Questions: Is the Bible the Book of God?

The Bible,the most topical old book.
You cannot easily get round it.

Who in our country will still read the Bible? The Christians that do it, will no doubt be a small percentage of the population. 
Many think even the idea of reading the Bible ridiculous. They are convinced, that we are living in the post Christian age and that Christians and their churches are fighting a rearguard action in a lost war in which they moreover are little zealous. The Bible they view as being played out, outdated and scientifically untenable. Not having the smallest intention to read the Bible, they often do not know the book, suffering a great loss. 
A great loss, for that book shows the way to God, to forgiveness of sin and eternal life, the way to redemption and peace for the soul.

What a book, the Bible! 
Old, very old and it writes about the oldest histories of mankind. To neglect that book is because of its antiquity itself and of the related histories very unwise. 
But there is a much better reason to pay attention to the Bible. True, the book has been written by men, but under authority of God. The distance between God and men is large indeed, but likewise we keep in touch with people, living in another continent, by means of letters, so God let his prophets write in the Bible what he has to tell us. 
Many do not believe that. They even do not believe in the existence of God, though they are willing to believe in an idol, a horoscope and in the theory of a big bang. How is it possible! An explosion in a warehouse of a technical wholesaler let come into being an advanced robot! Do you believe it?

I know that the Bible is the book of God indeed, and many more believe it with me. Several of them are attacked because they believe. They are bombarded with the heavy guns of scientific arguments. Their attackers think, that, contrary tot the Bible, science points to facts, which a right minded person cannot deny. 
Which facts? Those of 1910, those of 1970 or those of today? For obviously facts are changeable, a remarkable fact! 
But not so remarkable as it seems to be. For often the word "fact" is completely inappropriate and should be replaced by supposition or hypothesis. So I heard in the beginning of this year (2001) two very highly classified scientists tell, that laws of nature are not unchangeable and that for instance the speed of light is not invariable. 
In a talk about these things and the truth of the Bible the thought was put forward, that truth will unmask falsehood and that therefore it is more wise to present truth than to fight falsehood. I remembered, that a friend, who had moved and tried to get a good lawn in front of his new home, met a gardener, when he was very busy removing weed. You are not doing the right thing, said the gardener, you should feed the grass instead of fighting the weed.

Now I had just finished an extensive commentary on the first book of the Bible and had again become deeply impressed by the many proofs of the divine origin of the book. So it was no question for me whether it would be possible to let the Bible itself show its truth. It is however a question, whether it will be possible to interest people for the subject. It is no common practice to pay any attention to the Bible, it does not satisfy any lust, nor the hunger for sensation, amusement and vain glory. If that causes you to put this brochure away, we cannot stop you. You should however realise, that your pursuits and self-indulgence reach till the end of life only and that the Bible shows the way to endless blessings, eternal happiness, a free conscience and peace with God. 
Anyhow we decided to have the Bible, and in this case the first book of it, Genesis, speak for itself.

It is quite certain, that the Bible foretold things, which happened thousands of years afterwards. Anyone realises, that men cannot predict things hundreds or thousands of years beforehand. 
Theories of scientists are often prematurely seen as facts. But when prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled in history, we must admit, that they are facts indeed and not theories, facts, that confirm the divine origin of the Bible. 
The Bible is the book one cannot get round indeed. Let us look to the first part, the book Genesis. If you are not interested in a thorough investigation, it is your own choice, not a wise one.

The first book

How does the Bible begin? 
With the beginning: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1). 
And how closes the Bible? 
With the reign of the beloved Son of God, Jesus, rejected by his brothers, the Jews, but made both Lord and Christ by God (Acts 2:36 and Revelation 20:4-6). 

Now the first book, Genesis. 
It begins, as quoted, with the beginning. 
What is its end? 
The reign of the beloved son Joseph, rejected by his brothers, but made a ruler in Egypt by Pharaoh.

A remarkable thing: The Last subject in the Bible is equal to the end of the first book, the reign of the beloved Son, rejected, but by God made Lord of the whole universe. 
Genesis seems to end with a history, that is a blueprint of the history of Jesus Christ, his future reign included. 
Whosoever is prepared to pay attention to the similarity of the history of Joseph and the history of Jesus Christ, will discover, that the resem-blance is striking and complete to the utmost. 

There are many prophecies in the Bible about Jesus Christ, his sufferings and death, his future coming and his eternal kingdom. The special thing here is, that the prophecy does not exist in words or descriptions, but in the course of life of a man living nearly two thousand years before Christ. Prophecy given in words only might be the produce of phantasm, but nobody can so steer someone's course of life, that a pattern is formed in which is hidden a prophecy. Who can deny, that the hand of God did the steering?

