Abraham Dies
Theme: A Journey with Abraham
Theme Verse: "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Hebrews 11:8 NIV
Readings: Genesis 25:1-11
Memory Verse: All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. (Hebrews 11:13)
Look at the memory verse: "These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment of [God's] promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith, and all the while acknowledging and confessing that they were strangers and exiles upon the earth." (Hebrews 11:13, The Amplified Bible) We have seen that lived out in the life and death of Pope John Paul II. He was seen by more people than any other person -- ever. He lived what he believed. He was faithful in proclaiming the Christian message and he spoke the truth to the various cultures of our day.
Now look at Abraham. He was content to be a stranger and temporary resident a good part of his life because that was what God had called him to. He trusted God's promise of the land even though he never saw it fulfilled. The only land he owned at his death was Sarah's grave site. A word received: Look at the fullness of a life lived in Me, in My purposes. Blessings are going to Isaac and through him all nations will be blessed. Blessing is what I do. Blessing is a quality of life that is independent of age and status. Blessing is My presence, My active hand on a person's life. I Am. I Am blessing people even now today. After Abraham's death (Genesis 25:11) God blessed his son Isaac. We see in Genesis 26:1-5 how God renews his covenant with Isaac and Isaac obeys. God was continuing to establish this special family to create a special people to be his "special possession" and to be a "light to the nations." God later, in Exodus 3, tells Moses that "I Am the God…of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were far from perfect but they valued and held to God's covenant promise.
Look how Abraham protects the covenant promise through Isaac. Abraham was generous and a man of peace. He gave generous gifts to the sons of his concubines (Hagar and Keturah) and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac to the east, just as he had sent away Ishmael. Here Abraham is a model for us. Do we recognize and value God's promises? Do we act like Abraham and separate ourselves from things that would come between us and God's plan for us? He guards everything he knows to keep that promise alive and prevent quarrels and trouble. Separating Isaac from his half-brothers was a continuation of the call to Abraham to leave his relatives behind. Isaac and Jacob also had to live as strangers and exiles on this earth.
[This area is not that big.] Abraham clearly had some contact with Ishmael and gave him gifts too so he would have heard of Abraham's death right away. (In hot countries people are buried within twenty-four hours unless they were embalmed like Egyptians.) Whatever the issues between Isaac and Ishmael, they joined together to bury their father. Note: Ishmael had twelve sons and settled near Egypt (Genesis 25:13,18) The Amplified Bible notes that Isaac would have been seventy-five and Ishmael near ninety. Jacob and Esau were fifteen and may have been present. Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were later buried there.
God keeps his promises for Abraham to be "father of many nations" and to die at a "ripe old age". Now look at Genesis 25:7-8. God had kept his promise to Abraham long before (see Genesis 15:15, "You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.") There is a sense of God's blessing and gentleness at the natural end of his life. He lived a full, rich life -- not cut short by disease or violence. The way we die can be as much of a blessing as the way we are born. No one knows the length of his/her life. Now is all the time any of us have. The past is gone and tomorrow is not here yet. We all know young people can die in accidents, war, sickness, or tragedy. Think of the Christian girl (Cassie Bernall) who died at Columbine High School influenced others with her short life. The question is, How are we living now -- today before God and the world? Are we living out God's purposes for our lives? Or will we end our lives with regrets, having postponed responding to God in the present?
Paul started out as a well-intentioned murderer but after Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, he gave his life to Jesus, was forgiven, and became a great apostle to the Gentiles. He could say before he was martyred (tradition says he was beheaded in Rome)," I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord...will give me on that day…" (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." (saints are not just a few people but those who have given their lives to God -- Paul often addresses his letters "To the saints at ____") God cares passionately about his people -- whether they die at a "ripe old age", are martyred, or die of other causes. Death is NOT the worst thing that can happen to us -- separation from God is! Abraham "died in faith".
Being re-united with loved ones Notice the phrase in Genesis 25:8, "and he was gathered to his people". This indicates some kind of belief in life after death though not as developed as it became later. David talked about, "I shall go to him" of his infant son who had died. If you have read anything about archaeology you know that grave sites of pagans all over the world show evidence of this general belief. However the Saducees in Jesus day did not believe in life after death.
Prayer: LORD, help me to live by faith in your promises. Help me to make the choices that fulfill your purposes for my life.
Note: Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi after Abraham's death. (They seem to have gone back and forth to Hebron.) That is the place mentioned in Genesis 16:7&14, a spring or well beside the road to Shur between Kadish and Berea where Hagar was found by God's angel after she ran away from Sarah when she was pregnant with Ishmael. Hagar gave the well this name and said, "I have seen the One who sees me." The name means "well of the Living One who sees me".
We all are living our lives in the sight of "the Living One who sees me". How are we living our lives right now? Are we living in a relationship of trust and obedience like Abraham? If we are, God will bless us. He wants to have an active hand in each of our lives.
Each of us, young, old, and middle-aged can serve God and walk with him and be a part of his plan. Look at Abraham and Moses whom God called late in life. Look at Samuel and David whom God called when they were quite young.
Our generation has made death a taboo subject and hidden it away. Earlier generations experienced it as a natural part of life and something to think about sometimes. The Lord doesn't want us to be afraid of death but to know that when we walk with him, he will be there with us and receive us into his heavenly kingdom to be with him forever. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you," and "Today you will be with me in paradise."
Teaching Ideas for Lesson 27
Please read the Study Guide first.
Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.
Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.
Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
1. God wants to bless us with his presence. Ask him to guide your life.
2. God keeps his promises. He is always faithful. He wants us to trust him.
3. We can only live in the present. (We can only remember yesterday and think about tomorrow.) Choose to trust and follow Jesus each day.
4. For those who choose to trust and obey Jesus, death doesn't need to frighten us. We will be with him forever.
5. We are never alone. Our Father in heaven always watches over us.
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