TRUTH AND MALICE.

TRUTH!
Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.......When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,”...........So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. Genesis 26:1-12

MALICE!
......He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him..........So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”.........Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also.......... Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces............. Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!”. Genesis 26:13-32

Today's bible passages buttress the point from the bible passage of the previous bible study. 1Peter2:19-21 http://olufunkeayorinde..com/2019/04/suffering.html?m=1

Isaac had his 1st breakthrough in a strange land when his lies were exposed and he acknowledged it..... he planted during a famine and reaped a hundredfold........wow! He "suffered lack for a sin he committed".

Having a source of water is invaluable for a shepherd. Imagine Isaac's torment of being denied his own well with his large herd He probably would have to beg others to fetch from their well. He would have to agree to their terms too (fetch water after us, your boy must not come here again, your flock's faeces is disturbing is, your men must sweep the side of the wall,etc) and he kept cool.

Isaac's biggest breakthrough came because he suffered for a sin he did not commit and he did not keep malice or hold a grudge. God was busy moulding Isaac into a better man before he got a larger share of his father,Abraham's blessings.

For those of us who still have sin in our lives and we can give excusea for it like Isaac... i lie so that he will not be angry, i stole to feed my children, I'm doing yahoo yahoo because the white man stole from us, I'm doing runs to get revenge over men, my employer also stole from the government,etc..... keept it up. You are only delaying God's blessing over your life.

Also, for those of us that can keep records of both real and perceived wrong done to us....let us learn from Isaac. He had the right to be bitter, but he chose to be better and embraced his adversaries with love. This unlocked the earth's resource for him and no one could contend with him over it.

Holy Spirit divine, help us so that Abraham's blessings will be ours. With man, it is impossible, with God, all things are possible.

Shalom!

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