The LORD will Provide

Season 1 Episode R

¹²Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” ¹³Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said: “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.” Genesis 22:12-14 CSB

Just when I think there's no way out, God always provides a way. He's been doing that for His people since the very beginning, which is why one of His names is YHWH Jireh, the Lord will Provide. In this bonus episode, let's talk about why the name YHWH Jireh is so important.

References and Footnotes

"The Lord Will Provide:" Why Is God Called Jehovah Jireh in the Bible?". Bible Study Tools; visited September 2019

Note, the name YHWH is often pronounced Jehovah or Yahweh in English but the pronunciation of the name has been lost since the Israelites believed it was too sacred to speak.

The Everlasting God

El Olam means The Everlasting God. I made the mistake of thinking everlasting referred to His presence, but everlasting is God's essence.

Season 1 Episode G

³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. ³⁴And Abraham lived as an alien in the land of the Philistines for many days.Genesis 21:33-34 CSB

00:01:13	Hey guys! Welcome back to the PSALMS to God podcast. So today we're talking about El Olam: the Everlasting God. When I first picked this name to learn, I had misgivings about doing an episode on it. I felt like it was going to be way too short, and there wasn't going to be anything to say, because it's pretty self-explanatory, “The Everlasting God.” I didn't have a quote-unquote angle, like what am I going to talk about? God is Everlasting, duh. But, as I actually started digging in and researching the name, I quickly realized that my first instinct about the name was not what it should have been, and that kind of blew my mind.
00:01:59	When I thought of the name “Everlasting,”—you know, I looked up the word olam (עוֹלָם) in Hebrew[1] and I saw that it means, you know, from antiquity, forever, everlasting, etc., etc.—eternity. Like I said, that just seems self-explanatory. God exists outside of time; of course He's everlasting. But I scrolled down to see, you know, how many times it's used in the Bible, and of course, where it’s first used, how it's introduced to us as God's people, when the Israelites started using it—all of that good stuff—and I found that it's used 438 times! That's a lot of times. I was like OK, maybe God is trying to tell me something... If He used it 438 times in the Bible, I should probably pay attention and see what the deal is.
00:02:59	And when I opened the Bible to the first occurrence of this name, I quickly understood that I was looking at it from the wrong angle. I was thinking of the Everlasting God as defining His existence. God is Everlasting: He is always been here, He will always be there. But the names of God define God's character, not His existence, which is slightly hard to wrap your head around because His existence and His character kind of go hand-in-hand, but when I read the passage, I realized it’s talking about more than His presence. It’s talking about Who He is. Who He is is Everlasting.
00:03:48	God exists outside of space and time Photocredit: Unsplash.com/NASA Let me talk a little bit about that particular passage so we can talk about what I mean when I say “Who He is is Everlasting.” So in the passage, the first time it occurs, is in Genesis 21:33, and when you first read that one verse, it doesn't seem that important. Abraham has this well or this tree that he's planted, and he's naming it, and he calls on the name of God and causing the Everlasting God. And you're like okay, so what? But surrounding this, we have to remember that this is when Abraham has first come to Canaan, and he is basically staking out an area for himself and creating a home in this foreign land. Meanwhile God has promised him and made a covenant with Abraham that He would make Abraham the father of many nations—one of these nations being a great nation, the nation that would bring forth the salvation of all mankind, and that was the nation of Israel. That's where Jesus would come through, and how we would get salvation and all these things.
00:05:01	When God would bring the nation of Israel, He would put them in the land of Canaan. That was His promise. It's the Promised Land, but that when did not belong to Abraham, so it could not belong to his descendants, yet—minus the fact that God gave it to them. But It wasn’t the next day that these things happened. It wasn't the next week, the next year, the next decade. It was centuries later. Abraham was dead by the time these promises were fulfilled.
00:05:32	That is what I'm getting at. That is Who God is. His promises are everlasting. His love is everlasting. His forgiveness is everlasting. His healing is everlasting. All of the other names of God that we talk about, all of the other attributes of God that we talk about, are everlasting. God does not change. His promises do not change. They don't fade. This is the beauty of that name, and it took me reading that passage to realize that there was so much more depth in calling him the Everlasting God than just talking about his existence. He is—everything about Him is Everlasting. Everything He does is everlasting, which is so comforting, right? ‘Cause I'm not trying to be healed for a second. I’m trying to have eternity for eternity and that's exactly what He's giving us now.
00:06:38	Now, as I was reading the passage and as I was processing all of this, it actually brought me back to an experience in my own life—and that's the whole point of reading the Bible, is so that we can connect with the past, that we can connect with what's being told in the stories given to us so we can see how they work in our own lives.
00:06:59	The promise that God had made to me or rather the experience that I had that God was bringing me through was similar on a much less painful scale, to that that he'd give Abraham and Israelites—that He would prosper them and He would give them this land. And they had to go through something. There wasn't a direct route from point A to point B, and it didn't happen overnight. That's what happened to me with grad school.
00:07:28	When I got it in my head that I wanted to go to grad school, and I had my conversations with God, and I decided that I was going to go down that path, I thought I was going to go for four years and I was going to get out—maybe 5—and that was going to be it. I picked the school. I prayed. I got the fellowship, and I thought that was like God saying, “Yes! Boom! This is My stamp of approval. This is where I want you to go. This is what's going to happen. Everything's going to go to plan.” And to be honest, up until that point that school had worked for me. I just showed up, and I did the work, and everything worked fine, so I didn't see why grad school would be any different. But that is not how grad school went.
00:08:15	Those first two years were so rough. I'm still mystified I even graduated with my Master's—that's a whole topic and a whole podcast episode of itself, but needless to say I was miserable the first two years of my graduate program, and I wasn't even sure I was supposed to be there, anymore. I didn't enjoy it. I didn't, I mean, I just had serious misgivings, but I was stubborn and I didn't want to quit. Oone thing led to another thing and eventually I did graduate with Master's, but that wasn't my plan my plan was to get a PhD from that school. It was supposed to be a one shot, one and done, go ahead and then go on into your future endeavors. But that's not how it worked out, and God took me back to my undergraduate institution after that rocky period.
00:09:19	And when I went back to my undergraduate institution, you know, things started to pep up. I liked it better; I was happier. Everything was starting to look up, and I was like okay maybe God just took me there for a minute to teach me, just like a little lesson. You know this was my Exodus out of Egypt, I was going—I was at the Promised Land! But that didn't go the way I thought it was either. I did not pass my first portfolio attempt[2] and then my advisor quit his job. And I was just like “Whoa! Wait! What's going on? This is not how this is supposed to be going. What am I supposed to do?” And I was freaking out. This was I guess my moment where the Israelites decided that they couldn't fight, that they was not prepared to go and take Israel even though God said that they could take the land.
00:10:12	So I ended up moving schools again because I went with my advisor, and it was when I went with my advisor that God really moved His hand and showed me like “Yeah, you know, you remember I told you that you could have this? I told you you could have this because you're going to have it, but not in your time in My time.” And I got the PhD. And the project that I did, the skills that I learned, none of what happened would have happened if it had not been for that series of events. Every single move that I made, every school that I went to, I learned something that I needed to get to the point that I am now. I made connections that I needed to get to the point that I am now. I built friendships... Even the things that have nothing to do with the field that I'm in—my relationship with Christ, studying the Word, all of these things are directly tied to the experiences I had going through that struggle.
00:11:17	When I look at what happened to Abraham, him declaring God the Everlasting God when God made the promise and before any of this stuff played out, it reminds me of how far I was from God at the beginning of that journey. Because during that process, I mean, before the process I wasn't shouting out El Olam, Everlasting God, and so during the process I had serious misgivings about what was happening. But now, I realize that God is the Everlasting God. Everything about his character is everlasting. He will love everlasting. He will heal everlasting. His promises are everlasting. Everything about Him—His forgiveness. And so now I am fully prepared that when I go through these situations, when you go through your trials, you know, “in bondage” and you’re being brought out and brought into “the promised land”, I know it may not be today; it may not be tomorrow, but when God makes a promise, it is everlasting, because He is El Olam, and that's something I don't ever want to forget and you shouldn't either.
00:12:38	Thank you guys for tuning. I hope that you will subscribe if you haven't. Don't forget that this episode’s transcripts can be found on the web site at www.psalmstogod.com/everlasting. You can find a bunch of other content on the website, as well, so you can subscribe and visit there too. I can't wait to talk to you guys again in the next episode, so I will see you guys again on Monday. Bye.

