26 HAVING NO MATURITY IN LIFE

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.…And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

Genesis 16:1-2, 15

And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

Genesis 21:1-3

Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

Genesis 25:1-2

The Bible is a complete revelation. The content of this revelation is God’s eternal purpose. As we have pointed out many times, God’s eternal purpose is to work Himself into a corporate man so that He may have a corporate expression in the universe. If we would understand any portion of the Bible in a proper way, we must keep this matter in mind.

In this message we come to Genesis 25. Many years ago, I did not like the first part of this chapter. But since there are no wasted words in the Bible, this portion of Genesis 25 must be very significant. If we do not keep before us the purpose of the revelation in the holy Word, we shall be unable to see the significance of this part of Genesis 25. By His mercy, the Lord has shown us the depth of this portion of the Word.

In both Genesis and Romans we are told clearly that Abraham was very old when he begat Isaac. Romans 4:19 says that Abraham considered his body as good as dead. Yet, forty years after Isaac’s birth, Abraham married again (25:1), and when he became one hundred forty years of age, he still begat six sons (25:2). How can we explain this? If he was as old as a dead person when he was a hundred years of age, he certainly must have been more like a dead person when he remarried at the age of one hundred forty. In chapter twenty-three Sarah died and was buried, in chapter twenty-four Abraham obtained a wife for Isaac, and in chapter twenty-five he himself married again. What does this mean?

Genesis 25 also includes a record of the birth of Jacob and Esau. Why is such a wonderful record included in the same chapter which names the six sons of Abraham’s concubine? The record of Abraham’s six sons is negative, whereas the record of the birth of Jacob and Esau is positive. If you were composing this chapter, would you put these two records together? None of us would have written this chapter in such a way. Nevertheless, according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it must be very significant.

HAVING NO MATURITY IN LIFE

If we consider all these matters, deep in our spirit we shall realize that the Holy Spirit’s intention in this chapter is to show that Abraham was not a person matured in life. Although he was old in his physical life, he was not matured in his spiritual life.

As we have seen, God’s purpose is to work Himself into a corporate person that He might have a corporate expression. In order to accomplish this, God created the heavens, the earth, and man with a spirit as his receiving organ (Zech. 12:1). This man was created in God’s image to express Him and with His dominion to represent Him in His authority. In Genesis 3 we see that Satan injected himself into man, and man became fallen. In chapters three through eleven man had at least four falls. After the fourth fall, God came in to call Abraham out of the fallen race and establish him as the father of the called race. God’s intention in making Abraham the father of the called race was to work Himself into that race for the fulfillment of His purpose. Although God did not have the opportunity to work Himself into the created race, the Adamic race, He now had an opportunity to work Himself into the called race, the Abrahamic race. The record from the last half of chapter eleven through the first part of chapter twenty-five shows how much God worked with this person. However, when we come to the end of the record of Abraham’s life, do we see a person who was matured in life and who expressed God in every way? No. Abraham was not yet such a person.

Many Christians appreciate Abraham too much. Although I respect Abraham and I do not belittle him, I must point out that, as the record of Genesis indicates, he was not matured in the divine life. Chapter twenty-four is wonderful, but it is not wonderful with respect to Abraham’s life but with respect to his activity. Abraham did a wonderful thing in choosing a proper wife for his son; yet, immediately after this, he remarried. Genesis 25 does not say, “After Abraham had found a good wife for Isaac, he lived with them in the presence of the Lord for more than thirty years. One day, he called Isaac and Rebekah to him, laid his hands upon them, blessed them, and then went to be with the Lord.” If the record were like this, we would all appreciate it, saying, “Here is a saint who was matured in life.” What is the proof of the maturity in life? It is blessing others. When we are young, we receive blessings from others. But when we are mature, we pass on blessings to others. Although Abraham was old, he did not bless anyone. This proves that he did not have the maturity in life.

MARRYING KETURAH AFTER SARAH DIED • The record in Genesis 25 is not a record of blessing; rather, it is a record of remarriage. Abraham married Keturah after Sarah died. Is remarriage a sign of the maturity in life? Certainly not!

