Story 18: The Closing Years, Death, And Burial Of A'bra-ham

   A'bra-ham lived for thirty-eight years after the death of Sa'rah, or thirty-five years after the marriage of I'saac and Re-bek'ah, thus reaching the great age of one hundred and seventy-five years. His good health, which had been restored prior to the birth of I'saac, was preserved to the end of life, while his strength of body and mind enabled him to survive the loss of his beloved wife.
   After the marriage of I'saac and his removal from his father's house, A'bra-ham sought to overcome his loneliness by taking another wife. He married Ke-tu'rah, who gave birth to six sons. They became the founders of families which grew into strong tribal nations outside of Ca'naan, which was the promised land for the descendants of I'saac. We shall learn something of their relation to Is'ra-el in future history.
   A'bra-ham remained active and successful in all the cares and responsibilities of life right up to the end. Provision was made for the settlement of his sons by Ke-tu'rah outside the land Divinely promised to I'saac and his descendants, and care was taken to see that all the rights and privileges which belonged to I'saac as the first-born son should be safeguarded. He was a strong, able-bodied man even in extreme old age, and his mind and senses remained clear and active to the last. Before passing into the higher life he put his house in order, both in matters of worldly importance, and in those which relate to spiritual welfare.
   A'bra-ham's body was laid to rest in the family cemetery which he had purchased for the burial of Sa'rah. There was a notable funeral, in which his family and great company of servants gathered to pay honor and reverence to his memory. All jealousy and bad feeling between Ish'ma-el and I'saac was forgiven in the presence of death, and they united in sorrow at the burial of their father. It is often true that, a time of great sorrow brings together those who have been separated by misunderstandings.
   The Bible tells us that "A'bra-ham was gathered to his people." These words do not refer to his burial, for his kinsmen were buried in far distant Mes-o-po-ta'mia, while A'bra-ham was laid to rest in the cave of Mach-pe'lah near He'bron. What it does mean is that his spirit passed into a continued personal existence after death, that his soul passed at once into the happy life to which all the saints who died before had gone. Thus ended the earthly sojourn of a noble patriarch, and thus began his heavenly citizenship in the glory of "the city whose builder and maker is God, for which he looked."