But, considering human nature and the way of the world, it is not at all surprising that the Philistines, rather than turning from the worship of their false fertility gods, became envious—covetous—of Isaac.
Rather than respond positively to the witness of Isaac’s prosperity, the Philistines throw him out. The relationship sours. Further, the mighty Isaac, for his part, rather than using his wealth to enforce his “rights,” which is exactly what many carnal people would have done in this same circumstance, simply packs up and moves on. He goes to the Valley of Gerar, probably slightly to the west of Gerar proper. There, his workers re-dig the wells Abraham had earlier commissioned. More than mere refurbishment, Isaac restores their original names, the names Abraham gave them. The Philistines showed poor land management by filling in the wells. If you want water, seize the wells and maintain them. Do not just fill them in with dirt out of spite—especially if you live in an arid climate. We shall come back to the matter of proper land use in just a minute.
The account also indicates that, along with destroying the wells, the Philistines had renamed their locales. They probably did so in an attempt to obliterate Abraham’s memory from the area, similar to the destructive act of toppling statues today. The Philistines wanted to rewrite history. Isaac would have none of that sort of culture cancelling, as we term it today.
In their well-digging endeavors, Isaac’s people even find a spring, that is, running water, so rare and so valuable in that area. The Philistines quickly confiscate it. Verses 21 and 22, which we did not read, notify us that this happens a second time. However, Isaac is able to hold on to his claim of a third spring his workers discover. Things seem to be going well. But notice the sudden turn of events:
At any rate, I am not sure how peacefully the Philistines sent Isaac away up there in verse 16. Remember, the context of Isaac’s departure from Gerar, as stated in verse 14, is that the Philistines envied Isaac—coveting his wealth. Relations had become strained—as reflected in the frequent and apparently protracted struggles over water rights. But the Philistine diplomats paint the picture in sanguine colors, referring to their “peaceful” relationship. These were consummate politicians.
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.
