Restoration

This week's goodness is on Genesis 26:18-22:

Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

These verses are next to some ones we had for our church board planning retreat this past weekend. The first bit is what strikes me. The Philistines didn't like Abraham's people. In those days, when you wanted to get rid of someone, you cut off their water supply so they'd move elsewhere. The wells Abraham had dug were plugged up by the Philistines so that his people would move on. When Isaac unplugged them, he was making a statement that he intended to stay in the land. And the fact that he gave them the same names makes it almost as if the Philistines had never interfered.

As you can see from the rest of the verses, well-digging is not a simple process. You may find water, only to find you have a fight on your hands shortly afterwards. Isaac took Abraham's wells back, but making new ones was a trial. It took him three wells before he got one his neighbors didn't want to fight him over. It would have just been easier to move elsewhere.

Remember that these are God's people, just like us. Did God leave Abraham's family when he died, so that the Philistines could plug up Abraham's wells? Or was it just a temporary season, after which everything was restored? My feeling is that it was just a season, a blip in Isaac's timeline, after which life continued as before. Sometimes we end up without things, and God knows we'll get them back. Sometimes we go to live in strange territory, and God knows we'll be back. Setbacks can be temporary.

I like the fact that Isaac gave the same names to the wells he unplugged. It's an important statement of continuity. Once, they were lost, but now they're found. It's as if they were never gone in the first place. He wasn't going to let some rowdy neighbors ruin his family legacy. He wasn't even going to acknowledge the interruption. That's a good attitude to have.