1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.
The soul established in a consciousness of Serenity, Peace, Laughter, Joy (Isaac), accepts spiritual things as real. When there is a need of substance the serene, joyous side of the soul through mind activity penetrates into the subconscious (Gerar), where there is an abundance of all things. But here, the Personal Will (Abimelech) rules.
2 And YHVH appeared to him, and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham, your father.
4 I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves:
5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister"; for he feared to say, "My wife," thinking, "lest the men of the place should kill me for the sake of Rebekah"; because she was fair to look upon.
8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah, his wife.
9 So, Abimelech called Isaac, and said, "Behold, she is your wife; how then could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'Lest I die because of her.'"
10 Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."
When a mind is not strong enough to work from principle or has not faith enough to trust YHVH, it exposes the beautiful and gracious side of its nature (Rebekah) to the undisciplined sense consciousness, the law is broken, and plagues result.
11 So, Abimelech warned all the people, saying, "Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death."
In this case however personal will has received enough light to perceive the truth and the threatened harm is averted.
12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. YHVH blessed him,
13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.
Isaac was working according to law, and he was prospering. The Isaac Faculty in man has a double mission. Isaac was the connecting link between Abraham and Israel; that is, between Faith in God and Authority or Manifestation of God.
14 He had possessions of flocks and herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.
15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.)
The Philistines represent evil material thoughts that "fill with earth" the channels of spiritual expression.
16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us; for you are much mightier than we."
17 So Isaac departed from there, and encamped in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there.
18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham, his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the names which his father had given them.
His activity in "unstopping" the wells dug by Abraham allegorizes the reopening of the hidden springs of life and the keeping of the soul consciously connected with its inner source. Isaac was not a well digger so much as a well "re opener." Abraham had dug the wells.
19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of springing water,
20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.
Isaac's first well was named Esek, a name signifying "violence" or "contention." A war takes place in the valley (the subconscious) between the Philistine herdsmen (the animal desires) and Isaac's servants (the awakening spiritual thoughts). The new energy and vigor of life that man gains by his conscious contact with Spirit is sought by the sense desires to be used at once for their gratification and pleasure. They would take this fine essence and energy to build up sense rather than to build up the spiritual nature. Thus contention and strife arise.
21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also; so he called its name Sitnah.
The second well was called Sitnah, a name that also signifies "strife" and "hatred." The materialistic thoughts (Philistines) do not give up easily but follow the individual a long way on his path to development of a spiritual consciousness.
22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and over that they did not quarrel; so he called its name Rehoboth, saying, "For now, YHVH has made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land."
However, Isaac's third well, called Rehoboth (a name signifying "broad places" or "enlargements"), was not taken by the Philistines. Material thoughts cannot continue to follow and annoy the man who is persistent in his determination to find the "water of life."
23 From there he went up to Beer-sheba.
24 And YHVH appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham, your father; fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants for my servant Abraham's sake."
25 So, he built an altar there and called upon the name of YHVH, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.
At this stage of the allegory appears Abimelech, King of the Philistines (metaphysically representing the Animal Will of the Materialistic Man). With him he brings Ahuzzath (selfishness) and Phicol ("speech") and tries to make an agreement with Isaac.
27 Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?"
28 They said, "We see plainly that YHVH is with you; so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you,
29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of YHVH."
The Will (Abimelech) believes that it is the rightful ruler of man and that all the rich substance that comes to man from Spirit is for the gratification of sense desires. Having witnessed the ever-increasing power and possessions of Isaac, who represents divine sonship, Abimelech (the Will) fears the loss of his own rule and possessions.
30 So, he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
31 In the morning they rose early and took oath with one another; and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.
The divine Son, Yeshua, does not destroy but fulfills and saves. Error eventually brings on its own destruction, but the error seems to flourish along with the good during a certain period of development; the wheat and tares are allowed to grow together until the harvest.
32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water."
33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
There were seven wells altogether, culminating in the one named Beer-sheba, "Well of the Oath" or "Seventh Well." The opening up of these seven wells symbolizes the establishment of a right relation in consciousness between the seven creative centers in natural man and the spiritual powers of the Spiritual Man. The whole allegory illustrates the struggle going on within man for the possession of the life generated in his body. This struggle takes place between the higher and the lower nature of the individual--the spiritual soul and the animal soul--at a certain stage of his development. Beer-sheba is the place where the altar of victory is set up and YHVH is given the thanks.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Be-eri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite;
35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
When Esau (the matrrialistic consciousness) reaches the age of forty years (the number forty denoting a certain degree of completeness) he takes two wives (makes union with two forces), Judith and Basemath. Judith (the feminine consciousness of prayer and praise) is the daughter of Beeri (limitation). Basemath (the ability to receive intuitively spiritual understanding and guidance) is the daughter of Elon (materiality and transitoriness). Because of the limiting, transient, material character of these forces, this union for a season is bound to bring trial and grief to the higher spiritual forces (Isaac and Rebekah) finding expression through the body consciousness (Esau).