October 18, 2026
GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:
“Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba’” (Genesis 22.19)
REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:
The promise of legacy being confirmed with a sacrifice of God’s own choosing based on Abraham’s faithfulness to the One True God, Abraham returned to Beersheba and remained there for a long time. It was the place where the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech had been confirmed. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree near to the well which he himself had dug perhaps for the purpose of supporting Hagar in the wilderness on her journey to Egypt. The meaning of all of this is a place of centering. Abraham knew this place as “the place of an oath” and concurrently, “the well of seven.” We know that seven was a significant number in Judeo-Christian theology. Its representation is found throughout scripture. It signifies a perfection (both good and evil.) Abraham’s return to Beersheba was like a statement that “all is well.” Indeed, all was “well” for Abraham at Beersheba. The promise of God to provide and protect had been fulfilled. Abraham could live out his days in peace knowing full “well” that faith is the only truth to live by.
It is not the same well as Jacob’s well, where Jesus brought reconciliation and restoration to the Samaritan woman but the symbolism should speak to us as we pause here at Beersheba. Jesus said to the woman, “If you draw from this well, you will never thirst again.” It is a directive of living by faith and drawing from the true peace of God to sustain and define one’s life. What is the well, we draw from, mighty ones of God? Where do we center ourselves to be at peace know “it is well with my soul”? Abraham returned to Beersheba and stayed there a long time confident in the word of God for all his life. Shouldn’t we have a Beersheba, too?
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.
