[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday, the 15th of February, 2015.]
Old Testament scripture very often clearly illustrates God’s great wisdom and generosity. That is certainly the case in today’s message text, describing the time when Isaac lived among the Philistines in Gerar. Listen and follow along to this account as recorded by Moses in the book of Genesis, chapter 26 verses 12 through 22…
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.
19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
--Genesis 26:12-22 (NKJV)
Let us pray... Heavenly Father, please bless us as we gather here in the name of Jesus to worship You. Speak to us through Your Holy Spirit so that we might hear and receive Your message. Give us what we need to get through the coming week. In the holiest name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
Since we’ve been talking about growth a bit, I thought I’d share with you a few things I learned from gardening:
That last one bothers me, for I worry that sometimes we may be pulling a little too much on some of our valuable plants here within our church family.
Chapter 26 of Genesis opens with a drought and famine forcing Isaac to move his family. The Lord pointed him to Gerar and told him to dwell there and if he did, God would bless him, continuing the covenant made with Isaac’s father, Abraham.
So Isaac settled his family there among the Philistines, and they prospered. They planted crops and reaped a hundredfold. Their flocks of fowl and herds of cattle increased beyond measure. And in one of the surer signs of wealth in those times, Isaac and his household employed a great number of servants. Blessed by God, Isaac became very prosperous indeed.
And all the while, the Philistines stood back and watched, and became more and more jealous. Finally, their king Abimelech came to Isaac, with not a little fear and dread, and asked him to leave, giving the excuse, “you are much mightier than we”.
So Isaac packed up shop and left, but he didn’t go far. He moved his household and flocks and herds to the nearby Valley of Gerar and had his servants dig wells to supply water for his family and livestock, just as his father Abraham had done when he first came into the land.
Now the Philistines had filled in all of Abraham’s wells after his death, and soon took up where they left off by filling in Isaac’s new well in the valley. They quarreled with Isaac and his servants, saying, “This is our water. You can’t have it.” So his servants dug another well, just to have the Philistines argue over it as well, forcing Isaac to abandon it.
But the third time was the charm – the blessing from God. They dug yet another well, and this one did not upset the Philistines. Recognizing the hand of God at work, Isaac declared that the Lord had made room for him and his household there in that valley, and they would be fruitful in that great land.
Did you notice in our scripture, in verses 20 through 22, that Isaac gave the three wells names, like his father before him had done? In order, he named them Esek, Sitnah, and Rehoboth. The name Esek is translated “Quarrel”, and the two peoples did quarrel over that well. Sitnah literally translates as “Enmity”, and there certainly was hostility, animosity, and even hatred born of envy between the original inhabitants of Gerar and the newcomers.
But the third name, Rehoboth, means “Spaciousness”. By bestowing that name over the well, Isaac emphasized his declaration that God had made room for him and his people there in that valley. God had set apart that space for them from among the Philistines living there. The Lord provided them all the room they needed to grow and prosper.
I wonder if the Lord had this little episode in Isaac’s life in mind when, over a thousand years later, He told the people of Israel to get ready to grow. In chapter 54 verse 2 of Isaiah’s book, God spoke to His chosen people through His prophet telling them to make room…
Since we’ve been talking about growth a bit, I thought I’d share with you a few things I learned from gardening:
- Nothing ever looks like it does on the seed packet.
- Whichever garden tool you want is always at the back of the shed.
- The only way to ensure rain is to give the garden a good soaking.
- Weeds grow at precisely the same rate at which you pull them out.
- Autumn follows summer, winter follows autumn, drought follows planting.
- The only way to guarantee some color all year round is to buy a garden gnome.
- No matter how bare the lawn, grass will grow in the cracks in the driveway and parking lot.
- When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
That last one bothers me, for I worry that sometimes we may be pulling a little too much on some of our valuable plants here within our church family.
Chapter 26 of Genesis opens with a drought and famine forcing Isaac to move his family. The Lord pointed him to Gerar and told him to dwell there and if he did, God would bless him, continuing the covenant made with Isaac’s father, Abraham.
So Isaac settled his family there among the Philistines, and they prospered. They planted crops and reaped a hundredfold. Their flocks of fowl and herds of cattle increased beyond measure. And in one of the surer signs of wealth in those times, Isaac and his household employed a great number of servants. Blessed by God, Isaac became very prosperous indeed.
And all the while, the Philistines stood back and watched, and became more and more jealous. Finally, their king Abimelech came to Isaac, with not a little fear and dread, and asked him to leave, giving the excuse, “you are much mightier than we”.
