Skip to main content

Beersheba

             Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. (Genesis 21:14) 

            So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there. (Genesis 21:31) 

            Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. (Genesis 22:19) 

            About fourteen years passed after Hagar and her son returned to Abraham and Sarah. At some point, Ishmael, being a young teenager, picked on Isaac; Sarah was Sarah and took exception; and Abraham, being Abraham, gave Sarah her way. This time, God met Hagar at the Desert of Beersheba. There seem to be a lot of deserts in Genesis, and therefore, a lot of wells.

            I discovered that Beersheba means either Well of the Oath or Well of Seven. Its naming is mentioned 17 verses later. According to Genesis, Abraham named it Beersheba because he and Abimelech had made a treaty there. There’s some indication that he spent time there beyond that. And while Ishmael grew up south of Beersheba, it might have been a place where Hagar or Ishmael could meet with Abraham.

            If one continues checking references, it appears to become a major landmark. Several passages refer to “from Dan to Beersheba” with Beersheba as the southern border of Israel. There’s one more reference Beersheba that needs to be mentioned. And fourteen years Abraham banished Ishmael, Abraham took Isaac to a region called Moriah, which some believe to be around where Jerusalem is now. After leaving the mountain of the sacrifice, Abraham went to the town of Beersheba – to the area where Hagar and Ishmael went when they were “sacrificed” to appease Sarah.

            So as I think of developing my home into a “spring,” I wonder about the name, Beersheba. It was a place where a woman in need and her son could flee. We explored that idea yesterday. It was a place where treaties were signed and ratified. This is probably going off the rails a little, but is there a connection between treaties or oaths and refreshment as if from a spring? Is that part of what my gardens are to be – treaties between God and me, between the world and me, between my community and me, and even between me, myself, and I? If so, what oaths are involved? Something to think about. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more