# 33 - Isaac's Lie - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein, Isaac faces the consequences of his fear when he deceives the king of Gerar about his wife, Rebekah. This episode explores themes of fear, deception, and God's unwavering protection, even when we repeat the mistakes of the past.
Episode 33 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
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Today's opening prayer is inspired by Proverbs 14:5, “An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.”
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Show Notes:
(02:05) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(03:36) Isaac's Lie - Cinematic Retelling
(26:14) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
Previously on the Chosen people.
You've drawn the attention of Pharaoh's officials, and because of that, we should be prepared to tell them you're my sister, not my wife. This is for your protection as well as my own. If you've drawn the eye of a prominent Egyptian as your brother, my life would be spared.
So you'd lie, Abram, you would tell a half truth and deny me the protection of my husband. Lie to spare yourself and ship me off to an Egyptian warlord.
Sarah, I'm afraid I see too many similarities and these people to the ones we've dealt with in the past. I'm terrified for my life. As the heads of our people, we will be a target. I fear that they will use you against me or take you.
Oh worse.
We've survived this threat before, Abraham.
I know we.
I hope we do so again. I would all upon your loyalty as my wife again. I would have you tell everyone that you.
Are my sister.
Please do this for me, Please go along with this.
Smile him rest easily.
And Abraham was forced to watch as his wife was taken away from his care for a second time. His blood boiled with anger, not against Abimanak, but against himself.
Isaac, son of my servant Abraham, you have spent a lifetime following your father as he followed me. I come now to bless you to carry out the promise I made to your father through your lifetime.
Thank you, my God, you.
Do all what you ask for.
In the shadow of famine, the sins of the father linger whispering old lies to a new generation. Shallow, my friends from here in the Holy Land of Israel. I'm ya l Exstein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Welcome to the Chosen People. Have you been enjoying this podcast, well, I would be so grateful if you took a moment out of your day to follow, leave a review and share it with your friends. These small steps matter to me and they make a huge difference in getting the podcast out to the world. So thank you, Todara Batt, as we say in Hebrew, thank you for making the mission of this podcast possible. Now let's begin. What does it mean to walk in the footsteps of our fathers, to inherit not just their blods, but their flaws, to repeat their mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly. This dramatized Bible story inspired by Genesis twenty six one to eleven is a tale as old as time. If you've been following along so far, you'll see that it sounds familiar. Famine strikes the land, and Isaac, son of Abraham, faces a choice. Will he lean into faith or falter because of fear? The sins of the father, once buried, resurface in the life of the sun.
So you see, Master Isaac, we just discovery this morning. Has no wonder the cattle have been ranging like they once did. The streams out in the far fields are as dry as bones. In the troughs we have closer to Kamba are much better.
Though eyes have believed the shepherd, he still stooped to run a finger along the dry, crusty bottom of the trough standing before them. Sure enough, the grainy limestone felt as if it hadn't touched water for days, And this was the trough closest to their camp. He could only imagine the desolation at the ones further out.
I suppose it was only a matter of time and till the reports we've heard of famine made their way to us. I fear it's time for us to move on.
Hey, right you are, Master Azik or do you want us to drive the cow? Do we make Egypt along the King's Highway?
Yes, that would be our destination. I've heard that the lands on the Nile are never dead or even brown. It would be a long road to get there, but well worth our time and effort. We should prepare our rations for the long journey. We can make our final preparations to cross the desert when we get to Gara. Their kings the Bimlet were friendly to my father for many years, so that would be a favorable place to replenish our water, skins, and supplies before we crossed the desert.
I'll see to it, Master Issac.
Isaac thanked the shepherd and began walking back toward camp. He took no more than a dozen paces when the world around him became silent. He looked around, and though there were people in the distance, he could not hear them or anything else in his proximity. It was the same stillness he remembered from his childhood and from his encounter at his father's tomb. Isaac knelt in anticipation of hearing again from his god.
