So it is very clear here that Isaac was a good man, a righteous man. He was trying to do things God’s way and he was also a very successful man. He reaped a hundredfold and the blessing here is said to have come from God.
This is how much God had blessed him. It says he had lots of servants. Of course, if he had great herds and great flocks, he needed a lot of people to help him. So he had a huge entourage, as it were, all these people depending on him, and he got so mighty, so powerful, so rich and prosperous that it made the king of Gerar envious and fearful that Isaac was going to become the ruler of the land. He would be the one that people would turn to. He would take over. So he peremptorily orders him “Out of here! Leave Gerar. Go further away.”
This is where the problem begins. It is not the fact that God had blessed Isaac so much, that really should not have been a problem. The problem was the Philistines looked at all that Isaac did—and all the bounty, and the produce, and the abundance that he had—and they envied his wealth. And, of course, with wealth comes growing power.
So, they did things against Isaac, in their envy, and they stopped the wells, and finally they just flat-out told him to take a hike—to leave the country—because it was too much for them to bear and they were afraid. So you have envy and fear happening right here. It is causing a breach between Isaac and Abimelech.
Did he stay around and fight them? Remember, he became very great. Now, when we understand, let us say, about Abraham's greatness, Abraham was able to put together an army. I want you to think about this. In a way, this is what Isaac inherited. Do you think Isaac could have put together an army? Oh yes, he could have because in his own right, he too was a king just like this Abimelech. But in his humility, he did not take the title at all. So Isaac just picked up and left.
