So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord…. The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. (Genesis 13:18, 18:1-2)
After Abram separated from his nephew Lot, he pitched his tents near the great oaks of Mamre at Hebron. The trees provided him with shade and firewood. Perhaps Abram also used wood for construction, although he and his servants continued to live in tents. Abram entertained guests at the oaks of Mamre for several years.
This is the place where Abram went to war to rescue Lot. This probably is the place where God cut the Abrahamic Covenant. This is where Abram’s son Ishmael was born. Perhaps Isaac was born here. And this is where Abram pleaded with the Lord to deliver Sodom for Lot’s sake.
The Oaks of Mamre were home for Abram. Trees can provide a temporary home for us when we go camping. Trees can help turn a desert into a home. Just as trees helped establish Abram’s homestead, trees improve my property today. Perhaps you benefit from trees, too. How often do we thank God for something so simple as the trees in our yard?
Prairie Pastor 