Just Watch

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
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One thing I love about a good story is a conclusion where everything is wrapped up cleanly. No threads are left bare, trajectories have reached their destination. This chapter begins feeling that way. We are given the final years of Abraham's life in a rapid fire succession of children's names, activities, and final destinations. He has lived well, scattered his seed into the world, and is now coming to the end of his days, old and full of years. There is something satisfying about this. He made it. He saw the three promises made to him fulfilled. Yes, it took him his full life to see them realized, but it was done. Yes, he made many mistakes and sinned a bunch throughout his life, but here it is all laid out for us, so clean, so complete. 

What do you want the end of your life to look like? We are spared the ugly details like what and how much was hurting in Abraham's body, but what do you want this part of your life to look like? Do you want those days of your life marked by gratitude of how God has worked even in the hard times? How does one even achieve a life like this? 

Do you think about it, or does the very thought terrify you? I think that there is a shared fear amongst parents and children, leaders and their followers: what life is going to look like without them. Parents can look at their children and wonder how on earth God is going to do something with them. Children can easily look at parents and wonder what will life be like without their guidance, even the guidance that they resent at the moment. When we get used to God working through certain people, certain channels, it becomes harder to remember that God is the one actually making all of this work. 

We are in the middle of yet another intense election cycle. Part of the angst comes from the real question of how is God going to bring good out of what is happening today. Once agin, buried in a pile of names, is a story of God's faithfulness and redemption for a truly unexpected people. Our two points today will be God has a plan for the unplanned and God's plan is more impressive than you can imagine.  

God has a plan for the unplanned 

As we saw two weeks ago, Sarah has died, yet Abraham's family continued to grow. Life continued for a few more decades after that, and we discover in chapter 25 that he has gotten remarried and had six more sons. Two of those sons also had sons. Abraham's family continued to grow. However, lest we think that God's promise to Isaac was thus threatened, verse 5 tells us that Abraham still gave everything to Isaac. He was good to his other sons by giving them gifts, yet he was still faithful to God's instructions that there would only be one heir of Abraham's full blessing. 

The growth of Abraham's family could have ended poorly for Isaac. After all, look at the worry that Sarah had when Ishmael was still at home. She recognized that even one of these competitors to the promise of Isaac was too much to risk. God also backed her up on this and told Abraham to send Ishmael away even while promising to take care of him. It would seem that this same pattern worked out amongst Abraham's other sons. I can't imagine that this was much easier for Abraham to do than it was when he had to do it for Ishmael. But Abraham has learned a lot. He has learned to trust in what God promised him and is now living that out. 

Having now given the rest of the acts of Abraham, Moses records Abraham's death. He lived 175 years, an old man and full of years. Don't you love that? Long life was considered a blessing at that time, and it should be today. A good and long life is one that is spent in watching God work. Will there be many sinful things that you will see and experience? Yes, but getting a front row seat to what God is doing, to watch and learn, is an immense privilege. Imagine what it must have been like to sit down with Abraham having witnessed 175 years of God's work. If God has granted you a long life, use that gift to bless others. Things hurt, life is hard, yes, but could you tell us of the faithfulness of God? Could you walk us through your life in all the hardships and ups and downs with an eye towards how God has preserved you through it all? 

The final phrase in verse 8 is one that I love: gathered to his people. There is some debate as to what exactly that tells us about their concept of the afterlife. The word itself is a term for harvest and was used as a euphemism of death. Whether this means they had a concept of heaven where dead people who believed in God went or not is up for debate. Nevertheless, since we do know that there is a heaven, this is a good word picture to capture that. A plant grows and flowers producing fruit before it is harvested. It gives to me at least a sense of purpose in our growth and output. It also helps remind me that in being gathered up, I'm being transported to more life. 

Being gathered isn't the just the end of something; it is the beginning of something new.  That is what I think we see in verses 9 and following. Isaac and Ishmael burry Abraham in the cave that he purchased, fully cementing Abraham's place in the Promised land. This also shows that the sons have taken the same view of the Promised land that Abraham has. Unlike Abraham's servant that thought bringing Isaac back to the former homeland would be a good idea, Abraham's sons realize that the promise is here. Abraham is no longer another son of Ur. He is the father of Israel. This is an act of faith. 