Isaac, son of my servant Abraham, do not go down to Egypt. You are to live in the land that I show you. You will remain in the land as a stranger, an alien. But I will be with you, and I will bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your offspring one day, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father, Abraham.
I will make your.
Offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky. I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring. All this will happen because Abraham listened to me and kept my mandates, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions.
Yes, my God, I will do what you have said, and I will change my plans and not go to Egypt. I will go to Garra and settle there during the famine. There I shall wait for your instructions.
When Isaac finished speaking, he felt the world around him spring back into life. He heard the shouting of his men in the distance, and the birds and insects resumed their chatter. Isaac stood and brushed the dust off his robes before he hurried to his shepherd to tell him of the slight change of plans, Isaac wondered why his God was blocking his way to Egypt, but then he decided that it was of no importance. Wherever his God was calling him, there he would go. He was determined to follow in his father's footsteps. Isaac found his wife and sons in their tent and told them the message he had received from their God.
I don't understand.
Why not go to Egypt?
No famine in Egypt?
Weren't you listening? Because God said not to?
Was good game in Egypt? Fish too riches.
You don't understand.
Jacob is right, Esaw. We will follow what your father and our God says. We must trust in this message. Sometimes we cannot see all the pieces on the board.
We will go to Garral and settle there until we hear something else.
Isaac and his family moved their caravan and all their herds east to Geira along the King's Highway. Isaac remembered the land from his youth, for this was where his mother had conceived, given birth to him, and he spent the earliest days of his youth. Isaac knew his father had established a covenant of peace, and even built wells in this land, but they had been in Hebron a long time, and Isaac had now buried both parents there. He wondered if the new king, the Ebemelech, as they were called here, would remember the peace previously established with his father. Perhaps this would be the first real test of Isaac's leadership as he stepped into his father's legacy fully. Isaac could barely cross the border into Gira when a company of guarded men rode out to meet with him.
Isaac, son of Abraham, be welcomed to Durrar. We Philistine, remember your father's time with us here and Jerrard. His influence and wealth were legendary. We understand he's been laid to rest and given to the care of our goddess of heaven Asterith, and you are now his heir. Our people were saddened to hear of his passing. You have our condolences.
Isaac could not help but note that the man did not extend his apparent words of friendship to him. He seemed to be the one who would need to be convinced.
Thank you, Ooseh. I trust as your people also remember the covenant of your former kings.
I you are asking if we will also honor the treaty of peace made between our two forbearers.
Isaac held the silence as the man took his measure. He wished his father was here, or Rebecca. They were adept at dabbling in politics. Eyes have preferred a plainer way of speaking. He didn't like hidden meanings or inferences. But he had learned from them that he should let his guests speak until they had finished all they had to say. He could hear Rebeccah's voice in his head. Don't give them an answer before you force them to speak as many of the intentions they're willing to give. The uncomfortable silence grew between the two men. The servants standing by the entrance shifted on his feet.
We are not men who break treaties. We trust in the wisdom of our abymelechs, as their power has been ordained by the gods. There are records of a treaty, but also notable exchanges of wealth and goods between your people and mine. Can I report back to my ebimelech that we can expect much the same from your regime of your people.
We were traded in living peace among your people. We have no plans of violence or harm.
I am relieved to hear it. Perhaps there are other ways we can ensure peace and prosperity among us. I could not help, but matters many fair women in your camp? Have you any daughters or sisters?
Isaac stiffened at the man's words. He knew enough from the man's seemingly benign tone that the man was implying more than a marriage pact. He was looking for a tithe of women, perhaps ones to bring into the fold of his king's harim. This would ensure the peace between them. They would become little more than political hostages and tokens. He had heard of such practices before.
I have no daughters, only sons.
Where well, that's a shame. Who was that woman lingering outside your tent when I walked in? She was uncommonly beautiful.