Footnotes and References

1. "5769. Olam". Bible Hub; visited February 2019
2. The portfolio was basically like a qualifying exam, it was the catalyst to move from PhD student to PhD Candidate (which basically gives you the clear to pursue your research, form a committee, and advance in the PhD process).

Isaiah 21: Edom & Arabia

Introduction

The last part of Isaiah 21 prophesies about Edom and Arabia. While reading this passage, I had to go back and look at some of the genealogies from Genesis—yes, the ones I'm sure we all love to skip over.

Edom

Dumah

Isaiah starts off addressing Dumah. Where and who is Dumah you ask? So did I. Dumah was a son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13-15), but it was also a city in the land given to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15). However, if you have a modern translation, it probably tells you that the prophesy given here is for Edom. Despite the two non-Edomite uses of the word Dumah, this prophecy is linked to Edom because of the reference to Mount Seir. Seir is where the Edomites lived (Genesis 32:3; 36:8-9). Since the Bible tells us that Seir is where the Edomites lived, we know the prophecy must have something to do with them.[5]

Judgment

So, we've solidified the fact that Dumah is a reference to Edom, but what exactly is the judgment, or prophecy, against Edom? Not much is actually said, in the verses that follow. A watchman is asked about the night and responses with the obvious that morning and night come. Three things stand out to me from Isaiah's account:

Watchman

The Bible talks about watchmen quite often. The purpose of a watchman is to watch for a particular event and then alert their group of the occurrence. Usually, watchmen are used in times of war to ensure that the enemy isn't able to capture the nation by surprise. In a similar fashion, we are urged to watch for the return of Jesus Christ so that we are not taken by surprise. The watchman mentioned in Isaiah 21 could actually be a literal watchman or a spiritual watchmen. He could be instructed to watch for the army that would bring about the judgment God is proclaiming, but he could also be sent to watch for the spiritual decline of the people. After reading the passages several times, I realized it was possible that this watchman was actually an Israelite watching Edom, not an Edomite watching his own people.

Morning

Morning, which is mentioned by the watchman as something to come, is something we often take for granted. Unless we are sick or on a battlefield, we assume that we will wake up the next morning. We assume that the Earth will keep spinning on it's axis and the Sun will rise in the morning. When times are hard, many of us are told things will be better in the morning. Whether we're morning people our not, morning is the time we look forward to symbolically. We typically think "the sun'll come out tomorrow."

Therefore, the watchman is telling there are good times ahead. However, the watchman mentions the morning before the night, which implies that the morning is not something to hope for after the night, but something that will precede the night.

Night

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Ann Savchenko

You can probably guess that if the morning represents good times, the night represents hard times. For much of human history, there's been a stigma about the night. Older people in my family used to say "nothing good happens after dark." If you've even suffered from sinus trouble, you might also notice that it's typically worse at night. The watchman is warning them that as surely as day comes, night will come to. They may enjoy times of prosperity, despite the refusal to recognize God's sovereignty or His people, but eventually there will be consequences to these actions.

Who are the Dedanim

Isaiah tells us that the Dedanim are a traveling company sleeping in the wilderness and somehow involved in the judgment on Arabia. It's pretty obvious that the Dedanim are a group of people, and just as easy to assume the father of those people was someone named Dedan. However, when I read the passage, I wasn't sure who Dedan was. The name isn't familiar to me like Edom or Moab, so I had to research it. I expected him to be a son of Ishmael, since he is considered the father of the Arabs.

Dedan #1

To my surprise, Dedan was actually the grandson of Cush, the son of Ham (Genesis 10:7).[3]

Cush is generally thought of as settling sub-Saharan Africa, but it seems reasonable to me that some of his descendants remained in the Northern part of Africa. I'm not sure of the exact history of Northern Africa, but today it is considered part of the Arab world. I always assumed this was due to the Ottoman Empire taking control of those lands, but perhaps there is a connection between Dedan and Ishmael.

There us also the possibility that the Dedanim are actually the opposing army that is defeating Arabia. Historically, sub-Saharan Africa has never been considered part of the Arab world. Perhaps this is why.

Dedan #2

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. There is another Dedan mentioned in Genesis 25:3. This Dedan is a descendant of Abraham through his wife Keturah. Could this be the group living in Arabia that is being discussed? Most commentaries assume the Dedanim are those descended from Cush, but there is no concrete evidence supporting either group.[4]

Cities of Arabia

Tema

The first city mentioned in the judgment against Arabia is Tema. If you're like me, that doesn't ring a bell when you first read it. However, God is telling us specific names for a reason. Is it possible the city of Tema is named after a person who bore the name? Genesis 25:13-15 tells us that Ishmael had a son named Tema. Not only does he have a son named Tema, but he also has a son named Kedar, which is the name of the second city mentioned in this passage. Ishmael, the half-brother of Isaac, is already known to be the father of Arabia, so it makes sense that the namesakes of these cities are his sons. It's also a reminder that the people in these cities are distant cousins of the Israelites. This may be slightly off topic, but have you ever thought about how dysfunctional some of these Biblical families must have been?

