# 33 - Isaac's Lie - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein, Isaac faces the consequences of his fear when he deceives the king of Gerar about his wife, Rebekah. This episode explores themes of fear, deception, and God's unwavering protection, even when we repeat the mistakes of the past.
Episode 33 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
Sign up for The Chosen People devotionals at https://www.thechosenpeople.com/sign-up
For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by Proverbs 14:5, “An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.”
Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app.
Show Notes:
(02:05) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(03:36) Isaac's Lie - Cinematic Retelling
(26:14) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:00
Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen people.
00:00:04
Speaker 2: You've drawn the attention of Pharaoh's officials, and because of that,
00:00:10
Speaker 2: we should be prepared to tell them you're my sister,
00:00:13
Speaker 2: not my wife. This is for your protection as well
00:00:17
Speaker 2: as my own. If you've drawn the eye of a
00:00:20
Speaker 2: prominent Egyptian as your brother, my life would be spared.
00:00:25
Speaker 3: So you'd lie, Abram, you would tell a half truth
00:00:30
Speaker 3: and deny me the protection of my husband. Lie to
00:00:34
Speaker 3: spare yourself and ship me off to an Egyptian warlord.
00:00:40
Speaker 2: Sarah, I'm afraid I see too many similarities and these
00:00:45
Speaker 2: people to the ones we've dealt with in the past.
00:00:49
Speaker 2: I'm terrified for my life. As the heads of our people,
00:00:53
Speaker 2: we will be a target. I fear that they will
00:00:56
Speaker 2: use you against me or take you.
00:01:00
Speaker 4: Oh worse.
00:01:02
Speaker 3: We've survived this threat before, Abraham.
00:01:05
Speaker 4: I know we.
00:01:07
Speaker 2: I hope we do so again. I would all upon
00:01:12
Speaker 2: your loyalty as my wife again. I would have you
00:01:17
Speaker 2: tell everyone that you.
00:01:18
Speaker 5: Are my sister.
00:01:19
Speaker 2: Please do this for me, Please go along with this.
00:01:23
Speaker 4: Smile him rest easily.
00:01:26
Speaker 1: And Abraham was forced to watch as his wife was
00:01:29
Speaker 1: taken away from his care for a second time. His
00:01:33
Speaker 1: blood boiled with anger, not against Abimanak, but against himself.
00:01:39
Speaker 6: Isaac, son of my servant Abraham, you have spent a
00:01:44
Speaker 6: lifetime following your father as he followed me. I come
00:01:50
Speaker 6: now to bless you to carry out the promise I
00:01:54
Speaker 6: made to your father through your lifetime.
00:01:57
Speaker 4: Thank you, my God, you.
00:01:59
Speaker 6: Do all what you ask for.
00:02:08
Speaker 7: In the shadow of famine, the sins of the father
00:02:12
Speaker 7: linger whispering old lies to a new generation. Shallow, my
00:02:17
Speaker 7: friends from here in the Holy Land of Israel. I'm
00:02:20
Speaker 7: ya l Exstein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
00:02:24
Speaker 7: Welcome to the Chosen People. Have you been enjoying this podcast, well,
00:02:30
Speaker 7: I would be so grateful if you took a moment
00:02:32
Speaker 7: out of your day to follow, leave a review and
00:02:35
Speaker 7: share it with your friends. These small steps matter to
00:02:39
Speaker 7: me and they make a huge difference in getting the
00:02:42
Speaker 7: podcast out to the world. So thank you, Todara Batt,
00:02:46
Speaker 7: as we say in Hebrew, thank you for making the
00:02:49
Speaker 7: mission of this podcast possible. Now let's begin. What does
00:02:55
Speaker 7: it mean to walk in the footsteps of our fathers,
00:02:58
Speaker 7: to inherit not just their blods, but their flaws, to
00:03:02
Speaker 7: repeat their mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly. This dramatized Bible story
00:03:08
Speaker 7: inspired by Genesis twenty six one to eleven is a
00:03:12
Speaker 7: tale as old as time. If you've been following along
00:03:16
Speaker 7: so far, you'll see that it sounds familiar. Famine strikes
00:03:20
Speaker 7: the land, and Isaac, son of Abraham, faces a choice.
00:03:24
Speaker 7: Will he lean into faith or falter because of fear?
00:03:30
Speaker 7: The sins of the father, once buried, resurface in the
00:03:34
Speaker 7: life of the sun.
00:03:38
Speaker 5: So you see, Master Isaac, we just discovery this morning.
00:03:42
Speaker 5: Has no wonder the cattle have been ranging like they
00:03:45
Speaker 5: once did. The streams out in the far fields are
00:03:48
Speaker 5: as dry as bones. In the troughs we have closer
00:03:52
Speaker 5: to Kamba are much better.
00:03:55
Speaker 1: Though eyes have believed the shepherd, he still stooped to
00:03:59
Speaker 1: run a finger along the dry, crusty bottom of the
00:04:02
Speaker 1: trough standing before them. Sure enough, the grainy limestone felt
00:04:06
Speaker 1: as if it hadn't touched water for days, And this
00:04:10
Speaker 1: was the trough closest to their camp. He could only
00:04:13
Speaker 1: imagine the desolation at the ones further out.
00:04:16
Speaker 4: I suppose it was only a matter of time and
00:04:19
Speaker 4: till the reports we've heard of famine made their way
00:04:22
Speaker 4: to us. I fear it's time for us to move on.
00:04:26
Speaker 5: Hey, right you are, Master Azik or do you want
00:04:30
Speaker 5: us to drive the cow? Do we make Egypt along
00:04:33
Speaker 5: the King's Highway?