Isaac knew he should restrain his facial reactions. But the man was undoubtedly speaking of his wife, Rebecca. He knew from the stories he had heard of these Canaanite men that if he had a wife one of them coveted, they would stoop to vile actions to obtain what they desired, especially if the threat of violence was tenuous between their two peoples. He had just told them that he had sons like a fool. Rebecca was right. Perhaps he had just offered too much information. If this man desired Rebecca, or if he sought her for his abimelech, they could very well decide to take her. Kill Isaac and then install one of his sons in his place and do their dealings with him. His young sons would be left in such a vulnerable position Philistines would certainly use to their advantage, especially after the recent debarcle over the surrendered birthright of his eldest divided. They would never find their way without him and Rebecca to guide them. Panic welled up inside of Isaac. Panic that gave way to a hurried lie.
A woman outside my tent. I have a sister, but I'm not sure if she is the one of which you speak.
She looked to be of noble stock, like yourself. Her dress was a cut above everyone else. Is she your sister?
Yes, yes, my sister.
Not your wife.
No, no, she is not my wife.
I see well, Isaac, son of Abraham, we shall meet again. It appears we are to be neighbors and shall remain friendly. I will have you meet my King, once you are more settled here.
Yes, yes, we will await your invitation.
The man nodded respectfully to Isaac and then departed. Isaac sighed in relief when the man left, but immediately regretted his lie. He was now faced with convincing Rebecca to go along with this lie or stay out of sight, perhaps the latter if he wanted to avoid her being taken into the King's harim or as the wife of another merchant from Geera. Isaac was still considering his options when his wife stormed into the tent.
Isaac, what was that about? What did the emissary want? Are we safe to remain here in this land?
Yes, Rebecca, they remember the treaty was my father. We can pitch our tents here and remain on the land.
There's more. What are you not telling me?
Isaac grimaced. Nothing escaped Rebecca's notice. He couldn't put off telling her any longer.
Rebecca, he asked about you?
What do you mean?
You know what I mean?
What did you tell him about me?
I may have told him that you are my sister, not my wife, So you lied?
Well?
I mean, I had to think quick. I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. You've seen the look in his eye, the tone of his voice. This man was looking for any weakness to exploit. He was looking for anything to hold against me.
So to remove yourself from danger, you offered me up to these men. Are they to take me to the palace? Am I to become another man's wife?
No, my love, I would never let them do anything to you. We just need to think of a way out of this.
Did your father not tell us this story time and time again? Did he not do the same with your mother, Sarah? This lie will not go unnoticed by the stars. How could you be so dull and shortsighted? Well? I, oh, Isaac, how could you not think beyond the discomfort of the moment and think ahead. You have to plan, Isaac, You have to think about the long term effects of things you.
Do not understand. You've not lived among these people before. This is a den of brutal men.
And you just throw me into that den. Then, Isaac, you remember this place as a child, But you're not a child. You're a chief. You have power, you have influence. Why interact with these people like you have no agency? Do you always just lay down and let others have their way with you.
The words were like knives to Isaac's memory. He did indeed just lay down and let people do what they pleased. He stealed his will and pushed back toward his wife.
These are wicked people, Rebecca. They are dangerous. They will not honor our marriage. They would take you from me just despite me. And we have no daughters to offer their sons for an alliance. Then where would our boys be. I could not leave us in such a vulnerable position.
They will find us out and be furious that we were deceitful. You have put me in an impossible situation. Am I to honor you as my husband and lie to our hosts? Or am I to undermine you and expose us?
Rebecca? I am sorry. I was afraid. I could not think of what to do. If they ask you, tell them you're my sister. But keep to camp and stay out of sight. Perhaps we can find a way out of thisheca.
