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God prevented Isaac from leaving the Promised Land and renewed the covenant with him, but then He had to protect Rebekah when Isaac lied about his relationship with her to Abimelech.
"In the short span of one chapter, the writer shows how the whole of the life of Isaac was a rehearsal of that which happened to Abraham. Thus the lesson that is conveyed is that God's faithfulness in the past can be counted on in the present and the future. What he has done for the fathers, he will also do for the sons."646
Whereas the events of Isaac's life repeated those of Abraham's on several occasions, God dealt with Isaac differently and in harmony with his individual character. The many parallels between this chapter and the story of Abraham (esp. chs. 12-14 and 20-21) show that the writer wanted the reader to compare and contrast the two men.
"The figure of even a great man may be dwarfed by comparison with that of a distinguished father or of a famous son. Thus the character of Isaac is overshadowed by the majesty of Abraham and the dramatic interest of Jacob. There was a third factor which diminished the importance of Isaac; he was the husband of a clever and masterful wife. No matter how exciting the scene in which he may appear, he is always assigned to a minor part. At least, by contrast with these other actors, his role in life was prosaic, uneventful, obscure."647
"The chapter before us is full of illustrations of how difficulties should and should not be met."648
26:1-6 Isaac was evidently considering going to Egypt to escape the famine. He was in Gerar when God spoke to him. This was God's first revelation to Isaac (cf. 25:23). Therefore, it appears that Isaac may have previously moved north from Beer-lahai-roi. Of course, constant relocating was common for the nomadic patriarchs, and these places were not far from one another.
The major migration of the Philistines into Canaan took place in the twelveth century B.C. However, there were some Philistines already in Canaan at this time as is clear from this reference and others in Genesis (cf. 21:32, 34).
God's will for Isaac to remain in the land was definite, and He communicated it clearly to the patriarch. Perhaps God wanted Isaac to stay in the land so he would learn that God would "be with you and bless you"(v. 3). God reiterated His promise to Abraham to give Isaac a promise to believe and encouragement to obey Him.
The promise, however, was that God would bless Isaac, multiply his descendants, and give them "all these lands"(v. 4; i.e., the lands held by the various Canaanite tribes). The reason for God's blessing of Isaac was Abraham's obedience to God (v. 5). Isaac became the spiritual beneficiary of a godly parent, but he had the opportunity to increase God's blessing on him through his own obedience to God.
Verse 5 sounds like Abraham kept the commands, statutes, and laws of the Mosaic Covenant before they were in existence. It seems to contradict 15:6 that says God justified Abraham because of his faith.
"Ultimately, we should attempt to find the meaning of this verse in the larger strategy and purpose of the Pentateuch. Did the author of the Pentateuch intend to depict Abraham as a model of faith or as a model of obedience to the law? Curiously enough, the overwhelming majority of biblical scholars have read this passage as if the verse intended to show Abraham's life as an example of obedience to the law (Gesetzesgehorsam).
"It appears reasonable to conclude . . . that the importance of Gen 26:5 lies in what it tells us about the meaning of the deuteronomic terms it uses. It is as if the author of the Pentateuch has seized on the Abrahamic narratives as a way to explain his concept of keeping the law.' The author uses the life of Abraham, not Moses, to illustrate that one canfulfill the righteous requirement of the law. In choosing Abraham and not Moses, the author shows that keeping the law' means believing in God,' just as Abraham believed God and was counted righteous (Gen 15:6). In effect the author of the Pentateuch says, Be like Abraham. Live a life of faith and it can be said that you are keeping the law.'"649
"Israel would immediately see Torah (Law) terminology in the record of Abraham, and would be prompted to keep the Law."650
26:7-11 For an explanation of this strange incident see the notes on chapter 20. When endangered, Isaac, like Abraham, resorted to an ethic in which the end justified the means. Isaac and Rebekah must have been childless at this time.
A period of between 70 and 97 years had elapsed between Abraham's sojourn in Gerar and Isaac's. Abimelech could have been the same man in both cases since life spans of 150 years were not uncommon at this time. Abimelech demonstrated pious conduct in both cases. In the first, however, Abimelech took Sarah into his harem, but in the second he wanted to protect Rebekah from his people. Abimelech is a title rather than a personal name and means "royal father."Thus this may have been another ruler than the one Abraham dealt with.