BEGETTING ANOTHER SIX SONS AFTER ISAAC • Abraham’s life may be divided into three sections: the section with Ishmael, the section with Isaac, and the section with the six sons. Ishmael was produced by Abraham’s flesh, and Isaac was produced by God’s grace. What about the six sons? They were produced by even more flesh. After the birth of Ishmael, Abraham’s flesh was dealt with, and grace came in to replace it. But after the birth and growth of Isaac, Abraham’s flesh became active again. In the first section, the section with Ishmael, Abraham’s flesh was onefold, but in the third section, the section with the six sons, his flesh was sixfold, having been intensified six times. While the younger flesh produced one Ishmael, the older flesh produced six sons.

The Bible is honest, telling us that Abraham married Keturah and begat six sons by her. But Abraham knew God’s will. Verse 5 says, “Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.” Isaac was the unique heir, the heir chosen, designated, and established by God. None of the other sons were reckoned as heirs (v. 6), for they were all sons of the concubine and, like Ishmael, were rejected by God. Abraham had two concubines. The first gave birth to Ishmael, and the second gave birth to six sons. But God did not want any of them. Both before and after the birth of Isaac, Abraham did something which God did not want. How can we say that such a life is mature?

DIED WITHOUT MATURITY IN LIFE • The intention of Genesis 25 is to show that Abraham did not have the maturity in life. He died without this, for as we have seen, he died without blessing anyone. Although Abraham was good, he was not mature in the divine life. It is right that we appreciate him, but we must realize that he had a great lack. He was called, had faith, and lived in fellowship with God, but, to use a New Testament term, he did not have sufficient transformation.

What is transformation? Once again I would like to use the example of petrified wood. As water flows through the wood, the element of wood is carried away and the elements of minerals are added in its place. As the mineral elements are wrought into the wood, the wood is transformed into stone. This is petrification. We are wood, and the flow of living water must carry away our natural element and bring into our being all the divine, heavenly, holy, and spiritual elements. In this way we are transformed.

If you read chapters twenty-three through twenty-five again, you will see that Abraham was not a fully transformed person. He was a man who lived in fellowship with God and who acted according to His leading, but he was not transformed in full. Rather, he remarried and exercised the flesh which had been dealt with by God to bring forth six more “Ishmaels.” Although we must be like Abraham, we need to see that in himself he was not a complete pattern.

BURIED WITH SARAH IN THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH • Undoubtedly Abraham died in faith. His two sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah (vv. 9-10), which he had obtained for Sarah in chapter twenty-three. It must be that his sons buried him according to his desire.

NEEDING JACOB AND ISAAC FOR HIS COMPLETION

Although Abraham was good, he was not complete. He had to be completed and perfected by the lives of Jacob and Isaac. According to the implication of the divine record, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not three separate individuals. In like manner, their God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, is not three gods but the one Triune God. In Abraham, we see God the Father; in Isaac, we see God the Son; and in Jacob, we see God the Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the three-in-one, are the unique Triune God. In the same principle, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are a triune person. Being three-in-one, they are a complete person in the experience of life.

JACOB’S BEING CHOSEN • In Abraham’s record we see the matter of calling. According to the divine revelation, however, calling is not the first item. God’s selection comes before God’s calling. When Abraham was in Chaldea worshipping idols, that was the time of God’s calling, not the time of His selection. The time of God’s selection was before the foundation of the world. In eternity past Abraham was chosen, and in Chaldea he was called. But where is the record of Abraham’s selection? It is in Genesis 25 in the record of Jacob’s selection. In himself, Abraham had no selection; his selection was in Jacob’s selection. Abraham’s life had neither a full beginning nor a complete ending, for he had neither selection nor maturity in life, both of which are with Jacob. In other words, as far as the experience of life is concerned, by himself Abraham cannot stand as a complete person in the eyes of God. He needs Jacob and Isaac. These three persons, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, represent the spiritual experience of a complete man. In the record of Jacob’s life, there is no mention of being called. Where and when was Jacob called? He was called with Abraham in Genesis 11, just as Abraham was selected in Jacob. In Abraham we clearly see God’s calling, but we do not see selection nor the maturity in life.

