The Good Run: Rehoboth

"The word 'Rehoboth' means 'broad and spacious.' The Lord has broadened my space. If you let God fight for you [and] you let God choose for you, oftentimes, He leads you to the best. The best of the very best: Rehoboth."

Ptr. Peter Tan-chi

CCF Service on "Practicing God's Presence"

During our Spring Break vacation in April, one of the tourist spots I visited with my family was Rehoboth Beach in Delaware (where, I should just emphasize, they impose 0% tax for all goods! Woohoo!). I knew the name sounded biblical, but I wasn't sure exactly where I can find it in the bible. I got my answer last Sunday when Pastor Peter gave his message on Isaac.

Pastor Peter explained the name "Rehoboth" in the context of Genesis 26, when the Lord finally gave Isaac and his people their very own well after their two failed attempts at claiming one.

"Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, 'The water is ours!' So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one has quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, 'Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.'" (Genesis 26:19-22)

This passage is actually relevant to me right now, since I feel that God has been developing my character lately - particularly on the area of patience. Coming up with a life plan (and several back-up life plans at that) is far from easy. It gets frustrating to the point that I don't want to act anymore and just let life take me where it wants. Relating my situation with Genesis 26, I can imagine how devastated Isaac must have felt after working so hard on the first two wells, only to have them unreasonably taken away from him. But I have to admire Isaac's character for two reasons - his persistence and gratefulness to God. He may have gone through several failures but he simply pressed on and kept the faith. For his faithfulness, God granted him the desires of his heart. In the end, Isaac ultimately recognized that the blessing he received was, indeed, from God. He knew it was not by his own account. He expressed his thankfulness and offered God's blessing back to Him. He knew that God gave him the well to be used for His glory. I realized that God uses every opportunity to teach His children and build their character. It is only up to us to recognize these situations and to respond accordingly, regardless of the difficulty. Proceeding from Isaac's example, we should remain faithful, be persistent, be thankful for the blessings, and we should learn to offer them back to God.

I don't know if the founders of the town named it after the well Isaac dug, but if they named it such to describe the vastness of the ocean/shore area, I think the term "Rehoboth" is spot on.

Rehoboth Beach is a three-hour drive from Maryland. It's famous for its boardwalk and the little restos and shops around it. Our primary purpose was actually to visit the Tanger Outlets (where, I repeat, they have 0% tax hehe). It took us hours to shop and we didn't even get to visit more than half of the stores. Most of the gifts I gave to friends, I bought from the outlets. I regret not buying much for myself, but I didn't have any more time. Since we finished at almost 7 pm, we decided to have dinner in the area. It was my sister-in-law's birthday then so we had a mini celebration for her at a Mexican resto.

Some photos from Rehoboth (the beach :P):