New Chapter

Question of the day:  What is a "new chapter" in your life that you remember fondly?


Today we are studying two chapters.  One chapter ends and a new one begins.   Not the chapters of the bible, but chapters in the story of these individuals lives.  We are also looking at two chapters in the bible... confused?

The chapters we are studying are Genesis 25 and 26.  These chapters have a lot of genealogy so we are going to fly through these chapters.

We start with the death of Abraham. 

The chapter that is titled in my bible, "Abraham dies" starts off telling us that Abraham had taken another wife.  I will confess somehow I missed this in the bible story books! Obviously there are things we need to learn from these chapters. 

Let's take it a section at a time. 

Genesis 25:1-11

Abraham’s Death

25 Now Abraham took another wife, [a]whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore to him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan [b]became the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. 5 Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; 6 but to the sons of [c]his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

7 These are [d]all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a [e]ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people. 9 Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. 11 It came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac [f]lived by Beer-lahai-roi.

Note worthy:

1. Abraham remarried, but what happened to the children of his 2 wife and concubines?
2. Does it seem like history is repeating itself?  Didn't Abraham already have to send away a son?
3. He lived to be 175 years old.
4. Notice verse 8.  Died old, satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people.  What does that mean?  Well some believe that it means he joined the other dead family who had gone before him... I don't think that is right, at least not as in he joined them in an after life.  He did however join them in the family grave, specifically the one that he purchased for Sara.  
5. Who buried him in the cave?  It is interesting to me that Ishmael was sent away but is back to bury his father.  Wouldn't it have been interesting to know more about that.  Did Isaac invite him, did Abraham want that, did he come on his own?  So many questions.  
6. What do you make of the last verse? (11)  "God blessed his son Isaac.."  Is this like, "have a blessed day," kind of blessing?  What do you make of this?  This is the next chapter.  This is the transferring of the blessing from Abraham to Isaac.  This is "the blessing."  


We are going to skip a section in the middle of this chapter.  You are welcome to read it, but we are moving on to Isaac and his sons. 

Isaac’s Sons

19 Now these are the records of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham [n]became the father of Isaac; 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the [o]Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the [p]Aramean, to be his wife. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord [q]answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb;
And two peoples will be separated from your body;
And one people shall be stronger than the other;
And the older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called [r]Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a [s]peaceful man, [t]living in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because [u]he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was [v]famished; 30 and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of [w]that red stuff there, for I am [x]famished.” Therefore his name was called [y]Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “[z]First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33 And Jacob said, “[aa]First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Note worthy:

1. What similarities do you see here with the Abraham?  (Keep this concept in mind all day today.) 
2. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife....  Do you pray for your spouse?  Do you pray for your kids?  Do you plead for even the "desires" of their hearts? 
3.  Have you ever seen an answer to prayer when you were praying for someone else?
4.  What about verse 22... "so she went to inquire of the Lord."  Do you have a place you go?  Do you have a closet, or a chair in your house, or a spot outside where you go to pray?  Where did she go I wonder?  What sent her to Him to ask what was going on.  This must have been some pregnancy. 
5. What did God tell her?
6.  What do you make of verses 27-34?


The next chapter is fascinating, but we are going to fly through it. 

As you read it, think about this...

1.  How is this similar to the story of Abraham?
2. How is it different/ or what did Issac do differently if anything?
3.  Life application.... How many times do we repeat the mistakes of our parents? Why?

Isaac Settles in Gerar

26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; [a]stay in the land of which I shall tell you.3 Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your [b]descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will multiply your [c]descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your [d]descendants all these lands; and by your [e]descendants all the nations of the earth [f]shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham [g]obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”

6 So Isaac [h]lived in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “[i]the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.” 8 It came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah.9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, certainly she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘I might die on account of her.’” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

12 Now Isaac sowed in that land and [j]reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and continued to grow [k]richer until he became very [l]wealthy; 14 for he had possessions of flocks [m]and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up [n]by filling them with earth. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are [o]too powerful for us.” 17 And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and [p]settled there.

Quarrel over the Wells

18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which [q]had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he [r]gave them the same names which his father had [s]given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of [t]flowing water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well [u]Esek, because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it [v]Sitnah. 22 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it [w]Rehoboth, for he said, “[x]At last the Lord has made [y]room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him the same night and said,

“I am the God of your father Abraham;
Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bless you, and multiply your [z]descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Covenant with Abimelech

26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar [aa]with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between [ab]you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you [ac]and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’” 30 Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they arose early and [ad]exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace. 32 Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old he [ae]married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35 and they [af]brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Note Worthy:

1. What must Abimelech think of this family? Some think this was probably Abimelech's son, but that is just an idea.  It might be but it might have been the same King that Abraham had dealings with.  How important are our dealings with those around us?  How do you represent Christ, or God in your day to day interactions?  What does it say about your relationship with God?  What did this mistake or misstep say again about Isaac's relationship with God? 

2.  Last week we ended the chapter with Isaac being comforted by Rebekah.  At the end of this lesson we find that Isaac and Rebekah are brought to grief by the marriage of Esau.  Have you ever been brought to grief by something your kids had done?   

3. How does their grief affect how they act.....  Oh wait that is for next week.  

In closing, I know that if nothing else in this lesson we see the continued guidance of God, the continuation of the blessing.  The new chapter may have new players and new mistakes, and a new setting but the same faithful God.  

God is always faithful and he always fulfills His promises to us!  

KNOW LOVE.

LIVE LOVE.

SHARE LOVE.