A Covenant Of Kindness Series

Last week, we were in the first part of Genesis 21 where Sarah gave birth to Isaac, 25 years after she and Abraham first received this promise from God. Though we sometimes have to wait for what seems like a long time to see a promise from God fulfilled, He is never too late, never too early - He is always right on time. We also saw how Abraham & Sarah sent Hagar and Ismael away because of the rivalry between the two families yet how faithful God was to Hagar and Ishmael and kept His promise to them, just as He said He would.

Today, we will be looking at the second part of Genesis 21.

Gen 21:22-34

22 Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do; 23 so now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my descendants, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have resided.” 24 Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.”

27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28 But Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?” 30 He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness for me, that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines for many days.

What are some things we can see in this passage?

? Pursuit of peaceful relations

? The Path for peace

? Provision for the future

1. Pursuit of peace

In vs. 22, we see King Abimelech and the commander of his army show up where Abraham has pitched his tent and dug a well on Abimilech’s land (which would later be known as Beersheba). They had met four years earlier, and their relationship didn’t really get off to a good start. Now Abimelech comes to Abraham and says to him:

God (Elohim) is with you in all that you do;

It’s pretty amazing that Abimelech recognizes that Elohim, the supreme and mighty God, is present in Abraham's life. He probably came to this conclusion when God came to Sarah’s defense in his dream and on what he observed when Abraham prayed. After Abraham prayed God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they would have children (20:17). It could also be that Abimelech had been keeping track of Abraham’s life over these four years and it was obvious that his life with God stood out from the rest. It was the same with Joseph in Egypt. Everyone from Potiphar to Pharaoh saw that God was with him, blessing everything that he did.

Does it sometimes make you wonder what people see in us today? Do the people with whom you interact on a daily basis recognize that, like with Abraham, like Joseph, that God is with you in all that you do? That God is first in your life and that you trust Him? Do people recognize that the Lord is with us as a church? It was evident to Abimelech that Abraham walked with God and his life, like yours and mine, was on display.

But Abraham’s deception almost cost Abimelech his life (Gen 20:1-2, 7) and so he asks Abraham to swear before the true and living God not to deceive him, his children, or any of his descendants. Can you imagine a king and his commander coming to Abraham and asking him to swear that he wouldn’t be dishonest with him anymore?

Now there is some debate as to why Abimelech came to Abraham in the first place, maybe he and Abraham were aware of the controversy brewing over the well and Abimelech wanted to settle the issue in a diplomatic and friendly manner. He was asking Abraham to show him and his descendants the same kindness he had shown Abraham when Abraham was caught in a lie. Kindness = hesed, translates as “loyal, steadfast, or faithful love based on a promise, agreement, or covenant.”