines had to own that Jehovah was with him. The chapter educates us as to how we are brought into the good of the testimony.
The denial of relationship answers somewhat to being ashamed of the testimony. Isaac was ashamed through a selfish fear. The moment I begin to think of myself and how things will affect me, I am on the line of those who seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ. It was said of Onesiphorus, “He was not ashamed of my chain”. Isaac conjured up these fears; there was no real ground for them. We create a lot of fears for ourselves when there is no need. David said that Jehovah saved him out of all his troubles; but he said even more than that: he said Jehovah “delivered me from all my fears”! The fears are generally greater than the troubles!
([p. 196] Psalm 34: 4, 6). Fears often rob us of the privilege of proving that God is with us.
In the end of the chapter the Philistines say, “We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee”. It is good to act towards professing Christians with this thought in our minds, that some day they may have to own, “We saw certainly that God was with thee”. They did not see it when Isaac denied his relationship with Rebecca.
The weakness that denies true relationship also exposes saints to the loss of wells; that is, the sources of spiritual refreshment are practically lost. If we are not true to the testimony we are great losers: it is not only loss of testimony to the Lord, but loss to us of the wells. But the chapter leads to the saint occupying the heavenly position: Isaac comes to Beer-sheba, the southern limit of the land, where he is typically on divine territory. He enjoys the character of the place and answers to it: he has his altar, and tent; and he has a well, which answers to the blessedness saints may find in the good of the Spirit. This chapter is instructive as to the line of exercise by which we reach this. We have to learn how to escape from the influence of the Philistines.
What was lacking in Isaac was what the New Testament calls virtue. Peter says, “Have in your faith virtue”, that is, moral courage, so that you are able to stand your ground in face of influences that would divert. Isaac was not in a dignified position, and no one is in a dignified position if he has not courage. Many saints — perhaps one might say all — would like to be faithful, would like to follow the Lord; they have desires after Him; but many lack courage spiritually, and are ashamed of the testimony [p. 197] of the Lord. They dread to be despised, dread the cross, are ashamed of the apostle’s chain. Paul was a chained prisoner, not fit to be at large! Do we believe that is the place of the testimony? The world has taken up a Christian position, but it has not changed; that is exactly the Philistines. If one takes up the cross one is prepared for reproach, prepared to be regarded as one who is not fit to live. You remember that they said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth”; that fellow was the vessel of divine testimony.
The Philistines represent unconverted people who are in the place of Christian profession, but who have never been affected by divine teaching. These people become sources of moral influence, and true Christians fall under their influence, become ashamed of the testimony, and lose the sources of spiritual refreshment. The Philistine’s object is always to take away the wells. In chapter 21 they took a well violently away. I think that might answer to the refusal, on the part of the public profession, to allow the saints of God to come together as such. For many centuries saints were not allowed to meet together as such; they had either to fall in with the established religious order, or be persecuted and often martyred. The great source of spiritual refreshment was taken away.
The digging of the wells in Abraham’s time corresponds with the way faith and love laboured in the church’s early days in order that there might be springs of divine refreshment; the apostles and many others laboured. But the stopping of the wells came very early in the history of the church. Earthly things were brought in that checked the flow of the Spirit,
[p. 198] so that the gain of His presence was to a large extent hindered from being available as refreshing for saints. Judaism was an earthly system; it was instituted by God, but it was all earthly. Then when the church was set up, it became Satan’s object to bring those earthly elements into Christianity, and so stop the wells. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth”. If saints get their minds on things on the earth it is Philistine influence; it is always working, and we are all exposed to it. Ask yourself, Am I getting the full good of the presence of the Spirit? We all admit that the Spirit is here as a source of divine refreshment; but the question is, Am I getting the good of His presence? If not, earth has got into the well: a Philistine element has come in.
Books are a snare to many. I believe books do more harm than anything else. People can read them in secret, and no one know anything about it. If you knew what many believers read you would say they were thoroughly in the world. There are many who would not go to a theatre or entertainment, or even to a church, and yet they read books that belong to that order of things; and the wells get completely choked so far as they are concerned.
After the matter of Rebecca was settled we see pictures of divine revival. God had said He would bless Isaac, and He did. Faith ever counts upon God being as good as His word. Isaac sowed in that land and reaped a hundred-fold (verse 12), and the blessing became manifest. There was revival in God’s grace, a manifested blessing from God with His people, and it provoked the envy of the Philistines. If there is any spiritual prosperity — any movement in the direction [p. 199] of the supply of food for the people of God, any divine fruitfulness — the Philistines’ envy soon appears, and there is an attempt to stop the wells. The Philistines will always seek to take away or stop any well of spiritual refreshment that may be dug by the energy of faith. The giving of the hundred-fold was revival on God’s part; there had been a lack of energy after Abraham’s death, but the blessing of verse 12 gave a little energy to re-open the stopped wells. The digging again of wells is revival on the part of the saints; it is the result of awakened exercise, and of food becoming available. It is not enough that Christians should receive the New Testament doctrine of the presence of the Spirit, or that they should read it in books and subscribe to the fact of it; it is necessary to dig the wells. We all believe the Spirit is here, but what about getting rid of the earthly elements that hinder the flow and availability of the Spirit?
