Genesis 25:1- Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Abraham was lonely after Sarah's death, so he remarried. We don't know if he asked the Lord about this or not. We don't know where his new wife was from. We only know that he had more children.
Genesis 25:5- And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
Abraham knew that God's promise was through Isaac. So, Abraham left everything to Isaac. This wasn't how it was done back then. Everything always went to the firstborn. Ishmael was the firstborn, Isaac was the second. But we see that many times in human history, God doesn't choose the first because the first usually is what the world offers. God chooses His way.
Genesis 25:7-8- And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
Abraham was 175 when he died. That's really old! No one today lives to be that old!
Genesis 25:9-10- And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
Abraham had other children, but the Bible only mentions 2 of them showing up for his funeral- Isaac and Ishmael. They bury Abraham in the cave of Machpelah, where Sarah was buried.
Now, Isaac and Rebekah were alone. They had to rely on their own personal relationship with the Lord to know what to do and where to go. If we don't have a relationship with God, then we are going to mess up. We can't call our parents up and ask "What should I do now?" We need to be able to ask God ourselves.
Isaac was about to be tested.
Genesis 26:1-6- And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Here, we see that God speaks directly to Isaac. I'm sure that Isaac heard the story many times from his father about how God promised to make a great nation of them. But, perhaps, this is the first time that Isaac heard the promise from God himself!
God warns Isaac to stay in the land of Canaan. I'm certain it's because God didn't want Isaac making the same mistake in Egypt that Abraham made. But the funny thing is, that we usually make the same mistakes our parents made.
Remember what Abraham did in Egypt? He told the people of the land that Sarah was his sister because he was afraid they would kill him. I guess Isaac heard that story, too, because he is going to make the same mistake!
Genesis 26:7- And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
God had spoken to Isaac and promised to make a great nation of him, yet Isaac wasn't willing to trust God to protect him. He was going to give in to his flesh and lie!
Genesis 26:8-9- And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Uh oh! The thing about lying is you will always eventually get found out! Isaac was tickling Rebekah and the king realized that she wasn't his sister at all!
Genesis 26:11- And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Isaac was in a nation who didn't believe in the God of heaven, and yet these people knew what was right and wrong! Even when we are among people who don't serve God, God can still protect us. God's power can follow us wherever we go, and His protection will care for us!
We need to make sure that we stay in God's will. Many times we put consequences upon ourselves that we shouldn't have to bear because we did what we wanted to do. Adam did it! Abraham did it! And even Isaac did it!
We must always pray and ask God to direct us. Then, we should always obey the answer God gives us, even when we don't like it. It's the only way to avoid the consequences of sin.
