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Genesis 25 – Abraham Left Everything that He Owned to Isaac!

08 Sunday Dec 2013

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The details of Abraham’s death are recorded, as well as the accounts of the family lines of his sons Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac’s wife became pregnant with twins.

Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. Genesis 25:1-6

Keturah was the woman whom Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, married after the death of his wife, Sarah. Keturah bore Abraham six sons.Keturah is referred to at different times as either Abraham’s wife in Genesis 25:1 or Abraham’s concubine in 1 Chronicles 1:32. While Abraham left everything to Isaac, he made grants to his sons by his concubine during his lifetime, and sent them east away from Isaac.

One of the sons of Keturah was Midian, the father of the Midianites. Some of the descendants of Keturah went to Persia while others scattered into Assyria.

Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. Isaiah 60:6

This prophecy from Isaiah speaks of the descendants of Abraham and Ketura. Midian was Keturah’s son and both Sheba and Ephah were her grandsons. Bearing gifts of gold and incense, those from Sheba would proclaim the praise of the LORD. It is interesting that the Magi, who are also known as the “Wise Men,” brought gifts of gold and frankincense to the newborn Messiah. According to Matthew 2:3, the presence of their great caravan caused a great disturbance in Jerusalem and like the sons of Ketura, they came from the east with many camels. The visit of the Magi may have been the fulfillment of Isaiah 60:6.

Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. Genesis 25:7-11

Abraham lived 175 years. He lived seventy-five years after Isaac’s birth and thirty-eight years after Sarah’s death. There is no record of any of his sons through Keturah attending his burial.

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.

These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa,  Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them. Genesis 25:12-18

God is faithful to fulfill his promises and the prophetic word of the LORD is sure to come to pass. In Genesis 21:14 God made the following promise to Abraham: And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. The twelve sons of Ishmael became the twelve tribes that comprise the Arab nation. According to Genesis 16:12, Ishmael was prophesied to be, “… a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Genesis 25:18 records that Ishmael’s descendants lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them. As a wild donkey is accustomed to live, and run, and range about the wilderness, so the Arabic peoples were nomadic and many Bedouins still exist today.

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Genesis 25:19-20

As recorded in the first four verses of Genesis 24, Abraham had his senior servant swear an oath that he would not get a wife for his son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites but would travel to the country of Abraham’s own relatives to get a wife for his son. This was to insure that the lineage that would produce the Messiah would descend from the blessed line of Shem and not the cursed line of Ham.

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. Genesis 25:21

Although Rebekah had been barren for 20 years, Isaac did not do as Abraham his father did and take a second wife to have children by her. Instead, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife and the LORD answered his prayer.

The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:22-23

Within Rebekah’s womb were two sons from whom two nations would descend. From Esau, the first born or older son, the Edomites would arise. From Jacob, the younger son, the Israelites would emerge. These nations would be comprised of two different types of people separate and distinct from one another. The Edomites and the Israelites would not only differ physically, but in their lifestyle, locale, and most importantly, in their religious practices.

The prophecy stating that one people will be stronger than the other people initially spoke of the Edomites, the posterity of Esau. They were a very powerful people and had a succession of princes and kings, while the Hebrews, the posterity of Jacob, were slaves in Egypt. But when the nation of Israel was birthed out of the furnace of affliction in Egypt and took possession of the Promised Land, the Israelites became the stronger of the two nations.

It is recorded in 2 Samuel 8:14 that the older (the descendants of Esau or the Edomites), did serve the younger (the descendants of Jacob or Israelites) during the time of King David’s reign:

He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.

There is a time spoken by the prophet Obadiah when the descendents of Esau will totally be destroyed by the offspring of Jacob:

But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance.Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.” The LORD has spoken. Obadiah 1:17-18

The great and terrible “Day of the LORD” will be a great day of victory for Israel and a terrible day of calamity for the posterity of Esau.

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. Genesis 25:24-26

The first born son of Isaac and Rebekah was either ruddy in complexion and covered with hair, or covered with red hair. They named him Esau which means, “hairy.” His wild appearance may have been an indication of the coarseness of his character and roughness of his nature.