What answers now to digging the wells is that souls wake up to the fact that the Spirit is here, and to the discovery that they are not in the good of His presence. This starts profound exercise, and the discernment of earthly elements that obstruct, and there arises desire and purpose to get rid of them. There is exercise, prayer, and renunciation of things not in keeping with the Spirit; so that the well may flow. The result is that the soul is found in spiritual freshness. But I do not suppose many believers would say that they were as much in spiritual freshness as they would like to be! Digging speaks of exercise and diligence of soul; and there is also a recognition of what has been done in the past. Isaac recognised that Abraham had dug the wells; we have to take account of sources of spiritual refreshment [p. 200] that have been opened by the spiritual energy and labour of men of faith. It is a real exercise not to lose the gain of any well that has been opened up. Then it is possible to pay some attention to ministry, and yet get no good from it. Ministry tells us what there is to be had; it is like a sign post; but you have to go every step of the way on your feet. There must be spiritual movement and exercise. We do not get to a place by looking at the sign post.
Abraham represents the exercises of faith at the beginning, and Isaac at the end. We ought to be exercised to have the good of all that has been secured by the Lord’s grace and the labours of spiritual men. Men laboured at the Reformation to open up wells that had been stopped, and many more precious and refreshing wells have been opened since; and it is for us to be exercised to get the good of all this spiritual labour.
Isaac had to learn that as long as he stopped in Gerar every well was a source of contention. If you go in for spiritual refreshment, and have not moved away from Gerar, every well becomes an occasion of strife. When Isaac moved away he got what answers to the New Testament ‘opened door’, that is room (verse 22). If Christians want spiritual refreshment and help, and freedom to enjoy it, they must withdraw themselves from the confusion of the religious world. As long as they are at Gerar every well only becomes a source of contention; there are no suitable conditions there for the enjoyment in peace of spiritual good! Many have proved that; they want spiritual help, and every bit they get becomes a cause of strife, and they have to retreat from point to point until they realise that they must clear out altogether. Then they reach a spot where there is room for the Spirit [p. 201] of God. In the mercy of God there is a place where there is liberty for the Spirit: it is very largely what saints have been finding these last 90 years. A place of separation from the religious world where the refreshment of the Spirit can be enjoyed. Then Isaac comes to Beer-sheba and Jehovah appears to him, and he secures the well of the oath. He has his tent and altar, and well; in figure the full enjoyment of his true place in relation to God.
It is a great thing to find oneself at Rehoboth. It is what is suggested in 2 Timothy; what is opened up is the path of separation; we are to depart from iniquity even if found among those called by the Christian name; and we are to follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. That is what answers to Rehoboth, which means ‘Broadways’; it is a path of faith where there is room for the Spirit; it is spiritually a large place; there is nothing narrow or sectarian about it; but it is a narrow path outwardly. The result of being found there is that faith soon goes up to Beer-sheba. The effect of Isaac getting into a right position and enjoying what was proper to it, was recognition even by the Philistines; they had to say, “We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee”. We ought to look for that, the recognition that God is with His saints. In ultimate result the Gentiles will have to own that God is with His people Israel; but all these things are anticipated in the church. If Christians walk in love, and enjoy the privileges that God has called them into, the world will have to recognise that God is with them. Eventually the Lord will bring about in power that everyone will recognise those He approves; “I will make them to come and [p. 202] worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee”, Revelation 3.
It has been said that every dispensation ends morally as it began. The assembly began very brightly, and my impression is it will end brightly: the end will be the Spirit and bride saying, Come. On the side of mere profession everything ends in Laodicea, which is spued out of Christ’s mouth; but on the side of divine working everything will end in the Spirit and bride saying, Come. All the features of love, devotedness, obedience — everything that marked the assembly at the beginning and made her beautiful — will come out in the end. God is working in thousands of hearts to bring this about.
In this chapter there is a picture of revival; Isaac at the end has a tent and an altar; he enjoys approach to God and he has a well, in type the refreshment of the Spirit. It is a beautiful picture of what God can do in reviving the saints.
The contrast is seen in Esau; he despised the birthright and his affections were connected with two Canaanitish women. Isaac’s position at the end of this chapter may be looked at as suggesting Philadelphian revival, but in Esau we see rather a picture of Laodicea. We should covet to be on the line of Philadelphia; not setting up to be it, but seeking it with our whole heart.