Genesis 26:1 - Meaning and Application

Here, God tested Isaac through the circumstances of his life. Isaac had been raised to trust God’s promise that the land of Canaan would belong to him and his descendants. Yet now there was a famine in the land (Genesis 26:1). What was he to think of the promise when the promised land could not even give him food? Was such a gift worth holding on to if it came with such hardship and such delay?

Yes, Isaac still held fast to the covenant. The less valuable Canaan seemed in itself, the more he learned to prize it. He saw it, first, as a sign of God’s lasting kindness to him. He also saw it as a picture of heaven’s lasting joy. The worth of God’s promises cannot be made smaller in a believer’s eyes by hard events.

God also guided Isaac through this trial by his word. Isaac found himself pressed by the lack of food. He needed to go somewhere for help, and it seems he started toward Egypt, where his father had gone in a similar need. Instead, he came to Gerar, thinking carefully about which way to go until God graciously appeared to him and settled the matter to Isaac’s full satisfaction.

God told him to stay where he was and not go down into Egypt: “Live in this land” (Genesis 26:2, 26:3). In Jacob’s days there was also a famine, and God told him to go down into Egypt (Genesis 46:3, 46:4). In Abraham’s days there was a famine too, and God left him free to choose either way. This different treatment seems to fit the different character of each patriarch. Abraham was spiritually mature and lived very close to God, so every place and condition was alike to him. Isaac was a good man, but not one suited for severe hardship, so he was forbidden to go to Egypt. Jacob was used to trouble and strong in patience, so he had to go down into Egypt, where his faith would be tested and shown to be genuine. God matches his people’s trials to their strength.

God also promised to be with Isaac and bless him (Genesis 26:3). We can go anywhere with peace if God’s blessing goes with us, and we can stay anywhere content if that blessing rests on us. He also renewed the covenant already made so many times with Abraham, repeating and confirming the promises of Canaan, many descendants, and the Messiah, the promised Savior (Genesis 26:3, 26:4). People who must live by faith need to go back often to the promises they must live on, especially when they are called to suffer or give something up.

God also pointed Isaac to the good example of his father’s obedience, because Abraham’s obedience had helped keep the covenant line in the family (Genesis 26:5). “Abraham obeyed my voice; do the same, and the promise will be sure to you.” Abraham’s obedience is honored here, because it brought him a good name with both God and people. The passage uses several words for God’s will, including his voice, charge, commandments, statutes, and laws, which suggests that Abraham obeyed in a full and wide way. He followed the basic moral law, the revealed rules for worship, especially circumcision, and every special command God gave him, including leaving his country and, most likely, offering up his son. Isaac had good reason to remember that command. Only those children benefit from the covenant made with godly parents who walk in the same path of obedience.