Bible in a Year Jan 7: Gen 21:22 – 24:27

 

Jan 7: Gen 21:22 – 24:27

Again today’s text covers a lot of different stories, some seem rather random within the context. Most of us are pretty familiar with the story where God tests Abraham (tests, not tempts…an important distinction) and the story of how a wife was found for Isaac (more on that tomorrow).

But two of the lesser known stories here are important for understanding things that happen later in the book.

First is the treaty between Abimilech (remember, he was the second one who was fooled about Sarah’s true identity) and Abraham. Abimilech is apparently concerned about the power Abraham is beginning to wield in the area and wants to ensure peace. In the process they talk about a well that was forcibly taken by Abimilech’s servants. A well in the desert was obviously an important source of life. Remember this story because we’ll see the well again later in Genesis.

Another story that shows up and seems to take more words than necessary is when Abraham buys a cave so he can bury Sarah. There are lots of legal issues that show up here from the time period that we don’t need to go into, but the key point of this story is to show that Abraham now actually owns a piece of the Holy Land, and he has established a burial place which creates a more permanent foundation for generations to come.

TOMORROW’S TEXT: Gen 24:28 -26:35