Loading... LORD WAS WITH THEE - Genesis 26:28
Friday, January 30th, 2009Genesis 26:28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
Abimelech had kicked Isaac out of Gerar because Isaac was more powerful than Abimelech. After a period of time, Abimelech comes to Isaac and Isaac asks him why Abimelech had come since Isaac said that Abimelech hated him since he sent him away. Abimelech’s response to Isaac is very interesting. Abimelech admitted that he saw that the Lord was with Isaac and thus Abimelech concluded it was best that he make some sort of peace treaty with Isaac.
Abimelech knew that there was a living God by observing the life of Isaac. Abimelech had no desire to live at odds with Isaac because if Isaac decided to attack, Abimelech realized that he would probably lose because God was with Isaac. Abimelech may have made a mistake in sending Isaac away in such a matter that Isaac thought he was hated, but Abimelech came to Isaac to make a peace treaty.
If the world knows that there is a living God and that HE lives in you, they will not want to do you harm lest they have to fight against God. The problem is that the world does not always see in us a living powerful God. It was Abimelech who had caught Isaac in a lie about Rebekah being his sister. When Isaac was close, Isaac did not always demonstrate a perfect faith in God. However, as Isaac matured and as Isaac had to seek the Lord for a new place to dwell, Abimelech now saw something new in Isaac that caused him to desire to make peace with Isaac immediately.
We all sin and we all make mistakes, but it is important that we learn to reflect the light of God in our lives. God is the light and we are the diamond. Just as a diamond must be properly cut so that it will properly magnify the light, so too must God bring us through certain trials in order cause HIS light to more effectively reflect in the world around us. As we mature and allow God to work on our lives the world should see God through our lives.
When the world sees God in our lives, they should understand that if they start fighting against you they are really fighting against God. When the nation of Israel was entering the promise land, the entire nation of Canaan feared because they understood that God had given the Israelites the land. The people in Jericho shut up their gates and tried to hide from the power of God, but their plan failed. Several kings joined their forced and attempted to fight, however, when they started to lose, they fled and God caused the sun to stand still until they were utterly defeated. The people of Gibeon decided that it was better to make peace and become slaves then it was to fight against the God of all gods.
Abimelech wanted to make peace with Isaac because he saw God in him. If Isaac had been more concerned about his worldly possessions, do you think that Abimelech would have seen God in his life and desired to make peace with him? Isaac had demonstrated temperance and did not allow the things of this world to control his decisions. Because Isaac put the things of God first, God was able to work through his life to cause even his enemies to live at peace with him.
Look at your life. Are you a shiny example of the power of God? Have you allowed God to prune the things of this world from your life so that you might properly reflect the light of God? God is looking for those who will allow HIM to demonstrate to the world that HE lives.