The Patriarch of Faith and His God - Pastor Tom Loghry
In Genesis 25, we reach the conclusion of the life of Abraham. Pastor Tom reviews his story and the lessons that we have learned from beginning to end.
Transcript:
This is the last sermon in our series on Abraham. We end here. We began this series in Genesis 12, when God calls upon Abraham. But in truth, this is not where the story begins. Abraham figures in a story much bigger than himself. It goes back to the beginning with the creation of mankind. He goes back to Adam and Eve and their fatal rebellion against God that introduced death to humanity.
It is this fall that brings us to Abraham's own death. He could not live forever in this world as it is, just as none of us can. He dies here. But the story does not end here. That story goes on. It continues. It goes on to include you and me. His life closes here. But it will be opened again with a new chapter in which Abraham and all his children will walk the earth. Every promise fulfilled. Basking in the presence of the God they call their own and who calls them his own. So as Abraham comes to his rest, Moses shares some final details about his life that should be understood. So we open to Genesis 25, and we first look at verses 1 through 6.
And it says there, 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 Asherites, 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.
So some interesting details here about Abraham's life that we hadn't known up to this point. It appears that he had another wife, and her name was Keturah. Now, it is possible that he was married to Keturah while he was also married to Sarah. That's nothing ridiculous to imagine because you remember he was also married to Hagar while he was married to Sarah. And then he ended up sending Hagar away.
Now the reason why we should recognize that this is a possibility is because Genesis doesn't always relate everything to us in a strictly chronological order You'll notice later on in Genesis 25 that talks about the birth of Jacob and Esau, Isaac's sons. Abraham was actually alive when they were born.
He was 160 years old, so he would have lived to see them be 15 years old. And yet that happens later in the chapter after we've been told that Abraham has died. So we can't expect that, just because we read in a particular order, that that's the order that it necessarily happened. So it could be that Abraham had been married to her while he was married to Sarah. Now it's interesting because at the end it says that he sent away the sons of his concubine. So it's like, which is it? Is she a wife? Is she a concubine? We see later on in 1 Chronicles 1, it goes through some genealogies. It says there in verse 28 and 32, it says the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael.
And then it says interestingly in verse 32, the sons born to Keturah, Abraham's concubine. And then it goes through the names. So there seems like there's a little bit of a distinction there. But as far as Genesis 25 goes, It seems like her status was somewhat interchangeable, but there was a distinction made in 1 Chronicles.
Now, whether she was a wife or a concubine, it still opens up some questions in our minds as Christians living today. Does, on the basis of Abraham's life, does this mean that polygamy is acceptable? Is it acceptable to have many wives? Is it acceptable to have concubines? We know that other Old Testament figures did have multiple wives.
They had concubines. And it's at this point that we have to remember that just because the Bible describes something, that doesn't always mean that it's prescribing something. In this case, this is descriptive, but it's not prescriptive. And what we find in the Old Testament narratives is when they tell us about the lives of these men that had multiple wives, usually when they had multiple wives, it caused them a bit of trouble, because of conflicts within, within the family.
And we saw that in the case of Abraham, you know, Sarah was actually on board. She wanted him to marry Hagar so that they could have a child through her. but it created lots of drama between them. And, but still we ask, okay, so fine, it creates trouble, but it seems like it was permitted. So, why can't it be permitted today?
Well, I think, we find guidance here on the basis of the principle that Jesus introduces in Matthew 19 when the Pharisees come to him and they ask, can a man divorce his wife just for any cause? Because in the Old Testament, that was pretty much the case. A man could issue a certificate of divorce to his wife and just say, all right, bye. And Jesus says no. Jesus says that God only tolerated that because of the hardness of their hearts. That's something that's kind of interesting to think that God overlooks some of the flaws in the people at that time and tolerated them. I think it's interesting because very often I think we think if anything Jesus is more tolerant, and the God of the Old Testament was really like really hard nosed.
But I think what we're doing in that, when we suppose that, is that we're confusing grace with tolerance. Jesus brings us grace. He brings us forgiveness. Jesus is not tolerant of sin. Not at all. In fact, if anything, when we go from the Old Testament to the New Testament, God overlooked quite a bit. But when we come to Jesus, now God is really saying, I expect more.
Now, you can't do it on your own. You can't bring this new life that I'm desiring within you, but God is calling all people to repentance. And so God overlooked divorce in the past, he overlooked polygamy in the past, but now he's really calling his people to live up to the design that he created them to live, which was man and woman, inseparable in that union that is made before God.
