CRITICAL NOTES.—
Genesis 26:8. Sporting.] “That is, taking freedoms—using familiarities with her, such as exceeded those that were common between brothers and sisters.” (Bush.)—
Genesis 26:10. One of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife.] “Lightly” equivalent to “easily.” He intimates that the sin in that case would have been one of ignorance.—
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Genesis 26:6-11
ISAAC’S FALSE EXPEDIENT
The false position in which Isaac placed himself with the men of Gerar was intended by him as an expedient to save the virtue of his wife. The purpose in itself was good, but the means he used were unworthy of a man divinely called to a life of faith and duty. He sinned against the truth. There are certain circumstances in this history which throw light both on the nature of his fault and on the character of the population around him.
I. The temptation comes after a time of great blessing. The great promises which God had given to his father had just been renewed to Isaac. It would seem as if nothing but peace and tranquillity must follow such great blessings. We find, however, that they are followed by a time of great trials. And such is the experience of the saints of God in all ages. We are wise and happy if we can use the time of great blessing so as to gather strength for future trials.
II. He did not thrust himself in the way of temptation. Isaac contributed nothing to the temptation by his own conduct. He obeyed the command of God by not going down into Egypt, and by sojourning in the land. He was in the way of Providence and of duty. His temptation arose naturally from the circumstances in which he was placed.
III. He repeated the sin of his father, but incurs greater guilt. About eighty years before this time, Abraham and Sarah had made a similar compact (Genesis 20:13). It would appear that this was a common expedient with married people among strangers in those times of social insecurity. Isaac used his father’s expedient, but forgot the bitter failure by which it was followed. There was before him an example which suggested warning enough, and therefore by repeating this fault he incurred greater guilt.
IV. The treatment he received places heathen virtue in a favourable light. Abimelech assures Isaac that his fears were groundless (Genesis 26:10). Though these people were idolators they still retained some salutary fear of God, and regarded the violation of the marriage covenant as a sin of the worst type. Isaac ought to have had a more generous faith in his neighbours, and therefore he merits a similar reproof to that which was administered to his father (Genesis 20:9-11).
V. His deliverance shows that God protects His saints from the evils which they bring upon themselves. Isaac was delivered from the evils to which he had exposed himself. God used the virtue and integrity of Abimelech to protect him. The vain self-reliance and wicked policy of the old corrupt nature often bring God’s saints into trouble. They may be beaten back for a time, still they hold on their way.
ISAAC’S FALSEHOOD
The history of Uriah and David makes it easy to understand how such falsehoods came to be spoken; for in those unscrupulous days a stranger ran a risk of being put to death on some pretext that a royal tyrant might take his wife in marriage. We find that Abraham committed this very sin of lying twice before. Now in Isaac’s case this certainly would account for, though by no means excuse, his lie. He had before him the example of his father’s cowardly falsehood. And he copied it. We are thus ever prone to imitate the character of those we admire. Their very failings seem virtues; and hence comes a solemn consideration, that a good man’s faults are doubly dangerous; the whole weight of his authority is thrown into the scale; his very virtues fight against God. Another thing which will help to explain Isaac’s act is an idiosyncrasy of character. He was possessed of a kind of subtlety, an over-fine edge of mind; and the tendency of this is toward craft and cunning. Such characters see both sides of a question; go on refining and refining, weighing points of subtle casuistry, until at last they become bewildered, and can scarcely see the border line between right and wrong. It requires characters like Abimelech’s, rude, straightforward, to cut asunder the knot of their difficulties. Observe, again, how this tendency to falsehood through over-refinement is seen in Jacob also, Isaac’s son: thus it is that characters are handed down from father to son. Remark, too, another quality which accompanies such characters as Isaac’s—want of courage: “lest I die for her.” Contemplative men, who meditate at eventide, who are not men of action, want those practical habits which are oftentimes the basis of truthfulness. It is a want especially remarkable now. Never was there a day in which this tone of mind was more common, or more dangerous. Our day is not remarkable for devoutness; and the men who are so are not remarkable for manliness. They have somewhat of effeminacy in their characters—are tender, soft, wanting a firm, broad footing on reality. It is just to such minds as these that the Church of Rome offers peculiar attractions. She appeals to all that craves for awe, reverence, tenderness, mystery. Men get to live in mystery and shadows, and call it devoutness. Then in this borderland, between this reality and unreality,—this cloud region as it were,—truth itself melts away by degrees. Is it not an indisputable fact that, as soon as men leave our Church for Rome, their word is not to be trusted; that they get a double dealing spirit; a habit of casuistry, and of tampering with truth on plausible and subtle pretences which is a disgrace to Englishmen, not to say Christians! Therefore, let religious life strengthen itself by action. We want a more real life. A life merely prayerful, spent in dim religious lights, amidst the artistic parts of religion, architecture, chantings, litanies, fades into the unreal and merely imaginative soul passes into the false soul.—(Robertson.)
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Genesis 26:6-7. Gerar was probably a commercial town trading with Egypt, and therefore Isaac’s wants during the famine are here supplied. “The men of the place” were struck with the appearance of Rebekah, “because she was fair.” Isaac, in answer to their inquiries, pretends that she is his sister, feeling that his life was in peril, if she was known to be his wife. Rebekah was at this time not less than thirty-five years married, and had two sons upwards of fifteen years old. She was still however in the prime of life, and her sons were probably engaged in pastoral and other field pursuits.—(Murphy.)
The beauty of Rebekah exposed Isaac to great risk and brought him into this trouble. Thus every earthly good has some vanity attached to it.
This incident teaches us, that in swerving at all from the strict path of duty, we may be furnishing a precedent to others of whom we little dream. No man knows, in doing wrong, what use will be made of his example.—(Bush.)
Genesis 26:8. There is here no Divine interference: all is human detection and human foresight. There is no further meaning in this verse than appears in the words. What passed was no more than is related, but was enough to justify the king’s inference,—(Alford.)
Genesis 26:9. But why was this a necessary inference? Might not Isaac justly have subjected himself to evil imputations? Might he not have been guilty of great crimes under the covert of his alleged relationship to Rebekah? The answer to this is highly creditable to the patriarch. It is clear that his general deportment at Gerar had been so uniformly upright and exemplary, that Abimelech knew not how to entertain an ill opinion of his conduct; and though his words were inconsistent with his conduct in the present instance, yet, judging from his whole deportment, he comes to the conclusion rather that his words had been somehow false, than that his actions had been wrong. Such is usually the paramount influence of a good life.—(Bush.)
Jacob feared for his own safety. Such quiet, calculating men often lack courage.
Genesis 26:10. A just reproof for those who by their lack of manly and straight-forward conduct expose others to sin.
The sin which the king of Gerar intimates might have been brought upon his people would have been strictly one of inadvertence or ignorance on his part. His words show, however, that it was a deeply fixed persuasion in the minds of heathen nations that the violation of the marriage covenant was a sin of deep die, and one which merited, and was likely to draw after it, the Divine indignation.—(Bush.)
Genesis 26:11. The righteous indignation of Abimelech was worthy of a good king. On the other hand, the timid policy of Isaac was unworthy of a servant of God.