†. Gen 25:7 . .This was the total span of Abraham's life: one hundred
and seventy-five years.
Abraham resided in Canaan for 100 years; and outlived Sarah by 48. That's
not the way it usually happens here in modern America. Wives typically
outlive their husbands; and if you don't think that's true, just visit any one of
a number of retirement communities. Men over 80 who can still walk on
their own, and drive a car, are like the proverbial fox in a henhouse. As of
2009, the male/female ratio for people aged 85 and older was twice as many
women as men.
†. Gen 25:8a . . And Abraham breathed his last,
Abraham lived to see Jacob's and Esau's fifteenth birthday. The twins were
born when Isaac was sixty. And Abraham died when Isaac was seventy-five.
So the boys got to know their grandpa pretty good before the old master
passed on.
Abraham lived a very brief life in comparison to his forebears. From Noah's
point of view, who lived to 950, Abraham practically died as a child. Out
ahead in the new world, a man of a hundred years old will be considered just
a kid.
†. Isa 65:19-20 . . And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in her people.
Never again shall be heard there the sounds of weeping and wailing. No
more shall there be an infant or graybeard who does not live out his days.
He who dies at a hundred years shall be reckoned a youth, and he who fails
to reach a hundred shall be reckoned accursed.
Man's life span has steadily declined since Noah's day, and now the average
American, even with all the food, and the most advanced medical care in the
world, only lives on average about 77 years.
†. Gen 25:8b . . dying at a good ripe age, old and contented;
The word for "contented" is from sabea' saw-bay'-ah) which means: satiated
(in a pleasant or disagreeable sense) It's a word that means a full tummy;
for example:
†. Prv 27:7 . . A sated person disdains honey, but to a hungry man even
bitter seems sweet.
Boy ain't that the truth of it. Watching a Survivor re-run was a real lesson in
hunger. One of the ladies salvaged, cooked, and ate a chicken that was
mutilated and half-eaten by monitor lizards.
Only two other men in the Bible are said to have died contented: Job and
Messiah.
†. Job 42:16-17 . . Afterward, Job lived one hundred and forty years to see
four generations of sons and grandsons. So Job died old and contented.
†. Isa 53:11-12 . .When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he
will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous
servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will
bear all their sins.
It isn't unusual for people to come to the end of their lives burdened with
regret-- mostly for the things they missed out on in life, and for their
behavior, and for the way they treated people. Well, Abraham had no
regrets. He didn't feel cheated out of life because he was blessed by Divine
providence and obtained all the things anyone could hope to get out of life
before he died. Not everyone is so lucky. The war in Viet Nam cut short the
hopes of thousands of teen-aged boys before they even had a chance to
really live. They didn't die content; no, they died in sorrow.
Some people look forward to death because it will release them from their
pathetic existence. Abraham didn't feel that way at all. He lived a very
satisfying life. He also lived it as a good man: pious, and in touch with his
maker. Many men die alienated from God; and uncertain about what to
expect on the other side. They die in fear and anxiety. Abraham didn't die in
fear and anxiety. According to Heb 11:8-16, he died in confident anticipation
of better things to come.
One of the most pitiful songs I have ever listened to is one called "Imagine"
written by John Lennon. The song expresses a longing for a world without
religion. What a futile, dead-end philosophy. That poor foolish man. He
didn't believe in a God, nor in a life after death. He had no future to look
forward to whatsoever; and he went out of here into the blackness of
eternity totally unprepared to meet his maker.
That is a dumb way to die. Even if everything goes all wrong in the God
fearing person's life, they will at least die with expectations because they
have a faith in God that guarantees that their future is something to look
forward to.
†. Hab 3:17-19 . .Though the fig tree does not bud and no yield is on the
vine, though the olive crop has failed and the fields produce no grain,
though sheep have vanished from the fold and no cattle are in the pen: yet
will I rejoice in the Lord-- exult in the God who delivers me.
†. John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who listen to my message, and believe
in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for
their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
†. 1Pet 1:3-5 . . Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In
his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can
never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are
shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the last time.
