Eternal God

ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH

Genesis 21: Covenant with Abimelech

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 now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned."

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 Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 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 to 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, arose 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 sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.

The conversation and covenant between Abraham and Abimelech is awesome, so I want to put it under three main headings and talk to you:

A)SHOW KINDNESS

B)GODLY WISDOM

C)ETERNAL GOD

A) Show kindness:

Genesis 21:23”…According to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned."

Boy, this is awesome, pagan monarch Abimelech visited Abraham along with his commander Phicol and said “"God is with you in all that you do”, this is powerful statement. When the aroma of Christ in you and the fragrance of your life spreads around then kings would come to visit you. Anybody listening? People look for quality in your life than the quantity of stuff that you possess! He further requested him to show KINDNESS, look at that!! When the world looks at God in us then they have ‘expectations’ from us too! It is not about wearing a T Shirt with ‘GOD IS WITH US’ print but when our life and actions do not synchronize with our statement then the world is not interested in our faith, are you hearing me? In the past Abraham had falsely lied to Abimelech that his wife Sarah was his sister so now, Abimelech gently requested him not to deal falsely “with me or with my offspring or with my posterity.” Gentlemen conversation!

Abraham replied to Abimelech and said:’Yes, I will show kindness”, he did not stop there, he gave sheep and oxen to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. Let us all learn a lesson right here, we need to set right all quarrels, misunderstandings and fights in a gentle manner rather than fight like bull dogs.

Jesus spoke a lot about ‘love, kindness, forgiveness, mercy etc. Read: Luke 6:35:” love your enemies, and do good..”

Apostle Paul said: 1 Corinthians 13:4” Love is patient, love is kind..”

Romans 12:9” Let love be without hypocrisy.”

Today let this message heal your wounds, bruises and hurts and help you get delivered. No matter how irrational people may be, no matter how brutally they attacked you verbally, but let it go because that brings healing for you. Carrying toxic gossip around the family creates fights and disputes but instead when you hide it and not spread rumors then there would be peace. Be it in church, family or office, let us be peace makers!

B) Godly wisdom:

Genesis 21:30 He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well."

God cannot bless us with ‘more’ if we are not careful of what God had already given us, anybody listening? If you are squandering your money on worthless things, unwanted purchases and in greed, that’s when God intervenes to cut the flow of money. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 7:13” I the Lord shut up the heavens so that there is no rain..”

Towards the end of Genesis chapter 21, we read about a well that Abraham dug in the land of Philistines that had plenty of water, the servants of Abraham were jealous of his success and they seized the well. Whatever Abraham did he was blessed, king Abimelech told him, “ God is with you in everything that you do.’ Amen. Clap hands for God. That’s the secret for a successful life! If God is in your marriage, business, job, studies then victory is guaranteed.