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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. 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. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi. ~ Genesis 25:7-11
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 25 which records the death of the man referred to as the man of faith. Abraham was first noted in Genesis 11 and he was the main focus of the biblical narrative until the end of Genesis 23 where God put the spotlight on the life of Isaac. Abraham's life is the biblical model of human faith in the God of the Bible. His story is raw and real. Nothing is hidden, not even his craving for worldly desires.
In v.7-8 of today's passage we read, "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 lived in the land of Canaan about 100 years. Today's narrative took place in the year 2184 BC. All those years, Abraham at the end of the day, chose God and his was a life of fullness. Yes, Abraham failed at times while attempting to walk with God, but that is normal for any fallen human whose heart is being captured by the God of the Bible.
Abraham was gathered to his people which means he went to heaven to be with those before him who had exercised their faith in the God of the Bible, people like Enoch and Noah. Oh, none of them were perfect, but God doesn't take a random snapshot of our faith and then make determinations regarding our destiny. No, as always and will always be, God measures our worthiness by the object of our faith. And, that object is a person pictured throughout the Old Testament as a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.9-10 of today's passage we read, "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."
At the time of Abraham’s death Isaac was 75 years old. Isaac is noted first in this verse because he was the son of promise and the one who had authority over the household of Abraham. Ishmael was an invited family member to the burial of their father, Abraham who was buried in the cave where Sarah was buried. The purchase of this cave pictured the price Christ paid to redeem fallen man and it is therefore a place which is now one of comfort for believers as we await the resurrection.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi."
Our final verse for today was given to show us that the blessings of God on Abraham were passed onto Isaac. The name Elohim was strategically used by Moses here to denote the type of blessing he was describing. These blessings refer to the possessions of this world such as crops, herds, money, and servants. These blessings were passed onto Isaac, just as they did to Abraham.
Isaac dwelt by the well which received its named when Hagar had fled from Sarah in Genesis 16. The well seemingly was just a well in the middle of the desert, but it was so much more than just a well. It was there that Hagar conceived and she bore her son Ishmael. You'll remember that Beer Lahai Roi means the well of the One who lives and sees. Today's passage informs us that Isaac move to Beer Lahai Roi and there was water there.
Water is symbolic throughout the Bible of the Holy Spirit of God. It is mentioned 722 times in the Bible, more often than faith, hope, prayer, and worship. Thirst must be the experience of the one who values the life the Lord Jesus gave us. It is through our thirsts that we come to know the life of living water that the Lord Jesus died to offer us. Our problem is that this thirst is only satisfied on the heels of being defined by it first. Isaac's thirst in today's passage was created by the loss of his dad. Learning to embrace the Lord or better yet learning to be embraced by the Lord happens on the heels of our thirst.
Thirst is a natural expression of the basic human desire and need. One of the clear indicators that something is wrong physically is when we lose our thirst. It is the same way spiritually. To thirst for God is at the very root of our being. It’s the way God made us. When there is no thirst for the presence of God, it is an indicator that something is wrong spiritually. Because thirst is so basic to human nature, it often finds fulfillment in other areas rather than in seeking and knowing God. Spiritually speaking, there is a thirst for God that is often not recognized for what it is. It may be an empty feeling, a sense of longing, even loneliness in the midst of people. We start looking for ways to make the feeling go away or to fill up the emptiness to no avail.
This side of heaven, we thirst only to be partially satisfied. And, once we have experienced the quenching by the Lord of our thirst do we thirst for more. In a sense, our thirsting will never be fully quenched while we are on this earth. Communion with Christ is incomparably satisfying, yet it makes us long for more of Him. This is what God has called us to, and the more we experience the Lord Jesus, the more we will recognize and know the unparalleled and satisfying sweetness of this One who laid down His life for us.
