(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth. Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.”
(Genesis 26:15-17)
The Philistines were so jealous, they stopped up the wells of Abraham. They were just as jealous with Isaac. They desired to hinder him, without violating the king’s command not to harm him physically. When we as believers do well, the world gets jealous. They don’t like seeing their system is not as effective as God’s. They don’t like seeing that God’s way works. They fight against it. They are jealous. They are convicted. They strike back. Not because they hate us, but because they hate that God is good and right. Jesus warned us about it (Mark 10:30).
Isaac had planted in a famine and received a hundred-fold return. He was already rich from his inheritance, and God was blessing him because of his obedience. Isaac was getting greater. He was getting so great, the king of this region was threatened by him. Even though Abraham had made a covenant of friendship (Genesis 21:22–24), this king was taking no chances. How blessed do you have to be to threaten a king just by existing with your possessions? The king’s position was that Isaac and his household were greater than the entire population of that city-state. That is blessing!
Isaac, true to his father’s covenant, did not fight. He listened to the king and did what he wanted. Isaac moved out from where he was and settled in the valley his father used to live in.
The sage Rashi writes: ‘סתמום פלשתים THE PHILISTINES STOPPED THEM, saying, “They may become a source of danger to us because of marauding troops that may invade us” (i.e.,they may invade our country to obtain possession of the wells, or if they invade us for any other reason they will be able to find a supply of water). (Tosafot Sotah 10.) The rendering of the Targum טמונין means “stopping up” and we find it in the language of the Talmud (Pesachim 42a) “Chokes up (מטמטם) the heart”. בנחל גרר IN THE VALLEY OF GERAR — far away from the city.’
The sage Sforno writes: ‘The Philistines plugged them. Since the king had forbidden them to harm Yitzchok physically, they gave vent to their jealousy by plugging up the wells. כי עצמת ממנו, you would be able to stage a rebellion against us using all your wealth.’
The sage Rav Hirsch writes: ‘V. 15. This jealousy directed towards the alien Abrahamites as such had manifested itself already, immediately after the death of Abraham even before Isaac lived amongst them. It had shown itself in the malicious delight in destruction of the wells, which, wherever they were to be found were a public benefit for everybody. With this קנאה a whole series of events are introduced, which show a new status of life starting with Isaac. Abraham, with all his riches, and equally an alien in the midst of the nations, had achieved by his whole personality, such respect, that, without exciting envy or jealousy, he wandered as נשיא אלקים amongst them. On one occasion only, a similar tendency to enmity did show itself, but was immediately disfavoured by the king of the country (above XXI,26). With Isaac the Galut began, the prophesy גר יהיה זרעך began to be fulfilled. The completely undistrubed status of Abraham was broken already with Isaac by plaguing jealousy, and Jacob had already to endure a state of complete servitude. Thereby a threefold position of the Abrahamites as strangers in the midst of the nations is demonstrated:— as slave, subservient, as tolerated but envied, and as honoured and respected. In all three positions and conditions of fate, the bond of God has been preserved, and has occordingly manifested itself not only as a ברית with, עם אברהם ,עם יצחק ,ועם יעקב but as a ,ברית אברהם ברית יצחק ,ברית יעקב in which expression the Patriarchs appear not so much as persons, but as types through which the different manifestations of the power of the Divine Covenant become apparent. V. 16. לך מעמנו כי עצמת ממנו מאד. There may be profound truth in the ם-stage of the ways which further the קץ הימין, the ultimate goal of the ages, which our prophets have told us are laid down in the five final letters of our alphabet, and which stage they refer to our verse here (see final paragraph on לך לך Ch. 12,1). What they seem to want to tell us is: — how unfriendly קנאה, how the envy and jealousy of the nations who find the Jews well-to-do in the Isaac-stage of the Galuth, and say to them לך ממגו כי עצמת וגו׳ — send them out of their countries — may form not the least of God’s method for our salvation. Who can tell how easily Isaac, in the hustle and bustle of managing his great wealth, and in the prominent civic position he won through it, might not have given himself up to it more than would be seemly for the son of Abraham and the bearer of his spiritual heritage, had not the jealousy of the Philistines driven him again into isolation, and their repulsing קנאה saved him from it. Certain it is that his more modern emancipated sons, working themselves up to his wealthy status have always been thrown back on themselves by the haughty scorn of all the repulsing קנאה. Thereby this קנאה may have been no unimportant medicine added to their good fortune to work against its tempting attractions, and to admonish them again and again as to their real Jewish calling.’
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