“Fear Over Faith”

Sermon Title: When Life Seems Contrary

Scripture: Genesis 25:19-26 ESV

Introduction

There was a famine, and it seems Isaac planned to go down to Egypt because Egypt was more plentiful since it surrounds the Nile River while Canaan depends on its seasonal rainfall. However, that’s not God’s plan. When Isaac stops in Gerar, the land of Abimelech, King of the Philistines, God commands Isaac not to go to Egypt. Furthermore, in verses 3–4, God re-establishes the covenant that He made with Abraham, but now with Isaac. It is a reminder that God is with him.

Like Father Like Son

Isaac obeys and stays in Gerar, but something happens in verses 6–7: “So Isaac settled in Gerar… he said, ‘She is my sister’…” Isaac lies to the people until one day, he’s busted in Genesis 26:8–9 — “When he had been there a long time… Abimelech… saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife…”

Does this sound familiar to you? Well, it should for those of you who are familiar with Abraham’s story in Genesis 12 and 20.

Genesis 12:10–13 — “Now there was a famine in the land… Say you are my sister…” And again: Genesis 20:1–3 — “From there Abraham journeyed… and Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister’…”

Did you see the similar pattern in both Abraham and Isaac? There’s a famine – a move to Egypt – settled at Gerar – both say she is my sister – and both get busted. Like father like son! And even Gerar! Genesis 20:13 even suggests that although the Bible only records two instances with Abraham, there may have been more than what’s recorded: Genesis 20:13 — “And when God caused me to wander… ‘at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

Putting aside whether Isaac, like his father, did right or wrong, was Isaac justified in his actions? Did he have legitimate reasons to be deceitful?

I will say this about Isaac; he did obey God and it was after they had arrived at Gerar, and the men began asking about Rebekah because she was so beautiful, that Isaac became afraid. Such acts of violence did occur. It still occurs today where people will murder someone to take something they want if they want it bad enough. For Abraham and Isaac, telling people that your wife is your sister may have been the logical thing to do in the ancient world because a girl’s brother was an opportunity for negotiation instead of an obstacle. But still, was their fear justified? God deliberately shows us the similarity in the pattern of Abraham and Isaac’s life to show us that answer.

Let’s go back to Genesis 20 where Abimelech demands an explanation from Abraham: Genesis 20:10–12 — “And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What did you see, that you did this thing?’…” His reason is that he thought the people did not fear God, so they would kill him for his wife. And he adds, technically she’s my half sister, so I didn’t lie to you, I just misled you. But when Abraham does this, God Himself steps in and speaks to Abimelech. Two things struck me. First, this is not a man who has no fear of God. He has morals. If anything, Abimelech isn’t the bad guy here; Abraham is. Second, notice how natural the conversation is between God and Abimelech. There’s no surprise or question of, “Who are you, Lord?” It’s as if he has some knowledge of who God is, and he takes God seriously and obeys God’s instructions.

Now look at Isaac’s Abimelech: Genesis 26:8–11 — “When he had been there a long time… ‘Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.’” The remarkable part is that this Abimelech didn’t need God to come and stop him directly. He also has an awareness of sin, that if someone had lain with Rebekah, they would have brought guilt upon themselves. Then Abimelech makes a public decree that anyone who touches Isaac or Rebekah will be put to death. Once again, is Isaac justified in his fear? One reason why God gives us this parallel connection with Abraham may be to show us that Isaac carried the same assumption and fear that his father had: These people do not fear God, and so they will kill me for my wife. And so Isaac, like Abraham, reacted and acted according to his fear.

It seems to me that these people were not the kind of people that Abraham and Isaac imagined them to be. In my eyes, they were more righteous than Abraham and Isaac. What’s also disappointing is that despite God’s promise to be with them, their fear of a people whom they assumed did not fear God was greater than their trust in the God who is sovereign over all.

Fear Governs Us

Today’s passage shows us how fear governs what we think and what we think may happen. The fear in Isaac created a whole scenario about what may happen even though there was nothing in the narrative to suggest that the men of Gerar had such intentions. All they did was ask about Rebekah because she was attractive, and Isaac’s fear did all the rest.

Proverbs 29:25 — “The fear of man lays a snare…” Scripture teaches us that it’s not about fear versus courage. It’s fear versus trust in the Lord. When fear rules over you, your trust in the Lord wavers. You lose patience and have no time for God’s timing. Your greater concerns are for the consequences that may or may not come in the future rather than witnessing the power of the Holy Spirit at work. Fear becomes your motivation or driving force rather than being led by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You are overwhelmed by anxiety rather than abiding in peace. And God’s Word, His promise to be with you, brings you no comfort. Fear becomes a snare, a trap of your own making to sin for you and others. For Isaac, it was his deception and exposing his wife to danger instead of trusting in God and fulfilling his responsibility as her husband. And it almost brought sin and guilt upon Abimelech.

