Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: Like father, like son. Usually that phrase is used in a negative way. More often than not, it points to how sons follow in their father's mistakes. Surprisingly, that's true even of the greatest men of faith in the Old Testament. Welcome to *Thru the Bible*. As the Bible Bus pulls up to Genesis 26, we're going to see how Abraham's sins were passed on to his son Isaac, proving, as Dr. J. Vernon McGee liked to say, that there's no generation gap when it comes to sin. I'm Steve Schwetz, your host, inviting you to climb aboard. As you find your seat, Greg and I have a few letters to share from our fellow listeners.

Greg Harris: We do, and of course, it's just the last few days of Letter Month, which is something Dr. McGee started and we've carried on a tradition. Every May and every December we just say, would you take a minute and tell us your story? We're so glad that listeners have. This first one is pretty exciting. I'd like you to read this.

Steve Schwetz: Our first note comes from a listener who in this case didn't give his name. He wrote: "I began listening from prison on a forbidden radio headset. For some reason, once the radio was left to me by a prisoner who was going home, the rules changed and it wasn't contraband anymore. It only picked up a few channels, including a Christian one. That was April of 1996, and a miracle happened in my heart when I got on the Bible Bus. I stayed on the bus after my release four months later and now continue to ride even 30 years later. What a glorious journey."

Greg Harris: Earlier this month, Steve, we read a gentleman that had a meth addiction and *Thru the Bible* helped him. We've had so many of those testimonies over the decades of people that we would consider in a really rough place in life, a real low spot. Yet God's Word just reaches them. I just love the idea of a guy listening secretly on headphones in prison and now, 30 years later, he's still listening.

We also have a listener named Enora who shares this: "What a blessing to discover your outstanding radio and online Bible studies. I officially hopped onto the Bible Bus back in 2020. I had occasionally listened to 'that pastor with the funny Texas drawl,' but didn't understand that it was a journey to study God's Word and that Pastor McGee was inviting me and everyone to experience it together.

I will be very soon finishing my first tour on the Bible Bus. Having been raised with rituals instead of a relationship, I was blessed to be saved at the age of 52, which also led to my dear old mom, now with the Lord, to be saved at 74. There are thousands upon thousands of Christ followers who are just like me, starving for spiritual nourishment.

Through a thorough systematic study of the Bible with Dr. McGee, the saints not only get fed spiritual food, but grow more mature in our faith in God the Father and ever closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God for those hours of listening, learning, and loving God's Word as a gift to His children. I hope to keep listening for as long as God wills it for me."

Then the letter closes this way: "I'm giving a special donation this year to have the Bible Bus receive a complete body haul and the works because of all the turmoil in the world right now."

Steve Schwetz: What a great letter. Thank you, Enora, for the encouragement and just the testimony. Maybe you're out there and you're in your 50s or 70s and you're a little skeptical and you haven't yet trusted Christ. It's never too late as long as you have breath in your lungs; you can trust Christ for your salvation. We'd encourage you to do that today. Greg, why don't you pray for us as we begin our study?

Greg Harris: Father, it never ceases to amaze us at the creative ways that Your Word breaks into people's lives. We play such a small part in just holding out the Word of life and giving the Bread of Life out, and yet You do all of the important work and transforming souls and breaking through circumstances. We just want to praise You for that and pray You will continue to do it even today as the program goes out. In Jesus' name, amen.

Steve Schwetz: Now our study of Genesis 26 on *Thru the Bible* continues with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Friends, I come today to the 26th chapter of the book of Genesis. If you have your Bible, turn there, and if you have our notes and outlines, be sure and use those. May I also add, if you do not have notes and outlines, we invite you to write in and ask for yours today.

Frankly, when I was a much younger preacher than I am now, chapters like this worried me, especially here in the book of Genesis when there are so many exciting chapters. Very frankly, when you read this chapter here, it doesn't seem to be very exciting. In fact, it isn't; it's rather colorless, uninteresting. In fact, it's sort of "blah" when you read it.

And especially when you have an exciting man like Abraham before this, then you have the exciting man Jacob that's coming before us now, and this chapter's all about Isaac. In fact, it's the only chapter that's really all about Isaac, and it doesn't seem to be very exciting. All he does is dig wells.