The first chapter

But when we do not look to the first book, but to the first chapter of the book only, we see the same thing. 
The end of the Bible is the reign of Christ, the anointed ruler. 
The end of the first book is the reign of Joseph. 
The end of the first chapter is the reign of Adam, the ruler in Gods creation. We find it in chapter 1:26-29, where we are told what has been God's last act in creation: And God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." It is the repeatedly returning theme in the Bible, the reign of God's appointed ruler. 

1) The first chapter ends with man, ruling in creation with Eva.
2) Genesis ends with Joseph, ruling in Egypt, with his wife, Asnath.
3) The Bible ends with Jesus Christ, ruling over the whole universe with his bride, the church.

We must remember, that the distance in time between those three records is enormous. 
Genesis 1 treats of the beginning of human history. 
The end of Genesis treats of a history at least 2400 years later in time. The end of the Bible speaks of a future at least again 3500 years later. Yet there is that similarity, that unity of theme, which cannot be denied.

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, seems to be prophecy. Even the first chapter seems to be that. 
That is certainly true. 
God's great decree for the last period of this world is: to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. Psalm 2 says it with the following words: I have set My King upon My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The LORD hath said unto Me, 'Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel'. 
And Isaiah said: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon His Kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever (Isaiah 9:6,7). Then will be fulfilled, that every knee shall bow before Him, that has been despised and crucified, but is God's anointed Ruler indeed.

The first verses

But let us take not the first book, nor the first chapter, but the first verses only, and we'll discover, that even in those verses the prophetic character is obvious. Surely, they give historic truth, but that most early history, of a time when no human being existed, contains a prophetic message. 
We quote Genesis 1:1-4
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 
2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 
3 And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 

1 God created in the beginning. When? We do not know. Reckoning of time is only possible from Adam and not from Genesis 1:1. No doubt God created a good heaven and a good earth. 
2 The earth was without form and void, covered with water and lying in darkness. 
3 The Spirit of God was there and took notice of its state. 
4 God spoke and light came. 
5 God divided light from darkness.

Perhaps you do not see any prophecy in those acts of God. It is prophecy however, prophecy which concerns you most closely. 
1 As God created heaven and earth in a good state, so he created men in a good state
2 As the earth was or became void and without form, a dark mass of water, so the heart of men has become void and a sea of unrighteous-ness and darkness. 
Originally men knew not sin. But how is it now? If we had to confess, what is living and working in our heart and to make out a balance of our life, ought we not to say 'an abyss of darkness and unrighteousness'? Did you not yet discover, that in your heart is living all evil you condemn in other men? May be it did not all come out of your heart; be grateful for that, but it is there. 
3 As the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and had not written off the earth, so God's Spirit has not written you off. He is working in the chaos and darkness of a human soul, in order the light may break forth. It happens by his Word. 
4 As God said 'Let there be light', and there was light, so light will come into your darkness, the moment the Word of God puts Jesus Christ before your soul as the Saviour and you let Him come into your heart. He then drives the darkness out of your soul and life, and there will be a division between light an darkness, good and evil.

Certainly the speaking of God 'Let there be light' is a prophecy of the coming of the great Light of the world, Jesus Christ, in this world. In Him God is revealing the depths of his heart, is speaking out, Jesus being the Word made flesh. He was the Light of the world and is most willing to be the Light in your darkness as well. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men….. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not" (Gospel of John 1:1-5). 
Many shun the light, for it reveals the chaos and sins of their life. They therefore prefer darkness. But a change can only be, when all has been seen and confessed in the light. Are you prepared for it? It is the way to forgiveness of sin, rest and peace.

You see, one cannot easily get round the book of God, even the five verses of the beginning only. Those verses are like a beam of light, revealing men in their true character. They do that owing to being part of the Word of God. God is the true God and therefore his Word is truth. And truth always unmasks lying and falsehood, the lie of evolution, yes, but likewise the lie of our lives. Nobody can get round that.

The first woman

About the end of chapter one we did write. 
But in chapter two the creation of the woman is recorded in detail, very significant indeed: "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the LORD God had taken from man, made He a woman and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." (Genesis 2:21-23).

The sleep of Adam must have been very deep. Imagine they take a rib out of you, when you are fully conscious! His sleep must have been as under an anaesthetic, a sleep of death. 
Would God not have been able to create a woman the moment He created Adam? He surely could have done so. But God did it in another way with a very good reason. The wife of Adam should arise out of his wound and his death sleep. Why? 
Adam reigned over the earthly creation, as Christ in future shall reign over all things in heaven and upon earth. He did however not reign alone, but with his wife, made out of his side. So Christ will not rule alone, but with his bride, the church, consisting of all who did believe. That bride, the church, owns her existence to the wounds, the suffering, the atoning death of Jesus Christ. 
The way God made the first woman, had to be an illustration of the fact that the church of Jesus Christ would be the fruit of his death and that is why God has done it that way.

