What Good Is a Promise When You’re Starving?

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When Abraham was 75 years old, God offered Abraham a covenant partnership opportunity. He told Abraham that if he would walk with Him and trust Him and be His partner in the earth, that God would make him the father of many nations, bless him and his descendants and give them the land of Canaan as an inheritance. Abraham accepted the conditions, made a covenant with God and moved to the land of Canaan.

When Abraham was 100 years old his promised son, Isaac, was born. Isaac got married at 40 years old and was 60 years old when his wife Rebecca finally had twin boys, Jacob and Esau. These two boys were 15 years old when their grandfather Abraham died. Isaac was 75 years old when Abraham died, and the covenant promise of God passed from his father to him. Isaac lived in the southern part of Canaan near Beersheba.

Soon afterwards there was another famine in the land of Canaan, and it became difficult for Isaac to feed and care for his family, his servants and his animals. He knew God had promised his father Abraham that he and his descendants would one day inherit all the land of Canaan but, what good is a promise when you’re starving?

Well, that’s the question we hope to answer today as we discover God’s will for His covenant children. Today we are going to be reading from Genesis 26 and we will learn three important principles from this Bible account which can be readily applied to our lives in 2019.

Remember, the Bible is not just an historical record of our spiritual forefathers but is also a road map for our lives today. God had these accounts recorded for us so that we might gain insight and wisdom from both their successes and their mistakes. We will find God’s directions for our lives from the Book of Genesis, chapter 26, today. Let’s read:

Genesis 26 NKJV

1 ¶  There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

2  Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.

3  “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

4  “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

5  “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

6 ¶  So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

The 1^st Principle this morning concerns:

1.  The Heart 

a.   What good is a promise when you’re starving?

b.   For every covenant partner, God’s promise is better than money in the bank, food in the pantry or water in the well.

c.   The temptation for Isaac was to look at the circumstances around him and go back into the world, (Egypt for the natural children of Israel represents the world for us).

d.   In times of trouble don’t go back to the world’s ways of doing things trying to survive or make ends meet. Rather, trust in the Lord and continue living in the promise land.

e.   It’s not over until God says it’s over … stay where He places you. Don’t allow hard times or famine drive you away from God’s will for your life.

f.    Trouble is often just a test … pass it! It’s an open book test!

g.   The only real hope for anyone is God and His plan for their life.

h.   God has offered a covenant partnership to you. His conditions are simple. How can a person obtain and maintain their covenant partnership with God?

i.     For the Sinner (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 10:13)

                                         i.    Recognize you need a Savior.

                                        ii.    Repent of your sin.

                                      iii.    Receive the covenant by asking Jesus to save your soul.

j.     For the Saved (Luke 9:23)

                                         i.    Deny yourself

                                        ii.    Take up your cross daily

                                      iii.    Follow Christ

The 2^nd Principle we learn from this account of Isaac concerns:

2.  Our Giving 

Genesis 26:12 ¶  Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.

a.   You can come out of a hole in a hurry

b.   Deliverance, success and blessings will require:

                                         i.    Trusting God’s ways instead of the ways of the world

                                        ii.    Continuing to live in the Land of Promise

                                      iii.    Sowing, even in the time of famine

1.   Especially in the time of famine

2.   God gives us all bread for food and seed for sowing

3.   Don’t consume your future

4.   Dig a well

Genesis 26:13  The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.

As this story of Isaac unfolds, much in parallel with our lives today, Isaac runs into some trouble with the Philistines who were jealous and envious concerning his success. Isaac continued to serve and trust God and tried his best to not quarrel with his neighbors. It seems each time Isaac would unstop one of the wells which his father had previously dug, his enemies would claim it for themselves … that’s just the way of the world.

There are some in the world who will always be jealous and envy a covenant partner of God. They will want what you have but they aren’t willing to work for it like you did. And, who in their right mind would ever stop up a well in the wilderness? Crazy! But that’s the world and evidently it has been that way for at least 4000 years. God wants us to be givers and not takers; encouraging to others and not complainers … it is truly more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35)

A good goal for 2019 is to endeavor to: “Leave everything and everyone better than you found them.”

The 3^rd Principle involves:

3.  My Altar

Genesis 26:25  So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

a.   The first thing Isaac did was to build and altar.

b.   Isaac took time from his prosperous busy life to worship God.

c.   As a result of his covenant, Isaac decided it was best to stay in the Promised Land, in the place God had prospered him.

d.   Isaac knew where the blessings came from and how to keep them coming – He dug a well …

e.   Why a well? Wells are reservoirs which encourage gather, hold and supply resources from God for the families and futures.

f.    Wells turn the blessings of God for one into blessings of God for many.

g.   It can be hard to give a drink without a well.

h.   We are instructed to share our blessings with others.

Worldly Wealth creates opportunity while Covenant Wealth creates responsibility.

Instead of going from well to well always in search of your next opportunity to quench your thirst, why not become a well and be a supply of life-giving water for others.

It may take some time, energy and effort digging, but it will save time searching and what else do you really have to do?

I want to spend my life digging wells and not just drinking water. I want to be a supply for others and for generations to come.

So, What good is a promise when you’re starving? When it’s from God, it makes all the difference in the world!

Today we’ve concluded that:

1.   God has a plan and He will not allow His covenant partners to fail.

2.   Our future harvest depends on the seeds we are willing to sow today.

3.   You should: Pray, worship and pitch your tent in the place God puts you.

And don’t forget: Dig a new well in this place.

Transition Time …