His fraternal twin brother Jacob emerged from his mother’s womb grasping the firstborn son’s heel. Jacob is the English translation of the Hebrew name, Yacob.  Jacob means “heel holder” or “supplanter.” Jacob’s name both denotes his character and was prophetic. Jacob was to be a usurper eventually not only taking the “right of the firstborn” but also Esau’s blessing by treachery.

 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Genesis 25:27-28

Esau was a hunter, like two notorious hunters in the Bible who lived before him.

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” Genesis 10:9

Nimrod is traditionally considered the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar. Nimrod is described as a “mighty hunter before the LORD.” This description implies ruthlessness and a lust for power. Nimrod is closely associated with the Hebrew word meaning “rebel.”

God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. Genesis 21:20

Ishmael became an archer. Ishmael became skilled in the use of the bow and arrow for hunting, for protection against wild beasts and in waging warfare. All Arabs, following Mohammed’s example, claim descent from Ishmael. Ishmael’s descendants are Muslims who seek the annihilation of the descendants of Jacob.

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. Psalm 91:3

Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me. Psalm 141:9

Hunters often use traps and snares to capture their prey as do evil men who look to ensnare godly men. Nimrod, Ishmael and Esau were hunters which symbolized their wild and ungodly natures. Their power and ability was in the arm of flesh and they opposed the things and people of God.

Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau because Esau was a hunter who loved the outdoors. Jacob, on the other hand, was content to stay at home among the tents and was loved by his mother Rebekah.

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Genesis 25:29-30

Esau was also called Edom which means red. Esau’s descendents were called the Edomites. Esau, who was an outdoorsman and walked in the flesh, was not merely hungry. He was famished – desperately hungry. Satisfying his fleshy desire was not to be postponed but immediately satisfied.

Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. Genesis 25:31-34

The right of the firstborn to a double portion of the inheritance and a leadership position in the family when the father passes was Esau’s by birth but Jacob’s by promise. It entailed more than material blessings. The birthright had an important spiritual significance as well. The Messiah would descend from Isaac’s son who held the birthright. Jacob who now had the birthright would also insure that the future possession of the land of Canaan would be by his children’s children.

There is another account of two sons and the division of their father’s inheritance that is found in the New Testament. It is the parable of the prodigal son. Why did the prodigal return? It was because he was hungry. But why was he hungry?  It was due to a famine in the land. The sovereign LORD caused the famine. Why was Esau famished? Although he was a skilled hunter, the LORD prevented him from finding any game.

The prodigal responded to his hunger in humility and repented.  While Esau cared more about filling his belly than fulfilling the responsibilities of the firstborn son. The LORD knew that Esau was carnally minded and unworthy to receive the birthright.

Although Jacob was manipulative and deceitful, he believed in God’s promises to Abraham. Jacob also was willing to also take on the responsibilities that the birthright entailed. These responsibilities included the patriarch to provide for and to protect the family as well as teach his children the ways of the LORD.  

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

Jacob would eventually have to endure many years of hardship and testing because of his manipulative actions and deceitfulness. Eventually the LORD would not only change Jacob’s name but his character.

Esau refused to take on the responsibilities of the first born and treated his birthright with disdain. That is why Paul writing to the church at Rome reminds that God proclaimed, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Romans 9:13 b

Hagar Will Bear Abram a Son and the LORD Named Him Ishmael

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

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Hagar Will Bear Abram a Son and the LORD Named Him Ishmael

Sarai bore Abram no children, so she gave Hagar to him. When Hagar was pregnant, she despised her mistress & was mistreated. Hagar fled to the desert.

Genesis Chapter 16

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Genesis 16:1-2a

Children are a blessing from God. It is apparent that Sarai is displeased with the LORD because He has caused her to be barren. She tells her husband Abram that he should sleep with her handmaid Hagar. Probably Hagar was one of the servants that they had acquired when they went down to Egypt during the time of the famine in Canaan. The child of a female slave would then become the property of the slave’s mistress. Sarai reasoned that she could build a family though her maidservant.

