'REHOBOTH'

“For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink” (Genesis 26:15-30).

 

The Spirit of GOD told me to tell you not to fight over that, which the enemy claims is his. Move on. Leave what is disputed and move on to what will not be disputed. GOD will give you room and cause you to flourish in the land.

 

At the beginning of the scripture above, it is written that Abimelech asked Isaac to ‘go away’ from him and his because Isaac was mightier than they were. However, when Isaac left, they followed him and quarreled over the wells that Isaac would reopen.

 

You will note that the wells that Isaac REOPENED were those that his father Abraham had dug and gave them the same names. In other words, the wells belonged to the one who had dug them and because Isaac was his son, they were rightfully his. However, whenever he reopened them, the Philistines quarreled with his herdsmen and claimed ownership of the same wells! Therefore, Isaac renamed them following the disputes. While he named one, ‘Esek’ to mean dispute, he named another ‘Sitnah’ to mean opposition.

 

Interestingly when they arose, so did Isaac and he reopened yet another well that Abraham had dug. Nonetheless, the Philistines continued to claim Abraham’s wells until his son Isaac MOVED ON from there and dug one that they did not quarrel over. He then said that the LORD had given him room and that he would prosper in the land. Therefore, he called that well, ‘REHOBOTH’.

 

After that, Isaac moved and went to Beersheba and that very night GOD appeared to him and spoke to him. GOD reaffirmed to him that he was with him and that he would bless him for Abraham’s sake!

 

“And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day” (Genesis 26:31-33).

 

Now, the same people who chased away Isaac were the same ones who came to him admitting that indeed GOD was with him and that he was blessed. Interestingly, the same men who sent Isaac away and quarreled over the wells that his father had dug and that he reopened were the same men who said that they had done him no wrong! They then asked him to make a sworn agreement with them so that he would not hurt them. It is commendable that Isaac quickly put their earlier disputes behind him and made them a feast. He later made a sworn agreement not to cause them harm.

 

It is hardly coincidental that that same day, after Abimelech and his men had left, Isaac’s servants found water. It is also hardly surprising that Isaac named it ‘Shebah’ to stand for ‘oath’. My belief is that GOD blessed Isaac as He had promised to but also because of his spirit of mercy and reconciliation.

 

Now, your ‘well’ may be a business that those in authority or more powerful than you are have quarreled over. In fact, it does not matter how many of the ‘wells’ that you dug, and that were rightfully yours, have been disputed. MOVE ON. Before long, those who fought against you will stop fighting you and claiming what is yours. GOD will then appear to you and reaffirm His covenant with you GOD will give you room and you will flourish in the land. This time, the ‘well’ that you will dig will not be claimed. It will be yours.

 

They, who opposed you, will realize that GOD is with you and that you are blessed. They will then ask you to make a covenant of peace with them. Nonetheless, just as Isaac did, you will be required to put your earlier differences behind you and make peace with them. You will make a written agreement with them and immediately after that GOD will bless you.

 

 

Prayer

 

Dear GOD, I was disheartened when the very people who asked me to leave followed me and quarreled over that which was rightfully mine. They came and claimed it after I had gone through the entire process of building it up. GOD, I will move on now because I know that you have given me the land and that I will flourish in it.

 

Father when they come looking for me, because they certainly will, seeing that you have blessed me, make me noble enough to welcome them. Give me the grace to put my earlier differences with them behind me and make peace with them. I await the blessing that follows mercy, peace, and reconciliation. I thank you, LORD, because you have done it. In Jesus’ mighty name, I have prayed, amen.