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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his forces, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you."
Abraham said, "I swear it."
Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized. But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."
So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?" He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."
So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his forces, returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
Genesis 21:22-34
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
You may remember the first encounter that Abraham had with Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-18), the king of the Philistines. Abraham had moved to Gerar and lied about Sarah, telling Abimelech that she was really his sister. He did this out of fear that Abimelech would steal Sarah away and put him to death if the king knew that she was Abraham’s wife.
In our previous message from that event, we examined how Abraham lacked faith in God and decided to try and work out a plan by himself, a deceitful plan at that. You’ll remember as well, that God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him not to sleep with Sarah because she was married. This set up a confrontation between Abimelech and Abraham as the king challenged him over what he had done. You’ll also recall that God had rendered Abimelech’s wife and slave girls barren and Abraham prayed that this impediment would be removed by the Lord but the damage had been done in regard to his reputation with the king.
In today’s scripture passage, we see where he gets a chance to redeem himself. Look again at those words here:
At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his forces, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you."
Abraham said, "I swear it."
Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized. But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."
So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?" He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."
So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his forces, returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
Genesis 21:22-34
As we get into this message, a couple of questions for you.
1. Have you ever done anything that brought your integrity into question?
2. Have you ever reached a place where someone couldn’t trust you?
3. How about a situation where you found yourself unable to trust someone else?
Keep these in mind as we move through what the Lord is saying to us today.
You know, at the end of Chapter 20, we find Abimelech saying this to Abraham:
"My land is before you; live wherever you like."
So Abraham did just that and in today’s scripture, we see where he continues to have dealings with Abimelech. At the beginning of the passage, Abimelech attempts to reestablish trust in Abraham, saying:
"God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you."
Abraham accepts this oath by saying, "I swear."
Notice that Abimelech makes Abraham swear before God that he will not engage in any more falsehood. There was divine accountability ushered in when Abraham vowed to do as Abimelech asked.
This leads to some more questions:
1. Have you ever had to make a promise that you would tell the truth to someone you may have lied to so to regain their trust?
2. Did you make that promise with God as your witness and accountability point?
3. How about anytime you asked for a promise from someone else so to start rebuilding faith in them again? Did you have them "swear to God"?
Well, as we go back to the scriptures, we get a sense that Abraham’s willingness to make the vow went a long way toward renewing channels of viable communication between him and Abimelech and that was a good thing because there was a problem they had to deal with.
For we read that a dispute had risen up between Abraham’s people and Abimelech’s servants after the king’s servants seized a community well. Obviously, this was a critical issue because the well was needed to provide water to the people and as we know, water is necessary for survival. Abraham wasn’t about to see his people go thirsty so he takes the matter to the king who responded with surprise:
"I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."
Initially, it seems like things are at an impasse but Abimelech didn’t say that he wasn’t willing to work it out with Abraham and this paved the way for a plan that could bring peace and resolution.
The scriptures tell us this:
So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?" He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well." So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
Now, it wasn’t uncommon for people to make peace by way of treaties back in biblical days and in this particular one, Abraham gives Abimelech sheep and cattle as well as seven ewes that were set apart. He then asks Abimelech to accept the lambs as a witness that Abraham had dug the well himself and therefore it should be rightfully his. To validate his point further, the number of lambs Abraham offered was seven and we know that the number seven symbolizes completeness in the Bible. Abraham was professing a complete truth to Abimilech and we read where the king accepted the oath made between them.
As we get set to close, some final questions to consider:
1. Have you ever offered anything as a gesture to someone to let them know you’re telling the truth in a matter?
2. Have you ever had to enter into a truce with someone else? If so, how did you seal the agreement?
In today’s scripture, we learn that the best way to resolve conflict is by peaceful means. No one got hurt in the dispute between Abraham’s people and Abimelech’s servants because Abraham and Abimelech were willing to enter into a collaborative, cooperative relationship to ensure there would be a diplomatic outcome.
And that was just what they reached.
But let’s not forget what was really going on here. For it wasn’t enough that Abimelech and Abraham both wanted to reach a resolution. The key was that they desired to do so with God as the witness. Abraham swore his oath by His name and then He watched over the negotiations after that.
This is the main take away for us all from this devotional. For when we are in a place of conflict with another, we need to always, and I will say it again always, ask the Lord to be in the midst of the resolution for He, and only He will, will bring us to a place of successful closure and peace.
After all, He is our Wonderful Counselor, Almighty Mediator, and reconciling Prince of Peace.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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