Isaac's Exile: Dreams Unfulfilled

Isaac's Exile: Dreams Unfulfilled

Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: Gen. 26:12-13

You’ve heard the saying, “bloom where you’re planted.” Well, this is precisely what Isaac did. Due to Abimelech breaking his covenant to Abraham and thus Isaac, Isaac is forced to dwell in Philistine territory. Did Isaac complain, “LORD, Abimelech has broken his treaty with me and my father and he threw me out of the land for no good reason, except that he is jealous and threatened by the success You have brought me. Do something about LORD!” No, Isaac decided to bloom where he was planted.

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: Gen. 26:12-13

You may have been falsely accused or even put out by a jealous minister or ministry. Big plans for ministry of the fulfillment of a lifelong dream may have just been kicked out from underneath you like a three legged stool. You may have experienced some set back due to a divorce or a loss of a job. You may have experienced some set back or have been stopped just shy of reaching your goal and wonder why. Why; is at this point irrelevant. Romans 8:28 makes it so. Our only responsibility is to trust GOD and not blame Him. Trust that He will be your defense and see you through this time of disappointment and exile. After all, was it not in exile on the isle of Patmos that John received his famous Revelation that ends our Cannon of Biblical text? Great things happen in exile, it did for Isaac.

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: Gen. 26:12-13

Isaac’s exile was setting the stage for the nest big move of God in his life. Exile is a chance for blessings and growth that will help us reach our ultimate destiny in Him. Exile in Egypt set the stage for Joseph to be able to save his whole family from famine. Exile allowed Moses to regroup and grow into the leader GOD needed to bring his people out of Egypt in the Exodus. Exile allowed Daniel to set up a school for sages we know as Magi that would eventually come bearing gifts for the young King Yeshua Messiah. Exile raised up Ezra’s, Nehemiah’s, and Zerubbabel’s that rebuilt Jerusalem. Exile may not be a walk in the park, but sometimes is necessary for the fulfillment of GOD’s will for your life.