The Road to Rehoboth: How to Survive and Thrive, Even in Hard Times

Trevor S Ferguson

April 26, 2013

Genesis 26:12, 18-25 (KJV)
¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

¹⁸ And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
¹⁹ And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
²⁰ And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
²¹ And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
²² And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
²³ And he went up from thence to Beersheba.
²⁴ And the LORD appeared unto him 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.
²⁵ 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.

INTRODUCTION

The world is still facing a global economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund, in its April World Economic Outlook, projects that the recovery of the global economy will be bumpy and divergent. Undoubtedly we are living in hard times.

Here in Jamaica, we are finally on the verge signing an IMF deal, but this comes on a background of a wage freeze, rising prices and a falling dollar. Despite the positive language being used by the Minister of Finance, everyone knows that the hard times are far from over.

The question to us today is: How should the people of God respond in these situations? Should we be blindly positive and refuse to believe that we will be affected by the hard times? Should be begin to worry about how we are going to survive? Or should we faithfully put our trust in God and look to him for solutions in these times?

The correct approach, of course is the latter, but we all know that this is much easier said than done. Let me share with you from the scriptures some practical ways to help us survive and even thrive in hard times. We will focus on the passage in Genesis 26, where we will see how Isaac sowed in the time of famine and reaped in the same year an hundred-fold. We will also show how he came to dwell in Rehoboth, which I have designated ‘the place of peace and plenty’. But we will also look at the struggles on the Road to Rehoboth and outline some principles that we can apply in these hard times.

I believe that God can use this message to transform your life, so that you can be fruitful in any land and will be a powerhouse of worship and praise.

EXPOSITION

The story begins with a famine in Beer-lahai-roi, the land where Isaac lived. Abraham was now dead, and therefore Isaac had to seek solutions for himself. Isaac moved to Gerar, the land of the Philistines and Abimelech their king. God appeared unto Isaac, while he was in Gerar and warned him not to go down into Egypt, but to sojourn in the land that He will show him. God also renews His promise of blessings to Isaac, in accordance with the promises made to Abraham. So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. While there, fear lead him to lie to the Philistines about the identity of Sarah, his wife, but because of God’s mercy and grace he was initially favourably treated by the Philistines.

After settling in Gerar, Isaac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundred fold. The blessings of the Lord were with him and he became quite successful but by now the Philistines began to envy him. They therefore asked him to leave.

Being forced to leave Gerar, Isaac recognized that if he was to continue to have success, he had to find a way to overcome the famine. He therefore decided to re-dig the wells they had dug while his father Abraham was alive. However, as soon as Isaac’s servants had finished digging the well the Philistines began to fight over the water. He called the name of that well Esek, meaning ‘strife’ and moved on. Do not dwell in Esek!

They dug a second well, but the Philistines fought over that well also, so he called it Sitnah, meaning opposition and moved on again. Do not make your home in the midst of opposition!

They dug a third well, but this time the Philistines left them alone and Isaac called the name of that well Rehoboth, saying “… now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land”. The word Rehoboth in the Hebrew comes from a root word that means broad places. Isaac was therefore referring to the adequacy of room to care for his herd and his crops and expected fruitfulness because they had a steady water supply from the well. In addition they no longer had to deal with the problem of opposition for the Philistines. I will therefore consider Rehoboth to be the place of peace and plenty i.e. adequate provision without strife. All of us today desire such a place, and I believe that God wants us to get there too. But: How does one get to his/her Rehoboth?

Let me share with you some principles which I believe will help us on this road to Rehoboth.

Principle #1: Move only as instructed by God

In times of hardship people often move from their homeland in search for ‘greener pastures’, but this does not always bring positive results. Many persons end up in worse situations than they were in before. God told Isaac – Do not go down to Egypt! Dwell in the land I will tell you! Don’t be in a rush to go to new countries or new cities, or new towns. Seek God’s direction. Remember Elimelech and Naomi.    

Principle #2: Do something with what you have

Despite the famine Isaac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year an hundred-fold! Do not be overcome by the negative situations and the lack of opportunities. Use what you have! Do some small framing; make creative articles for sale; open a shop; Do something. God will provide the increase!

Principle #3: Find alternative sources of supply

The famine in Isaac’s might have resulted from a period of drought and the absence of rivers and streams. Recognizing that these sources or water were no longer available, Isaac dug wells to find water. We must recognize that when one source of supply dries up we must look for another. When God sees our effort he will bring us success.

