Genesis 25A (2011) As we reach chapter 25, we officially reach the halfway point in the study of Genesis

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1 Genesis 25A (2011) As we reach chapter 25, we fficially reach the halfway pint in the study f Genesis That s halfway in terms f chapters, but I think we ll find that in terms f time, we re actually clser t tw thirds dne Our study will pick up frm this pint, since the narrative revlves arund tw patriarchs and their children Like any gd drama, the pace quickens We ve already studied the life f Abraham, and in tday s chapter we learn f Abraham s death We ve already begun ur study f Isaac, the child f prmise He s married and living in the land And in this chapter, he has his first children, twin bys And befre the chapter is ver, questin f the prmised child will becme an even greater fcus in the stry But first, Mses ties up sme lse ends in the life f Abraham Gen. 25:1 Nw Abraham tk anther wife, whse name was Keturah. Gen. 25:2 She bre t him Zimran and Jkshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. Gen. 25:3 Jkshan became the father f Sheba and Dedan. And the sns f Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. Gen. 25:4 The sns f Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sns f Keturah. Gen. 25:5 Nw Abraham gave all that he had t Isaac; Gen. 25:6 but t the sns f his cncubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away frm his sn Isaac eastward, t the land f the east. Smetime after Sarah s death, Abraham has fund a secnd wife, named Keturah Abraham lived 38 years after Sarah died, which was plenty f time t marry and father six mre sns, plus an unknwn number f daughters He marries Keturah, which means perfume r incense 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 25A 2 She is a cncubine (see v. 6) as was Hagar Cncubines are slave wmen wh have married their master She des nt cease being a slave nr des she share in the Master s inheritance Similarly, the children remain slaves in the hme and d nt have the same inheritance rights Their plight is similar t that f Ishmael earlier But remember, Gd s prmises t Abraham were uncnditinal N matter wh Abraham married and n matter hw many children he fathered, they were all assured t be blessed Abraham wuld be a father f many natins But the blessing t Abraham extended nly t his first generatin except fr the seed prmise The child with the seed prmise wuld see all the blessing cntinue thrugh t later generatins Isaac was this seed prmise child, the ne Gd chse And as with Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham understands that this prmise was slemn and culdn t be transferred Gd chses wh receives His grace and His prmises, and Gd designated that Isaac wuld be the child f prmise S Mses lists the sns f Abraham frm Keturah t ensure we see Gd s faithfulness in this relatinship Of the six names listed, we can trace six Arabian natins Like Ishmael, these children became frerunners f Arabs Mst ntably, the land f Midian came frm the Abraham s sn f the same name This was the land in suthern Arabia where Mses lived fr 40 years after befre returning t lead the Israelites t freedm 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 25A 3 References t Midianites are fund thrughut the OT, and ften they are seen intermarried with Ishmaelites Eventually they are assimilated int the Ishmaelites Whatever we might make f Abraham s decisin t marry Keturah, the key verse t remember is v.5 Everything Gd gave Abraham was transferred t Isaac Befre Abraham died, he assigned his wealth t Isaac Fr Isaac was Abraham s nly heir, accrding t the Lrd Remember, Isaac has been assigned as a picture f Christ, while Abraham is a picture f the Father And just as the Father in Heaven has nly ne begtten Sn, similarly Abraham will have nly ne sn and ne heir S Abraham arranged fr the cncubine and her sns t be sent away with gifts prir t Abraham s death This is similar t what Abraham did fr Hagar and Ismael Perhaps Gd appeared t Abraham t instruct him f the need t d s, but I dubt it I m sure Abraham was already clear n Gd s desires Ntice in v.6 that the cncubine children receive their gifts while Abraham was still living, and then they were sent away Abraham wanted t be sure they were gne befre his death t avid any pssibility that they might fight with Isaac ver the inheritance, S Abraham required that his cncubine and her children leave the husehld He gave them parting gifts as a sign that they were t receive n inheritance But Isaac, the child f prmise, wuld receive all that was Abraham s Yet Isaac didn t