Tag: hundred-fold return
Abundant prosperity!
Scripture reading for January 9th: Genesis 23-27
Cause for Thanksgiving: Genesis 26:1-3, 13-14 “Now there was a famine in the land–besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time–and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.” “. . .Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundred-fold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”
Isaac was caught in a famine and sought help. The Lord God appeared to him with instructions to stay put and He would bless him. Isaac obeyed the Lord and God blessed him in a land of famine with a “hundred-fold” return and wealth that caused envy of the heathen!
Thanks to our Lord: Jesus promises up to a “hundred-fold return” to those who heard the Word of God and acted on it! We are in on a secret that gives us wealth beyond measure in the heavenly realm! “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
Isaac the farmer and well-digger!
Scriptures for January 10th: Genesis 25-26
On our farm in Iowa, we had a dug well that was 110 feet deep. (Not a drilled well!) This well was about 4 feet across and my father and his dad and brothers had helped dig this well and brick it up. Occasionally, we would set up a tower with a rope and a basket and my dad would be lowered into the well to check the bricks and eliminate roots that were growing in through the wall. It always amazed me that Dad said he could see the stars from the bottom of that well in broad daylight.
Because of a famine, Isaac camped in the Valley of Gerar in the land of the Philistines and reopened the wells of his father Abraham. The well provided precious water in the desert that enabled crops, animals and humans to have refreshing and life. They provided a gathering place for communities to get this water daily for their use. (Jesus met the woman at the well in John chapter 4.) Wells also provided a means to increase a family’s wealth and provide for offspring. They were also a source of quarreling in Isaac’s day. Rather than fight over the wells, Isaac went to another location and dug a new well. God blessed him to find a fresh supply of water wherever he went.
Because of a famine, Isaac went to Gerar of the Philistines. It was there that God gave him the promise of the land and descendants as the stars in the sky as He did to Abraham. (Genesis 26:2-6) Isaac obeyed and planted crops that year. God blessed him with a hundred fold return! It wasn’t his farming skill but God’s blessings that made the difference! Jealousy caused the Philistines to stop up the wells of Abraham that Isaac had been using. He moved on and dug new wells and God provided fresh water every time! God met him at Beersheba and blessed him! (Genesis 26:24-25) Isaac responded with an altar and another well.
The lesson for us is to dig for water wherever we are planted. We dig by going to Jesus and asking daily for His will and provision. If we seek the Lord for direction, He will bless us, even in a famine! When you dig a well and the hole is deep, look up and see the stars and remember God’s promise to Abraham and Isaac! May the laughter (Isaac–Ha ha ha) of faith fill your life! May we, like Isaac, leave a legacy of wells of refreshing and blessing everywhere we go! May we re-dig the wells of our godly fathers!
“Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.” Genesis 26:19
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14