INTRODUCTION
One of the meanings of the word "Well" is a hole, literally a pit. David at some point considered it this way and said in Psalms 40:2: "He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure."
The pit of despair is a biblical metaphor describing a situation of extreme spiritual, emotional, or physical distress from which one cannot escape alone. There are people who live literally sunken in every sense of the word for many reasons. David knew that God would pull him out of that situation. The story of Isaac is known as that of an "expert well digger."
Abraham had left him a legacy, not only of Faith in God, but the capacity to get into problems and complicated situations. But he also had to learn to trust in God, because this is where our whole problem lies. If there is anyone who is an "expert well digger," I think it's us, getting ourselves into many situations time and time again. Let's see what Isaac had to learn:
1. Isaac came from a Legacy of problems
a. Family inheritances of problems are our daily bread, generations imitate what their parents do, and it is in difficult times that we tend to fall into pits, by distrusting God.
Vs 1 "Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar." - Genesis 26 NIV
- A crisis of hunger wanted to lead him to Egypt. Egypt is returning to the past, to sin, it is living in disobedience, distrust, looking for wrong paths, foolish decisions, doing things according to his own opinion "without taking God into account."
- God appears to him and says "do not go to Egypt", go towards the land of the Philistines, for there I will bless you.
b. Isaac inherits promises, but also conflicts
Vs 12-14: "Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him."
- God never left Isaac; although scarcity came, the power of God was glorified.
- People think that living in freedom is doing whatever I want, that is called debauchery. But "Freedom" is living without greed, covetousness, envy, without even being afraid to lose.
- True freedom is a pure detachment from materialism, busyness, and stopping looking for problems.
2. Opening the same wells
"Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 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."
a. There are those who live making the same mistakes over and over, looking in the past, looking for already dry wells, wanting to live submerged. If anyone wants the blessing, they must let go of the wells that lead to despair.
1) The Well of "Contention" (Esek)
Vs 19-20: "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."
- Esek means contention, disgust, anger, fight. The blessing is not fought over, it is won with obedience. Grace is not fought over, it is won with obedience.
- Fighting with people because they don't love you, or envy you, is falling into contention. Isaac had to let go of all that.
2) The Well of Enmity (Sitnah)
Vs 21: "Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah."
- There are homes where God cannot prosper, they are battlefields, harsh lawsuits, wounds, offenses... all of that drags curses.
- Since the Philistines couldn't have them, they sealed them; that's what the envious do. Are you able to yield rights to be free?
- Let go of that well and leave it to them, maybe someone needs it. You have God.
3) The Well of Spaciousness (Rehoboth)
Vs 22: "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.'"
- In this well, God blessed him superiorly because Isaac learned to let go and not hold back. "Rehoboth" means Freedom and Room.
- From there came the greatest blessing, the supreme blessing, true Freedom.
- If the enemy closes a door on you, God opens another because freedom consists of trusting in Him.
John 4:14 — "But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Conclusion
Full trust in God guarantees us total freedom in what we have. A life of the altar opens greater doors than you believe. Some live on crumbs, others learn to look to God for greater exploits.
The blessing is not bondage, growing is not an excuse, freedom is Power. Stop digging wells where you will be stuck, you won't advance. Seek God and you will see His glory.