According to sources, there is a small town near Syria called Teyma, and it is thought that this may be the same as the Tema spoken of in the Bible.[1] I couldn't find it on Google maps. Many things are possible: it could be too small to be considered a city on it's own and incorporated with a larger city; it could have been renamed; considering all that has happened in Syria recently, it could have been destroyed. Regardless of whether or not we can still locate the city of Tema today, it did exist during Isaiah's time.

Although Isaiah 21:13-17 pronounces judgment on Arabia, Tema doesn't actually sound that bad. It seems that they're giving water to those who are thirsty, which sound like a good thing. In the New Testament, we are commanded to provide for our fellow man when they are in need (CITE VERSE). They people of Tema even provide bread to those who are in need. It seems that this is the place the refugees of the war will end up. While it may be good that the people of Tema are so accommodating, the people they are accommodating are not civilians displaced by the battle, but the soldiers themselves who have fled the battle. The fact that they are fleeing the battle tells us all we need to know about who is winning.

Kedar

The outcome of the battle against Arabia is confirmed in the discussion on Kedar in the final verses of the chapter. Here we learn that within a year, Kedar will be defeated. Their army would be diminished and their glory would be taken.

As mentioned above, Kedar was a son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13-15). Kedar is mentioned many times in scripture, and the people of Kedar are often used to depict the whole of Arabia. Whether they made up the majority of the Arabians at the time or whether they were just the loudest or most recognizable tribe is speculation.[2]

Defeating an Army

God knew that Kedar, a city in Arabia, needed to be struck down, and His way of maintaining that was to drastically reduce their army. God is a master general and many of the strategies we employ today can be found biblically. For example, one of the major factors in WWII was Germany rebelling against sanctions put on it after WWI. One of those sanctions was a reduction of arms and military. The US had placed similar sanctions of countries it deems unstable or hostile, such as Iraq and North Korea. Ostensibly, the goal of these sanctions is to curtail the military effort and prevent those nations from gaining credibility through show of force, as well as, keep them from attacking weaker nations.

References

1. "Tema". Bible Hub; visited November 2018
2. "Kedar". Bible Hub; visited November 2018
3. "Strong's H1720". Blue Letter Bible; visited November 2018
4. "Commentary on Isaiah 21:13". Bible Hub; visited November 2018
5. "Commentary on Isaiah 21:11". Bible Hub; visited November 2018

1 Chronicles 1-9: Genealogies

Insights from the genealogies are pointed out.

Introduction

The first 9 chapters of 1 Chronicles gives us the lineage of the Israelites. It starts by walking us through from Adam to Noah to Abraham, then traces the lineage of Ishmael and Isaac, before zeroing in on the 12 tribes of Israel. It is a bit hard to follow the names due to multiple wives and chronology bouncing between brothers. Below are a few things that stood out to me.
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Ephrath, Caleb's Wife

Caleb, one of the only two spies to trust God to lead the Israelites to victory, married a woman named Ephrath. I find this interesting because throughout the Old Testament we hear about the Ephrathites. When I first read the word "Ephrathites" I thought it was a misspelling of Ephraimites, but I noticed that the people referred to as Ephrathites all grew up the region known as Judah, specifically around Bethlehem. Once I realized this, I assumed they were dubbed the "Ephrathites" because the descended from a man named Ephrath. However, 1 Chronicles 2 makes me wonder if they inherited this name from a woman? Resources state that the name is given after the old name for Bethlehem, Ephratah.^[1] Of course, that only makes me wonder how Bethlehem received that name in the first place...
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Canaanite Women

Whites in the South spent a lot of time trying to craft their version of Christianity to paint Black people as inferior and deserving of slavery. People even twisted the Curse of Canaan to extend to Ham in attempt to justify the treatment of slaves. Interestingly when we look at the lineage of Judah laid out in 1 Chronicles 2, we can see that the line of Judah sprang from a Canaanite woman. This means David, Solomon, and Jesus all have ties back to Canaan and to Ham.
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Simeon

The end of 1 Chronicles 4 covers information on Simeon's descendants who essentially merged into Judah. However, a remnant of Simeonites survived through the reign of Hezekiah and killed the Amalekites living in the land to establish their own place.
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References

1. "Ehrathite". BibleStudyTools.com; visited February 2017

Why I Haven't Given Up On People Just Yet

I don't have faith in humanity as a whole, but I do have faith that there are a multitude of good people out there.

A lot of people lost faith in humanity when they woke up to the election results Wednesday morning. The first time someone said so to me, my initial reaction was "I never had faith in humanity," but the truth is a bit deeper than that... I don't have faith in humanity as a whole, but I do have faith that there are a multitude of good people out there.

When I first checked in to see how the election was going, the count was 19 electoral votes for Donald Trump compared to just 3 for Hilary Clinton. Considering it was only the east coast reporting, I wasn't shocked. I knew my home state of South Carolina would go red no matter the candidate, and I knew the states around it would likely go red too. Like most people, I assumed large liberal states, like California, would go blue, tipping the vote to Mrs. Clinton's favor. I didn't know if the media hype surrounding Mr. Trump (yes, I'm going to retain my home-training a be polite enough to call him Mr.) was real or fabricated to make it look like he had a large following, so I wasn't sure how close it would be or if it would be close at all. When I went to bed, Mr. Trump was still leading and only needed about 24 electoral votes to win. I found out that he'd actually won around 4am when my cat woke me up for food and I couldn't resist the urge to check. When I woke up for good, I thought I'd dreamed the whole bit with the cat and checked again.

Now, I know people who voted for Mr. Trump. There are about 4 on my Facebook timeline. This is probably less that 2% of my friends who shared their political views on social media. Which also explains why Mrs. Clinton won the popular vote. When you combine the number of people who voted for Mrs. Clinton with the people who voted third party, clearly more people voted against Mr. Trump, which means they voted against inciting violence. There's at least some hope in that.

