today's meditation (Gn.26:18-25) Remember to Worship

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me as I study Your word...)

(Genesis 26:18-25)  Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him the same night and said,

“I am the God of your father Abraham;
Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bless you, and multiply your descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The wells that Abraham had dug had been filled in after his death.  Possibly this was a consequence of Abraham's lies about his wife being his sister.  Now Isaac was faced with contentions over who owned the wells.  Possibly this was in part a consequence of Isaac's lie about his wife being his sister.  That, and bits of history can linger and leave a bad taste in one's mouth, causing feuds between people.

So Isaac had to keep moving to different areas while looking for water.  It was when Isaac gave credit to the Lord for finding some land with water, and trusting that the Lord would help them to be fruitful, that the Lord appeared in order to give another reminder to Isaac of the Abrahamic covenant.

Within the reminder, the Lord told Isaac that He would be with him, so he was not to fear.  Isaac then settled down in that area.  And it was there that he built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord.  

I'm sensing that Isaac needed a reminder that God was always there.  And calling upon the name of the Lord is an excellent habit to have.  It's way too easy to forget about God... as Isaac did when he took matters into his own hands and lied about his wife being his sister.  He should have trusted God, been honest about his wife, and not feared the Philistines.  But... he forgot about God

I've moved around a lot in my lifetime.  And every time I have moved a great distance, I know to find a church as soon as possible and get plugged in.  There have been a few times when it took a little while, so when I finally found a church with solid doctrines, I had the sense that I had been missing out on something very important!  

You don't realize what you have been missing, until you go.  And then it is like - oh yes - THIS is how it should be!!!  Sure, I can have daily devotions and personal prayer time anytime... but then there is that extra special blessing we get when we physically go to church to serve and worship the Lord!!!