Abraham’s Other Wife
Okay, so
now for a completely random thought. I
don’t ever remember being aware that after Sarah dies Abraham takes another
wife. So it makes me wonder – why do
some Christians have a problem thinking about a widow (or widower) getting
remarried when their spouse dies? I
mean, certainly if the widow or widower doesn’t want to get married again
that’s fine and a proper decision. But
why do some people feel it necessary to prohibit the practice? It doesn’t seem to be negatively looked at
here.
Abraham’s Death
For me, I
think that today one important phrase that I should focus on is that Abraham
was “gathered to his people.” There is
power in this phrase. For several weeks
our youth Sunday School class studied Matthew 10. I think especially of the idea that Jesus
gives us several times in that chapter: Spiritual bonds are the strongest bonds
you can form, even stronger than family.
When we bond spiritually to another, that bond can last across great
distance and time. When spiritual people
get together and talk they can pick up where they left off regardless of how
much time has passed.
Clearly
here the comment is not that Abraham went to be with his family – for only
Sarah is in the tomb! Rather, Abraham is
said to be gathered to his people. Who
are his people? Well, Abraham is first
and foremost identified with faith in God all throughout Genesis (and the rest
of the Bible). I have no doubt here that
this passage is reminding us of a very important point. When we die, we will be gathered to the
people who we are like while we lived.
If we live in faith, we will be gathered with others in faith.
But if we
are going to be gathered in faith after death, why not be gathered in faith
while alive, too?
What Happened to Isaac’s Stories?
Genesis 25
gives us an interesting transition. We
would expect to go from Abraham to Isaac in the chapter where Abraham
dies. However, we actually go from
Abraham to Jacob! It should make us stop
and ponder “why do we seemingly skip over Isaac?”
Think
about it. The only story in the Bible in
which Isaac is the central character is Genesis 26:19-21. Rebekah is barren, Isaac prays for Rebekah,
and she conceives twins. That is the predominant
story involving Isaac as the main character.
So what
does this story tell us? Well, it tells
us that Isaac was a man of faith who believed in God’s ability to answer
promises. It also tells us that Isaac
was a man whose prayers God desired to honor.
But it also tells us that Isaac is only a small cog in a very large
intricate divine design for salvation to come to this world.
Birthright
Having
spoken a bit of Abraham and Isaac, let’s now turn to Jacob and Esau. We know of the tension between them and that
this tension started from birth. But one
thing I find interesting is the ESV translation of the last verse (and many
other translations). “And Esau despised
his birthright.” (Despised is found in
the NIV, NRSV, NASB, and the Holman Bible)
But what
does this Hebrew word really mean? To
translate it as despised makes it seem like Esau hated his birthright. And that has never really made sense to
me. It was his right, why would he
despise something like a birthright?
This
Hebrew word for despise - “bazah” – can also mean to think lightly of or to
think something has little value. Now
that makes sense. We don’t see Esau as
one who “despises” his birthright but rather as someone who just doesn’t “get”
what it is all about. Esau doesn’t value
what it means to be the firstborn child of the descendant of Abraham, whom God promised
an incredible lineage in order to eventually bring about Jesus Christ. Esau doesn’t see the big picture. Rather, he’s simply focused on getting what
he desires right now.
There is a
lesson here. How often do we miss what
God is doing? How often do we let our
own agendas get in the way? How often do
we value our own immediate desires and totally miss the boat on what God wants
us to be about? How often do we give up
our spiritual birthright? As Matthew 28
says, we have a birthright to “go and make disciples.” How often do we trade that birthright for
something else … anything else?
Value your
birthright. Go, make disciples.
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