00:04:35
Speaker 4: Yes, that would be our destination. I've heard that the
00:04:39
Speaker 4: lands on the Nile are never dead or even brown.
00:04:43
Speaker 4: It would be a long road to get there, but
00:04:46
Speaker 4: well worth our time and effort. We should prepare our
00:04:49
Speaker 4: rations for the long journey. We can make our final
00:04:53
Speaker 4: preparations to cross the desert when we get to Gara.
00:04:58
Speaker 4: Their kings the Bimlet were friendly to my father for
00:05:01
Speaker 4: many years, so that would be a favorable place to
00:05:05
Speaker 4: replenish our water, skins, and supplies before we crossed the desert.
00:05:09
Speaker 5: I'll see to it, Master Issac.
00:05:11
Speaker 1: Isaac thanked the shepherd and began walking back toward camp.
00:05:15
Speaker 1: He took no more than a dozen paces when the
00:05:18
Speaker 1: world around him became silent. He looked around, and though
00:05:23
Speaker 1: there were people in the distance, he could not hear
00:05:25
Speaker 1: them or anything else in his proximity. It was the
00:05:29
Speaker 1: same stillness he remembered from his childhood and from his
00:05:33
Speaker 1: encounter at his father's tomb. Isaac knelt in anticipation of
00:05:38
Speaker 1: hearing again from his god.
00:05:40
Speaker 6: Isaac, son of my servant Abraham, do not go down
00:05:45
Speaker 6: to Egypt. You are to live in the land that
00:05:48
Speaker 6: I show you. You will remain in the land as
00:05:51
Speaker 6: a stranger, an alien. But I will be with you,
00:05:56
Speaker 6: and I will bless you. I will give all these
00:06:00
Speaker 6: lands to you and your offspring one day, and I
00:06:04
Speaker 6: will confirm the oath that I swore to your father, Abraham.
00:06:08
Speaker 4: I will make your.
00:06:09
Speaker 6: Offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky. I
00:06:14
Speaker 6: will give your offspring all these lands, and all the
00:06:18
Speaker 6: nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring.
00:06:24
Speaker 6: All this will happen because Abraham listened to me and
00:06:28
Speaker 6: kept my mandates, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions.
00:06:36
Speaker 4: Yes, my God, I will do what you have said,
00:06:40
Speaker 4: and I will change my plans and not go to Egypt.
00:06:44
Speaker 4: I will go to Garra and settle there during the famine.
00:06:49
Speaker 4: There I shall wait for your instructions.
00:06:53
Speaker 1: When Isaac finished speaking, he felt the world around him
00:06:56
Speaker 1: spring back into life. He heard the shouting of his
00:07:00
Speaker 1: men in the distance, and the birds and insects resumed
00:07:03
Speaker 1: their chatter. Isaac stood and brushed the dust off his
00:07:07
Speaker 1: robes before he hurried to his shepherd to tell him
00:07:10
Speaker 1: of the slight change of plans, Isaac wondered why his
00:07:14
Speaker 1: God was blocking his way to Egypt, but then he
00:07:17
Speaker 1: decided that it was of no importance. Wherever his God
00:07:21
Speaker 1: was calling him, there he would go. He was determined
00:07:25
Speaker 1: to follow in his father's footsteps. Isaac found his wife
00:07:29
Speaker 1: and sons in their tent and told them the message
00:07:32
Speaker 1: he had received from their God.
00:07:35
Speaker 5: I don't understand.
00:07:36
Speaker 8: Why not go to Egypt?
00:07:38
Speaker 5: No famine in Egypt?
00:07:40
Speaker 2: Weren't you listening? Because God said not to?
00:07:43
Speaker 5: Was good game in Egypt? Fish too riches.
00:07:50
Speaker 2: You don't understand.
00:07:52
Speaker 9: Jacob is right, Esaw. We will follow what your father
00:07:56
Speaker 9: and our God says. We must trust in this message.
00:08:00
Speaker 9: Sometimes we cannot see all the pieces on the board.
00:08:04
Speaker 4: We will go to Garral and settle there until we
00:08:07
Speaker 4: hear something else.
00:08:09
Speaker 1: Isaac and his family moved their caravan and all their
00:08:13
Speaker 1: herds east to Geira along the King's Highway. Isaac remembered
00:08:18
Speaker 1: the land from his youth, for this was where his
00:08:21
Speaker 1: mother had conceived, given birth to him, and he spent
00:08:24
Speaker 1: the earliest days of his youth. Isaac knew his father
00:08:29
Speaker 1: had established a covenant of peace, and even built wells
00:08:32
Speaker 1: in this land, but they had been in Hebron a
00:08:35
Speaker 1: long time, and Isaac had now buried both parents there.
00:08:39
Speaker 1: He wondered if the new king, the Ebemelech, as they
00:08:42
Speaker 1: were called here, would remember the peace previously established with
00:08:45
Speaker 1: his father. Perhaps this would be the first real test
00:08:49
Speaker 1: of Isaac's leadership as he stepped into his father's legacy fully.
00:08:57
Speaker 1: Isaac could barely cross the border into Gira when a
00:09:01
Speaker 1: company of guarded men rode out to meet with him.
00:09:04
Speaker 2: Isaac, son of Abraham, be welcomed to Durrar. We Philistine,
00:09:11
Speaker 2: remember your father's time with us here and Jerrard. His
00:09:15
Speaker 2: influence and wealth were legendary. We understand he's been laid
00:09:19
Speaker 2: to rest and given to the care of our goddess
00:09:22
Speaker 2: of heaven Asterith, and you are now his heir. Our
00:09:27
Speaker 2: people were saddened to hear of his passing. You have
00:09:31
Speaker 2: our condolences.
