13th May 2026

13th May 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Genesis 26 and Hebrews 11:20)


Message (Alan Burke) 


‘By Faith Abraham’, and ‘By Faith Isaac’. The thing is that these two men were equally as flawed, and Isaac made many of the mistakes his Da did, for he was a sinful man just like we are sinful. When we get to Genesis 26, we are told of how the Promises of God that had been first pledged to Abraham would be for Isaac, but then from that moment on, there is a sense that we’ve heard this all before, haven’t we? Déjà vu in a sense, for what we are seeing here we had seen before in the life of Isaac’s father, Abraham. Once more, there was a famine in the land at the time, but this time the Lord warns Isaac not to go down to Egypt; instead, he is told that he must dwell in the land that God would show him (Gen 26:1-2). God would be with Isaac and give him lands, multiply his offspring as the stars of heaven, and his offspring would have these lands, and all the nations on the earth shall be blessed through him.


So Isaac goes as the Lord had told him, yet just like Abraham, Isaac falls into the same trap as his father; instead of relying on God where he is, he instead, in the situation he found himself, tried a wee bit of DIY (Gen 20). What happens is that in fear, Isaac foolishly tried to pass off Rebekah as his sister (7-9). It is the pagan Abimelech that rebukes Isaac, the man of God, the pagan Abimelech who has a better moral compass than Isaac, who was living by faith. We learn in v8-10 how Abimelech saw Isaac caressing his wife; he summoned Isaac and rebuked him. 


Again, the message of Hebrews isn’t to be like, rather the message for all of us is to trust in the promises of God. While Isaac may have relied on himself, he was still trusting ultimately in the promises of God. Those words of verse 11, “By Faith Isaac”, actually each time it is said throughout Hebrews 11 and of those whom it is said of should give us comfort for all these men and women of faith in Hebrews were more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. For the message of Hebrews 11 isn’t to be like those listed there, nor is today’s message to be like Isaac, rather the message for all of us is to trust in the promises of God. To trust in Jesus Christ. For they, as we are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, just like Isaac.


There is an application I want to draw out for us here as we close. The world, the culture around us, in the main, rejects biblical morality; they try to silence that immediate revelation that God has put within each one of us that which God has written on our hearts. Yet sadly, there are times that the morality of those who do not claim to know Christ Jesus, our neighbours and our friends, can shine a light on our own behaviour. God even uses those outside His Church to challenge and rebuke those inside; in those situations, there is only one right thing to do, and that is repent, seek to change that behaviour. Isaac had no choice; he was a marked man by Abimelech, and in time, the people feared him for the Lord blessed him. Yet our God is faithful to forgive; otherwise, Isaac would not have been mentioned in Hebrews 11, none of those listed would. God’s plan of redemption is not derailed by the mess of our lives, our sinful actions; know that what matters here today is faith. What mattered for Isaac in the carnage of his life, he was saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The faith he had was in Christ; he was saved by Christ; the only faith that saves is in Christ! For every believer, it is by faith alone in Christ alone that we are saved. Just as Isaac was heavily flawed, he uses us who are likewise heavily flawed for His glory.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q66 What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?
A. The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is, a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God’s glory, and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.
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