Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #20 of Genesis, chapter 26, and we are reading Genesis 26:23-29:

And he went up from thence to Beersheba. And JEHOVAH appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of JEHOVAH, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that JEHOVAH was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of JEHOVAH.

After striving for the wells with the herdmen of Gerar, they finally dug a well there was no strife over, and they called it Rehoboth, and the statement was made, “For now JEHOVAH hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”  And “Rehoboth” means a wide place or an open street, where there is room.  And God has done that in times of the sending forth of His Spirit when He was working to save in a mighty way, as He did with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and as He did a second time with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Latter Rain period which began back in September of 1994.  And, of course, when the Lord “makes room” and a great and effectual open door, He is enlarging the “tent” to bring more saved souls into His kingdom, and there is fruitfulness in the land.

Well, from there they went up from there to Beersheba, as we are told in verse 23.  The word “Beersheba” is a compound word, if you look it up in the concordance.  It is Strong’s #884.  It will show you the two words that comprise it.  The word “be-ayr'”  is #875, and is the word for “well,” and “sheh'-bah” is #7651, which is the number “seven.”  And #7650 is a word that is translated several ways, including “swear an oath.”  So, literally, Beersheba means, “well of an oath,” or “well of the swearing,” or it could mean “well of the seven.”  The consonants for #7650 and #7651 are identical, except for the vowel points.  (And keep in mind that the vowel points we see in a Hebrew Interlinear Bible – those little lines or marks – have been added to the Hebrew text.)  This means that, originally, #7650 and #7651 would have only contained consonants, and they would have been identical, so the two are equivalent.  That is why we would have to say that it could refer to one or the other. 

When we go back to Genesis 21, it was around a hundred years earlier when Abraham met with Abimelech.  And, by the way, a man named Phichol, chief captain of the Philistine army, was also present, just as we see in this passage regarding Isaac.  So let us just read this passage in Genesis 21, and we will see that they were also at Beersheba.  It says in  Genesis 21:25-27:

And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

So, again, there is another similarity with Abimelech going to Isaac at Beersheba, and as we read in Genesis 26, he also wanted to make a covenant.  So it is eerily similar in that both of them made a covenant.

So it says in Genesis 21:28:

And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

The word “seven” is #7651.  We did not read this earlier, but it said in Genesis 21:24:

And Abraham said, I will swear.

That word “swear” is #7650, so those are both identical words.

Again, back to Genesis 21:28-30:

And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

This is another similarity, as Isaac’s servants also digged the well at Beersheba. 

Then going on in Genesis 21:31:

Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.

Now we can have some confidence that Beersheba means “well of the oath” or “well of swearing,” and not “well of seven,” even though there was “seven” in view here when Abraham gave Abimelech seven ewe lambs as sort of a way of purchasing the water rights and the property of the well.  And, yet, it is very curious how both words are in the context, and it could go either way.  However, we are told the actual reason for the name Beersheba was “because there they sware both of them.”

Then it says in Genesis 21:32:

Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines<.

Now let us go back to Genesis 26, and I will read Genesis 26:23:

And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

It was the well of “swearing,” and the place where oaths were made, and covenants were forged.  So Isaac was retracing some of his father’s steps of about a hundred years before.

Then it says in Genesis 26:24:

And JEHOVAH appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

Here, a reference is made to Abraham, and we find the familiar language of blessing and multiplying his seed, and we know that this is the type of language the Lord spoke to Abraham in his time period, saying that He would bless him.  We could go to a few places, but Genesis 17 is probably the clearest, in Genesis 17:2:

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

Then it says in Genesis 17:5-8:

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

This is the blessing and the promise that God had given to Abraham, and now it is being reestablished and reaffirmed with Isaac: “And JEHOVAH appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.” 

You know, we should not overlook the first thing that God said after He mentioned that He was the God of Abraham, his father.  He said, “Fear not.”  Why?  “…Because I am with thee.”  And we know, do we not, that there are many things to fear in this world?  There are many things that are frightful and almost terrifying in this world, especially for the weak or the isolated or for the helpless or for the sojourner that enters into a strange land.  The people of a land can be fierce.  Yes – there are many, many things we could be afraid of and, yet, God says, “Fear not.”  And the reason we should not fear is because God says, “Fear not, for I am with thee.”  It is God’s presence, and it is the fact that He is with us in a way that no one else can be with us, even though we cannot see Him.  Nobody can see God.  God is Spirit.  God is invisible, because spiritual things are invisible things and, yet, it does not change the truth and the fact that He is present with His people. 

And His people know it.  We know it through “communication,” because when we read the Bible, we can hear God speaking to us, and we can communicate back to Him in prayer.  We know it through the work that God is performing in us.  We can tell that God has started a work within us, maybe many years ago, and He has been continuing that work.  Also, of course, we have the Biblical promise that the work God has begun, He will complete.  He will finish it, so there is a growing sense of confidence, assurance and comfort that we have God with us.  And that has been the teaching of the Bible, because when the Lord Jesus Christ entered into the world He was called “Immanuel.”  Literally, this translates as “God with us.”  It is the three words combined.  So Christ entered into the world for a time to walk among men and to literally be with His people, Israel.  But there is much more than that, because what Christ did for only a short time and with only a few of His people, He has done in a much greater way when He came to dwell with His people at the point of salvation and thereafter.  And once the Spirit of Christ has entered into us, He dwells with us: “…fear not, for I am with thee.”