To Isaac's relief, did as he had asked of her. She kept to their tents and avoided leaving the camp to prevent being spotted by the outsiders. Isaac even abstained in visiting her or being seen with her. To keep up the illusion, A thankfully uneventful relationship settled between the city dwellers of Geira and Isaac's people outside their walls. Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. Isaac's wariness began to fade. No one had come to check in on their people or spy on their movements. Certainly, no bride price was offered up to Isaac for any of the women in his camp. He began to think that perhaps Abemelek and his men would leave his women, especially his wife alone. He had even successfully answered an invitation to meet with Abiemeleik at his palace and the topic was not broached. Feeling triumphant, Isaac decided he could risk some intimacy with his wife, had not spent any significant time together in months. Across the walls of the city. High in his quarters, Abemelech had woken early. The day would be hot. He could already tell the evening had barely cooled his tower, and he crossed to his window to draw back the fabric in a feeble attempt to coax a morning breeze into his bedroom. When he drew them back, he gazed upon the caravan of Isaac, son of Abraham. Below the tent stretched for almost a mile, but the closest tents were pitched along the walls of his city. They formed larger and larger circles as they moved away from the city. Abemelek marveled at its design from the vantage point of his tower. At the far end. Shepherds were beginning to drive the sheep and goats out to graze, but few others stirred yet in the early morning light. These Hebrews may not have been builders, but the scalability and flexibility of the their caravans was fascinating to him. It was so foreign. He could not imagine making his fortune and not building something of permanent stone or rock to flaunt it. How else would his people remember his legacy. Abimelech's thoughts were interrupted by movement below. A woman emerged from one of the tents. Even from this distance, he could tell she was striking a rare beauty. This had to be the woman his adviser had spoken.
Of, the sister.
None of his spies had seen her since a Juzad had gone to meet with Isaac on that first day, the day she was named as his sister, but this lovely woman standing alone outside the tent had to be her. Her dress marked her as a woman of nobility, but her head was covered, so from what he knew of the Hebrew customs, she was a married woman. Only unmarried women and then prostitutes had their heads uncovered. Isaac not told Ahuzad she was married. Perhaps Isaac could part with her for a generous bride price. Abimelek was wary of the wealth Isaac had brought to his city. Taking one of his family into his harim would be a way to maintain control and insure peace between them. He could not stomach the thought of someone else, especially a foreigner, having more influence than him and in his own city. At that Abimelek was just about to leave the window to go send for Ahuzad to begin the process when he saw Isaac emerge from the same tent and approach the woman. He was moving with stealth, though there was no one else around. Isaac embraced her suddenly, and with revulsion, Abimelek realized he was being playful. He frowned as he put the pieces together. Based on their familiarity, the two had just shared an intimate evening, and this was perhaps the start of another intimate moment. While that Abemelek was the sole witness to Isaac caressed the woman, and Abemelek embarrassingly turned away from the window. He could not stomach the idea of treating with Isaac with that image burned into the back of his mind. But embarrassment quickly faded to fury as he realized that this woman he had sworn up and down to his adviser was not his sister. He had outright denied that she was his wife, but this scene below his window left no doubt.
In his mind.
Isaac had lied, and Abemelek had been deceived. And if there was one thing Abemelek did not relish, it was being made to look like a fool. Palms sweating, and nervously shifting on his feet, Isaac was standing in the great receiving hall of the Abemelek in his palace. He had been unceremoniously called by an emissary to report immediately to Abemelek. He did not have long to wonder why he was being called before Abemlek before he burst into the room, Fury written all over his face.
Liar, the woman is really your wife?
How could you tell my man paused that.
She was your sister?
Isaac had no idea how Abe Maleg found out the truth. He had been so careful. Why it was only that night and mourning that he had been with her at all. But they had been outside the tent this morning. Isaac's cheeks reddened at the thought of having had an audience without realizing it. Isaac fumbled for something to say before the king.
I Ah, I hid the truth, yes, but it was because I thought I might die on account of her. I was afraid of having a beautiful wife would place a target on my back.
What have you done to us?
Do you think us so lawless that we would.
Steal another man's wife?
