Genesis 21:25 is easy to read past quickly. It’s just one verse tucked between Abraham’s oath to Abimelech and the covenant that follows. But it shows us something important about how a believer is meant to handle conflict.

"And Abraham said, I will swear." — Genesis 21:24 (KJV)
"And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away." — Genesis 21:25 (KJV)

Abraham Had a Real Grievance

Notice that Abraham wasn’t imagining an offense. His well had actually been taken by force, “violently taken away.” This wasn’t a small misunderstanding. It was a real wrong done to him by Abimelech’s servants. Abraham had every reason to be angry, and every worldly justification to hold a grudge or retaliate.

Instead, Abraham does something simple and direct: he reproves Abimelech. He brings the issue into the open, plainly and honestly, rather than letting it fester into resentment or turning it into a bigger conflict than it needed to be.

And notice what happens next in the passage. Abraham doesn’t use this wrong as leverage or as a reason to refuse Abimelech’s request for a covenant of peace in the verses just before. He addresses the wrong, and then he still moves forward into peace with Abimelech, sealing it with the gift of sheep and oxen and the well of Beersheba as a witness between them.

"And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant." — Genesis 21:27 (KJV)
"And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them." — Genesis 21:30–31 (KJV)

The New Testament Command

This is exactly the posture Paul commands believers to have:

"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." — Romans 12:18 (KJV)

Notice the careful wording. Paul doesn’t say peace is always possible. “If it be possible” acknowledges that sometimes peace depends on more than just you; the other person has a say too. But he also doesn’t leave room for half-hearted effort. “As much as lieth in you” means the responsibility to pursue peace, so far as it depends on your own actions and attitude, isn’t optional.

Hebrews 12:14 puts it even more strongly:

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." — Hebrews 12:14 (KJV)

Peace isn’t just a nice trait for a Christian to have. Scripture ties it directly to the pursuit of holiness itself.

Peace Doesn’t Mean Ignoring the Wrong

Abraham’s example matters here because it shows peace and honesty aren’t opposites. He didn’t pretend the well hadn’t been stolen. He didn’t smooth things over by staying silent about a real injustice. He addressed it directly with Abimelech. Matthew 18:15 gives believers this same pattern for conflict:

"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." — Matthew 18:15 (KJV)

Peace, biblically, isn’t the absence of confrontation. It’s the refusal to let confrontation turn into lasting division when reconciliation is still possible.

That’s the balance Abraham models. He brought the wrong into the light, and then he still pursued peace and covenant with the very man whose servants had wronged him.

Living This Out

The call to “live peaceably with all men” doesn’t mean every relationship will end in a covenant of trust the way Abraham’s did with Abimelech. Some conflicts won’t resolve, no matter how much effort is made on one side. But Paul’s instruction still stands. Whatever depends on you has to be pursued:

Abraham’s well was stolen. He said so plainly. And then he still chose peace.

Honesty about the wrong, and a genuine pursuit of peace wherever it’s possible.