Abraham and Abimelech's covenant
When Abraham reproved Abimelech about the well his servants seized, Abimelech claimed ignorance. Abraham gave him sheep and oxen and made a covenant, setting 7 ewe lambs apart as witness that he dug this well. The place was called Beersheba.
(Genesis 21)
The LORD tells a story through Nathan of a rich and a poor man's lambs to reveal David's sin in killing Uriah and taking Bathsheba
The LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
David replied in anger against the man, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’”
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
Then Nathan went to his house.
The sacrifice of a nursing lamb to stop an attack
The people agreed to turn to God, so he had all of Israel gather at Mizpah. He prayed and sacrificed for Israel as the Philistines opportunistically closed in on Mizpah. The people were afraid and told Samuel to not cease crying out to the LORD for them, that he may save them from the Philistines. The LORD thundered with a mighty sound, throwing the Philistines into confusion as Samuel offered a nursing lamb. The Philistines were defeated, chased as far as Beth-car. Then Samuel erected a stone named Ebenezer between Mizpah and Shen, for "Till now the LORD has helped us." There was peace with Philistia. (1 Samuel 7:3-12)
"The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's good. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the LORD.
(Isaiah 65:25)