Remember what is says in Hebrews 13:5-6:

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

You see, there it is again.  God makes a declaration.  This is the Word of God, and God cannot lie, and the Word of God is telling you and me that if we are true elect children of God, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”   Never – not for a minute; not for a moment.  He will not leave us for any length of time, once we have become saved.  The Spirit of Christ cannot leave us because God cannot lie and, as a result, He is always with us: “God with us.”  And due to this, we can have boldness, even in the Day of Judgment, and we can say, “ The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”  It goes along with Psalm 46, a Psalm that is referring to our present time period of Judgment Day.  It says in Psalm 46:1-2:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear…

Is that not amazing how God says, “I am with you”?  Then the next statement is, “…will not we fear.”  The order is reversed in Genesis 26, but it is the combination of the two: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore…” And, by the way, one thing I learned from a pastor at a church I used to go to (and, honestly, it is the only thing I learned), is that he would make the statement, “When you read the word ‘therefore,’ ask the question, ‘What is it there for?’”  And that always stuck with me.  The word “therefore” is following up on the previous statement in the first verse that said, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” and, therefore, the following conclusion can be made or the following result will happen, as it goes on to say, in Psalm 46:2-3:

…will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

When we get into this language, it has to do with Judgment Day.  It has to do with the earth being “shaken” in the Day of Judgment because that which is “shaken” is being removed, and then God gives us that which cannot be “shaken,” which is the eternal kingdom.  So we are seeing that “great earthquake” in a spiritual sense, as the earth was shaken by God in a spiritual manner, and it is an indicator that it (the earth) will be removed for evermore.  And the mountains being cast into the sea is picturing the kingdom of Satan, the Babylon of this world.  As Jesus said when He cursed the fig tree, “…ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”  So we would participate in the judgment on the corporate church, and as Christ judged the Israel, the fig tree, God’s people judged the churches as He opened the Scriptures to reveal that judgment and, thus, we also cursed a “fig tree.”  And, in addition, we will cast the mountain into the sea, as God again has opened the Scriptures to reveal the revelation of His righteous judgment, and we see that the world is under judgment.  And in declaring those things, we are accomplishing the fulfilment of what Jesus said about “casting a mountain into the sea.” 

You know, these are very trying and grievous and awful times.  No – it is not literal destruction, in that rocks are not falling down from mountains and the earth is not literally opening up.  There are not those kinds of dangers, but it is the “fabric of life” of mankind that is being destroyed and coming apart at the seams.  The essence of society and the very thing that has held society together has been the marriage institution.  God was holding back the terrible sin nature of man, the desperately wicked heart, and impressing upon man a basic morality, as He wrote His Law upon man’s hearts.    But the Lord is lifting (His hand of restraint) a little bit more, and a little bit more each day that we are going along, it seems, in this prolonged judgment period. 

Who would have thought?  We know that man is perverse and desperately wicked, with a heart that is deceitful above all things, but who would have thought that there would be societies of people living upon the earth that would lose sight of basic morality to the point that they are not sure of what gender they are, or which bathroom to enter, or how to raise a child?  Of course, people have always wondered how they should raise their children, and some may have been unsure, but the question was never, “Shall I raise my child as a boy or a girl when the child was already born a boy or a girl?”  And they do not know what to do.  “Well, I will leave the determination of what gender they are up to them, and I will raise them genderless.”  That is insanity.  That is the worst nightmare.  Nobody could have imagined a society given over to that and the fracturing of the marriage institution to such a degree that men marry men and women marry women.  No – this is happening right before our eyes.  As Psalm 46 describes, it is a complete breakdown of life on earth, to the point that it is being cast into the sea.  And, of course, the sea is the judgment of God, the wrath of God, so it is happening now at the time of God’s wrath.

We also see the combination of God’s help and presence with His people in the admonition “not to fear” in Isaiah 41:10:

Fear thou not; for I am with thee…

See the close association.  It is in many places.  And, by the way, that is why God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of a sound mind: “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears,” the Bible says.  We are not to fear men.   What is it we fear about men?  Why do we fear people to the degree that we do, or in whatever way that we do?  It is a good thing to ponder and to think about.   Yes- sometimes there may be a big strong, powerful-looking guy, and do we fear him because of his strength?  We could fear men because they give an appearance of strength.  Or, some men are not that big and, yet, we may have a fear of them.  Why?  Well, they have a “mouth” and with their mouth, they will say anything, and they will hurt anyone.  They will bring all kinds of evil things out of their mouths. 

But I think that when it comes right down to it, I think what we fear about our fellow man is the fact is that he is evil and sinful.  And we know they are, because we are, but for the grace of God having had mercy upon us and saving us and washing away our sins.  There was no difference.  Also, from the language of the Bible, we know that Christ said He knew what was in man, and it could be a fear of that evil as it could manifest itself toward us or our loved ones in some way.  That is the fear of crime, is it not?  Someone might hurt me.  Someone might kill me.  Someone might steal from me or break into my house.  The fear, ultimately, goes back to the sinful nature of man and the acts that sinful men do in word and in deed. 

So there is a fear, but God says, “Fear not.  I am with thee.”  I will read this, again, before we close, as we are running out of time.  It says in Isaiah 41:10:

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

And it says in Isaiah 41:13-14:

For I JEHOVAH thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith JEHOVAH, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.