Photocredit: The New York Times

It's baffling to think that the so many US citizens would vote for a man endorsed by the KKK, the Neo-Nazis, Russia, and North Korea.^[1][2][3][4] Mr. Trump said all kinds of crazy things during his campaign, so it isn't surprising that these groups would endorse him, just that anyone else would. Of course, when he failed to squelch or condemn organizations like the KKK and Neo-Nazis, one has to come to the conclusion that he doesn't mind them supporting his ideas. I don't know about you, but if countries that represent the anti-thesis of the US and hate groups that represent the opposite of unity started agreeing with my ideas, I'd be worried about what I was saying. Since Mr. Trump's victory, these hate groups have been committing hate crimes all over the US. From children being bullied in school to vandalism to physical attacks, we have stepped into a dark day for the US.^[5]

As a black female, I fit in at least two of the groups disparaged by Mr. Trump's remarks. Most of my friends fit in two groups as well, so the fear and hurt spreading on my Facebook timeline is overwhelmingly real. People are hurt, people are scared, and people are angry. Despite Mrs. Clinton taking the popular vote, the number of people who voted for a man that promoted such hate and violence is too large for comfort. As of me writing this, Mrs. Clinton garnered 60,839,497 votes while Mr. Trump only won 60,265,847 votes. That still means 60 million US citizens were fine with Mr. Trump's rhetoric!^[6] That's disheartening, and it's showing across the nation.

A lot of the people I know, have rejected hearing the Word during this time. One person on my timeline was quite enraged at people's suggestions to pray. I don't know the full story of what exactly was said, but the person argued that people had a right to be mad and scared. Well, certainly; for me, suggesting some pray is not a condemnation of their feelings, but a suggestion to ask for help from a higher power. Telling me you're mad or afraid does nothing; I can only do so much. Telling God you're mad or afraid is a different situation; He can do anything. I may be able to hold your hand on the bus or in the cafeteria, but I can't go with you everywhere, He can...

The truth of the matter is that we're in this situation because we stopped talking to God. The fact that there were people professing to be Christians endorsing Mr. Trump tells us just how out of touch the Church is with God. "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3 tells us that in order for Christians to walk with Mr. Trump, they must be in agreement with him, and by extension the others who agree with him. The God of the Bible does not walk in agreement with hate; it is explicitly stated in 1 John 4:19-20 that anyone who hates men (or women) does not love God. Hate is the absence of God's love, and I'm pretty sure pushing Him further out of the picture is not going to rectify the situation.

I can't help but think about the predicament the US is in; we had two crappy candidates but the more violent of the two won. Each time a new president is elected people jump to call him the antichrist (total lack of understanding of end time prophecies there, but I digress), and this time around was no different. So how come fire and hail haven't come raining down on us just yet? Why are we still here if so many bad people are in the world?

In Genesis 18:20-33, Abraham begs God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In this exchange, God promises not to destroy the city if he can find just 10 people who are righteous. Remember that—at the prayer of Abraham, God promised to spare an entire city for the sake of 10 people. There are much more than 10 good people in the US. The amount of love outpouring from people on my Facebook timeline to those who are scared proves that there are more than 10. God said He wouldn't give up on the city if He could find 10 people, and I'm saying I'm not going to give up on the US because I've found at least 10 people who are good people. I know people who will do anything they can for a stranger. I know people who will drop everything to comfort their friends. I know people who give up their time and money to help those in need. I know people who sacrifice their goals to help their fellow man. I know people who are not silent when injustice occurs. And I know people who are on fire for God. These people are out there, and I hope to be one of them. So that as the world gets a little darker, the devil will not put out these lights. And maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to spread this light to those who've lost their way.
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References

1. Peter Holley. "KKK’s official newspaper supports Donald Trump for president". The Washington Post. November 1, 2016
2. Adam Taylor. "North Korean state media offers support for ‘wise politician’ Donald Trump". The Washington Post. May 31, 2016
3. Michael McFaul. "Why Putin wants a Trump victory (so much he might even be trying to help him)". The Washington Post. August 17, 2016
4. Peter Holley. "Top Nazi leader: Trump will be a ‘real opportunity’ for white nationalists". The Washington Post. August 7, 2016
5. Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin). "Day 1 in Trumps America". Twitter. November 2016
6. "Presidential Election Results: Donald J. Trump Wins". The NY Times. November 12, 2016

Judges 10-12: Jephthah

Jephthah's reckless vow dooms him to the decision of breaking a vow to God or killing his only child.

Introduction

During the reign of the previous "major" judge (Abimelech), Isreal was still wrought with idolatry and sinfulness (at his own hand to say the least). When you combine this with the history of the Israelites, it's no surprise that Israel falls back into turmoil after Tola and Jair. This time, God allows the Philistines and Ammonites to oppress the Israelites in the area stretching from the Tribe of Judah through the Tribe of Benjamin and across the Jordan into the Ammonites' territory. The oppression lasts for 18 years.

Eventually, Israel repents of their sins, asking God to help them. At first, God denies them, suggesting they ask their idols for help. This is like today when we forget about God until suddenly we need Him. Realizing their error, the Israelites do not turn back to idolatry, but instead purge their land of images, focusing on repentance. They persist at worshipping the One True God. When God sees this, He becomes sorrowful and decides to deliver them once again. We too much persist in our relationship with God.
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The Next Judge

Jephthah was the next person God rose up to judge Israel. Like Abimelech, he was also a Gileadite. Once again, God chooses a man unlikely to be selected for leadership based on pedigree. Jephthah was the son of a harlot; society would have chosen one of his brothers from a more "acceptable" parentage. Cast out by his brothers, Jephthah ends up in the land of Tob. There, he teams up with a group of "vain men." While the meaning of vain men isn't explicitly given, it's pretty obvious that this isn't an indication of Godliness.

When the Ammonites gather against Israel, the elders of Gilead suddenly seek out Jephthah for leadership. The original offer is for the position of a military leader, but when Jephthah is not moved by the offer, they offer him the position of head over the city, instead. For the first time, God is mentioned in the exchange when Jephthah agrees that if God delivers the Ammonites to him, the elders should make him leader. Unlike the judges mentioned earlier in the book, both Abimelech and Jephthah seem to have appointed themselves as judges with God blessing them for Israel's sake.
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The Conversation

Jephthah sends messengers to Ammon to request the reason they have gathered against Israel. The Ammonites state that they are taking back the land Israel took from them. The scenario sounds much like something that could happen today, especially after all of the boundary changes colonization brought about.

Jephthah reminds the Ammonites that the only reason Israel has that land is that the Ammonites refused to let Israel pass during Moses' day. They had won the land in war and had been living there for 300 years. Jephthah inquires as to why it is only now that the Ammonites are trying to get their land back. The Ammonites, however, do not continue the discussion and disregard Jephthah's messengers.

Using the dates from 1 Kings 6:1, we can date the Exodus to 1446. This is disputed by some, but I agree with the literal dating that renders the exodus in 1446bc, as opposed to the symbolic dating proposed by those who disagree. Perhaps I'll do a post on that topic in the future. In the meantime, this means the Israelites started conquering land in 1406bc and gives us a date of about 1106bc for the time of Jephthah (likely when Jephthah said they had been living there for 300 years, he was using a round number estimate as opposed to a precise calculation.
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The Vow

Photocredit: FreeImages.com/Zeeshan Qureshi

When preparing for battle, Jephthah vows to God that whomever greets him at the door when he returns will be a burnt offering for God. It is unclear whether Jephthah had spent too much time around pagans and was promising God a human sacrifice—which God never sanctions—or if Jephthah expected an animal to greet him.

