And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
In a time of famine God appeared to Isaac and told him not to go down into Egypt for relief but to dwell and sojourn in the land He would tell and show him, promising to be with him and bless him. Isaac had started toward Egypt and had come to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar, and there he remained where God blessed him abundantly until jealousy of his prosperity led the king to urge him to leave. The word renewed to Isaac though Abraham was dead the oath sworn to Abraham, to give to him and his seed all these countries, to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven, and to bless all nations of the earth in his seed. That promise is the everlasting covenant kept before his mind, the first dominion to come to the daughter of Jerusalem, the kingdom God will set up never to be destroyed and Christ will establish at His coming with everlasting inheritance of the land and everlasting life through faith. It was given because Abraham obeyed God's voice and kept His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws, proving God had law from Adam to Moses and that harmony with the law is the basis and condition of inheriting Abraham's blessing, which is identical with the blessing of the gospel.
Appearance and Divine Direction
During a famine God appeared to Isaac and told him not to go down into Egypt but to dwell and sojourn in the land God would tell, show, direct and designate, promising to be with him and bless him. The appearance came while Isaac was in Gerar on his way to Egypt seeking relief, and the direction to remain where God would lead him was joined to abundant blessing in that place.
Isaac had gone to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar and was living in the Philistine country when the direction was given, and he remained there. There God blessed him abundantly, and his practical farming and faithfulness became a witness that led neighbors and their rulers to recognize that God was with him. Jealousy of his prosperity eventually led the king to urge him to leave.
God spoke to Isaac directly in an audible voice, the only recorded instance of God speaking to Isaac. This showed special providence over Isaac as one of the progenitors of the promised Seed. It belongs to the time after sin entered the world when God instructed His people by an audible voice, illustrating that God has spoken to His people in various ways in different periods of time, and His past speaking to Isaac does not obligate Him to speak again on human terms.
Renewed Covenant Promise
The appearing renews to Isaac the oath sworn to Abraham even though Abraham was dead, showing the promise was not to be fulfilled in Abraham's lifetime but through Isaac and his descendants. The land is the central subject of that renewal, promised to Isaac and his seed in fulfillment of the oath made to Abraham, and Isaac is thereby named among the fathers to whom the promise was made. The renewal gives all these countries and lands to Isaac and to his seed. It multiplies his seed as the stars of heaven and blesses all the nations of the earth in his seed, confirming to Isaac the land and descendants promised to Abraham.
The promise thus confirmed is the everlasting covenant kept before Isaac's mind, the same everlasting kingdom shown to Abraham and to Jacob and to all the faithful identified with God's earthly work. It is the first dominion to come to the daughter of Jerusalem, the kingdom the God of heaven will set up never to be destroyed and left to no other people. It is the earthly kingdom Jesus will establish when He comes in glory to sit upon His throne, seat His disciples upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, give final reward to all, and invite the blessed of His Father to inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. That confirmed promise is the promised inheritance and everlasting life through faith, including the land as an everlasting inheritance.
The word belongs to God's providential dealings with Abraham's chosen family through which the Seed would come. In it God renewed the everlasting covenant and its promises to Isaac, including the promise of the Son of God in the flesh as the power by which all things would be restored. Those promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were among the reasons Judah was spared. Isaac did not receive the promised land as an everlasting possession in his lifetime, so its full realization is future.
Law Obedience and Witness
The renewal to Isaac was given because Abraham obeyed God's voice and kept His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws, and walked before God and was perfect. The oath sworn to Abraham was therefore renewed to Isaac even though Abraham was dead, with the promise to be with him and bless him, to give all these countries and lands to him and his seed, to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven, and to bless all the nations of the earth in his seed. This proves God had laws in the days of Abraham, from Adam to Moses, known and followed in the patriarchal age, including the Sabbath. It disproves the claim that there was no law then, shows Abraham's obedience did not dishonor Christ, and reducing his commandments to three isolated acts reverses cause and effect.
The law is the basis and condition of the Abrahamic promise, identified as the word commanded to a thousand generations, confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. Commanded to a thousand generations denotes perpetuity, the same as showing mercy unto thousands of them that love God and keep His commandments. People must be in harmony with the law to inherit Abraham's blessing, transgressors under the curse cannot inherit until the curse is removed, and the blessing of Abraham is identical with the blessing of the gospel so the present relation to that covenant is the same as Abraham's. Isaac followed in his father's way, and his practical farming and faithfulness while living in the Philistine country became a witness that led neighbors and rulers to recognize God was with him. Abraham's obedience included commanding his children to follow the same way of holy living, and the blessing came upon Isaac through that obedience.
The famine setting places Isaac among patriarchs preserved in famine and presents Africa as an asylum for them.
