Gen. 25:1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Gen. 25:2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Gen. 25:3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
Gen. 25:4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
Abraham took another wife, Keturah. They had more children who began tribes or groups of their own that could claim to be descendants of Abraham. You can’t help but wonder how many of Israel’s enemies today descended from these sons.
Gen. 25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
Gen. 25:6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. Before he died, however, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away to the land of the east—away from Isaac. The terminology used here is a bit confusing. The word “concubines” is plural. The only woman I would have identified as a concubine at this point was Hagar. Keturah is called a wife in verse one, but the Hebrew does allow for “woman, female and adulteress.” She is called a concubine in 1Chronicles.
1 Chronicles 1:32 “Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine….”
Later on the handmaids of Leah and Rachel are called Jacob’s wives.
Genesis 37:2 “These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives.”
The word for “wives” is the same Hebrew word used in verse one of this chapter regarding Keturah. The offspring resulting from all of Jacob’s liaison’s were accepted by God, but Abraham’s weren’t.
Stedman: “Isaac is throughout a picture of Christ. We read that Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, just as the Father gives all that he has to the Son. This is a portrait of a life that is so Christ-centered that it exercise care to protect the inheritance and to keep away the things that might harm it.”
Gen. 25:7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.
Gen. 25:8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
Gen. 25:9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
Gen. 25:10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
Abraham lived for 175 years. Isaac (74) and Ishmael (87) buried him in the cave of Machpelah with Sarah. Evidently the two half brothers were still in touch with one another, and Ishmael apparently held no grudge against his father for sending him and his mom away.
Stedman: “So Abraham was gathered to his people. This phrase indicates that by no means did his life end 4,000 years ago: In Matthew, when the Sadducees -- who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead -- asked Jesus a question, he answered them: "Have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is not God of the dead, but of the living." (Matthew 22:31b-32 RSV).”
Gen. 25:11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.
After Abraham’s death, God blessed Isaac—just as He had promised. Isaac was still living in the desert area where he began his life with Rebekah by the well of Lahairoi.
Gen. 25:12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
Gen. 25:13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
Gen. 25:14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
Gen. 25:15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:
Gen. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
Gen. 25:17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.
Gen. 25:18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
Next we are given a listing of the sons of Ishmael, father of the Arab nations. He had twelve sons who became tribal rulers (as the Lord had promised 17:20). Ishmael lived to the age of 137. His descendants lived in an area that stretched from Egypt to Arabia and to the northeast Sinai, south of the Mediterranean coast. Note that this is a record of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.
Genesis 17:20 “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.”
Gen. 25:19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:
Gen. 25:20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
Gen. 25:21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Gen. 25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Gen. 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Gen. 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Gen. 25:25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
Gen. 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
Next, we go to the descendants of Isaac. In the eyes of the world it would seem as though Ishmael was the son of greater blessing by the number of his children. God’s promise to make Abraham a great nation through Isaac would be a very deliberate process through which only God could get the glory.
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. (He was 37 when his mother died; 3 years he had mourned his mother before having Rebekah to comfort him. He must have been very close to his mom.) Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah because she was barren. God answered by allowing Rebekah to become pregnant.
Henry: “The fulfillment of God's promise is always sure, yet it is often slow. The faith of believers is tried, their patience exercised, and mercies long waited for are more welcome when they come.”
As time went on, Rebekah must have realized there was more than one baby in her, so she went to the Lord to ask what was happening—not why it was happening. It’s interesting to me that she “went to enquire of the Lord” and He answered her. It sounds like they were talking personally. Where did she go? How did they communicate? Just curious; just jealous again of the ability to get solid answers.
The Lord told her that two nations were in her womb. Two peoples would come from within her separately. One of the nations would be stronger than the other nation, and the older brother and his descendants would serve the younger.
The first son to be born was red (compared to a hairy garment), and they named him Esau. The second son was born holding on to his brother’s heel and was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when his sons were born—20 years after he and Rebekah were married.
