Observation: Isaac has a series of interesting ... confrontations ... throughout this passage. It begins with him settled near Gerar where Philistines are settled. He pulls the ol' "my wife is my sister" ploy of his dad to avoid conflict. He lives there in peace, and in the middle of a famine he plants crops and receives a 100-fold harvest, therefore the Philistines become afraid of his power and ask him to leave.
So he leaves. Isaac moves to a nearby valley where his father had camped before, and there he takes time to unclog wells that the Philistines have clogged up. He then digs new wells, which the Philistines (who clearly didn't need the water since they clogged other good wells) claim as theirs, and Isaac just says 'okay', digs another well, and the Philistines take that one too. He will ultimately move on to Beersheba in the Negev where no one will claim what he digs. However, even once there, the Philistines will come seeking him (with a small show of military force, no less) and demand he sign a treaty with them, which he does.
Throughout all this, Isaac just passively submits to whatever others demand of him. They kick him off his successful farm, order him to leave town, vandalize his father's wells, take from him wells he labored to build, drive him out of their valley, require him to legally agree to terms of non-aggression, and Isaac ... just shuts up and complies with a shrug and a smile. Oh, and also throughout all this, the Lord blesses Isaac SO much that all Philistines are afraid of this quiet, passive, peaceful wanderer and his small family.
Application: My first inclination today, upon reading Isaac's behavior, was to find fault in a man who was such a passive pushover. Isaac is the least discussed of the patriarchs, sometimes seen as just the bridge from Abraham to Jacob. His passive nature is one of the key sources of generational friction between Jacob and Esau (Israel and Edom). He gets pushed around by others, and just takes it.
And yet ... he is blessed so richly that an entire people-group lives in fear of him and his family's campsite. They do everything they can to sabotage this one man's family, kick him out of their cities, then fearfully ask him to not destroy them.
As I examine this, I realize Isaac was the man of peace who simply knew that, if others in this world closed a door on one part of his life, God would open a new door for him. The world - and worldly people - might act in ways that attempted to harm and intimidate Isaac, but Isaac just looked to the Lord and said, "okay, where to next?"
I am one of those men who thinks I need to take action to be successful. That mindset is opposed to the Lord's model for living. I need to take action only as directed by the Lord, and above all I need to find actions that foster peace and love. If those "actions" look "passive" by the world's standards, so be it.
Make no mistake, all my worldly efforts have brought me is frustration, anger, sadness, depression, and a lack of fulfillment to the point of self-loathing. Every joy I have is not a result of my efforts, but a blessing from the Lord. From my wife, my family, my home, and the resources I have to enjoy free time ... these are all from the Lord, and they are the only parts of my life I enjoy.
I should probably become a passive man of peace.
Prayer: Lord, in this context and this realization, please guide me in my daily work. May I be transformed in alignment to your will and your ways, and not conform to the ways of this world. Amen.
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