Lessons from an Obituary

There’s this thing I find myself doing more often than I ever assumed I would. I read and write and number of obituaries. I’ve officiated my fair share of funerals, and as such, I’ve read several hundred obituaries. What’s more—and this might just be age-related—I read obituaries online quite a bit.

It’s mostly to see if the deceased is anyone I know or if they’re related to anyone I know. But every now and again, there are some obituaries that stand out as extremely well-written and even humorous.

For instance:

“Robert Clyde Drew, beloved husband, father, and Papa, drew his last breath January 25, 2018, mainly, we suspect, to keep from having to watch the Patriots and Eagles in the Superbowl.”

“Chris Connors died, at age 67, after trying to box his hospice nurse just moments earlier. His life was full of adventure: at the age of 26 he planned to circumnavigate the world - instead, he ended up spending 40 hours on a life raft off the coast of Panama. In 1974, he founded the Quincy Rugby Club. In his thirties, he sustained a knife wound after saving a woman from being mugged in New York City. He didn't slow down: at age 64, he climbed to the base camp of Mount Everest. Chris enjoyed a well-made fire, and mashed potatoes with lots of butter. His regrets were few, but include eating a rotisserie hot dog from an unmemorable convenience store in the summer of 1986.”

“Harry took fashion cues from no one. His signature every day look was all his: a plain pocketed T-shirt designed by the fashion house Fruit of the Loom, his black-label elastic waist shorts worn above the navel and sold exclusively at the Sam's on Highway 49, and a pair of old school Wallabees (who can even remember where he got those?) that were always paired with a grass-stained MSU baseball cap.”

There’s a lot that can be learned about a person by reading their obituary, this is true.

What we have here in Genesis 25 is a pair of obituaries. It’s really nothing more than that. But as with each death notice in the OT, Genesis 25 is teaching some deep theological truth.

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Genesis 25. If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word.

Genesis 25:1–18 NIV

1 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. 7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 12 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Again, believe it or not, here in Genesis 25 is some deep theological teaching, primarily that

God is Faithful

This is the theme of Abraham’s life, the theme of the book of Genesis, the theme of the Old Testament. It’s the theme of the entire Bible, really.

God is faithful; faithful to Himself, faithful to His word, faithful to His purposes, faithful to His people (faithless though they may be).

We see this on nearly every page of the Bible—the faithfulness of God. I feel, in a way, like a broken record saying again—“God is faithful”—but I’m okay with that. If all we get from a Biblical account is a deeper impression of God’s faithfulness, we’ve done well.

This—Genesis 25, Abraham’s and Ishmael’s obituary—is teaching us about the faithfulness of God. These obituaries point us to His faithfulness at several points.

In verses 7-8, we read how old Abraham was when he died. 175-years-old. He died at a good old age, an old man and full of years.

This is a fulfillment of the LORD’s promise to Abraham in chapter 15 where He said (Gen 15:15) “You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.”

That’s the faithfulness of God to Abraham, the faithfulness of God to His Word. This is God being faithful.

Or notice the burial recorded for us in verses 9-10. Abraham’s two boys come together and bury him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.

This reminds us (or should) of what the LORD did for Abraham in providing a place for him in Canaan, giving Abraham an actual piece of the land that had been promised to him. That place was the beginning of the LORD’s fulfillment of His promise.

This is the faithfulness of God.

When we read, at the end of verse 11, the mention of Beer Lahai Roi, where Isaac is living, we need to think back to where we’ve read that location before.

One, this is where Isaac met his bride, Rebekah (24:62), but it’s also where God showed His care and kindness to Hagar (Gen 16). The reason this place carries this name is because it was there Hagar said of the LORD: You are the God who sees me.

Beer Lahai Roi means “well of the Living One who sees me.”

These verses hit one note again and again, over and over: faithful, faithful, faithful.

What’s more, all the information about Ishmael, the son of Abraham borne to Hagar—whose obituary and family tree is recorded for us in verses 12-18 —everything written about him trumpets the faithfulness of God.

God told Hagar that He would increase her descendants so much that they would be too numerous to count (Gen 16:10-12).

God told Abraham this about Ishmael:

Genesis 17:20 NIV

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.

And, so it is. Count ‘em:

Genesis 25:13–16 NIV

13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps.

God’s faithfulness displayed here, over and over and over. You could just read this and dismiss it, turn the page, and move on to something more interesting.

Or, you can sit down with this and think about how faithful God is. How faithful God has been. How faithful God is to us!

Sometimes, we need to stop and think. We need to open our eyes, to peel away the scales, the doubt, the pessimism that so often colors our view. Open your eyes and see the faithfulness of God.

We need to think about just how faithful God is.

God is faithful and

God’s Plan Cannot Be Frustrated

In verse 11, we read these words: After Abraham’s death.