receive his inheritance at that time He culdn t receive the birthright and the inheritance until after the death f his father 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 25A 4 That s hw an inheritance wrks...yu cannt receive an inheritance until the ne wh grants it has died Therefre, the grants Abraham gave t Keturah s children were nt an inheritance, they were merely gifts The inheritance given t Isaac included Abraham s vast wealth, but even mre imprtantly, Isaac was t receive the birthright t Gd s prmises Gd gave Abraham a special set f prmises fund in the Abrahamic Cvenant, called the birthright Gd made these prmises t Abraham and t his descendants, but it wuld nly transfer t the descendants that Gd chse Just as Gd chse Abraham in the first place, Gd wuld cntinue t designate wh may receive His grace in the frm f the birthright As we studied earlier in Genesis, Gd has made clear that Isaac wuld be the child f prmise, that is the child t receive the birthright Bu that birthright, Isaac wuld carry the prmise f Gd frward after Abraham We knw anther sn, Ishmael, had been brn befre Isaac, and accrding t wisdm and custms f men, Ishmael shuld receive the birthright But Gd wuld never permit such a result The prmises f Gd are a testimny t His grace and mercy and svereignty t carry ut His plan f redemptin As such, Gd s prmises will rest nly thse He chses And in the first three generatins after Abraham, Gd is careful t demnstrate ver and ver again that He is the One Wh chses the recipients f grace And the clearest way Gd can demnstrate this truth is t g against man s ways and man s expectatins, by assigning the birthright t an unexpected child Fr Abraham, the surprise was t father a child in his ld age and then t see Gd assign the birthright t the secnd brn sn rather than t Ishmael 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 25A 5 But Ishmael was a child f flesh, a child brn by the wrk f human sin Gd s mercy desn t cme t thse wh wrk, but t thse wh have faith in Gd s wrk S the the prmised child wh received the Abrahamic cvenant was Isaac and Isaac alne, accrding t Gd s will Gd is still mving His prmises f blessing frm generatin t generatin in this same fashin Hebrews explains it this way Heb. 9:15 Fr this reasn He is the mediatr f a new cvenant, s that, since a death has taken place fr the redemptin f the transgressins that were cmmitted under the first cvenant, thse wh have been called may receive the prmise f the eternal inheritance. Heb. 9:16 Fr where a cvenant is, there must f necessity be the death f the ne wh made it. Heb. 9:17 Fr a cvenant is valid nly when men are dead, fr it is never in frce while the ne wh made it lives. The writer says that thse wh have been called by Gd are t receive the prmise f eternal inheritance This is the same prmise that Abraham received The basis fr that prmise was a cvenant Gd made with Abraham And the fulfillment f that cvenant is fund in the bld f Christ The wrd the writer uses fr cvenant is diatheke, which means ill r testament The cvenant made with Abraham was a testament r will When we make a will, we are making a determinatin in advance f ur death wh will receive ur inheritance The persn wh receives it des nthing t earn it They dn t even have t ask fr it 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 25A 6 We designated them t receive the blessing But the blessing f that inheritance can nly cme after we have died The writer in Hebrews says where there is a cvenant (r a will), the must be a death f the ne wh made it Fr that cvenant r will is nly valid when men are dead Fr it is never in frce when the ne wh made it is still alive S the cvenant made with Abraham was the last will and testament f Jesus Christ It was a grant t Abraham and t certain descendants f Abraham whm Gd selected That grant included the prmise f eternal life and an inheritance in the kingdm t cme But thse prmises fund in that testament can nly cme true after the death f the ne wh made the testament, that is Christ When Christ died, His will went int effect The terms f His will went int effect and the inheritance fr thse He invited int the cvenant was made sure As Paul described: Eph. 1:9 He made knwn t us the mystery f His will, accrding t His kind intentin which He purpsed in Him Eph. 1:10 with a view t an administratin suitable t the fullness f the times, that is, the summing up f all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things n the earth. In Him Eph. 1:11 als we have btained an inheritance, having been predestined accrding t His purpse wh wrks all things after the