He moved on from
there and dug another well (Genesis 26:22).
Ever notice there’s a lot of biblical material about Abraham
and Jacob, but not that much about Isaac? Most of the Isaac accounts have Isaac
being passive while things happen to him like, for instance, when his father lays him out on
the altar of sacrifice, or when his wife and child conspire to trick him into
blessing the wrong son.
For a time Isaac lived among the Philistines. Because they
were envious of his riches and nervous about his family’s strength, they
blocked up all his wells. He dug a new well, and the Philistines filled it up
and it sunk into the swamp. He dug another well and that one burnt down, fell
over and it sunk into the swamp. So
he dug another well and finally the Philistines left that one alone, and it was
the finest well in all the land. (For those who didn’t notice, there is perhaps
a small amount of Monty Python [1]
inspired poetic license included in this account.)
Not all of us would have responded that way. Most, I would
say, would probably have come back with a few other knee-jerk reactions: 1) Throw a tantrum; 2) quit and go
home; or 3) beat the daylights out of the Philistines.
Isaac didn’t do any of those things. He just moved down the
road, dug another well, and waited to see what would happen. That time, the Philistines left
him and his well enough alone.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Do you rush in where angels
fear to tread? What could God want you to learn from Isaac? Is restraint
sometimes the better part of valor?
I don’t know how I would feel in Isaac’s place, my dad standing there with a knife over me getting ready to kill me. I love and trust my dad very much but that would send me over the edge and leave me to believe that he does not love me and have my best interest at heart. I believe it is a matter of trust and if you can’t trust someone you won’t trust God either. I have placed trust in people before and they have let me down but to that very same person I have since then placed trust in them again. People in this world are human and not perfect but are worthy of our trust and when they fail which they will we should not condemn them but rather lift them up and give them an opportunity to earn our trust again. I would hope that people would trust me again if I fail them in the past. We know that we can always trust God no matter what but can we trust others o even ourselves. I trust God but I am a little less trusting in myself and others but yet I still place trust in people that they will do the right thing.
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