Have you not realized now the influences of your father and your father's God have affected us. We learned from our histories, as it seems you have not. We and Gharah remember what happened when an abimelech took a wife from one protected by the God of Abraham. Your deception left my men open to a great sin. One of them could have easily and unknowingly slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.
Habemelek's words shamed Isaac. Here he was being rebuked by a pagan king for forgetting his own god's past provision. Isaac mocked God's promise when he took matters into his own hands. His own wife had even warned him not to repeat his father's mistakes. Isaac was not sure what to say to Abemelek in his embarrassment, but fortunately he was spared when Abemelek continued.
You are fortunate, indeed that it was I who discovered this deception. If judgment were to be brought upon my household or my city from your father's god, I could not guarantee that peace would remain between us. My hand could have been forced to take action against you.
I understand, your highness of Bemelech.
I have indeed already taken action. I have sent word to my court and the law enforces of my city. I have ordered that any man who harms you or your wife will certainly be put to death.
Isaac's knees buckled with relief and awe that his God, the god of his father, had again intervened with Abemelekh despite his deception, despite his repeating the mistakes of his father. Isaac then supposed that this rescue and protection from Abimelek was as good a sign as any, and that they will be safe to settle in Geira until the famine passed in the land of Canaan.
Doesn't this Bible story give you a weird sense of deja vu? Like you've heard this one before. Isaac is in Gerar and there's Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, And then out of fear, Isaac tells everyone that Rebecca's his sister. Deja vu all over again. Didn't we just watch Abraham do the same thing twice. We're still in the Book of Genesis in the beginning, and again and again and again we see this all too human pattern of repeating mistakes many times because of fear. But then there's this moment. Abimele sees Isaac and Rebecca together and he knows. Abimelech knows, and so so he confronts Isaac. Abimelech isn't angry, not really, He's more protective. Why did you say that she was your sister? You could have brought guilt upon us, he said, And in a twist, I never expect. No matter how many times I read the story in the Bible, Abimelech orders his people to protect Isaac and Rebecca. We read this story, we see Isaac's fear and his sin, and we expect judgment. But instead we incredibly find grace. God's grace says. If God is saying, even in your fear, even in your deceit, I am here, I protect, I provide. It's a reminder for Isaac and for all of us, as God's chosen people, that no matter how often we act out of fear, no matter how many times we repeat the same mistakes, God's grace still finds us. This Bible story, like so many stories throughout Scripture, assures me and can assure all of us that God's grace is enough. Have you ever tried the old because I said so argument with your children. I don't know about you, but my kids are not very big fans, and having been a kid myself a long time ago, but I still remember exactly where they're coming from. Because I said so doesn't really sound like a good reason to have to do something that you don't want to do. It sounds like I don't feel like explaining the reason to you, or it sounds like another way to say there's no good reason at all, but that's what I decided. Either way, it's a frustrating thing to hear, but you know there's a deeper lesson behind I told you so. When I tell one of my kids to do something because I said so, what I'm really saying is that I want them to do it because I'm their mother. I want them to value what I ask of them for that reason alone, regardless of the specific need or reasoning that led to the request. I just want them to listen to me because I'm their mother, and because they respect me, and because they trust me, and because they love me. Well, isn't the same true of our relationship with God. We all yearn for God to come speak to us, to guide us, to tell us what he wants from us, And then the struggle comes when we also want to know why God wants us to listen to him because of our relationship with him and because we trust him, not because we understand his divine plan. And this truth shines through in this Bible story. When Isaac faced to famine, he naturally gravitated towards Egypt, but God intervened and commanded him to stay in the land of On. Notice how God communicated this to Isaac. First, God said, do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live. And then God commanded Isaac to very clearly quote stay in this land end quote. God could have explained why. He could have listed the warnings of what chaos would ensue if he left. He could have given all the reasons why he shouldn't go to Egypt. But God didn't explain himself because he was conveying a deeper message. He was showing how he's all knowing and what he wants is our devotion. He desires us to