Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Sarah was a GOOD wife. She was faithful. She treated Abraham with respect. She went along with his decisions – even when they were foolish. She listened to him, stuck by him, and was willing to mesh their lives and worship the same God. This whole journey wasn’t easy. They had some rough patches. Twice it looked like it was going to be over. But they persevered and they made it. Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years when she died. And Abraham? He wept for her, mourned her, and was determined to show her proper respect.

Abraham went to the Hittites, who were the people in that region, and respectfully asked them for permission to purchase a piece of land to bury his dead in. He’d been married to Sarah for at least a hundred years and been in the land for about fifty at this point, but they’d never owned land. He went through all the polite and above-the-board procedures and bought a plot of land for 400 silver shekels. Shekles weighed as much as 17 g, so four hundred of them gives a rough weight of 6,800 g. At today’s prices that’s $204,469. A lot of money, but Abraham was blessed. He got the field of Ephron, the cave within it, and all the trees that were within the deeded borders.

And that was Sarah’s final resting place: Machpelah before Mamre (Hebron) in Canaan. Maybe it was the loss of Sarah or just that Abraham was 136 years old, but he started thinking about getting Isaac a wife. Not from around the local population, but from his hometown. Maybe he didn’t like the morals of the locals (almost all were idol worshipers). Maybe he wanted his son to have as good of a wife as he had had in Sarah. She’d been a good partner and they had been very in love. Abraham began to think of a bride from among his relatives WHICH he was just told about in the last chapter. Almost like it was planned.

Abraham turned to his oldest and most trusted servant – who is unnamed here, but many (including me) think he was the Eliezer of Damascus from Genesis 15:2 – to carry out the mission. He was tasked with three things. One, he was NEVER to take his son back to where Abraham was from. Isaac was always to remain in the land God said would be theirs. Two, he was NOT to pick a wife from among the locals (the Canaanites). He was to go to Abraham’s country, to his family. Three, he was to rely on God. Abraham said an angel of the Lord would go before him and prepare the way. In the morning, the servant departed with ten camels laden with gifts (and probably guards).

When he got to Abraham’s country, he stopped at a well. No idea where to start. So he prayed to the God of his master (Genesis 24:12) and laid out two requirements. That a girl would come to the well and she would be willing to give both him and the camels a drink. That’s nothing small. The average camel can drink 200 L of water at a go. The average bucket at a well holds no more than 6 L (this is a VERY rough estimate, of course, but in line with artifacts from the period). That’s about thirty-three trips per camel. And they had ten (10) camels. That is a LOT of trips.

Before he finished speaking, a girl named Rebekah arrived. She was good looking, too. He asked for a drink and she said yes. Then, on her own, she volunteered to water his camels until they were satisfied – and she did. The servant rejoiced and knew he had the right girl. Whether because of that or her hard work, or both, he gave her a nose ring and two bracelets all of gold. The gold he gave Rebekah weighed about 130g total. In today’s money that’s about $11,035.70 ($84.89/g). Not a bad payment for a morning’s work.

Once he found out who she was he asked to stay at her house. She went ahead and told them to get ready. Her brother saw the gifts and could not get the servant into his household fast enough. Who was she? Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, son of Milkah, wife of Nahor – Abraham’s relatives. The angel had definitely gone ahead of the servant. He was thrilled, told his tale and spoke of Abraham’s riches, and asked for the girl’s hand. The family and the girl agreed. Especially her brother Laban, who really liked the gifts. The servant wanted to head back right away, and although the family was resistant, the girl readily agreed. The servant worshipped the Lord for putting it all together and they showered Rebekah and the family with gifts. In the morning, they went back.

“And the field and the cave which was in it passed to Abraham as a burial site from the Hittites” (Genesis 23:20, LEB)

When they got home, who was there wandering in the fields but Isaac. Rebekah saw him and “she got down from the camel” (Genesis 24:64). Some translations say ‘rapidly’. But in Hebrew, the words are closer to ‘she fell backward’. She fell off the camel because Isaac wow’d her so much. Love at first sight for her, maybe? Well, she veiled herself and met him. He approved, he took her into his mother’s tent, and made her his bride. Interestingly, it is AFTER this, that he loved her. Last thing said is that she became the comfort he needed to forget his grief at the loss of his mother (another testament to the goodness of Sarah. She was a GOOD Mama).

