Genesis chapter 21, verses 22 to 34. And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham saying, God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring or with my posterity, but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.' And Abraham said, I will swear.' Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized. And Abimelech said, I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today. So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Then Abimelech asked Abraham, what is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves? And he said, you will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well. Therefore he called that place Beersheba. because the two of them swore an oath there. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days. Well, Abraham is now living somewhere in the south of the land of Canaan, probably somewhere close to Gerar. And Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, came to see Abraham. This was the same king that Abraham had the run-in with over his lying about Sarah being his sister when she was really his wife back in chapter 20. This man is desirous to have a good relationship, a personal good relationship with Abraham, but he is also just a little worried. He knows that Abraham is rich in sheep, cattle, and servants, and so he wants to come to formal terms with Abraham about what kind of business relationship and what kind of personal relationship that they are going to have. He may also have heard the report that Abraham was to inherit the whole land of Canaan through his descendants. And now he has heard that Isaac is born. If this man is to be great, he reasons, then I should come to terms with him. Abimelech remembers that Abraham and Sarah had told him a half-truth about their relationship to each other, and he does not want to be fooled again. He wants a good personal and business relationship with Abraham. If he's a pagan king, he is sure he has a good perception of what it will take to have personal relationships. But it is possible that he has come to know the true and living God. We're talking about Abimelech. Either way, he knows that in order to have good relationships with our neighbors and people that we work with, we need to deal truly and faithfully with them in a covenant way. Now, a covenant in the sense in which we are speaking here is an agreement between two persons where the terms of the agreement are stipulated by one or both sides and then they promise each other by making vows or taking oaths that they will be faithful to that agreement. They also sometimes state what they desire would happen to them if they do not keep their side of the agreement. All this is done to show the other person their desire to deal faithfully. So what I want to do this morning is to ask this question. What does it mean to deal faithfully with others in a covenantal way? And I want to answer that question by stating what it means in five ways. First of all, it means that others recognize your relationship with God to be a real thing. Verse 22. The first thing that Abimelech says to Abraham is, God is with you in all that you do. And so we must ask ourselves, how could Abimelech have perceived this? Well, Abimelech had looked at Abraham's life and he saw that even though he was a stranger and an alien in the land, that God was blessing him. He remembered how God had come and reproved him, that is Abimelech, for having taken Abraham's wife into his household. He remembered that God had shut up all the wombs of the women in his household. He remembered that God would have him restore Abraham's wife, even though he and Sarah were the ones primarily responsible for that situation. He remembered that even though this was true, that God had protected them. And even more, he had given them a child in their old age. Abimelech was intrigued. God was prospering, this wayfaring stranger. And so perhaps he thought, if I can have a good relationship, a good working relationship with him, God will bless me also. God had blessed Abraham with an abundance of cattle and sheep and faithful servants. Yes, that was true. But it was this mysterious relationship with his God that intrigued Abimelech even more. This relationship with God appeared to be the real thing to Abimelech. He had seen many men worship their gods, but none who had a God who could come and speak to the soul of a man. Even he, Abimelech, had experienced this in a dream in the night. Abimelech wanted to know the reality of God's blessing in his own life, and he wanted a future for his own posterity. He thought that perhaps entering into covenant with this man might be the way to see God's blessing on his own life. By the way, this is the way to have good personal relationships with people, when they can see the reality of God's presence and His blessing in all that you do. And when people see that, there is a reality to the relationship with God in your soul, and that God is indeed watching over you, working in you and with you. They will come toward you. That is, if a person is at all wise, he will see that it is God's blessing that makes rich, and he adds no sorrow to it. To deal faithfully in business with others does not mean that people will never see the evidence of God's blessing and presence in your life. It will be quite the contrary. If God would have you to work closely and faithfully with others in business, they will see that God is with you in everything that you do. They will be drawn to the good work of the Lord in you. This is how we can know that we can be in relationship with them in a covenant way. In Psalm 32, verse 8, it says, I will instruct you. This is God speaking to David. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eye. