11.9.26 – Hide and Seek

Where did he go (Gen. 22:5, 19)? Abraham said that he and Isaac would go and worship together and that they would come again (Gen. 22:5). After the Akedah, only Abraham comes back (Gen. 22:19). Where did Isaac go? Why does he not show again until after the servant finds a bride for the son (Gen. 24:62–67)? Chapter 23 has Abraham mourning the death of Sarah in Hebron. The servant is in Haran, at Laban's house, procuring a bride for Isaac. Where was Isaac all this time? Strangely enough, he is at the refuge well of Hagar and Ishmael—where God sees me, Be'er Lachai Roi (Gen. 24:62)—a long way from anything.

Why was Isaac there? Why did he not return with Abraham? Why was he not with his mother? Why was he not with the servant? So many questions!

The three mentions of this well give us insight (Gen. 16:14; 24:62; 25:11)! When Hagar the stranger—who was despised (hallel, treated with little value)—runs away from Sarai (Gen. 16:1–16), she meets the angel at the well of the God who sees me, which is located between Kadesh (holy) and Bered (hail) (Gen. 16:13–14).

In the refuge of Be'er Lachai Roi, Isaac is in a time of mourning for the loss of his mother. He is in the field meditating (suach) when he sees Rebekah coming (Gen. 24:63; Ps. 102:1). Both Isaac and Hagar experience mourning in the same place and receive comfort provided by the One who sees. Connecting this well with Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, and Sarah is the unfortunate, competitive sin of mocking; their mouths filled with kalal (curses) (Prov. 9:8).

Power struggles within the home lead to mocking. Isaac, in his aloneness, cried out to the Lord and found comfort through the humble act of prayer and meditation. So why did Isaac choose to go to Hagar and Ishmael? It is a good thing that he did. It is hope for each of us who may have been a Hagar or Ishmael. He must have been rebuilding burnt bridges. Some believe—I being one of them—that Hagar changed her mocking mindset, repented, and was renamed Keturah (Gen. 25:1–4). We can only guess, but we do know he spent a significant amount of time there.

It appears that there was some mending of the relationship, since both Isaac and Ishmael bury their father in Hebron at the cave of Machpelah. Later, Esau marries an Ishmaelite woman (Gen. 28:9), and King David's sister marries an Ishmaelite man (1 Chron. 2:17), the commander of the army of Judah (1 Kings 2:32).

Obviously, Isaac's time in Be'er Lachai Roi produced good fruit hundreds of years later with the Ishmaelites... ah, the beauty of intercession between holiness and destruction. When you are convinced that the Lord sees you, your need for approval from those in authority over you—or under your authority—will decrease. No need to compete or compare. It is then that the ones who love you will come to you of their own free will. Prayers are answered. Reconciliation with enemies comes. Comfort enters your tent.

That is Isaac's man-cave mentality! A great place and a great activity between his "resurrection" and "taking his bride."

Our journey continues through Genesis. Can you relate?

Shalom!
Alan

www.lightintorah.org

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