Abraham’s Second Marriage And His Death

Genesis 25:1–18
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

This is the last chapter in Abraham’s life. It is a great thing to start well; it is even better to finish well. That is what Abraham did. At the age of 75 he pulled up his roots in Mesopotamia and left Ur to never return again. Now a full century later he is still going strong for God.

Twenty years after Sarah’s death he decides to get married again (vv. 1-4). His new wife’s name is Keturah who was a woman who added fragrance to every task of life. This decision to marry again was a very important one for Abraham as a half dozen sons were born. One of these sons was Midian whose descendants were the Midianites who became active enemies of Israel.

With the years of his life drawing to a close, Abraham wisely decided to secure the succession of the covenant and the future of Isaac. The first thing that he did was to give all that he had to Isaac (v. 5). He wanted to make sure that after he was gone it was firmly established that Isaac was the heir. He also dispersed to his family by giving them gifts and sending them away (v. 6). It was a very smart move to ensure that nobody would be able to contest Israel’s claims in the future. Abraham died at age 175 (vv. 7-8) and was buried in a cave by his wife Sarah (vv. 9-11).

The fate of Ishmael is given (vv. 12-18). He founded 12 tribes who have contributed much to the world’s culture and cruelty. The African slave-trade, the spiritual darkness of Islam and much of the terrorism of this day can be traced to his descendants. Ishmael was 137 when he died).

Application

Abraham was a great man of God but he made some serious mistakes in life that still cause us distress. I need to keep in mind that everything I do in this life has its effect.