• Play:  
• Artist: Rev. Dr. Dana Goodnough
• Title: Abraham & Isaac, "Abraham's Treaty at Beersheba", Genesis 21:22-34
• Album: CD-2010-07-18
• Year: 2010
• Length: 29:19 minutes (6.73 MB)
• Format: MP3 Mono 22kHz 32Kbps (CBR)

ABRAHAM’S TREATY AT BEERSHEBA

(Genesis 21:22-34)

            The account of Abraham and Abimelech at Beersheba presents of slice of daily life in a nomadic community.  To desert dwellers, water is everything.  Having access to consistent water sources ensures success over failure, even life over death.  It’s not surprising, therefore, to discover that Abraham encountered conflicts with his neighboring nomads.  In Abraham’s encounter with Abimelech we discover that Abraham’s reputation for being under God’s blessing had spread widely.  Because of Abraham’s unique relationship with God, he had to live to a higher calling.  Those who follow God must live above the world’s standard.  We must be a people of God who are characterized by integrity, peace, and vision.

Let God be evident in your life—

be a man or woman of integrity (21:22-24).

            Local tribal leaders took notice of Abraham’s relationship with God.  The people of God should live in such a way that those outside the fold recognize the hand of God in our lives.  One telltale mark of a child of God is a life of integrity.

Abimelech, a Philistine ruler, acknowledged God’s manifest blessing in Abraham’s life (21:22).

Abraham’s journeys had taken him into the desert area south of Hebron known as the Negev bordering on the Philistine territory.  When Abraham first arrived in that region he, in a moment of hesitant faith, lied about Sarah, calling her his sister.  It was only by God’s gracious intervention that Sarah was protected from the intentions of the king of Gerar, Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-18).  Apparently Abraham continued to live in that region for several years.  During this time Isaac was born and weaned and Ishmael was sent away.  At that time Abimelech went to Abraham to establish a peace treaty.  Abimelech took his military leader, Phicol, along with him, probably to reinforce the importance of this treaty.  It was evident to Abimelech that God had blessed Abraham.  “God is with you in everything you do,” he declared.  Abraham’s wealth had increased.  His flocks had multiplied.  Abraham had become a powerful man and, in Abimelech’s eyes, a potential threat to the stability of the region.  Still, Abimelech acknowledged that Abraham’s success was a mark of the blessing of God.  People should recognize God’s hand at work in our lives.

Abimelech requested a peace treaty with Abraham (21:23).

            Because of Abraham’s increasing influence in the region, Abimelech pressed for a peace treaty.  He expressed this interest in terms of integrity.  Abimelech would have certainly remembered Abraham’s earlier lapse of faith and his lie about Sarah.  So Abimelech asked Abraham to swear that he would not lie.  Abimelech wanted peaceful relations between himself and his descendants and Abraham and his descendants.  Abimelech had been kind to Abraham.  He requested that Abraham treat him in the same way.  In other words, Abimelech wanted assurance of ongoing peaceful coexistence.

Abraham agreed to form a peace treaty with Abimelech (21:24).

            Abraham agreed to Abimelech’s request.  “I will swear to it,” he told Abimelech.  Abraham knew that his wealth came from God and was always in God’s hands.  He didn’t intend to encroach on Abimelech’s property or force Abimelech out of the region.  Abraham was a man of integrity, and he gave his word to Abimelech.  When we claim to be God’s people, others should see evidence of God’s work in our lives.  One mark of a true believer will be personal integrity.

Learn to get along well with others—

be a man or woman of peace (21:25-30).

            While Abraham was eager to enter into a peace treaty with Abimelech, there was one source of contention.  It involved the rights to a particular well.  Abraham demonstrated that he could get along with Abimelech, just as God’s people today must learn to get along with others.  We must be characterized by interpersonal peace.

Abraham raised the issue of a well which Abimelech’s servants had stolen (21:25-26).

