Digging for Water, Fighting for Inheritance Text: Genesis 26:18-22
Introduction: Covenantal Stubbornness
We live in a thin and shallow age. Our evangelicalism is often a mile wide and an inch deep. We want the blessings of God without the burdens of history. We want the promises without the perseverance. We want to drink from wells we did not dig, and when those wells are stopped up by the enemies of God, we are often too timid, too polite, or too ignorant to do the hard work of digging them again. We would rather find a new spot, a new method, a new brand, than contend for the old paths.
The story of Isaac in Gerar is a story about water, but it is about much more than water. It is a story about covenant inheritance, about the nature of spiritual conflict, and about the quiet, stubborn faithfulness that God requires of His people in a world that is determined to fill in every well of blessing with the dirt of unbelief. Isaac is not the most flamboyant of the patriarchs. He is not a pioneer like Abraham or a wrestler like Jacob. He is a son, an heir. His primary calling is to hold fast to what was given to him, to re-dig the wells of his father.
This is a deeply unfashionable virtue in our time. We are obsessed with innovation, with the cutting edge, with what is new. But the kingdom of God advances through men and women who have the grace to honor their fathers and mothers in the faith, who know the value of what has been handed down to them, and who will, when confronted by the Philistines of our age, simply pick up a shovel and start digging again. They are not looking for a fight, but they will not abandon their inheritance just because someone else wants to quarrel over it.
This passage is a practical lesson in applied theology. It teaches us how to live as heirs of the covenant in a world that is hostile to our claim. It shows us that faithfulness is often a matter of patient labor in the face of pointless opposition. And it reminds us that God is the one who ultimately makes room for His people, who brings us to a place of fruitfulness, not by removing all conflict, but by sustaining us through it.
The Text
Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, but the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he called them by the same names by which his father had called them.
Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water.
And the herdsmen of Gerar contended with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they quarreled with him.
Then they dug another well, and they contended over it also, so he called it Sitnah.
Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not contend over it; so he named it Rehoboth, and he said, “At last Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
(Genesis 26:18-22 LSB)
Re-Digging the Father's Wells (v. 18)
We begin with an act of faithful remembrance and recovery.
"Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, but the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he called them by the same names by which his father had called them." (Genesis 26:18)
Notice the first thing Isaac does. He does not innovate; he restores. The wells were a source of life, a testimony to Abraham's faith and God's provision. They were markers of God's covenantal presence in the land. The Philistines, after Abraham's death, filled them in. This was not a practical act; it was a theological statement. It was an act of historical erasure. They wanted to obliterate the memory of Abraham and his God. By filling in the wells, they were saying, "Your father was not here. His God has no claim on this land. His covenant is null and void."
This is what the enemies of God always do. They cannot create, so they vandalize. They cannot build, so they tear down. They stop up the wells of true doctrine with the dirt of heresy. They stop up the wells of godly worship with the mud of entertainment. They stop up the wells of biblical morality with the filth of sexual rebellion. And they do it, just like the Philistines, as soon as a generation of faithful men has passed from the scene.
Isaac's response is simple and profound. He "dug again" the wells. He refused to accept the enemy's vandalism as the final word. This is the task of every faithful generation. It is the work of reformation. We are not called to invent a new faith, but to recover the old one. We are called to un-stop the wells of the apostles, the wells of the Nicene fathers, the wells of the Reformers. The water is still there; it just needs to be dug out from under the accumulated debris of compromise and neglect.
And notice the clincher: "he called them by the same names by which his father had called them." This is crucial. Naming is an act of dominion and a confession of faith. By using Abraham's names, Isaac is making a direct claim of inheritance. He is saying, "This is my father's well. I am my father's son. My father's God is my God. The covenant He made with Abraham belongs to me." He is not trying to be diplomatic. He is not rebranding the faith to make it more palatable to the Philistines. He is reasserting the old claim in the old terms. We must learn to do the same. We must call sin, sin. We must call Christ, Lord. We must call marriage, what God calls it. We do not have the authority to rename the wells.
Contention and Accusation (v. 19-21)
As soon as Isaac's servants find fresh, living water, the conflict begins in earnest.
"Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water. And the herdsmen of Gerar contended with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, 'The water is ours!' So he named the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, and they contended over it also, so he called it Sitnah." (Genesis 26:19-21 LSB)
The first well they dig is not just a cistern for stagnant water, but a well of "flowing water," or as the Hebrew says, "living water." This is a picture of vibrant, life-giving truth. And the moment it is discovered, the world wants to claim it, control it, and corrupt it. "The water is ours!" they shout. This is the perennial cry of the state, of the culture, of every false religion. They see the life and vitality that flows from the gospel and they want to co-opt it without submitting to the God who provides it.
Isaac's response is not to argue endlessly. He doesn't form a committee to negotiate water rights. He names the reality of the situation. He names the first well Esek, which means "Contention" or "Quarrel." He is marking the event. He is saying, "This is what happened here. You picked a fight over God's provision." He is not absorbing the conflict in a spirit of mushy pacifism; he is identifying it for what it is. This is a form of spiritual warfare. When the world quarrels with the church over the truth, we must name that quarrel. We must call it what it is: rebellion against God.
So they dig another well, and the same thing happens. The opposition does not give up easily. Isaac names this second well Sitnah, which means "Accusation" or "Enmity." The name is related to the word Satan, the accuser. The conflict has escalated from a quarrel over resources to a deeper, more malicious opposition. This is what always happens. When the world cannot win the argument, it resorts to slander. They will not just contend with you; they will accuse you. They will call your faithfulness bigotry, your truth hate, and your obedience oppression.
Isaac does not retaliate in kind. He does not become defensive. He simply keeps digging. He is not defined by the conflict; he is defined by his mission, which is to find water. He lets the opposition exhaust itself. This is a picture of what Paul calls overcoming evil with good. Isaac's response to contention is to dig another well. His response to accusation is to dig another well. He is a man of peace, not because he avoids conflict at all costs, but because he is relentlessly productive in the face of it.
Divine Vindication (v. 22)
Finally, Isaac's patient perseverance is rewarded by God's sovereign provision.
"Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not contend over it; so he named it Rehoboth, and he said, 'At last Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.'" (Genesis 26:22 LSB)
Isaac moves on. This is not retreat; it is strategic relocation under the direction of God. He digs a third time, and this time, there is no quarrel. The opposition has been worn down by his quiet, stubborn fruitfulness. And so he names this place Rehoboth, which means "Broad Places" or "Room."
Look at his confession. He does not say, "At last, my patience has paid off," or "Finally, I found a spot where those bullies won't bother me." He says, "At last Yahweh has made room for us." He gives all the credit to God. He understands that the space, the peace, and the opportunity are all gifts of grace. It is the Lord who makes a place for His people. Our job is to keep digging, to remain faithful in the work He has given us, and to trust that He will deal with the Philistines. He will either convert them, or He will exhaust them, or He will move them out of the way. But He will make room.
And the result of this room is fruitfulness. "And we will be fruitful in the land." This is the goal of all our spiritual well-digging. We contend for the old paths not for the sake of nostalgia, but for the sake of life. We unstop the wells of our fathers so that our children might drink and be satisfied. The peace God gives is not an empty peace; it is a fruitful peace. The broad places He provides are not for lounging, but for planting, for building, for multiplying.
Conclusion: The Living Water
This entire narrative is a shadow, and the substance is Christ. Jesus met a woman at a well, a well dug by the patriarch Jacob, and He offered her a different kind of water. "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again," He said, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:13-14).
Jesus Christ is the true well of Abraham. He is the source of all living water. And the world has been quarreling over Him ever since. The story of the church is the story of re-digging this one, essential well. The Philistines of every generation have tried to stop it up with the dirt of legalism, the rocks of rationalism, and the garbage of syncretism. And the task of the faithful in every generation is to dig again, to preach Christ and Him crucified, and to call Him by His true name: Lord and Savior.
We should expect contention. We should expect accusation. When we find the living water of the pure gospel, the herdsmen of this dying age will shout, "That is ours!" They will try to nationalize it, politicize it, psychologize it, and trivialize it. They will do anything but drink from it on God's terms.
Our response must be that of Isaac. We must not give up the work. We must not be drawn into their petty squabbles on their terms. We must keep digging. We must keep preaching. We must keep living out the faith. We name the contention for what it is, we name the accusation for what it is, and we keep on digging, trusting that in His time, the Lord will bring us to Rehoboth. He will make room for His gospel. He will make a broad place for His church. And in that place, He will make us fruitful, for His glory and for the life of the world.