today's meditation (Gn.26:26-33) Living in Obedience is a Testimony

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me through Your word today...)

(Genesis 26:26-33)  Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’” 30 Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace. 32 Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Ah-ha!  So Abraham and Isaac's lies about their wives DID cause tensions, and Isaac was well aware of that.  And still, King Abimelech had noticed how God blessed both Abraham and Isaac.  Abimelech could have very well just attributed their success to other things such as luck or hard work, but he actually gave God the credit - twice.  And so, because they saw that God was with Isaac, they wisely decided to become allies with him.

Remember, the Abrahamic covenant included the promise that the nations would be blessed through Abraham's descendants.  Besides that being a reference to Jesus, it was also a reference to how the nations would see the benefits of choosing God as one's Lord and Savior as they observed the Israelites living in obedience.  The Israelites were chosen to be "missionaries" to the world.

But with the Israelites' disobedience and eventual rejection of Jesus as their Messiah the first time He came to earth, the Church now has been given that honor and purpose - to be missionaries to the nations and to those around us.  

People are watching!  And somehow they can see a difference as we live obediently in God's will.  That doesn't get us off the hook to verbally witness, but it is a great conversation starter when someone says, "Wow, there's something very different about you!"