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. Genesis 16:2b-4a

Abram had left the Ur of the Chaldeans when he was 75 years old. His wife Sarai was ten years his junior. The trip along with the stop at Haran to replenish the livestock was approximately a year long. After living in Canaan ten years Sarai was about 76 years old. Both Abram and his wife probably believed that Sarai was beyond child bearing age.

Abram had already demonstrated that he was a great man of faith. The account of Genesis chapter 12 informs us that Abram did not question the LORD when asked to leave his home and country. Abram faithfully obeyed and embarked on a 1,000 mile journey to an unknown land. In Genesis chapter 15, the LORD reassured Abram that he would indeed have a son coming from his own body and that Abram’s offspring would be as innumerable as the stars in the sky. Abram had believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith. Yet when Sarai desired to give her handmaiden to him, he did not inquire of the LORD but slept with Hagar to please his wife. The phrase “to be his wife” is merely a euphemism for sexual intercourse. Abram did not take Hagar as his wife but Sarai gave her maidservant to him for the purpose of bearing a child for her.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” Genesis 16:4b-5

Hagar, who was Sarai’s handmaiden, treated her mistress as her inferior and with contempt by reproaching her for her barrenness, as Peninnah did Hannah before the birth of Samuel. Hagar’s actions were not only prideful but ungrateful, since it was because of her mistress that Hagar was given to Abram so that she may conceive. Although the plan to build Sarai’s family though Hagar was her own idea, Sarai shifts the blame to her husband for the mistreatment that she is suffering. Perhaps Sarai thought that it was Abram’s duty to make sure Hagar knew her rightful place in the household. In any case, Sarai believed that her cause is so just that she declared, “May the LORD judge between you and me.”

“Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. Genesis 16:6

Abram did not attempt to mediate between Sarai and Hagar as if they held equal positions in his household; instead he told his wife Sarai to do whatever she thought was best in dealing with her contemptuous slave. Sarai mistreated Hagar. In the original language of Hebrew the intent is that Sarai afflicted Hagar to humble her. Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that Hagar fled from her mistress.

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Genesis 16:7-8

It is important to note that the text does not say that an angel found Hagar but records that “The angel of the LORD” found Hagar near a desert spring. The account in Genesis 16:7 is the first time that the Bible records the appearance of “The angel of the LORD.” There is a phenomenon in the Bible which theologians refer to as “The Law of First Mention.” The very first time any significant word or symbol is mentioned in the Bible, Scripture gives that word its most complete and accurate meaning. This not only serves as a “key” in understanding the word’s Biblical concept, but to also provide a foundation for its fuller development in later parts of the Bible. The encounter between Hagar and the angel of the LORD will enable us to identify this unique being.

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.” Genesis 16:9-10

After Hagar answered the angel of the LORD’s questions, he commanded Hagar to go back to her mistress Sarai and submit to her. Then the angel of the LORD said that he would increase Hagar’s descendants. No created being could fulfill that promise. It is also interesting that the language used and the promise made is strikingly similar to the promise of numerous descendants made by the LORD to Abram earlier.

The definition of the “Angel of the LORD” by Louis Goldberg is cited in Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology:

“(Hebrew – mal’ak yehwah). Supernatural being who bears a message on behalf of God. In many passages in the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord is identified with God, while in other instances a distinction is made between the Lord and the angel. In general, however, the terms “the angel of the LORD, “ “the LORD,” and “God” are interchangeable.The angel of the Lord is the messenger of both good and evil. He comes to Hagar after she has fled from the abusive Sarai (Genesis 16:7-14) to assure her that God has heard about her misery and that her descendants will be too numerous to count. She names him “You are the God who sees me” (verse 13).”

In chapter 18 of the book of 2 Kings is the record the of Sennacherib king of Assyria whose army attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. In response, Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

Although Hezekiah had paid tribute to Sennacherib, the king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. In 2 Kings 18:31-35, the field commander spoke to Hezekiah’s officials and said:

“Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

The supreme commander of the Assyrian army purposed to dishearten Hezekiah’s officials. The commander intended to make them fearful, so that they would abandon their king and surrender their fortified city.