In Genesis 25 we have three genealogies: the genealogy of the children of Keturah (vv. 2-4), the genealogy of the sons of Ishmael (vv. 13-16), and the genealogy of Isaac (vv. 19-26). In the first two genealogies no one is selected by God. None of the sons of Keturah nor the sons of Ishmael were chosen by Him. Even Esau, one born of Isaac, was not chosen. Of all those named in this chapter, only one is chosen—Jacob. These three genealogies are put together in one chapter for a definite purpose—to show the kind of person God rejects and the kind of person He chooses. God chose the most naughty one, Jacob, whose name means a supplanter, a heel holder. If we were God, we would never have chosen such a naughty, supplanting one. Nevertheless, Jacob was God’s choice. We see in this chapter that what Abraham produced was not what God wanted. None of his six sons was God’s choice. In producing them, all he did was in vain. Likewise, none of Ishmael’s descendants were chosen by God. After Isaac had been married for twenty years, he “entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived” (v. 21). Rebekah gave birth to twins, the second of whom was God’s choice. Of the more than twenty births recorded in this chapter, all were in vain except one. In this chapter God seemed to be saying to Abraham, “You have brought forth many children by your flesh, but all is in vain. Not one who is the result of your flesh is My choice.”

This chapter reveals that the life which lacks maturity will always labor in vain. If we are not matured in life, although we may be quite active, doing many things, all our labor will be in vain. None of it is according to God’s selection. Abraham was a dear saint with a very good life, but his life was not mature and he did much which was in vain. Nothing that came out of his flesh was God’s choice. Do you want to have a life like this? By the record of Abraham’s life we see that he was not complete. He needed Jacob and Isaac to complete and perfect him. As this chapter reveals, for his completion and perfection he needed Jacob’s being chosen.

JACOB’S MATURITY IN LIFE • Abraham also needed Jacob’s maturity in life. According to the book of Genesis, the first person to bless others was Melchisedec (14:18-19). As the book of Hebrews reveals, Melchisedec was a type of Christ. But even when Abraham was very old, much older than Jacob lived to be, he never blessed anyone. Although he received the blessing, he never passed on blessings to others. After Melchisedec, the next person to bless others was Isaac. But Isaac blessed blindly; he was cheated and did not bless in a clear way. Rather, he blessed the wrong person, giving the birthright to Jacob instead of to Esau (ch. 27). However, as the record at the end of Genesis reveals, Jacob, although he could not see well, blessed in a very clear way. After Jacob became mature, he blessed whomever he met. Wherever he went, he did nothing except bless others. When Jacob was brought before Pharaoh, the first thing he did was bless him (47:7). After talking a while with Pharaoh, Jacob blessed him again (47:10). Jacob was not only a blessed person; he was also a blessing person.

While it is easy to receive a blessing, it is not easy to bless others. A grandson cannot bless his grandfather, because the grandson lacks the maturity in life. Because Jacob was mature, he blessed everyone he met, including Pharaoh, who was an unbeliever, a Gentile king. Jacob did not feel that he had to do anything for anyone. His burden was simply to bless others.

Consider the case of Jacob’s blessing the two sons of Joseph (48:8-20). When Jacob laid his right hand upon Ephraim instead of upon Manasseh, the firstborn, Joseph was displeased and attempted to move his father’s right hand to Manasseh’s head, saying, “Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head” (48:18). But Jacob refused and said, “I know it, my son, I know it” (48:19). Jacob seemed to be saying, “I may be blind physically, but I am very clear spiritually. You don’t know what I am doing, but I know.” Here we see that Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons with a clear, full, and rich blessing.

Jacob also blessed his twelve sons in a very clear way. These blessings are the foundation of the basic prophecies in the Bible. If we would know the prophecies in the Bible, we must go back to their foundation, to their basic elements, as seen in the blessings rendered by Jacob to his twelve sons. Jacob could bless his sons in a way that was full of divine revelation because he was fully matured in the divine life. He was born a Jacob, but he was transformed into Israel. He was born a supplanter, a heel-holder, but he was transformed into a prince of God. He had become so clear and full of life. When we are clear and full of life, we can do nothing but bless. This is a sign of maturity.

As we have seen, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob form one complete person in the experience of life. Abraham did not bless, because he did not have the maturity in life. Isaac, having some maturity but lacking the richness of the maturity of life, blessed in a blind way. Jacob, who was mature in life, blessed in a full and clear way. Whatever he spoke was the divine word, and whatever he blessed was a prophecy concerning God’s economy with all His children. Eventually, Jacob became Israel, the expression of God.

