A second famine struck and God told Isaac not to go to Egypt, but to stay in Gerar and God would bless him and protect him. So Isaac went to Gerar and went to the king of the philistines,
Abimelech (not the same Abimelech that Abraham delt with, a new one) and took refuge there.  However, Isaac was fearful that they Phillistines would see how beautiful his wife was and would kill him to take Rebekah, so he lied and said that she was his sister. Sound familiar? This is the same thing that Abraham did, children learn best from their parents actions. Its important to lead by example with the important life lessons for your children, they are more prone to follow what we do rather than what we say.

            The king saw Isaac being intimate with Rebekah and knew right away that this was not his sister, he was filled with anger but told his men to leave Isaac and his wife alone, he knew that the Lord was with them. So they were able to stay and God blessed Isaac and he began to flourish and prosper. This caused a lot of jealousy amongst the Phillistines, they didn't like how prosperous Isaac had become but knew that God was with him so they didn't want to cause him harm. In turn, they kicked him out of Gerar and told him to leave and go away sense he was much mightier than they were.

            Isaac left and went to the wilderness and dug a bunch of water wells, each well the Phillistines would demand it was theres so he would have to find a new spot and start again. In ancient days water wells were everything, water was as precious as gold. So for Isaac to have no problem getting successful wells it angered the Phillistines even more. Isaac could have stood his ground and fought to keep the wells but he knew that God had the perfect spot for him picked out and knew it would be the more peaceful approach to let it go. When we are in a situation where we have to choose to fight or walk away, we must seek God and ask what He wants for us. Does He want us to stand our ground, or does He have something better for us?

            Finally Isaac dug another well that the Phillistines didn't try to take, so He settled there and the Lord blessed him. Abimelech saw how much God was with Isaac and showed up to his him and asked him for a peace covenant, Isaac immediately accepted and celebrated the peace together. When our enemies try to resolve an issue with us, its good to resolve the conflict and settle with peace. You dont have to be best friends but you can get rid of the strife, and who knows, maybe your actions could cause your enemies to seek God as well.

            After the peace had been made Esau, the older of Isaacs sons who traded his birthright for a meal, married a Hittite (pagan) and his parents were upset by it. The pagans didn't follow God, they lived for themselves and this wasn't want Isaac wanted for his son. Esau had always gotten along better with Isaac because he was more manly and tough compared to his brother Jacob who was softer and got along better with his mother. So for Isaac to see his son go down the wrong path, it was hard to fathom.

            Abraham married again after Sarah had passed and had more children, but he made it clear in his old age that Isaac was the heir of what he possessed. He blessed his other children with things but Isaac was to be the new leader of the family.  Abraham lived to be one hundred and seventy-five years old, he died in a good old age and was buried with Sarah.

            Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, hadn't conceived yet and they were worried she was barren. So they pleaded that God would bless them with children. When Isaac was sixty, Rebekah had twin boys. Esau came out first, followed by Jacob. In the text it tells us that Rebekah struggled with her pregnancy, and asked God why and he told her that she was going to have two nations be brought from her, one will be stronger than the other and the older shall serve the younger. God knows whats going to happen before it does, and so she wasn't surprised when she had the twins.

            One day, when the boys were older, Esau who was the strong hunter came in and was extremely hungry. His brother had prepared food and Esau asked him for something to eat.  Jacob agreed to feed his brother only if his brother would give him his birthright.  This mean that  Jacob would be the heir to Isaac, not Esau. Esau replied that he was dying because he was so hungry so what was a birthright at that point and traded it for food. Esau wasn't dying, he was greatly exaggerating because he was so hungry in the moment, and allowed the desperation from that single moment to alter his entire future. This shows us how easy it is act poorly under desperation. Had he overcome that fleshly urge and gotten food elsewhere, he would have still had his inheritance and birthright.

            God prophecies to Rebekah that the older shall serve the younger, He knew this would happen at one point. He truly does know everything before it happens. When you sin, he is already aware that you are going to do it, yet he still loves and forgives you anyways. He truly does know all.

        Abraham was getting old and wanted to find a bride for his son, Isaac, but was too old to travel to the land he originally came from to get a bride. He didn't want Isaac marrying a local girl where they lived, he wanted Isaac to live there in the land God gave them, but to marry a girl of their line. Abraham wanted obey God fully, not partially. Back then it was customary for the parents to find a bride for their son, but because Abraham was getting old he sent his servant for him.

        Abrahams servant asked God to show him the right bride for Isaac when he arrived to their original home land, he asked God to have the girl offer to not just get him water (which was customary) but to get water for his camels as well. He wanted to make sure that the bride for Isaac was kind and generous and would go above and beyond to serve someone. It was customary to offer a traveler some water but not their camels, camels drank a lot of water and that would have been a lot of work. So when Rebekah approached the well and offered the servant and his camels water, he knew that was the woman that God had sent for Isaac.

        The servant went to Rebekahs home and explained everything to her family and they offered her up for marriage to Isaac. They returned shortly and Rebekah wed Isaac and was able to comfort him after the passing of his mother.

        Abrahams servant teaches us how to seek God in all things, especially in important things.  Finding the right wife for Isaac was very important and wasn't taken lightly. We need to remember to seek Gods guidance in all things too. Now days, arranged marriages aren't the common way to find a spouse, and with all the dating apps out there it really has changed the way people find their spouse. This is a very important area where Gods guidance needs to be seeked. Divorce isn't an easy thing, it means something has failed, but this can be avoided by marrying the one that God has chosen for you. He can save you a lot of trouble if you seek His guidance first, rather than try to achieve it on your own.

        With God, the impossible becomes possible. Back then, it wasn't customary for a servant to show up to a town where his master didn't even live, to find a bride for his masters son. This was an unusual thing and for most would have ended up with a solid no. But God makes the unrealistic happen when its according to His plan for you.

        Sarah lived one-hundred and twenty-seven years old then she passed away. Abraham wanted to burry his wife but they were in a foreign land when she passed away, so he asked the sons of Heth if he could buy land from them to properly mourn and burry his wife. In that time frame, if someone wasn't properly buried it was a huge sign of disrespect, however selling land to foreigners was also something that wasn't done much. But these men knew of Abraham and his God and because of the good reputation Abraham had, he agreed to give him land. In the text it shows that the men were willing to give the land to Abraham for free, but Abraham insisted on paying for it. In the side notes it states that this was simply normal bargaining tools and still is
common in those regions today. Had Abraham took the land for free, the men would have had no respect for him, but they made it sound as if they wanted him to have the land for free even though it was worth 400 shekels of silver. Abraham didn't bargain, he gave them exactly what they asked for even though it was custom to ask for double of what something was worth and have a counter offer at the fair price. Abraham knew this yet over paid for the land because he didn't want to owe these men anything and he didn't want to take advantage of the situation, and God had provided him with the finances to pay it.

        When we choose to follow God and we seek him out, it shows in our behavior and helps to give us a good reputation. This was the case with Abraham, people who had never met him before knew he was a good man that served God. We should strive for this, we should want people to think highly of us, not because of our own merit but because God blesses us. God had already promised this land to Abraham, he could have just told the sons of Heth that and taken the land, but that approach would have caused a problem. Abraham knew there was a right and respectable way to handle things and a wrong way that would offend people and cause strife.  He knew God gave him that land but he also knew that God gave him the finances to receive it the peaceful way.