00:09:34
Speaker 1: Isaac could not help but note that the man did
00:09:36
Speaker 1: not extend his apparent words of friendship to him. He
00:09:40
Speaker 1: seemed to be the one who would need to be convinced.
00:09:43
Speaker 4: Thank you, Ooseh. I trust as your people also remember
00:09:48
Speaker 4: the covenant of your former kings.
00:09:51
Speaker 2: I you are asking if we will also honor the
00:09:54
Speaker 2: treaty of peace made between our two forbearers.
00:09:58
Speaker 1: Isaac held the silence as the man took his measure.
00:10:01
Speaker 1: He wished his father was here, or Rebecca. They were
00:10:06
Speaker 1: adept at dabbling in politics. Eyes have preferred a plainer
00:10:09
Speaker 1: way of speaking. He didn't like hidden meanings or inferences.
00:10:14
Speaker 1: But he had learned from them that he should let
00:10:17
Speaker 1: his guests speak until they had finished all they had
00:10:19
Speaker 1: to say. He could hear Rebeccah's voice in his head.
00:10:23
Speaker 1: Don't give them an answer before you force them to
00:10:26
Speaker 1: speak as many of the intentions they're willing to give.
00:10:29
Speaker 1: The uncomfortable silence grew between the two men. The servants
00:10:34
Speaker 1: standing by the entrance shifted on his feet.
00:10:37
Speaker 2: We are not men who break treaties. We trust in
00:10:40
Speaker 2: the wisdom of our abymelechs, as their power has been
00:10:44
Speaker 2: ordained by the gods. There are records of a treaty,
00:10:48
Speaker 2: but also notable exchanges of wealth and goods between your
00:10:53
Speaker 2: people and mine. Can I report back to my ebimelech
00:10:58
Speaker 2: that we can expect much the same from your regime
00:11:01
Speaker 2: of your people.
00:11:03
Speaker 4: We were traded in living peace among your people. We
00:11:07
Speaker 4: have no plans of violence or harm.
00:11:10
Speaker 2: I am relieved to hear it. Perhaps there are other
00:11:16
Speaker 2: ways we can ensure peace and prosperity among us. I
00:11:22
Speaker 2: could not help, but matters many fair women in your camp?
00:11:26
Speaker 2: Have you any daughters or sisters?
00:11:30
Speaker 1: Isaac stiffened at the man's words. He knew enough from
00:11:34
Speaker 1: the man's seemingly benign tone that the man was implying
00:11:38
Speaker 1: more than a marriage pact. He was looking for a
00:11:41
Speaker 1: tithe of women, perhaps ones to bring into the fold
00:11:44
Speaker 1: of his king's harim. This would ensure the peace between them.
00:11:48
Speaker 1: They would become little more than political hostages and tokens.
00:11:52
Speaker 1: He had heard of such practices before.
00:11:55
Speaker 4: I have no daughters, only sons.
00:11:59
Speaker 2: Where well, that's a shame. Who was that woman lingering
00:12:04
Speaker 2: outside your tent when I walked in? She was uncommonly beautiful.
00:12:10
Speaker 1: Isaac knew he should restrain his facial reactions. But the
00:12:14
Speaker 1: man was undoubtedly speaking of his wife, Rebecca. He knew
00:12:18
Speaker 1: from the stories he had heard of these Canaanite men
00:12:22
Speaker 1: that if he had a wife one of them coveted,
00:12:24
Speaker 1: they would stoop to vile actions to obtain what they desired,
00:12:28
Speaker 1: especially if the threat of violence was tenuous between their
00:12:31
Speaker 1: two peoples. He had just told them that he had
00:12:35
Speaker 1: sons like a fool. Rebecca was right. Perhaps he had
00:12:39
Speaker 1: just offered too much information. If this man desired Rebecca,
00:12:44
Speaker 1: or if he sought her for his abimelech, they could
00:12:47
Speaker 1: very well decide to take her. Kill Isaac and then
00:12:50
Speaker 1: install one of his sons in his place and do
00:12:53
Speaker 1: their dealings with him. His young sons would be left
00:12:57
Speaker 1: in such a vulnerable position Philistines would certainly use to
00:13:02
Speaker 1: their advantage, especially after the recent debarcle over the surrendered
00:13:07
Speaker 1: birthright of his eldest divided. They would never find their
00:13:11
Speaker 1: way without him and Rebecca to guide them. Panic welled
00:13:14
Speaker 1: up inside of Isaac. Panic that gave way to a
00:13:18
Speaker 1: hurried lie.
00:13:19
Speaker 4: A woman outside my tent. I have a sister, but
00:13:23
Speaker 4: I'm not sure if she is the one of which
00:13:25
Speaker 4: you speak.
00:13:27
Speaker 2: She looked to be of noble stock, like yourself. Her
00:13:31
Speaker 2: dress was a cut above everyone else. Is she your sister?
00:13:37
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, my sister.
00:13:40
Speaker 2: Not your wife.
00:13:41
Speaker 4: No, no, she is not my wife.
00:13:44
Speaker 2: I see well, Isaac, son of Abraham, we shall meet again.
00:13:50
Speaker 2: It appears we are to be neighbors and shall remain friendly.
00:13:55
Speaker 2: I will have you meet my King, once you are
00:13:57
Speaker 2: more settled here.
00:14:00
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, we will await your invitation.
