Conquering the land
Isaac with his enormous flocks and herds needed many wells to water his animals, and dug open them that his father Abraham had dug, and gave them the same names as Abraham had given them. This was a way of conquering the land by naming the wells. The philistines didn’t like it and came and quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying that the wells belonged to them.
Peace before trouble
They had earlier filled the wells with dirt so the water wasn’t that important to them, they just didn’t want Hebrews and their names in their land. Isaac was a man of peace and kept on digging wells until the philistine herdsmen didn’t quarrel any more.
In peace and quiet
The reason for the peace Isaac had in his heart was his faith in God as we can see here; “so he named it Rehoboth (broad places), saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be prosperous in the land.”” Why did Isaac name the well Rehoboth, broad places? It was because the other wells he dug he had to share with the Philistines with all the hostilities and delays, but now he could water all his animals in peace and quiet.
Hebrew text is the original
Isaac said “for the LORD had made room for us”. Isaac waited for the LORD to sort out the problems, Isaac had as his father a personal relationship with his God and he used his name YaHaWaH. The LORD, is not God’s name, the Hebrew word used in the Hebrew text is YHWH and with the vowel a, the name becomes YaHaWaH.
Fit all the pieces together
The only way to keep your calm in every situation in your life is having built up a strong personal faith in God, and then you can leave it to Him, He knows all the details and how to fit them together.
Questions
- Is your life too complicated for God?
- Do you get angry often?
- Are people the reason for your difficulties?
- How can we study the word with patience and care?
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