Genesis 26:18
And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
Abraham was dead, and it would be easy for Isaac to let the wells his father dug stay filled. The Philistines filled every well Abraham dug because the Philistines understood those wells meant the ground those wells were dug on was the heritage of Israel. Isaac determined to redig these wells, but every time he dug a well the Philistines tried to fill them up with dirt. To Isaac’s credit, he kept redigging the wells and called each well by the same name that his father called them.
Isaac could easily have left those wells filled and dig his own wells so that he could build a name for himself, but he understood his heritage was bigger than himself. Isaac understood those wells represented the heritage given to them by God, and though his father Abraham dug those wells, he was digging like God told him. Isaac could have easily pointed out his father’s weaknesses and deemed those wells were not worthy of redigging, but he was better than that and understood the importance of those wells.
It is every generations responsibility to redig the wells of the old paths and fight the same battles for those wells that the previous generation dug and fought for. Sadly, many of our brethren are doing the work of the Philistines of trying to stop up those wells instead of redigging the wells our fathers have dug. These wells represent three things that we should redig for the next generation to enjoy.
First, these wells represent the heritage of the old paths. I thank God for my heritage and everyone who worked in it. Our heritage is the King James Bible, separation, holiness, soul winning, the local independent old paths Baptist church, Sunday school, and old-fashioned preaching to name a few. Every generation will have to redig the wells and fight to redig these wells. There is nothing wrong with the wells of our heritage. Instead of trying to stop these wells, we ought to redig them so the next generation knows about them.
Second, these wells represent the terminology of the old paths. Isaac didn't give these wells a new name, but he called them by the name that his father called them. Your terminology does matter! Terminology tells from whom you have been studying. For instance, I don't have connection cards, I have visitors cards. I don't have connection groups or small groups, I have Sunday school. I don't have praise and worship teams, I have a choir. We don’t have a worship service, we have a preaching service. Redigging the wells of terminology matters because it shows the next generation who they should study.
Third, these wells represent the methods of the old paths. We need to redig the wells of soul winning, baptizing converts immediately after they get saved, bus ministry, old fashioned preaching, Sunday school, services three times a week, and building churches. My friend, these methods still work if you will work them. Don't let those doing the work of the Philistines of trying to stop these wells by casting a shadow on the leaders from the past shame you into not redigging these wells. Don’t be afraid to embrace those who walked the old paths and redig the same wells for these wells are the heritage God has given to us.
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