00:14:03
Speaker 1: The man nodded respectfully to Isaac and then departed. Isaac
00:14:08
Speaker 1: sighed in relief when the man left, but immediately regretted
00:14:12
Speaker 1: his lie. He was now faced with convincing Rebecca to
00:14:16
Speaker 1: go along with this lie or stay out of sight,
00:14:20
Speaker 1: perhaps the latter if he wanted to avoid her being
00:14:23
Speaker 1: taken into the King's harim or as the wife of
00:14:25
Speaker 1: another merchant from Geera. Isaac was still considering his options
00:14:30
Speaker 1: when his wife stormed into the tent.
00:14:34
Speaker 9: Isaac, what was that about? What did the emissary want?
00:14:39
Speaker 9: Are we safe to remain here in this land?
00:14:41
Speaker 4: Yes, Rebecca, they remember the treaty was my father. We
00:14:46
Speaker 4: can pitch our tents here and remain on the land.
00:14:49
Speaker 9: There's more. What are you not telling me?
00:14:53
Speaker 1: Isaac grimaced. Nothing escaped Rebecca's notice. He couldn't put off
00:14:58
Speaker 1: telling her any longer.
00:15:00
Speaker 4: Rebecca, he asked about you?
00:15:06
Speaker 9: What do you mean?
00:15:08
Speaker 4: You know what I mean?
00:15:10
Speaker 9: What did you tell him about me?
00:15:12
Speaker 4: I may have told him that you are my sister,
00:15:16
Speaker 4: not my wife, So you lied?
00:15:20
Speaker 9: Well?
00:15:20
Speaker 4: I mean, I had to think quick. I couldn't bring
00:15:23
Speaker 4: myself to tell him the truth. You've seen the look
00:15:26
Speaker 4: in his eye, the tone of his voice. This man
00:15:30
Speaker 4: was looking for any weakness to exploit. He was looking
00:15:33
Speaker 4: for anything to hold against me.
00:15:37
Speaker 9: So to remove yourself from danger, you offered me up
00:15:40
Speaker 9: to these men. Are they to take me to the palace?
00:15:43
Speaker 9: Am I to become another man's wife?
00:15:46
Speaker 4: No, my love, I would never let them do anything
00:15:48
Speaker 4: to you. We just need to think of a way
00:15:51
Speaker 4: out of this.
00:15:52
Speaker 9: Did your father not tell us this story time and
00:15:55
Speaker 9: time again? Did he not do the same with your mother, Sarah?
00:15:59
Speaker 9: This lie will not go unnoticed by the stars. How
00:16:04
Speaker 9: could you be so dull and shortsighted? Well? I, oh, Isaac,
00:16:10
Speaker 9: how could you not think beyond the discomfort of the
00:16:13
Speaker 9: moment and think ahead. You have to plan, Isaac, You
00:16:17
Speaker 9: have to think about the long term effects of things you.
00:16:21
Speaker 4: Do not understand. You've not lived among these people before.
00:16:25
Speaker 4: This is a den of brutal men.
00:16:28
Speaker 9: And you just throw me into that den. Then, Isaac,
00:16:32
Speaker 9: you remember this place as a child, But you're not
00:16:35
Speaker 9: a child. You're a chief. You have power, you have influence.
00:16:41
Speaker 9: Why interact with these people like you have no agency?
00:16:44
Speaker 9: Do you always just lay down and let others have
00:16:47
Speaker 9: their way with you.
00:16:50
Speaker 1: The words were like knives to Isaac's memory. He did
00:16:54
Speaker 1: indeed just lay down and let people do what they pleased.
00:16:58
Speaker 1: He stealed his will and pushed back toward his wife.
00:17:04
Speaker 4: These are wicked people, Rebecca. They are dangerous. They will
00:17:08
Speaker 4: not honor our marriage. They would take you from me
00:17:12
Speaker 4: just despite me. And we have no daughters to offer
00:17:16
Speaker 4: their sons for an alliance. Then where would our boys be.
00:17:21
Speaker 4: I could not leave us in such a vulnerable position.
00:17:24
Speaker 9: They will find us out and be furious that we
00:17:27
Speaker 9: were deceitful. You have put me in an impossible situation.
00:17:33
Speaker 9: Am I to honor you as my husband and lie
00:17:35
Speaker 9: to our hosts? Or am I to undermine you and
00:17:39
Speaker 9: expose us?
00:17:41
Speaker 4: Rebecca? I am sorry. I was afraid. I could not
00:17:46
Speaker 4: think of what to do. If they ask you, tell
00:17:50
Speaker 4: them you're my sister. But keep to camp and stay
00:17:54
Speaker 4: out of sight. Perhaps we can find a way out
00:17:57
Speaker 4: of thisheca.
00:18:00
Speaker 1: To Isaac's relief, did as he had asked of her.
00:18:04
Speaker 1: She kept to their tents and avoided leaving the camp
00:18:07
Speaker 1: to prevent being spotted by the outsiders. Isaac even abstained
00:18:12
Speaker 1: in visiting her or being seen with her. To keep
00:18:14
Speaker 1: up the illusion, A thankfully uneventful relationship settled between the
00:18:19
Speaker 1: city dwellers of Geira and Isaac's people outside their walls.
00:18:24
Speaker 1: Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. Isaac's
00:18:29
Speaker 1: wariness began to fade. No one had come to check
00:18:32
Speaker 1: in on their people or spy on their movements. Certainly,
00:18:36
Speaker 1: no bride price was offered up to Isaac for any
00:18:39
Speaker 1: of the women in his camp. He began to think
00:18:42
Speaker 1: that perhaps Abemelek and his men would leave his women,
00:18:45
Speaker 1: especially his wife alone. He had even successfully answered an
00:18:49
Speaker 1: invitation to meet with Abiemeleik at his palace and the
00:18:52
Speaker 1: topic was not broached. Feeling triumphant, Isaac decided he could
00:18:57
Speaker 1: risk some intimacy with his wife, had not spent any
00:19:01
Speaker 1: significant time together in months. Across the walls of the city.