cunsel f His will, Eph. 1:12 t the end that we wh were the first t hpe in Christ wuld be t the praise f His glry. Eph. 1:13 In Him, yu als, after listening t the message f truth, the gspel f yur salvatin having als believed, yu were sealed in Him with the Hly Spirit f prmise, Eph. 1:14 wh is given as a pledge f ur inheritance, with a view t the redemptin f Gd s wn pssessin, t the praise f His glry Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 25A 7 Nt nly are we like Isaac in that we are the recipients f Gd s mercy accrding t His gracius chice, but we are als t receive an inheritance In fact, we ve already received a dwnpayment n that inheritance, in the frm f the pledge f the Hly Spirit in ur hearts This is a valuable depsit, t be sure Having access t the wisdm and pwer f Gd within us is n small matter And if this is a dwnpayment n what Gd is prepared t give us in the eternal realm, hw much greater will that inheritance be? But have yu nticed that nt everyne wh receives a great inheritance knws hw t make use f it respnsibility? With all the recent hpla ver the huge lttery jackpt, I fund several interesting stries nline abut what s happened t peple wh wn huge ltteries One man ne well ver $100M and a few years later he was serving time in prisn fr writing bunced checks Anther man cmmitted suicide Others have fallen int addictins, been embriled in endless curt battles with spuses r family members Many have been defrauded by cn men Likewise, nt every Christian wh receives the grace f Gd and enters int Christ s inheritance will handle these riches with wisdm Sme will abuse the grace f Gd, using it as license t g n sinning Others may chse t ignre it r even dubt its existence Gd s prmises and ur inheritance are nt in dubt It s nt like winning the lttery where the chances f being struck by lightening are greater than receiving the prize The news reprted this stry yesterday Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 25A 8 A Kansas man was struck by lightning hurs after buying three Mega Millins lttery tickets, prving in real life the ld saying that a gambler is mre likely t be struck dwn frm the sky than win the jackpt. Bill Isles, 48, bught three tickets in the recrd $656 millin lttery Thursday at a Wichita, Kan., grcery stre. On the way t his car, Isles said he cmmented t a friend: "I've gt a better chance f getting struck by lightning" than winning the lttery. Later at abut 9:30 p.m., Isles was standing in the back yard f his Wichita duplex, when he saw a flash and heard a bm -- lightning. "It threw me t the grund quivering," Isles said in a telephne interview n Saturday. "It kind f scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat." And n, he didn t win the lttery While we wait t receive the inheritance we knw is assured, let s d ur best t hnr it by ur bedience t the Father and t recgnize the respnsibility that cmes with it Scripture teaches that we may see ur eternal reward diminished r increased accrding t hw we serve the Lrd here and nw Luke 16:10 He wh is faithful in a very little thing is faithful als in much; and he wh is unrighteus in a very little thing is unrighteus als in much. Matt. 25:29 Fr t everyne wh has, mre shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but frm the ne wh des nt have, even what he des have shall be taken away. These are references t Gd s system f accunting fr determining eternal reward We shuldn t be ignrant f these truths, and let them have their intended effect in influencing hw we live ur lives As we make decisins and take actins t serve Christ r avid that service, remember yu re nt wrking fr the praise f men r the cmfrts f this life Yu re wrking fr the praise f yur Lrd in Heaven and the reward f an internal inheritance that cannt perish We ll study much mre abut the imprtance f the birthright and inheritance in cming weeks, especially in the lives f Isaac s children 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 25A 9 But fr nw, let s cnclude the stry f Abraham and his descendants Gen. 25:7 These are all the years f Abraham s life that he lived, ne hundred and seventy-five years. Gen. 25:8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe ld age, an ld man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered t his peple. Gen. 25:9 Then his sns Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave f Machpelah, in the field f Ephrn the sn f Zhar the Hittite, facing Mamre, Gen. 25:10 the field which Abraham purchased frm the sns f Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. Gen. 25:11 It came abut after the death f Abraham, that