The Blessing of Godly Parents (Genesis 26:1-6)

The older I get, the more I notice how similar I am to my father. As a teenager, I used to think that we were completely different, but now that I am a dad too, I find myself saying and doing the same things that my dad did. I notice this in both positive ways and negative ways: I use the same baby language with my babies that I’ve seen my dad use with infants, but I also get angry easily, like I remember my dad getting angry; I love to treat my children to special outings like I remember taking with my father, but I also tend to overeat and get tired easily like he used to.

Whether we want to admit it or not, as men, our fathers were a strong influence on our lives, just like mother’s were a strong influence on the lives of all women. This is especially apparent when it comes to faith in Christ. As someone who grew up in an unchurched home, I am certainly grateful that God can reach anyone with the gospel. But, as a former youth pastor, I have seen the strong positive effect that a parent’s faith can have on their children. Those raised in a Christian home are more likely to follow Christ when they get older, more likely to have a strong personal devotional life, more likely to avoid overt sexual temptation, and more likely to refuse to commit criminal behavior than their peers who were raised by non-believers. Clearly, there is a benefit to those children who grow up with Christian parents.

Today, we will look at God’s promise to Isaac in Genesis 26. But I’d like you to notice while you read that God’s promise is based on his father, Abraham’s, faith, the promise is similar to that which God gave to Abraham, and the conditions are even similar to those that Abraham went through. Clearly, Isaac is benefiting from having a believing father.

Please read Genesis 26:1-6.

God gives Isaac a clear command in this passage: don’t go down to Egypt. Yet, none of the blessings that God promises are contingent on that command. This is not a covenant that God is making with Isaac, it is simply a renewal of the promises that God has made to Abraham. God tells Isaac that he will be the recipient of all of these blessings “because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws.”

I have heard from Christian parents regarding their wayward children. Some believe that they made a mistake in raising their children—that they weren’t godly enough parents or they failed to teach their children some important biblical lesson, and that’s why they went astray. Other’s believe that they tried their hardest, but their child was just too stubborn to trust in Christ. And other’s simply hold out on hope that their children will yet turn to God in their later years and understand all that they were taught at a young age.

Let me say first of all that all of these options are possible at the same time: none of us are perfect parents, none of us have perfect children, and, until Christ returns, all of our children still have time to trust in Him. Secondly, however, the Christian parent with the wayward child is the exception, not the norm. In general, our children will be blessed if we strive our best to follow after Jesus in all that we do. Jesus may call us to sacrifice our material wealth, our health, or even our lives for His sake. And when our children see that we value Him above all else, it will instill in them a similar desire. They will naturally follow our example as they get older.

This doesn’t guarantee their salvation. But it does ensure that, if God gets ahold of their heart and draws them to Himself, then they will already have positive examples of what it looks like to follow after Him. They will know how to read their Bibles, pray, and live out their faith, because they have seen their parents doing it. Like Isaac, they will be blessed. Not because of anything they have done, but because they have been born to godly parents.