When I Strike Water
Genesis 26:18-25 (NKJV)
18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.
19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well [c]Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name [d]Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name [e]Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
Isaac stayed in the land of Gerar and sowed in that land.
Genesis 26:12-15 (NLT) says that year Isaac’s crops were tremendous!
12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. 13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. 14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. 15 So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.
Bet on it. Your enemy the devil doesn’t want your seed to grow, he doesn’t want you to prosper.
In this section of our text Issac has dug three wells; two, he had dug with his Father Abraham. It’s one thing to have someone guide you to dig, but totally another when you have to dig when you don’t know if you will hit water. Isn’t it just like the Philistines filling the best water wells. If there was water in those wells then digging them out again is common sense. Isaac’s potential was greater than the place he was at. The place he was could not contain the blessing God was gonna bless him with.
2 Corinthians 9:6 (Amplified Bible)
Now [remember] this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to others] will also reap generously [and be blessed].
What if God wanted to bless you, but your field wasn’t big enough? You have plenty of seed, but you don’t own the land to plant it in.
In the land of Gerar, Isaac found water from a well his father had dug. Can you see the picture? Isaac’s men found the water from a well his father had dug. Looks like some happy faces.
Well things didn’t work out in Gerar. Isaac was blessed and became very wealthy there, but strife came, and Isaac had to move. So Isaac named the place Esek, a place of great contention, a place of quarreling. Nothing like having to live with quarreling over land and water, But Isaac was blessed.
So, Isaac and his wife and herdsmen settle down in another location called Sitnah (Sitnah means the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something):
When reopened the wells of his father, he unearthed the spring of water. Can you see Isaac and his men when they found the spring of water? It was a picture of great relief they had found water again.
But the new well brought new enemies and this place was no better than the last. They were opposed and being treated with hostility by the folk of this valley.
Well Isaac moved again. He picked up everything and moved again to a place called Rehoboth. In Genesis 26:22, Isaac’s servants dug a well and named it Rehoboth, symbolizing God’s provision and blessings. This Biblical term, rich in symbolism, conveys the concept of abundant space, flourishing prosperity, and divine favor.
Isaac finally found a place he fit into, a place of blessing, rich Blessing. Can you again see the picture?
If you don’t have the water rights, you don’t have the land you are just out of business, but not Isaac. He had the blessing of God on him. Isaac and his servants did not give up.
Never give up no matter what the enemy does against you, your family, your welfare, business, finances, etc. I know it’s not easy, but never give up. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.
The devil is a liar. There are some folks who are so lazy it hurts. Know one thing. Neither Abraham nor Isaac nor Jacob were lazy men. They dug their own wells. They remind me of the one who left the ninety and nine and went looking for one sheep. A lazy man won’t do that.
Y’all listen to me, you got to be in the right place.
You have to have the right atmosphere, a place where it’s gonna rain. And you have got to have the right ground.
Why is a good church important? Because you can’t afford to sow seed in dead ground. When good seed is put in good ground and that seed smells water the increase is coming.
1st Corinthians 3:5-8 (NKJV)
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
The labor of digging a well is like the labor of prayer, both are work. A lazy man will never learn the benefit of the labor. My God, I want to be around some laborers, they can touch heaven for you!
I don’t know if you have ever seen a man with calluses on his hands from using a shovel. When you see calluses, it’s telling you something about the man.
When you see a man with calluses on his knees, he’s a man planting seed.
Psalms 30:5 (KJV): For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.