September 30, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelek 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.” (Genesis 21.27-31)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Beersheba. Sound familiar? It should because it was mentioned just twelve verses earlier in the story of Hagar and Ishmael sent out into the desert. Mighty ones of God, there are no accidents nor happenstances. For those who trust in the Lord, there is, as Solomon wrote, “…a reason and a season for everything.” Before one might think that Abraham was a callous man who had the ability to simply cast off Hagar and Ishmael because of Sarah’s demand, I would remind you that Abraham went off by himself to lament and seek God’s guidance. God spoke to Abraham to do what Sarah asked because she was right in what she said. She said to Abraham that it would only be through Isaac that the covenant of God with him would be fulfilled. It would not come through Ishmael. Could it have been that Sarah perceived in Abraham a desire to take a middle road so that he could keep both his sons with him? Did he consider that he could, as the old saying goes, “Have his cake and eat it, too”? I dare say it was not as easy as saying Abraham loved the boy, Ishmael. Abraham believed also in God. Yet, our humanity has the most difficult time grasping one and letting go of the other. True, Ishmael was “bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.” No father should be easily capable of sending away a child or anyone for whom he had affection. Did Abraham’s love for Ishmael cloud his thinking and his remembering what God had said? It would be hard to blame him if he did. He was understandably connected to Ishmael. (Did Sarah also fear a connection might still exist between Abraham and Hagar for a similar reason?) Bottomline is that Abraham was faithful to God and to Sarah. Yet, he still loved Ishmael and had to have feelings for Hagar in some sense of the word love. Abraham could not so easily dismiss any of that. So Abraham went into the desert to pray and consult God on the matter. Abraham was confronted by God there in the Desert of Beersheba. He affirmed to him that His promise to him and Isaac was intact. He also calmed Abraham with the promise that Ishmael, too, would be a father of nations. Did Abraham do something else while he consulted God in the desert?

The clue may be in the story of Abimelek and Phicol who came to negotiate a peace between them in fear of Abraham’s prosperity and presence in their land. (Was it really their land now that God had promised it to Abraham as an inheritance by faith?) They obviously feared the God of Abraham and thus Abraham by default. Abraham was agreeable and they agreed to live in peace. It was at that point Abraham brought up a violation of his property by one of the people of Abimelek’s people. A well that Abraham dug had been taken over. Perhaps, the person did not know it was Abraham’s well. Nonetheless, the well was the said property of Abraham and he wanted it back and protected. Abimelek agreed. As a sign of the agreement, Abraham offered seven ewe lambs. The acceptance of such a priceless gift, as it was to Abraham, by Abimelek sealed the contractual agreement. The well was redeemed and reconciled back to Abraham. Does that “transaction” sound familiar to you, mighty ones of God? It was a foreshadowing of our own redemption and reconciliation transaction through the gifting of a perfect offering of a perfect lamb seven times over. (I use the “seven” in reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God because of Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness spoken to Peter who asked “How many times must I forgive someone?” Jesus answer was “seven times, seven times seven [that is, jubilee] and seventy times seven [which becomes eschatogical concerning the fullness of time leadng to the restoration of God’s people].) Here in Genesis 21, Abraham has negotiated the reconciliation and redemption of the well in Beersheba. Was it the well God revealed to Hagar? Had Abraham dug the well himself or been directed to do so by God on Hagar’s behalf? Did Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael into the Desert of Beersheba with just enough water to last until they reached the place where the well was but not yet known to them? It makes for a good story.

What is important here, mighty ones of God, is the significance of the gifting of the seven ewe lambs to Abimelek. When he asked Abraham about them, Abraham simply and matter of factly commented, “It means ‘I have dug this well.’” There was no further need of explanation. Seven ewe lambs was meaning and purposeful to Abraham. It was for him a covenant and sign not only of that transaction but of his relationship and trust in God who was keeping His word. The gift was holy, pleasing and acceptable to God and for Abraham it served as another sign to Abimelek of Abraham’s deep belief system. No other culture was known to make such a gesture. Mighty ones of God, the God who sees and reveals His plan of salvation for us and to deliver us from the desert places in our lives where “sin had sent us” is that same God of Abraham and Hagar. Provision is made for our “living water” and for our future. God has promised. God has made it so. What shall we offer Him who has offered us the best sign and gift of all?

TODAYS’ PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.