Who could have invented that? Nobody, certainly not thousands of years before it would be fulfilled. 
It has not been invented. They are historical facts, which have been written down under the guidance of the holy Spirit. (See the epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 5:23-33). 
Has someone known or guessed, at least four thousand years before Christ, that He would be crucified? Totally impossible. His disciples even, thousands of years later, who knew the whole Old Testament, did not understand, that Jesus Christ would suffer and die, did not know, that He would build his church. They even did not know, that it was God's purpose, that the church would reign with Christ in the fullness of times. At first they even did not believe that He was risen. 
If even they did not know anything of these things, how then would someone thousands of years before have been able to write about them, whereas then not a single book of the Bible had been written? Absolutely impossible. 
The Bible is the book of God and that explains everything. However, who shuts his eyes, will see nothing of it, nor that his path is leading him directly to perdition.

The first sin

Now we get a chapter, that makes many scoff. They speak about the eating of a forbidden apple. Often that is all they know about Genesis 3. I have no intention to write about a forbidden apple and draw the attention of the reader to something different. Though, that history of the eating of a forbidden fruit is also prophetic, for it is exactly, what characterises us from our earliest youth, the inclination to do what has been forbidden. In the thing our first parents did, we have an unbe-lievably sharp profile of our own character and behaviour. 
But I want to point to what is the subject that follows, which most people do not know: As soon as men had sinned and consequently sin had entered the world and the human heart, God started seeking and calling: where are you?.

Yes, since the very first sin God is seeking and calling sinners. Why? To condemn them? Therefore He needed not seek and call them. 
The Lord had said: "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." They did eat. What or who could prevent God to have them die? His own love. 
Instead of judging them, God looked for them and called them. 
Adam and his wife tried to cover themselves with leaves and they hid themselves under the trees. They wanted to avoid, that God would see them. 
Do you recognise that? Doing wrong and trying to impose upon men, to cover oneself, in order to prevent the truth being discovered, and then hoping that God will not have seen?

When the Lord called, they needs had to come. How afraid they will have been! What would happen? God had spoken of death. Could they expect any other thing? 
But what happened? In stead of the two sinners two innocent creatures were slain, animals. They had not sinned. But out of the skin of those innocent animals God made skirts to cover the nakedness of the guilty ones. It has been written in Genesis 3:21. 
Two guilty sinners have been spared, because two innocent creatures died in their place. The guilty one was covered with the skin of the innocent. To cover in Hebrew is the word for reconciliation. The day of reconciliation, Jom Kippur, is literally "day of covering"

Do you recognise that? It is the earliest illustration of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He died innocently for sinners and was judged for their sins, so that the guilty could be spared and forgiven and would be fit to stand before God in the robe of His righteousness. 
Listen to Isaiah: "But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (53:5-6). "By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities" (53:11).

Many centuries later it has been fulfilled by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, bearing the judgment of God for our sins, dying innocently for sinners. 
The third chapter of Genesis is treating of things that happened 4000 years before Christ at least. Isaiah wrote about 750 years before Christ. But both did write prophetically about a sacrifice many centuries later, the offering of Jesus Christ on Calvary.

Unbelievable: the first thing that is mentioned, after sin has entered the world, in the earliest history of mankind, is the calling by God of sinners and a sacrifice, that is a blue print of what God would do: "In this was manifested the love of God toward us: that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10)

It is no matter of a sacrifice or gift that men ought to bring in order to be redeemed. There are numerous religions, telling what one has to do in order to reach salvation. The Bible does not give us a similar message. 
God tells us, that He, the Judge, gave his only begotten Son for sinful men in order to bear their sins and pay for their guilt. That is unique. Of course it is. The only true God, the Creator of all, is unique, his work is unique, his love is unique and He opened the only way to salvation: Jesus Christ, his Son, tasted judgment and death for our sins. God himself paid!

Who did invent that ? 
It has not been invented by men. It is what God has done in order to save sinners.

You cannot get round it. A book so old, beginning with that theme, cannot be a human writ. Would anyone in the past have been able to relate in detail, what would happen in a far future, thousands of years later? Totally impossible. This book is Gods book indeed, the truth. 
It is however not true only, but it is living and life giving. It works in the heart of men by Gods question: Where are you? It calls us into the light of God and brings men to confession of sin and guilt and shows us, that God gave his innocent Son in order to save us and give us everlasting life. Tell me, can you get round it?