Gen. 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
Gen. 25:28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Gen. 25:29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Gen. 25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
Gen. 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Gen. 25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen. 25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Gen. 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter. Jacob was a quiet man who liked to stay around the house. Isaac’s favorite was Esau, and Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob. One day Jacob was cooking some stew, and Esau came in starved after a day of hunting. He told Jacob to give him some stew since he felt so weak. Jacob wouldn’t serve him until Esau promised to give Jacob his birthright. (It makes you wonder if Rebekah had told Jacob about God’s words to her, and he was trying to work things out for himself instead of trusting God to do it. He knew that his father favored Esau.) Esau thought he was dying and said so; what good would the birthright be to him if he died. Jacob was insistent; he made Esau swear an oath to him giving up his birthright. Foolish Esau did just that. So Jacob served him the bread and stew; Esau ate and drank, and then left.
“Esau despised his birthright” – This just means that he didn’t appreciate what the birthright represented. He was a man of the moment and wasn’t really thinking about the future. The birthright represented a place of privilege in the family. It carried with it a double portion of the inheritance from the father and the position of authority in the family. Esau gave up his place of privilege and blessing in the family, but he did not lose his position as a son in the family.
Constable: “This section is a warning that profane (secular) people who live to satisfy their fleshly appetites will lose more valuable things of lasting spiritual worth. Christians who live for the present will not lose their salvation, but they will lose some of their eternal reward (1Corinthians 3:10-15).”
Gen. 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
Gen. 26:2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
Gen. 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Gen. 26:4 And 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;
Gen. 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
This chapter begins by telling us of another time of famine. This is the first time we are told that the LORD appeared to Isaac and, and He tells him to stay where he is—he is not to go to Egypt. Isaac was still in the area ruled by Abimelech, king of the Philistines. Abimelech was the title used in reference to the Philistine kings, just as Pharaoh was used for the Egyptian kings; it means father of a king.
Isaac wasn’t married until he was 40, had children at 60, and now they are young men at the least. We are told that “Isaac went to Abimelech.” It would seem from the verses to follow that Abimelech suggested that he go to Egypt to ride out the famine.
The LORD is still speaking to Isaac. He tells Isaac to stay where he is and He would bless him. He promises to give all these lands to Isaac and his descendants. The LORD again confirms the promise He made to Abraham. He promises to make Isaac’s descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and to bless ALL nations on earth through him. The LORD reiterates that all this would happen because Abraham had kept His “charge, commandments, statutes and laws.” Now, I really don’t see a lot of difference in those last four words. I guess I think of a charge as something that has been decreed to bring about a successful result/response—like an ingredient in a recipe. A command tells me that it is coming from someone in authority, but it still requires a choice of response. A statute would be a statement of law, and a law would be a directive or instruction. Again, they would be issued from someone in authority to bring about intended results. If obeyed, the intended result was certain. Suffice it to say I think they represent shades of meaning of the same main idea. The most important point is that God is pleased with obedienceto Him in every way. The resulting blessing to Isaac and his descendants was a direct result of Abraham’s obedience.
Constable: "Isaac became the spiritual beneficiary of a godly parent, but he had the opportunity to increase God"s blessing on him through his own obedience to God.”
Wayne Walter makes further clarification in his article on 6th Sedrah at www.lampresource.com. He translates charge as “safeguards,” which is from the Hebrew.
“Safeguards protect us from involvement with temptations. Commandments are laws that man’s moral sense would have dictated. Decrees [statutes] are laws that reason cannot expound as they are royal decrees that God enacts on His subjects. Torah [my laws] or teachings in righteousness are God’s instructions to the man who will hear.” [brackets=my clarification]
Gen. 26:6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Gen. 26:7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
Gen. 26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
Gen. 26:9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Gen. 26:10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Gen. 26:11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Isaac stayed in Gerar, which is a little northeast of Beersheba. He told the men of Gerar that Rebekah was his sister. He was afraid that they would kill him to get her (Rebekah was “fair to look upon.”) if they know he was her husband. (Like father, like son.) Isaac had been in Gerar quite a long time when Abimelech looked out a window one day and saw Isaac “sporting” (caressing, entertaining) Rebekah. The king summoned Isaac and confronted him. He told Isaac that he knew Rebekah was his wife and wanted to know why he had lied. So Isaac told him. He let Isaac know that he could have “brought guilt” upon his people. Abimelech issued an order that anyone who molested this man or his wife would be put to death. (Sounds like they were dealing with some of the same sins as Sodom by having to warn them not to molest Isaac, but evidently not to the same extent.)