If we have the light from the Scriptures as a whole, we shall see that the book of Genesis is a miniature of the complete revelation of the entire Bible. At the end of Genesis we see a man called Israel, a transformed person who is transparent, clear, and full of life. The transformed Israel is a seed, a miniature, of the New Jerusalem. At the beginning of Genesis we have man created in God’s image. At the end of Genesis we have a transformed person, a man not only outwardly in the image of God, but a man in whom God has wrought Himself, making him His expression. Although many Christians appreciate Abraham, his life was not high enough. Israel’s life was much higher.

ISAAC’S ENJOYMENT OF THE INHERITANCE • For his completion, Abraham also needed Isaac’s enjoyment of the inheritance (24:36; 25:5). From the day Abraham was called by God, God began to rob him of things. Firstly, God took away his brother and then his father. Later, God rejected Eliezer, commanded Abraham to cast out Ishmael, and told him to offer Isaac on the altar. After Isaac had been returned, Sarah died. Abraham’s life was not a life of enjoyment; it was a life of being robbed. Isaac’s life, on the contrary, was a life full of enjoyment. Isaac did not do anything; he simply inherited all his father had.

In our Christian life we have the experiences of both Abraham and Isaac. On one hand we are always being robbed. God rejects whatever we have. He seems to say, “You like it, but I don’t like it. You want to give it, but I won’t take it. You want to preserve it, but I reject it.” In a very good sense, God always acts contrary to our wishes and intentions. Abraham wanted to take his father with him, but the father was taken away. He wanted to have Lot, but Lot separated from him. He wanted Eliezer to be his heir, but Eliezer was rejected. He wanted to keep Ishmael, but God commanded him to cast out the son of the bondwoman. Abraham loved his son Isaac, but God required that he be offered to Him upon the altar. A while later, Sarah, Abraham’s dear wife, was taken. I doubt that Abraham had much time for enjoyment.

But there is another side to our Christian life. While we are suffering the robbing, we are enjoying our inheritance. This is why the records of Abraham and Isaac overlap, whereas the records of those who preceded them, such as Abel, Enoch, and Noah, do not. The record of Isaac is mixed together with that of Abraham. While Abraham was suffering, Isaac was enjoying. While Abraham was weeping, Isaac was rejoicing. This indicates that our Christian life is a life of night and morning. Night is at our left hand and morning is at our right hand. In the Christian life, night and morning go together. Many times I have been unable to determine whether I was in the night or in the morning. While I was in the morning I was in the night, and while I was in the night, I was in the morning. On the one hand, I was Abraham being robbed of everything, and on the other hand, I was Isaac enjoying the inheritance.

We all have been selected with Jacob and have been called and have believed with Abraham. As we have been robbed with Abraham and have been enjoying with Isaac, one day we all shall be matured with Jacob. We should not say that a certain brother is a Jacob or Abraham or Isaac. We should call him a Jacob-Abraham-Isaac. He is Jacob at the beginning and at the ending, and he is Abraham with Isaac in the middle. These three are one complete person. As we have seen, the maturity in life is neither with Abraham nor Isaac but with Jacob.

The sign of the maturity of life is blessing. I have seen thousands of Christians. Nearly every one has been either supplanting or complaining. Some saints complain about the elders, the brothers, and all the churches. It seems that the only church they like is the New Jerusalem. Complaining is a sign of immaturity. When you have matured, you will not complain; you will bless, saying, “O God, bless all the brothers and all the churches.” For the one who is matured in life, the supplanting hand has become the blessing hand. The more mature you are, the more you will bless others. You will not only bless the good ones, but the bad ones and even the worst ones.

Abraham’s life was wonderful and has been appreciated by Christians throughout the centuries. But, as we have seen, he was not mature in the divine life. Our God is not only God the Father, but also God the Son and God the Spirit. He is not only the God of Abraham, but also the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. May we all see that we need all three aspects, the life of Abraham plus the lives of Isaac and Jacob. The Triune God is working within us as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to make us the full expression of Himself. He is the Triune God, and we must be a person of three aspects in the spiritual experiences of the divine life. We need to be transformed in full. When we have been fully transformed, God will have the fulfillment of His purpose.