Verses 1-6
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Even though there was a famine in the land, God wanted Isaac to obey His Word to stay there, and He promised that he would be blessed anyway, just like God blessed Abraham for his obedience. Isaac stayed and worked hard, and God blessed him.
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Even when the world around you, circumstantially, might be a hard or dangerous environment to live in, you will be taken care of if you stay obedient to the Word. No matter where you are, in obedience to God's Word is always the safest place to be.
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Blessing doesn't come from your environment or your circumstances; it comes from obedience.
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Verse 2. “Do not go down to Egypt,” God said. In difficult times, moving from one place to another is not always the solution. It is better to ask yourself how you can be more obedient to God, not where else you can go.
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You can be obedient no matter where in the world you live. A change of scenery will not help you in the end; only a change of heart is needed.
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Verses 7-11
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Isaac repeated the sin of his father, Abraham, in lying about his wife.
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Children often become weak in the same areas that their parents were weak, and they often tend to sin in the same areas that their parents sinned.
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Parents have great influence, whether positive or negative. As a parent, it is important for your children, while they are in your home, to see how you repent from sin. This will help them early to avoid much sin.
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Verse 11. It's interesting that Isaac's sin still resulted in something that God used to protect him. Similar things happened with Abraham (Genesis 12:13-16). Abraham would make a mistake, and God still brought something good out of it.
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This reminds us that God can bring good out of anything, even our mistakes. Because you're a believer, your mistakes do not change God's favor towards you, as you are His child and forgiven because of Jesus' blood.
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However, this is no excuse to stay in sin. Focus on growing in obedience; this will bring the greatest blessing (Acts 3:26).
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Verses 12-33
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Isaac succeeded in everything he did because God was with him. And this caused the people around him to envy and even fear him. They tried to close up Isaac's wells, to stop his access to water. But Isaac did not fight back. He kept digging elsewhere and trusted that God would take care of him.
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Some people will come to envy you when you are prospering or joyful, and there is a chance that this will cause them to try to harm or undermine you.
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When this happens, do not argue or fight with those people. Stay focused on the work in front of you.
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You might have to work harder, to recover from harm that is done to you, but this is good for your trust in God (1 Peter 2:20-23).
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God promises to take care of you if you seek to obey Him first (Matthew 6:33).
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Eventually, as with Isaac, if you keep your actions godly, the situation will turn to peace with the people that previously envied you (Proverbs 16:7).
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Verses 34-35
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It is grieving to parents when their children make foolish decisions (Proverbs 17:25), such as marrying ungodly people.
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As a son or daughter, understand that you will have a better relationship with your parents, and they will be happier around you, if you make wise choices.
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