Planting a tree

Abraham hadn’t yet possessed the Promised Land. His son hadn’t yet begun developing the nations that had been promised to him. He had just finished negotiating a treaty with King Abimelek over water rights. He had concerns that were earthly and temporary, but water was needed, and people had tried to steal from him what was his.  What does he do next?

He plants a tree and, in prayer, he calls God by a name meaning “Eternal God”. The two are linked, and we will see why.

“After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek 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 on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. ³⁴ And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.” (Genesis 21 v 32-34)

1. Abraham declared he was here to stay. Planting a tree was his declaration that he was not just passing through but that he was putting down roots. I will no longer be a nomad. Maybe someone today needs to hear that they, too, need to put down their roots. It doesn’t mean it is your forever place, the last verse says Abraham decided to stay in the land of the Philistines, which wasn’t the Promised land, but it was a place of commitment for him whilst he was waiting.

2. Abraham knew life was not about him alone. He did something that suggests the story is not centred on his own lifetime but on a longer-lasting one.The tamarisk tree would outlast him. They can apparently grow for up to 100 years. He was saying what we all need to say. “My life is not just about now, but it is about who and what comes after me.” It is a legacy building. What footprint are you leaving behind?

3. Abraham begins to pray but gives God the name, El Olam, the Eternal God. He decides that his life may be temporary and that he can be caught up with things that don’t last, like wells and water rights, but he worships God, who is not time-bound and will be faithful to the generations to come. Are we impatient over something? God is eternal; no need to hurry. His purposes will unfold in His time, not ours.

In closing, through the eyes of the Christian faith, of course, there’s another tree that casts its shadow on this tamarisk. The cross still speaks today of the Eternal God who sent His Son as the ultimate act of love.