1Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2The LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. 3“Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4“I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.” 6So Isaac lived in Gerar.
With a famine, the typical course of action was to try and move elsewhere to a place where there was no famine. Especially since Isaac’s family was still relatively small, it would have been very tempting to leave the land where he was living. But God had other plans, and wanted Isaac to stay put right where he was. Even in the midst of a famine, Isaac trusted God, and he stayed in Gerar.