Trouble for Isaac - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

By Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards

"Mrs. Elliot, may I please go to see the nurse?" Colton
asked as he lifted his arm to show his teacher the large
festered gash on his hand.

"Why, of course you may," Mrs. Elliot replied as she looked
sympathetically at the wound. "But do you mind telling how
that happened?" she asked.

"I fell off the slide on the playground." Colton quickly
made up a story. He hadn't expected his teacher to ask him
how he got hurt. As he walked slowly down the hallway to
the nurse's office, he was in deep thought. By the look on
the teacher's face, he could tell that even though she
didn't question him further, she didn't really believe his
story.

When it was his turn to see the school nurse, Colton was
prepared. He had made up what he thought was a better
story. As the nurse cleaned the wound and put a bandage on
it, she asked, "How long have you had this sore?"

Colton replied, "I got hurt yesterday when I fell off my
bike."

"Hmm, yesterday?" the nurse questioned. "Are you sure? It
seems awfully infected to have happened yesterday."

Colton was afraid to tell the truth because he was afraid
that the nurse would call his mother and he certainly
didn't want that to happen. He was afraid that he would be
in b-i-i-gggg trouble if his mother found out he had broken
her favorite flower vase. "Yes, Ma'am. It happened
yesterday while I was riding my bike."

As it happened, the school nurse did call Colton's mother.
The sore was full of infection and the nurse thought he
should see a doctor. At the doctor's office, Colton stuck
to his story about falling off the bike. "How did that
piece of glass get in your hand?" Doctor Stevens asked.

Colton hesitated for a moment, then said, "Uh, I guess
there must have been some glass in the ditch where I fell."

Finally Colton's mother spoke up. "Young man, I think it's
time for you quit lying and start telling the truth. I know
you broke the vase. I've known for several days. I was just
waiting for you to confess on your own. If I had known you
had a bad cut, I would have had it taken care of much
sooner."

"You knew? . . . How did you know?" he asked in surprise.

"Well, first of all, I couldn't help but see that the
flowers were in the trash can. Then when I was cleaning, I
found bits of glass you had missed. Why didn't you just
tell me?"

"I . . . I was afraid," Colton replied tearfully. "I was
afraid you would be mad. I was afraid you would punish me."

His mother responded, "Yes, you deserve punishment, but
this time I think you have punished yourself enough. That
gash in your arm is going to take quite awhile to heal.
When you feel pain, you can let it be a reminder to you
that the truth is much less painful than lying. When you
face the truth, you only have to face it once, ask
forgiveness, and then it's over. When you lie, you have to
keep making up more and more lies to try to cover up the
first one, but eventually you do have to face the truth
anyway."

Isaac and Rebekah loved one another very much and were very
happy together. The Lord had blessed them and caused them
to become very prosperous in the land of Canaan. Life
couldn't have been much better for the two of them, until .
. .

A huge famine came upon their land. It didn't rain . . .
and it didn't rain . . . and it didn't rain . . .

For Isaac, having no rain was a big, big problem. The land
dried up, and the crops wouldn't grow. They began to run
out of food for their many flocks and herds, and for their
family.

"Oh, what are we going to do?" Rebekah asked
worriedly, wondering if there would be enough food to last
the rest of the week.

"One thing is sure," Isaac replied. "If we stay here we
will all starve."

Forgetting to pray about this situation . . .

Forgetting to trust Yahweh . . .

Forgetting that his father Abraham didn't want him to move
out of Canaan . . .

Forgetting the promise that they would be taken care of and
blessed by Yahweh . . .

Isaac made his final decision.

"There is just nothing else we can do," he said to Rebekah
one day. "We are just going to have to move."

"But where will we go?" Rebekah asked.

"My father once told me that he lived in a place called
Gerar. He dug several wells while he lived there, so there
should be plenty of water. We will go there."

The matter was settled. Isaac and Rebekah shared the news
with their family. Everyone was going to have to pack
everything they owned and move to Gerar. Since Yahweh had
richly blessed Isaac and Rebekah, they had a huge task to
undertake. What a busy time it was for Isaac and his family
and their servants and maids, as they pulled their tent
stakes out of the ground and folded the heavy tents into
small bundles. They loaded all their belongings onto the
camels and donkeys, then gathered the sheep, the cows, the
chickens, and all the other animals. When everything was
ready, they made a long caravan and started on their
journey to Gerar.

When Isaac and his family finally reached the land of
Gerar, Isaac went to see the king to get permission to live
there. King Abimelech gave his approval, so Isaac went to
the place his father had once lived, set up their tents,
unpacked their belongings, and settled there.

The Lord was merciful and appeared to Isaac, reassuring him
and repeating the same promise he had made to Abraham many
years earlier. "You may live in this land of Gerar, and I
will be with you. I will bless you, and make you a great
nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed
because your father Abraham obeyed me." Isaac was happy and
excited that Yahweh had spoken to him and had assured him
that all would be well here in Gerar.

Isaac had lived in Gerar for a long time and made many
friends. One day while he was talking to some of the other
men, one of them said, "That surely is a beautiful woman
you have living in your camp. Who is she?"

At that moment, Isaac seemed to have forgotten again that
the Lord promised to be with them. "She is my sister," he
lied. He was afraid to tell the men that she was his wife,
because he was afraid one of them might kill him and take
Rebekah for a wife.

King Abimelech was looking out his window one day and saw
Isaac hugging and kissing Rebekah. He went to the door and
called for Isaac to come. "Why did you tell us that woman
was your sister?" he asked angrily. "It is very obvious
that she is your wife! Why did you lie to us?"

"I . . . I was afraid," Isaac blurted out. "She is so
beautiful, I was afraid one of the men would want her for a
wife and would kill me."

"But didn't you know that one of us might have taken her
for a wife, not knowing she was your wife? You could have
caused one of us to sin!"

Isaac held his head in shame. He hadn't considered the harm
and great shame he could have caused for Rebekah. He was
very sorry for his lie and apologized. King Abimelech
forgave him and told the men of the surrounding area the
truth that Rebekah was Isaac's wife. He also ordered the
men not to harm Isaac or Rebekah.

After confessing the lie, Isaac and Rebekah and their
family lived peaceably in Gerar. That year, Isaac planted
crops and received an unbelievable harvest - 100 times more
than what he planted. Yahweh blessed him abundantly and there
was plenty of food for the entire household and all the
animals.

THINK!

Why did Isaac and Rebekah have to move from Canaan?
Where did they go?
Why was the king angry with Isaac?
Why did Isaac lie?
What happened after Isaac confessed?

REMEMBER!

Even when we do wrong, Yahweh will be merciful
if we confess and repent.

A VERSE TO LEARN:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:9a).

LET'S PRAY:

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Dear Fathger, thank You for keeping Your promises
even when we forget them. Thank You for being
merciful and loving and forgiving our wrong
doings when we admit we have done wrong.
In Yah'shua's name we pray. Amen.
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CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?

Genesis 26:1-13

You can view this Bible story in full color with pictures and
resources to go along with the story at
http://childrenschapel.org/biblestories/isaac2.html

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