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Gen. 25:1
"Then again Abraham took a wife, and her
name was Keturah. 2 And she bare him Zimran,
and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and
Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan begat
Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were
Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And
the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and
Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these
were the children of Keturah."
In this
passage we have a statement concerning
Abraham's marriage to Keturah after the
death of Sarah. We notice that he had 6 sons
by Keturah. Not a lot is said in the
scriptures about most of these sons.
However, Midian is mentioned often and his
descendents became a nation in which the
Israelites would have a lot of dealings with
in the future.
While, it is
often that we may not know the significance
of some of the listings of genealogies, we
should not make the assumption that they are
not important. Just because we may not see
the significance does not mean that God will
not reveal the significance to someone else.
I have had the experience of wondering about
some things in genealogies in the past and
later the Lord opened my understanding of
the significance. While I do not currently
understand the significance of this
genealogy, I look forward to the time the
Lord may open my understanding.
Gen. 25:5, 6
Sons of Keturah
Gen. 25:5 "And Abraham gave all that he had
unto Isaac. 6 But unto the sons of the
concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave
gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his
son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the
east country." At the weaning of Isaac,
Abraham had sent Hagar and Ishmael away by
the direction of the LORD that the son of
the freewoman would not be heir with the son
of the freewoman. Now in keeping with this
direction, Abraham sends away the sons of
Keturah, even though there is no indication
that Keturah was a bondwoman. Yet, these
sons were not in the same position that
Isaac was. Isaac was the only son of promise
and he would occupy a more favored position
because of this.
Abraham did
not send these sons of Keturah away empty
handed, but he gave gifts unto them. No
doubt, Abraham loved these children even as
he had loved Ishmael, yet because of the
promise of God, Isaac was favored.
Gen. 25:7-11
Life and Death of Abraham
Gen. 25:7 "And these are the days of the
years of Abraham's life which he lived, an
hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8 Then
Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a
good old age, an old man, and full of years;
and was gathered to his people. 9 And his
sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the
cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron
the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is
before Mamre; 10 The field which Abraham
purchased of the sons of Heth: there was
Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And
it came to pass after the death of Abraham,
that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac
dwelt by the well Lahairoi."
We are given
certain details about the life and death of
Abraham in this passage:
1. Abraham
lived to be an hundred and seventy five
years old. While that may seem like a long
time to us today, yet it shows us that the
lifetime of men was shortening after the
flood. Nearly every successive lifetime
after the flood is shortened. This is in
harmony with what God taught earlier. This
continued until the average lifespan was
about 70 year of age.
2. When
Abraham died we read of four different
things that happened to him. First, he gave
up the ghost. When the soul (ghost) departs
the body, death ensues. Death, of course, is
the second thing that happened to Abraham.
The third thing is that he was gathered to
his people. This is referring to the fact
that when the soul and spirit of a child of
God departs the body, then it goes unto
heaven where others who have gone before are
waiting (he was gathered to his people). The
fourth thing that happened to Abraham is
that his body was buried.
3. Abraham had
prepared previously for the burial of his
body along with the body of Sarah. Abraham
believed in the resurrection and perhaps
desired that he rise up with Sarah in that
great day of the resurrection of the bodies
of God's people.
4. Ishmael and
Isaac together buried the body of Abraham.
While these two were in many ways quite
different, they shared a love and devotion
to their father Abraham. Likewise, the
descendants of both sons often are at war
with one another, yet they both claim
Abraham as their nations father.
5. "And it
came to pass after the death of Abraham,
that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac
dwelt by the well Lahairoi." Now, this is
not to imply that God did not bless Ishmael,
but rather it is an indication that God had
special blessings for Isaac. From this point
on for the next few chapters, our attention
will be turned from God's dealings with
Abraham to God's dealings with Isaac.
6. The place
of Isaac's dwelling was called "Lahairoi."
This name means the "well of the living
one." Thus, Isaac was dwelling by the "well
of the living one." Likewise, if we are
living as the disciples of Christ, we are
dwelling by the "well of the living one."
Gen. 25:12-18
Gen. 25:12 "Now these are the generations of
Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the
Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto
Abraham: 13 And these are the names of the
sons of Ishmael, by their names, according
to their generations: the firstborn of
Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel,
and Mibsam, 14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and
Massa, 15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish,
and Kedemah: 16 These are the sons of
Ishmael, and these are their names, by their
towns, and by their castles; twelve princes
according to their nations. 17 And these are
the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred
and thirty and seven years: and he gave up
the ghost and died; and was gathered unto
his people. 18 And they dwelt from Havilah
unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou
goest toward Assyria: and he died in the
presence of all his brethren."
The above
passage is the fulfillment of the promise
that God made unto Abraham concerning
Ishmael: Gen. 17:18 "And Abraham said unto
God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear
thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his
name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant
with him for an everlasting covenant, and
with his seed after him. 20 And as for
Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have
blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and
will multiply him exceedingly; twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him
a great nation." Thus, according to God's
promise to Abraham, Ishmael did become a
great nation and he did beget twelve
princes. God's providence and blessings were
upon Ishmael and the establishment of the
nation and twelve princes that came forth
from him. However, Ishmael and that nation
were not favored nearly as much as Isaac and
the nation of Israel that would come forth
from him.
Moreover, God
promised concerning Ishmael that he would
dwell in the presence of his brethren: Gen.
16:12 "And he will be a wild man; his hand
will be against every man, and every man's
hand against him; and he shall dwell in the
presence of all his brethren." According to
our passage above this promise was also
fulfilled.
God always
fulfills his promises. |
