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| 1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which had been in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar. |
And Isaac – A man of commonplace experiences; as are most of the Lord's people. R3952:3
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| 2 And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt: dwell in the land that I shall tell thee of. |
And said – Confirming the original covenant with Abraham. B45
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| 3 Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee and bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father. |
Will perform the oath – The making of this covenant implied a fellowship between God and Abraham on the basis of his faith-justification. R4574:1
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| 4 And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and unto thy seed will I give all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves-- |
Stars of heaven – The heavenly seed, mentioned exclusively to Isaac, because he himself typified that seed. R3965:2
All the nations – Not only Israel, but, through Israel "all the families of the earth." A58
Some of these nations have perished from the earth but the Scriptures assure us of an awakening of all the sleeping millions of earth's population.
Be blessed – See comments on Gen. 12:3.
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| 5 because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. |
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| 6 And Isaac dwelt at Gerar. |
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| 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister; for he feared to say, my wife, saying to himself, Lest the men of the place slay me on account of Rebecca--because she was fair in countenance. |
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| 8 And it came to pass when he had been there some time, that Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked out of the window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was dallying with Rebecca his wife. |
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| 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, she is certainly thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I die on account of her. |
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| 10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? But a little and one of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought a trespass on us. |
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| 11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall certainly be put to death. |
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| 12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him. |
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| 13 And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great. |
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| 14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him. |
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| 15 And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth. |
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| 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us; for thou art become much mightier than we. |
Go from us – The Russians are using the very words of this verse to the Jews in their midst today (1907). R3953:5
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| 17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. |
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| 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and that the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. |
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| 19 And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. |
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| 20 But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him. |
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| 21 And they dug another well, and they strove for that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah. |
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| 22 And he removed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive for that. And he called the name of it Rehoboth, and said, For now Jehovah has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. |
Removed from thence – Rather than have strife. "Blessed are the peacemakers." (Matt. 5:9) R3953:5
For now the LORD – Isaac did not forget the source of his blessings. R3954:1
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| 23 And he went up thence to Beer-sheba. |
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| 24 And Jehovah appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. |
Abraham thy father – I still recognize him. He still has a place in my arrangements and purposes. R2860:6
Fear not – Do not be afraid that your course of peace will lead to further injuries at the hands of the Philistines. R3954:1
I am with thee – I approve your faith and submission. R2860:6
Abraham's sake – In harmony with the covenant made with him. R2860:6
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| 25 And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well. |
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| 26 And Abimelech, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol the captain of his host, went to him from Gerar. |
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| 27 And Isaac said to them, Why are ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have driven me away from you? |
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| 28 And they said, We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee; and we said, Let there be then an oath between us--between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee, |
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| 29 that thou wilt do us no wrong, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have let thee go in peace; thou art now blessed of Jehovah. |
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| 30 And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. |
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| 31 And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. |
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| 32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well that they had dug, and said to him, We have found water. |
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| 33 And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day. |
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| 34 And Esau was forty years old, when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. |
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| 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca. |
A grief of mind – Ruach, spirit. E174
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