Lesson 53: Abraham revisited Chapter 25: 1-11
Genesis: First Things First • Sermon • Submitted
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Abraham’s Family Listed at his Death Gen. 25:1-11. The Obit:
Abraham’s Family Listed at his Death Gen. 25:1-11. The Obit:
English Standard Version (Chapter 25)
25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.
7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.
Some people go out with a bang and this guy keeps having kids. I get tired just thinking about all of those bouncing baby boys running around while he is around 150 and change. It’s really amazing that it is not good for Abraham to be alone, so he has another wife after Sarah. Keturah of verse 1, was a concubine that was elevated to the status of a wife. Equally impressive that he could get a wife in his 140’s, he proceeds to have six more sons, 7 grandsons, and I am not even counting great grandsons.
This further influences the spread of his seed that so that it would be greater than the sands of the sea as the covenant promise continues to make good for Abraham. But let it be clear. Out of all of the kids, Isaac is the one that counts as far as the seed of promise. God does not need 45 kids to fulfill His promise, he knows how to work through just one. Case in point would be John the Baptist and of course, our Lord Jesus Christ. One was the forerunner and the other is the one and only Son of God, the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ. God does not need all of Abraham’s help to fulfill His promise, but at the same time He honors Abraham and all of the kids with great lineages. God’s word is true, I will bless your entire family, not just one. That extends all the way down to us.
In the list of the sons of Abraham and Keturah, the one that gathers the most press is Midian, and in his line of family, the Midianites. They are easily identifiable on Scripture pages. They figure prominently in the story of Joseph. Sometimes they are referred in that story as Midianites and as Ishmaelites. Probably by the time of Joseph being sold into slavery, they had lost some of their identity to Ishmael, both being caustic to the cause of the line of Isaac. Moses married a Midianite, Zipporah. Her father Jethro was a priest of Midian. We hear the word Midianite and think unbeliever, but really, who knows what their faith was, they are actually step-cousins.
All Abraham owned vs. 5
All Abraham owned vs. 5
The sons of Keturah were sent away with a cash settlement (gifts) verse 6. They were all sent away so that Isaac would possess all that Abraham had gathered. This was a sizeable inheritance. Just think, most of us have some inheritance to give away, some large and some small, but we all have something. Abraham had been gathering his inheritance together for over 150 years, dying at 175. I think the first 25 years, a man does a lot of spending, not worrying about his legacy, but by the time a man is in his late 20’s, legacy finally comes to mind. Perhaps it hits some later but it will eventually hit. Here is Abraham, building his legacy and his inheritance to give away all the way up to 175 years old. Don’t feel bad for Keturah’s kids and grand kids, Abraham, had plenty to go around.
Transfer of Wealth
Transfer of Wealth
It’s good for us to talk about the transfer of wealth, since we are seeing one of the greatest transfers in history going on now. The Baby Boomers are passing on their inheritance to their kids for the most part. It is massive! The post WWII generation has amassed more wealth than any generation. I think it is important for us to pass along that wealth and not let the state dictate what is going to happen. It is also important to not give everything to the kids and grand-kids. For our intents and purposes, it is a rare occurence for a family to give a part of their legacy to their church.
Giving back to God occurs during our lifetime and should also occur at our death. With probate eating up most of estates at a parents death, individuals should take steps to protect their legacy for their family and for their church. If you have a will or a trust, you need to specifically designate a portion to go to your church, in addition to your family. Many times, we end up giving more to our church at our death when doing this very thing, than in all of the years we were living. Think about it, Abraham lived long enough to accumulate a pile of wealth 2 1/2 times longer and larger than anyone one else on earth, at his time of life. A tithe or 5% of your estate is a good place to start. Men, we need to end well for God, and Abraham did just that.
The Funeral of Abraham. vs 7-11
The Funeral of Abraham. vs 7-11
Isaac and Ishmael both handled the arrangements. Abraham is taken to the place of burial of Sarah that he had earlier purchased for a large sum of money. Though Hagar was estranged from the household, apparently Ishmael and Abraham kept in touch over the years. There is no mention of he brothers from Keturah, so the obituary is not going to be complete. At least Isaac and Ishmael were able to bury dad in peace. Funerals can be times of great trial on families and disagreements over how things are handled. These two step brothers did their job of taking care of Dad’s last things. We cannot help but think, “Did Ishmael finally receive some inheritance? Or, was all that he got was the cold send off some chapters ago?” Nonetheless, there was some sort of peace early in the future after Abraham died.
The Generations of Ishmael. Vs. 12- 18.
The Generations of Ishmael. Vs. 12- 18.
English Standard Version (Chapter 25)
12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.
Verse 18 is an interesting sentence because it leads us to believe that Ishmael, after Abraham was gone, lived in open hostility in front of Isaac’s family or in the presence of all his brethren. When the smoke cleared, after Abraham’s death, it was no more Mr. Nice Guy. Whether or not what he does to settle in, it says it is against his kin. We can also read this definition into this verse that the meaning of this has to do with Ishmael going from a higher position to a lower position. The Hebrew dictionary states it this way:
“have an object go from a higher position to a lower position, often with the implication of being out of control in relation to the situation”
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Bitterness is a tough thing for a man to grow out of. Instead, it goes below the surface and eats at the root of the tree. A modern day counterpart would be a gall: something that forms on the tree root like a cancer and goes on to affect eventually the whole tree. That is the life of a bitter individual. It eats at them from a place you cannot see and brings them down. I believe this is the bitterness of jealousy. Here is a man with 12 sons. This should be the crowning achievement of his life, but is hostile to the family. So close as neighbors, but oh so far away as family.
With the holidays upon us. Let’s be close to our family in kindness and not in hostility that is plain to see. It really doesn’t cost any more to be kind and joyful, but it costs everything to be estranged.