You might not think that’s much, but it’s a really significant phrase. This kind of expression isn’t used again in Genesis. Nothing like it is recorded in Exodus. Or Leviticus. Or Numbers or Deuteronomy.

A phrase like this—after Abraham’s death—isn’t used again until Joshua:

Joshua 1:1 NIV

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:

Judges 1:1 NIV

1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”

2 Samuel 1:1 NIV

1 After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.

Each time a phrase like this is used, to mark the death of Abraham or Moses or Joshua or Saul, it indicates a historical turning point.

It marks the end of an era. We might even think upon reading this, “Well, great. What’s gonna happen now?”

Each of these “after the death of” moments carries with it some anxiety, some worry.

Abraham is dead, but this isn’t the end of the LORD’s plan.

Genesis 25:11 NIV

11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

God’s blessing is with Isaac.

We have to admit, Isaac’s no Abraham, but nothing ultimately depended upon Abraham in the first place.

The death of Abraham isn’t the linchpin in God’s plan. The death of Abraham doesn’t leave God all fretting and concerned, asking, “What now?!?!”

No. God’s servants die, and God’s plan continues. The death of God’s servant doesn’t signal the end of God’s cause.

“Whether it’s Abraham or Moses or whoever who goes, it never throws a kink into His purposes. God doesn’t need first-stringers; He’s not dependent upon the varsity squad. If He doesn’t have an Abraham, He can make do with Isaac.” -Dale Ralph Davis

And He does make due. His plan and purpose is not dependent on Abraham, nor is it dependent upon us.

This is exceptionally good news, especially when we realize that nothing—nothing—can or ever will thwart His plan or purpose.

We get to join Him in what He’s doing, and we realize it’s not going to fall apart with us or without us.

Isn’t it wonderful to realize you don’t have a god who depends on you?

You don’t have to prop up God and His cause, simply because He is perfectly capable of handling it Himself.

He’s the One who holds you up and carries you!

Even after Abraham’s death, God’s plan is not frustrated. God will fulfill all the promises He made to Abraham, namely through one of Abraham’s descendants:

Matthew 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:”

The blessing given to Abraham comes to us through Christ Jesus.

Nothing, not even Abraham’s death, could frustrate God’s plan; nothing ever will.

God is faithful. God’s plan cannot be frustrated. And this teaches us:

God’s People Have an Indestructible Hope

There’s a beautiful phrase used twice in Genesis 25, once in verse 8 and again in verse 17: Gathered to his people.

This is a beautiful phrase, one worthy of our consideration.

It’s used later of Isaac and Jacob, Aaron and Moses.

It’s not synonymous with death. It’s not the same as burial in an ancestral grave, because neither Abraham nor Aaron nor Moses was buried with their ancestors/forefathers.

It’s not the same thing as burial. Verse 9 seems to indicate that burial is separate from this—gathered to his people.

What does “gathered to his people” imply? Well, if Abraham is gathered to his people, it implies that his people still exist in some way even though they are dead.

We have to be careful with a phrase like this not to imagine something like we hear at some funerals: “He’s glad to be with all his friends and drinking buddies again.”

What this phrase—gathered to his people—assumes is this: death doesn’t mean annihilation; when you die, you do not cease to exist.

Here, early on in the history of God’s people is a mention of ongoing existence in the face of death.

After death, you are not only gathered to your people, but also met by your God.

This is a mere hint of hope. It’s nothing like the resurrection hope we read of in 1 Corinthians 15 or 1 Thessalonians 4.

This isn’t anything at all like the spectacular assurance that Jesus’ resurrection guarantees the resurrection of the His people.

But it is a hint. It’s the mention of the great truth: death is not the end! There is life after death. And for those who have placed their faith in God, there is life after life, life everlasting!

Our indestructible hope is tied, not to our name or our doing, not to our religiosity or goodness; our indestructible hope is Jesus Himself, the One born to the line of Abraham, the One through whom all God’s blessings to Abraham come true!

>This is the end of our time in Genesis for now. From January 1 to May 7, we studied Genesis 12-25: the life of Abraham—a compelling and foundational figure in the narrative of the Bible.

“Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them, and so are you,” that is, if you have placed your faith in Abraham’s God, if you have believed in Jesus, Abraham’s descendent/offspring through whom we are blessed.

It’s not about Abraham. Never was. Never will be. It’s about Abraham’s faith and the object of Abraham’s faith.

Genesis 15:6 NIV

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Put your faith in Jesus. Believe in Him and your faith will be credited to you, counted to you as righteousness.

God is faithful to every word He has spoken.

Nothing, nothing, nothing can frustrate His plan.

Because these things are true, and because Jesus has done for us everything that needed doing, our hope is indestructible!