Genesis 25:9

And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, (Genesis 25:9 NKJV)

Isaac and Ishmael got together to bury their father. Although the previous verse says that he gave all to Isaac, Ishmael did the duty of the firstborn along with Isaac. Notice that Abraham's other children are not mentioned. They were sent away, as is Ishmael, but Ishmael came back. Could it be that his descendants will return? Pray for the Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael, that they might come back and join us like Ishmael joined Isaac. We also know that God is The Lord of the living and not the dead, since Abraham, who dies here is alive and comforting Lazarus in Luke 16.

Genesis 25:1-2

Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (Genesis 25:1, 2 NKJV)

Abraham was 137 years old when Sarah died. I don't know how long it was after that when He got married, but this is a list of six more children! He really became the "Father of Many" as his new name implies. Notice Midian in this list. That is where Moses ran to when he fled Egypt and Jethro, his Father in law, was a priest of Midian. I wonder if they served the same God since they too are children of Abraham. God's promises always come to pass. What has He promised you?

Genesis 24:58

Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” (Genesis 24:58 NKJV)

Women of that culture didn't usually have the luxury of making a decision like this. It would have been decided for her by her father, but her father let her make it. We have a similar decision. The Holy Spirit asks us to go with Him. The world wants us to stay, but the decision is put on us. Will you go?

Genesis 24:18-19

So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” (Genesis 24:18, 19 NKJV)

Not only was she beautiful, she was also a servant. We need to serve beyond asking. When was the last time you were served this way? When was the last time you served someone is way? When is the next time?

Genesis 22:18

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:18 NKJV)

God told Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. Can you think of a bigger fulfillment of this prophecy than Jesus? Jesus comes from the linage of Abraham, although Jesus was before Abraham. Abraham was the vessel through which, many generations later, Jesus came to save us from our sins. How cool is that?

Genesis 22:9

Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. (Genesis 22:9 NKJV)

Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. Now, Isaac was old enough to carry enough wood for a sacrifice. If he was 12, then Abraham was 112 when he bound Isaac. Isaac could have fought or run away from an old man, but maybe he didn't. Maybe he was silent, trusting his father. Like Jesus didn't fight back when He went to the cross. When Our Father sacrifices His Son. Have you thanked Him for that lately?

Genesis 22:2

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:2 NKJV)

The word love is first used in the Bible here. The word love for Hebrew is as broad as the word is in English. You could use the same Hebrew word for love to speak of you love for God and His love for you as you would about your love of steak, but probably not bacon cheeseburgers. But the context of the first usage in the Bible of the Word love speaks to Abraham about his only son. (Now we know that Abraham had another son, but Ishmael doesn't count. He is a work of the flesh, but Isaac is the son of promise.) when we use the word love for so many things, it's difficult to correctly convey the meaning you attach to it. How can you show your love in other ways?

Genesis 22:1

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” (Genesis 22:1 NKJV)

Notice that the Scripture says that God tested Abraham. He called Abraham and Abraham responded. Do you think He does that kind of thing today? Do you ever feel tested by The Lord? Read the rest of this chapter. What did God test in Abraham? Would you pass?

Genesis 20:9

And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” (Genesis 20:9 NKJV)

Was Abimelech following The Lord? Yes! But was He the chosen people? No. Is embarrassing when we compromise and get called out by people who don't even claim to be for The Lord. God can use anything to get our attention. How much better is a soft small voice than a rebuke from someone who isn't even Christian?

Genesis 19:14

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. (Genesis 19:14 NKJV)

Do you feel like this sometimes? You try and seriously let someone know that they are going to die for their sin and they don't take you seriously? The angels of God were giving a last chance for those wanting to be delivered and Lot was being faithful to call them out. Be faithful. Give last chances. Maybe they will react better than Lot's son-in-laws.

