| | The land is in famine (the Bible has to specify that this is a different famine than the one mentioned previously, since God apparently sends so many). In this chapter, we have Isaac trying to pull the same old "she ain't married, she's my sister" trick that Abraham had done. And the victims of this deceit are none other than the people of our friend Abimelech, whom Abraham had deceived back in Genesis 20. This time though, Abimelech sees Isaac and Rebekah in flagrant PDA and calls him on it before anyone sleeps with Rebekeh.
Why doesn't God ever punish this sort of deceit? Or if Abimelech's people are really so horrible that they would have harmed Abraham or Isaac because of their beautiful wives, then why doesn't God punish the people Sodom-style?
Even though no one had touched the previously-thought-to-be-unmarried Rebekah, Abimelech doesn't want to take any chances, so he tells everyone to stay away from Rebekah and Isaac. God gave Isaac plenty of crops and riches, the locals are disgruntled and ruin Isaac's wells, so Abimelech sends him away so the Philestines don't lynch him.
God blesses Isaac, and Abimelech stops by to make an agreement (a peace treaty?) with Isaac. Abimelech still wants to keep on the good side of Yahweh and whomever he's blessing, despite (or perhaps because of) the way he's been treated. Another story that doesn't quite make sense in the good book.
As a footnote, we're told that Esau marries two women. This models the story of Adam, Eve, and Sally, from earlier in Genesis. This sort of polygamous union serves as a model for all Christians to this very day. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)
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| | Posted 2/14/2009 2:14 PM - 21 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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