Gd blessed his sn Isaac; and Isaac lived by Beer-lahai-ri. Gen. 25:12 Nw these are the recrds f the generatins f Ishmael, Abraham s sn, whm Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah s maid, bre t Abraham; Gen. 25:13 and these are the names f the sns f Ishmael, by their names, in the rder f their birth: Nebaith, the firstbrn f Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam Gen. 25:14 and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, Gen. 25:15 Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. Gen. 25:16 These are the sns f Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; twelve princes accrding t their tribes. Gen. 25:17 These are the years f the life f Ishmael, ne hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered t his peple. Gen. 25:18 They settled frm Havilah t Shur which is east f Egypt as ne ges tward Assyria; he settled in defiance f all his relatives. Abraham lived 175 years befre he died As we discussed during the fld, this is a literal descriptin f his age He lived abut 100 years lnger than the nrmal life expectancy f men tday fr reasns we learned back in ur study f Nah Mre imprtantly, Abraham died satisfied with life We knw he was a very rich man, but d yu think that was what made him satisfied? Cntrast Abraham s situatin in his last days with thse f anther very rich man in the Bible, King Slmn 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 25A 10 1Kings 11:1 Nw King Slmn lved many freign wmen alng with the daughter f Pharah: Mabite, Ammnite, Edmite, Sidnian, and Hittite wmen, 1Kings 11:2 frm the natins cncerning which the LORD had said t the sns f Israel, Yu shall nt assciate with them, nr shall they assciate with yu, fr they will surely turn yur heart away after their gds. Slmn held fast t these in lve. 1Kings 11:3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred cncubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 1Kings 11:4 Fr when Slmn was ld, his wives turned his heart away after ther gds; and his heart was nt whlly devted t the LORD his Gd, as the heart f David his father had been. 1Kings 11:5 Fr Slmn went after Ashtreth the gddess f the Sidnians and after Milcm the detestable idl f the Ammnites. 1Kings 11:6 Slmn did what was evil in the sight f the LORD, and did nt fllw the LORD fully, as David his father had dne. I think it s safe t say that Abraham s cntentment wasn t created by earthly riches Instead, he was cntent with knwing that Gd s prmises were everlasting and His faithfulness withut limits And s as he apprached the end f his life, he culd truly be satisfied with life because it had met its purpse in preparing him fr his eternal existence First and fremst, Abraham was righteus befre Gd by faith in Gd s prmises Secndly, Abraham s life was a testimny t that faith And by that testimny, Abraham died cnfident that he wuld receive an inheritance Abraham s buried in the cave he bught fr Sarah, and s they rest tgether And his spirit, which lives n eternally, is gathered t his fathers Meaning, Abraham s spirit went int the care f the Father in eternity waiting fr the day f resurrectin when Abraham wuld receive his new bdy And then ntice in v.11 that fllwing Abraham s death, Gd s blessing transferred t Isaac 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis 25A 11 The testament f Abraham became effective upn his death and the birthright and blessing transferred t the sn f prmise But what f the ther sn, Ishmael? Mses gives us the accunting fr Ishmael s that we can put an end t Ishmael s line and fcus squarely n Isaac The 12 sns f Ishmael are listed here, and each will be the father f a different Arab tribe and natin Amng Ishmael s descendants are men wh began many f the Arab natins wh persecuted Israel in centuries t cme Ntice they all settled in the east, a clear sign that they were nt recipients f Gd s grace, but instead were enemies f Gd and Gd s peple Just as Gd said, they lived in defiance t their relatives, that is Israel Nne f these sns are under the seed prmise They are nt a part f Israel and therefre until the prmise was made available t Gentiles fllwing Christ s death, they and the rest f the Gentile wrld were utside Gd s grace But in this time f mercy, the Gspel has been extended t the wrld by virtue f the Church We have that pprtunity t knw the truth and receive the Lrd s mercy and have salvatin by faith in Gd s prmises The prmise that Christ died fr ur sake and paid ur price fr sin Dn t let that prmise pass by and dn t frfeit yur eternal life and inheritance 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.