00:19:06
Speaker 1: High in his quarters, Abemelech had woken early. The day
00:19:11
Speaker 1: would be hot. He could already tell the evening had
00:19:14
Speaker 1: barely cooled his tower, and he crossed to his window
00:19:18
Speaker 1: to draw back the fabric in a feeble attempt to
00:19:21
Speaker 1: coax a morning breeze into his bedroom. When he drew
00:19:24
Speaker 1: them back, he gazed upon the caravan of Isaac, son
00:19:28
Speaker 1: of Abraham. Below the tent stretched for almost a mile,
00:19:33
Speaker 1: but the closest tents were pitched along the walls of
00:19:35
Speaker 1: his city. They formed larger and larger circles as they
00:19:39
Speaker 1: moved away from the city. Abemelek marveled at its design
00:19:44
Speaker 1: from the vantage point of his tower. At the far end.
00:19:47
Speaker 1: Shepherds were beginning to drive the sheep and goats out
00:19:50
Speaker 1: to graze, but few others stirred yet in the early
00:19:53
Speaker 1: morning light. These Hebrews may not have been builders, but
00:19:57
Speaker 1: the scalability and flexibility of the their caravans was fascinating
00:20:01
Speaker 1: to him. It was so foreign. He could not imagine
00:20:05
Speaker 1: making his fortune and not building something of permanent stone
00:20:09
Speaker 1: or rock to flaunt it. How else would his people
00:20:12
Speaker 1: remember his legacy. Abimelech's thoughts were interrupted by movement below.
00:20:18
Speaker 1: A woman emerged from one of the tents. Even from
00:20:21
Speaker 1: this distance, he could tell she was striking a rare beauty.
00:20:26
Speaker 1: This had to be the woman his adviser had spoken.
00:20:29
Speaker 6: Of, the sister.
00:20:32
Speaker 1: None of his spies had seen her since a Juzad
00:20:35
Speaker 1: had gone to meet with Isaac on that first day,
00:20:38
Speaker 1: the day she was named as his sister, but this
00:20:41
Speaker 1: lovely woman standing alone outside the tent had to be her.
00:20:45
Speaker 1: Her dress marked her as a woman of nobility, but
00:20:48
Speaker 1: her head was covered, so from what he knew of
00:20:51
Speaker 1: the Hebrew customs, she was a married woman. Only unmarried
00:20:55
Speaker 1: women and then prostitutes had their heads uncovered. Isaac not
00:21:00
Speaker 1: told Ahuzad she was married. Perhaps Isaac could part with
00:21:04
Speaker 1: her for a generous bride price. Abimelek was wary of
00:21:07
Speaker 1: the wealth Isaac had brought to his city. Taking one
00:21:11
Speaker 1: of his family into his harim would be a way
00:21:13
Speaker 1: to maintain control and insure peace between them. He could
00:21:18
Speaker 1: not stomach the thought of someone else, especially a foreigner,
00:21:21
Speaker 1: having more influence than him and in his own city.
00:21:25
Speaker 1: At that Abimelek was just about to leave the window
00:21:29
Speaker 1: to go send for Ahuzad to begin the process when
00:21:32
Speaker 1: he saw Isaac emerge from the same tent and approach
00:21:36
Speaker 1: the woman. He was moving with stealth, though there was
00:21:40
Speaker 1: no one else around. Isaac embraced her suddenly, and with revulsion,
00:21:45
Speaker 1: Abimelek realized he was being playful. He frowned as he
00:21:49
Speaker 1: put the pieces together. Based on their familiarity, the two
00:21:53
Speaker 1: had just shared an intimate evening, and this was perhaps
00:21:57
Speaker 1: the start of another intimate moment. While that Abemelek was
00:22:01
Speaker 1: the sole witness to Isaac caressed the woman, and Abemelek
00:22:06
Speaker 1: embarrassingly turned away from the window. He could not stomach
00:22:10
Speaker 1: the idea of treating with Isaac with that image burned
00:22:14
Speaker 1: into the back of his mind. But embarrassment quickly faded
00:22:17
Speaker 1: to fury as he realized that this woman he had
00:22:21
Speaker 1: sworn up and down to his adviser was not his sister.
00:22:25
Speaker 1: He had outright denied that she was his wife, but
00:22:29
Speaker 1: this scene below his window left no doubt.
00:22:31
Speaker 4: In his mind.
00:22:33
Speaker 1: Isaac had lied, and Abemelek had been deceived. And if
00:22:38
Speaker 1: there was one thing Abemelek did not relish, it was
00:22:41
Speaker 1: being made to look like a fool. Palms sweating, and
00:22:47
Speaker 1: nervously shifting on his feet, Isaac was standing in the
00:22:50
Speaker 1: great receiving hall of the Abemelek in his palace. He
00:22:54
Speaker 1: had been unceremoniously called by an emissary to report immediately
00:22:59
Speaker 1: to Abemelek. He did not have long to wonder why
00:23:02
Speaker 1: he was being called before Abemlek before he burst into
00:23:05
Speaker 1: the room, Fury written all over his face.
00:23:10
Speaker 2: Liar, the woman is really your wife?
00:23:14
Speaker 8: How could you tell my man paused that.
00:23:17
Speaker 4: She was your sister?
00:23:19
Speaker 1: Isaac had no idea how Abe Maleg found out the truth.
00:23:23
Speaker 1: He had been so careful. Why it was only that
00:23:27
Speaker 1: night and mourning that he had been with her at all.
