And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
Isaac has left Gerar and settled in the valley, where his father's old wells lie filled in with earth. His servants dig, and what they find — water that rises on its own — shapes the rest of the chapter and pictures both what God gives and what it costs to keep.
The place matters as much as the find. One writer draws attention to the fact that the spring turned up at the bottom of the land rather than on its heights:
"A well of spring water" — in Hebrew, living water. It is in the low places that the living water is found.
Another writer looks at what the valley lacked at first, and at our own low seasons:
The valley was a good place, but there was no water; the wells that Abraham his father had dug had been stopped by the Philistines. (Sometimes the valley is a valley of tears for us, but even then the Lord can fill the pools, and give us joy in the place of sorrow.)
Living water is not stored water. The difference between a well and a man-made tank is the point:
The word is sometimes used in other ways, yet in Proverbs 5:15 the well is distinct from the cistern as the place of "running," or "living," water. Such wells were those that Isaac dug, not mere artificial cisterns, as we find in Genesis 26... Should not all the children of God want to live beside such wells? — where not only our energy shows itself, but much more, the energy of the Spirit of God... May not, and should not, every one of God's Isaacs be, in his measure and way, a well-digger? What blessedness for him who has in this way not simply the ministry of others, but his own springing well!
Flocks and herds are no use without water. One writer turns the digging into a plain duty for God's people:
The children of God will do well to hold what Isaac held so firmly — that God takes care of His own promises and covenants with His people, for He "will not give His glory to another." And they must take care to dig their wells, and to uncover those which the craft or power of the enemy may have stopped. Of what use was the increase of flocks and herds... if the Abrahams and Isaacs did not do their part by digging the wells of water for them to drink? This is their responsibility.
One writer looks at who Isaac was as he found this well:
Isaac stood as a picture of two things at once: the heir of all promise, and the heir in resurrection too, for Abraham received this son back from the dead in a figure. How fitting, then, that he is the one who finds this well of living water! And we may truly say that good well-digging is only possible for us as we realise and take the place of union with Christ in resurrection-life and power... All other springs are dry.
One writer follows the picture through to Christ Himself:
The Philistines had been stopping the wells and had filled them with earth, but Isaac dug them again and called them by his father's names. So there were later "Philistines" who sought to destroy Christ, and for a time they seemed to succeed in checking the streams of blessing. But Isaac (Christ in resurrection) unstops the fountains of grace, and he calls them by the same names. That is, Christ in resurrection carries on His usual work of mercy on the same essential principles as from the beginning.
Gerar's herdsmen claim the water as soon as it appears, and Isaac names the well after the quarrel. He would not fight for it:
Isaac named the spring Esek, meaning "contention," but "the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome" (2 Timothy 2:24), and instead of continuing the strife, Isaac dug another well. However, this too became a matter of contention (v. 21), to the point that Isaac named it Sitna, meaning "hatred."
The next well brought no fight at all:
Driven further and further away, he dug another, "and for that they strove not"; and he named it Rehoboth, for the Lord had made room for him, and he added, "we shall be fruitful in the land." There is always room, together with blessing, for the people of God in the place of separation.
- Low. The living water turns up in the valley, not on the heights. Even when the valley is one of tears, the Lord gives joy in the place of sorrow.
- Living. A well is not a cistern. This water springs up of itself: we supply the digging, and the Spirit of God supplies the flow.
- Dig. The water was already there, but under the enemy's earth. Isaac's work was to uncover it, and the same responsibility rests on God's people.
- Risen. Isaac is the heir received back from the dead in a figure. The well fits him, and good well-digging follows only as we take our place with Christ in resurrection.
- Room. Every well was fought over — contention, then hatred — until Isaac reached Rehoboth. There is always room and blessing for God's people in the place of separation.
But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him.
Isaac's servants dig in a valley and strike fresh water, and at once the local herdsmen claim it. The name he gives the well records the quarrel, not the victory — and that choice tells us much about the man and about what God was teaching him.
Here is the well in short — where it was, who dug it, and how it got its name.
A well in the valley of Gerar, dug by the servants of Isaac, and fought over by the servants of Abimelech; so it got its name, which means "strife." Gen. 26:20.
Both sides had a claim to the water. One writer traces the trouble to that clash.
Of all disputes, perhaps the hottest are those that break out between herdsmen and herdsmen, among the flock of God. The right that came from digging clearly belonged to Isaac, for his servants found the well of flowing water. But the right that came from owning the land still belonged to Abimelech. Out of this came the confusion and strife of that day. The same clash keeps the quarrels among herdsmen going today.
Isaac names the strife but does not join it. A commentator sets his response beside a rule for the Lord's servants.
Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found a spring of living water. But the herdsmen of Gerar fought over it, claiming that the water was theirs. Isaac named the spring Esek, meaning "contention," but "the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome" (2 Tim. 2:24). So instead of continuing the strife, Isaac dug another well.
Another writer weighs what that restraint says about Isaac's character.
But Isaac did not turn from the meekness that suits the man of God, gentle to all, and patient with those who opposed him. Nor was his dependence on God left long without an answer. For moving on from there he dug another well, and they did not quarrel over that one. Contention was as far from his spirit as ingratitude would have been toward the Almighty Protector of the man who must not strive.
The three wells form a sequence. One writer reads it as God moving Isaac out of a place outside his calling.
A slow and painful process teaches Isaac that he must leave the land of the Philistines for good. Each well he had to dig marks a stage in that process. First came "contention"; then "hatred"; then "room." Having found "room," and shut out from the company that hampered him, he moves on to Beersheba, at the edge of the land. He again takes the place of a stranger and pilgrim, depending on God; and the moment he does, he gets his reward. "The Lord appeared to him the same night," and blessed him. The discipline had produced sanctification, and he builds an altar and worships. It had taught him one lesson: better to have a little with God than great possessions in a place outside his calling.
