Starting Over

Starting Over

Genesis 26: ¹⁷ Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

 

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After being told to leave, Isaac and his massive entourage moved to the Valley of Gerar where his father Abraham lived. He grew up there as an adult and helped build the wells. The Philistines did not want the wells so they stopped them up, making them useless.

 

My Observations:

• Isaac may have felt like he was starting over.
• Isaac had to redo what someone else messed up.
• Isaac had a lot of work on his hands created by someone else.

 

Making sure raiders would not move in, the Philistines may have done a good job filling in the wells. There numbers were not large enough to protect all the territory so they made sure no one would want to try to move in. This may have caused extra work for Isaac.

 

But Isaac remembered how GOD blessed his father. He did not complain or say “woe is me”, rather he got started. He pitched his tent and began to dig. He and the herdsmen reopened the wells and Isaac named them the names Abraham gave them. GOD provided again.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think GOD told Moses about what the Philistines did to the wells?
• Have you ever had to start over because of someone else’s actions?
• Can you take a deep breath and be willing to start over because GOD may have a new direction for you?

Starting Over

Starting Over

Genesis 8: ¹³ And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.

 

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GOD created a wonderful place for humans to live with HIM. HE gave humans millions of trees and had two for HIMSELF. Satan, wanting to be GOD was thrown from heaven. He was determined to be GOD, so he tempted the first humans to disobey GOD. Humans fell and every human from then on was born with the inclination to sin. They wanted to get back into the Garden of Eden, but the cherubim would not allow access.

 

Humans had become so violent that GOD decided to wipe them out. But Noah walked with the LORD and did not listen to his sin nature. GOD blesses Noah and his family by telling him to build an ark. GOD flooded the earth, killing every human, animal and insect that was not on the ark. The floodwaters receded and the ark was now on dry ground.

 

My Observations:

• GOD gave Noah and his family a new place for them to start humanity over.
• GOD broke apart the Garden of Eden, scattering pieces of gold and precious stones everywhere.
• GOD gave humanity ample time to walk with HIM, but they chose to ignore HIM by going their own way.

 

At six hundred and one, Noah was given the responsibility to start humanity over. This time the relationship would be different. The Garden of Eden would no longer be there as a reminder of humanity’s fall. The great flood would now be that reminder as bones and carcasses were spread across the globe.

Dry land was now available. The dove Noah released did not return. She built a nest somewhere close by. GOD had kept HIS promise of saving humanity through one family.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about Noah’s age?
• Have you ever felt you were getting “too old” to start over?
• Are you willing to believe in GOD regardless of your age, so HE can start a new thing through you today?