00:23:31
Speaker 1: But they had been outside the tent this morning. Isaac's
00:23:34
Speaker 1: cheeks reddened at the thought of having had an audience
00:23:37
Speaker 1: without realizing it. Isaac fumbled for something to say before
00:23:41
Speaker 1: the king.
00:23:44
Speaker 4: I Ah, I hid the truth, yes, but it was
00:23:49
Speaker 4: because I thought I might die on account of her.
00:23:52
Speaker 4: I was afraid of having a beautiful wife would place
00:23:54
Speaker 4: a target on my back.
00:23:56
Speaker 2: What have you done to us?
00:23:59
Speaker 8: Do you think us so lawless that we would.
00:24:02
Speaker 4: Steal another man's wife?
00:24:05
Speaker 8: Have you not realized now the influences of your father
00:24:08
Speaker 8: and your father's God have affected us. We learned from
00:24:12
Speaker 8: our histories, as it seems you have not. We and
00:24:18
Speaker 8: Gharah remember what happened when an abimelech took a wife
00:24:21
Speaker 8: from one protected by the God of Abraham. Your deception
00:24:27
Speaker 8: left my men open to a great sin. One of
00:24:30
Speaker 8: them could have easily and unknowingly slept with your wife,
00:24:35
Speaker 8: and you would have brought guilt on us.
00:24:39
Speaker 1: Habemelek's words shamed Isaac. Here he was being rebuked by
00:24:44
Speaker 1: a pagan king for forgetting his own god's past provision.
00:24:49
Speaker 1: Isaac mocked God's promise when he took matters into his
00:24:53
Speaker 1: own hands. His own wife had even warned him not
00:24:56
Speaker 1: to repeat his father's mistakes. Isaac was not sure what
00:25:00
Speaker 1: to say to Abemelek in his embarrassment, but fortunately he
00:25:04
Speaker 1: was spared when Abemelek continued.
00:25:07
Speaker 8: You are fortunate, indeed that it was I who discovered
00:25:12
Speaker 8: this deception. If judgment were to be brought upon my
00:25:16
Speaker 8: household or my city from your father's god, I could
00:25:21
Speaker 8: not guarantee that peace would remain between us. My hand
00:25:25
Speaker 8: could have been forced to take action against you.
00:25:28
Speaker 4: I understand, your highness of Bemelech.
00:25:31
Speaker 8: I have indeed already taken action. I have sent word
00:25:36
Speaker 8: to my court and the law enforces of my city.
00:25:39
Speaker 8: I have ordered that any man who harms you or
00:25:42
Speaker 8: your wife will certainly be put to death.
00:25:45
Speaker 1: Isaac's knees buckled with relief and awe that his God,
00:25:50
Speaker 1: the god of his father, had again intervened with Abemelekh
00:25:54
Speaker 1: despite his deception, despite his repeating the mistakes of his father.
00:26:00
Speaker 1: Isaac then supposed that this rescue and protection from Abimelek
00:26:05
Speaker 1: was as good a sign as any, and that they
00:26:07
Speaker 1: will be safe to settle in Geira until the famine
00:26:11
Speaker 1: passed in the land of Canaan.
00:26:16
Speaker 7: Doesn't this Bible story give you a weird sense of
00:26:19
Speaker 7: deja vu? Like you've heard this one before. Isaac is
00:26:23
Speaker 7: in Gerar and there's Abimelech, the king of the Philistines,
00:26:28
Speaker 7: And then out of fear, Isaac tells everyone that Rebecca's
00:26:30
Speaker 7: his sister. Deja vu all over again. Didn't we just
00:26:35
Speaker 7: watch Abraham do the same thing twice. We're still in
00:26:39
Speaker 7: the Book of Genesis in the beginning, and again and
00:26:42
Speaker 7: again and again we see this all too human pattern
00:26:46
Speaker 7: of repeating mistakes many times because of fear. But then
00:26:51
Speaker 7: there's this moment. Abimele sees Isaac and Rebecca together and
00:26:56
Speaker 7: he knows. Abimelech knows, and so so he confronts Isaac.
00:27:03
Speaker 7: Abimelech isn't angry, not really, He's more protective. Why did
00:27:08
Speaker 7: you say that she was your sister? You could have
00:27:10
Speaker 7: brought guilt upon us, he said, And in a twist,
00:27:15
Speaker 7: I never expect. No matter how many times I read
00:27:17
Speaker 7: the story in the Bible, Abimelech orders his people to
00:27:21
Speaker 7: protect Isaac and Rebecca. We read this story, we see
00:27:26
Speaker 7: Isaac's fear and his sin, and we expect judgment. But
00:27:30
Speaker 7: instead we incredibly find grace. God's grace says. If God
00:27:38
Speaker 7: is saying, even in your fear, even in your deceit,
00:27:41
Speaker 7: I am here, I protect, I provide. It's a reminder
00:27:46
Speaker 7: for Isaac and for all of us, as God's chosen people,
00:27:51
Speaker 7: that no matter how often we act out of fear,
00:27:54
Speaker 7: no matter how many times we repeat the same mistakes,
00:27:57
Speaker 7: God's grace still finds us. This Bible story, like so
00:28:02
Speaker 7: many stories throughout Scripture, assures me and can assure all
00:28:07
Speaker 7: of us that God's grace is enough. Have you ever
00:28:12
Speaker 7: tried the old because I said so argument with your children.