accept his words, regardless of the details. When we show that we are listening to God, that we are willing to go where he leads and do what he asks, our obedience becomes a true sign of our devotion. We serve God not because we understand his plan. Rather, we serve God simply because he said so. Now, like I said, when I was a child, I didn't appreciate it very much when my own abba my father told me because I said so. I remember thinking when I grew up, I'll never say that to my children, and of course as mother A four, I've said that a few times, and I now understand why parents and God say that. By having you also found yourself doing something that your parents did that you wish you didn't do. You ever find yourself repeating a behavior that when you were a child, your parents did to you, and you didn't like it. You actually said that you would never do that. I know I do. And isn't that what Isaac is doing here in this Bible story, telling the same kind of lie that his wife is his sister that his own father told twice. We've already seen that when Abraham told these lies, it was clearly a sin. But maybe Isaac, even though it was wrong, thought he had to be a carbon copy of his father, Abraham the Patriarch. Maybe this early on in his own leadership of the Chosen People, Isaac hadn't yet developed his own personality in his own leadership style. Only later would Isaac learn that he didn't need to be exactly like his father, He just needed to be himself. That's a really important lesson for all of us, isn't it. We love our parents, we respect our parents, but at some point we realized that we're different people than our parents. We have a different calling on our lives than our parents, and what God wants of us is simply to be ourselves. Even as this story teaches lessons about ourselves and about trusting God, it's still such a human story, one of fear and deceit to talk about how Christians view these themes of this story of Isaac's life of imminent danger and the needs resist fear and dishonesty is our good friend, Bishop.
Paulineer, thank you, yeah, l I'm so happy to be in this chapter twenty six and it begins revealing to us that there's a famine, but Moses is determined that we understand that this is not the same famine that Abraham had to deal with. No, this is a different famine. And God speaks directly to Abraham's decision in his famine of traveling down. Anytime we leave the will of God, it's down traveling down to the land of Egypt. And of course that's when Hagard became part of their story. Synchronicity. How's that for a phrase? I like that Divine synchronicity really is such a part of our covenant conversation with our God. It's being at the right place at the right time. Really, if it's not the right time, it's not going to be the right place.
It's being at the.
Right place at the right time, with the right people, doing the right thing. That opens us up fully to what God is wanting to do in our lives and the words he's wanting to speak to us. And when we stray from those steps he's ordered for our living well, we open ourselves up to faces and voices and are not necessarily assigned to us. But God commanded Isaac to remain in that space and instill doing. God says, I'm going to bless you now, and I'm going to prosper you and this herds in this flocks and all the great things. Sometimes we have to say to ourselves, we just have to speak faith into our own hearts and say, I'm not denying this famine, but it's not mine. This is not my famine, this is not my recession, this is not my diagnosis. Again, we're not denying the reality of something. We're just declaring the greater reality of God's word in our life, and we are denying the authority of that famine. In our life, and it's not to sound or seem or to be heartless against people who are hurting or suffering. We are to have compassion, and we do, but we recall the words of p. Ninety one that promises that whoever dwells say that word with me dwells dwells on the shelter of the most high. We'll rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Let's go back to the beginning, the very beginning, when the unruly and chaotic sees thrashed under an untamed universe, God spoken life, and light burst forth. The Jewish age is, along with Christian theologians who came after all, agree on this one fact. The universe was created through God's truth. Truth brings order, truth creates, and lies do the opposite. They so chaos, they destroy, they bring confusion. You know, you may feel fearful, like Isaac and Abraham once did. That fear may drive you to dishonesty and to lose trust in God. But instead be brave, be truthful, and trust in God. He can bless us during the famines in our own lives and make us gloom in the middle of our own deserts. If we distrust in him. Here's a final blessing for you. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. And Now. In Hebrew, varech hashenvi schmrecher yea eraschempave lechra verroncher ye sampanave lechra shaloon Amen.
You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Egstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yaile Egstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.