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Let’s pick up the story at verse 15. 

“So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled”.

(Genesis 26: 15-16)

Alright, here’s what’s going on, back in his Father’s Day, they dug wells. But now, the Philistines are so in opposition of Isaac, they come and filled up/cover over the wells. These wells are the lifeblood of the land if you have crops and flocks of animals. For them to do this was really outrageous because in the first place they had made a covenant with Abraham. They are breaking their covenant by covering up those wells. This is almost like a declaration of war. They were so envious, they were so fearful that they’re going to run him out of town, force him out by cutting off his water supply. What’s going on. 

We see that Isaac is blessed by God, but this opposition comes along. What does he do? What should we do when facing opposition by those who don’t share our beliefs or are jealous or even fearful of our blessing?  He departed, pitched his tent somewhere else. Let me try and establish a principle. It cuts across all of our relationships, not just when you have some opposition, not just when God is blessing you.  Mark this and mark it well, Romans, chapter 12 tells us. 

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”.

(Romans 12: 17-18)

So, Isaac, who had the right to those wells because of the covenant made by his father, said, “I'm not going to fight you, I'm just going to leave, I'll go somewhere else”. Something going on that is not overtly stated but is clearly implied.  He’s going to just keep trusting the Lord.  He was aware that it was the Lord blessing him, and so instead of sticking up for his rights and going to war, he just said, “ I’m just going to keep trusting the Lord and I’m going to try and remain at peace with everyone. Therefore, he just moves away, so what happened next? 

“Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So, he named the well Esek because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarrelled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarrelled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land’s possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”.

(Genesis 26: 19-22)

He just moved to another part of the land and he dug more wells and he names them, which, by the way,  implies ownership. Is all going to be well? I mean, he did the right thing, he moved, he’s seeking peace, so he is going to get peace, right? Look at verse 20.

The herdsmen of that location quarrel with him, so he digs another well and they quarrelled over that also. I mean, it’s going on and on and on every time, he digs a well, somebody is going to quarrel. He names each well with Hebrew words that mean strife and contention.  He simply naming the wells after what is going on because every time he does something, he gets nothing but strife, contention, motivated by the Philistines envy, fear and hate. God is blessing him, and he is meeting nothing but opposition. Every time he digs a well, he goes to all that effort, and it does nothing more than cause another quarrel.  Finally, he builds a well and they did not quarrel with him. That’s verse 22. And so, he called that place Rehoboth, which means in Hebrew a wide place. God finally gave us room to live alongside each other he thinks.

What’s staggering about this story, remember he didn’t have to move. As a matter of fact, he had a covenant agreement entitling him to live there. His father had a covenant with these very people. And yet they said get out of here, go from us, because you are growing stronger than we are. He did not have to leave, he had the wherewithal to stay and fight. But instead of doing that, he said. I’d rather live in peace. If I have to dig wells three times, I will dig wells three times, but I am going to live in peace. I think embedded in the story there are two main aspects to his response to opposition. He is trusting the Lord, and he is pursuing peace. He is trying to remain gracious to his neighbour. I submit to you, is the way to handle opposition, even when the Lord is blessing you just be gracious, because if the Lord is blessing it is usually because you are trusting the Lord. He can bless you in one neighbourhood as well as another. As long as you keep trusting and as long as you keep acting graciously and living in peace, he’s going to want to continue blessing you all the more. 

I’ve made two points so far, trust the Lord and live in peace, but there’s more to the story. Something that is revealed here that is incredibly fascinating to me. However, we will pick it up in the next episode.