For the Genesis 21:22-27 PODCAST, Click Here!
22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt." 24 And Abraham said, "I will swear." 25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today." 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. ~ Genesis 21:22-27
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 21 where we see that the three different stories in this chapter all take place around a well which is always illustrative of the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. This is the eternal life that He taught on so many times while He walked this earth; it describes our personal relationship with Him. In contrast to the eternal life that God has granted us, when we live life serving the flesh, we discover this approach to life never works. As is illustrated over and over in the Bible, the only way to inherit the blessing of God is to trust in the promises of God. Abraham was counted righteous because he "believed the Lord."
In v.22-24 of today's passage we read, "22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, 'God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.' 24 And Abraham said, 'I will swear.'"
This covenant is none other than the golden rule: Do unto others as they have done unto you. This statement the Lord Jesus taught in reference to loving our enemies. The Lord Jesus took the conventional quid pro quo method of treating people and turned it on its head. Rather than doing to others what they have done to us or giving them what they may deserve, we are to treat them the way we want them to treat us.
Like Abraham, when we are defined by the Lord as evidenced by our obedience to what He tells us to do, His presence will be heightened in and through our lives. This blessedness that Abraham was enjoying is what prompted Abimelech the King of Gerar to make his request of Abraham. Even though Abimelech noticed God at work in Abraham's life, Abraham was still a failure in many ways. The secret to our success will always be due to God's presence in our lives. Our greatest influence in the lives of others always comes on the heels of our diligence to allow God to call the shots in our lives. Often we are not even aware of the ripple effect that God causes to come about in and through our yielded lives.
Having said that, getting what he long desired did not solve Abraham's problems. Not only was there relational tensions in his family and heartbreak, Abraham didn’t own any land. Abraham was wealthy and had lots of possessions, yet he was still a stranger wherever he went, as seen in this dispute between him and Abimelech about the well. If Abraham had owned the land, there would have been no dispute. This world is not our home and we, like Abraham, will never fit into it.
However Abimelech knew that Abraham wasn’t going to just be a powerful leader and then fade away, but that his line would continue forever. Because of this, he asked for him to speak not only for himself, but for his son, and his future descendants. Essentially, Abimelech asked for Lex Talionis or "an eye for an eye" which meant that as Abimelech showed kindness to Abraham and his people, Abraham would show kindness to Abimelech and his people.
In v.25-27 of today's passage we read, "25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, 'I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.' 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant."
This story took place in Beersheba where there was lots of sand, rocks, and heat. That enjoyed two rain seasons at that time known as the former and latter rains which came in the fall and in the spring of the year. During those times when the season didn’t produce rain, a well was the only source of water. This explains why Abraham was so concerned about this well. Abimelech’s servants had seized that well and that act threatened the covenant that was just made. Abraham had the power to take the well back by force and keep it guarded, but instead, he graciously kept the matter concealed. Abimelech was not aware that the well had been seized by his men. In response, Abimelech was as gracious to Abraham as Abraham was to him. Thus, the covenant worked.
It was Abimelech who asked for the agreement, and Abraham agreed to it. Abraham was therefore the one who offered the animals because he was the one who was granting the request of Abimelech, the King of Gerar. Abraham provided the animals which was evidence that God was continuing to define him because earlier in Genesis 15 God had death with him in this way. This is why it is so important that we walk in obedience to God because this is the goal of God to use our yielded lives in the lives of others who have yet to enter into a personal relationship with Him.
As we will see, God required animal sacrifices to provide a temporary covering for sin because only life overcomes death. Animal sacrifices were also required in order to foreshadow the perfect and the complete sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Animal sacrifice is an important theme found throughout Scripture because "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." And, if there is no shedding of blood and there is not forgiveness of sin, there is no personal relationship with God.
