Isaac was a farmer while he lived among the
Philistines. The Lord blessed his harvest so
much that he became more and more wealthy.
Eventually, his wealth was so great that the
Philistines became jealous. They decided to
plug up some wells Abraham had dug. In time,
Abimelech asked Isaac to leave their country.
He said, “You’ve become too powerful. We feel
you’re a threat to us.”
Isaac moved to another valley, and his
servants unplugged some of Abraham’s wells.
They also dug some new ones. Suddenly they
found precious spring water. The herdsmen in
that area said, “That water belongs to us.” So
Isaac’s servants went and dug other wells, and
again found water. Again, the herdsmen said,
“That’s our water.”
They went to another area and dug some
more wells. This time, no one argued about the
water they found. Isaac said, “Finally! The Lord
has made room for us. We can now prosper at
this spot. He called that place, “Plenty of Room.”
Abimelech and a delegation from the
Philistines went to Isaac. When he saw them he
said, “You sent me away in anger. So why have
you come to me now?”
Abimelech said, “It’s clear to us that the Lord
has been with you all this time. We want a treaty
with you. We were good to you when you lived
among us. Yes, we sent you away, but it was in
peace. Now, let’s agree that you’ll treat us the
same way and won’t harm us.”
So Isaac prepared a banquet, and they all ate
and drank together. The next morning they each
gave an oath that they would live in peace with
one another.
As Abimelech and his delegation left, servants
came and told Isaac about their newest well. They
said, “We’ve found water.” So he called the place
Beer-sheba, which means “Well of the Oath.”
© God Child