And There Isaac's Servants Digged A Well

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(Genesis 26:25) "And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well."

Introduction:

Water is the most common substance on the earth. 70% of the earth's surface is water. 97% of all water is in the oceans. The availability of water has given rise to some of the great civilizations of history. Civilizations have fallen when water supplies failed. The reason being is that water is one of the great needs of life and essential to sustain life. People have killed over a muddy water hole. Man can live an average of 2 months without food, but only one week without water. In the semiarid climate of Palestine, the availability of water was priceless. In a land where water was scarce, wells were extremely important. It is not surprising that wells were a source of strife and fighting.

Wells in the Bible are often a type of the work of the Holy Spirit in a believers life.

(John 4:14) "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

Just as wells of water were essential to sustain physical life, the work of the Holy Spirit is essential to sustain spiritual life. If one lacks water they will die physically. If one does not experience the work of the Holy Spirit in their life they will die spiritually.

One must constantly drink of Heavens well if they are to survive spiritually. When you quit drinking you quit living. It is for this reason why every generation must experience the work of the Holy Spirit. We cannot live off what another generation experienced. There must be generational well digging. It is the story of Abraham's wells and the story of Isaac's wells. It is the story of one generation digging wells and the necessity of the next generation digging wells.

Notice 3 things in this story

1. The Clearing Of Wells From The Past Generation

(Genesis 26:15) "For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth."

A. We see Isaac remembering the wells of his father.

1. Wells that have been dug by our spiritual fathers.

a. Mid- 1700's The Great Awaking

B. We see Isaac reopening the wells of his father

1. After Abraham's death the enemy came and stopped up the wells that Abraham and his generation had enjoyed.

2. Sad but true many of the wells that our spiritual fathers had dug have either been stopped up or not being enjoyed by this generation today.

Illustration:

College water source was dwindling. The water came from a spring and flowed through a pipe to the college. The spring provided a constant flow of water. But one day they awoke to find but a trickle of water coming out of the pipe. The spring was still flowing so they knew that there must be something lodged in the pipe. They began to take the pipe apart and eventually they found a huge frog that was lodged in the pipe. There are a few frogs in our pipes!

3. The wells of our fathers have been stopped up by tradition, formalism, skepticism, indifference and sin.

4. The wells need to be unclogged and reopened.

5. We can be certain that the well has not dried up!

2. Claiming Wells In The Present Generation

A. We see the opening of new wells

(Genesis 26:19) "And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water."

(Genesis 26:21-22) "And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. {22} And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

(Genesis 26:25) "And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well."

1. He not only reclaimed that which his father had claimed, but he dug new wells and made his own claims

2. This is necessary for this generation as well. Thank God for the spiritual territory claimed by our forefathers, but we have got to claim spiritual territory as our own.

B. We see the opposing of new wells.

The devil never likes for wells to be dug in his territory. If you try to dig a well you can expect opposition. Isaac dug wells but he was fought each step of the way.

1. The first well was named Esek which means contention.

(Genesis 26:20) "And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him."

2. The second well was named Sitnah which means hatred.

(Genesis 26:21) "And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah."

C. We see the outcome of new wells.

(Genesis 26:24-25) "And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. {25} And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well."

1. God appeared to Him.

a. He was meeting the same God that his father had met.

b. He was hearing the same God that his father had heard.

c. He was encountering the same God the his father had encountered.

2. This meeting brought him into a new place of dwelling.

(Genesis 26:25) "And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well."

3. It revived his heart

(Genesis 26:25) "And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well."

4. It caused him to do even more.

(Genesis 26:25) "And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well."

3. Creating Wells For The Prospective Generation

(Genesis 26:32-33) "And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. {33} And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day."

A. His wells would be available to the next generation.

1. If we dig no wells we will leave no wells for the next generation.

B. His wells would be appropriated by the next generation.

C. His well was the place of an important appointment several generations later.

(John 4:1-15) "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, {2} (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) {3} He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. {4} And he must needs go through Samaria. {5} Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. {6} Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. {7} There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. {8} (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) {9} Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. {10} Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. {11} The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? {12} Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? {13} Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: {14} But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. {15} The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw."

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