"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
You may remember the first encounter that Abraham had with Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-18), the king of the Philistines. Abraham had Gerar and lied about Sarah, telling Abimelech that Sarah was really his sister. He did this because he feared that Abimelech would steal Sarah away from him and put him to death if the king knew that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. 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 Abimelech challenges Abraham concerning what he had done. You also recall that Abimelech’s wife and slave girls had been rendered barren by the Lord. Abraham prays and this impediment is removed by the Lord. So you can see that Abraham hasn’t exactly established a modicum of trust with the king. He gets a chance to redeem himself in today’s scripture.
Question: Have you ever done anything that brought your integrity into question? Have you ever reached a place where someone couldn’t trust you? How about a situation where you found yourself unable to trust someone else?
At the end of the passage in Chapter 20, Abimelech tells Abraham, "My land is before you; live wherever you like." So Abraham does and in today’s scripture he continues to have dealings with Abimelech. At the beginning of the passage, Abimelech attempts to reestablish trust in Abraham. He says, "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 the 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 said, "I swear."
Question: Have you ever had to make an oath to tell the truth to someone you have deceived so you could start to regain their trust? Did you take the oath with God as your witness and accountability point? How about anytime you had to have someone take an oath toward you so you could trust them? Did you have them "swear to God"?
Well, we get a sense that Abraham taking the oath renewed channels of viable communication between him and Abimelech and that was a good thing because there was a problem they had to deal with.
We read that a dispute came up between Abraham’s people and Abimelech’s servants after Abimelech’s servants seized a community well. Obviously, this was critical for the well was needed to provide water to the people and water was necessary for survival. Abraham couldn’t see his people go thirsty so he takes the matter to the king. Abimelech tells Abraham, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today." It seems like things are at an impasse but Abimelech didn’t say that he wasn’t willing to work it out with Abraham. This allows Abraham to execute a plan of peace and resolution.
Scripture tells us, "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." It wasn’t uncommon for people to make peace by way of treaties back in biblical days. In this one, Abraham gives Abimelech sheep and cattle to make the treaty and there are seven ewes set apart. Abraham asks Abimelech to accept the lambs as a witness that Abraham had dug the well. Abraham was trying to establish Abimelech’s trust that he did indeed dig the well and thus the well should be rightfully his. To validate his point, Abraham used seven as the number of lambs offered. Seven is symbolic of perfection in the bible and so Abraham was implying a perfect truth in what he was telling Abimilech. Abimelech accepts Abraham’s offer and an oath is established between them.
Question: Have you ever offered anything as a gesture to someone to let them know you’re telling the truth in a matter? Have you ever had to enter into a truce with another? 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 and Abimelech’s servants because Abraham and Abimelech were willing to enter into a collaborative, cooperative relationship to ensure there would be a peaceful outcome. And that was just what they reached. But it wasn’t enough that Abimelech and Abraham desired to work things out…the key was that they did so under the witness of God. Abraham swore to truth to Him and He watched over the negotiations after that. We need to have this as our big takeaway from this devotional:
When you are in a place of conflict with another, always…and I say always…ask the Lord to enter in and resolve the issue. He, and only He will, will bring you to the place of peace. After all, He is the Wonderful Counselor…the Almighty Mediator….and the reconciling Prince of Peace.
Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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