And yet, in later years, I've come to examine these chapters and have found out that God has a message here for us also—in fact, a very important message—because we need to recognize that what Paul said is quite accurate. In Romans 15:4, he says, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

And this is a chapter to give some of us patience because, very frankly, I think this is a chapter for folk like some of us. I must say I come under this category, but don't get the impression by just reading this chapter that this is all God wants. I'm glad the Lord had a man around like Abraham and a man like Jacob and a man like David, because they were go-getters and they were aggressive, and that God can use also.

But this chapter has a great message for many of us, and I'm sure that we're going to get it. Because again, Paul said also, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

Now with that thought in mind, let's come to Genesis 26. Here Isaac, the beloved son, has the covenant confirmed to him. Then we find him dropping into the same sin of unbelief that his father Abraham did, and then we see him digging these wells in the land of Gerar. This doesn't seem to be very exciting, but there's a message here for us, and so today, let's not miss it.

I'm reading now Genesis 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." Now this is the second famine that's mentioned. You remember the famine in the days of Abraham, and Abraham and Lot, they took off for Egypt.

Notice what happens now. "And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of." Now why did God say that to this man Isaac? Well, he had an example before him of his father who ran off down to the land of Egypt.

That reveals the fact that like father, like son, that sins are carried from father to son. You can talk about the generation gap all you want to, but there's no generation gap of sin. It just flows right from one to the other, and generally the son makes very much the same mistake that the father did, unless something intervened.

Now God says to this man Isaac at the time of the famine, "Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee." Now listen to God as He confirms the covenant that He had made with Abraham. "And I 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."

Now you can see that God is merely confirming the covenant that He had made with Abraham. He says to Isaac, "Don't leave the land. Don't go to Egypt. I want to confirm my covenant that I made with Abraham with you. I'll give you this land." Now not only that, verse 4 now: "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."

Now that is a repetition of the covenant God made to Abraham. And that is that there be a seed that would be the line that would have that land, and the land was involved, and he'd be a blessing to all nations. That's important to see. Now he says, "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Now up to this point, God had not given any laws, that is, the Mosaic system. Abraham wasn't under it at all. But the important thing is that when God told Abraham something, Abraham believed God and acted upon that. Abraham believed God and acted upon it. And that's the demonstration of faith today. We have too many people today who complain about there's no reality.

A lady came in to talk to me some time ago and she said, "I believe, but I don't feel anything, and I'm not sure," and my, what a feeling of uncertainty. Well, you didn't have to talk to her long to find out that there's no action in her life whatsoever. She was just sitting in the corner twiddling her thumbs and saying, "I believe," and then expecting the house probably to fall in on her or some great something to take place.

Well, that won't happen. When you believe God, you act upon God. If you should call me up right now and say, "Dr. McGee, you go down to the bank there in downtown Los Angeles. I've just put a certain amount of money down there for you, and I want you to go down there to get it." What do you think I'd do? Just sit right here the rest of the day?

No, my friend. If you know me, you'll know that by the time that you are through speaking on the telephone, I will have had my hat on my head and I'll start walking. I'll be down there. Faith is what you act on. It's something that you step out on. Abraham believed God; God counted it righteousness. And God now says to Isaac, "I want you to be that kind of a man also."

Now, verse 6: "And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister." Now Gerar is to the south. Abraham and Isaac all lived in the south part of that country. Actually, Abraham had come into the land way up in Shechem, up in the northern part, but he ended up by living down at Hebron, the place of communion.

Now Isaac dwelt in Gerar, and the men of the place asked him of his wife, and he said, "She's my sister," for he feared to say, "She's my wife," lest, said he, "the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she was fair to look upon." And believe me, we've already found out that she was a very beautiful person.

But now Isaac again is repeating the sin of his father. Now God warned him not to go to Egypt. He didn't go to Egypt, but he went to Gerar, and here in the land of Gerar, why, he says to Rebekah, as he saw the men of that place casting glances toward Rebekah, "You tell them that you're my sister, not my wife."

Now the difference between Abraham and Isaac is that Abraham told a half-lie, and Isaac told a whole one. It was cut out of whole cloth, the one that he's telling. Now he says in verse 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."

He's making love to her, by the way, or as the saying is today, they were having a love-in. "And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at the window and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 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."

"And Abimelech said, What is this that thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us." In other words, Isaac had put these people in danger of committing a sin. Then he goes on to say: "And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

Now Abimelech became a very good friend of Isaac. Isaac had the respect of the community just as Abraham did. Both of them are outstanding men. We are not apt to get that impression from the rest of this chapter, and that's the reason I mention it here. "He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him."

