COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 67 - A FAMILY IN TRANSITION AND TRANSFORMATION

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

So, like all of the fairy tales we know and love; Isaac and Rebekah married and lived happily ever after, right?   Funny how we humans tend to view the beginnings of all marriages that way!

I hope that isn’t what you are thinking, because if you are, you are sadly mistaken.  Like every true life story, Isaac and Rebekah had their share of ups and downs all through their marriage.

Rebekah did not come directly into that magical life that Abraham had once lived with Sarah, even though, when you think about it – they had THEIR ups and down too.  The good times and the blessed days that we hear of were things that everyone had to work hard to accomplish.  They were now a family and a team and it all had to be done together.  At any rate, Sarah was completely absent from the family picture by this time; so Rebekah experienced a world with no wiser older woman to influence her and guide her.  It must have been very hard for her in the beginning.  She was basically on her own, living in the tent with Isaac.  She had only her oldest servant for help and friendship.  She was very young and this must have been quite an adjustment.  She had probably lived in a house in the past, and now she took on the life of a sojourner, always living in a tent with no walls to hide behind and no permanent doors to close and lock the world out.  The woman who chose to wear the veil was in a time of transition, and so was her husband.

   

There was yet another strange and interesting transition taking place in the family during the time period that Isaac and Rebekah were forming and establishing their marriage.  They all went through another wedding as Abraham took another wife in his old age.  This new wife, named Keturah, was from a different culture and she and Abraham lived miles away from Rebekah and Isaac, so even this was of no comfort to Rebekah in the new place.  Abraham had given the established area of the home site in Hebron to Isaac and then basically left them alone to begin their marriage. 

Abraham’s new wife was named Keturah.  They had six sons of their own.  Of the six named children of Abraham and Keturah, only Midian’s future has an impact on the rest of the story of Abraham’s descendants.  It might be possible, but is fuzzy and unclear, that Sheba, Dedan, and the Ashurites could have also been notable descendants that played indirectly into the family story.  It is suggested by some that these people might be the founders of the line of descendants that belonged to the famous “Queen of Sheba” who later tests Solomon’s wisdom.  It is all very unclear though, whether these are truly from the descendants of Abraham and Keturah, or just others with similar sounding names. 

But why is it that all of this is so obscure? Why are people as important as Abraham’s children not more involved in the story of the history of the children of God?  The answer is pretty simple.  Because Abraham wanted it that way.

Abraham, being very careful with everything involving Isaac, followed a custom of many other cultures when he decided to remarry.  He held the belief of those who thought it was best if a man’s wife died, that he should not remarry until his children were grown and married themselves.  He patiently waited until he saw Isaac happily married to Rebekah before considering taking another wife.

There are a lot of old stories that circulate around the fact of Abraham marrying again.  There is no way to confirm them, but many of them make sense in relation to the scriptures that we do know.

We have already mentioned that prior to Isaac's marriage Abraham had given Isaac all of his greatest possessions, and the bulk of his great wealth.  Isaac was clearly distinguished as Abraham’s most honored heir.  Every precaution was taken to protect this.

We know that Abraham tended to Ishmael's support until he was grown, giving him gifts while he was still living, and Abraham also looked after his sons with Keturah in the same way.  When they grew up Abraham always sent them away toward the East and was careful to keep these descendants separate and far from where Isaac was living.  Some commentators state that Abraham in his wisdom sent these sons out to seek and establish their own independence, thinking that living on their own and making their way through the world without his help would change them, make them stronger men and possibly even bring them closer to God.  From the records of history we can discern that these sons were pagan to the core.  This must have greatly disappointed Abraham, and some stories go so far as to say that Abraham gave the grown sons of Keturah a formal, legal document that was comparable to a writ of divorce.  This was to keep them legally distinguished from the inheritance of Isaac.  Isaac was always to be the legal child of blessing, both in the physical and the spiritual inheritance.  To keep this established and firm Keturah's sons, like Ishmael, were only given gifts from Abraham while he was still alive, and when he died they were to receive nothing else.  This custom was as if to say "here are my gifts for you; I give them to you now while I am alive, and it finishes my business with you."  

Thus it was clearly established that none of the sons of Keturah and Abraham were to inherit past their lifetime.  Isaac was the sole owner of the eternal blessings from Abraham's covenant with God.

As time allows we will talk more about this fascinating marriage of Abraham to Keturah.  It is often forgotten and laid aside because it is mentioned in the middle of the story of Isaac and Rebekah.  To know both love stories is important.  It helps us to understand the plan that God had for His people, from the very beginning of Abraham's story all the way through to the descendants of today, which are as many as the sand of the sea.