“Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre (Genesis 25:9 ESV).
The last time Isaac and Ishmael were at peace may have been when they buried their father, Abraham. They buried him in the same tomb Abraham had bought to bury Sarah. These two sons became two great peoples. The Jewish nation came from Isaac and the Arab peoples from Ishmael. They stood together at their father’s funeral, but enmity has existed between them until this day. Judaism claims Abraham as its father through Isaac. And Islam claims the same, albeit through Ishmael.
The tomb of the patriarchs is in the modern day city of Hebron, in Palestine, nineteen miles South of Jerusalem. The site has intermittently been under Jewish, Christian, or Muslim control. The current building that sits atop the tomb was originally built as a church. But later, under Muslim control, minarets were added to make it a mosque.
The descendants of Isaac and Ishmael still contend over the site, both claiming to be the true sons of Abraham. Yet, the true children of Abraham are those who have by faith believed in Jesus. For as the apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7).
The key to ending the hostility between Isaac and Ishmael, Jew and Muslim, is faith in Jesus. For such faith proves who are the true spiritual children of Abraham. Only Jesus can give us true peace.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are those who have placed our faith in Jesus. Because of Him, we have been adopted into the line of Abraham and have become Your children. Jesus has reconciled us to You, Father. And You have called us to be ministers of reconciliation. Strengthen us to proclaim the gospel of peace to all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
‘And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”’ (Matthew 8:27 ESV).
At first the disciples were afraid of the storm outside the boat, then they feared the One inside the boat. “What sort of man is this?” They wondered. He demonstrates authority over both the seen and the unseen creation. For both storms and evil spirits obey Him. Who but God Himself could do such things?
Yet, having the Son of God in our life does not guarantee the absence of storms. Storms will come. The promise is not that storms won’t come, but that the Lord will never leave nor forsake us in the midst of life’s storms. Perhaps the storms of life help us to better understand who our Savior is. Not just in our heads, but in our hearts. We finally experience the reality of whom we have believed. Jesus is greater than any storm. So, let us take our eyes off the storm and turn them upon Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to focus on Your Son, Jesus, when the storms of life come. For it’s in the storm that we have learned more about Him and grown in our faith in Him. Forgive us when we fear the storm when we should be trusting the Savior. Rescue us not only from life’s storms, but from the anxiety of facing them. We put our trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite” (Genesis 25:9 NLT).
Isaac and Ishmael buried their father, Abraham, in the same tomb he had bought to bury Sarah. These two sons became two great peoples. The Jewish nation came from Isaac and the Arab nations from Ishmael. They stood united at their father’s funeral, but enmity has existed between them until this day. Judaism claims Abraham as its father through Isaac. And Islam claims the same, albeit through Ishmael.
The tomb of the patriarchs is in the modern day city of Hebron, in Palestine, nineteen miles South of Jerusalem. The site has intermittently been under Jewish, Christian, or Muslim control. The current building that sits atop the tomb was originally built as a church. But later, under Muslim control, minarets were added to make it a mosque.
The descendants of Isaac, the miraculous son of the free woman and Ishmael, the human son of the slave woman, still contend over the site. The stories of the Bible are true. Its history helps us understand many of today’s events.
PRAYER: Dear Father, Your Word is true. Thank You for the Holy Scriptures which lead, guide and direct us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We love Your Word. It is like bread to our hungry souls. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
At first the disciples were afraid of the storm outside the boat, then they feared the One inside the boat. “Who is this man?” They wondered. He demonstrates authority over both the seen and the unseen creation. For both storms and evil spirits obey Him. Who but God Himself could do such things?
Yet, having the Son of God in our life does not guarantee the absence of storms. Storms will come. The promise is not that storms won’t come, but that the Lord will never leave nor forsake us in the midst of life’s storms. Perhaps the storms of life help us to better understand who our Savior is. Not just in our heads, but in our hearts. We finally experience the reality that we have believed: Jesus is greater than any storm. So, let us take our eyes off the storm and turn them upon Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to focus on Your Son, Jesus, when the storms of life come. For it’s in the storm that we have learned more about Him and grown in our faith in Him. Forgive us when we fear the storm when we should be trusting the Savior. Rescue us not only from life’s storms, but from the anxiety of facing them. We put our trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Isaac and Ishmael buried their father, Abraham, in the same tomb he had bought to bury Sarah. These two sons became two great peoples. The Jewish nation came from Isaac and the Arab nations from Ishmael. They stood united at their father’s funeral, but enmity has existed between them until this day. Judaism claims Abraham as its father through Isaac. And Islam claims the same, albeit through Ishmael.
