The Promise After Life – Promise: The Story of Abraham (Gen 12-25)
This week we come to the end of the story of Abraham. At 175 years old, it tells us that “Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man, full of years, and was gathered to his people.” By any measure, Abraham had lived an incredible life. God chose him to make an eternal covenant promise, that he would be the father of a multitude of nations, and that his offspring would possess the land of Canaan forever. And yet here at the end, Abraham dies simply and peacefully. His sons Isaac and Ishmael bury him with his wife Sarah, and then the story moves on. Abraham lived a life of faith before God, but what did that get him in the end? The surprising thing about this last chapter of Abraham’s story is that it ultimately points us toward a future hope in the promise of a life everlasting. Simply put, there’s more to Abraham’s story than life and death. And there’s more to ours as well.