Genesis 25:1

Genesis 25:1 says, Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.  After Sarah died, and when he was now very old, Abraham got married again.  When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse is free to marry again, no matter their age.  Verse two states, And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.  Evidently Keturah was younger than Abraham, because she had six children with Abraham.  We often remember Ishmael and forget these other children, but they and their children were also descendants of Abraham, but they were not a part of God's promise to Abraham.  Only Isaac was the son of both Abraham and Sarah.  No matter who we may be related to, we can only become a child of God through our relationship with Christ.  The two verses give a partial genealogy of the children of Keturah.  Verse three says, And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.  Then verse four adds, And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children and grandchildren of Abraham and Keturah.  We are not told of any great nations that came from them.  Verse five declares, And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.  Though this would have been according to God's promise to Abraham,  I wonder how his other children felt.  I believe that when we do things that are not totally within God's will that there will be consequences.  Though Abraham was free to marry and have other children, at no point are we told that God blessed him in this.  We may at times do things that are legal in the eyes of the world but are not in accordance with God's calling in our life.  Verse six states,  But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.  This says that to the sons of the concubines, or those that Abraham was not married to, he gave gifts and sent them away.  Since we only know of Ishmael and the sons of Keturah, then I am not sure if Abraham considered Katurah's children to be the same as Ishmael.  Again, even though leaving everything to Isaac would have been according to God's plan, Abraham did have to decide what to do about his other children.  Sometimes if we do things that are outside of God's plan, we may have to deal with what results from our actions.  Verse seven proclaims, And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.  Abraham had lived many years after Sarah died.  Then verse eight adds, Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.  Abraham died as an old man full of years.  One thing we can be certain of, if Christ doesn't return first, is that we will die.  The question is how obedient will we be to God while we are living, no matter how long that may be.  Verse nine states, And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;  Isaac and Ishmael were still at least in the same area at this time, and they buried Abraham. The children of Keturah are not mentioned, though they were Abraham's sons.  Verse ten adds, The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.  Abraham was buried with Sarah.  Sarah was the mother of Isaac, the child of God's promise to Abraham.  God's promise had been to Abraham and Sarah.  We cannot change God's plan by attempting to do things our own way.  Verse eleven declares, And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.  God blessed Isaac.  I believe that God was also calling Abraham's other children to Him, but we are not told what happened to them.  Like Isaac, as followers of Christ, we are blessed, but that doesn't mean that God is not at work calling all the lost to Him.  Through Christ, salvation is available to all who will accept Him by faith.