Yahweh’s Appearance to Isaac (1-5)

A severe famine hit the land again when Isaac was living at Beer-lahai-roi. The famine caused Isaac to move, and on his way to Egypt, he stopped in Gerar where Abimelech was king of the Philistines (1). In Gerar, the Lord appeared to Isaac for the first time, or at least the first time it was recorded. Yahweh warned him against going to Egypt, telling him to remain in the land he had promised to give to Isaac’s offspring. It was during this appearance that Yahweh personally rehearsed the covenant with Isaac:

• Isaac would experience Yahweh’s abiding presence.

• Isaac and his offspring would be blessed.

• Isaac’s offspring would be given the land.

• Isaac’s offspring would be given the same oath and covenant made with Abraham.

• Isaac’s offspring would be multiplied like stars.

• Isaac’s offspring would bless the earth (2-4).

All of this would happen for Isaac because Abraham had believed in and obeyed Yahweh’s voice. If the covenant was going to go forward, Isaac was being told by Yahweh that he would need to believe in the covenant and obey God’s commands himself (5).

Isaac’s Sin (6-11)

In Gerar and with Abimelech, the grandson of the Abimelech who Abraham had lied to, Isaac sought to pass his exceptionally attractive wife off as his own sister. Like his father, he feared the men of Gerar to be so wicked that they would kill the husband of any man whose wife they wanted (6-8).

Isaac had been living in Gerar for some time, when one day he was in the city doing some business, likely selling wheat for an enormous amount of money. Abimelech looked out his window and caught Isaac and Rebekah being more familiar with one another, as they were celebrating the sale of perhaps their wheat and their newfound prosperity. Their embrace was more than that of a brother and sister.

Realizing they were husband and wife, Abimelech summoned Isaac and accused him of calling his wife his sister, demanding an answer for such a lie. Of course, Isaac told the king he was fearing for his life (9). The king was fear-stricken, imagining some of the immoral men of the place might have taken sexual liberties with her, being a foreigner. He knew such an act would bring guilt, along with the associated curses, upon his kingdom. Abimelech immediately ordered Rebekah not to be touched at the risk of death (10-11).

Isaac’s Prosperity Restored (12-16)

It is likely that Abimelech knew Isaac was special to Yahweh, for in the same year his lie was discovered concerning Rebekah, he planted and harvested a hundredfold yield during the famine (12). There in Gerar, Isaac had become a very wealthy man, feeding hungry, famine-exhausted Philistines (13). His possessions increased—he had regained his father’s wealth and had done so during a time of famine. So much so, that the Philistines envied his wealth and began making trouble for Isaac by filling in the wells his father Abraham had dug when he was living in that region (14-15). Isaac became wealthy, and the Philistines became envious of the blessing upon his life. Isaac was eventually asked to move farther away from Abimelech (16).

Isaac Seeks Room (17-22)

Isaac left Abimelech’s immediate domain and moved a small distance away to the Valley of Gerar. There he re-dug the wells his father had dug a century before, which the Philistines had stopped up once they knew Abraham had died. They were obviously seeking to keep settlers and herdsmen away. Isaac gave those wells the same names his father had (17-18). Yet there in the valley, Abimelech’s herdsmen began to quarrel over who owned the water rights to the well. Isaac renamed the place, “Contention,” and dug another well. They fussed with Isaac again, so he renamed that place, “Resistance.” Tired of the animosity, Isaac moved to another place and finally there was room for Isaac and his household to exist without dispute, so he named that place, “Room to be fruitful” (19-22).

Isaac Arrives at Beersheba (23-25)

Isaac then moved from Rehoboth (“room to be fruitful”) to Beersheba, and the night he arrived, Yahweh appeared to him again. He reminded Isaac of what He had already told him—he was to be blessed, and he would be multiplied (23-24). On that spot, Isaac built an altar, had a feast, and called upon God’s name, pitching a tent and digging a new well (25).

Abimelech Seeks Covenant (26-33)

Abimelech was nervous about forcing Isaac to leave his domain, so he stirred up trouble for Isaac through his herdsmen when he moved to the Valley of Gerar. Abimelech realized he had treated Isaac with hostility but also realized Isaac was Yahweh-blessed. Isaac's departure had left Abimelech’s kingdom lacking in the blessing they had once experienced due to all the commerce Isaac’s prosperity brought to the Philistines. Not only did Abimelech want to be able to exchange goods, but he also wanted to secure a non-aggression pact with Isaac, who had become extremely wealthy. Abimelech was looking for the same kind of covenant his father had made with Abraham (26-28).

Abimelech then put a good face on Isaac’s departure by pretending he had sent Isaac away in peace by not harming his household militarily, and because of this kindness in not harming them militarily, the Lord was blessing them (29). Isaac ignored the obvious lack of truth in why he had been blessed, prepared a huge feast for Abimelech, and they all went to bed (30). The next morning, the two exchanged oaths, established a treaty, and Abimelech left in peace (31).

On that very day, Isaac’s servants came to him to tell him they had found another well his father Abraham had dug over 100 years before. At the very spot where Abraham had made a covenant with Abimelech’s grandfather over water disputes, Isaac found water again, on the same day he had made a covenant.

In the very place where Abraham had planted a Tamarisk grove, Isaac unearthed what had been given to Abraham (21:25-34). Isaac named the place, “Oaths,” and the place became known as Beersheba, or “Well of the oath” (32-33).

Esau’s Marriage (34-35)

To further confirm Esau’s lack of covenant purpose, he married two Hittite women from the area of Beersheba, and these two pagan women made life a bitter hell for his parents (34-35).