Well of The Oath
The Book of Beginnings • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 42:48
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· 897 viewsWhat is the difference between man’s oath and an oath from God? What does that mean for us?
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INTRO
INTRO
Have you ever signed a contract?
Phone Plan
Mortgage
Car Lease
Stipulations & fine print
Breaking the contract has consequences
end date or termination procedure
Treaty between Abraham and Abimelech
TITLE & TEXT
TITLE & TEXT
Well of the Oath
Genesis 21.22-34
THEME
THEME
God’s covenant is an everlasting covenant.
ISRAEL
Adam - seed & serpent
Noah - flood & rainbow
Abraham - land & offspring
Abimelech & Abraham
US
How can I apply a treaty between Abraham and Abimelech to myself today and to my future?
Why does it matter if God’s covenant is everlasting or not?
PRAY
God our Father as we look into your precious Word today please give us your Spirit and allow us the ability to apply it to our own lives in a very personal way. Help us to see how this centuries old agreement between two men points us toward Christ. Help us to see what impact your eternal nature should have on our daily lives. God give us ears to hear, eyes to see, renew our minds, and renew a right spirit within us.
Amen
TEXT EXPOSITION
TEXT EXPOSITION
At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized, Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.
Context
Chap 20
Abimelech & Sarah
Chap 21
Isaac Born
Hagar Sent Away
God Protects Hagar & Ishmael
well in wilderness
At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do.
Abrahams Asked for a Treaty - 22-26
AT THAT TIME
Lot on His Plate
no such thing as down time for followers of God
ARMY COMMANDER
Show of Force?
witness
GOD IS WITH YOU!
No Question
the dream
the promise
BY GOD
Good as Gold
NT = yes be yes & no be no
DEAL FALSELY
Instead Righteously
DESCENDANTS & POSTERITY
Me / Children / Grandchildren / So on…
extended family / servants / so on...
AS I HAVE
Remember Chapter 20
Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.
Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
THE SOJOURNED LAND
Irony is The Promised Land!
I SWEAR
Swear = Shaba = oath, promise, vow
How well are we doing at this?
What’s being said here is this:
Oh man of God, I can see that God is with you in all you do, will you then promise me by His name that you will deal righteously with me and those who I hold dear?
Are we living in such a way that would make it obvious to others that we are followers of Christ?
When we are praised, do we turn that praise toward God who is truly the one who is deserving?
Are we seeking to treat others with respect, honor and integrity regardless if they are in our camp or not?
Let it never be said of a man or women of God that a godless pagan has more self sacrifice, more integrity, more humility, more kindness, more love then the ones who were purchased by the precious blood of the LAMB.
Abraham was able to say, “I swear” to Abimelech to treat him righteously and mean it because God was with him in all that he did. Beloved, the only way that you and I can even begin to hope to treat the ones we love let alone others righteously is if we are daily and continuously dyeing to ourselves and following after Christ!
When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized,
REPROVED - v25
Correction & Rebuke
To reprove means to argue a case for something
To share truth done in love even if offensive is to deal righteously
this is in front of army commander!
WELL
Well = Beer
Hagar & Ishmael
So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized,
SEIZING SERVANTS
Continues Issue
Isaac - fighting with Abimelech’s servants over wells
ch 26
(Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.)
And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them.
the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
Water = Life
Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.”
NO KNOWLEDGE
Same Defense
Did not know
Did not tell me
Until now
integrity?
Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath.
Abrahams Treaty - 27-31
COVENANT
Abraham Takes His Word
Mutual Benefit
The difference in covenants...
made by men
given by God
7 EWE LAMBS
Young Female Sheep
Seven - # of Fullness
One of the accepted ceremonially clean animals for sacrifice
Offered up as a sin offering
WITNESS
Testimony
BEERSHEBA
Beer = well
Shaba = Oath
Well of the oath / Well of the seven
So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
How well are we doing at this?
What is happening here is this:
One neighbor has offended and wronged the other unknowingly. The one goes to the other and brings up the wrong done. The two talk over the issue. The one offended respects and accepts the word of the one responsible for the offense. The two come to an agreement and an understanding even in the face of conflict. The one chosen by God is willing to prove his integrity in the situation even if it costs him something.
