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.”
Abimelech was asking, “how is our relationship going to go forward from here, Abraham?” If there is something between us that we have to deal with, will we cover it up and deceive each other or will we be committed to build a relationship of trust and mutual respect? God’s people cooperate with different people at different times for different purposes, and the discerning believer knows when any alliance is and isn’t in the will of God.
What I find interesting here is that King Abimelech took the first step to travel all this way to make peace with Abraham. This gesture took courage because Abimelech didn’t know how Abraham would respond. Abraham could have rejected the offer of a peace treaty but he understood Abimelech’s reasoning and wasn’t insulted and didn’t become defensive. Abraham had left a pretty negative impression of himself because of the things he had said and done and yet Abimelech had been very kind and generous to Him because he feared the Lord. Abraham chose not to be insulted by Abimelech's request but in fact he chose to respond to Abimelech’s initiation and created the:
2. Path for Peace
Abraham said, “I swear to show you kindness” (vv. 27–32) but this kindness was based on truth and integrity. Before Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech, he raised a legitimate complaint with him. Kindness doesn’t mean withholding a hard truth from someone. The verb “complain” in the Hebrew speaks of berating, reproving, or bringing up a previous offense. We don’t know how long this problem existed but Abraham wouldn’t let it fester and so confronted Abimelech on the unethical actions of his servants. He told Abimelech, “Your servants stole my well.”
Abimelech could have been feigning ignorance when said he didn’t know about the well situation till now. It was commonly understood at that time that the man who dug a well was its owner. Even though the well situation may not seem like a big deal to you and me, in these arid regions in the Middle East, water is a valuable commodity and livestock, especially back then, was a person’s livelihood.
But whether or not Abimelech knew about the situation or not, Abraham would keep his oath. He didn’t retaliate or react in hostility but instead, dealt kindly with him by supplying the sheep and cattle necessary to initiate the covenant ritual. This time the two men went beyond merely making a verbal agreement, they made a covenant that involved a sacrifice (21:27; 15:9–10). As Abraham and Abimelech walked between the carcasses of the sheep and oxen, they were saying, in effect, “May God do to us and more if we fail to keep our covenant with each other.’’ They had entered into a serious commitment with each other.
I believe this narrative teaches us how we can handle strained relationships and misunderstandings. Conflicts are inevitable in life — be it in our personal relationships, workplaces, or even in the church community. Peace-making is not a passive process - it’s not simple compliance, avoidance, ignoring issues, or laying low, hoping the storm will pass. It actually requires the courage to take first steps, it takes honesty to confront issues, and the patience to listen to others’ perspectives. How did Abraham and Abimelech handle their conflict? They didn’t respond to a problem but to an opportunity and decided to take the more challenging path of loyalty, steadfast and faithful love based on a promise, an agreement, based on a covenant before God, Elohim.
So many times we get frustrated with people because we feel they have wronged us and then demand justice. We blame others for the way things are and for the strained relationship and are waiting for the other party to change or at least make the first move. But is that what Jesus did? Did He wait for us to change or make the first move? No - we know He revealed the kindness of God toward us in the way of a covenant with Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
Titus 3:3-5 (NLT) says:
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus made a commitment to do what was necessary to restore our broken relationship with God the Father. Think about the attitude of Jesus, who became our once and for all sacrifice so that we could have a relationship with the living God of the universe. We were in direct opposition to God, darkened in our thinking and our ways, and rebelling against Him. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, going far from Him, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).
I think when things get heated, when conflicts escalate, we easily forget just how kind God has been to us and is to us every day. The more we meditate on this truth, the more we may realize just how far we are from Jesus’ mind, His love, walking in unity of spirit, from being intent on one purpose (Phil 2:2).
Abraham and Abimelech were entering into a covenant based on something higher than themselves and from which they both would benefit in the end. Abraham was not only handling things for the present situation, he was establishing a…
3. Provision for the future
In v. 28, Abraham sets seven ewe lambs apart from the sacrificial animals and explains to Abimelech, “if there is any question as to who owns this well, this should settle it. Every time you see these seven animals it will remind you that I had dug the well and it belongs to me.” So the name of the well was Beersheba. It means “the well of the oath or well of seven.” The well (for Abraham) and the sheep (for Abimelech) would be a reminder of the covenant they made.
In v. 32, after the King and his commander made peace with Abraham,
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
Abraham plants a grove of Tamarisk trees, not for himself but for the next generations long after he was gone. It reflected Abraham's dedication to God and his desire to establish roots in the land that God had promised to him and his descendants. It symbolizes the promise of a fruitful future for Abraham's lineage in the land.
What do we know about these trees? This particular species of Tamarisk from Abraham’s time can take up to 400 years to mature. These trees can endure and flourish in incredibly harsh conditions - floods, drought, salty soil, etc., and still produce fruit because of their deep and extensive root system. Does this sound familiar? Isn’t this our theme for 2024? That our roots would grow down deep with the Lord as our Source so we would not just survive this year but thrive.
If we look at Abraham’s life’s journey, we see that he built altars in remembrance of God’s faithfulness and provision (12:7–8; 13:4,18). We discover a person, despite all of his faults and failures, who had a deep desire to follow the Lord. Abraham didn’t allow his faults to define himself or cripple his faith, instead His eyes were stayed on the Lord.
He was not ashamed to build his altars in the presence of his neighbors and offer his worship to the Lord. He came to know Yahweh, El Elyon - “God Most High’’ (14:19, 22) and El Shaddai - “God Almighty, the All-Sufficient One’’ (17:1) and now the Eternal God - El Olam. What a comfort to know that Abraham could call upon “the Everlasting God.’’ Generations would come and go, altars would crumble, and treaties would perish, but the Everlasting God will always remain.
We constantly need to be reminded of the Lord’s character towards us and His desire for us to know Him. What reminders has He given us to this day? The rainbow is a reminder to us about His mercy and promise never to destroy the earth again by a flood. Each time we take communion we are reminded of the New Covenant made possible through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. Coming together each Sunday for worship and breaking bread together in fellowship is a reminder to us of our resurrected Savior and the eternal life we have inside of us. We need reminders about our experiences of God’s steadfast faithfulness and kindness of towards us. In our house we have mementos from so different countries, things that remind us of our family, places or experiences we have shared together. Wonderful reminders. The Tamarisk tree is a reminder to future generations of the ongoing faithfulness and goodness of the Eternal God.
What Tamarisk trees are you planting today - what will your legacy be? What are we doing to prepare and equip the next generation practically and spiritually to face life ... long after you and I are gone? We are thankful for the parents who are investing the Word in their kids and encourage you to keep sowing the seeds. We have a lot of young adults in our church and you may think of yourselves as the next generation of followers of Christ but there is a generation behind you in the Sunday school, in the youth that you can be investing in, preparing to be life-long followers of Christ. Never underestimate the impact of what you say and do in the life of another person.
