Pastor Sean explores the story of Abraham’s final days in Genesis 25 and uncovers key insights on how to live well so that we can die well. From owning our wrongs and responsibilities to being a force for reconciliation, we must consider the legacy we leave behind.
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As a man grows old, his sleep grows still more broken and disturbed; he wakes often, and sleeps not again; he tosses and tumbles, and finds no rest for his limbs, till the morning comes, and finds him unrefreshed.
God hath given man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends.”
— Jeremy Taylor
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Genesis 25:1-9
1 In time, Abraham married another woman named Keturah. 2 Keturah gave birth to additional children: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were Keturah’s children and grandchildren. 5 In the end, though, Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.
6 To the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still alive. But then he sent them away to the east, far away from what would now be his son Isaac’s household.
7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8 By the time Abraham took his last breath and joined his ancestors
in death, he had reached a ripe old age and had lived a full life.
9 His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron (the son of Zohar the Hittite) to the east of Mamre.
"In chapter after chapter we read of the love and faithfulness Abraham and Sarah had for one another. Together they embarked on a long journey to an unknown destination. Together, they stood against the idolatry of their time. Twice, Sarah saved Abraham’s life by pretending to be his sister. They hoped and prayed for a child and endured the long years of childlessness until Isaac was born. Then Sarah’s life draws to a close. She dies. Abraham mourns and weeps for her and buys a cave in which she is buried, and he is to be buried beside her…
We then expect to read that Abraham lived out the rest of his years alone before being placed beside ‘Sarah his wife’ (Gen. 25:10) in the 'Cave of Machhpelah' (Gen. 25:9).
Unexpectedly, however, once Isaac is married, Abraham marries a woman named Keturah and has six children by her. We are told nothing else about this woman, and the significance of the episode is unclear. The Torah does not include mere incidental details."
— Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant and Conversation