The Gravity of Blessing: When Your Enemies Want a Treaty Text: Genesis 26:26-33
Introduction: The Unstoppable Blessing
We come now to a fascinating and instructive episode in the life of Isaac. It is a story about wells, wealth, and the weighty reality of God’s blessing. In our therapeutic and sentimental age, we tend to think of God’s blessing as a warm, fuzzy feeling, a private spiritual comfort. But in the Scriptures, the blessing of God is a tangible, potent, and world-altering force. It has gravity. It has mass. It is the kind of thing that makes pagan kings nervous.
The chapter leading up to our text is a story of conflict, but it is a peculiar kind of conflict. Isaac, walking in the covenant promises made to his father Abraham, is prospering mightily in the land of the Philistines. He reaps a hundredfold in a time of famine. His flocks and herds multiply. He becomes, as the text says, "very wealthy." And this provokes the envy of the Philistines. They stop up the wells his father had dug, a malicious and economically crippling act in that arid land. Abimelech, the king, then tells him to leave: "Go away from us, for you have become too powerful for us."
So Isaac retreats, peacefully. He moves to the valley of Gerar, digs new wells, and his servants find water. But the local herdsmen quarrel over them, claiming them as their own. Isaac names the first well Esek (contention) and the second Sitnah (enmity). He is being systematically harassed and pushed out. He doesn't retaliate. He doesn't call down fire from heaven. He just keeps moving, and he just keeps digging. Finally, he moves again and digs a well that is not contested. He names it Rehoboth, meaning "room," for he says, "For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."
It is right after this, after Isaac has demonstrated a patient, non-retaliatory faith, and after God has vindicated him by giving him "room," that the Lord appears to him at Beersheba. God reaffirms the Abrahamic covenant: "Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake." Isaac responds rightly, building an altar and worshiping. This sets the stage for the remarkable confrontation in our text. The very men who hated him, envied him, and drove him out now come to him, hats in hand, seeking a treaty. This is what happens when the blessing of God becomes so visible, so undeniable, that even the ungodly have to reckon with it.
The Text
Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” Then they said, “We see plainly that Yahweh has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us, and let us cut a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.’ ” Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they arose early, and each swore to the other; then Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. Now it happened on that day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
(Genesis 26:26-33 LSB)
An Unlikely Delegation (v. 26-27)
We begin with the arrival of the Philistine leadership.
"Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. And Isaac said to them, 'Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?'" (Genesis 26:26-27)
This is a high-level delegation. Abimelech the king, his personal adviser, and the commander of his army. This isn't a casual visit. This is a formal, state-level diplomatic mission. And they are coming to the man they just expelled. Isaac's response is not hostile, but it is pointed and honest. He cuts right to the chase. "Why are you here? You hate me. You threw me out." Isaac is no fool. He knows what their disposition toward him has been. He doesn't pretend the past didn't happen. This is a crucial lesson for us in dealing with former adversaries. We are called to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Isaac isn't nursing a grudge, but he is demanding an explanation for their change of heart. He is asking them to account for their previous actions in light of their current overture.
This is a far cry from the fearful Isaac who, earlier in this same chapter, lied about his wife being his sister. The man who was once afraid of these people is now boldly confronting them. What changed? God appeared to him. God reaffirmed the covenant. Isaac has built an altar and worshipped. He is now standing on the bedrock of God's promise, and it has given him a backbone of steel. When you know who you are in God's covenant, you can speak plainly and fearlessly to the powers of this world.
The World's Confession (v. 28-29)
Abimelech's reply is one of the most stunning confessions from a pagan king in all of Scripture.
"Then they said, 'We see plainly that Yahweh has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us, and let us cut a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.’" (Genesis 26:28-29 LSB)
Notice the clarity of their sight: "We see plainly." The Hebrew is emphatic: "Seeing, we have seen." This wasn't a guess or a rumor. The evidence was overwhelming. And what did they see? "That Yahweh has been with you." They don't attribute Isaac's success to luck, or skill, or favorable weather patterns. They name the name. They identify the source of his power as Yahweh, the covenant God of Abraham and Isaac. This is the fear of the Lord falling upon the nations. When God’s people walk in faithful obedience, their success becomes a potent witness. The world can't ignore it. They might hate it, they might envy it, but they cannot deny it.