So Isaac packed up shop and left, but he didn’t go far. He moved his household and flocks and herds to the nearby Valley of Gerar and had his servants dig wells to supply water for his family and livestock, just as his father Abraham had done when he first came into the land.
Now the Philistines had filled in all of Abraham’s wells after his death, and soon took up where they left off by filling in Isaac’s new well in the valley. They quarreled with Isaac and his servants, saying, “This is our water. You can’t have it.” So his servants dug another well, just to have the Philistines argue over it as well, forcing Isaac to abandon it.
But the third time was the charm – the blessing from God. They dug yet another well, and this one did not upset the Philistines. Recognizing the hand of God at work, Isaac declared that the Lord had made room for him and his household there in that valley, and they would be fruitful in that great land.
Did you notice in our scripture, in verses 20 through 22, that Isaac gave the three wells names, like his father before him had done? In order, he named them Esek, Sitnah, and Rehoboth. The name Esek is translated “Quarrel”, and the two peoples did quarrel over that well. Sitnah literally translates as “Enmity”, and there certainly was hostility, animosity, and even hatred born of envy between the original inhabitants of Gerar and the newcomers.
But the third name, Rehoboth, means “Spaciousness”. By bestowing that name over the well, Isaac emphasized his declaration that God had made room for him and his people there in that valley. God had set apart that space for them from among the Philistines living there. The Lord provided them all the room they needed to grow and prosper.
I wonder if the Lord had this little episode in Isaac’s life in mind when, over a thousand years later, He told the people of Israel to get ready to grow. In chapter 54 verse 2 of Isaiah’s book, God spoke to His chosen people through His prophet telling them to make room…
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.”
--Isaiah 54:2 (NKJV)
Doesn’t that sound like they’ve got a growth spurt coming? Enlarge the area for your tent, stretch out the walls, lengthen the cords, and pound those stakes in a little deeper because you’ll soon see an increase. Now God wasn’t just talking about increasing their population here, although after their return from Babylonian captivity, their numbers did grow. The Lord also wanted His people to be prepared for His blessings over them to increase. He was lifting the curse of captivity from them and would soon pour out His grace and generosity over them once again.
God promised Abraham that He would bless him so that he in turn could be a blessing to others, and now the Lord was all set to carry out that pledge with the remnant of the nation that came from Abraham. He would bless all of Israel so that they could be a blessing to the whole world.
Family, the Holy Spirit showed me a parallel between our scripture story this morning and our church today. Isaac’s servants dug three wells. The first two were contested and could not be used by his household. But with the third well, peace settled in and the Lord blessed His people and made room for them there among their neighbors where they could be prosperous and fruitful.
In the last five or six years, you’ve called three pastors to minister to you. While there may not have been quarrels, there were a few areas of contention. But for whatever reasons, the first two could not be fully utilized by this church family, not as you had envisioned.
The third now stands before you and, at least for now, we have peace and a strong sense of working together and cooperation. More importantly, I feel we have God’s blessing over us and our endeavors. I believe He has made room for us to be fruitful and to prosper.
He is telling us to lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes because growth is coming. Growth not only in numbers, but in blessings. For God works many of His great feats through the hands of man. He gives so much to us so that we can give to others in need. Like Abraham, He blesses us so we can be a blessing to others around us. I truly believe our wonderful Father is preparing to bless this church like never before, to reward all your hard work and dedicated efforts over the many years.
And folks, please don’t misunderstand me: This has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with God. Those first two wells did nothing wrong. They didn’t cause the conflict between Isaac and the Philistines. It wasn’t their fault they couldn’t be used by Isaac’s family. Nor did the third well itself bring them peace and prosperity. This was all just part of God’s plan for His people.
I don’t know why our loving Father chose me to be at this place at this time – I who am the least worthy of all – but I thank Him that He did. I’m still amazed that He called me here, and that you affirmed that call. And I thank Him every day for this wonderful family.
But folks, it is God who is blessing us all. It is He who has made room for us here. It is He who will make us ever more prosperous and fruitful in this community and in this land.
Last week I challenged each of us to bring in 15 visitors during the year - just a little more than one a month. Invite them in for a Sunday service or one of our meals or Bible Study or Youth Fellowship or game night or our Community Fun Day or any other activity we may have going on. Invite them in and plant a seed, I said. And then water and tend that seed so it can bud and blossom into beautiful flower.
I asked you to join me in praying for 63 new or returning members this year. For that to happen we need to bring folks in to see just how much God is doing through us and for us, to see how loving and blessed a family this truly is. We could call ourselves Rehoboth, for God has made room for us and given us spaciousness.
