Genesis 21:22-34, the story of Abraham’s covenant with King Abimelech, is one of those passages in the Bible that is often ignored in commentaries and sermon series.  While the lack of attention cannot justified, it is understandable. After all, the story is sandwiched between two monumental events in the Abraham narrative — the birth of Isaac and the call to sacrifice Isaac. Given the import of these two occasions, the account of the treaty between Abimelech and Abraham may not appear to be “newsworthy.” Why does the narrator feel compelled to include it? Does it only provide  transitional space between the birth and the call to sacrifice or is it something more? I suggest that it is something more.  I believe it serves a critical function within the Abraham narrative and is instructive for all descendants of Abraham (including believers today).

It is helpful to compare and contrast this account with the other recorded encounters with foreign kings. In both of his previous encounters (12:10-20; 20:1-18),  Abraham instructed Sarah to lie about her relationship to him (12:13). However, this time Abraham “swears” that he will “not deal falsely” with the king (21:23-24). Earlier, Abraham feared death (12:13; 20:11), but now, he displays a lack of fear as he stands before a powerful king and the commander of his army (21:22). In both of the previous accounts, Abraham is rebuked by the foreign king (12:18-19; 20:9-10). In this account, it is Abraham who rebukes the foreign king (21:25). In the first two encounters, the foreign kings gave Abraham sheep and oxen (12:16; 20:14-16). Now, Abraham gives the ruler sheep and oxen (21:27).

What caused the changes in Abraham? What occurred in his life that caused him to go from fear to faith and from deception to sworn integrity? I believe the primary reason for his newfound courage and honesty was the birth of the long-awaited offspring (Gen 21:1-7), the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. This event radically strengthened Abraham’s faith in God. He realized what Abimelech had also observed: “God is with you in all that you do” (21:22). The miraculous birth of Isaac to an old man and a barren woman was a profound demonstration of the powerful presence of the “Everlasting God” (21:33). What did Abraham have to fear?

The book of Matthew records a similar event which radically changes the descendants of Abraham. The miraculous birth of Jesus Christ to no man (Matt 1:18) and a virgin woman (1:23) is the greatest demonstration of God’s powerful presence to his people. In fact, he is called, “‘Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (1:23) and he is with his people “always, to the end of the age” (28:19). What, then, do we have to fear?

Discussion Questions:

The narrator ends this account by stating that “Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.”

  • Why is the fact that he mentions the Philistines in connection with Abraham surprising?
  • The Philistines are mentioned more often in the book of Samuel than any other book. Do you see any connection between Abraham’s living in the land of the Philistines and the Israelites’ battles with the Philistines? How does this connection relate to my post above?
  • Abraham named the place where the covenant was made, “Beersheba.” Would this be significant to later Israelites?
  • There is one other account of Abraham encountering a foreign king that I didn’t mention in my post above — Gen 14. In that account, the narrator surprisingly mentions “Dan” (14:14). Would this be significant to later Israelites?