Now regardless of Isaac's disobedience God kept his promise and blessed him greatly but Isaac's stay was not without problems. The King, Abimelech,tried to marry Isaac's wife because Isaac lied to him and told him it was his sister. When the king found out he scolded Isaac for his dishonesty. As a side note I find it interesting the Abimelech actually has more integrity than Isaac does and he's not a follower of God.
Isaac farmed the land and raised cattle and God continued to bless him greatly; so much so in fact that the people began to fear him because he was becoming to powerful. In response to his growing wealth the Philistines stopped up all the wells that he used to water the cattle and for drinking. That might seem like almost a harmless prank but it was actually a very serious problem. Isaac and all his family and cattle would have been in serious trouble very quickly.
In response to the aggression of the philistines, Isaac did not retaliate. Instead, he packed up and left. At this point we go through several rounds of well digging and well stopping. Each time one of Isaac's wells is stopped up Isaac packed up and moved. Finally he ended up in Beersheeba (which is to the north in what would eventually become the promised land). Once there, God appeared to him and renewed His covenant again, and promised to bless him. Finally Abimelech showed up again and formed a peace treaty with Isaac.
What I find interesting about this section of scripture is that Isaac is living in disobedience to God. He's in a place where God had not intended him to go. God blesses him but he encountered a great deal of trouble because of the choices he made along the way. I think sometimes we like to believe that our problems are thrust upon us by forces outside our control. We pray for God to remove the trial rather than looking at why there would be a trial in the first place. It seems like it's a popular trend these days to simply will your problems away. Some people's theology would say that God just wants us to be successful and that if we just have faith and pray, he will remove those roadblocks from our path. This however, is faulty theology because God sometimes is the architect of the roadblock. In this case God was driving Isaac back to the promised land. One he got there, God renewed the covenant and blessed him richly, so much so that Abimelech felt the need to come and create a peace treaty. We see these types of road blocks throughout scripture: Jonah and the whale, Balaam and his donkey, Paul in Acts 16.
If Isaac had fought against the Philistines for control of the land he may never have seen the end to his troubles. Instead, each time there is conflict Isaac backed off and actually moved rather than quarrel. When you find a roadblock in your path don't immediately try to plow it down. God may have put it there for a reason.
Also, I think there's something to be learned from Isaac's disposition throughout all these trials. He never retaliated against those who were being openly hostile toward him. He chose the path of peace and when given the opportunity with King Abimelech he made a peace treaty with him.
For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God" (I Pet. 2:19-20)
The next time you encounter a roadblock, before you complain or ask God to remove it, make sure He isn't just trying to save you from yourself.
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