Principle #4: Respond appropriately to opposition

Whenever we make an effort persons will seek to oppose us and to make claim on our success. Here we must be wise. We must know when to fight and when to walk away from conflict. As soon as Isaac dug his wells the Philistines were there to claim possession. In this case Isaac choose to leave the well to them and move on. When we are faced with opposition let us seek God’s direction. He will make room for us.

Principle #5: (Beyond Rehoboth) - Do not settle until you have heard from God!

It is interesting to note that Isaac did not settle at Rehoboth. God had made room for him; God had given him peace; but this was not his destiny! He went from there unto Beersheba and there God appeared unto him. He then built an altar, pitched his tent, dug a well and settled there. He did not settle until he had heard from God. Too often we settle before we reach our destination. Let us ensure that we hear from God, before we settle.

CONCLUSION

Despite the current hard times, with God’s help we can thrive. Let us learn these principles from Isaac’s sojourn.  As David said in Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread”.

God will take care of his people. Put your trust in him today.

Make Your Choice

Trevor S. Ferguson

April 17, 2013

Matthew 27:15-23 (KJV)

¹⁵  Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

¹⁶  And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

¹⁷  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

¹⁸  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

¹⁹  When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

²⁰  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

²¹  The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

²²  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

²³  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

INTRODUCTION

There is universal acceptance that Jesus Christ lived on earth as an historical person. There is however much debate as to who He is and what He represents. Some see Him as a great teacher; others see Him as a revolutionary. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes Him as the ‘founder of Christianity’, but comments that the discovery of the ‘historical Jesus’ is difficult. Few persons are neutral on Jesus. Most either love Him or hate Him, depending on how they see him.

In today’s passage the Pilate asked the Jews a pertinent question and required of them to make a choice concerning the fate of Jesus. Their choice led to His crucifixion. Although their choice was made on bad judgment, God turned the situation around through the resurrection, thus providing for all of us the hope of eternal life.

As we reflect today, I want us to focus on the question that Pilate asked the Jews on the day Jesus was crucified: “What then shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ?” I would like to rephrase the question and ask us today: What have you done in response to Jesus Christ? I will further ask: What are you going to do in response Jesus Christ?

I challenge you to make your choice Jesus, today!

EXPOSITION 

Let us take a few moments and look at the context in which this question was asked. Jesus was brought  before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea by the Jews; He had already been tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin and found guilty of blasphemy, because He claimed to be the Christ and the Son of God. They had seen His miracles, they had heard His teachings, they knew that the teachings and miracles testified that He was the son of God and that His coming fulfilled many prophesies, but because his teachings and practices challenged and contradicted their hypocritical worship, they rejected Him.

Having made their decision they plotted and planned how they would accomplish their goal, i.e. to get rid of Jesus. They had conspired with Judas Iscariot, sought false witnesses against Him, convened a night-time hearing, convicted Him and then brought Him to Pilate. But, when Pilate heard the case he could find no justification for the charges that the Jews brought against Jesus and therefore sought to release Him.

It was the week of the Jewish Passover and there was a custom that Pilate would release a prisoner to the Jews. Pilate therefore offered to release Jesus but they asked for Barabbas instead. Surprised at their choice Pilate asked: “What then shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ?” This question is the subject of our discourse today.

What will you do with Jesus?

How will you respond to the sacrifice that he made?

How will you respond to his offer of salvation?

What are you doing about his soon return?

We live in a religious society and as such most of us have been exposed to the teachings of Jesus from we were children. Many of us however have taken these things for granted.

Many persons attend church services, do their ‘religious duties’, try to be good persons, but fail to make an active decision regarding their relationship with Jesus Christ. It would appear that persons want to be associated or affiliated with Jesus, but do not want to make a commitment. I to challenge you today is to get out of the valley of indecision!

Do you acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One?  

Do you acknowledge that He is the manifestation of God in the flesh?

Do you believe that He was crucified, that He died on the cross, that He was buried and on the third day He rose again?

Do you believe that He now operates through the church and has manifested himself to us through the Holy Ghost?

Do you believe that He is coming back again?

Do you believe that those who lived for Christ in this world will reign with Him in heaven when he returns?

Do you believe that those who forsake Christ will be condemned to eternal damnation in a lake of fire?

If you believe, then you must act! You must forsake the way of this world and begin to live for Christ your Saviour. You must accept his offer of salvation. The message of salvation today is the same as that preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost: “…  Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”  There after we must live a life of holiness as await his return:

CONCLUSION

We have reflected today of the question: What then shall we do with Jesus? I implore each of us today to respond to this question. You must make your choice today. Remember that the choice you make has implication for all eternity. The right choice is the choice to serve Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.  Make that choice today!!