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Looking Forward

I wonder whether you like history. Stories about the past can be fascinating can't they? How we can get caught up with it all! As we consider historical parts of the Bible we can enjoy all those stories about the heroes of faith and the battles they fought. It is fascinating to see how God led them and helped them and directed them. (The same is true as we read books on Christian history – as I hope we all do - of how Christ has been building His church.) And yet we can do such reading with a wrong mindset. We can simply get caught up in living in the past.

That is not how Moses expected the Book of Genesis to be read!

Do you remember how Moses has structured this Book of Genesis? Do you remember that phrase that is repeated a number of times to introduce a new section?

"These are the generations of…"

Each new section begins with this phrase and it means this is was happened next, this is what Terah produced, what Ishmael produced, what Isaac produced – the look is turned resolutely towards the future.

Paul appreciated this when he wrote to the Christians in Rome:

Rom.15:4 "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

This evening we're going to look at the end of one section and the whole of the next – I had hoped to begin a third but I think that would be trying to deal with too much in one go. In both of the sections we'll consider this evening our gaze should be not be limited to the past but also turned toward the future. Moving in subsequent weeks into the following sections we must not forget the forward thrust of all that Moses is writing about.

As Moses brings to a close his account of the life of Abraham we find that he has kept back a big surprise!

Abraham has taken another wife/concubine with whom he has had six more sons!

But Moses, as he mentions this, is very quick to point out that none of these sons is to be viewed in any way as a rival to the son of promise Isaac. Just as Abraham had sent away Hagar along with her son Ishmael so now we read that these other sons too were sent away so as to leave Isaac the uncontested heir of Abraham's estate.

Gifts were given to these sons as they were sent away – Abraham is not shirking his responsibilities – but Isaac stands alone as the beneficiary of God's covenant promises.

These other sons are sent away towards the east and we've already remarked that in Genesis eastward movement was symbolic of movement away from the LORD and His presence. These sons, albeit Abraham's sons, do not benefit from the blessings of the Promised Land and all that is associated with it.

At least that is true for the moment…

We will have to come back to this a little later.

Having given us these details about Abraham's other family Moses is now ready to sum up Abraham's life as he brings this particular section of the book to a close.

He does so by focusing upon the blessings Abraham enjoyed!

1.     He dies – but unlike earlier deaths that are quickly recorded Moses dwells upon the fullness of life that Abraham has enjoyed. It is as an old man full of years that he breathes his last and dies. Or, as we might put in contemporary English, he died at a ripe old age. This is just what the LORD had promised him back in Gen.15:15 "As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age."

In fact Abraham was 175 years old when he peacefully breathed his last. He had left Haran aged 75. And so he had been able to live for just about 100 years in the land that the Lord had promised would belong to his descendants!

2.     Abraham died but his existence wasn't snuffed out! In writing that Abraham was gathered to his people Moses is not making some comment about the burial arrangements – that will follow in a few moments – he is declaring that there is an existence beyond death. Death is an unnatural state for it means existing without the body. Abraham died looking forward to the complete fulfilment of God's promises.

Abraham had seen a faint glimmer of what this would be like in the experiences surrounding Isaac's birth, sacrifice and "resurrection". Didn't Jesus speak like this when He affirmed?

Jn.8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." 

Abraham died looking forward to the resurrection of the body that Christ would guarantee.

The NT bears witness to Abraham and his faith. Jesus clearly implied that Abraham was alive waiting for the day of resurrection because God is "not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him."

3.     Abraham is buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael – he is buried in the land of Promise! Moses is careful to leave us in no doubt as to where.

And so the saga of Abraham comes to an end – a man called by God and remarkably blessed by God. Are we to feel sad that such a chapter in human history comes to end? Not a bit of it! The section ends not with a dead man but with a Living God who continues to bless. He hasn't forgotten His promises. The passing of a mortal man doesn't bring God's purposes crashing down. We have our role to play for a fixed time – we are finite and merely passing through this world – none of us is indispensable. He on the other hand is God – infinite, eternal and unchangeable – He maintains His purposes and continues to further His plans and His plans involve blessing.

Just how will that blessing be worked out? The section ends with that forward looking element.

These few verses form the next complete section in the Book of Genesis – they begin with that phrase: "These are the generations of…" We're about to find out just what happened next as far as Ishmael was concerned.

We might well wonder just why this section is recorded for us at all. After all Ishmael is not the son of promise and what he produces therefore does not figure in the redemptive purposes of God. The Christ will not come from this line.

Why then does Moses write out another list of names for us in what one commentator has called one of the cul-de-sacs in divine history?

Well do you remember that God had made promises concerning Ishmael – no, they weren't promises that were linked to the promised seed but God nevertheless made promises to Abraham about this son.

Back in Gen.17:20 we read:

"As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation."

And the LORD had made similar promises to Hagar concerning her son.

So what do find now? Even though Ishmael leads to a cul-de-sac that does not stop the LORD keeping His promises! If 12 princes have been promised then 12 princes will be given! And we read in this section in Gen.25 of 12 sons being born to Ishmael – the 12 princes! The arabs of today believe they are descended from Abraham through Ishmael.

Ishmael too lives a long life and then he too dies.

I wonder whether you can where I'm going with this. After all the section doesn't seem to be heading anywhere really – just tidying up what might otherwise have been a few loose ends.

But that is just the point!!

If God was concerned to carefully keep promises made to people outside the covenant line how much more will He watch carefully to keep His promises made to the covenant people in the furtherance of His plans and purposes!

As Moses shows his readers what God has done for insignificant people as far as the history of redemption is concerned he is encouraging them to look forward to the LORD keeping His promises to them who are intimately involved in those redemptive purposes!

God's plan of salvation was slowly being worked out in human history and to do so He chose to operate through the confines of one family that would grow into one nation. The seed promised back in Gen.3 will come through this family and nation and accomplish the long-promised victory over Satan. But it will be another two millennia before Jesus Christ will come and secure that victory through the cross of Calvary!

During the intervening years knowledge of God and salvation was tied up with the Jews – God largely chose to limit His self-revelation to them, the descendants of Abraham: but he wasn't going to work through Keturah's sons; it would be through Isaac not Ishmael and then Jacob not Esau. However with the victory of Christ there was a good news that was from then on to be taken to the nations.

The exclusion was not for all time – the gospel is now to go to all types of people whatever their family background!

Isaiah had anticipated this when he prophesied about the gospel age and declared that at that time these people hitherto excluded would come in!

Is.60:1-7 " Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba (these are Keturah's offspring)shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth (Ismael's offspring)  shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house."

On the day of Pentecost we read in Acts 2 that Arabians/Arabs were amongst those who heard that memorable sermon that Peter preached when he clearly explained the significance of Jesus Christ and how He was the fulfilment of God's wonderful plan of salvation. Peter declared with authority that

vv.23-24 "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."

This message was no mere historical commentary, Peter concluded by driving his message home with a clear call to which we, just as much as his original hearers, need to respond:

vv.38-39 “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

To God be the Glory.