The Israelites lived in 4 room homes in which the first room housed the animals, therefore it is quite plausible that Jephthah expected a cow or goat to be the first to approach him at the door.^[1] A lesson in making rash promises about things we cannot control is given in the outcome of Jephthah's vow, because it is not an animal that greets him but his only child, his daughter.

She is adamant that he fulfills his vow, strangely. Instead of fleeing like most of us would, she merely asks for 2 months to lament her virginity. Not only does her virginity tell us that she was likely very young, but also a that there would be an inability to pass on her and her father's lineage. Despite being an unnamed woman, she was mourned yearly by the daughters of Israel after her sacrifice.

Unlike with Abraham and Isaac, God doesn't send a goat to replace Jephthah's daughter, which may cause some to wonder about the message. Many may ask if the lack of intervention is a sign that God wanted him to sacrifice his daughter. I think one of the key points in comparing Abraham's situation with Jephath's is in the origin stories.

Abraham and his wife had been failing at having a child for a very long. Once God finally blessed Sarah's womb to grant Abraham a miracle child, He was asking Abraham to sacrifice the child! This was a test of Abraham's faith in God. Would Abraham give up the one thing he wanted most to please God? Did Abraham trust that if God told him to kill his son, He would provide another? In this scenario, God initiates this test.

Contrastingly, it is Jephthah who coins this vow all on his own. Killing people vs. not killing people wasn't meant to display Jephthah's faith; this was simply a problem Jephthah created for himself. Likely, God simply let Jephthah reap what he had sewn.
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Ephraim vs. Jephthah

Once again, Ephraim becomes angry at not being invited to war. Jephthah claims he did invite the tribe of Ephraim, but this claim can't be substantiated in the text. Offended by the men of Ephraim, Jephthah raises his army against them. As they try to escape, the army asks them to pronounce a particular word in which the pronunciation revealed the origin of the person. This is similar to the accents found across the U.S. today. Upon "mispronouncing" the word, the army would kill the man.

Jephthah may not have slaughtered his own brothers like Abimelech, but he was quick to anger and unjustly violent like Abimelech (and Gideon). In fact, Jephthah kills 42,000 men in this temper tantrum of his. This is what must have been meant about power being corruptive. We should note that God's blessing is not given in this passage. Based upon countless scriptures in the Bible about loving your neighbor and being slow to anger or take offense, we can easily conclude that God was not pleased with this behavior.
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Minor Judges

Jephthah only rules for 6 years; further proof that God did not approve of his actions. Afterward, there is a series of minor judges that take over leadership. Ibzan of Bethlehem, who has 30 sons and 30 daughters, judges for 7 years. Elon, from the tribe of Zebulun, judges for 10 years. Abdon, the son of Hillel with 40 sons and 30 nephews, judges for 8 years. Note that this Hillel is not likely the famous Hillel that many Jewish institutions today are named after.^[2] Also note that the word "nephews" in the King James Version may actually refer to grandsons^[1]
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References

1. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible. pg. 433-436. 2014
2. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. "Hillel and Shammai". Jewish Virtual Library. 2016

Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness

A look at the ninth commandment: thou shalt bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Introduction

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Exodus 20:16 KJV

The ninth commandment is not to bear false witness against people, which is often taken as a command not to lie. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is "the truth" with drives home the fact that truthfulness is an important part of righteousness. God's commandment here is about more than just lying, however.
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Commandment

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.Exodus 20:16 KJV

Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.Deuteronomy 5:20 KJV

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Bible Verses

1. Exodus 23:1,7
2. Leviticus 19:11
3. Psalm 15:1-2
4. Psalm 101:5
5. Proverbs 10:18
6. Jeremiah 9:3-5
7. Zechariah 8:16
8. Matthew 19:18
9. Mark 10:19
10. Luke 18:20
11. Ephesians 4:25,31
12. Colossians 3:9
13. Titus 3:2

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Discussion

It's not hard to conclude that lying is wrong; we know bad things come from lying. The issues that really stem from this commandment are "little white lies" and gossip.
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Little White Lies

The phrase "little white lie" is used to describe a lie that had good intentions,^[1] like a parent telling their child they sound good singing even though they sound horrible. What's the harm? Well, when the child goes singing in front of their peers and gets laughed at, it's probably going to hurt worse, especially since the child's peers will be more brutal about the situation. We all tell these, sometimes without even thinking; I did so just today, twice.

The first time was due to me not wanting to attend something; instead of simply saying "I don't want to come" I said I had a prior obligation a few hours before the event (which was true) and would drop by if I finished in time. The fact of the matter was that I knew I would be done in time to attend, and I knew I would likely not attend. Some of it was the intention not offend those inviting me, but the other part was laziness. I knew that if I said I didn't want to come, a distinct difference and truth than being unable to attend, questions would arise to why.

Laziness is at the root of the second lie I told today as well. This time it started with me not paying attention to what was being said and inadvertently saying I went to one store when I actually went to another. I could have corrected the person once I realized what was happening, but laziness convinced me otherwise—why bother, it didn't really matter did it? That was the devil's voice in my head. The conversation was brought up later, likely God's way of giving me a chance to tell the truth, but instead of doing the right thing, I gave into laziness again. I didn't want to explain why I didn't say something earlier. I didn't want to explain why I went to the other store. But this behavior reveals much more about me and a deeper problem that God wants us to avoid.

I didn't want to explain why I didn't want to attend because that is a form of validation—without a reason not to attend, they would have insisted I come, that I would have fun, etc. With the other scenario it was more about embarrassment and not wanting to explain a complex story. But what happens when someone is asking me about my faith? When they ask about why I can't attend something on Saturday or why I follow God's dietary law, what will I say? Will my avoidance of confrontation lead me to deny my Lord?