Genesis 19:1-2

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” (Genesis 19:1, 2 NKJV)

Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. That means he was a respected elder. When he saw the angels, he rushed to save them from the sin of that town. (A sin that he may have participated in, since the men of he city didn't ask for him, since he sat in its gate.) Lot already compromised, and he didn't want the angels to do the same. (He didn't know they were angels.) Have you ever compromised to be part of the world? Have you ever given in to peer pressure and did what you knew you shouldn't to get someone to accept you?

Genesis 18:32

Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” (Genesis 18:32 NKJV)

God told Abraham that He would spare the whole city of Sodom if there were 10 righteous there. The angels recused 4. (Lot's wife made it put of Sodom, but her disobedience cost her her life.) this says something about God's character. God is willing to spare e wicked from judgement on account of the righteous. If there were a few more righteous men in that city, the evil men would have been spared and probably wouldn't know it. I wonder if our world is like that today. God resists from destroying the whole world because His righteousness is still in it. In the same way that 10 righteousness men would have saved that city, one righteous Man saved me.

Genesis 18:17-20

And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, (Genesis 18:17-20 NKJV)

God determined whether or not to show Abraham His plans for Sodom and Gomorrah. The reason He even told Abraham that He was paying attention was a lesson. Read the verses again and pick put God's motive for discussing Sodom and Gomorrah with him. I was because he will become a great nation and that he may command his children. That story comes down to today, where we child of Abraham through faith read the story, believe the story, and live accordingly. Do you live like Abraham, conscience of the Lord's moving? Or do you live like Sodom and Gomorrah, unknowing of God's moving but living for pleasure?

Genesis 18:12

Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Genesis 18:12 NKJV)

What did Sarah do when The Lord said she was going to have a child? She laughed. She, being 89 and her husband 99, thought they were too old to have, or even to try having a child. She did not believe God. It seemed impossible. Has God told you something that seems impossible? How did you react? Even though Sarah laughed, and got reprimanded after lying to try and cover it up, she still did it in faith that God's word was true. Read Matthew 21:28-31.

Genesis 17:18

And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” (Genesis 17:18 NKJV)

For the first 17 verses in this chapter, God has changed Abraham's name and Sarah's name and recounted his promises to Abraham. God then tells Abraham that he is going to have a son. Abraham's response is strange. He offers up Ishmael to be the son that God promised. It's difficult, even for a man like Abraham, to believe that God is going to do exactly what God says He's going to do. We look at the circumstances and decide it cannot be done. So when we talk to God, we offer Him other solutions. What "other solutions" have you offered?

Genesis 16:11-12

And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” (Genesis 16:11, 12 NKJV)

The Angel of The Lord prophesied about Ishmael, and that prophecy is also true among his descendants. The Arabs are from Ishmael and they don't seem to get along (as a people group) with the people around them. They even fight each other. But they dwell and continue to dwell among the Jews. God made Hagar a promise and He kept it. What has God promised you?

Genesis 16:5-6

Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.” So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. (Genesis 16:5, 6 NKJV)

When Sarai's plan backfires, she blames Abram. When she blames Abram, Abram tries to not get involved. When your plans don't work, do you try and blame others? When others are having problems, do you try and stay out of it? Abram should have done something. He shouldn't have done something a couple of verses ago, but He should have done something this time.

Genesis 16:2

So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16:2 NKJV)

Was Sarai correct in thinking that God restrained her? Does that automatically mean that God wanted to use someone else? Abram, instead of going to God, just heeded his wife. We need to go to God with our questions and wait on His answers. What do you need to trust God with in your life?

Genesis 15:16

But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:16 NKJV)

The Amorites were a people who were not following The Lord. They were doing evil and The Lord had a judgement against them, but He was going to allow another 400 years of evil to happen before He did anything about it. When God is criticized, (the very idea makes me shutter inside) He is accused of not caring enough, and allowing evil in this world, or He is accused of killing "innocent" lives when He calls for the annihilation of a whole people group. In this passage, we see a plan in the mind of God. He knows what He's doing. After all, He's God, and we're not.