Genesis 26:22
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 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.
In a time of famine Isaac sojourned among the Philistines, where he lived and farmed as God directed him and received great prosperity from the Lord. After strife over earlier wells he moved away and dug another well over which no one quarreled, naming it Rehoboth, meaning wide room, in confession that the Lord had now made room for him and his household to prosper and be fruitful in the land. His course was willing and meek yielding for the sake of peace, leaving what others contended for rather than prolonging dispute, even yielding more than justice required at cost and apparent loss instead of seeking gain at the expense of others. He would not strive or fight for his rights even over wells that were his by inheritance from Abraham and by his own labor in digging them again, but committed his cause to God. God rewarded that yielding by making room for him and making him fruitful, giving him peace with his enemies and openly showing that the Lord was with him as the blessed of the Lord.
Context and Meaning
In a time of famine Isaac sojourned in the land of the Philistines. There he followed divine instruction in farming, making his life an example of faithful work. God gave him abundant blessing and prosperity. His prosperity led his neighbors and their rulers to recognize that the Lord was with him and had blessed him.
After disputes over earlier wells he removed and dug another well. For that well they strove not, and no one contended or quarreled with him over it. He called its name Rehoboth, meaning room, or wide, broad, roomy space, a broad or roomy place. In so naming it he confessed that now the Lord had made room, or space, for him and his household to prosper, flourish and be fruitful in the land.
The account belongs to God's providential dealings with Abraham's family as the chosen line through which the promised Seed would come. In it is seen God's special providence over Isaac as one of the progenitors of the promised Seed.
Peaceful Yielding and Application
Isaac's course at Rehoboth was willing, meek yielding for the sake of peace, moving on and digging another well rather than continuing dispute over what others fought over. He yielded more than justice required, at inconvenience and apparent loss, as self-sacrifice for peace and as a peaceful alternative to gaining prosperity at others' expense. His meekness in leaving what was contested to find room and prosperity away from those who troubled him was guided by the Lord.
He refused to strive or fight for his rights even over wells that were his by every possible right, by inheritance from Abraham and by digging them again after the Philistines had stopped them, and even after the Philistines had rejected them yet still claimed them. Rather than contend for his rights, he yielded to them all that they claimed and committed his cause to God.
That continual non-striving, yielding disposition is what distinguishes Isaac the child of promise from Ishmael, marking the free covenant against the covenant of bondage. It shows that there is room for all, with no need to quarrel over particular places. Only by that continual yielding did he give his opposers opportunity to see that the Lord was with him and that he was the blessed of the Lord.
God blessed and rewarded that yielding in consequence by making room for him and his household and making him fruitful in the land. The Lord encouraged him by giving him peace with his enemies. Soon afterward God appeared to him and promised to be with him and bless him.
The same pattern applies to pioneering work that meets obstacles: without depending on influential support and without shrinking from opposition, patient effort in moving on and digging again can open room for a work to take root and prosper.