Bible Question:
GEN.26:12-33 1. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANE OF THE NAMES OF THE WELLS. 2. WHY DID ISAAC DIG NEW WELLS INSTEAD OF DEFENDING HIS RIGHTS TO THE DISPUTED ONES? |
Bible Answer: Hi JIMMY MACK, Welcome to the forum. This is called the Study Bible Forum and so I recommend to you the use of a study bible. They will, for instance, give you the literal meaning of words in their margins. Let me give you those meanings and then you can make any points that you may want to make. First of all Isaac dug again the wells that his father Abraham had dug and called them by their old names. Then they dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water. Genesis 26:19. It is interesting to note that the study bibles tell us that the literal word for flowing [springing, KJ] water is "living". See John 4:13,14, "Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that (I) shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:10, "Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it [He] is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink', you would have asked (Him) and He would have given you living water." Anyway, the neighbors of Isaac said that the water was their's, here in Genesis. And they strove for it, they contended over it. And thus, the literal word for the well called "Esek" is i.e. contention. They dug another well and quarrelled over that also. The well named "Sitnah" means "i.e. enmity". He moved away and as you say did not defend his rights to the wells, until he dug one that was not quarrelled over. He named it "Rehoboth", i.e. broad, for he said, "At last the (Lord) has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." I think that the thing that we can get from the story of the wells is that the Lord was with him. Isaac was allowed to leave in peace after the disputes and left a well on his own also. Looking back on it Isaac could see that the people in the valley of Gerar and Abimelech were doing him nothing but good even though he could not see it at the time. When Isaac went up to the land of his father and dug another well at Beersheba, there he was completely blessed as that name signifies. Genesis 26:28, "And they [Abimelech and company] said, "We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the (Lord)." So sometimes we have to just trust that the Lord knows best and accept things as they come and not "stick up for our rights" all of the time. We need to learn I would suppose, to pick the right battles to fight, and to accept some things until the battle needs to be fought. That's what I got from your question, and thank you for it. From the heart, Ray P.S. I don't want to pick a fight, but I hope that you will use your shift key and not "yell". Thanks. |