Isaac, of course, would be able to easily identify the
pattern that was unfolding. As the bearer of the divine covenant, and as
the one through whom God was promising to bless the peoples of the world, it
would be unreasonable to suppose that Abraham did not routinely share the
details of his life with his family and with all those with whom he came into
contact. Isaac would be fully cognizant of the fact that what he was now
experiencing was a mirror of that which had been experienced by his
father. In that light, what son would not think along the lines of “if it
worked for him, it will work for me”? So upon reaching Gerar, which was,
coincidentally, the same place that his father had settled (as presumably
directed by God as part of Abraham’s movements in the region), Isaac entered
into the ploy of informing the people of Gerar that his wife was actually his
sister.
Now for Abraham, this was not an untruth, as his wife was
his half-sister. For Isaac, this was a total deception, as Rebekah was a
cousin. This makes Isaac a bit of a liar, thereby putting him in
tremendous Biblical company. This serves as yet another reminder of the
purpose of this Word, which is not to simply tell us the story of various men
and women, or the story of a particular people so as to elevate them; but
rather, to present to us by way of these stories that are designed to give us a
basic understanding of His nature, a faithful God that uses individuals and
peoples so as to accomplish His purposes in and for this world.
Why would Isaac resort to such things? What would be
Isaac’s motivation to present himself and his wife in this way? The
Scriptures inform us that “He was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife,’ for he
thought to himself, ‘The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah because
she is very beautiful.’” (26:7b) On the surface this sounds good.
It is also the same thing we find Abraham communicating to his wife. When
Abraham went to Egypt, he had instructed Sarah (Sarai) to “tell them you are my
sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared
on account of you” (12:13). When Abram went to Gerar, he “said about his
wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’” (20:2a)
In Egypt, “Abram’s wife was taken into the household of
Pharaoh, and he (Pharaoh) did treat Abram well on account of her” (12:15b-16a),
with Abram receiving a substantial amount of livestock, presumably as a bridal
price. In Gerar, “Abimelech…sent for Sarah and took her” (20:2b).
In both instances, by saying that his wife was his sister, Abraham ended up
having his wife taken from him. In both instances, there is never any
indication that Abraham’s life was in danger simply because his wife was
beautiful; and in any case, it seems to be the case that the insistence that
his wife was his sister put Abraham in the position of not being able to
justify denying a request for marriage, should such a request be made. In
fact, what this looks like is a ploy to gain wealth through what is, for all
practical purposes, prostitution, while relying on a sense of honor on the part
of the men that took his wife, when it would eventually be revealed that she
was his wife and not his sister. Again, in both of the cases of Abraham
and Sarah, when the deceived men find out the truth, and when they would be
more than justified in killing Abraham for his lies and his dishonorable
treatment of them, they act honorably toward Abraham, thus negating the
supposed fear of death that had been the foundational need for the
deception. In fact, when it comes to the situation in Gerar, after
finding out the truth, “Abimelech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female
servants to Abraham,” he told him to “live wherever you please,” and he also
gave him “a thousand pieces of silver” (20:14a,15b,16b).
Though Abraham does gain great wealth through these tactics,
is therefore in an even greater position to exemplify divine blessing (as his
increasing wealth will given him an even more lofty position from which to tell
the story of his covenant God), and though he does have an even greater story
of divine faithfulness to tell (depending on the perspective from which the
story is told), one cannot help but think that his interactions make him something
less than the shining light of God’s glory to these people with which he
dealt. Beyond that, one also cannot help but think that the deceptions
that were practiced against the pharaoh of Egypt (by Abraham) and the king of
the Philistines (by Abraham and Isaac, as we shall see) must have influenced
the later dealings between the Egyptians, the Philistines, and Israel.
Indeed, when we encounter Joseph as the ruler of Egypt, we find that “The
Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is
disgusting to do so” (43:32b). Might this situation that presents some
type of underlying conflict between Egyptians and Hebrews have something to do
with the deception perpetrated against Pharaoh by Abraham, and the fact that,
as a result, “Pharaoh and his household” had been struck “with severe diseases”
(12:17)?
So returning to Isaac again, we find that his purported
reasoning, that of fear of being killed, rings somewhat hollow. It seems
that he was relying on the Abrahamic pattern, almost hopeful that his wife’s
beauty, along with his reporting that she was his sister, would lead to her
being taken up as a wife just as his mother had been, which would thereby lead
to greater wealth for himself. Why not? His father had been given
the covenant, and had done these things and prospered. Why should the
son, who had also been given the covenant, not also engage in such
activities? It seemed to portend an extension of divine blessings.
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