Genesis 26:24-29

Genesis 26:24-29 And the LORD appeared unto him (Isaac) the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. Isaac lived among the Canaanites and the Philistines. But God had promised to give Isaac all of the land. And every time Isaac dug a well, the people of the land came and stole his well. All of that work for nothing! Water was important to Isaac because he had sheep and cattle and they had to drink every day. But the Philistines had cattle too. They bullied Isaac, so he kept moving around the valley to avoid trouble. God blessed Isaac and he seemed to know where the underground water might be. The Philistines and the Canaanites didn’t believe in the Almighty God of Isaac, but they liked the water that Isaac found. Sometimes our friends today are like the Canaanites and the Philistines. They like that we are kind and helpful because God is with us, but they don’t like to obey God as we do. We can be a good example to our friends. Just like Isaac was a good example of God’s love to the Canaanites and the Philistines. Do you love God? Do your friends see that you love God? Are you a good example to your friends?