Read Genesis 26.
God's covenant to Abraham is repeated here and passed on to
next generation. Isaac heard firsthand
the same three components of the promise: land, offspring, and God's personal blessing. Though chosen and blessed by God, like his
father Abraham, Isaac manifested the exact same character weaknesses of fear
and lying.
After the embarrassing scene of being found out, God blessed
Isaac with such abundance of herds and the need for water that Abimelech had to ask
him to leave the area. Like his father, when Isaac moved to a new place he built an altar and worshipped God. God even received the credit for Isaac's success from the Philistine king. Abimelech stated, "We see plainly that the LORD has been with
you." (v.28)
Observing this second generation, here are four insights.
1. God blesses us in spite of us of our behavior, not
because we are perfect. He loves us
because we are His children. We belong
to Him.
2. All godly people are human and possess character flaws. This reminder should keep us humble and
dependent moment by moment on the Holy Spirit to think, speak and behave in a
way that pleases Him.
3. Our behavior does not change the promises of God. His word is eternally reliable.
4. Being a godly person is no guarantee that our children
will be, nor that they will always make godly decisions. The sin nature is passed on to them,
too. A parent who loves God tries their
best to train their children to live according to God's Word and set a
consistent, genuine example for them, praying daily for their heart's response
to Him. As they go out on their own, the
joy comes when their personal faith is evidenced in public worship and others
are able to declare, "We see plainly that the LORD has been with
you."
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