ALIVE: Chapter 36 The Tenant's Plight

The first year was the hardest. Abraham thought of Ishmael every day. He prayed for his son's safety and health. He missed his help and his loving ways. Infant Isaac was no substitute, but he offered a measure of welcome relief from his grief. Little Isaac also mourned the departure of his big brother. Father and son had this in common, together they prayed for Ishmael's safety. Little Isaac wept.

Abraham had other problems to distract him from the loss of his firstborn son. He still resided as an alien in the land of the Philistines and he still had threatening neighbors. Despite the mass circumcision with its pain and embarrassment, Abraham was still a squatter and a wanderer in a dry and dusty land.

Water was more precious than silk, more rare than four leaf clovers, more necessary than sleep. On land belonging to another, Abraham and his men worked day after day digging deep into hard ground without shovels or machines until finally they tapped a vein of cool clean water. Months into it, tough sweaty labor finally paid off. Hallelujah.

When his lazy neighbors spied the new well, their laziness gave way to malice. With weapons they arrived to seize the precious water, beating off Abraham's servants. Then they constructed barriers to keep Abraham and his people away from their well.

While war was in his heart, frantic Abraham wisely sought justice instead. He rode over to Abimelech, the landowner, his landlord, to complain. Luckily Abraham found both Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of Abimelech's army, together. Good. Abimelech could authorize him to take back the well, and Phicol could help make it happen.

Abimelech respected Abraham and was glad to see him approach until he came close enough for Abimelech to notice that this was not a friendly visit.

"Greetings Abraham, God is with you in all that you do;" reminded Abimelech with Phicol looking on curiously right hand on his sword. "Now therefore swear to me by God," continued the landowner defensively, "that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with my land where you have resided as an alien."

Aware that his anger frightened the landlord, Abraham calmly replied, "I swear it. I have come to tell you, that your servants have seized my well."

Abimelech, relieved that the issue was not threatening to him personally replied, "This is the first I have heard of this. I assure you that I did not order my servants to seize your well."

Abraham then fetched his sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech and they made a covenant. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock.

Abimelech said to Abraham, "what is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?"

Abraham replied, "these seven ewe lambs you shall accept from my hand, in order that you may witness for me that I dug this well."

So they both swore an oath to each other that the matter should be considered closed. The well belonged to Abraham.
Abimelech gladly received the livestock, and shook the hand of Abraham in front of Phicol, "I swear on this day that the well is yours, and my servants will no longer rob you of your water. Go in peace."

Abraham replied, "I swear that I will always deal loyally with you."

Therefore the place was called Beersheba because they both swore an oath. After naming the place and swearing an oath to each other Phicol and Abimelech went off to the land of the Philistines.

Abraham returned to his well and announced to Abimelech's bullying servants that they must depart in peace. Then he planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. Thanking him for the peaceful resolution of what could have been a different situation, if Abimelech had instead favored the well thieves. Abraham thanked the Lord that justice had been done.

In turn, the Lord was glad for Abraham's faith who continued to reside as an alien with a circumcised penis, one young son, and no land to call his own.

After wandering from place to place, enduring days of famine, the eviction from Egypt, fighting for his nephew Lot, the embarrassment of the mass circumcision to mark his people as being in a covenant relationship with the Creator God without any evidence that he would have more children or grandchildren, or any property to call his own or to hand down the generations, and having his well seized, Abraham still believed and worshipped God.

Yet there was to be another test of his faith, more difficult than any other. One calm day when Abraham least expected it he heard in his heart God calling him. God said, "Abraham."

"Here I am." He replied.

"Take your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you."