1 There was a famine in the land, besides athe first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to bAbimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: a“Do not go down to Egypt; live in bthe land of which I shall tell you.
3aDwell in this land, and bI will be with you and cbless you; for to you and your descendants dI give all these lands, and I will perform ethe oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
4 And aI will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; band in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
5abecause Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And ahe said, “She is my sister”; for bhe was afraid to say, “Sheis my wife,” becausehethought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she iscbeautiful to behold.”
8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac,1 showing endearment to Rebekah his wife.
Facing a famine like the one in Abraham's day, Isaac was about to repeat his father's action by going down to Egypt. However, God intervened, telling him not to go there. In essence, God directed Isaac to stay, to live by faith, and trusted that He would take care of him.
Genesis 26:1-2
Isaac was about to do the same thing that Abraham had done. When there was a famine in the land, he decided to go down to Egypt. However, in his case, God intervened, saying, "Do not go there." In a sense, He was saying, "Stay here. Live by faith. I will take care of you."
Facing a famine like the one in Abraham's day, Isaac was about to repeat his father's action by going down to Egypt. However, God intervened, telling him not to go there. In essence, God directed Isaac to stay, to live by faith, and trusted that He would take care of him.