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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. 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. ~ Genesis 25:1-6
Today, we transition into Genesis 25 which brings us to the end of the life of the great man of faith, Abraham. His life shows the unfolding process of any believer who has a heart humble enough to recognize his need for his Creator. Abraham is known as the father of the faith because he, like any believer in the God of the Bible, heard God's call and responded out of faith and trust in Him alone for salvation. Abraham illustrated the increase of intimacy with God through the increase of his faith and his trust in Him.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah."
From the time that Abraham's first wife, Sarah, died until the time that Abraham died was a period of about 50 years. So, when Sarah died, Abraham who was about 125 years old. And after that Abraham took another wife and, remarkably, had six more sons. During that time, Abraham acquired concubines with whom he had lots of children as these years went by. One of the most important lessons we garner from today’s passage is the scant amount of information that we receive about these 50 years. God only includes details that are necessary for us to know what He is doing in this world and what He has done through history as we have seen so many times already. These years were not Abraham's glory years.
Abraham’s second wife was named Keturah which means "incense." Even though Abraham garnered concubines and children through them, only Keturah is mentioned by name. In all there will be six sons, seven grandsons, and three great-grandsons of Abraham mentioned, making sixteen in all.
In v.2-3 of today's passage we read, "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."
Keturah had six sons by Abraham and in turn the sons of one of her sons are listed and then one of those sons has his sons listed. The name Keturah pictures for us incense that flows out and eventually disappears. This is what happened to most of these children, grandchildren and great grandsons of Abraham. Two of Keturah's sons, Medan and Midian, will later play a role in the purchase and transfer of Joseph when his brothers sold him to the Midianite traders later on in the narrative. Interestingly, it will be to the people of Midian to whom Moses will escape when he will later flee from Egypt in Exodus 18. After the time of Joseph, the line of Medan will not be mentioned again, but the line and name of Midian will be noted many, many more times throughout the Old Testament and even once in the New Testament book of Acts. Almost always, these people, the Midianites, will be in strife with the people of Israel, but there is one notable exception in Exodus 18.
In v.4 of today's passage we read, "And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah."
Of all of these names of the sons of Midian, only one, Ephah, is mentioned again outside of the book of Chronicles. He along with his father Midian is mentioned in Isaiah 60:6 in a prophecy about the future blessings of the Land of Zion. Even though most have forgotten who these people were and where they had settled in the world, the Lord did not. Someday all of these lines will be known and we will be able to look back on these verses from Genesis and see how God wove it all together in His grand plan. All of this just underscores His sovereignty and the fact that we can trust Him.
Interestingly, not a single person who is included in the line of the Lord Jesus is found in this passage other than Abraham and Isaac. This was similar to what we saw about Ishmael. Through the years it has become very clear that the line of Keturah has been a rather troubling line of people who have been at war with Israel throughout the ages.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac."
As we have throughout our study of Isaac in Genesis 24, pointed out that Isaac is a picture of the Lord Jesus, God the Son. Similar to the Lord Jesus who is the Inheritor of God the Father, Isaac, the son of promise was the inheritor of all that Abraham owned. I could only imagine how Ishmael and these other sons of Abraham felt about this. This very well may be a part of the reason for their hatred of Israel even to this today. Down through the years the Jews have been far more privileged than the others. They have been more educated and prosperous in both mental and spiritual understanding. Of course, with these blessings comes even more material wealth and of course, more animosity and more jealousy.
In v.6 of today's passage we read, "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."
The same groups who were excused from the inheritance were also excused from Abraham's home, but he did give them gifts while they lived at home. This means that Abraham probably had them leave before they got married or had children. So all of the grandsons, and great-grandsons mentioned before were born after the sons of Abraham had already been sent away.
Abraham never forgot that Isaac was the son of the promise and the divinely chosen heir. Abraham was constantly alert to protect the inheritance of God. He anticipated danger and made some provision for his other sons so that they would not destroy what God was doing in the life of Isaac. Isaac is throughout a picture of Christ. Isaac received the inheritance of his father and his descendants through Jacob would continue toward the coming of the Messiah.
The rest were sent east, which in the context of the Bible is a place of false worship, exile, and which almost exclusively lacks the true God. When Abraham first came into the land, he pitched his tent between Ai and Bethel, with Ai on the east and Bethel on the west. Ai means "ruin" while Bethel means "the house of God." Isaac was given the inheritance in the west, in the place of God, while the other boys were sent out into the east countries to the place of ruin. This is a picture for us of real life and the most important choice we will ever make. Isaac is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the inheritor of all of things from God the Father. The amazing thing for each of us is that again and again the New Testament reminds us that when we receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we join in His inheritance. In fact, in Revelation 21:7, the Lord Jesus Himself will say that those who overcome will inherit all things.