So invite folks in. We’ve got plenty of room to grow.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father, we thank You for this church, for this loving family and the beautiful building we gather within to worship You and to do Your work. We thank You for the countless blessings You give us, for the strength to carry on in the midst of adversity, for the great sacrifice of Your Son Jesus and for the joy of allowing us to continue His work here on earth. And Lord, we thank You for making room for us in this world where we can thrive and prosper.
Father, You give us this room to grow, so we ask for 63 new or returning family members this year so that in turn we can be even more of a blessing throughout our community. Let our land here be fruitful, please Lord, allowing us to better serve You. Show us those of Your children who You would have be with us and grant us the courage to invite them in.
Hear us now, O Lord, as we approach Your throne in the soft quiet of this place, speaking to You from our hearts and listening for Your reply…
Father, may we continue to draw from the deep well of Your blessings and take full advantage of this space You have made for us, of this time and this place that You have given us in the world. Help us, Lord Jesus, fulfill the commission You gave us to make disciples of all nations, to baptize in Your holy name, and to spread Your Gospel throughout all the earth. In the most beautiful name of all, the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we pray. Amen.
God promised Abraham that He would bless him so that he in turn could be a blessing to others, and now the Lord was all set to carry out that pledge with the remnant of the nation that came from Abraham. He would bless all of Israel so that they could be a blessing to the whole world.
Family, the Holy Spirit showed me a parallel between our scripture story this morning and our church today. Isaac’s servants dug three wells. The first two were contested and could not be used by his household. But with the third well, peace settled in and the Lord blessed His people and made room for them there among their neighbors where they could be prosperous and fruitful.
In the last five or six years, you’ve called three pastors to minister to you. While there may not have been quarrels, there were a few areas of contention. But for whatever reasons, the first two could not be fully utilized by this church family, not as you had envisioned.
The third now stands before you and, at least for now, we have peace and a strong sense of working together and cooperation. More importantly, I feel we have God’s blessing over us and our endeavors. I believe He has made room for us to be fruitful and to prosper.
He is telling us to lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes because growth is coming. Growth not only in numbers, but in blessings. For God works many of His great feats through the hands of man. He gives so much to us so that we can give to others in need. Like Abraham, He blesses us so we can be a blessing to others around us. I truly believe our wonderful Father is preparing to bless this church like never before, to reward all your hard work and dedicated efforts over the many years.
And folks, please don’t misunderstand me: This has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with God. Those first two wells did nothing wrong. They didn’t cause the conflict between Isaac and the Philistines. It wasn’t their fault they couldn’t be used by Isaac’s family. Nor did the third well itself bring them peace and prosperity. This was all just part of God’s plan for His people.
I don’t know why our loving Father chose me to be at this place at this time – I who am the least worthy of all – but I thank Him that He did. I’m still amazed that He called me here, and that you affirmed that call. And I thank Him every day for this wonderful family.
But folks, it is God who is blessing us all. It is He who has made room for us here. It is He who will make us ever more prosperous and fruitful in this community and in this land.
Last week I challenged each of us to bring in 15 visitors during the year - just a little more than one a month. Invite them in for a Sunday service or one of our meals or Bible Study or Youth Fellowship or game night or our Community Fun Day or any other activity we may have going on. Invite them in and plant a seed, I said. And then water and tend that seed so it can bud and blossom into beautiful flower.
I asked you to join me in praying for 63 new or returning members this year. For that to happen we need to bring folks in to see just how much God is doing through us and for us, to see how loving and blessed a family this truly is. We could call ourselves Rehoboth, for God has made room for us and given us spaciousness.
So invite folks in. We’ve got plenty of room to grow.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father, we thank You for this church, for this loving family and the beautiful building we gather within to worship You and to do Your work. We thank You for the countless blessings You give us, for the strength to carry on in the midst of adversity, for the great sacrifice of Your Son Jesus and for the joy of allowing us to continue His work here on earth. And Lord, we thank You for making room for us in this world where we can thrive and prosper.
Father, You give us this room to grow, so we ask for 63 new or returning family members this year so that in turn we can be even more of a blessing throughout our community. Let our land here be fruitful, please Lord, allowing us to better serve You. Show us those of Your children who You would have be with us and grant us the courage to invite them in.
Hear us now, O Lord, as we approach Your throne in the soft quiet of this place, speaking to You from our hearts and listening for Your reply…
Father, may we continue to draw from the deep well of Your blessings and take full advantage of this space You have made for us, of this time and this place that You have given us in the world. Help us, Lord Jesus, fulfill the commission You gave us to make disciples of all nations, to baptize in Your holy name, and to spread Your Gospel throughout all the earth. In the most beautiful name of all, the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we pray. Amen.
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