Faith and fear

Genesis 26:1-33
Now there was a famine in the land, The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.
The story in chapter 26 parallels incidents in Abraham's life, yet is distinct and different from the earlier accounts. Famine uproots Isaac from the Negeb, but he goes north to Gerar, not south to Egypt. He adopts the same ruse over Rebecca that his father had done with Sarah: but Rebecca is not taken from him. Like most of us. Isaac vacillates between faith and fear, needing God's repeated reassurance: 'I am with you.. do not be afraid, I shall bless you.'
Abimelech offers peace with honor.
Why?
Between faith and fear, Issac did the same thing as his father Abraham. For God's blessing this time Rebecca does not take away from him.
The same challenge came, famine, for the warning of the Lord, Isaac did not move to the south, Egypt, but move to the north, Geraa. For the Lord is with him he became rich and very wealthy.
Isaac gave up three well and occupied by Philistine, for God's blessing his servant dug a new well and belong to him in Beersheba.
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1.一樣遇到飢荒。因為飢荒向南遷，迦南地沒有準時下雨就易有飢荒，因埃及沒有這個問題很容易往南遷。神要賜福的條件是順服神的話。
2.說謊。住在非力士人那裏，比較難的是利百加可能使他有生命危險，這個事情比較難倚靠神。其實這個危險並不是非利士人的企圖，而且是自己因為軟弱而想像的。人信心因為軟弱很容易把問題放大，把神的保護、應許縮小了。後來亞米比勒反而下令保護以撒和利百加。
3.爭水井，以撒挖井都在讓，最後神賜他寬闊之地。地為以撒效力，挑戰和祝福同時來。選擇策略是讓，比爭有效，免於生命危險。即使爭也不見得爭得到。當我們不爭的時候，神會替我們爭。
4.神祝福以撒，亞比米勤來和他立約。有權的人來和以撒立約，因為他們看到神賜福他，令人生害怕，自動來和以撒立約。神的祝福常常伴著挑戰，這個挑戰是神要試驗我們的信心。
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How?
Follow the word of the Lord is the right way to everyone who is walling before the Lord.