Read: Genesis 26:14-22
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. —Romans 12:18
Bible In One Year: 1 Kings 10-11; Luke 21:20-38
Isaac lived among the Philistines, who proved to be ornery neighbors. He had grown so rich and powerful that they feared him and asked him to leave their territory. Being "much mightier" than they (Genesis 26:16), Isaac could have refused, but he acquiesced and moved into a nearby valley where his father Abraham had dug some wells years before.
The Philistines had stopped up the wells after the death of Abraham. Each time Isaac reopened a well they claimed it for themselves, even though they had not been using it. They were just being contentious. But Isaac kept moving on till he entered an area where the Philistines no longer contested his right to the water.
I've encountered people like that. When my brothers and I played catch as young boys, we had to be very careful about our throws, because the neighbor would confiscate any balls that went into his yard.
It's difficult to like such people, but Jesus went so far as to say that we must love them, pray for them, and be good to them (Matthew 5:44). It may not be easy, and those ornery persons may not change. Yet, according to Romans 12:18, we must still do all we can to live peacefully with everyone. —Herb Vander Lugt