Verse 11 gives us the final confirmation, however, of Isaac's blessing being received. Abraham can pass on property, but it is up to God to send His blessing on it. He has chosen Isaac, and that promise will be fulfilled. 

But what of Ishmael? After all, he was promised good things as well even if they were not the same as Isaac. We see all of this wrapped up in verses 12-18. Now, what we will see here is another list of names and the aside that he had indeed the 12 princes that God had promised him. Though, to be thorough, the final line of verse 18 tells us that he also lived up to the prediction that he was going to be a wild man against everyone. All that God commanded, good and bad, was carried out. 

Now, most of us would be satisfied here. God promised that Isaac would get the main blessing, and Ishmael would have something of his own. God has done that. God is faithful. Sermon done, let's go home. 

God's plan is more impressive than you can imagine.  

But God has something more for us. 

This is not the last time that these names are mentioned. A couple of these names will pop up again in 1 Chronicles 5:19. It's a blink and you'll miss it moment, but this verse contains the fight with the descendants of Ishmael. Isaac's sons are ultimately victorious in this conflict, but it is impressive to notice that both of these lines are active in this point in history. But then that shouldn't be too deep of a surprise for us as their descendants are still shaping world politics to this day with the conflict in the middle East. 

But this is not the last time that these names will show up. Prepare yourselves for Isaiah 60:1-7. Do not those names sound familiar? These are the descendants of Abraham's second wife and the descendants of Ishmael. They, having been sent away to protect Isaac's inheritance, return to become his inheritance. They come to bring gifts to Israel. You remember what was said on the news. Are you telling me that these people are one day going to get along? Yes. How about that? How does that grab you? How's that for a plan on God's part? Did you see that coming? I didn't. 

Abraham didn't bring all of these things together. He has been dead for a very long time. This is God executing on His plan to bless those who bless Isaac. But how does God pull this off? He does so through the gospel, news that a man has gone into the grave and come out. Because of that you can go to heaven when you die, and one day it will lead to even peace in the Middle East, a place that has been a war zone for the better part of four thousand years. 

That's your God at work. He thinks way bigger than you. For Abraham, yes, sin cost him more than he could have ever imagined. His sin with Hagar in chapter 16 brought lasting consequences that are felt to this day, yet his faithfulness in this chapter 25 will bring in a glorious future where the bows and spears are broken finally. 

So what does this mean for you? What do we takeaway? Does this mean that God will always work things out the way that you want? No. But he is going to work things out in a way that is glorious. That includes the sins that you have committed, too. It can be easy to think that once you have done a certain sin there is no closing pandora's box. In one sense you are right. When you commit sins like Abraham commits, you can cause lasting suffering. But that doesn't mean God can't still work in and through that for His glory. You don't have to live with the constant shame or assume that your Christian life is over. Might things be forever different in this life? Yes, but different doesn't mean done. 

This is even more critical to remember when you have been sinned against. When you are the offended party, it is hard to remember that God can work good things out of what has offended you. But you have to remember this if you are going to have any hope of moving forward. This doesn't mean we treat sin lightly. We need to approach sin like we approach a funeral. As Christians, yes, we have the hope of heaven. We will see them again. One day we will be gathered to our people, too. But the meantime is still sad. It is the same way with sin. Every sin committed is a death of what once was. Sometimes, Jesus resurrects it, and other times He redeems it. Those are the only two options for the Christian. 

As we close, consider these words from Charles Spurgeon: 

“Thou hast been a backslider, perhaps thou art so now, but God, even the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, can purge thee with hyssop, and thou shalt be clean. Thy leprosy shall depart, and thy flesh shall become fresh as a little child. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins.” Oh, the blessedness of this! If sin returns upon you, child of God, that fountain filled with blood, which washed him once, has by no means lost its power. You may wash again, backslider. The mercy seat is not removed, nor is the permission to approach it revoked. My heart delights to think I may go to Jesus as a sinner, if I cannot as a saint. I want a Saviour now as much as ever I did; I want new pardon for new sin. I thank the Master for having taught us to say every day, “Forgiven us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Even those who can say, “Our Father which art in heaven,” with a full assurance begotten in them by the filial spirit of grace, yet have need to ask that sin may be forgiven. We want daily pardon, and we shall have it. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”