November 2, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.” (Genesis 25.11)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As we enter in a new phase of the story of Abraham, tracking through the life of Isaac, Abraham’s only son, we ought to remember first that Isaac at this time was without his father and his mother. It is not that Isaac was a young man being orphaned by any stretch of the imagination. Isaac was seventy-five years old (and Ishmael would have been eighty-eight) when Abraham died and was buried at Mamre beside Sarah. What Isaac was not without was the patriarchal promise from God. This is amplified by the very place where Isaac lived in the Negev at Beer Lahai Roi. We know this place from the story of Hagar and Ishmael. It was the well in the wilderness where God found her and redirected her to return to her mistress’s home; that being, of course, Sarah. We should remember in that story, Hagar addressed God as “the One has seen me.” Thus, the meaning of the place where this happened and where Isaac lived was “the well of the Living One who sees me.” Isaac is not invisible even though he lives in the Negev amidst all the history played out in the life of his father and mother there. He is not overshadowed by the vast reputation of his father who was well respected in the region. Isaac now stands alone under the blessing of God. He is not under the watchful eye of his mother who sought to protect his birthright by faith. Nor was he under the rule of his father as head of the household and the power to arrange and direct his life. He is now solely under the watchful eye of Jehovah Jireh, “the One who supplies.” It is a new chapter for the people of God who carry on the promise of redemption from Satan’s rule of sin over all their lives. There would be a “deliverer” that would come from the descendants of Adam and Eve. Notice, however, it is from the true line of Adam and Eve which implies not necessarily by blood but by faith and faithfulness. The story of Abraham is what proves that out. We see it especially in the story of Isaac whose life was spared not by the blood of Abraham but by “the blood of the Lamb” of God “who sees” and “provides. It is the same God for you and me. This is the God we praise and commit to with our very lives. We lay down our lives for others because of the life laid down for us.

TODAYS’ PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.