Abraham part 20 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac by Victor Torres Last time, we saw Rebekah leaving her family in Babylon to marry Isaac. This is a picture of the elect leaving their spiritual family in Babylon to marry their spiritual husband, Jesus Christ. Rev 19:7 (MKJV) Let us be glad and rejoice and we will give glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. Rev 19:9 And he said to me, Write, Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. Of course the Lamb being married here is speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not speaking of a farm animal. Here you can again see how the Bible is full of symbols. Marriage is a symbol of having one mind with Jesus Christ. When you are married, you live in one house and you do things together. The husband is the head of the family and the wife must submit to the husband. She is also the husband's helper in raising the kids. The kids enjoy the things the parents give them but at the same time they must be obedient to their parents. Let's continue the story of Abraham: Gen 25:1 (ERV) Abraham married again. His new wife was named Keturah. Gen 25:2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Gen 25:3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The people of Asshur, Leum, and Letush were descendants of Dedan. Gen 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these sons came from the marriage of Abraham and Keturah. Gen 25:5 (ESV) Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. Gen 25:6 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.
In verse 6, we are now told who Keturah is, a concubine. A concubine is a slave woman that is married to a man but doesn't have the same status as a wife. So Keturah is a concubine like Hagar. Hagar is also a slave woman who had a son named Ishmael. If you remember, Ishmael was sent away by Abraham because the Lord told Abraham that Isaac will be His chosen one. Abraham is doing the same thing here to his sons from Keturah. He is also sending them away from Isaac. But this time we are told where Abraham is sending them: eastward to the east country. The is east country is Babylon, the very place that Abraham and Rebekah left. And Babylon is the symbol of the false churches of this world. You'll notice that Abraham gave some gifts to his sons from his concubines, and this includes Ishmael. These gifts are the symbols of spiritual gifts given even to those who are in false churches. We are all given a portion of God's spirit, but those in Babylon are not given enough of His spirit to mature. What are the signs of their immaturity? Jealousy and quarreling are found among these people. These are the qualities that Paul saw in the Corinthians: 1Co 3:1 (ESV) But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 1Co 3:2 (GNB) I had to feed you milk, not solid food, because you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready for it, 1Co 3:3 because you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn't this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards? These false churches are living by the standards of this world. They all build their grand temples and mosques to impress others. They all boast of how many members they have. They don't realize that God is not impressed by these. 1Co 3:4 When one of you says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos"---aren't you acting like worldly people? Like the Corinthians, the members of these churches wants to follow whoever tell them what they want to hear. So Paul corrects them and tells them that the body of Christ is one body and there should not be divisions among them. Those who want to create division in God's house must be sent away like the sons of Abraham from his slave women Hagar and Keturah.
In the New Testament, we see our Lord driving out people who makes His Father's house unclean. Mat 21:12 (GNB) Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons, Mat 21:13 and said to them, "It is written in the Scriptures that God said, 'My Temple will be called a house of prayer.' But you are making it a hideout for thieves!" The above is a painting by Luca Giordano entitled Christ Cleansing the Temple. In the false churches of this world, we can see how people are making the house of God unclean by teaching lies and selling His words. Those who sold pigeons, the cheapest sacrifice you can offer, are symbols of the false ministers who have very little understanding of the Bible but still charge for their teaching. The temple that our Lord Jesus Christ drove away those people from is a symbol of His body. We are the temple of God, and the Lord will not tolerate sinful thinking and behavior in His body. In verse 5, we are told this: Gen 25:5 (ESV) Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. Isaac is a symbol of our Lord, and Genesis 25:5 is telling us that God gave Him the fullness of His Spirit. Joh 3:34 (ERV) God sent him, and he tells people what God says. God gives him the Spirit fully.
Joh 16:15 (ESV) All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. This is how the Lord did not sin although He lived in sinful flesh, He was given the Father's spirit in full. But we are only given a portion of His spirit. This is why we must rely on Him and continue to study His words to continue to be blessed with His spirit. Let's continue the story: Gen 25:7 (ERV) Abraham lived to be 175 years old. Gen 25:8 (GNB) And Abraham came to his death, an old man, full of years; and he was put to rest with his people. Gen 25:9 And Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, put him to rest in the hollow rock of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, near Mamre; This image of Isaac and Ishmael both paying respects to their father should remind us of the elect and the false churches of this world both worshiping the Father. But only one's worship will be accepted by God and one will be rejected. Gen 25:10 (KJV) The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. Gen 25:11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi. That concludes the story of Abraham and it is immediately followed by Isaac's story. The story of Abraham has shown us how God works. He always choose a few people from this world to live under His roof, under His blessing, protection and guidance. In the time of Cain and Abel, He chose Abel. In the time of Noah, He set apart Noah from the people of this world. After the flood and the whole world rebels against God again in the city of Babel, He chose Abraham. And now we will see the same pattern in Isaac and Ishmael. He chose Isaac over Ishmael and Abraham's other sons. Actually, we will see the same pattern of God choosing a few people from among the many who wants to serve Him. In Genesis 25:11, we see that Isaac continued to live by the well Lahairoi which means the Living One, my Seer. The chosen people continue to live with Jesus Christ under the blessings, protection and guidance of God
The chosen people of God know that they are receiving these blessings in preparation to save the whole world. They do not take these blessings for granted and are more than willing to share them to those who would listen. Let's read ahead of the next verses and Lord willing, we will see some more valuable lessons from them when we study them more closely: Gen 25:12 (ESV) These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. Gen 25:13 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, Gen 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Gen 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. Gen 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. Gen 25:17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) Gen 25:18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen. Gen 25:19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, Gen 25:20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. Gen 25:21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. Gen 25:22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. Gen 25:23 And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger." Gen 25:24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Gen 25:25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Gen 25:26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. Gen 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Gen 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Gen 25:29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. Gen 25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Gen 25:31 Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now." Gen 25:32 Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" Gen 25:33 Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Gen 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.