In the first verse of chapter 19 of 2 Kings we read: When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.

We also read in verses 14-19:

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

“It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”

Then Isaiah the prophet sent an encouraging message to Hezekiah saying that the LORD, the God of Israel had heard his prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. Isaiah also prophesied that the LORD would defend Jerusalem and save it, for His sake and for the sake of David His servant.

That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 2 Kings 19:35-36

Although Yahweh declared that He would defend the city, the angel of the LORD executed judgment on behalf of the LORD. He put to death 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp, thereby saving Jerusalem from decimation.

Continuing with Louis Goldberg’s entry on the “Angel of the LORD”:

“The angel of the LORD both commissions and commends God’s servants. The commander of the LORD’s army commissions Joshua to undertake the LORD’s battles for Canaan, just as Moses had been commissioned to confront Pharaoh (Joshua 5:13-15; cf. Exodus 3:5). The angel of the LORD appears to Abraham. He stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and commends him because he has not withheld his only son from God (Genesis 22:11-18). Abraham identifies the angel as God, calling the place The LORD Will Provide.

The angel of the LORD carries out a ministry of reconciliation. He asks how long God will withhold mercy from Jerusalem and Judah (Zechariah 1:12). The connection between the angel of the LORD and the preincarnate appearance of the Messiah cannot be denied. Manoah meets the angel of the LORD, and declares that he has seen God. The angel accepts worship from Manoah and his wife as no mere angel, and refers to himself as “Wonderful, “ the same term applied to the coming deliverer in Isaiah 9:6 (Judges 13:9-22). The functions of the angel of the LORD in the Old Testament prefigure the reconciling ministry of Jesus. In the New Testament, there is no mention of the angel of the LORD; the Messiah himself is this person.”

The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Genesis 16:11-12

Ishmael means God will hear. The son Abram’s concubine will bear will be named Ishmael for the LORD heard Hagar’s misery. The 12 sons of Ishmael, and his Egyptian wife, became princes and progenitors of as many tribes. The region occupied by these Ishmaelites included most of central and northern Arabia.

The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael’s descendents would be free-roaming or nomadic. Bedouins are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes, or clans. The Arabic term badawi derives from the word badiyah which means semiarid desert. The term “Bedouin” therefore means, “Those in badiyah” or “Those in the desert.”

All Arabs, following Mohammed’s example, claim descent from Ishmael. … his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him. In an effort by the Muslims to destabilize and take control of more and more territory, everywhere in the civilized world there are Islamic insurgencies and senseless acts of terror. There is no where on earth where Islam has ever brought peace, unless you define peace as the slaughter of all dissenters. Islam cannot bring peace because the god of Islam is Satan himself disguised as the moon god, Allah.

… and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. When the Ummah (the worldwide Muslim community) is not busy slaughtering infidels, it reverts to slaughtering itself. The prophesied hostilities of brother against brother are evidenced by conflicts between different sects of Muslims such as Sunni against Shia, and Sunni and Shia against Sufi.

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. Genesis 16:13-14

The angel of the LORD had spoken to Hagar, yet Hagar gave this name to Yahweh who spoke to her, El Roi “You are the God that sees me.” Again the angel of the LORD speaks but is identified as God himself. Hagar’s son will be named “Ishmael” which means “God will hear.” Hagar testifies that not only will God hear our cries and petitions, but He is a God that sees our difficult and troubling circumstances. Hagar had fled to a spring in the desert. After she encountered the angel of the LORD, she and named that well, “Beer Lahai Roi” which means “Well of the Living One who sees me.”

So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. Genesis 16:15-16

Hagar returned at the command of the angel of the LORD, believing the promise that God had made to her. Abram named his son Ishmael according to the command given to Hagar. Since it was the LORD who chose the name, Abram may have believed that Ishmael was the fulfillment of the promise of an heir from his own loins. It would be 13 more years until it would be revealed to Abram that he would father the son of the promise through his wife and not her hand maiden.