Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
Isaac stayed and sowed in Gerar in the land of the Philistines during famine, in obedience to the Lord's direction to remain there. In the same year he sowed he received a hundredfold harvest, an unusually abundant yield because the Lord blessed him. The blessing followed his differences with the Philistines, for God worked for him because he did not contend for his rights but yielded more than justice required and committed his cause to God. His prosperity stirred the envy of the Philistines while giving visible evidence that his God was greater than their gods, making him a missionary witness and a type of Christ, so that faithful cultivation blessed by God with such increase gives opportunity to witness.
Setting and Blessing
Isaac sowed in Gerar in the land of the Philistines in a time of famine, remaining there in obedience to the Lord's direction to stay in that land. In the same year in which he sowed he received a hundredfold harvest, an unusually abundant yield given because the Lord blessed him.
The hundredfold return stands as an example of the greater fertility of the soil in earlier times, in contrast to its gradual decline since then. His prosperity there did not stop with that harvest but continued until he became very great. The account belongs to God's providential dealings with Abraham's family as the chosen family through whom the promised Seed would come.
The blessing stands within God's audible speaking to Isaac, showing that after sin entered the world God instructed His people by addressing them in an audible voice. That audible instruction was distinct from face-to-face communion before sin entered, and it was one of various ways in which He spoke to His people in past times. The account is part of God renewing to Isaac and his household the promise made to Abraham and passed on through Jacob to Israel as the inheritance of the whole earth, whose fulfillment required obedience and loyalty to God as king.
Isaac received God's blessing because Abraham had obeyed God's commandments and laws. That obedience included more than leaving his people, walking through the land, and offering Isaac. Chapter 26 must be read alongside chapter 12, since reversing cause and effect gives a mistaken account of Abraham's obedience.
Peacemaking and Witness
The blessing came in the land of the Philistines where famine had carried him, and it followed his differences with them as the reward for yielding more than justice required. It belongs to God working for him when he did not contend for his rights but committed his cause to God. He received an abundant harvest in that setting because the Lord blessed him.
He sowed in the land during famine and reaped an unusually abundant harvest because the Lord blessed him, and that prosperity stirred the jealousy of the Philistines. As he obeyed the direction to remain and sow there, he received a hundredfold in the same year because the Lord blessed him, and as he continued until he became very great it stirred their envy. The harvest was visible evidence to them that his God was greater than their gods, yet though they recognized his advantage envy led them to reject the true God and ask him to leave.
His faithful cultivation of the land was blessed by God with a hundredfold harvest in the same year, and that prosperity made neighbors notice and inquire about the principles behind his farming and his faith, giving opportunity to witness to God. In that way his prosperity made him a missionary witness and a type of Christ, and later Abimelech's visit to make peace with him acknowledged again that his God was superior to the Philistine gods. The same return is echoed when a garden yields abundantly from seeds planted and cared for, as Isaac received a hundredfold return from what he sowed in the same year because the Lord blessed him.
Isaac stayed and sowed in Gerar in the land of the Philistines during famine, in obedience to the Lord's direction to remain there. In the same year he sowed he received a hundredfold harvest, an unusually abundant yield because the Lord blessed him. The blessing followed his differences with the Philistines, for God worked for him because he did not contend for his rights but yielded more than justice required and committed his cause to God. His prosperity stirred the envy of the Philistines while giving visible evidence that his God was greater than their gods, making him a missionary witness and a type of Christ, so that faithful cultivation blessed by God with such increase gives opportunity to witness.
Setting and Blessing
Isaac sowed in Gerar in the land of the Philistines in a time of famine, remaining there in obedience to the Lord's direction to stay in that land. In the same year in which he sowed he received a hundredfold harvest, an unusually abundant yield given because the Lord blessed him.
The hundredfold return stands as an example of the greater fertility of the soil in earlier times, in contrast to its gradual decline since then. His prosperity there did not stop with that harvest but continued until he became very great. The account belongs to God's providential dealings with Abraham's family as the chosen family through whom the promised Seed would come.
The blessing stands within God's audible speaking to Isaac, showing that after sin entered the world God instructed His people by addressing them in an audible voice. That audible instruction was distinct from face-to-face communion before sin entered, and it was one of various ways in which He spoke to His people in past times. The account is part of God renewing to Isaac and his household the promise made to Abraham and passed on through Jacob to Israel as the inheritance of the whole earth, whose fulfillment required obedience and loyalty to God as king.
Isaac received God's blessing because Abraham had obeyed God's commandments and laws. That obedience included more than leaving his people, walking through the land, and offering Isaac. Chapter 26 must be read alongside chapter 12, since reversing cause and effect gives a mistaken account of Abraham's obedience.
Peacemaking and Witness
The blessing came in the land of the Philistines where famine had carried him, and it followed his differences with them as the reward for yielding more than justice required. It belongs to God working for him when he did not contend for his rights but committed his cause to God. He received an abundant harvest in that setting because the Lord blessed him.
He sowed in the land during famine and reaped an unusually abundant harvest because the Lord blessed him, and that prosperity stirred the jealousy of the Philistines. As he obeyed the direction to remain and sow there, he received a hundredfold in the same year because the Lord blessed him, and as he continued until he became very great it stirred their envy. The harvest was visible evidence to them that his God was greater than their gods, yet though they recognized his advantage envy led them to reject the true God and ask him to leave.
His faithful cultivation of the land was blessed by God with a hundredfold harvest in the same year, and that prosperity made neighbors notice and inquire about the principles behind his farming and his faith, giving opportunity to witness to God. In that way his prosperity made him a missionary witness and a type of Christ, and later Abimelech's visit to make peace with him acknowledged again that his God was superior to the Philistine gods. The same return is echoed when a garden yields abundantly from seeds planted and cared for, as Isaac received a hundredfold return from what he sowed in the same year because the Lord blessed him.