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.
Also how you handle success and the blessings that God gives you is predominant, are you listening? Look how prudently Abraham dealt with this ‘well’ that was a source of wealth in those days. He took care to have his title to the well cleared and confirmed, to prevent any disputes or quarrels for the future, v. 30, he called that place where the well was dug as Beersheba. He also set apart seven ewe lambs and told Abimelech ‘this is witness that I dug this well.’ Abraham should not only be remembered for his faith, along with it came wisdom too. We cannot call ourselves as Christians and be dumb and handle stuff unwisely. If you are intimate with God then along with that relationship comes godly wisdom too. The Bible says: Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Abraham exhibited godly wisdom in this chapter through his wise dealing with the pagan king Abimelech.
Be it ministry, church, family or business, we got to handle it judiciously and discreetly so that God can bless us with more. If God has blessed you with an increment, promotion, bonus or good profit, be astute minded and cautious to handle it properly. Do not trust people on face-value and make property agreements or important agreements without any witness or written proof. People change. This comes prophetically to you!
C)ETERNAL GOD:
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God [El Olam].” (Genesis 21:33)
El means might, strength and power and Olam means eternal, forever, everlasting time or space. Our God is the Eternal God. Friend, we have come to November of 2021, just turn back and see the number of people Covid has swallowed from your life, the several people who have changed, people once who supported and loved you are cold and distant, you try to break your head for reasons but there is nothing that you remember, they just have decided not to have anything with you anymore. Shocking, painful and distressful; nevertheless, this is life, people change but our God will never ever change. He is the same Eternal God whose love never fails or vanishes. Clap hands for God! He is an unchanging God! Amen.
Few churches have already got their Christmas tree ready and they are gearing up for Christmas celebrations, time is running swiftly, but the fact that we have an Eternal God helps us to move on in life. Despite failures, disappointments, discouragements, betrayals, disasters, we keep praising God and depending on Him because He is our Eternal Rock: Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” Wow, what a comfort, our God is not wobbly and shaky like many people in this world, He is our Rock. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. “ Let these scriptures be like medicine and Joy tablets, let it heal you and give you hope for tomorrow because He will never leave your side.
Coming back to the above scripture, Abraham that we see in this chapter is not the one that we saw earlier who was afraid of Abimelech and the people of the city, he lied that his wife was his sister; however, he has evolved and grown in faith and now confesses that his God is an Eternal God. As we mature in life, we understand that nothing is permanent in life except God and his goodness. Say Amen. Abraham understood that, he boldly confessed, the name of my God is ETERNAL GOD. I guess that was the landmark of his house that had a tamarisk tree for shelter and people identified his house as ‘THE ONE WHO WORSHIPS ETERNAL GOD.’ Life is short so live for God and proclaim His name. Don’t be silent or shy about your faith, tell the world about your faith
We run a free school for the underprivileged children in Hyderabad, the landmark of our school is “Jesus School”. When children join from other faith, I very categorically tell them, we pray, worship and read Bible in the assembly, if they have no objection to that they can join. Live for our Eternal God!
