Let me see you. Horatius Bonar, great hymn writer
and preacher, pastor. There's more gospel in that one
hymn than all the modern so-called gospel songs sung today. What a hymn. Genesis 26. Genesis 26. And there's more truth in these
five verses than we can comprehend tonight. Let's read these verses. Verse 1-5. There was a famine
in the land beside the first famine that was in the days of
Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines,
unto Gerar. The Lord appeared unto him and
said, Go not down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall
tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will
be with thee, and will bless thee. For unto thee and unto
thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform
the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father. I will make thy seed to multiply
as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these
countries. And in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed, because that Abraham obeyed my
voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and
my law." We study the Old Testament because
it is God's Word. And God doesn't change. His Word,
the truth, is the same in all generations. That's what the
Scripture says. He keepeth mercy and truth to all generations. The same truth Isaac heard from
the Lord, we hear today, hasn't changed. Same knee. Isaac is
no different than you and me. Same knee. Truth doesn't change. And everything the Lord said
here to Isaac in 1800 B.C. is true and relevant in 2014
A.D. Almost 4,000 years later, it's
completely relevant. And the Lord instructs all His
children the same. Isaac is a son of promise. Isaac
is His chosen one. Not Ishmael. Isaac. Isaac is
the son of promise. So the Lord gives him promise
after promise after promise. The Lord teaches him. All the
sons of promise, all thy children, Isaiah said, shall be taught
of the Lord. The same things. All the warnings,
the Lord warns him, do not go to Egypt. All the warnings and
all the promises. The promises he made here to
Isaac are to us too. And all the promises, let me
go ahead and invoke this, of God that are in Christ Jesus
are yea and amen, are true and sure to the glory of God by us. I hope to glorify Him tonight,
and we will, for these same blessed promises. Now, there was a famine
in the land, verse 1 said, Famine in the land like the first famine
that was in the days of Abraham. There was a famine in Abraham's
day and now Isaac's day. There was a famine in Jacob's
day. There was a famine in Ruth and Naomi's day. There was a
famine in Elijah's day. The widow went through a famine.
And you remember that story. What a blessed story that was.
And in our day, we're in a famine. We're in a famine. Famine comes
from no rain. Famine comes because there is
a drought, because no rain. Rain that comes from heaven. Turn with me to Jeremiah 5. Jeremiah
chapter 5. Rain comes from heaven. Who dwells in the heavens? So where does rain come from? Famine has always been The judgment
of God. Famine has always been because
of sin in the land. Because of sin against God. Unbelief. They don't acknowledge
God. Romans 1. They're not thankful. God doesn't require much of His
people, of human beings. Just thanks. Worship. Worship. Do what he says. It
doesn't require much, does it? That's not unreasonable. He sends
rain to God in whose hands our breath is and all our ways and
everything we have we receive from his hand. This is not only
a privilege, it's our reasonable service to come. The Lord sent
rain. And the famine has always been
because of sin, rebellion, pride, people taking credit for what
belongs to God alone. You know, the United States of
America is fairly sheltered from drought and famine and so forth.
It's such a big nation, particularly the big cities that depend upon
the states of the plains where they depend on rain for our food
and all that. But if it doesn't rain, people
in the big cities, they don't care. If there's a drought, they
don't feel it. Just turn on the tap. Right? This country is very sheltered
from those things. I was down in Sylacauga, Alabama
one time preaching for Brother Tommy Robbins years ago, back
when we had a severe drought. I don't know what year that was.
But Brother Tommy took me out to the reservoir where the town
got their water, and he said they had 20 days of water left.
That's it. There will be no more water if
the Lord doesn't send rain. Now, was Sylacauga leading together
in prayer meetings, calling on the Lord for forgiveness, repenting, calling on the Lord
to send rain because He withheld the rain? No, they weren't. I know one little group that
was. One little remnant according to the election of grace. Fairmont. Fairmount. That's a good name,
isn't it? Fairmont. French. Fairmount. Mount Zion. A little church out
in the middle of the wilderness was praying. Jeremiah 5, verses
21. Here now this, O foolish people,
without understanding, which have eyes and see not. Things
are so clear, you can't see it. Ears and hear not. Fear ye not
me, saith the Lord, will ye not tremble at my presence, which
hath placed the sand for the bound of the sea? Why aren't there more tsunamis?
