Genesis 26: 1-6: “And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:”
Famines and wilderness years always speak of training periods in the Bible When a person experiences a famine it is designed to bring them to a deeper relationship with the Lord. Some people try to tell us that hardship is a consequence of a particular sin in our lives but this is not the case for “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” (Psalm 103: 10, 11) God’s mercy occurs when we don’t receive something that we deserve while God’s grace occurs when we receive something that we don’t deserve. However, when Moses spoke to the Israelites before they went into the Land he told them, inspired by God, that they had been in the wilderness for three reasons: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no... Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; (Deut 8: 2, 16) The first reason was to humble them, not so that they would feel bad about themselves but so that they would feel good about God. The second reason was to prove them so that they would learn to keep the Lord’s commandments. God doesn’t test us to make us fail, He tests us to make us stronger. The third reason was sot that it would be good for them in the end. The same is as true today as it was when Moses spoke those words. God brings us into testing times so that we will have a deeper and richer relationship with Him, based on faith and trust in His Almighty ability. Isaac experienced a famine but God used this experience to make His promise personal for Isaac rather than just a second hand promise that God gave to his father. There was one important condition, that is, he was not to go down to Egypt. In our Christian lives we should never go back or even look back.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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