After Isaac was married (as has become tradition among the Jews), Abraham took another wife – it is taught that only when the children are married should the parent remarry themselves. Abraham’s wife was named Keturah (which means sweet). She identified in Chronicles as being his concubine. No one knows exactly who she is. BUT there is a tradition that she is in fact, Hagar. The support for this is Hagar turning back to worship of Yahweh made her sweet in his sight (her name). Also, she had remained unmarried and unsullied, saving herself for Abraham – which was VERY sweet, especially since she’d have no idea if they’d ever be together. Hagar had been Sarah’s maidservant and therefore not a full wife to Abraham, but a concubine. And finally, this Keturah had children with Abraham (six sons) who Abraham sent away East before he died. This would put them in the same general region Ishmael lived in and the angel prophesied that Ishmael would dwell “in the presence of all his brothers” (Genesis 16:12). This COULD be fulfillment of that (the word can also mean brethren-type brothers who are not related by blood). Since she isn’t specifically said to be the same woman – name changes were common – she might be different and it isn’t a central point. I like the idea she’s Hagar (sucker for a love story).

Abraham had been fertile when he was eighty-six. By the time he was a hundred he was not (Genesis 18:10-12). God renewed both Abraham (at 100) and Sarah (at 90). Abraham was COMPLETELY renewed to the point of having children at a hundred and forty (140) with Keturah. In the end, Abraham died when he was a hundred and seventy-five. Isaac and Ishmael (who was obviously in contact with the family – also pointing to Hagar and Keturah being the same woman) buried Abraham next to Sarah in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron. After Abraham died, the Blessing of Yahweh fell on Isaac.

Isaac had been forty years old when he married Rebekah. She was barren (the second generation to be barren). Isaac prayed about it – pleaded is the word used – and she got pregnant. Twenty years passed between the two things. A long time to wait, but I’m sure they had lessons from Abraham about remaining faithful in waiting. Once the pregnancy really got going, it seemed as if she had twins and they were struggling inside her fiercely. So Rebekah asked God about it and He answered her directly – this shows she had a relationship with God. She hadn’t kept to her family’s worship habits.

God told her two children were two nations and two peoples and one was stronger than the other – in fact the older would be servant to the younger. When she gave birth, the first was a very hairy redhead they named Esau (it means hairy). Clutching his heel was Jacob (it means heel-grabber, but also can mean ‘who hides his own intentions’ or ‘who manipulates the feelings of others’). Now, not everything in the scripture is chronological. In fact, Abraham was 160 when the twins were born. He lived 38 years after Sarah died, so he lived until the boys were about 18. Shem, Noah’s son, was also still alive and lived 35 more years (finally dying at 600 years old). When the boys were born, Isaac was 60 years old.

The first real incident we get with these two was over a birthright and a belly. Esau grew to be an outdoors type. A great hunter – some legends say he rivalled Nimrod. Isaac was more of a scholar and spent more time in the tents. Isaac preferred Esau. Rebekah preferred Jacob.

This is the incident. Esau had been out for a long time (unspecified) and was really hungry. Jacob had cooked lentil stew. Esau came in saying he was famished and asked for stew. Jacob agreed – IF Esau would sell him his birthright. In ancient times, birthright meant to inherit your father’s possessions and authority. All the sons received some of their father’s property, but the firstborn received a double portion and became the leader of the family. This was a big deal – especially considering how wealthy they were. But Esau said he was starving and if he died of hunger what good would a birthright be? He agreed, ate his fill, and walked off whistling. He had despised, rejected, and thrown away his birthright.

Now in the book of Malachi, Yahweh was prophesying against Esau’s descendants the Edomites. ““I have loved you,” says Yahweh, but you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares Yahweh. “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have made his mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.”” (Malachi 1:2-3). Why would God not approve of Esau (the ‘hate’ here is more turned against or hostile to)? Because Esau cared more for food than for his mandated, God-given position. He cared more for the flesh than for the responsibilities of the family covenant with God – to bless even as they were blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). This heart attitude lasts throughout Esau’s life. He always had the potential to repent and alter his life, but never seems to do it. No matter what the actions of others would be (bad or good), this is a sad foreshadowing of how Esau would choose to live.

Summary

Key Players: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, the servant, Jacob, Esau

Key Themes: Wives, Deaths, Inheritance, Reliance on God

Key Verse(s): Genesis 23:17-20; 24:7-9, 12-14, 18-19, 50-51, 57-58, 65-67; 25:7-11, 23, 29-34