Grow in Depth – Ps. Dr. WC Chew

Beersheba: The Place of God’s Covenant

Genesis 21:27-34 (NIV)

²⁷ So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. ²⁸ Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, ²⁹ and Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”

³⁰ He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.”

³¹ So that place was called Beersheba, ^[a] because the two men swore an oath there.

³² After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. ³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. ³⁴ And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

The verses above reflect the first time the word “Beersheba” is mentioned in the Bible.

In 2010, there are 2 postures:

1. Dig deeper
2. Wait worshipfully

2 Kings 3 (NIV) – Moab Revolts – Link

Not fearful, but faithful:

1. Sincere in prayers and continue to pray
2. Not to be indifferent

Genesis 26:22-25 (NIV) – From Rehoboth to Beersheba

²² He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, ^[a] saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

²³ From there he went up to Beersheba. ²⁴ That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

²⁵ Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

Beersheba is a place of (perfect complete convenental blessings):

1. Covenental blessings
2. Generational blessings
3. National blessings

Covenental Blessings

3 ingredients – God will keep:

1. Affirming
2. Accompanying
3. Multiplying

Generational Blessings

From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob – Generational Sign

Genesis 46:1-7 (NIV) - Jacob Goes to Egypt

¹ So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

² And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am,” he replied.

³ “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

⁵ Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. ⁶ They also took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt. ⁷ He took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

Genesis 45:27 (NIV) – Brought the spirit back to life!

²⁷ But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

Isaiah 48:17-19 (NIV)

¹⁷ This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.

¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river,
your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

¹⁹ Your descendants would have been like the sand,
your children like its numberless grains;
their name would never be cut off
nor destroyed from before me.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

National Blessings

12 (representing the Jews) juxtapose to 70 (representing the Gentiles)

Genesis 46:27 (NIV)

²⁷ With the two sons ^[a] who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy ^[b] in all.

Exodus 15:27 (NIV)

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Luke 10:1 (KJV) – Jesus Sends out Seventy

¹After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

Matthew 15:29-39 (NIV) – Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

²⁹Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. ³¹The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

³²Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

³³His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

³⁴“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children. ³⁹After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Advertisement