The digging carries a picture beyond Isaac's own lifetime.
The Philistines had blocked the wells (v. 15) and filled them with earth. Isaac dug them out again (v. 18), and "he called their names after the names by which his father had called them." Later there were "Philistines" who tried to destroy Christ, and for a time they seemed to succeed in blocking the streams of blessing. But Isaac (Christ in resurrection) unstops the fountains of grace, and he calls them by the same names. That is, Christ in resurrection carries on His usual work of mercy on the same essential principles as from the beginning.
A warning follows, for those who argue for years instead of moving on.
These two wells, Esek and Sitnah, set instructive lessons before us. How many of the Lord's people shrink from separation as they would from a snake! They keep on with the quarrels and disputes, until the arguers grow worn out by everything that first gave their conflict its character. Then they give in, and say when they are fainting that the birthright is of no use to them — and sell it like Esau for a bowl of stew!
- Esek — the name means "strife." It marks the well Isaac's servants dug in the valley of Gerar and Abimelech's servants claimed.
- Two claims — Isaac's right came from digging; Abimelech's came from owning the land. Commentators note that the hottest disputes break out between herdsmen and herdsmen among God's flock.
- Digging, not disputing — Isaac answers the claim by moving on and digging again. He keeps the meekness of a man who depends on God.
- Room — contention, then hatred, then room, then Beersheba. God used the loss to bring Isaac out of Philistine land into worship and blessing.
- Reopened wells — blocked springs opened again picture Christ in resurrection. He unstops the fountains of grace and works on the same principles as before.
And they dug another well, and they strove for that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah.
Isaac has reopened his father's wells and found fresh water, but each one has drawn sharper opposition. Why does a man God has blessed keep meeting a fight, and what does he do about it?
Translators give the name more than one shade of meaning, and all of them are hostile.
This is the name of a well that Isaac's servants dug and Abimelech's servants then seized. Gen. 26:21. Fürst says it means "strife." Gesenius says "contention." In Ezra 4:6 the same word appears as an ordinary noun, and there it means "accusation."
Read alongside the first well, the two names mark a rising temperature. One writer sets them side by side:
"And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, The well is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek [conflict]. They dug another well and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah [hatred]."
Digging again did not solve the problem, because the problem was where Isaac was standing. Commentators see God pressing a man who would not leave Philistine country.
God told Isaac to live in the land as a stranger, but Isaac does not obey. He does not go until Abimelech tells him to leave... He tries three times in a row to stay among the Philistines, and fails each time. God would force him back to his right place. He reopens the wells that Abraham had made. He acts as if the Philistines would be kinder to him than they were to his father. He digs for himself, and finds contention (Esek). He digs again, and feels their hatred (Sitnah). At last he gets within the border, and there he finds room (Rehoboth).
Losing ground to opposition is not the end of the story.
Notice also that every new well dug stirred up further enmity from the Philistines (vv. 19-21). Driven farther and farther away, he dug another well, and "they did not quarrel over it." He named it Rehoboth, because the Lord had made room for him, and he added, "we shall be fruitful in the land." There is always room, and blessing with it, for the people of God in the place of separation.
What Isaac did not do carries the weight of the verse. He had the better claim — his servants had done the digging — yet he let it go.
Isaac did not lose the meekness that suits the man of God. He was gentle to everyone, and patient with those who opposed him... Strife was as far from his spirit as ingratitude would have been toward the Almighty who protects the man who must not strive.
Giving way was not weakness. Isaac kept working, and he moved instead of fighting.
Isaac named the spring Esek, meaning "contention." But "the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome" (2 Tim. 2:24), so instead of keeping up the strife, Isaac dug another well. This well too became a matter of contention (v. 21), and Isaac named it Sitna, meaning "hatred." The wise thing for him to do then was to move away from the place before digging another well.
There is a cost to staying in a fight instead of separating from it:
These two wells, Esek and Sitnah, set instructive lessons before us. How many of the Lord's people shrink from separation as they would from a snake! So they go on with the contentions and strifes. In the end the disputants grow weary of everything that first gave their conflict its character. They give in and say, when exhausted, "Of what use is a birthright to me?" Then they sell the birthright, like Esau, for a bowl of stew!
The names mark stages, and the discipline had an aim:
By a slow and painful process, Isaac learns that he must leave the land of the Philistines completely. Each well he had to dig marks one stage of that process. First "contention," then "hatred," then "room." Having found room, he is free from the association that held him back. He takes the place of a stranger and pilgrim again, depending on God. The moment he does so, he gets his reward: "the LORD appeared to him the same night," and blessed him. The discipline had produced sanctification, and he builds an altar and worships. It had taught him this: better a little with God than great possessions in a place outside his calling.
Commentators differ in emphasis. One writer reads the stopped and reopened wells as a picture of Christ:
Later there were "Philistines" who sought to destroy Christ. For a time they seemed to succeed in checking the streams of blessing. But Isaac — Christ in resurrection — unstops the fountains of grace, and He calls them by the same names. That is, Christ in resurrection carries on His usual work of mercy, on the same principles as from the beginning.
- Esek — the first well named the quarrel: conflict over water Isaac's own servants had found.
- Sitnah — the second name goes further: hatred, even accusation. The fight grew.
- Wrong ground — the repeated strife marked a place Isaac was never meant to settle, and God used it to move him.
- No striving — Isaac stayed gentle, kept digging, and gave up well after well instead of fighting for his rights.
- Rehoboth — room, fruit, an altar, God appearing. All of it came after he let the disputed ground go.