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you. But Abimelech drew near because he saw that God was with Abraham. Now second, it means you sincerely intend to show them kindness, verses 23 and 24. Verse 23 says, now therefore swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring or with my posterity, but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt. And Abraham said, I will swear. So it is our kindness to people that we deal honestly with them and not falsely. That's what's being said here. We are concerned for their welfare, both in things of the earth and in spiritual things. You'll remember over in chapter 20, verse 13, that Abraham explained to Abimelech why he had called Sarah his sister. And she called him her brother. He related to him that he had said to her, this is your kindness. that you should do for me in every place, wherever we go, say of me, he is my brother. But this was not actually a statement of true kindness because it was only a half truth. And so it brought Abimelech into a lot of trouble with God. This is not the kind of kindness that Abimelech wanted to see again. He wanted sincere kindness from Abraham. He wanted the kind of kindness that would do him good and not bring him into fear and more trouble. We need, my dear Christian friends, to learn to speak the truth in love with everyone around us. and not to conceal things about ourselves that will potentially hurt other people around us if they don't know it. Sometimes truth concealed about ourselves can hurt others very badly. Abimelech had really thought that Sarah truly was Abraham's sister. He didn't receive the total truth about this until God had brought judgments upon his person and his household. This was not sincere kindness on Abraham's part. Abraham wanted to avoid being killed for the sake of his beautiful wife. God would have us to simply speak the truth in love to others around us. He would have us to leave the consequences with him. God will providentially intervene in our lives to bring this good result about in all of his dear people. Listen to Psalm 15. Who, Lord, may abide in your tabernacle who may dwell in your holy hill. He who walks uprightly and works righteousness and speaks the truth in his heart. He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend in whose eyes a vile person is despised. But he honors those who fear the Lord. He swears to his own hurt and does not change. This is the kind of swearing that Abraham is engaging in here. It is swearing to his own hurt that he will do Abimelech good. It is swearing to his own hurt if he will not do Abimelech good. This included his offspring, his posterity, and even the land in which Abraham was dwelling. Abimelech asked Abraham to swear to him by God that he would not deal falsely with him. He's asking Abraham to show him kindness according to the kindness that he had shown to Abraham. The kindness that he showed to Abraham was seen not only in restoring his wife, but also in giving him the thousand pieces of silver which would vindicate them from the reproach and condemnation of people who would hear what they, that is Abraham and Sarah, had done to him. He also told them that they could dwell wherever they wanted to in the land. None of this was required of Abimelech. He could have told them just to leave and never come back. He could have held a grudge against them and evil suspicions toward them, thinking that he could never trust them, but he did neither. He showed them kindness. So let us ask ourselves if this is what we would do when we find ourselves in situations where it would be all too easy to blame the other person who has not done the right thing towards us. And yet we know that they are a Christian, or at least a person who respects God and His law. Certainly Abimelech did the right thing. So Abraham swears this may seem to conflict this swearing of Abraham's with the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter five, verses 33 and 34. The Lord Jesus says there, again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you, do not swear at all either neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king, nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, for whatever is more than these is from the evil one. This is what the Lord Jesus said, but we must understand that in his saying this, he is not forbidding oaths altogether. His emphasis is rather that we must be so truthful in all of our speech that all we need to say is yes and no to questions which are asked of us. Do not swear at all in this particular way that Jesus is defining it here. That's what he means. This was the kind of swearing that Jesus is condemning and forbidding. The kind of swearing that Abimelech asked Abraham for was good because it confirmed that a mutual kindness would be shown by each to the other. In Hebrews 6, 16, it says, for men indeed swear by the greater, that is by God himself, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. That is how Abraham understood it when he swore. But Abraham knew that in his swearing to deal faithfully and to keep covenant with Abimelech, that he had to do something else right after he swore to be faithful. And that leads me to our third point, which means that this swearing that you will do, that it will also include rebuking the other person in a righteous way if you need to. Verses 25 and 26, then, Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abraham's servants had seized. It's the right thing to do. I'm trying to show you to reprove and rebuke those whom we would show kindness to and deal faithfully with. Abraham in this passage sets us a good example in this regard. He knew that for there to be faithful dealing between the two of them, that there had to be righteous dealings taking place between their servants. some of Abimelech's servants had seized a well of water. Water is always precious and the source of all life being sustained. And Abraham knew that Abimelech had told him before that he could dwell anywhere in the land that he wanted to. Therefore, his servants should not have seized this well of water from Abraham's servants. It was a form of stealing. So before Abraham could enter into the ceremony of the covenant, he would take care of anything in his own mind which would be an objection to Abimelech's faithfully dealing with him. You and I as well need to have this right attitude and the right approach to dealing faithfully with others that we will work closely with because we want them to deal faithfully with us. Proverbs 27 verse 5 says open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Abraham knew that he had to state the problem and the sin plainly. He knew that it would not be love to conceal the matter, but notice how the reproof is given. It would not be love to conceal the matter, but notice how the reproof is given. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Sin wounds us, but we would not wound the person who has sinned against us by returning evil for evil. We would do him good. We would wound him as a doctor would wound a patient in order that they might be healed. This is love. This is faithfulness. An enemy might say that he loves you, and yet he might flatter you for the sake of gaining an advantage over you. But the scripture calls it the kisses of an enemy. It reminds me of Judas kissing Jesus in the garden. There was treachery in his heart. The right attitude in receiving rebuke is found in a Bimelech. He confesses that he had not heard of this matter until that very day, or he would have acted upon it. He received the rebuke in the right spirit and he understood the sin of his servants. He would address it and he would make restitution. He acted immediately and did not put it off until later. So the right attitude in receiving rebuke is taught to us in Psalm 141. In verse three of that Psalm, David is praying and he's asking God to set a guard over his mouth and keep watch over the door of his lips. He prays, do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity and do not let me eat of their delicacies. "'Let the righteous strike me. "'It shall be a kindness and let him rebuke me. "'It shall be as excellent oil. "'Let my head not refuse it.'" So this is the right attitude of heart in the person being righteously reproved. It is to receive it as an excellent oil to your head and as a kindness. It takes grace to do this. And it appears that Abimelech had it. In both men, here, we see the covenant attitude of kindness. And then fourth, it means that you will explain to them the meaning of your actions, verses 27 to 30. Abraham takes the initiative to cut a covenant with Abimelech. In verse 27, it says, so Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. And in verse 28, it says, Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. And Abimelech asked Abraham, what is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set by themselves? So people that we would have a good relationship, a good personal relationship with, may not understand that the basis of any long-lasting faithfulness demonstrated in their attitudes and actions, or yours, is God's grace. This is what it takes This action that Abraham is taking will explain to Abimelech why Abraham was inconsistent in his faithfulness in the matter of calling Sarah his sister. Abraham's faithfulness was not to be found in himself. It was to be found in Christ. who was the seed promised to Abraham. Any faithfulness and consistency in our dealing faithfully with others comes from God's grace at work in our hearts. And God's grace working in your heart is based on the promise of fulfillment in relation to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross. You and I desperately need to understand this. We need to receive this truth. And once we understand it, We need to try to convince others of it as well. Faithful dealing in our relationships with others is based on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Abimelech did not yet understand this. and he needed to have Abraham explain it to him. Jesus Christ, the promised seed, would make a covenant with God. He would become the sinless sacrifice. Abraham's sinful mistake and blunder would all be forgiven. That is his sin of calling Sarah, his sister, in the presence of Abimelech, grace to change Abraham's heart and to sanctify him would be conveyed to him on a regular, ongoing basis in his life because of his faith in the Christ who was coming. God could forgive him. God would cover his sins and enable him to live a godly life. All of this because of grace. Abimelech here wants to know the meaning of the seven lambs of the flock set by themselves. Abraham tells him that they will be a witness that he has dug this well. Abimelech and his servants must respect his right to do that well. his right to that well based upon the covenant which they were making with each other to deal faithfully. Abraham was saying that to deal faithfully in consistency with him that Abimelech must come to believe in the promise of God for forgiveness and for the grace to be a person set apart to his purpose. I think that Abimelech was desirous to learn this righteous way because he entered into this covenant with Him. And then fifth, dealing in a covenantal way means that you should pray to God to have good relations with people around you. For verse 33 says, then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and there called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days. The establishing of a good covenant relationship with Abimelech was like the planting of this tamarisk tree. Abraham wanted the roots of their relationship to grow downward in the soil of the promise of Christ and to bear fruit upward to God's glory in both his life and in the life of Abimelech. He hoped that he would see it grow up. to eternal life in Abimelech's life as well as his own. This is why he thought that he could now stay in the land of the Philistines many days. He had a covenant relationship with the king of the place. He would pray to God that this relationship would continue to be blessed by God. And even so, you and I must pray that our covenant relationships with people that we work with and those who we worship with will be established by God. May we learn how to be good witnesses to the truth of faithful covenant dealing in the sight of God. Faithful covenant keeping with men begins with your coming to understand what God has done for you in his giving you his son, Jesus Christ, to be your Savior. And then you can unselfishly say, I will not deal falsely with you, but I will show you kindness. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you that these truths have been revealed to us in the language of this old covenant that was made, this covenant that was made between Abimelech and Abraham, which was based upon the new covenant grace, which we find in Christ, which they found in you, O God. And we pray that we ourselves would be those who deal faithfully with others, and that we speak the truth honestly and in love with them, that we don't tell half-truths to them. that we would instead show them kindness and do them good in being sincere and truthful with them at every point. Help us to see that you are the faithful covenant-keeping God who will help us and shepherd us in relation to all the truth that we have learned here this morning. Be gracious to us, we ask, and bless us. In Jesus' name, amen.