At the time, I didn't think it was a big deal, but as I sat to write this post I thought about the deeper issues involved. I lied twice without even thinking about it... I broke one of God's holy commandments twice, knowingly and didn't think about the wrongness of it until tonight. Plus it's possible I only thought about it because I was writing this post. "White lies" are gateway lies. We are deceived into believing it's ok to disobey God for the good of another person, or because it doesn't really matter whether we went to McDonald's or Wendy's (not the stores from my story, just an example). This is the same prideful pitfall that lead Eve to think it was ok to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. We can't fall down that path. I know I'll be thinking more about the words coming out of my mouth. No more laziness.
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Gossip

Gossip is one of those things that shifts and changes as we age. In middle school and high school, being the first to know something made you cool, or at least made you feel cool. As an adult, gossip is more of an inquire, an "is this true" type of conversation. However, once a thought is placed in someone's head, you can't get it back. Gossip is slander, even if you admit you don't know if it's true. An example is when one of my male friends outted himself, he placed suspicion on others, claiming they wanted to date him or had dated guys he had dated. In particular, two of these guys were also my friends; one was dating my best friend and the other was the guy every girl (including myself) had liked at some point. I felt guilty suspecting my best friend's boyfriend of being both closeted and a cheater (based on on my friend's story). Eventually I told my best friend, who ended the relationship. It's possible he was gay and cheated on her, it's possible that he was gay but didn't cheat on her, but it's also possible that neither occurred. Once that box of worms was opened, it couldn't be closed. Even "positive" gossip, such as that a person received a promotion, can lead to negative consequences if it turns out to be false. It could be an embarrassment for that person. That old adage "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see" is quite true here. We often don't know the entire situation when it comes to gossip and we shouldn't make it worse by listening (allowing our own perceptions to be sullied) or passing it along.
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Examples from the Bible

Abraham is a habitual liar. He uses the same lie twice, and both times it causes trouble. Like little white lies, Abraham's lie isn't a full-fledged lie, but really is an omission of truth. He tells introduces his wife as his sister without ever admitting that she is his wife. This leads people to covet a married woman and even lead to adultery in one case. This brings about God's wrath on an unsuspecting king.^[2][3]

References

1. Quinion, Michael. "White Lie". World Wide Words. 2015
2. Genesis 12
3. Genesis 20

Sarah / Sarai

Sarah is the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. Like many women today, Sarah struggled with infertility. In her old age, God promised to give her a son. Initially, she didn't believe it was possible—she even laughed—but God proved her wrong by blessing her with a son at the age of 90.

Introduction

Sarah, born Sarai, is the mother of Isaac and the wife of Abraham. She is a pivotal figure of the old testament. Abraham is often called the father of many nations, thus as his wife and the mother of the son that produced God's chosen nation, she is the mother of His chosen nations.
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Bible Verses

¹⁵And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. ¹⁶And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.Genesis 17:15-16 KJV

And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.Genesis 23:2 KJV

Other Verses on Sarah

• Genesis 11:29-31; 12:5,11,17; 16:1-8; 17:15-21; 18:6-15; 20:14-18; 21:1-12; 23
• Isaiah 51:2

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Character

Disclaimer: Liberty taken with the depiction of Sarah.
Please remember the Bible does not
specify a description for most individuals.

Sarah is one of the most spotlighted women in the book of Genesis. We are given a whole chapter on Abraham dealing with her death and preparing her gravesite. The first trait we glean from the pages about Sarah, is eagerness to provide Abraham a child; so much so that she gives her handmaid, Hagar, to Abraham as a wife. When Hagar gives birth to Ismael, Abraham's first and only son at time, Hagar feel "above" Sarah leading to tension between the two. Sarah confronts Abraham about Hagar's treatment of her and having more allegiance to Sarah than to Hagar, Abraham demotes Hagar back to handmaid status, allowing Sarah to deal with the situation as she pleased. We are told that Hagar is so distraught from Sarah's wrath that she flees. Thus we must conclude that Sarah was both a loving wife and a bit of a hot head.

Being "barren" during that time period would have been very difficult for a woman, as their worth was often determined by their ability to produce male heirs. People would have likely talked about her and may have suggested that she was cursed. Yet this seems to be a trend amongst God's chosen women. Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel all have "trouble" conceiving. God promised Sarah that she would have a child, but neither Sarah nor Abraham believed Him. When Sarah does have a child at 90 years old, she once again has Hagar removed so that Ishmael cannot continue to taunt Isaac. Sarah was given much power in terms of decision making by both Abraham, and God (who agreed that Abraham should listen to Sarah the second time she asked to send Hagar away).

Aside from Sarah laughing at God's promise to grant her a son, we don't see much of Sarah's relationship with God. However, her action of giving her handmaid to Abraham to provide him with children suggests that she at least believed God meant great things for his descendants. Also, the fact that we are told so much about both Abraham and Isaac mourning her death suggests that she was a very beloved person.
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Descendants

Sarah is the mother of Isaac. She is the grandmother of Jacob (Israel), and thus the Israelite nation.
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Shem

Shem is one of Noah's sons and one of the eight people to survive the flood. His descendants settled in the Middle East and Asia. It is through him that the nation of Israel is born. His name gives us the words "Semite" and "Semitic." Scholars debate on whether he is the eldest or middle child.

Introduction

Disclaimer: Liberty taken with the depiction of Shem.
Please remember the Bible does not
specify a description for most individuals.

Shem is the middle son of Noah; he turns 100 two years after the flood. Shem is an ancestor of Abraham, and thus the Israelites are descended from Shem. Shem dies at the age of 600 years old according to Genesis 11:10-11. Shem's descendants are known as Shemites or Semites, the word Semitic derives from Shemite^[1].
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Eldest or Middle Child?

Some deny Japheth's position as eldest due to Genesis 10:21, however a careful inspect will show that Japheth is in fact the eldest of the three sons. Those insisting that Japheth is not the eldest are confused as to whether "the elder" refers to Shem or Japheth (the confusion stems from different translations, it seems fairly apparent in the King James Version that Japheth is the elder of the two). It is easily gleaned that Japheth's brother, Ham, is the youngest based on Genesis 9:24. To determine that Japheth is the oldest we need two verses: Genesis 7:6 and Genesis 11:10 From Genesis 7:6 we know that either at age 500 Noah began having sons, or he had already had all three son by the time he was 500. the flood occurred 100 years later, when Noah was 600. If Noah began having children at 500, his oldest child would be 100 at the onset of the flood. If Noah finished having children at 500, his youngest son (Ham) would be 100 at the onset of the flood. However, Genesis 11:10 tells us that when Shem is 100 years, it is 2 years after the flood. This means that Noah was 502 when Shem was born and Shem cannot be the oldest. Since, Ham is the youngest and Shem is not the oldest, Japheth must be the oldest.
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Bible Verses

In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;Genesis 7:13

These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:Genesis 11:10 KJV

Other Verses on Abraham

• Genesis 5:32; 6:10; 9:18,23,26-27; 10:1,21-22,31; 11:11

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Character

Not much is said about Shem in terms of his character. When Ham tells Shem and Japheth of their father's drunkenness and nakedness, Shem goes with Japheth (backward so as not to look upon Noah's nakedness) to cover him. From this we can conclude Shem was at the least respectful to his father.
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Descendants