What's holding it back? Sand? God. That it cannot pass it, though
the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail, though
they roar, yet can they not pass over it? after revolting in a
rebellious heart. They are revolted in God. Neither
say they in their heart, let us now fear the Lord our God
that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in His season. And He reserveth unto us appointed
weeks of the harvest." The Lord just keeps sending rain, just
faithfully, like He told Noah after the flood. And every time
the Lord sends a rainbow, Everybody ought to hit their knees, shouldn't
they? The Lord is not going to destroy
us by water. As I said, you can read Jeremiah
14. I want to just mark that. The
whole chapter is dealing with droughts, and it's a stark reality. Amos 8. Go over to Amos 8. I'll give you a few minutes to
find it. Amos 8. Let me read this to you from
Jeremiah 14. Jeremiah, on behalf of the people,
said, Lord, our iniquities testify against us because of the drought
and all that. He was pleading with the Lord
for the people. And he said, is there any vanities of the
Gentiles that can cause rain? Jeremiah says, is there anything
that we can do to cause rain? Can heavens give shower? Art
thou he, O Lord our God? We wait upon Thee. You've made
all these things. There's a worse famine than of
bread. There's a worse drought than
rain from the sky. And that's what this nation is
in. Amos 8, verse 11, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord
God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of
bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the
Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, from the north even
to the east. They shall run to and fro to
seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." How blessed
we are. We live by the well, the high
royal. How blessed we are. I get a call. a letter, an email every now
and then from people from far away who, like these people,
are looking for the gospel and can't find it except on Sermon
Audio. That's sad, isn't it? Well, Isaac,
in our text, it says Isaac was going through this famine and
he turned to Abimelech, king of the Philistines. Abraham went down to Egypt. Isaac and Abraham both went through famine.
And all of God's people, we go through famine also. We go through
dry times. We go through droughts, spiritual
droughts. What's the reason? Sin. It's the same. Sins of presumption. Sins of ingratitude. Sins of
presumption, I said. Sins of ingratitude. Sins of
murmuring, complaining. Sins of being unwatchful. Cubbitousness, which is idolatry. We turn to the world, we get
involved in the world, and the things of this world will dry
you up. And you know, you can be in a
drought and a famine spiritually and not even know it. You can
have everything that this world has to offer and yet be lean of soul, where
you can't hear the Word, you never get a blessing. That's
what the Lord said about the people of the children of Israel.
He said they forgot His works, they didn't wait for His Word,
they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, tempted God in the
desert, and He gave them their requests, but sent leanness into
their soul. And what believer has not experienced
that? Well, Isaac turned to the Philistine
king. Abraham went to Egypt. And he
got in real trouble. Abraham got in real trouble.
He was rich. He got richer down in Egypt.
Lot had his wife then. They went with him. And they
got a taste of that. And Lot almost perished. Lot's
wife did perish. She had such a taste of that.
It got hold of her. And she went down with Sodom.
And so will we. There are many, many, many lessons
here. Verse 2 of our text says, The
Lord appeared unto Isaac and warned him, exhorted him, admonished
him, Go not down into Egypt. Go not down into Egypt. Turn
with me to Isaiah 30. Now, this will probably be the
last text I had you turn to. Isaiah 30, and you know these
verses. We look at them often, as well
we should. We need to look at them all the
time. Isaiah 30, we do well to read
this daily. Isaiah 30, the whole chapter.
Isaiah 30, Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that
take counsel, and not of me, that cover with the covering,
that not of my spirit, Just adding sin to sin. They go down into
Egypt. They have not asked at my map.
Strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh. That is,
the rulers, the leaders of the land. That's where they're looking
for help. To trust in the shadow of Egypt. Shadows are a poor
thing to trust in. Therefore, shall the strength
of Pharaoh be your shame? To trust in the shadow of Egypt
your confusion. His princes, his leaders, Zoan,
ambassadors came to Hain. They were all ashamed of the
people that could not profit them. That is, the Egyptians
didn't like the children of Israel. They couldn't get anything out
of them. They were no help, no profit, but a shame, a reproach.
And it went on down in verse 7 to say, The Egyptians shall
help in vain. No purpose. So I've cried concerning
this. Their strength is to sit still.
Don't go down there. You stay right there. Go, write
it in a table, in a book, forever. Tell them, verse 15, that thus
saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, cannot lie in
returning and rest. Keep coming back. Come unto me,
he said. I'll give you rest. Shall you
be saved in quietness and confidence? Come, sit. Be still. See the salvation of the Lord.
That's your strength. Egypt. And in chapter 31, he
said, Oh, woe to them that go to Egypt for help. that stay
on these things. The Egyptians are men, he said.