00:28:17
Speaker 7: I don't know about you, but my kids are not
00:28:19
Speaker 7: very big fans, and having been a kid myself a
00:28:23
Speaker 7: long time ago, but I still remember exactly where they're
00:28:26
Speaker 7: coming from. Because I said so doesn't really sound like
00:28:29
Speaker 7: a good reason to have to do something that you
00:28:32
Speaker 7: don't want to do. It sounds like I don't feel
00:28:35
Speaker 7: like explaining the reason to you, or it sounds like
00:28:39
Speaker 7: another way to say there's no good reason at all,
00:28:42
Speaker 7: but that's what I decided. Either way, it's a frustrating
00:28:46
Speaker 7: thing to hear, but you know there's a deeper lesson
00:28:50
Speaker 7: behind I told you so. When I tell one of
00:28:54
Speaker 7: my kids to do something because I said so, what
00:28:57
Speaker 7: I'm really saying is that I want them to do
00:28:59
Speaker 7: it because I'm their mother. I want them to value
00:29:02
Speaker 7: what I ask of them for that reason alone, regardless
00:29:06
Speaker 7: of the specific need or reasoning that led to the request.
00:29:11
Speaker 7: I just want them to listen to me because I'm
00:29:13
Speaker 7: their mother, and because they respect me, and because they
00:29:16
Speaker 7: trust me, and because they love me. Well, isn't the
00:29:21
Speaker 7: same true of our relationship with God. We all yearn
00:29:25
Speaker 7: for God to come speak to us, to guide us,
00:29:28
Speaker 7: to tell us what he wants from us, And then
00:29:31
Speaker 7: the struggle comes when we also want to know why
00:29:37
Speaker 7: God wants us to listen to him because of our
00:29:39
Speaker 7: relationship with him and because we trust him, not because
00:29:42
Speaker 7: we understand his divine plan. And this truth shines through
00:29:48
Speaker 7: in this Bible story. When Isaac faced to famine, he
00:29:52
Speaker 7: naturally gravitated towards Egypt, but God intervened and commanded him
00:29:58
Speaker 7: to stay in the land of On. Notice how God
00:30:02
Speaker 7: communicated this to Isaac. First, God said, do not go
00:30:06
Speaker 7: down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell
00:30:09
Speaker 7: you to live. And then God commanded Isaac to very
00:30:13
Speaker 7: clearly quote stay in this land end quote. God could
00:30:18
Speaker 7: have explained why. He could have listed the warnings of
00:30:21
Speaker 7: what chaos would ensue if he left. He could have
00:30:24
Speaker 7: given all the reasons why he shouldn't go to Egypt.
00:30:28
Speaker 7: But God didn't explain himself because he was conveying a
00:30:32
Speaker 7: deeper message. He was showing how he's all knowing and
00:30:37
Speaker 7: what he wants is our devotion. He desires us to
00:30:41
Speaker 7: accept his words, regardless of the details. When we show
00:30:46
Speaker 7: that we are listening to God, that we are willing
00:30:49
Speaker 7: to go where he leads and do what he asks,
00:30:52
Speaker 7: our obedience becomes a true sign of our devotion. We
00:30:56
Speaker 7: serve God not because we understand his plan. Rather, we
00:31:01
Speaker 7: serve God simply because he said so. Now, like I said,
00:31:08
Speaker 7: when I was a child, I didn't appreciate it very
00:31:10
Speaker 7: much when my own abba my father told me because
00:31:13
Speaker 7: I said so. I remember thinking when I grew up,
00:31:16
Speaker 7: I'll never say that to my children, and of course
00:31:20
Speaker 7: as mother A four, I've said that a few times,
00:31:23
Speaker 7: and I now understand why parents and God say that.
00:31:28
Speaker 7: By having you also found yourself doing something that your
00:31:30
Speaker 7: parents did that you wish you didn't do. You ever
00:31:34
Speaker 7: find yourself repeating a behavior that when you were a child,
00:31:37
Speaker 7: your parents did to you, and you didn't like it.
00:31:40
Speaker 7: You actually said that you would never do that. I
00:31:45
Speaker 7: know I do. And isn't that what Isaac is doing
00:31:48
Speaker 7: here in this Bible story, telling the same kind of
00:31:51
Speaker 7: lie that his wife is his sister that his own
00:31:55
Speaker 7: father told twice. We've already seen that when Abraham told
00:32:00
Speaker 7: these lies, it was clearly a sin. But maybe Isaac,
00:32:04
Speaker 7: even though it was wrong, thought he had to be
00:32:06
Speaker 7: a carbon copy of his father, Abraham the Patriarch. Maybe
00:32:10
Speaker 7: this early on in his own leadership of the Chosen People,
00:32:15
Speaker 7: Isaac hadn't yet developed his own personality in his own
00:32:18
Speaker 7: leadership style. Only later would Isaac learn that he didn't
00:32:23
Speaker 7: need to be exactly like his father, He just needed
00:32:27
Speaker 7: to be himself. That's a really important lesson for all
00:32:32
Speaker 7: of us, isn't it. We love our parents, we respect
00:32:37
Speaker 7: our parents, but at some point we realized that we're
00:32:40
Speaker 7: different people than our parents. We have a different calling
00:32:44
Speaker 7: on our lives than our parents, and what God wants
00:32:48
Speaker 7: of us is simply to be ourselves. Even as this
00:32:54
Speaker 7: story teaches lessons about ourselves and about trusting God, it's
00:33:00
Speaker 7: still such a human story, one of fear and deceit
00:33:05
Speaker 7: to talk about how Christians view these themes of this
00:33:09
Speaker 7: story of Isaac's life of imminent danger and the needs
00:33:12
Speaker 7: resist fear and dishonesty is our good friend, Bishop.
