Genesis 25:1-34 (6/3/15) Genesis 24:67 (NKJV) 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Genesis 25:1 (NKJV) 1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. We don’t know if Abraham married Keturah before or after Isaac married Rebekah. Isaac married Rebekah three years after his mother Sarah died when he was 40 years old. If Abraham married Keturah around the same time that would mean that he was 140 years old. So Abraham would have been married to Keturah for roughly 35 years before he died. Now in 1 Chronicles 1:32 Keturah is called Abraham’s concubine—a truth verse 6 seems to confirm. A concubine was kind of a ‘second class’ wife—but now Abraham officially marries her and she is elevated to full wife status. 1 Genesis 25:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. So once again it seems that God supernaturally rejuvenated Abraham’s body allowing him to have six more sons. Because Keturah’s name means “spices,” and because several of her sons’ names are associated with the Arabian Peninsula—most Bible scholars believe that her sons became principals in the international spice trade—the gathering and distribution of frankincense and myrrh and other aromatic substances. The only name we recognize is ‘Midian.’ We will discover in the book of Exodus that Moses will go down into the land of Midian and take a wife from there. Genesis 25:5-6 (NKJV) 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 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. (Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia) Abraham divides his wealth among his sons while he was still living—which kept them from fighting after he died. “And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.”—in other words Isaac, a type of Christ, remained preeminent above all the other sons of Abraham—they got gifts but Isaac was his father’s heir. 2 Genesis 25:7-8 (NKJV) 7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred and seventy- five years. 8 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. “Abraham died in a good old age, an old man and full…” (‘satisfied, happy, content’) The reason Abraham died ‘full’ in the sense of satisfied and content was because he was a man full of God. A man, who although he had many material blessings, always set his sight on things to come—a sojourner that was looking for a city whose builder and Maker was God. Abraham lived 175 years and since he was seventy-five when he left Ur of the Chaldees—his last hundred years were lived as a pilgrim and a sojourner. “Yes but Abraham was wealthy—isn’t wealth evil?”—NO. The Bible doesn’t say that money is the root of all evil—it says “the love of money is the root of all evil.” Deut. 8:18 says that God gives some the ability to gain wealth—but Scripture also says, “If God increases your riches don’t set your heart on them.” I think one of the things that made Abraham happy at the time of his death was that he had Isaac and Ishmael by his side (I can’t prove it but it appears that way). 3 Isaac would have been 75 when Abraham died, Ishmael would have been 88, and Esau and Jacob would have been 15 when their grandfather died. Here’s something interesting that you may not have known—Abraham died only 2 years after Noah! (Comment) Genesis 25:9-10 (NKJV) 9 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, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. Abraham’s body was buried in the cave of Machpelah—but his soul and spirit went down to Sheol (Hades) to a place that would be named after him called “Abraham’s bosom”. Sometimes people will ask me, “What happened to the believers who died in the OT before Jesus came?” According to what Jesus said in Luke 16, Abraham’s bosom—a place of paradise was where the Old Testament believers went after they died. These were those who were believers in God and His promises that looked forward to the coming Messiah Unable to go directly to heaven because Jesus had not yet died for their sins, they went to Abraham’s bosom, the good side of Hades, where they were comforted but held captive. After Jesus died He went to Abraham’s bosom and led the Old Testament believers out of their captivity and brought them to heaven where they are today (Ephesians 4:8-10)—their bodies won’t be resurrected until Jesus returns at His Second Coming. (Dan.12) 4 So today Abraham’s bosom is empty (“to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”)—but the torment side of Hades is where all unbelievers go when they die and are kept there awaiting the great judgment of God which we see in Rev. 20:11-15 Genesis 25:11 (NKJV) 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi. Isaac was the son of promise—the one through whom Messiah would be born—the Seed through Whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. “And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.” (‘Well of the One who lives and sees me’). Genesis 25:12-16 (NKJV) 12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 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, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. In chapter 21:13 God had promised Abraham that He would make Ishmael a great nation. Many of Ishmael’s sons settled in and around the area of Saudi Arabia—the place where the god Allah is worshipped—the place that gave birth to the Islamic faith. Who is Allah? To understand Allah you have to understand Mohammed. Mohammed the prophet of Islam was born in 570 AD in the city of Mecca in Arabia. 5 He was a 26 yr. old camel driver when he first heard a voice that he later considered to be a revelation. There is a Christian Arab doctor who after studying Mohammed’s life came to the conclusion that he suffered from a neurological disorder like epilepsy only worse. Mohammed was given to fits where he would foam at the mouth and lose control of his body. Others, including myself, believe that he was exhibiting signs of demonic possession. Even Mohammed himself didn’t know if he was hearing from God or the jinns (evil spirits— genies). In time, with the help of his wife, he came to believe that he was a prophet of God. Dr. William Miller, a missionary to the Muslim community for over 40 yrs., records the manner of the subsequent revelations: “Sometimes Mohammed saw the angel Gabriel, sometimes he only heard a voice, and sometimes he heard the sound of a bell through which the words of the angel were brought to him. Sometimes the message came in a dream, and at other times it came in the thoughts of his mind. When revelation came to him, his whole frame would become agitated, and perspiration would pour down his face. He would often fall to the ground and foam at the mouth. The messages always came to him in the Arabic language, and Mohammed spoke the words that he received…Mohammed was convinced that the words which came to him were not his own, but the very Word of God. And he was only the ‘reciter’” And everything the spirits told him was written in the Koran.” 1 John 4:1 (NKJV) 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 6 After Mohammed tried to pass himself off as a prophet of God to the Jewish and Christian communities but was rejected—he went to the pagans of Mecca and Medina. They had 360 gods—one for every day of the year. The 3 most important gods out of the 360 were: the moon god, the sun god and the star god.