The tomb of the patriarchs, Abraham and Sarah, is in modern day Hebron. The site has intermittently been under Jewish, Christian, or Muslim control. The current building that sits atop the tomb was originally built as a church. But later, under Muslim control, minarets were added to make it a mosque.
The descendants of Isaac, the miraculous son of the free woman and Ishmael, the human son of the slave woman, still contend over the site. The stories of the Bible are true. Its history helps us understand many of today’s events.
PRAYER: Dear Father, Your Word is true. Thank You for the Holy Scriptures which lead, guide and direct us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We love Your Word. It is like bread to our hungry souls. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
At first the disciples were afraid of the storm outside the boat, then they feared the One inside the boat. “Who can this be?” They wondered. He demonstrates authority over both the seen and the unseen creation. For both storms and evil spirits obey Him. Who but God Himself could do such things?
Yet, having the Son of God in our life does not guarantee the absence of storms. Storms will come. The promise is not that storms won’t come, but that the Lord will never leave nor forsake us in the midst of life’s storms. Perhaps the storms of life help us to better understand who our Savior is. Not just in our heads, but in our hearts. We finally experience the reality that we have believed: Jesus is greater than any storm. So, let us take our eyes off the storm and turn them upon Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to focus on Your Son, Jesus, when the storms of life come. For it’s in the storm that we have learned more about Him and grown in our faith in Him. Forgive us when we fear the storm when we should be trusting the Savior. Rescue us not only from life’s storms, but from the anxiety of facing them. We put our trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Isaac and Ishmael buried their father, Abraham, in the same tomb he had bought to bury Sarah. These two sons became two great peoples. The Jewish nation came from Isaac and the Arab nations from Ishmael. They stood united at their father’s funeral, but enmity has existed between them until this day. The tomb of Abraham and Sarah is in modern day Hebron. The site has intermittently been under Jewish, Christian, or Muslim control. The current building that sits atop the tomb is a hybrid of a church with Muslim minarets added to make it a mosque.
Isaac, the miraculous son of the free woman and Ishmael, the human son of the slave woman still contend over the site. The stories of the Bible are true. Its history affects today’s events.
PRAYER: Lord, your Word is true. Thank you for the Holy Scriptures which lead, guide and direct us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We love Your Word. It is like bread to our hungry souls. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Abraham sent his servant to get Isaac a bride from his own relatives. He did not want him to marry a local Canaanite woman. The servant is the picture of obedience. He was faithful to find Isaac a wife from Abraham’s relatives. The servant is unnamed in this chapter, but he appears to be Abraham’s most trusted servant, “Eliezer” (Gen. 15:2). This is a beautiful story and is often seen as a spiritual typology given to Israel to prepare them for the coming Messiah.
As a spiritual type, who does each character represent?
– Abraham represents God the Father.
– Isaac represents Christ the Son.
– Rebekah represents the Bride of Christ, the Church.
Those who choose to ignore God’s Word and follow the sinful desires of their heart will always justify their choices with self-delusional reasoning. Only those who fear and respect the Lord are able to look at themselves in the mirror of His Word to confront their own hypocrisy. Stop the excuses and repent, and the Lord will set you free.
This was the response that Jesus gave to the man who expressed interest in following Jesus, yet asked for a delay in reporting to duty in order to bury his father. It seems a harsh response, but it clarifies the priority of which the call of Christ demands. Jesus asks those that would follow Him to leave all behind and to put Him first. But before jumping to judge Christ’s reply too harshly, consider the possible meanings: 1) Christ is not banning His followers from attending funerals. He is taking away excuses from those that would delay following. (How many have told a teacher that they missed school on a test day because their great aunt died?). 2) Christ is making a connection between being spiritually dead and physically dead when He says let the dead (spiritually) bury the dead (physically). In contrast, Christ’s disciples are to be involved in the ministry of bringing the spiritually dead to life. 3) When the disciple asked for a delay in following, so that he could bury his father, it didn’t necessarily mean that his father had died. He may have meant that he wanted to stay home until his aged father died, before following Jesus. He didn’t feel that he could answer Christ’s missional call until his father was dead. 4) It also may have been a reference to the possibility that his father had already died, but the son now felt constrained to enter into the year-long Jewish burial practice of that day. According to this practice, the body would be laid out on one side of a burial crypt until it decayed, then the bones would be placed in an ossuary box and put with the other boxes on the other side of the crypt nearly a year later.
Regardless of the setting, Jesus knew the man’s heart and gave the very response to the man’s request that was needed to expose it. He was asking him the same question He later asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” (John 21:15).