Cont.
/
and seventy-five years.
Abraham resided in Canaan for 100 years; and outlived Sarah by 48. That's
not the way it usually happens here in modern America. Wives typically
outlive their husbands; and if you don't think that's true, just visit any one of
a number of retirement communities. Men over 80 who can still walk on
their own, and drive a car, are like the proverbial fox in a henhouse. As of
2009, the male/female ratio for people aged 85 and older was twice as many
women as men.
†. Gen 25:8a . . And Abraham breathed his last,
Abraham lived to see Jacob's and Esau's fifteenth birthday. The twins were
born when Isaac was sixty. And Abraham died when Isaac was seventy-five.
So the boys got to know their grandpa pretty good before the old master
passed on.
Abraham lived a very brief life in comparison to his forebears. From Noah's
point of view, who lived to 950, Abraham practically died as a child. Out
ahead in the new world, a man of a hundred years old will be considered just
a kid.
†. Isa 65:19-20 . . And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in her people.
Never again shall be heard there the sounds of weeping and wailing. No
more shall there be an infant or graybeard who does not live out his days.
He who dies at a hundred years shall be reckoned a youth, and he who fails
to reach a hundred shall be reckoned accursed.
Man's life span has steadily declined since Noah's day, and now the average
American, even with all the food, and the most advanced medical care in the
world, only lives on average about 77 years.
†. Gen 25:8b . . dying at a good ripe age, old and contented;
The word for "contented" is from sabea' saw-bay'-ah) which means: satiated
(in a pleasant or disagreeable sense) It's a word that means a full tummy;
for example:
†. Prv 27:7 . . A sated person disdains honey, but to a hungry man even
bitter seems sweet.
Boy ain't that the truth of it. Watching a Survivor re-run was a real lesson in
hunger. One of the ladies salvaged, cooked, and ate a chicken that was
mutilated and half-eaten by monitor lizards.
Only two other men in the Bible are said to have died contented: Job and
Messiah.
†. Job 42:16-17 . . Afterward, Job lived one hundred and forty years to see
four generations of sons and grandsons. So Job died old and contented.
†. Isa 53:11-12 . .When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he
will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous
servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will
bear all their sins.
It isn't unusual for people to come to the end of their lives burdened with
regret-- mostly for the things they missed out on in life, and for their
behavior, and for the way they treated people. Well, Abraham had no
regrets. He didn't feel cheated out of life because he was blessed by Divine
providence and obtained all the things anyone could hope to get out of life
before he died. Not everyone is so lucky. The war in Viet Nam cut short the
hopes of thousands of teen-aged boys before they even had a chance to
really live. They didn't die content; no, they died in sorrow.
Some people look forward to death because it will release them from their
pathetic existence. Abraham didn't feel that way at all. He lived a very
satisfying life. He also lived it as a good man: pious, and in touch with his
maker. Many men die alienated from God; and uncertain about what to
expect on the other side. They die in fear and anxiety. Abraham didn't die in
fear and anxiety. According to Heb 11:8-16, he died in confident anticipation
of better things to come.
One of the most pitiful songs I have ever listened to is one called "Imagine"
written by John Lennon. The song expresses a longing for a world without
religion. What a futile, dead-end philosophy. That poor foolish man. He
didn't believe in a God, nor in a life after death. He had no future to look
forward to whatsoever; and he went out of here into the blackness of
eternity totally unprepared to meet his maker.
That is a dumb way to die. Even if everything goes all wrong in the God
fearing person's life, they will at least die with expectations because they
have a faith in God that guarantees that their future is something to look
forward to.
†. Hab 3:17-19 . .Though the fig tree does not bud and no yield is on the
vine, though the olive crop has failed and the fields produce no grain,
though sheep have vanished from the fold and no cattle are in the pen: yet
will I rejoice in the Lord-- exult in the God who delivers me.
†. John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who listen to my message, and believe
in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for
their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
†. 1Pet 1:3-5 . . Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In
his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can
never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are
shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the last time.
Cont.
/
