Abraham: Called to Retire

 

In the last episode of Act 1, Scene 2 of God’s One Big Story, after finishing our longest script yet, we were able to finally put together the puzzle pieces of Abraham’s life and see the big picture that God wanted to tell us through it. Over the span of his many years, through his numerous tests and trials—some successful and others utter failures—we discovered that the three most important events in Abraham’s life, when viewed together, create a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ.   That’s because…

• • In Genesis 21, in the miraculous birth of Isaac, we have a foreshadowing of the miraculous birth of Christ;
  • In Genesis 22, in the sacrifice and rescue of Isaac, we have a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Christ; and,
  • In Genesis 24, in the sending out of Abraham’s servant to find a bride for Isaac, we have a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit being sent out to find a bride for Christ, with Rebekah being a type or foreshadowing of the Church.

In this episode—our shortest one yet—we will bring this biographical picture of Abraham’s life to a close, viewing him in his later years and in his death.

 

Episode #12 of Biopic #1
Cast:  Narrators 1, 2, &3

Abraham and Keturah 

Narrator #1:  Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.  And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.  Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.  And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.  But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living, he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.

Abraham’s Death and Burial

Narrator #2:  This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.  Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.  And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.  And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

The Family of Ishmael

Narrator #3:  Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.  And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.  These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.  These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people.  (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.

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Our Review

 

For our review, let’s go over the most important in this Episode—

— Keturah—the general translation of her name is “covered with incense.”  No mention is made of her homeland or background but given his opposition to Isaac’s marrying a local girl, it is unlikely that Abraham would have married a Canaanite woman.  She is considered to be a concubine wife for Abraham—concubines usually being women who did not possess a dowry and whose children had no primary rights of inheritance.

Keturah and Abraham had 6 sons—six being the number of man in biblical typology.  Not all of these can be identified but most are associated with the Syro-Arabian desert east of the Jordan, an area known for its lucrative spice trade that was positioned along the main caravan route between Egypt and Assyria. The most prominent of their sons were Sheba and Dedan, who are mentioned in Ezekiel 38:13 for taking sides with Israel in a future battle against Gog, and Midian whose descendants show up in several places in the biblical story…

• • • • Midianite traders carry Joseph into Egypt in Genesis 37:36;
      • Moses is married to the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian in Exodus 3:1;
      • The Midianites are in league with the Moabites, fighting against Israel, in Numbers 25: 6-18; and,
      • The Midianites are allied with the Amalekites against Gideon in Judges 6:33.

 

 

— Gave all that he had to Isaac/gave gifts to his other sons—the father could choose his heir, but he also had to provide for his other children. Most likely, Abraham gave his other sons enough to start them on their own flocks and herds.

— He sent them eastward—most likely present-day Arabia.

— One hundred seventy-five years—when Abraham died, Ishmael was 89, Isaac was 75, Jacob and Esau were 15, Sarah had been gone 38 years, and Eber—a grandson of Shem was still alive at 460.

— Full of years—Abraham was satisfied and ready to go.

 

— Gathered to his people—refers to life after death, to his joining those who had died in faith before him. From what we can gather, two places awaited the dead—Sheol/hades or Paradise, later called Abraham’s Bosom in Luke 16:22, the place where the righteous dead in the OT went to await their resurrection.

— Isaac and Ismael buried him/in the cave of Machpelah—this is the only time we know of that Ishmael and Isaac came together again. The cave was the piece of land that Abraham bought as a burial place for Sarah—the only piece of the Promised Land that he owned during his long sojourn there.

— God blessed his son Isaac—with Abraham’s departure, the Covenant Blessings passed to Isaac.

— The genealogy of Ishmael—in keeping with the biblical pattern, the genealogy of the rejected line is given first, then it is followed by the genealogy of the chosen line. Ishmael produced twelve sons about whom very little it known.  What we do know is that the Arab peoples descended from these twelve—and they were the peoples who…

• • • • Produced Mohammed, as well as many great enlightened scholars during the time when Europe was still living in the Dark Ages;
      • Ruled from some of the great cities of the period—such as Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad—where policy was made and art and science flourished;
      • Were the first to exploit the human population of Africa—that is, the slave trade was largely the work of the Arabs;
      • Control the most vital and wealthy countries in today’s world.

