“Like Father, like son.” We understand that to mean a son will have traits similar to his father when he reaches adulthood. There are other idioms that convey the same thing. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “He’s a chip off the old block.” Now, this can be taken both positively or negatively. Negatively, we see this lived out in the lives of the patriarchs in the Old Testament.
In the time of Isaac, there was a famine similar to a famine in the days of his father Abraham. Abraham went to Egypt for relief instead of trusting God. He ran from trouble. It appears it was his first instinct. It appears that this was also Isaac’s instinct as well even though God tells him not to go (Genesis 26).
His father also lied about his wife, Sarah. Isaac gets in trouble and he handles it the way his father did. Isaac was aware that men thought that his wife was attractive and desirable. When they asked him who she was . . . he said the same thing his father said, “she is my sister,” he said. It is easier to do what is wrong if they have been modeled before us. Fathers are expected to lead by example.
On the other hand, there is a positive side to “Like father, like son.” It can show the good relationship of the father to the son. The father illuminates the path for the son to go.
Also, it shows the positive relationship between the son and the father. You don’t see it as often today, but there was a time when “main street” was populated with several stores that said, “Someone’s name & Son.” A son, following in dad’s example.
Jesus didn’t look to someone else to mirror. Jesus always reflected God His Father. The same must be true of us. You and I get our marching orders from Jesus. Let his life and mission be reflected in our life.