And just with one, with one spouse. And we have an indication of that given by the Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 3 when he sets up the standard for elders and for deacons. He says, therefore, an overseer must be above reproach. The husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.
In verse 12, he says, Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. Something really important to understand about those verses there is that elders and deacons are not supposed to be the exceptions within the congregation. As though they're the only ones that are supposed to have one wife.
As though they're the only ones that are supposed to be sober minded or respectable or hospitable. Now, you know, not everyone's called to teach. But you have all these character qualities. The reason why these expectations are put in place is because overseers, elders, and deacons, they're supposed to be examples to the rest of the congregation as far as this is how you too should live.
You can't be an example if you're not living it out yourself. Otherwise you're just a hypocrite. So we see the ideal laid out there that, yes, in fact, God's design is that it's to be one man and one woman for life.
Now, kind of moving past that, it is notable that while Abraham had these many children, I mean, besides Ishmael, all these other kids, it says explicitly in verse 5 that Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. Now we already actually knew this back in chapter 24 when Abraham's servant went to Rebekah to fetch Isaac a wife.
He told Rebekah's family this, that Abraham had given everything to Isaac. And we just see that reiterated here, that everything was given to Isaac. He did give some gifts to his sons. It's not as though he didn't care for them, but Abraham was completely devoted to God's plan that the promise was going to be carried forth through his son Isaac.
So between this chapter and the last chapter, we've jumped quite a span of time. In chapter 24, Abraham was 140, and in this chapter, we have leaped 35 years to his death at 175. Now, I won't read it over again, John did a great job reading it, it says that Abraham passed away full of years at a good old age.
It's another way of just reminding us that God had truly blessed Abraham. He had blessed him with a long life, and he went to his rest in peace, just as God had promised. The phrase that is used here, I really love. You only find this phrase in Genesis. It says that he was gathered to his people. Isn't that just kind of a nice way of talking about someone's passing?
He was gathered to his people.
Abraham was at peace in his rest. And we find an interesting reunion take place. Isaac, we find Isaac and Ishmael coming back together. Now, you might have imagined that because Abraham sent Ishmael away, maybe Ishmael was like, I don't want to have anything to do with that guy. But that's not the case. And maybe we can suppose, maybe they had some sort of contact over the years or something.
Or maybe Ishmael just did truly want to honor and respect his father despite being sent away. In any case, any differences that were between the two sons, they came together in this moment to lay their father to rest in the same cave in which Sarah was buried. It's the same cave that Isaac himself and his wife Rebekah will be buried in, and as would Jacob and Leah.
All of them would be laid to rest there. And then we just have, have this kind of single signal indication that the story is going to continue forth from here. It says that God blessed his son, Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. Isaac's going to live forth the promise that was initially given in Genesis 12.
Genesis 12 verses 1 through 3 God told Abram at that time go from your country your people and your father's household to the land. I will show you I'll make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I'll bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Now the thing, as we just step back, and we consider the story as a whole, and the initial calling, the thing that really stands out is that Abraham had done nothing to deserve this promise that God had given to him.
It was simply a gracious gift of blessing offered to Abraham, that he would receive it by faith, just trusting God that he would keep his word. And Abraham did respond in faith. And God would fulfill that promise. Multiple times over his life, God comes again to Abraham and reminds him of his promises. In Genesis 15, 5- 6, it says that God took Abraham outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars, if indeed you can count them. And he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Abraham was credited as righteous on the basis of his faith in God's Word. And, in saying that Abraham had faith, what we mean is that, Abraham had trust enough in God that he, in fact, followed God where he was leading him.
He picked up his things, left Haran, went to the Promised Land, and he continued walking forward, trusting in God's promises. Now, trusting God was sometimes difficult. You'll remember that there was a couple points where there seemed like maybe there was a little bit of a departure from trusting completely in God when he tried to trick Pharaoh and Abimelech that Sarah was actually his sister instead of his wife because he was afraid of what they would do to him and that kind of put things at risk because if they had actually taken her as their wife, well, he couldn't exactly have Isaac through her in that case.
We also remember when him and Sarah decided that yes, he would marry Hagar and try to have a son through her rather than waiting on God's promise.
But, as time goes on, we see growth in Abraham. As God just repeats his promises again and again to him. So that, eventually, we see him being able to take bold steps of faith. Now, a lot of this was helped by the fact that God kept his word. Because Abraham did, in fact, see his son be born miraculously.