Gen. 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
Gen. 26:13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
Gen. 26:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
Isaac planted, the LORD blessed, and he reaped a “hundredfold” in one year! He became so wealthy and had so many possessions that the Philistines were jealous.
Henry: “The Philistines envied Isaac. It is an instance of the vanity of the world; for the more men have of it, the more they are envied, and exposed to censure and injury.”
Gen. 26:15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
Gen. 26:16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
Gen. 26:17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
Gen. 26:18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
Gen. 26:19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
Gen. 26:20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
Gen. 26:21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
Gen. 26:22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
The Philistines decided to run him off by filling up with earth all the wells that Abraham had dug. The king finally came and told him to leave because he had become too powerful for them to be comfortable with him in their land. Isaac moved, but not too far away. He reopened the wells that Abraham had dug in the Valley of Gerar and called them by the same names his father had. Isaac’s servants dug and discovered a well of fresh running water, but the herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen and claimed it was theirs (Esek). They dug another well, but the men from Gerar claimed it also (Sitnah). He moved from there and dug another well, which no one else claimed (Rehoboth). So he took this as a sign from the LORD that here they would have room to grow.
It’s interesting that even though they thought Isaac was too powerful; they didn’t hesitate to provoke him. It doesn’t appear that Isaac ever responded to their provocation with anything but peaceful actions. He just kept moving on until he felt he had a sign from God that he was in the right place.
Gen. 26:23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.
Gen. 26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
Isaac finally went back to Beersheba. On his first night in Beersheba the LORD appeared to Isaac again. He is still really an alien in this land. God again confirmed His promise to Abraham. He reminds Isaac that He is the God of his father Abraham. He told Isaac not to be afraid, “for I amwith thee” (present tense continually), and “will bless thee” (not maybe), and will “multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.” Abraham’s obedience is still being rewarded, and his son is the beneficiary. Our obedience or lack thereof impacts those we love. Isaac’s life before the LORD was very much a mirror reflection of those of his father Abraham. He had always seen his father obey God, and I don’t think he ever considered doing less than that himself. Although each person is responsible to the LORD individually, a child who has the proper teaching and parental examples is highly more likely to be successful in the area of obedience to God. One reason Abraham was so successful with obedience was that he was a servant of the LORD. That means that he considered the pleasure of his LORD a higher priority than his own desires.
Personally, I think that Abraham’s obedience in being willing to sacrifice Isaac made a huge impact on him.
Gen. 26:25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
Isaac built an altar there and prayed. That was where he decided to settle and his servants dug a well.
Gen. 26:26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
Gen. 26:27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
Gen. 26:28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
Gen. 26:29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.
Abimelech showed up with his advisor, Ahuzzath, and his commander, Phicol. They wanted to make a treaty of peace with Isaac. They reminded Isaac that they had always treated him well and had sent him away in peace. They recognized that Isaac was blessed of the LORD.
I liked this quote from the Believer’s Bible Commentary attributed to Williams: “ It is when Isaac definitely separates from the men of Gerar that they come to him seeking blessing from God….The Christian best helps the world when living in separation from it….”
Gen. 26:30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
Gen. 26:31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
Gen. 26:32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
Gen. 26:33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
So Isaac made them a feast. The next morning they swore an oath of peace with each other, and Isaac sent them on their way. That day Isaac’s servants came to tell him that they had found water in the well. We are told that Isaac named the well Shebah and that the city of Beersheba derived its name from that well. (The writer is telling the history of the Jewish people. He has already made reference to Beersheba previously, but decides to give us this extra tidbit of information.)
Gen. 26:34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
Gen. 26:35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
When Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women, Judith and Bashemath, a choice that grieved his parents.