Seder 23: Luke 12:22-34---Trusting God in the Midst of Uncertainty

 After Sarah's death, Abraham remarried and had several children with Keturah  Keturah was a concubine, a wife of lower status than Sarah, and Abraham gave gifts to her children but left the bulk of his estate to Isaac (Gen 25:1-6).  

Abraham was to be a father of many nations, and the nations that sprang from these children were among them.  Specifically, these were peoples in Arabia who were prominent in the spice trade, for example.  Isaiah 60:1-7 pictures these nations joining with Israel in the messianic era.  

King David, after he began to reign from Jerusalem, added more wives and children to his family, including four sons with Bathsheba (2 Sam 5:13-16).  2 Samuel 5:13-6:1 is a haftarah reading connected with Genesis 25:1-19 in an ancient Jewish lectionary.  

While Abraham and David could add to their families, there were lots of things that were beyond their control.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on April 20, 2024, Kyle Kettering observed that the very reason we should not worry about the future is that the future is uncertain.  We can't control it.  We should plan for the future, but not count on those plans, as James 4:13-15 counsels.  We should place our lives in God's hands, as the psalmist did in Psalm 71:1-3.  God will take care of us, as Jesus taught in Luke 12:22-34.  

Seder 23: Gen 25:1-19---Abraham's Increase

 After Sarah's death, Abraham lived for another 38 years.  Through an additional wife, Keturah, he fathered six more sons.  Genesis 25 records more information about how Abraham became a father of many nations (Gen 17:4-6).  

The name Keturah is related to Hebrew words for "smoke" and "incense".  Historically her children are associated with the spice trade (Isa 60:6, e.g.).  

Gen 25 also shows how God's promises to Ishmael were carried out.  Ishmael was the father of 12 princes, as promised in Gen 17:20---see Gen 25:12-18.  They were known to be nomadic herders and merchants--see for example the biblical references to the tents and flocks of Kedar (Ps 120:5; Song 1:5; Isa 60:7; Ezek 27:21).  They seem to have had lots of interaction with the tribes that came from the sons of Keturah (e.g., Gen 37:25-28, 36).

Abraham continued to follow a policy of promoting peace by spreading his extended family out over a wide region.  Isaac and Ishmael came together to bury Abraham (Gen 25:9).  Later the Midianites from Jethro's family were friends of Israel.  On the other hand, other Midianites would later oppose Israel (Num 25; Judges 6).  

Only one of family lines descending from Abraham would lead to the Messiah---the line through Isaac---but God's plan is to bless all nations, and he has all of them in mind.  

Although the Bible tells us little about Keturah, she was important to Abraham.  In his sermon at Church of the Messiah on Aug 22, Kyle Kettering set aside time for men in the congregation to praise their wives. 

Seder 23: Psalm 71---Praying with Confidence

 In Psalm 71 the psalmist is undergoing a severe trial and prays for rescue.  He does so with confidence, based on a lifetime of walking with God.

"For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.  Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb" (vv 5-6).  

Indeed, he would not be alive if God had not brought him safely into the world. 

Over the years God had been there for him again and again, in more ways than he could count:

"But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.  My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge" (vv 14-15).  

He hoped for the opportunity to continue proclaiming God's goodness for some time to come (vv 17-24).

It is also worthwhile to see this Psalm in corporate terms, with a faithful congregation praying together and rehearsing God's great works through history.  God had 

• called the patriarchs and matriarchs;
• protected their extended family in Egypt;
• rescued them from slavery with great miracles;
• brought them back to the land of Canaan;
• brought the nation to prominence during the time of David and Solomon;
• stayed with them during a time of exile;
• and helped his people in countless ways, ultimately sending the Messiah.

We can connect with this Psalm both individually and corporately, rehearsing the uncountable examples of God's grace.