He's then able to trust God in radical ways. Such as what we see in Genesis 22, when God told him, you're to sacrifice that one and only son that you have. The one that I promised to you. And Abraham is prepared to do it. So that when Isaac asks him, you know, where's the animal for the sacrifice? He tells him in Genesis 22: 8, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Abraham was completely trusting in God. His faith was completed. And it's on this episode that the apostle James comments in James 2 verses 21 through 22. He says, Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
So at this point in his life, after having gone through all this, Abraham is kind of off and running. He has so much confidence in God that when it comes to the time that he needs to find a wife for Isaac, he's totally fine sending his servant to go find one. And he says, in Genesis 24: 7, that God will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
He has complete faith in God. And this is distinct from just being optimistic. So often in our culture we talk about, you know, you just gotta have faith. Like, things are gonna work out. You just gotta have faith. Well, that's kind of foolish, because you're not assured things are just gonna work just by having faith.
That's not what we're called to in Scripture. We're not called to just have faith. We're called to have faith in God. And that's what we see in the life of Abraham. He had faith in God.
So in Genesis, we learn about Abraham, but we don't just learn about Abraham. We learn about this God in whom he had faith. We learn that God, is the shield and very great reward of Abraham. And we can say the same for ourself, that God is our shield and our very great reward. We learn that God is perfectly just and merciful.
In the episode with Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham pleads for the lives of those who are righteous in the city, and even while it's really only Lot and his family, God still spares them. We learn from the episode with Hagar, when she first runs away from home because of the conflict she was having with Sarah, and yet God showed his mercy to her and delivered her from the perils of the desert.
We learn that God is the God who sees me. That's the observation that Hagar makes. You are the God who sees me. And he's the God who sees each one of us. We learn from that episode on the mountain where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac that our God is the God who will provide.
And ultimately that he has provided our salvation through the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. That he is the God that goes ahead of us, preparing the way so that we might fulfill his purposes. And we learn that this God is our God.
As God tells Abraham in Genesis 17, he says, The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give you as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you. And then the greatest part of this promise is this, And I will be their God.
And if this is true for the children of Abraham, and we are included among the children of Abraham, then we can say with confidence that he is our God. Abraham received God and his promises by faith. And we are invited to follow in his footsteps. The Apostle Paul in Romans 4 explains how it is that we who are not Jews are able to be included in Abraham's household of faith.
In Romans 4 verses 3 and 23 through 25, Paul says this, What does scripture say? Abraham believed God and was credited to Him as righteousness. The words that it was credited to Him were not written for Him alone, but also for us to whom God will credit righteousness. For us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Jesus is the lynchpin of all of God's promises. He is the one who has, even now, even today, begun to turn faith into sight. Because he has brought to fulfillment that promised blessing, that through Abraham, all the nations would be blessed.
And through Jesus Christ, salvation is offered to all people. When we take God's word by faith, just as Abraham did, responding to faith and faith to Jesus Christ as God's further and final word, we are credited with a righteousness not our own. We know it's not our own because Jesus must be raised for our justification.
If we could justify ourselves, there would be no need for Jesus to die on a cross. There would be no need for him to be raised from the dead. We can't justify ourselves. We have no defense before God, and this is why we need Jesus. Jesus, in all his perfect goodness, can be our righteousness. He can be ours by faith.
You are invited to take your place in the story. To be counted among the children of Abraham, numbered among the stars, one who will be called blessed among countless brothers and sisters who have received in faith, God's word, now clearly seen in Jesus Christ. And many of you have already believed, and if you have already believed, then you can count yourself blessed.
Because you are part of the greatest story ever told. The story that neither hardship or death can snuff out. The story that is only made all the more glorious for all that is endured. Because of the kingdom that will be revealed in the coming age. Abraham will bask in the presence of his God on the first day of the new earth.
And you will too, if you believe. If you have faith. Let's pray.
Dear Father, We thank you for your grace.
Your grace is how this story begins. Because you called Abraham Abraham And gave him this promise even when he was not deserving of any of it.
Father, you offer that same grace to us in Jesus Christ. And we see, Father, as we've studied Abraham's life and as we've glimpsed ahead to what follows that life, that Jesus is the fulfillment of all those promises. And that we are now invited to share in them by trusting in Jesus.
Father, give us that faith. Trusting not in ourselves or in any roll of the dice in this world, but trusting in you as our God. Trusting you for our eternal salvation. Trusting you for the path that lays ahead of us, that leads either to our rest where we'll join Abraham or the day of Christ's return.
Help us to continue trusting you, Father, that you will continue to provide and that you will fulfill your word.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we begin a two-week series on the question “What is Communion?”
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)