00:33:16
Speaker 10: Paulineer, thank you, yeah, l I'm so happy to be
00:33:19
Speaker 10: in this chapter twenty six and it begins revealing to
00:33:24
Speaker 10: us that there's a famine, but Moses is determined that
00:33:27
Speaker 10: we understand that this is not the same famine that
00:33:31
Speaker 10: Abraham had to deal with. No, this is a different famine.
00:33:36
Speaker 10: And God speaks directly to Abraham's decision in his famine
00:33:43
Speaker 10: of traveling down. Anytime we leave the will of God,
00:33:47
Speaker 10: it's down traveling down to the land of Egypt. And
00:33:52
Speaker 10: of course that's when Hagard became part of their story. Synchronicity.
00:34:01
Speaker 10: How's that for a phrase? I like that Divine synchronicity
00:34:04
Speaker 10: really is such a part of our covenant conversation with
00:34:09
Speaker 10: our God. It's being at the right place at the
00:34:13
Speaker 10: right time. Really, if it's not the right time, it's
00:34:15
Speaker 10: not going to be the right place.
00:34:17
Speaker 4: It's being at the.
00:34:18
Speaker 10: Right place at the right time, with the right people,
00:34:23
Speaker 10: doing the right thing. That opens us up fully to
00:34:26
Speaker 10: what God is wanting to do in our lives and
00:34:29
Speaker 10: the words he's wanting to speak to us. And when
00:34:33
Speaker 10: we stray from those steps he's ordered for our living well,
00:34:38
Speaker 10: we open ourselves up to faces and voices and are
00:34:44
Speaker 10: not necessarily assigned to us. But God commanded Isaac to
00:34:50
Speaker 10: remain in that space and instill doing. God says, I'm
00:34:55
Speaker 10: going to bless you now, and I'm going to prosper
00:34:58
Speaker 10: you and this herds in this flocks and all the
00:35:01
Speaker 10: great things. Sometimes we have to say to ourselves, we
00:35:05
Speaker 10: just have to speak faith into our own hearts and say,
00:35:09
Speaker 10: I'm not denying this famine, but it's not mine. This
00:35:14
Speaker 10: is not my famine, this is not my recession, this
00:35:19
Speaker 10: is not my diagnosis. Again, we're not denying the reality
00:35:24
Speaker 10: of something. We're just declaring the greater reality of God's
00:35:28
Speaker 10: word in our life, and we are denying the authority
00:35:33
Speaker 10: of that famine. In our life, and it's not to
00:35:36
Speaker 10: sound or seem or to be heartless against people who
00:35:42
Speaker 10: are hurting or suffering. We are to have compassion, and
00:35:45
Speaker 10: we do, but we recall the words of p. Ninety
00:35:49
Speaker 10: one that promises that whoever dwells say that word with
00:35:55
Speaker 10: me dwells dwells on the shelter of the most high.
00:36:00
Speaker 10: We'll rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
00:36:04
Speaker 7: Let's go back to the beginning, the very beginning, when
00:36:07
Speaker 7: the unruly and chaotic sees thrashed under an untamed universe,
00:36:12
Speaker 7: God spoken life, and light burst forth. The Jewish age is,
00:36:17
Speaker 7: along with Christian theologians who came after all, agree on
00:36:20
Speaker 7: this one fact. The universe was created through God's truth.
00:36:26
Speaker 7: Truth brings order, truth creates, and lies do the opposite.
00:36:32
Speaker 7: They so chaos, they destroy, they bring confusion. You know,
00:36:38
Speaker 7: you may feel fearful, like Isaac and Abraham once did.
00:36:42
Speaker 7: That fear may drive you to dishonesty and to lose
00:36:46
Speaker 7: trust in God. But instead be brave, be truthful, and
00:36:52
Speaker 7: trust in God. He can bless us during the famines
00:36:57
Speaker 7: in our own lives and make us gloom in the
00:37:00
Speaker 7: middle of our own deserts. If we distrust in him.
00:37:06
Speaker 7: Here's a final blessing for you. May the Lord bless
00:37:10
Speaker 7: you and keep you. May the Lord make his face
00:37:13
Speaker 7: shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the
00:37:16
Speaker 7: Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
00:37:20
Speaker 7: And Now. In Hebrew, varech hashenvi schmrecher yea eraschempave lechra
00:37:27
Speaker 7: verroncher ye sampanave lechra shaloon Amen.
00:37:36
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Egstein
00:37:39
Speaker 1: add free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot
00:37:42
Speaker 1: Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made
00:37:47
Speaker 1: possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
00:37:51
Speaker 1: Max Bard, Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive
00:37:55
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yaile Egstein, edited by
00:37:59
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
00:38:04
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
00:38:09
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
00:38:13
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
00:38:17
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin,
00:38:22
Speaker 1: Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship
00:38:26
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot
00:38:29
Speaker 1: com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on
00:38:33
Speaker 1: the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you
00:38:36
Speaker 1: enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and
00:38:39
Speaker 1: leave a review.
Related Episodes
The Tragedy of Dinah
# 43 - The Tragedy of Dinah - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we confront the devastating consequences of violence, vengeance, and the pursuit of justice without mercy. This episode delves into one of the Bible's darkest chapters, exploring the complexities of human sin and ...
Jacob & Esau Reunited
# 42 - Jacob & Esau Reunited - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we explore a powerful story of reconciliation, where years of betrayal and fear give way to forgiveness, healing, and restored relationships. This episode reveals timeless lessons on grace, courage, and the t...
Wrestling with God
# 41 - Wrestling with God - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we dive into Jacob's transformative encounter at the Jabbok, where he wrestles not only with a mysterious figure but with his own identity and destiny. Discover profound lessons on struggle, perseverance, and findin...