Are we bold enough in our faith in God and what is right to lovingly take a stand against that which is wrong?
Are we quick to cover over an offense, forgive a transgression, and move forward toward reconciliation with others?
Are we like Abraham willing to stand behind the integrity of our word even if that means it will cost us something?
Notice beloved that Abraham does not call him a liar, does not refuse his treaty, does not cast him out. Rather he agrees to the treaty and even in effect pays for a well that he himself had already dug.
Abraham is only able to respond this way because he is aware that all the blessings he has are directly from the hand of God. His integrity as a man of God is worth far more then the price of a few lambs.
Abrahams Worship - 32-34
COVENANT @ BEERSHEBA
Southern End of Land
First With Man
Trade rout
place of significance later also
ABIMELECH & PHICOL
King & Commander
PHILISTINES
Gentiles
Enemies
Land of the Philistines
God had given it to Abraham
Abimelech had given freedom to Abraham
TAMARISK TREE
Flowering Evergreen Tree
Hardy and deep rooted
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.
Called on the name of the LORD
personal
reminiscent of Noah & Seth
Even in the middle of the desert, if God is there it is as if we are with Him in the garden!
LORD & EL-OLAM
YHWH
Of The Ages
SOJOURNED IN LAND
Sojourner = Alien / Visiter / Guest
Many days
land of Philistines
What does all this have to do with me?
Remember the theme:
God’s covenant is an everlasting covenant.
This is what I want for you to see today:
I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
And the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
as your portion for an inheritance.”
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Go Read Hebrews 9-10
Unlike man when God makes a covenant it is everlasting because eternality is intrinsic to His very nature. When God made His covenantal oath with us for our salvation through Christ, He swore on his own name, and wrought it with His own blood. Just like Noah’s salvation from the flood this covenant also is a one sided covenant because there is nothing we can do to earn it or deserve it. As this covenant with Abraham and Abimelech foreshadows for us with these seven lambs, God’s covenant with us is the righteous with the unrighteous, perfect and complete and based on the giving of the Lamb. Through this covenant we have access to the living water found only in Christ Jesus.
Therefore beloved I ask you today...
Because God’s Covenant With Us Is Everlasting
Plant yourself by it.
Drink deeply and often from His fount.
Continuously call on the name of the LORD the everlasting God as you sojourn here?
Lastly beloved I want for you to see that unlike the covenants of man the covenant of God will never end and therefore we can have assurance of our salvation in Him. We can boldly approach the throne of grace, knowing He will hear us and answer us when we call. We have a blessed assurance of our salvation through this everlasting God and His everlasting covenant with us through His everlasting Son who is our eternal high priest interceding on our behalf. Be therefore encouraged by the seal of our salvation through the eternal Holy Spirit of God almighty our everlasting LORD.
This is what this section of scripture can remind us of, this is the covenant of God with men through Christ.
Therefore...
GOAL
GOAL
Let us rejoice in our Everlasting God and the eternal security we have in Him and His Covenant with us.
Application
If you do not feel you have recieved this yet do so today.
If you are living in fear, guilt, depression, disobedience, etc. because you wonder if you can loose Him stop.
If you have recieved this oath and are being blessed by it, then tell others.
This world and its rulers and powers cannot stand in the face of our LORD, He will, we will be victorious!
The Lamb of God has been given and stands as a witness to all those who belong to Him.
The Covenant that God has made with His people is an everlasting Covenant because He is an everlasting God.
They who are planted in it shall never be uprooted, dry, or barren again.
CLOSE
CLOSE
God our Father we first lift up those hearing this today who have not yet recieved you as their personal Lord and saviour that they might be so moved this very moment to do so.
Is that you…Invitation.
Father we thank you for the blessing of our eternal security in you. Thank you for the assurance of our salvation! Thank you for the Lamb who was slain, the living water which He gives, and the witness that we have in Him. Oh God because you are eternal so is your covenant with us, thank you for choosing us from before the foundation of the world and calling us to yourself. We praise you that since this work was done all by you and none by me that we can rest assured in your blessed assurence of our salvation!
Amen