Their logic is entirely self-interested, as we would expect. Because Yahweh is with Isaac, they want a non-aggression pact. They are afraid of him. The man they drove out because he was "too powerful" has, in their minds, only grown more formidable. They are now seeking protection from the man they wronged. And notice the revisionist history. They claim to have done "nothing but good" to him and sent him away "in peace." This is, of course, a laughable lie. They harassed him, sabotaged his property, and expelled him under threat. But this is how the world operates. When it is to their advantage, they will rewrite the past to smooth over their own treachery. Isaac doesn't even bother to argue the point. He knows the truth, and God knows the truth. What matters is not their spin, but their conclusion: "You are now the blessed of Yahweh." The world may not understand the theology of the blessing, but they can recognize its effects. They see the prosperity, the fruitfulness, the resilience, the inexplicable success, and they rightly conclude that this man is favored by his God.
This is a postmillennial text, if ever there was one. The promise of God is that as the church is faithful, as she takes dominion through godly labor, worship, and obedience, her blessing will become so manifest that the nations will be drawn to her light. They will come seeking terms of peace. "And many peoples shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths'" (Isaiah 2:3). Abimelech's treaty is a small, early foretaste of this global reality.
Covenant, Feast, and Peace (v. 30-31)
Isaac’s response is one of gracious strength. He doesn't gloat. He doesn't demand reparations. He accepts their proposal and seals it in the customary way.
"Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they arose early, and each swore to the other; then Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace." (Genesis 26:30-31 LSB)
Making a feast is a sign of covenant fellowship. To eat and drink with someone was to establish a bond of peace and mutual obligation. Isaac is not acting from a position of weakness, but from the security of God's promise. He can afford to be magnanimous. He is demonstrating the principle that our Lord would later teach: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27). He overcomes their past evil with present good. He is not being a doormat; he is being a patriarch. He is acting as the head, not the tail.
The next morning, they formalize the agreement. "They...each swore to the other." This is the cutting of a covenant, a solemn, binding oath before God. Having established peace, Isaac sends them away. The conflict is resolved not through carnal warfare, but through covenantal faithfulness. Isaac won this battle not by fighting, but by digging wells, worshiping God, and patiently enduring injustice, trusting in God's vindication. And God's vindication came in the form of his enemies seeking his favor.
God's Timely Confirmation (v. 32-33)
As if to put a divine exclamation point on the entire event, God provides a tangible sign of His approval on the very same day.
"Now it happened on that day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug and said to him, 'We have found water.' So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day." (Genesis 26:32-33 LSB)
The timing is impeccable. On the very day the covenant is sworn, his servants strike water. Water is life and wealth in the ancient world. This is a direct, material confirmation of God's blessing. God is showing Isaac, and by extension Abimelech, that the source of his prosperity is bottomless. You can drive him away from one well, but his God will just give him another. This new well is named Shibah, which means "oath" or "seven." It is a play on words, connecting the oath of the covenant with the discovery of the well. The place is therefore named Beersheba, the "Well of the Oath."
This is not just a quaint etymology. It is a permanent monument to a profound theological truth: God’s covenant promises, sealed by His oath, are the source of all true and lasting blessing. The water from the earth is a sign of the living water that flows from God's faithfulness. When we are faithful to our covenant obligations, God is faithful to provide for us in ways that put His glory on display for the whole world to see.
Conclusion: The Aroma of Christ
So what do we take from this? First, we must understand that the blessing of God on His people is meant to be visible. It is not a secret. Our faithfulness in our families, our work, and our communities should produce a tangible fruitfulness that the world cannot help but notice. When Christians build stable homes, run honest businesses, create beautiful things, and live in joyful order, it has an effect. It is a powerful apologetic. It confronts the world with the goodness and power of our God.
Second, we see the proper response to persecution and envy. Isaac's strategy was patient endurance and persistent, fruitful work. He did not get bogged down in fighting for his "rights" with the herdsmen of Gerar. He simply moved on and dug another well. He out-blessed them. This is the biblical pattern. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). Our primary strategy against the world's hostility is to be so ridiculously blessed and productive that they are first envious, then fearful, and finally desirous of peace.
Finally, this story is a picture of the victory of Christ and His church. We are the truly blessed of Yahweh. We have been united to the Lord Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham through whom all the nations of the earth are blessed. Like Isaac, we have been given the covenant promises of God. And as the church advances through history, digging the wells of gospel ministry, planting churches, and building Christian culture, the world will have to reckon with us. They will see plainly that Yahweh is with us. And though they may rage for a time, the day is coming when the kings of the earth will bring their glory into the New Jerusalem. They will come seeking terms of peace, because the blessing of God in Christ will have filled the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Therefore, do not be discouraged by the Esek and Sitnah of our day. Do not be dismayed by the envy and hostility of the world. Keep digging. Keep building your altars. Keep feasting at the Lord's Table. For on the same day that you faithfully swear your allegiance to your King, He will cause you to find water. He will confirm His oath with His blessing, and make your peace like a river.