— One hundred thirty-seven years—Ishmael died 58 years before Isaac.

— Gathered to his people—the same thing said about Abraham, which would seem to indicate that he died as a believer in the God of Abraham.

— In the presence of his brethren—as prophesied in Genesis 16:12…

He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. ​​And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

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In Summary

With the death of Abraham, Biopic #1 has come to an close, making this an appropriate time to review some of the things we have learned through this study of his life.  To do that, let’s recall some of the valuable life lessons we have learned, the contributions Abraham’s story has made to God’s One Big Story, and some of the ways God that has been revealed in this biopic.

Life Lessons

Like Abraham…

…Those of us who have come to faith in God, have done so because of God’s gracious intervention in our lives and not because of any merit of our own;

…We, too, have been called to a life of Wandering, Worshiping, and Witnessing;

…We have also been called to Walk by Faith, not by sight, learning to depend upon God and His provision for us;

…In our walks with God, we are going to be Tested so that our faith can be revealed and strengthened;

… Disobedience on our parts will not only delay the work that God wants to do in and through us but also the fulfillment of His Long-Term Goals for us;

… God will not give us any New Revelations or Instructions until we have obeyed the last ones given;

… Even though God watches over us during our periods of disobedience, He will not negate the poor choices (and their consequences) that we may have made (and incurred) during that time.

… As we are going about our lives of wandering, worshiping, and witnessing, there will be times when we will be called to do warfare at a moment’s notice. But unlike the fleshly battle that Abraham was called to, the warfare that we will be engaged in is one that is spiritual in nature;

… For every victory we experience, we can be sure that the Enemy will be there trying to steal it away through some sort of compromise on our parts;

… Believers today are participants in a Covenant with God—a New Covenant, written in the very blood of Jesus, in which the Spirit of God comes to live within them and begins writing God’s laws upon their hearts, and teaching them to live like children of the Most High God.

… When God promises to do something, He will do it.  It won’t happen according to our schedule or timing, but at a time in keeping with His overall plans and purposes.  Any attempts on our parts to “help” hurry the process along will only lead to sorrow and a further delay of our hopes.

… When we are confronted with our sins or shortcomings, we tend to justify our actions rather than acknowledge them and repent. Like Abraham, we may offer up half-truths that are nothing more than sugar-coated lies, try to excuse ourselves by saying that it was because we were afraid, or cop out by saying that this is the way that we’ve always done it.

… No matter how long we have walked with God, we are still human and can be extremely fallible, and can all stumble and fall given the right circumstances.

 

Contributions to God’s One Big Story

In these episodes, we have seen in…

… Abram, the Exalted Father of Israel who, at the appropriate time, will enter into a marriage contract or Covenant with God.

… Melchizedek, a preview of the coming Messiah who will one day reign forever as the King of Peace and Righteousness in the New Jerusalem.

… Lot, a picture of the carnal believer who through his compromise with the world loses his integrity, his family, and his witness to the world.

… Sarah, a type of the Covenant of Grace.

… Hagar, a type of the Covenant of Works.

… Ishmael, an example of the works of the flesh that can never inherit the promises of God.

… Isaac, in his birth, a picture of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ.

… Isaac, in his sacrifice, a picture of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

… Abraham’s Servant, a picture of the Holy Spirit seeking a bride for Christ.

… Rebekah, a picture of the Church, the Bride of Christ.

… Sodom and Gomorrah, a preview of the coming judgment of God on the wicked.

 

Revelations of God

While there have been many revelations of God throughout this biopic, here are just a few of the ones that we could list…

 

 

Next up will be Biopic #2—the surprisingly brief biographical picture of Abraham’s son, Isaac.