They're not God. Egypt has always represented
the world in Scripture. Egypt, with its civilized society,
it was way ahead of the times back then. Cultured, it was advanced
in society. It had everything to offer. Egypt
had everything that you could possibly want. Lust of the flesh. All that's in the world, that's
what the Scripture said, lust of the eye, lust of the flesh,
and you could be somebody. You've got to go to Egypt. The
pride of life. Egypt represents a world where
the Lord's people ended up in bondage. And our Lord, bless His holy
name, said, I am come down. I am come down. to deliver them
out, to bring them up. Out of the slime pits, which
can be a mud hole or a palace. Slime that won't, you can't get
it off the muck and the mire. It can be riches or it can be
the depth of depravity. I am come down, he said, to bring
you out. How foolish Those people got
in a little trouble, and they wanted to go back. It's amazing,
isn't it? That's us. But the Lord put a difference.
Here's our hope. Here's our salvation. The Lord
put a difference between the Egyptians and the children of
Israel. And our Lord Jesus Christ said
that people, His disciples, in His prayer to the Father. He
said, they are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.
I'm glad He said that. And He said the Spirit is willing.
The Spirit that He gave. This new man, what's the difference?
Wherein lies the difference between people of this world and God's
people? Wherein lies the difference? God is the difference. It starts
with Him. God makes the difference. God Himself. He said, I have
chosen you. I've chosen you. God Himself. His Word makes the difference.
He gives us His Word. He gives us His truth. And He
writes it on the tables of our heart so that we cannot... We sin, but we can't sin as we
would. Thank God. He writes His Word
on the tables of our hearts, in our minds, gives us wisdom
from above, which the world doesn't have. His Son. He reveals His Son in us. Not
only to us, but in us. He shows us our desperate need
of Christ, and we become His disciples, His followers, His
students, His lovers, His bride, His wife, dependent on Him. He
puts this new creature in the image of Christ in us that loves
God, that loves the truth, that loves each other. Not dog eat
dog, but sheep love sheep. The image of Christ. He gives
us His Holy Spirit. As many are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God. And that Spirit of God convinces
us of sin. Convicts us of our sin. Leads
us. Guides us. Convicts us. Teaches
us. Restrains us. If He didn't, we're
no different. We're no different. Constrains
us. And He tells us all what He told
Isaac, the son of Promise. Don't go down to Egypt. Don't
turn to the world. Don't turn to its wisdom. The
wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It's the opposite. The ways of this world are an
abomination to God. The ways that seem right now
that everyone is accepting. The ways, I hope you young people
listen to this, the ways that is becoming normal in our society,
that everyone is accepting this is normal, perverted lifestyle,
is an abomination to God. Everything about it. Our Lord
calls this place, this present evil world. And we're in it. You can be in it and not be of
it. Thank the Lord by His Holy Spirit, His Word. That's why
we need this, isn't it? Don't go down to Egypt. He warns
us. And Egypt today, the world we live in, it's not America,
it's the whole world. There is a one world order. It's
all the same. It doesn't matter where you turn.
It's all the same now, isn't it? It's a small world now because
of communication, all the ways we can connect, and it's all
the same now. There is a one world order. Everybody is together
against God. It's politics, it's religion,
it's education, there's no God in it, there's no truth in it.
Man's thoughts, man's opinions, man's wisdom, man's ways, the
ways that seem right, and the end, our Lord said, is death.
Death. Don't go down to Egypt. Now here's
what the Lord said. Now here's some promises. Now
here we go. There's the warning. Do we need that? We live in Egypt. And I'm telling you, it has its
allurements. Children of Israel. And it doesn't take much to allure
us. Leeks and onions. Leeks and onions. My, my. Sell
your soul. We'd sell our souls for a mess
of beans like Esau's. for the sovereign, restraining
grace of God and the leading, the Holy Spirit of God to lead
us. Wouldn't we? We'd sell our soul for the least pleasure. The Lord would help us solve. All right, here's the blessed
promises. Enough of the warnings. No, it's not enough of the warnings.
I'm not apologizing for God's Word. You read the prophets. I've been reading Isaiah, whoa,
whoa, whoa to Damascus, whoa to Egypt, whoa to Samaria, whoa
to Syria, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. And then he looked at himself
and says, whoa is me. This is where I dwell. It's a dangerous
place. There's a God much stronger than
us here. Oh, thank God for one that's
stronger than he. Alright, the Lord said, Sojourn. He said,
you don't go to Egypt, you dwell in the land which I shall tell
thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee. Don't
go down to Egypt. Now, every word is significant. He said, go down. Egypt, if you
went from where Isaac was, you'd have to go down. When you go out in that world
and you leave Mount Zion, You go down, don't you? You descend
back into the slime pits. Go down into Egypt. It's a pit.
