A Treaty with Abimelech

Story: A treaty with Abimelech

Passage: Genesis 21:22-34

Characters: Abimelech, Phicol, Abraham,

Summary: Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army were worried that Abraham had grown to strong. They made Abraham swear to deal honestly with them and their land. Abraham then rebuked Abimelech because some of his servants had taken a well belonging to Abraham. Abraham set apart seven lambs and gave them to Abimelech as a witness that he had dug the well. After Abimelech and Phicol had left, Abraham called on the name of the Lord and planted a tree.

Notes: Abraham had been so blessed that Abimelech was intimidated by him. When we read what he says to Abraham, it is obvious that he is worried that Abraham will take his land. If he was aware of God’s promise to Abraham, he had good reason to be worried! Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech and then immediately brought up the conflict over his well. When I read this passage I wondered if the wording was significant when the passage says Abraham set apart 7 lambs. To be set apart is what the word holy means. Abraham consecrated these lambs and then gave them to Abimelech as a witness. This proved that Abraham believed what he said. No one is willing to sacrifice for what they know is a lie. We make sacrifices for what we believe to be true. If we aren’t willing to sacrifice for something, we either don’t believe that it is true, or we don’t think it is worth sacrificing for. Look at your own life and at what you make sacrifices for. If you make sacrifices for your own benefit, what does that mean you believe in? Abraham left this meeting and immediately called on the Lord. I would have thought this would have been good to do before making a covenant with the Philistines, but it is obvious that Abraham tried to stay in communication with God. He wanted to make sure he was still following the plan God had laid out for him.

Questions: Why was Abraham so intimidating to Abimelech? Why was the commander of his army present? Why did Abraham plant a tree? What do we make sacrifices for? Do we legitimately make sacrifices for God? If not, why not?

Lessons: We need to be willing to make sacrifices for God if we believe in Him. We know he is worth it and deserves it. If we are not willing to sacrifice for God, we need to really examine our actions and our motivations for our actions. It is also important that we call on the name of the Lord. We want to be in constant communication with God through prayer and live in full submission to His will through the Spirit.