When fear governs your heart, it can even rewrite your perception of reality. In Numbers 13, the first generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt stood at the entrance of the Promised Land. Twelve spies were sent, but ten came back with fear in their hearts: Numbers 13:32–33 — “So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report… and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers…” Fear spread very quickly. It turned the entire congregation in rebellion against God and they refused to go into the Promised Land. God punished them by giving them what they wanted, and except for a select few, the first generation died in the wilderness. When fear governs your heart, it will rewrite your perception of reality, and that will become your reality as your fear reaches your actions and your mouth, moving you farther away from trusting God. Fear will interpret your circumstances such that your disobedience will be justified in your eyes.

The difficult thing about fear in a Christian’s life is that it can coexist with the presence of the Holy Spirit, but there will be a struggle over the allegiance of your heart and ultimately whose voice you listen to. Sometimes we’re like Peter, who in faith steps out of the boat and begins to walk on water. He was listening to the voice of Jesus, but then he began to listen to his fear and the voices of the winds and the waves and began to sink. Jesus is right there, but so are the winds, the waves, the storm, the circumstances of our life.

We see a perfect picture of this in Mark 4. Jesus and His disciples were in a boat when the storm hit. Everyone is in a panic while Jesus is calmly sleeping. Mark 4:38 — “But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion… ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’”I think we’ve all said that in our heart at some time too. When fear governs our hearts, we begin interpreting God Himself through the lens of our fear and our circumstances. Once again, the tension is not between fear and courage; it’s between fear and trust in God. Our circumstances, our challenges, and the possible dangers are all real, but our conclusion about God can be wrong.

Through this event, Isaac begins to learn personally about God’s faithfulness. This especially happens later in Genesis 26: Genesis 26:23–25 — “From there he went up to Beersheba… ‘Fear not, for I am with you’… So he built an altar there…”

Grace Over Sin

After the incident with Abimelech, God blessed Isaac so abundantly that whatever he sowed, he reaped a hundredfold. Isaac becomes exceedingly wealthy and powerful, so much that the Philistines began to look at him with envy and as a threat, and Abimelech chased Isaac away. But no matter where he went, the Lord was with him and blessed him. And at Beersheba, instead of condemning Isaac for his sins, God blesses him by reaffirming His covenant. Isaac’s response to the God who has shown him nothing but blessings and faithfulness was worship and to be a worshipper of God. Where the Lord alone, not fear, is his God. Just like Abraham, God made Isaac into a person who was not governed by fear, especially in the face of Abimelech later on. Abimelech could see plainly how God was blessing Isaac, so they made peace and went their separate ways.

But this is where I struggled with this passage. In my eyes, the harm was done by Abraham and Isaac. They sinned. They were covenant breakers. And yet God calls Abraham a prophet and tells Abimelech to have Abraham pray over him and his house? Isaac sins, but God blesses Isaac instead? How does that make any sense? Where is the justice in this? They sinned, but they’re being rewarded for it? And never would I preach that it’s okay to sin because God will bless you anyway. Where’s the anger and condemnation and judgment for their sins?

Then it dawned on me that the answer was right in front of me in Jesus Christ. This was not about Abraham or Isaac. This was about God’s grace. God was not honoring Isaac’s sins. He was showing Isaac His grace by reaffirming His covenant with Isaac even though he didn’t deserve it. That’s grace. I also believe that God was looking towards the fulfillment of the covenant in Jesus Christ. And today, God looks beyond our sins as they deserve because He looks to Jesus who paid for our sins with His life. God can use our failures, our mistakes, our bad choices, our brokenness, which for us are all dead ends, but God is powerful enough to use our dead ends to create a way in Jesus Christ.

Lastly, I want to share with you Matthew 16:18: Matthew 16:18 — “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…” Different denominations, Roman Catholics, look to this passage in various ways. I’m not sharing a new interpretation but an interesting detail about the backdrop of this passage.

When Jesus taught His disciples, He often used real life things to make an illustration. When Jesus spoke this verse, He was in Caesarea Philippi. In this region there was rocky terrain and a cliff with a cave where sacrifices were made to pagan gods. Among them was a pagan god named Pan, who would bring sudden terror—in a sense, a god of fear. We actually derive the word “panic,” the Greek panikos, from the name Pan. Interesting that Jesus would make the declaration of verse 18 here.

You may not worship the god of fear, but fear may be the god that you allow to shape your life, whose voice you listen to. Then how do we become free from fear? Where do we start? I believe it begins with this question that Jesus asks His disciples: Matthew 16:15 — “But who do you say that I am?”

Brothers and sisters, who do you say that Jesus is? Is He, as Peter confesses, the Son of the living God? The God who walked among us? In your relationship with Christ, is Jesus God over your circumstances? Do you believe and trust that His faithfulness will never fail you, and that He is with you always? How you honestly answer this question will reveal who has the allegiance of your heart—is it fear, or is it the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ?

Reflection:

Brothers and sisters, you may be in certain circumstances and uncertainty both in your individual lives and we as a church. As God’s people, encountering fear is a normal part of our spiritual battle and walk with the Lord.

Over time, perhaps fear has become the interpreter of our circumstances that narrows and distorts our view of reality; we may often turn to fear as our counselor for guidance; fear may shape our lives. The power of the Gospel offers your freedom from fear.

The Lord your God promises: “I will be with you always.”

May the Lord’s Word and Presence break the fear in your life. May not fear compete for the worship that belongs to our God.