(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” He built an altar there, and called on Yahweh’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.”
(Genesis 26:24-25)
Isaac acted properly. He didn’t seek strife, but showed love to his belligerent neighbours. He didn’t take his superior position and lord it over them. He was humble. He didn’t make demands, he let them have what they believed was theirs. He acted in a godly way. After he took that stand for right behaviour, God came to him and re-iterated His blessing. He reassured Isaac that he was doing the right thing and that he had no reason to be afraid. He was not going to be driven out. He was not going to be defeated. He was not going to be abused. God was with him, the promises were still in effect, and he was still blessed by God.
Isaac’s response was worship first. He built and altar and worshipped the Lord. Because God had reassured him, he planted roots in that spot. He stopped moving around. He pitched his tents and he dug another well. He was not running because God said he didn’t have to run. Isaac’s victory was provided by God, not by anything he himself had to do. God provided.
Isaac was reaping the benefit of his father’s trust in God. God had made a covenant with Abraham and Isaac was part of it. He was not blessed on HIS merits, but because of the covenant. God is a covenant keeping God. This is exactly how it works with Jesus. Jesus made a covenant with the Father. We get access to it through Jesus. We are not blessed in that covenant because of OUR merits, but because of Jesus’ merits (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The sage Ramban writes: ‘FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH THEE. Since Abimelech drove him away because of the Philistines’ jealousy of him, and since the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with him, Isaac feared lest they gather against him and smite him and his family. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, assured him that he should not fear them, and He blessed him. Then He prompted them so that the king went to Isaac with greater honor than that which he did to his father since he came with Phichol, the chief of his host, and also brought with him many of his friends.’
The sage Sforno writes: ‘אל תירא, that they would reduce your heritage due to their constant interference with you. וברכתיך, a blessing of financial success. ויקרא בשם ה’…ויכרו שם עבדי יצחק באר—ואבימלך הלך אליו. After Yitzchok had roused himself to proclaim the name of the Lord publicly, his servants started digging a successful well without encountering opposition. Not only this, but Avimelech now came to him in order to make a treaty with him, and not to interfere with him anymore.’
The sage Rashbam writes: ‘ויכרו שם עבדי יצחק באר, Yitzchok did not name this well until his servants had completed it and until after Avimelech had come to him from Gerar suing for peace, and the confirmed their agreement by swearing an oath to each other. At that point his servants came and told him that they had located a new source of water and he called it שבעה as a reminder of the oath that had been sworn on that occasion by both Yitzchok and Avimelech.’
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