And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
Genesis 26:27 belongs to Isaac's sojourn in the land of the Philistines during famine, when God gave him abundant blessing. It stands with Genesis 26 to 28, which tell of God's covenant renewed, the deception of Isaac, the flight of Jacob, and the vision of angels, with the lesson of the constancy of angel guardianship. It belongs to the account of God's providential dealings with Abraham's family, whose line was chosen to bring the Seed.
In the verse Isaac confronts his visitors, Abimelech and his companions, the Philistines, asking why they have come to him after hating him and sending or driving him away. Their earlier envy of Isaac's prosperity had led them to send him away. Isaac had repeatedly yielded in disputes with the Philistines, refusing to contend for his rights and yielding more than justice required, instead trusting in God and committing his cause to God.
The visit acknowledged that the Lord was with Isaac and that he was blessed, acknowledging that Isaac's God was greater than the gods of the Philistines. The visitors came to seek a covenant and make peace, and though Abimelech was afraid Isaac might later take revenge for the hostility, Isaac made peace with his former enemies. Isaac's nonretaliation gave his visitors an opportunity to recognize God's presence with him, and because he committed his cause to God, God worked for him and blessing followed in consequence.
Genesis 26:27 belongs to Isaac's sojourn in the land of the Philistines during famine, when God gave him abundant blessing. It stands with Genesis 26 to 28, which tell of God's covenant renewed, the deception of Isaac, the flight of Jacob, and the vision of angels, with the lesson of the constancy of angel guardianship. It belongs to the account of God's providential dealings with Abraham's family, whose line was chosen to bring the Seed.
In the verse Isaac confronts his visitors, Abimelech and his companions, the Philistines, asking why they have come to him after hating him and sending or driving him away. Their earlier envy of Isaac's prosperity had led them to send him away. Isaac had repeatedly yielded in disputes with the Philistines, refusing to contend for his rights and yielding more than justice required, instead trusting in God and committing his cause to God.
The visit acknowledged that the Lord was with Isaac and that he was blessed, acknowledging that Isaac's God was greater than the gods of the Philistines. The visitors came to seek a covenant and make peace, and though Abimelech was afraid Isaac might later take revenge for the hostility, Isaac made peace with his former enemies. Isaac's nonretaliation gave his visitors an opportunity to recognize God's presence with him, and because he committed his cause to God, God worked for him and blessing followed in consequence.