Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

THE GREATEST GATHERING

This entry was posted on 03-02-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS.

When I was in college (1964-1968) my alma mater, Midwestern School of Evangelism, sponsored an annual meeting called the "January Gathering." It took place between semesters and featured a festival of singing and preaching. People came from far and near to gather together in sweet Christian fellowship for several days. There were no homework assignments that week for which I was grateful. It was a great gathering of God's people. Our text today speaks of a far greater gathering. "This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people" (Gen. 25:7, 8 NKJV).

I notice several things about this text. Abraham's life was summed up in the number of years that he lived ~ 175. That is certainly older than any of us will ever live to be! The writer calls it "a good old age." Life is good for the godly. His life was also "full of years." So much is contained in those three words! Abraham's life spans 15 chapters in the book of Genesis (11-25). His name appears some 300 times in 20 books of the Bible. He was called "the father of the faithful" and "the friend of God." Few men have cast such a long shadow. The Bible also says that he "breathed his last." We take a first breath, and then countless breaths, and finally we take our last breath on earth. I was by my father's side when he took his last breath, April 25, 2009, a moment I shall never forget. But most significant of all is this phrase: "and was gathered to his people." What does this mean? It is a phrase that is also found in Genesis 25:17, 49:29, 33. The Ryrie Study Bible says this is "an indication that those who had died were regarded as people still existing. This is an early testimony to belief in life after death." When my father died, he too was "gathered to his people." So will you and I when we die. We will see our loved ones again. I am convinced of it. Jesus gave us keen insight into this in Matthew 22:31, 32: "Have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.''

Hymn: "Yes, we'll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river, Gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God." (Robert Lowry)