It's a place. It's hard to get out of. It's
impossible to get out of unless somebody pulls you out. He said,
don't go down. Dwell in the land which I shall
tell thee of. This was the land he told Abraham
of. This was the land he promised Abraham of. Isaac, Jacob later
on, all of his people, the promised land. Sojourn in this land. Where
is it? Where is it, Lord? Where is it? You're standing on it. It struck me. Where do I go? Don't go anywhere. Stand still. You're in it. Do you know Isaac
Gerar? Do you know where Gerar was?
Judah. The Philistines were the trespassers.
The Philistines, that wasn't their land. They'd come up through
there. God gave that to Judah long ago. Right in Judah. He
just happened to be in Judah. And the Lord said, you don't
need to go anywhere. You're in the Promised Land.
But it doesn't look like it. I'm going through all these troubles.
Trouble? You got food? You got rainwater? You have some light afflictions
yet. Sojourn in this land, the land
I told you of, the place the Lord has chosen to put His name
there. From Deuteronomy 12 all the way
through chapter 20, I think it is, the Lord says that how many
times? Go to the place where I've chosen to put my name there
and dwell there. You and your children. If it's
too far for you, sell everything you have and get there. You don't have to go anywhere.
Dwell there. Sojourn there. He said dwell
in the land and sojourn in the land. It's the same. It's where
you're going to live, but you're really just passing through.
This is where you're going to stay, but yet it's no continuing
city. What's he talking about? Well,
the place where Isaac stood was the land of promise. He didn't
realize it because he was going through trouble. But where he
was right then and right there, the Lord was talking to him. The Lord was talking to him.
That's where he needed to be. Wherever the Lord was. Wherever
the Lord speaks to His people. The Lord was speaking to him
and us right now in His Word. And he went looking for something.
He went to Jerar. He didn't know what he was looking
for. He went somewhere else. He went to this Philistine king,
Abimelech. And he was a rich man, a well-to-do
man. Isaac thought, well, maybe he
can help me. He needs help. That Philistine
needs help. And the Lord said, the blessing,
Isaac, is right here, right now. I'm talking to you. I'm warning you. I'm promising
you. I'm speaking to you. I haven't
left you alone. I'm telling you not to go to
Egypt. I'm preventing you from doing what you would do. I'm
keeping you. I'm teaching you. I'm leading
you. I'm guiding you. The blessing is right here, right
now. People, tonight, here you are. This is the blessing. You don't
need to go anywhere. Your strength is to sit still.
Just come and sit. And listen, hear the word of
the Lord. Mount Zion, that's His church. That's where Christ
is. The city of refuge, where Christ
and His people are. It's a well in the wilderness.
It's a table set for us in the midst of our enemies. In the midst of the Philistines.
The earth is the Lord's and the fullness of the earth. People
are trespassers. That meek shall inherit the earth.
and we're sojourning here, we're going to dwell over there in
the Newark. This is a place He's called to put His name here,
and here are the exceeding precious promises. Listen to this. You
sojourn in this land. You stay where I put you. You
dwell right there where I'm speaking to you, leading and guiding and
directing you, warning you and promising you. Here's my promises,
exceeding precious promises. I will be with thee. And if God is with us... I just
read the story of Hezekiah when they were faced by Sennacherib,
that Syrian king. Read it for yourself. You can't
believe how much it's like what we looked at in 2 Chronicles,
Jehoshaphat. It's the same thing. The exact same thing happened
to Hezekiah and the children of Israel. And Hezekiah, you
know what? He was the preacher then. King
preacher. And he said the exact same thing.
that that young prophet said to all of Israel, just stand
still. Don't go anywhere. Stand still. See the salvation.
I will be with thee. And Hezekiah said, they that
are with us are more than they that are with them. God be with us. What do we care
what the world thinks about? God be with us. He said, I will
be with thee. with us in presence, with us
in power, with us in grace, with us in mercy, with His Word, with
His Holy Spirit. Our Lord said, I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. We can leave Him, and He'll never
leave us. I want to preach a message I've
had on my mind for some time about when God hides His face.
