When a couple gets married, they vow to love, honor, and be faithful to one another “until death do us part.” How well they keep those promises has a defining effect on their relationship. If those promises are broken, their relationship suffers.

Genesis 26 opens with the line “there was a famine in the land” (v. 1). Famines were common in ancient Canaan, but that did not make them any less horrific. Hunger drove people to uproot their lives to seek food. In this part of the world, most people would survive by heading to Egypt. Because of the annual flooding of the Nile River, Egypt was not dependent on rain for their crops and was often insulated from famine.

Isaac traveled to Gerar seeking food. He was perhaps heading to Egypt, since Gerar was on the way. Here, the Lord appeared and warned him, “Do not go down to Egypt” (v. 2). Isaac was not to rely on his own ability or on the wisdom of the world to survive this famine but only on God. This is the first time in the Bible where God tells someone, “I will be with you” (v. 3). God affirmed the promise He made to Abraham, to multiply Isaac’s descendants and give them the land of Canaan (vv. 3–4). God called Isaac to believe in and trust His promise, just as his father had (v. 5).

God has promised to be with His children today (Matt. 28:20). He has promised that, if we have faith in what Jesus has done for us, we can be forgiven and have eternal life with Him (John 3:16).