Further Thought:

Because Abraham was the extraordinary prophet with whom God would share His plans (Genesis 18:17), God entered Abraham’s human sphere and shared with him, to some degree, His plan of salvation through the sacrifice of His Son.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“Isaac was a figure of the Son of God, who was offered a sacrifice for the sins of the world. God would impress upon Abraham the gospel of salvation to man. In order to do this, and make the truth a reality to him as well as to test his faith, He required him to slay his darling Isaac. All the sorrow and agony that Abraham endured through that dark and fearful trial were for the purpose of deeply impressing upon his understanding the plan of redemption for fallen man. He was made to understand in his own experience how unutterable was the self-denial of the infinite God in giving His own Son to die to rescue man from utter ruin. To Abraham no mental torture could be equal to that which he endured in obeying the divine command to sacrifice his son.” — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 369.

“Abraham had become an old man, and expected soon to die; yet one act remained for him to do in securing the fulfillment of the promise to his posterity. Isaac was the one divinely appointed to succeed him as the keeper of the law of God and the father of the chosen people, but he was yet unmarried. The inhabitants of Canaan were given to idolatry, and God had forbidden intermarriage between His people and them, knowing that such marriages would lead to apostasy. The patriarch feared the effect of the corrupting influences surrounding his son … In the mind of Abraham the choice of a wife for his son was a matter of grave importance; he was anxious to have him marry one who would not lead him from God … Isaac, trusting to his father’s wisdom and affection, was satisfied to commit the matter to him, believing also that God Himself would direct in the choice made.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 171.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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This video is produced by the South Pacific Division Discipleship team.

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You can view an in-depth discussion of The Promise; in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:
With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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In 1969, 7 -year old Niki was in the hospital having some tumors removed from her throat. While in the hospital she met Charita, another girl her age, who had a rare form of cancer. Niki found out that because of the cancer Charita would never be able to have children of her own. The two girls formed a friendship, and one night while the two of them were alone in their hospital room, Charita was crying. Niki came over to Charita’s bedside to comfort her. She told her not to cry and that when she got married and had her own baby she would let her mentor her baby and if it was a girl would even name it after her.

Image © Pacific Press

After their stint in the hospital Niki and Charita kept in touch until 6 months later when Charita’s family moved from Los Angeles to New Mexico. In 1983 Niki married and in 1987 had a daughter whom she named Charita. Niki then went on the Unsolved Mysteries show looking for her childhood friend Charita so she could help mentor little Charita. In 1990 Niki and Charita were happily reunited.

In a world where people will make empty promises just to get whatever they want, 7-year old Niki stayed true to her promise even as an adult, married and with a child. While it’s true that our promises are like ropes of sand and we can only trust God’s promises (2 Peter 1:4), we may still, by God’s grace, like Jesus and 7-year old Niki, stay true to our word. After all, even while the Bible teaches us not to put trust in ourselves or anyone else, the Bible also speaks of those who “keep their promises even when it hurts.” Psalm 15:4 NLT

This week we are studying the promises God made to Abraham. One of the ways we reflect the image of God is by being men and women of our word. Sure, we make mistakes and have made promises only to break them. This is one reason why I am careful about making promises. Instead of promising to help a friend, I tell them I will try, but make it clear I am not making a promise.

While God’s promises are the only promises we can rely on, by God’s grace, we can be men and women of our word. By God’s grace, we can be faithful to our promises even if it hurts.

Can you share a time when someone showed you God’s love by staying true to their promise?

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Read Genesis 24:67-25:8. What is the meaning of these final events in the life of Abraham?

After Sarah died, Abraham married again. Like Isaac, he is comforted after the death of Sarah (Genesis 24:67). The memory of Sarah must still surely be vivid in the mind of the patriarch, as it is for his son.

Image © Krieg Barrie at Goodsalt.com

Yet, the identity of his new wife is unclear. The fact that the chronicler associates Keturah’s sons together with Hagar’s sons, without mentioning the name of Keturah, suggests, however, that Keturah could (as some have suggested) be Hagar. We just don’t know. It is also significant that Abraham behaves with Keturah’s sons the same way as he did with Hagar’s son: he sends them away to avoid any spiritual influence and make a clear distinction between his son with Sarah and the other sons.

He also gives “all that he had unto Isaac” (Genesis 25:5) while he “gave gifts to the sons of the concubines” (Genesis 25:6, NKJV). The classification of “concubines” may also imply that Keturah’s status, like Hagar, was that of a concubine. The potential identification of Keturah as Hagar may also explain the subtle allusion to the memory of Sarah as a prelude to his marriage with Keturah-Hagar.

What’s interesting is that in Genesis 25:1-4, Genesis 25:12-18, a list of the children that Abraham had with Keturah, as well as a list of Ishmael’s children, is given. The purpose of the genealogy after Abraham’s marriage with Keturah, who gave him six sons, versus his two other sons (Isaac and Ishmael), is perhaps to provide immediate evidence of God’s promise that Abraham would father many nations.

The second genealogy concerned the descendants of Ishmael, who also composed 12 tribes (compare with Genesis 17:20), just as what would happen with Jacob (Genesis 35:22-26). Though, of course, God’s covenant will be reserved to the seed of Isaac (Genesis 17:21), not Ishmael, a point that Scripture is very clear about.

The report of Abraham’s death sandwiched between the two genealogies (Genesis 25:7-11) also testifies to God’s blessing. It reveals the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, made many years earlier, that he would die “at a good old age” (Genesis 15:15, NKJV) and “full of years” (compare with Eccles. 6:3).

In the end, the Lord remained true to His promises of grace to his faithful servant Abraham, whose faith is depicted in Scripture as a great example, if not the best example, in the Old Testament of salvation by faith (see Romans 4:1-12).

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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