Sermon Tone Analysis

Background

Last week we saw Abraham journey and settle in the Negev, the south country, in Gerar.

He continues to wander as a stranger within the land that has been promised to him and his descendants.

He interacted with the king, Abimelech, who took Sarah for his own after Abraham said she was his sister.

While Abraham acted in fear, God protected His promise to Abraham and rescued Sarah.

We’re going to do things a little differently for the next 3 weeks.

Ordinarily, I go verse by verse, chapter by chapter, in order.

For the next 3 weeks, though, we’ll be jumping around a little bit and observing things in chunks, based on what’s taking place.

Today, we’ll be looking at the last portions of chapters 21 and 22.

Remember what we saw take place last week: Abimelech took Sarah because he was told that Abraham was her brother, but was in fact misled by an omission of the truth.

The truth was revealed by God in a dream, and Abimelech returned Sarah, but only after confronting Abraham about the truth.

The timing of this event corresponds with what took place earlier in the chapter (which we will talk about next week), but no more than one year has passed since the events of chapter 20.

In this instance, we see that there is some distrust on Abimelech’s part, since Abraham was not completely honest the first time they interacted.

It is noted that he brought with him Phicol, a fighting man and commander of his army, who would’ve been protected by a small band of warriors.

However, Abimelech also acknowledges the blessings and success that Abraham has received from his God.

This is the same God who revealed Himself to Abimelech in a dream, so he takes this God, and therefore Abraham, very seriously.

"God is with you” is a repeated idea in this section.

There is no hostility in this interaction.

He asks Abraham to swear by his God, and reminds him of the kindness that he showed him by letting him settle within the borders of Gerar, even after the subterfuge.

Whether he knows it or not, Abimelech is living out an earlier promise God made to Abraham:

Abraham gave his assent by swearing, showing goodwill, but followed up with a grievance - his well was seized by Abimelech’s servants.

This act counters Abimelech’s earlier hospitality and kindness of allowing Abraham to sojourn within his borders.

The idea here is robbery, and once again something that belongs to Abraham is taken by Abimelech.

Abimelech’s answer to this grievance is ignorance, which is important because had he known of the offense, it would have revealed his duplicity with Abraham.

This whole exchange would’ve been for nothing.

Interestingly, he notes that Abraham never told him, putting at least that much blame on Abraham himself.

Abraham produces the animals necessary to “cut” the covenant (recall chapter 15), and they enter into covenant with one another, with the terms being that they will treat each other and their households with honesty and kindness.

Curiously, Abraham leaves apart 7 young lambs from his flock, which were not a part of the cutting of the covenant.

Abimelech inquires about this.

Abraham gives them to Abimelech as a witness that the well belongs to him.

This is reminiscent of Abimelech giving possessions and silver to Abraham and Sarah, as a witness to her honor.

This was quite the gift to give, taking very generous number of valuable lambs from the herd.

Not only does it show his wealth, but also his sincerity.

It’s possible Abimelech was on guard with this gift, having just ratified their covenant, and now accepting a gift that may be binding to him (remember those lambs...?).

After having made a covenant with Abimelech, the well became known as Beersheba, the “well of an (sevenfold) oath.”

This well would be in the northern area of the Negev.

The Philistines returned to their land, and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree.

This tree would also act as a memorial.

He once again called upon the name of the LORD, but this time he used El Olam.

This word is often translated “everlasting.”

“Everlasting to everlasting”

God has, at this point, fulfilled His promises to Abraham, and he is declaring his devotion in this pagan land.

God’s plans for our lives move outside of our timeline.

Abraham stayed in this land for quite some time, as we’ll see as the story progresses.

As Abraham continues to live his days out in this land, we see information come to him from his relatives.

The timing of this section will be after the events of chapter 22, which we will see in a couple of weeks.

The importance of this information may seem trivial, but it’s not.

Recall in chapter 11:

The importance of this information will play out in the following chapters, but it reestablishes Abraham within his familial bonds.

APPLICATION

"God is with you” is a repeated idea in this section.

God’s plans for our lives move outside of our timeline.

Next week, we will continue the story of Abraham and see the birth of Isaac.