Shem has Elam, Asshur, Apraxad, Lud, and Aram. Through Shem's son Apraxad, we have the lineage of both Abraham and Lot. One of Shem's descendants, Eber, is thought to be the namesake of the word Hebrew^[2].
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Nations

Shem's son Elam creates the nations of the Elamites and Persians. Asshur was the progentiator of the Assyrians and Northern Iraqis. Aphraxad's descendants created the Chaldeans, Hebrews, Arabians, and Moabites/Palestinians. Lud's descendants created the Ludim, Lubim, Ludu, Lydians, and other groups in Asia Minor/North Africa. Shem's final son Aram is the progenator of the Syrians and Lebanese^[3]. Shem's descendants populated the Middle East. Any of the tribes originally speaking Semitic—Semitic stems from the word Shemite—languages are descendants of Shem. Countries with populations speaking semetic languages currently in the world are Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Suda, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (Arabic), Malta (Maltese), Israel (Arabic and Hebrew), Ethiopia (Amharic, Tigré, and Tigrinya), Ma'lūlā, Syria (Western Aramaic), Eastern Aramaic/Turoyo (Turkey)^[4].
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Other Posts about Shem

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References

1. "Semite". Dictionary.com. 2015
2. Holman Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible. pg 27. 2014
3. "The Table of Nations". bibliotecapleyades.net. 2015
4. "Semitic Languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2015

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Abraham / Abram

Abraham, originally known as Abram, was the first patriarch of Israel. Born in Ur, Abram, later known as Abraham is one of the most important Biblical figures in history. There are almost 300 references to Abraham in the Bible, making him the 7th most mentioned person in the Bible. Abraham is the father or 3 major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Isalm.

Introduction

Disclaimer: Liberty taken with the depiction of Abraham.
Please remember the Bible does not
specify a description for most individuals.

Born in Ur, Abram, later known as Abraham is one of the most important Biblical figures in history. God's promise to make Abram the father of many nations is so great He even changes his name from Abram, meaning high father^[1] to Abraham, meaning father of many^[2]. He is the first patriarch of the Israelites and thus the father of Jews (great-grandfather to be specific). Many identify God as the God of Abraham.
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Bible Verses

¹Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: ²And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: ³And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.Genesis 12:1-3 KJV

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. Genesis 17:5 KJV

⁴And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; ⁵Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Genesis 26:4-5 KJV

More Verses on Abraham

There are almost 300 references to Abraham in the Bible, making him the 7th most mentioned person in the Bible.^[7] The following are just a few.

• Genesis 11:26-27,29,31-32; 12-13; 14:12-24; 15; 16:1-6,15-16; 17-18; 20; 21:1-14,22-34; 22; 23:3-20; 24:1-9; 25:1-11; 26:1,3,5,18,24; 28:4,9,13; 32:9, 48:15; 49:30; 50:24
• Exodus 3:6,15-16
• Matthew 3:9
• John 8:58
• James 2:23

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Lineage and Immediate Family

Abraham is a distant descendant of Shem, born to Terah, son of Nahor. Specifically Abraham is a 9th generation descendant of Shem. He has two brothers, Nahor (most likely named for his grandfather) and Haran, a half-sister (who is also is wife) Sarah, and a nephew, Lot.
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Character

Unlike the Bible passage that tells us God chose Noah because he was a righteous man, no mention is made as to why God chose Abraham. In Genesis, he is never referred to as righteous, perhaps because of his habit of deceiving those around him. In the book of Genesis we see both positive and negative traits attributed to Abraham—he loves his "illegitimate" son and does not eagerly send him away, implying that he was a good father and he bargains to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if just few righteous people can be found, however he tells half-truths. Abraham is convinced that wherever he travels his wife's beauty will be the death of him, so he tells everyone she is his sister (which is true). Abraham also doubts God's promise. He has to be reminded 6 times that God will provide an heir and vessel for their covenant through Abraham's wife Sarah. Even though character may be called in to question due to his deception an doubt, it is also evident that Abraham is quick to obey God, diligent in his worship, and kind. When God tells Abraham that the sign of the covenant would be the circumcision of males, Abraham wastes no time complying, a feat that is easy for new males to be circumcised as infants but Abraham would have performed this surgery on himself as an adult—I'm not a guy so I can't say for sure, but that sounds pretty painful to me, I'd call that a serious commitment. Also, when God tells Abraham to sacrifice the son he thought was impossible to have, Abraham woke up early and traveled to the the place God instructed fully prepared to go through with the sacrifice. Based on his comment that he and Isaac would return, I believe he thought God would resurrect Isaac after the sacrifice. Most people would have backed out at the suggestion of sacrificing their own child (or any child for that matter), but Abraham was confident that God would not tell him to do something so horrible without an alternate plan like the ram in the bush or a resurrection. During Abraham's travels, it seems he builds an altar to God everywhere he goes, this shows his dedication and commitment to worship. When both Sarah and God tell Abraham to send his mistress, Hagar and their son, Ishmael away, Abraham arises early to send them off and ensures they do not leave empty handed. When his nephew Lot is taken captive, Abraham trains a small militia and goes to get him back! While he was not perfect, these are just a few of many attributes in Abraham that possibly identify why God chose him to be the father of the Israelites.
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Descendants

Abraham's first son, Ishmael is born to him by his wife's handmaid, Hagar. Ishmael has 12 sons: Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hada, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. At the age of 90, Abraham's wife Sarah gives birth to his second son, and the inheritor of Abraham's covenant, Isaac. It is through Isaac's youngest son Jacob that the 12 Tribes of Israel are born. After the death of Sarah, Abraham takes a third wife, Keturah. Keturah has 6 sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Midian is most likely the namesake of the area Midian that Moses comes to after fleeing Egypt in the beginning of Exodus. Midian's sons are Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. Abraham's son Jokshan has Sheba and Dedan, and Dedan has Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.
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Father of Many Nations

Both the Jews and the Arabs are physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Ishmael respectively. Christians and converted Jews are spiritual descendants of Abraham as well. Though there is controversy on the matter, some argue that Muslims worship the God of Abraham and are spiritual descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. This places Abraham's current number of descendants anywhere from 30% to 50% of the world today. Abraham becoming a father of many nations is one powerful prediction from God. Think of all the things that had to happen for this promise to be fulfilled (or rather all of the things that could have happened to stop this promise from being fulfilled). Cultures such as the Aztecs, Mayans, Native Americans, Hittites, etc. have either dwindled or disappeared all together. Moses could not promise that the Jew would not suffer this fate, only God could. Also, the early Christians could not promise that the message of Jesus would be spread around the world, neither could the promise people would believe it. The same holds for Muslims. Yet, here we are 4000 years later and Abraham's descendants make up anywhere from 30% to 50% of the entire world, totaling approximately 3 billion people. Thats pretty powerful right there^{[3][4][5][6][7]}.
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Other Posts About Abraham

