Good weekend to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
As I write this, the region of modern-day Israel, and much of the world, has been in great turmoil for several days. Too much bloodshed and great fear of what might happen this time, as once again animosity and anger fill the air waves, pouring out of an age-old conflict over rightful ownership of the region of the world often called “Palestine”.
Yesterday I showed you how both Abraham’s sons, Ishmael and Isaac were circumcised by Abraham in obedience to God’s instructions giving them the Covenant mark of God’s great blessing on Abraham and his descendants. (Gen. 17) But discord arose in Abraham’s house, as jealousy developed between Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac, and their mothers Hagar and Sarah. In the end God instructed Abraham to send Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian handmaid, away with her son Ishmael so they could build a life and future far away from Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. (Gen. 21:8-21)
Genesis 24 is then the amazing account of Abraham sending his trusted servant to find just the right wife for his only remaining son Isaac. That servant prayed earnestly, and God led him to Rebekah. If you haven’t read it lately, it’s an amazing account of God’s selection of a wife for Isaac with whom the blessed Abrahamic line could continue with their children.
The Genesis record continues as Abraham, after the death of his beloved wife Sarah, took another wife in his very old age. Her name was Keturah, and Abraham had sons by her, but I see no evidence they were given the circumcision mark, nor did Abraham make any suggestion they would be part of God’s Covenant promise to Abraham and his descendants. In fact, Gen. 25:5,6 makes this clear, brief statement: “Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. While Abraham was still living, he gave gifts to his other sons…and sent them away from his son Isaac, to the land of the east…”
Let’s pause for a moment to be sure we understand. The next verse is very important: “Abraham lived 175 years. Then Abraham breathed his last… His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave…with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac.“ (Gen. 25:1-11) Abraham had lived 100 more years AFTER God’s initial call to him to leave Ur and move to a new land God would give him and his wife and their descendants.
Did you notice only Abraham’s two sons Isaac and Ishmael are mentioned as taking responsibility for the burial of Abraham? But did you notice the order of their names? That is significant. Birth order was and is very important in the cultures of the middle east. The eldest son was always the more important, receiving the much greater share of the inheritance and always listed first, ahead of any other sons. Ishmael was the eldest son of Abraham, but look back my friends, do you see the priority Isaac is given over Ishmael in those verses? Do you see the last line of those verses? “After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac.” It means God Himself was making a very clear distinction between Ishmael, the firstborn of Abraham, with the handmaid Hagar; and the miracle son of promise Isaac, born to Abraham and his wife Sarah in their old age.
Genesis 25:12-18 is very important even though you and I have probably passed over it many times. It’s the lineage of Ishmael, the eldest son of Abraham and begins with these words: “This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.” 12 sons were born to Ishmael, and they became the “tribal leaders” of Ishmael’s descendants. The record says: “Ishmael lived 137 years…his descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt...and they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.” (Gen. 25:18)
In one brief sentence the Bible is pointing forward from Gen. 25:18 to the horrific events of the weekend of October 7,8 when Hamas terrorists came from the Gaza strip into Israel and slaughtered innocent people, dragged away hostages and launched rockets into Israel. Many of those living in the Gaza strip may well be modern day descendants of Ishamel’s family and do you see the hostility of Gen. 25:18 between Ishmael and Isaac has been passed down many generations to their descendants?
The very next verse begins the parallel story of Abraham’s other son, the miracle son Isaac: “This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac…” Perhaps you know Isaac and Rebekah experienced a very long wait for children, just as Abraham and Sarah had waited. Finally, twins were born to Isaac and Rebekah, do you remember their names? Almost always their names are spoken like this: Jacob and Esau. But once again please note, Esau was born first, Jacob even though a twin, was born second, yet is always mentioned first. Why?
Before we find that answer, look carefully at the next major statement from God regarding this Land and Nation Covenant between God and Abraham and Abraham’s descendants found in the next verses, Gen. 26:1-6. A famine struck the land and Isaac was considering going to Egypt for food, as his father Abraham had done years before when a famine had struck the region. The record says: “The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt, live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while and I will be with you, and I will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed…” (Gen. 26:2-4) Do you see it my friends? Ishmael and his descendants have moved away and lived in hostility toward Isaac and his descendants. God is here confirming the Abrahamic Covenant is through the line of the son of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, not through Ishmael’s line.
A short while later God appeared again to Isaac to confirm God’s Covenant blessing: “Isaac went to Beersheba. That night the LORD appeared to Isaac and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham. Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well.” (Gen. 26:23-25) Do you see three significant actions by Isaac after God appeared to him? First, he built an altar of worship, declaring this place to be a sacred place and declaring his father Abraham’s God to be his God also. Second, he pitched his tent, he declared this would be his ‘homeland.’ Perhaps you remember for all of the Old Testament years, when referring to the length of Israel north to south the phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” was used. Dan was the extreme northern city, and this place where Isaac pitched his tent, Beersheba, became the extreme southern city. Third, do you see Isaac’s servants dug a well? Water is essential to life, especially in an arid place like southern Israel. This well was their commitment to make this home!
This raises three closing questions for us to conclude with today…
1. What is the spiritual heritage of your ancestral family? What has been your contribution to that family spiritual legacy?
2. Where is ‘home’ for you and what sense do you have that God Himself has selected that place for you and called you to settle there and make a difference there?
3. What are the things you and I do to make a place home and give our family a sense of permanence because God has led us there?
Now ponder that my friends, and tomorrow let’s meet right back here in Beersheba and we’ll continue this important journey by looking at the amazing things God did next as He continued His Covenant into the next generation after Isaac.
Today’s Scripture is Gen. 21-26:5.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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