Details Are Never Insignificant
- The last four verses of Genesis 22 seem random and unimportant to the casual reader. However, God is rewarding the diligent student with details concerning His line of promise from the Others of Cane and Canaan.
- Remember, we are still in the "toledot" or "generations" of Terah (Gen. 11:27). Abraham had brothers that have long been forgotten in the narrative.
- Isaac, the son of promise, has been born and will need a wife. It is for this purpose the family of Abraham's brother, Nahor is introduced.
- This is where Abraham will find a wife for his son. He wants him to have a spouse from his ancestral homeland rather than from the cursed lines of the Canaanites. — Genesis 9:25
- Rebekah, Isaac's future wife, is the grand-daughter of Nahor.
- As we have been caught up in the story of Abraham, God has been quietly working behind the scenes for the next generation of His promised line that will bring the Christ to planet Earth!
- Divine preparation is something the Christian should get used to seeing in the story of God!
Faith Is Not Exempt From Loss
- Chapter 23 begins with the death of Sarah, a princess, at at age 127.
- The hand of God has moved Abraham into a faithful life, yet even the faithful still experience loss.
- In raw, real, human grief, Abraham weeps over his lost wife. Any modern teacher who would try to dismiss human loss and grief in the name of faith has had an "adventure in missing the point.”
- Real faith never seeks to dismiss grief via denial or escape from reality. Rather, true faith sanctifies the grief we experience in life. This means faith "sets our grief apart" and "makes it holy."
- As we will see... it also moves toward action.
Abraham’s Land… Finally
- It is in Sarah's name that Abraham takes steps to secure legally owned Canaanite land. God has blessed Abraham.
- He will not accept a gift, but wants to pay for where his family will plant their God promised roots. — Genesis 14:22-23
- Canaan didn't give Abraham the land. God did! Sarah, Abraham, Isaac & Rebekah, and and Leah will all be buried in God's faithful promise. — Genesis 49:31
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