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References

1. Campbell, Mike. "Abram". BehindTheName.com. 2015
2. Campbell, Mike. "Abraham". BehindTheName.com. 2015
3. "How Many Jews are in the World Today?". Be'chol Lashon. 2015
4. "World Population Clock". Worldometers. 2015
5. Christianity Today. "Number of Christians Worldwide". About.com. 2015
6. Mark Galli. "Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?". Christianity Today. April 15, 2011
7. "The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center. April 2, 2015
8. Howard Culbertson. "Word search: Most mentioned names of the Bible". . January 12, 2015

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Genesis 24-26: Isaac, The Second Patriarch

Genesis 24-27 tells us about Abraham's son Isaac, whom God's covenant with Abraham was passed down to.

Introduction

Isaac is the son of Abraham and Sarah, and the heir of God's Covenant with Abraham. Genesis 24-26 talk about his time on earth. In these passages we learn a little more about God's plan for Israel and get to see more about how the nation of Israel was formed.
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Abraham's Death and Legacy

Some time after Sarah dies, Abraham takes another wife named Keturah. Keturah bares him 6 more sons: Zimran, Joksan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Abraham gives his fortune (and God's covenant) to Isaac, however we are told that he gives other gifts to his other sons as well when he dies at the age of 175 years old. Isaac and Ishmael come together to bury him in the same cave as Sarah—this is possibly the first time the two brothers have seen each other since Ishmael was 13 and mocking the infant Isaac. Isaac goes on to live by a well named Lahairoi.
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Ishmael's Descendants

As promised, Ishamel has 12 sons: Nebajoth, Kedar, Abbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish,and Kedemah. They became 12 princes dwelling from Havilah unto Shur. This reflects the fulfillment of God's promise that 12 princes would come from Ishmael.
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Isaac's Descendants

Isaac's descendants are the legendary twins Jacob and Esau. It is through Esau that the Edomites are born and through Jacob the 12 tribes of Israel are born. This is fulfillment of God's covenant to Abraham to make him the father of a great nation as well as many nations.
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The Life of Isaac

Marriage

Before dying, Abraham asks his servant to find a wife for Isaac from Abraham's people instead of from the Canaanites. The servant worries that he should take Isaac with him to convince the woman to return, however Abraham ensures him that God will go before him to prepare the way. Abraham states that Isaac is not to leave Canaan. Following Abraham's instructions, the servant takes 10 camels and journey's to Abraham's hometown of Mesopotamia where Nahor's family still lives.

When the servant reaches the city, he prays to God that he will know the woman meant for Isaac by her behavior. He says that the woman meant for Isaac will come to the well and he will ask the woman for a drink of water. She will not only provide him with water, but will provide water for the camels as well. Almost directly after praying this, Rebekah comes to the well. Just as the servant prayed, when he asks for a drink of water, Rebekah also offers water to the camels. Rebekah is introduced as the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah and Nahor, and described as fair to look upon, a virgin, and kind. When she fulfills the servants prayer, he gives her a gold earring and two gold bracelets. The servant immediately praises God for answering his prayer.

Laban, Rebekah's brother, prepares the house for the servant and welcomes him when he arrives. The servant tends to the camels before getting to business. When Laban offers him food, the servant refuses citing that he has come for a reason that he must explain to them. He then relays the wealth of Abraham and repeats the conversation he and Abraham shared on finding Isaac a wife. He tells them of his doubts in finding a woman who would follow him back to Canaan, the prayer, and Rebekah's fulfillment. After hearing the message, both Laban and Bethuel agree that the situation is of God and agree that Rebekah can leave to become Isaac's wife. In return, the servant bestows jewels and wealth upon Rebekah and her family.

When the servant prepares to leave, the family asks to keep their daughter for 10 days before sending her off, which was customary. Rebekah was then given the choice to go or not, and she chose to leave. Upon leaving, Rebekah's family gives her the nurse who tended to her as a child; perhaps they thought it was best she had a familiar face with her in the strange land.

Rebekah and Isaac meet each other for the first time the day they are married. With Sarah deceased, Rebekah automatically becomes the new matriarch of the family. As such, Isaac gives her Sarah's tent. Isaac's declaration of love for Rebekah is possibly the first declaration given in the Old Testament. Rebekah gives Isaac peace and comfort for the first time since his mother's death.
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Jacob and Esau

Like Sarah, Rebekah has difficulty conceiving. Isaac prays for his wife and upon his pleading, God blesses he with not one child but twins. God prophesies that they will be two nations, with one stronger and that the elder brother will serve the younger. Esau, the firstborn, is hairy and was red in color. He grows up to be a cunning hunter. In contrast, Jacob is described as plain and domesticated. Isaac becomes fond of Esau, but Rebekah's favorite is Jacob. Esau possibly gains the name Edom, which means red^[1], when he sells his birthright to Jacob for red pottage (or stew).
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Covenant With God

When a famine engulfs Canaan, Issac goes to Gerar to see Abimelech. However, on the way God reminds Isaac of the covenant the exists between Him and Abraham which has been passed down to Isaac. At Beersheba, God speaks to Isaac, He refers to Himself as the God of Abraham. Isaac an altar to God here.
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Deception

Like his father before him, Isaac lies to Abimelech when he goes to Gerar. In the exact situation as his father, Issac tells the people of Gerar that Rebekah is his sister, not his wife. However, unlike Abraham this is not just omission of truth, this an actual lie. Abimelech, perhaps wisened by his experience with Abraham, knows immediately when he sees Isaac and Rebekah together that they are married. This may also be telling of how much Isaac loved Rebekah and the nature of their relationship. Fearing a repeat of Abraham's sins, Abimelech decrees that no one in the kingdom should touch Isaac or Rebekah.
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Prosperity

In Gerar, Isaac prospers 100 fold and does much better than the Philistines who live there. This angers the Philistines and so they send him away. As he is leaving, Isaac see the wells that Abraham dug long ago have been stopped up so he digs them out again. Seeing this, the Philistines calim the first two wells he digs, but they to do not try to take the third and final well.
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Covenant With Abimelech

Like Abraham, Isaac and Abimelech have to come to an arrangement concerning the wells. Seeing that God is with Isaac just as He was Abraham before, Abimelech initiates a covenant with Isaac. The two prepare a feast as a sign of acceptance and another well is dug out.
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References

1. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible, pg 52. 2014