God's with him, you see, and that is the blessing that God promised to these people from the day He called Abraham—an earthly blessing. Well, later on, when He put them in that land, He says, "I'll bless you in your basket," that is, "I'll fill it with foodstuff." And God made that good when they were walking in fellowship with Him.

Now He's not promised us that. He's promised us spiritual blessings. We are told we are blessed with all spiritual blessings, and that is our portion today. And on the same terms, if you walk with God, if you today will permit Him, He wants to bless you abundantly spiritually.

Now we find here that Isaac is greatly blessed; his field brings forth a hundredfold. "And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great." Now don't miss that, friends. This is a very important verse because the impression is that Abraham was outstanding and that Jacob was actually, but not Isaac. Well, let me say that Isaac is outstanding.

And now somebody's going to come along and say to me, "But look, his birth is tied in with that of Abraham. His life is not separated from Abraham. He is the one that's important in when he was offered there upon the altar, but again it's Abraham and Isaac together." And why is that? Well, we have already seen this is a wonderful picture that we have here. All these things happened unto them for examples unto us, and it reveals the intimacy between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father.

He said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father," and he could say to the Father in the great high priestly prayer in John 17, "I finished the work which thou gavest me to do." And then he said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." Therefore, it's very proper that the story of Isaac and the story of Abraham be identified together, and that's been true. This is the first chapter that we see Isaac standing on his own two feet, and it doesn't look too attractive.

But the Word of God makes it very clear that he not only waxed great, but he became very great in that land. And this man now exhibits this weakness, which is a real weakness—same sin as Abraham. Now we are told in verse 14 that he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

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. Now the Philistines just couldn't stand to see all this prosperity. And down in that land, why Abraham had been digging wells.

And this boy came along; they became his when he went out one morning and found out they were all filled up. The Philistines had done it. And this, by the way, is the first mention of the enmity of the Philistines that led to continual warfare later on and the days of David.

Now verse 16: "And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we." Notice the importance here of this man Isaac at this time. "And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there." This man Abimelech, he said, "You're causing a great deal of difficulty now, and it'd be best if you left." He had great respect for Isaac, you can see.

Now this is a part of the life of Isaac that looks like weakness, but it's not. Now will you notice it? "And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father." Now you see he's returning back to that land where his father was. "For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them."

"And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him." Now this reveals a struggle, and very frankly, you have here the water.

And may I say that I feel the water is a picture of the Word of God? We are to drink deep of it. It's called the water of the Word, and it's for drinking purposes to slack our thirst, and it's also for washing. You're cleaned through the Word which I have spoken unto you. And water becomes a very important item in life. You can't have life without water.

You can fly over this desert of Arizona, New Mexico, and California, and when you fly over it, you just see plenty of desert. Then all of a sudden, you see that which is just lush green, and you raise the question, "What happened down there?" Well, water's the only explanation.

You can tell the same thing about the children of God today in any church. The difference is the Word of God, those that study the Word of God. And there's a struggle, friends. It's not easy. I think you almost have to pay a price today really going into study the Word of God. You can do anything—the devil will let you do anything except get into the Word of God.

Now verse 20: "The herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen." Now verse 21: "And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

Rehoboth: there's room for us, and we'll be fruitful in the land, we'll be a blessing. Now notice this. He'd dig a well and they'd take it away from him. He'd move up and dig another well; they'd take that away from him. And what happens? Well, he just keeps moving up. This reveals, may I say, that Isaac is a man of peace and a man of patience.

David wouldn't have done this; I can tell you that. Simon Peter wouldn't have done this. And if you want to know the truth, Vernon McGee wouldn't have done this. But it's a lesson for us here, and especially when it pertains to the Word of God. May I say we'll have to do some striving if we're really going to get the Word of God out?

Now we're told he went up from thence to Beersheba. "And the Lord appeared unto 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." Now God appears to him to comfort him. God appeared to the patriarchs, you see, with the exception of course of Joseph.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—He appeared to them. Now notice, "He builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well." Here he goes again; he's digging wells. You can always put a well down next to Isaac. You can put an altar down next to Abraham, and you'll put a tent down next to Jacob, as we'll see later on.

Now we are told in verse 26, "Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee."

You see, they had respect for this man Isaac. Now we're told verse 34, "And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah." We are going to pick up there next time, for thereby hangs a tale. May God richly bless you, my beloved.