So, the next phase of God’s plan comes together. Abraham can live out the rest of his life in peace and contentment because God’s promise and God’s plan are on track.

By purchasing a small piece of property in the Promised Land, Abraham acquired a legitimate burial site and, at the same time, laid claim to the entire country as his descedents’ inheritance. He also ensured a bloodline for his family by taking a wife for Isaac from his own people.

The ending to this story is both encouraging and inspiring.

‭Genesis‬ ‭25:1‭-‬2‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. [2] She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah….
[5] Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. [6] But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac. [7] Abraham lived for 175 years, [8] and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. [9] His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. [10] This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah.”

Far from being barren in his old age, Abraham married again and produced another six sons! I notice with interest that the conclusion to Abraham’s story is devoid of any more testing…. just blessed, happy, and fruitful “golden years.” Is it possible, then, for at least some of God’s children, to ‭reach a stage of faith so secure that God no longer needs to put them through stringent tests? Like the “Beulah Land” of John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress”?

Abraham’s faith carried him through the final years of his life with no tests recorded.

To be concluded…