Well, well, well

Well, well, well.  Or should I say, Esek, Sitnah, Rehoboth?  These three names were used by Isaac to call wells he and his servants had dug to locate water after a new famine had hit the land of Philistines near Gerar (Genesis 26:1-25).  The story goes like this.  Isaac and his wife Rebekah, by the command of God, went to a place called Gerar after the famine had hit the land.  When he went there, much like Abram (Abraham) had done with his wife Sarai(Sarah) (Gen 12:19),  Isaac claimed Rebekah to be his sister.  When confronted by Abimelech, king of the Philistines, he admitted that she was really his wife and had told that lie as he was afraid for his life.  I assume both he and Abraham had beautiful wives and would have been murdered so that others could have them---all conjecture here, but I could think of no other reason they would lie like that.  Anyway, right after that Isaac had his servants dig some wells in the same location where Abraham had dug his (the Philistines had stopped them up earlier).  After they dug the first well, hersdman, from Gerar, argued that the wells were rightfully their's.  I guess Esek was the leader of those herdsmen ,as the Bible says that Issac and his servants "contended" with him, and then Isaac named that well Esek.  The same held true for the next well they dug.  This time they named it Sitnah.  The third well, however, there was no quarrelling and they named that one Rehoboth.  Rehoboth was the name of a city built by Nimrod (Also translated as Asshur), great grandson of Noah.  History is weak on this city, but from the way Isaac used its name, I would assume that it was a peaceful one.  So, that is the story, now what are the lessons from it?

Well, well, well....let me think.  Let's completely skip over the wife/sister part and leave that for another study.  Three wells.  Well, actually, there is a fourth (verse 25), but that was dug later when they went to Beersheba.  All of these wells were surely valuable, as probably along with famines, droughts occurred which prevented growing of good crops to provide food.  In the case of the first well, the herdsmen, who had not dug their own well for whatever reason, now claimed a water-producing one as theirs.  I guess they had not practiced the art of sharing.  They were 'given' something by the work of others (Isaac's servants) and were unwilling to part with it.  Much like us sometime, we have been given more than we earned or deserved, yet a lot of times we are unwilling to share it with others.  The simple practice of good tipping at restaurants comes to mind.  You may have heard the story of the 'good Christian' who wanted to reach out to others and bring them to church.  This person left, instead of a monetary tip, for the waitress, a replicated (obviously fake by both the color and the printing) dollar bill with an image of Jesus on the front, and an invitation to church, complete with address and time, on the back.  Instead of giving up some of the money that the person had, he or she hoarded it, unwilling to part with it.  Do you think the 'generosity' shown here impressed the waitress enough to want to go to the same church as that person?  I think not.  There are many, many instances where we have the opportunity to give to others, things that were given to us.  Let's not be called Esek.

In the second well, Sitnah, a similar even occurred.  The Bible is not specific with whom Isaac and his servants argued, but it could have been the same herdsmen, or another group of them, probably lead by someone named Sitnah.  Both Esek and Sitnah remind me of the rich man who Jesus talked with, about entering heaven (Mt 19:16-24).  If I was a betting man, neither Esek nor Sitnah had an easy time getting into heaven, if they made it at all.  They became 'rich' with the restoration of the wells, yet they didn't want to give up even a part of it, say nothing about 'all' of it as Jesus says.  That is a warning to all of us as well (no pun intended).  If we are given something, then we should give also.

The third well, Rehoboth, was so named because there was no arguing.  Isaac and his servants probably rejoiced after finding water the third time and no one else claimed it as theirs.  I guess another lesson to learn here, is that failure can be overcome by perseverance.  Twice the servants had labored to find water, twice they had it taken away from them.  But they did not quit.  They were rewarded with their third attempt.  That lesson most certainly can apply to us today.  Don't quit.  People may take what you think is rightfully yours, but don't give up.  Persevere when things are not going the way you think they should, whether it be at your job, your home or your church.  Hang in there, heaven awaits.

Well, well, well.  Time for work already.....have a great day, ya'll.

Mac