In a time of famine God appeared to Isaac and told him not to go down into Egypt for relief but to dwell and sojourn in the land He would tell and show him, promising to be with him and bless him. Isaac had started toward Egypt and had come to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar, and there he remained where God blessed him abundantly until jealousy of his prosperity led the king to urge him to leave. The word renewed to Isaac though Abraham was dead the oath sworn to Abraham, to give to him and his seed all these countries, to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven, and to bless all nations of the earth in his seed. That promise is the everlasting covenant kept before his mind, the first dominion to come to the daughter of Jerusalem, the kingdom God will set up never to be destroyed and Christ will establish at His coming with everlasting inheritance of the land and everlasting life through faith. It was given because Abraham obeyed God's voice and kept His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws, proving God had law from Adam to Moses and that harmony with the law is the basis and condition of inheriting Abraham's blessing, which is identical with the blessing of the gospel.
Appearance and Divine Direction
During a famine God appeared to Isaac and told him not to go down into Egypt but to dwell and sojourn in the land God would tell, show, direct and designate, promising to be with him and bless him. The appearance came while Isaac was in Gerar on his way to Egypt seeking relief, and the direction to remain where God would lead him was joined to abundant blessing in that place.
Isaac had gone to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar and was living in the Philistine country when the direction was given, and he remained there. There God blessed him abundantly, and his practical farming and faithfulness became a witness that led neighbors and their rulers to recognize that God was with him. Jealousy of his prosperity eventually led the king to urge him to leave.
God spoke to Isaac directly in an audible voice, the only recorded instance of God speaking to Isaac. This showed special providence over Isaac as one of the progenitors of the promised Seed. It belongs to the time after sin entered the world when God instructed His people by an audible voice, illustrating that God has spoken to His people in various ways in different periods of time, and His past speaking to Isaac does not obligate Him to speak again on human terms.
Renewed Covenant Promise
The appearing renews to Isaac the oath sworn to Abraham even though Abraham was dead, showing the promise was not to be fulfilled in Abraham's lifetime but through Isaac and his descendants. The land is the central subject of that renewal, promised to Isaac and his seed in fulfillment of the oath made to Abraham, and Isaac is thereby named among the fathers to whom the promise was made. The renewal gives all these countries and lands to Isaac and to his seed. It multiplies his seed as the stars of heaven and blesses all the nations of the earth in his seed, confirming to Isaac the land and descendants promised to Abraham.
The promise thus confirmed is the everlasting covenant kept before Isaac's mind, the same everlasting kingdom shown to Abraham and to Jacob and to all the faithful identified with God's earthly work. It is the first dominion to come to the daughter of Jerusalem, the kingdom the God of heaven will set up never to be destroyed and left to no other people. It is the earthly kingdom Jesus will establish when He comes in glory to sit upon His throne, seat His disciples upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, give final reward to all, and invite the blessed of His Father to inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. That confirmed promise is the promised inheritance and everlasting life through faith, including the land as an everlasting inheritance.
The word belongs to God's providential dealings with Abraham's chosen family through which the Seed would come. In it God renewed the everlasting covenant and its promises to Isaac, including the promise of the Son of God in the flesh as the power by which all things would be restored. Those promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were among the reasons Judah was spared. Isaac did not receive the promised land as an everlasting possession in his lifetime, so its full realization is future.
Law Obedience and Witness
The renewal to Isaac was given because Abraham obeyed God's voice and kept His charge, commandments, statutes, and laws, and walked before God and was perfect. The oath sworn to Abraham was therefore renewed to Isaac even though Abraham was dead, with the promise to be with him and bless him, to give all these countries and lands to him and his seed, to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven, and to bless all the nations of the earth in his seed. This proves God had laws in the days of Abraham, from Adam to Moses, known and followed in the patriarchal age, including the Sabbath. It disproves the claim that there was no law then, shows Abraham's obedience did not dishonor Christ, and reducing his commandments to three isolated acts reverses cause and effect.
The law is the basis and condition of the Abrahamic promise, identified as the word commanded to a thousand generations, confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. Commanded to a thousand generations denotes perpetuity, the same as showing mercy unto thousands of them that love God and keep His commandments. People must be in harmony with the law to inherit Abraham's blessing, transgressors under the curse cannot inherit until the curse is removed, and the blessing of Abraham is identical with the blessing of the gospel so the present relation to that covenant is the same as Abraham's. Isaac followed in his father's way, and his practical farming and faithfulness while living in the Philistine country became a witness that led neighbors and rulers to recognize God was with him. Abraham's obedience included commanding his children to follow the same way of holy living, and the blessing came upon Isaac through that obedience.
The famine setting places Isaac among patriarchs preserved in famine and presents Africa as an asylum for them.