When God hides His face. And He does. He said, I'll be
with thee and will bless thee. Now listen, he doesn't make any
conditions here. He's not asking Isaac to do anything. Isaac's standing here completely
passive, just listening to what the Lord says he has done and
will do. Boy, these are good promises,
aren't they? Exceeding precious promises. I will be with thee
for what? Nothing you've done. I'll be
with thee. I will bless thee. What's the
blessings of the Lord? What is the blessing? Oh, thanks. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, according as He hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings and heavenly things in Jesus Christ. The world
that has all this stuff, and we have it too, but these aren't
the blessings of God. The blessing is one. Christ Himself,
the unsearchable riches, the exceeding precious promises that
are in Christ Jesus. I will bless thee, and to thee
and unto thy seed will I give this country. What did the Lord
say about seed in Galatians? He said, Seed as in want. Christ. He's the heir. We're joint heirs
with Him. Give it unto Him. It's all given to Him. And if
we're in Him, we're joint heirs. And in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed. Everyone in Christ is blessed,
no matter if they're Jew or Gentile, male or female, rich or poor,
young or old, Mexico, America, it doesn't matter. They're all
blessed in Christ with unspeakable blessing. He said, I will, verse 4, I've
passed up some verses here, I'll give thee these countries, verse
3, I'll perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father. Our God is a covenant keeping
God. His oath, His covenant, His blood. Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives
way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock
I stand. His oath is the covenant He made
with Christ before the world began. That He gave unto Christ
a people. He swore unto Christ, Him that
cometh unto Me by you, I will never cast out. I will receive
Him. And I will give thee as a covenant. head of those people. That's
what he swore. I'll make Your seed multiply
as the stars of the heaven. Give unto Thy seed all these
countries, and Thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed. Now, as I said, Isaac is just standing there, standing
there, sitting there one, listening as the Lord tells him what all
he has done, is doing, and shall do for him. The Lord is not asking
him. He's telling him. If the Lord is not making any
conditions, he's making promises. And this all sounds like David,
the covenant mercies of David, doesn't it? Sounds just like
him, doesn't it? Well, it is. The same. Same covenant
that he made before Adam. Same covenant, same Lord, same
promises. Listen to this promise. See if
it's in your favorite version of the Bible. Therefore, it is
of faith, and that by grace, To the end, the promise might
be sure to all to see. Promises of God in Christ. Isaac
is thinking this. He's standing there. He hasn't
done anything. In fact, he went to Philistines. And now he feels
guilty about that. Why did I turn to this fellow?
He can't help me. And the Lord comes to him, and
rather than rebuke him, the Lord makes all these promises. And
he's thinking, why am I? Or like David who sat before
the Lord and Nathan the prophet said, I took you from following
the sheep. You know where I found you? Have you forgotten where
I found you? Following sheep made you king
over Israel and made your house stand and all of this is His
blessing. And David went in and sat before the Lord and said,
who am I and what is my house that you brought me here? Isaac's thinking, why me? Well,
here's why. Verse 5. You saw that, didn't you? Because
Abraham obeyed my voice. Isaac, you're getting this for
Abraham's sake. He kept my charge. He kept my
commandments. He kept my statutes. And he kept
my laws. Now, is the Lord really talking
about Abraham there? No, Abraham knows Abraham, Christ
said, saw my day. He saw it and was glad. And all
the promises of God to Abraham were because Christ obeyed his
voice. Christ kept the charge given
to him to save his people. Christ kept the commandment.
Christ kept the statute. Christ kept the law. And all the promises of God to
Abraham, Isaac, and poor old Jacob. I didn't say sorry. Poor
old Jacob. are the same covenant promises
of a covenant-keeping God to all us sons of Jacob. Isn't that good news? This is what I've done. You don't
need to go anywhere. You don't need to look anywhere
but me. I'm talking to you right now, Isaac. You're blessed beyond
your understanding. The fact that I am talking to
you right now. and keeping you from going down
to Egypt where you would surely perish. So here's the Lord's word to
us tonight. Don't go to Egypt. Whatever you do, don't turn to
anybody. Don't lean under that understanding. Don't lean under the arm of the
plague. No matter how times may sink. And though we go through
drought and troubles, Look hard at the cause of it.
And turn back again to the Lord. He delights to show mercy. He
delights to show mercy. Just stand still and see the
salvation of the Lord. Okay. Stand with me. Our Lord, how we thank You for
the oasis in the middle of the desert, the church in the wilderness,
the refuge where we come and find Christ that hiding place. The man shall be a hiding place
in a storm, famine. Oh, Lord, Christ who lives like
rain that comes down from heaven upon the mown grass. Oh, Lord,
how we thank You for Your Word, for the sure mercies of our God
that are all we know in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank You, Lord.
Keep us, we pray, as the apple of Your eyes Your people, keep
us from turning anywhere but to Thee. Keep our eyes upon Thee. Set our affection on things above,
not on things of the earth. Keep us from the evil one, for
he assaults us daily. And our evil selves, keep us
from the old man within us, we pray. Keep us, Lord, O keep us
cleaving to Thyself and still believing, is our prayer. In
Christ's name, amen. Thank you.