Nothing In Common

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

NOTHING IN COMMON

Gen 26:26-35

26 Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. 27 Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?" 28 They answered, "We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, 'There ought to be a sworn agreement between us' — between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD." 30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. 32 That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!" 33 He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

NIV

The reason Abimelech wanted a treaty with Isaac was very simple: they could see that the LORD was with him. This made Abimelech fear Isaac, because who can fight against the LORD's anointed? Who can wage war against someone whom the LORD is with? Because the LORD was with Isaac, Abimelech could not miss it. This should give us a clue about how our lives should reflect the Lord's glory. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and became a new creature in Christ, we were also baptized with the Holy Spirit, which means we are no longer alone; we live with the Lord's presence. So others should see that the Lord is with us. We do not want people to fear us, as Abimelech feared Isaac, which is why he sent him away in the first place, because Isaac had become too powerful. However, we are certainly more powerful than the enemy whose intent is to destroy our souls. He cannot win the battle against us, because the Lord is with us. Abimelech wanted a treaty with Isaac out of fear. He wanted Isaac to know that he did not molest Isaac, so he is asking for this agreement that Isaac will not molest him. "Let's agree," was the plea. Isaac agreed, treated Abimelech to a feast and sent him on his way in peace. Again, we are told to love others as we love ourselves, and even to love those who are against us, to pray for them. Still, we cannot make a treaty with anyone who does not live for the Lord, but lives under the influence of the evil one, for what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? What fellowship can light have with darkness? There can be no treaty between a believer and an unbeliever, for what agreement can there be between the temple of God and idols? This is the meaning of not being yoked with unbelievers; yet Isaac agreed to this yoke of a treaty with Abimelech. However, they remained separate entities and did not live together, but did not wage war against each other. We should not wage war against the wicked, but also not live among them, accepting their ways as ours. There is this other truth we should note. Because Esau married foreign women, he grieved Isaac and Rebekah. Sometimes when members of our family live outside the reverence for God, it causes us grief. That is natural; Esau was Isaac's brother, yet he was not living according to God's way, but we are not told that Isaac tried to correct his son, just that Esau was a source of grief, because although they had nothing in common, he still loved his son.The truth is that Isaac had nothing in common with Abimelech or Esau.