And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
The scene at Beersheba turns on a strange reversal. The Philistine ruler who told Isaac to leave now travels to him and asks for a treaty. Isaac answers by spreading a table. The meal takes one verse to tell, yet commentators find a great deal in it.
The visit itself is the surprise. Abimelech and his officers make the journey, and their own words become the proof of Isaac's standing.
The king himself, with his friend and his chief captain, seek out Isaac — not Isaac them. When he objects, they admit that they saw plainly that Jehovah was with Isaac. They ask for an oath and covenant that he will do them no harm, though they explained away their own shabby conduct. "You are now blessed of Jehovah." Yes, this is exactly Isaac's position, and the Philistines themselves are the judges of it. They came and paid homage at his feet, and acknowledged that Jehovah loved him. And as a prince he treated them to a feast and gave them the pledges they sought. He did desire their blessing. One day that will be fully true in the Promised Seed for all the nations of the earth.
The feast comes only after Isaac has moved. One writer links the change in his neighbours to the change in his position.
There is always room, together with blessing, for the people of God in the place of separation... The result is that Isaac becomes a worshipper: he builds an altar. Then he becomes a pilgrim: he pitches his tent. There too his servants dig a well. This shows that blessing is always in proportion to our acceptance of the truth of our calling. What is more, the Philistines come and submit themselves to him. They feared the man who was walking apart and enjoying the favour of God.
This table rests on what Isaac did not do. He never fought back.
Once someone points it out, we cannot help seeing it. Isaac truly pictures the part of the Christian who is not of the world, just as Christ is not of the world. He does not resist evil. Struck on the right cheek, he offers the other as well. He does not fight for the goods others took from him. When someone takes his cloak, he will not even fight for his coat. Neither Abraham nor Jacob faced a trial like this, and their patience did not shine so brightly. The one fought for Lot, the other for himself — but Isaac never did... Christ was the perfect example.
After the meal and the oath, the harassment stopped. One writer links Isaac's conduct to instructions given to Christians.
They now wished that there should be an oath and a covenant of peace between them, and this was established. Isaac could now continue his pilgrim way. The Philistines interfered no more. We can see how his course illustrates the instructions of Romans 12:17-19. Isaac had not repaid evil for evil. He had not tried to avenge himself. As far as it lay in his power, he had lived at peace with all men. May the same spirit be ours as we go through the world.
Commentators differ on whether the feast was wholly admirable. One writer values the forgiveness in it, but sees something missing.
We ought to forgive, even seventy times seven a day. But along with that there is to be faithfulness in its season — faithfulness as well as forgiveness... He shakes hands readily, and I may say heartily. He makes a feast for the king of Gerar and sends him away as his ally. Yet he never brings the king to admit the wrong his people had done. And they had done it to the very man whose friendship he was now seeking and getting.
He compares Isaac with his father Abraham.
Abraham meets him in as noble a spirit of forgiveness as Isaac would have shown... But with all this, he rebukes him and makes him feel the rebuke... He will not hide one thing from him. His neighbour may accept him and pardon him, yet his conscience may have a question with him. There are matters between him and the Lord which Abraham's feast and Abraham's friendship could never settle.
- Wrong endured. Isaac never fought for the goods taken from him. He gave way. That is where his greatness lies next to Abraham and Jacob.
- Ground regained. The feast happens only after the move. Isaac worships, camps, and digs there. Blessing comes in proportion to accepting the truth of your calling.
- Blessing owned. The men who expelled him now travel to him and admit that God is with him; they become the witnesses to his standing.
- Table shared. He answers them like a prince. He gives both the meal and the pledges they ask for. One day blessing will reach all the nations through the Promised Seed.
- Peace sealed — with a caution. The covenant frees Isaac from further trouble. Yet one commentator notes what was missing: forgiveness without faithfulness sent Abimelech home with his conscience untouched.
And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
Years of stopped-up wells and forced moves end here, in an oath at sunrise and a peaceful goodbye. What won that peace — Isaac's patience, his move away, or God's blessing on him?
This verse closes a negotiation. Isaac raises no objection to the terms.
Abimelech reminds Isaac that the Philistines had actually been good to him, and asks that Isaac should respond in the same way. Isaac had no reservations about making such a covenant. He makes his visitors a feast, and both sides swear to one another that they will remain peaceful (vv. 30-31).
The oath did not come out of nowhere. Each earlier round of the quarrel had ended with Isaac giving ground.
Patience had a perfect work with Isaac. If the old wells were stopped up out of spite, and the new ones he found stirred up envy and ill-will, he did not fight back. There was no hostility on his side. He moved on when the ruler told him to, until at last he found a well further off that the opposing herdsmen left alone.
That patience bears fruit here. One writer reads Isaac's course as a pattern for believers today.
They now wanted an oath and a covenant of peace between them, and they made it. Isaac could now continue his pilgrim way without further interference from the Philistines. We can see how his course illustrates the instructions of Romans 12:17-19. Isaac had not repaid evil for evil, nor tried to avenge himself, but as far as it lay in his power he had lived peaceably with all men. May the same spirit be ours as we go through the world.
Notice who travelled to whom. While Isaac lived near these men there was friction. Once he moved away to Beersheba, they came looking for him.
The true way to reach the hearts and consciences of worldly men is to stand in clear separation from them, while dealing with them in perfect grace. As long as Isaac stayed in Gerar, there was nothing but strife and quarrelling. He was reaping sorrow for himself and having no effect at all on those around him. On the contrary, the moment he moved away from them, their hearts were touched, and they followed him and asked for a covenant... The moment Isaac got up to Beersheba and took his place as a worshipper, his own soul was refreshed, and God used him to affect others.
Isaac does more than tolerate his visitors. He feeds them and gives them the pledge they came for. One writer sees a far larger promise behind that generosity.
The king himself, with his friend and chief captain, seek Isaac — he does not seek them. When he objects, they admit that they saw plainly that Jehovah was with Isaac. They ask for an oath and a covenant that he will do them no harm, though they explain away their own shabby conduct. "You are now the blessed of Jehovah." Yes, this is exactly Isaac's position, with the Philistines themselves as the judges. They came and paid homage at his feet, and acknowledged that Jehovah loved him. And like a prince he treated them to a feast and gave the pledges they asked for. He truly wanted their blessing, as will one day be fully true in the Promised Seed for all the nations of the earth.
Not every writer reads the scene as pure gain. One asks what Isaac's forgiveness left undone.
We ought to forgive, even seventy times seven a day. But along with that there is to be faithfulness in its season — faithfulness as well as forgiveness... He shakes hands readily, and I may say heartily. He makes a feast for the king of Gerar and sends him away as his ally. But he never brings the king to admit the wrong his people had done to the man whose friendship he was now seeking and getting. Isaac never contradicts Abimelech's claim that he had done nothing but good to him the whole time he was in his country. As far as this meeting went, Isaac did not convict the king, who went home with his friends at peace with himself as well as with Isaac.
- Patience. Isaac never fought back over the stopped wells. He moved on each time, and that quiet endurance is what the morning oath rewards.
- Position. The strife ended by separation, not by talks in Gerar. Isaac went up to Beersheba and worshipped, and only then did God use him with others.
- Proof. The men who once sent him away now admit that the Lord is with him. The world itself becomes the witness to God's blessing.
- Princeliness. He answers old hostility with a feast and a pledge. He wants their good — a foretaste of blessing for all nations.
- Peace. Commentators differ here. The parting is real peace, yet one writer notes that Abimelech went home without ever facing the wrong his people had done. Forgiveness needs faithfulness beside it.