Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (Genesis 25:1,2 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Embrace Change
Abraham and Sarah were a couple, from way back in the Abram and Sarai days. They were together for decades. They stuck together through danger, disappointment, and delight.
When Sarah died, Abraham might have desired to remain single. God had already kept His promise of a child… remarrying is a complex pleasure at any age, let alone Abraham’s 140 years. I could imagine Abraham resisting another family… holding onto the past blessings… and saying, “what was should always remain.”
But Abraham married Keturah. We do not know their love story. We do not know where they met, how the met, or even what their reasons for marriage were.
But we can see the results. Six more children. Six more paths to starlike numbers. Six more foundations for offspring like the sand on a beach.
Abraham’s willingness to change does not mean that all change is automatically good. But often we are so comfortable with God’s past blessings that we seem unwilling to expect and enjoy more.
Fear not, then embrace change.