            Water is essential to life, and wells are essential to a nomadic existence.  With growing flocks and limited water supplies, it’s not surprising to read that tensions had grown between Abimelech’s men and Abraham.  It’s interesting to note that Abraham didn’t go to Abimelech and complain about the seizure of one of his wells.  Instead, it appears that Abraham was willing to endure the loss in order to maintain peace.  However, since Abimelech had come to Abraham to establish a peace treaty, Abraham took the opportunity to raise the issue of the well.  Abraham said that Abimelech’s men had stolen one of his wells.  If there was going to be peace, issues like this had to be settled peacefully.  Abimelech denied any knowledge of his men’s actions in regard to Abraham’s well.  Therefore, this matter could easily be addressed.  Abimelech didn’t contest Abraham’s claim, and it appears that he readily returned the well to Abraham.

Abraham provided the appropriate gifts and struck a peace treaty with Abimelech (21:27).

            Since matters were clear between these two men, Abraham gave sheep and cattle to Abimelech as tokens of their lasting cooperation.  Together Abraham and Abimelech “made a treaty,” or literally “cut a covenant.”  Abraham was a man of peace.  He eagerly provided all that was necessary to establish peace with his neighbor.

Abraham also offered seven lambs to Abimelech to settle the ownership of the disputed well (21:28-30).

            In addition to the animals used to establish the peace treaty, Abraham also selected seven ewe lambs and set them apart for Abimelech.  He explained to Abimelech that these seven lambs were a testimony to Abraham’s ownership of the disputed well.  Abimelech’s acceptance of these lambs would signify his acknowledgement that Abraham had dug the well and owned its water rights.  Abraham wanted to make sure that there would be no further conflicts between his men and Abimelech’s men over the well.  Abraham was a man of peace.  He knew how to get along with others.  He knew how to settle differences equitably.  We can learn a great deal from Abraham’s example.

Leave a lasting legacy of faith—

be a man or woman of vision (21:31-34).

            What Abraham did after he made a peace treaty with Abimelech shows us once again that he was a man of faith.  He took his present experience and looked to the future.

Abraham called the well Beersheba or Well of the Oath (21:31).

            The well of water that was at the heart of Abraham’s dispute with Abimelech became known as Beersheba, a Hebrew word that means either “Well of the Oath” or “Well of the Sevens.”  The Hebrew words for “swearing an oath” and “seven” come from the same root.  The verb for swearing an oath makes its first Old Testament appearance in this context and is used three times (verses 23, 24, and 31).  The word “seven” also appears three times in this text (verses 28, 29, and 30).  Since “seven” often implies completion or perfection, it may be that the well called Beersheba would be a constant reminder to Abraham and Abimelech of their complete confidence in their sworn oath.  In anticipation of a lasting peace, Abraham named the well Beersheba.

Abraham planted a tree at Beersheba and called on the Lord as the Eternal God (21:32-34).

            Abraham was a man of vision.  He anticipated a future.  He believed God’s grand covenant and prepared a lasting legacy of faith.  Again the text states that Abraham and Abimelech “cut a covenant,” that is, established a peace treaty.  Afterward, Abimelech and his military commander, Phicol, returned “to the land of the Philistines.”  The Philistines were a migratory group that became more prominent later in history, but had apparently made early migrations to the southern coast of Palestine as early as Abraham’s day.  Abimelech and his tribal group were Philistines (compare Genesis 26:8). 

After Abimelech returned home, Abraham “planted a tamarisk tree” at Beersheba.  A tamarisk tree is a hardy evergreen that can endure desert conditions.  Planting a tree implies a long term perspective on life.  Abraham was looking toward the future.  He planted this tree anticipating God’s blessing over the years and generations that lay ahead. 

At that time Abraham also “called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.”  He understood the unending nature of God—God’s eternality.  Abraham also understood his own unending nature—he had been created by God to enjoy life with God eternally.  The fact that Abraham called on the Lord as his eternal God at this juncture in his life indicates that Abraham was looking toward the future.  Hebrews 11:10 says, “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”  Abraham was a man of faith and a man of vision.  His faith prompted him to look to the future, to build a lasting legacy.  Even though Abraham continued to live in the land of the Philistines for a long time, his heart was with God in heaven.  Those who follow God must live above the world’s standard.  We must live as those who are simply pilgrims in this world, who have a homeland in heaven.  With an eternal perspective of God and our eternal life in Him, we can be people who are characterized by integrity, peace, and vision.