The first sacrifice

In Genesis 4 we have the story of the first two sacrifices by men and the first murder following it: "And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell" (4:3-5). 
What made those two brothers bring a sacrifice to the Lord? There was no tradition of an ancestry to do so, nor any indication, that the Lord had commanded it. Has it been their own invention? Or did their parents tell them to do it? 
No doubt Adam and Eve have told them what had happened, that they had sinned and become guilty. They have no doubt heard, that the Lord had called them, had slain two animals in their stead and them, the guilty ones, clothed with the skins of the innocent animals.

A sacrifice, because they had become sinners. Kain did not forget that. If he wanted to be acceptable to God, he should come with an offering. Obviously God could be satisfied with an offering. But what should be given? The best he had of course. God would not accept less. What was the best he had? The very best fruits of his land, for which he had laboured day and night. God would appreciate them, not only because they were beautiful, but also, because he had worked so hard in growing them. 
Abel knew the history of his parents too. 
He understood, that they still lived, because an innocent animal had been killed in their stead. He realised that he too had to fear the judgment of God, unless someone else died for him. That is why he offered some lambs.

Kain was a farmer and brought what he had, fruits, what else? 
Abel was a shepherd and he offered lambs, what else? 
Both of them offered what they had and it seems to be arbitrary, that God refused the offering of Kain and accepted the lambs of Abel. Therefore good willing people invented argumentations against the accusation, that God acted arbitrarily They supposed that Kain offered, but not whole heartedly, whereas Abel did it with whole his heart. Others meant that Abel was a believer and Kain not. That was better, but not yet enough. 
Who looks into the Bible, finds the answer in Hebrews 11:4, where has been written, that Abel "by faith offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts". 
Abel was not better than Kain and whether Kain was not serious, we better forget. 
The reason why God accepted the sacrifice of Abel was, that his sacrifice was better, whereas that of Kain was unacceptable. 
Not Abel was good, his sacrifice was good. 
Kain thought, that he could satisfy God with the result of his toil and his sweat, his works. 
Abel did not think of satisfying, but of the fact, that he, being a sinner, could not avoid being judged, unless another one died for him. 
Here, in the beginning of Genesis, in the history of the first human beings that have been born, the Lord shows the two paths: 
1 The way into perdition of them, that think to be acceptable to God with the fruit of their lives, their own good works. 
2 The way into life of them, that believe to be accepted only by believing in Jesus Christ, who died for sinners.

That is amazing. More than four thousand years before Christ has been illustrated, that there is one way to God, one way to salvation, Jesus Christ, who said: I am the way, the truth and the life. It has been illustrated not with words, but with something that happened. 
Can it be the invention of someone? Or could it be sheer accident? 
Accidentally something can happen, one time. But chapter after chapter, again and again a reference to the cross, to Christ, to the redemption by his sacrifice, that is absolutely impossible. 
The Bible irrefutably witnesses of itself on the first pages of the book: Gods book, Gods truth. Nobody can get round it.

The first murder

"And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell……. 
And Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him" (Genesis 4:5-8). 
And the LORD said unto Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?" (4:9)……When thou tillest the ground, 
it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be on the earth." (4:12)….. And the LORD said unto him, "Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him" (4:15).

Who offered the good sacrifice? A Christian will answer "Jesus Christ". Who has slain Him? 
A Christian knows, that his Lord has been crucified and died because of his sin and therefore will answer: I am guilty of his death. 
There is however also a historical guilt of Jews and Romans, because they delivered Him and crucified Him in fact. Peter pointed to those facts in Acts 2:22-23, saying: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth…..Him ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain". 
What then was the reason for crucifying Jesus? 
He was innocent, but was slain for envy. 
Kain became envious, seeing that God accepted the sacrifice of Abel and did not accept his. Therefore he murdered his brother, who had brought the good sacrifice. 
So the Jews for envy have slain Jesus Christ, their Brother, who offered Himself, the good sacrifice. 
Kain was driven out by God and became a fugitive. He feared to be murdered himself one day. But God set a mark upon Kain, lest any finding him should kill him. 
So the Jews have been plucked from off their land and the Lord has scattered them among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other (Deuteronomy 28:63-64). But whosoever means to exterminate them will discover, that he is fighting God. He guards them, as He guarded Kain. His promises to them will still be fulfilled and Jesus Christ shall reign in Jerusalem, the whole creation under his feet.

Again I must say: Amazing! 
Who could invent these things or steer history this way? Who has been able to hide in those old histories an illustration of what would happen over 4000 years later? 
Who controlled history and composed the book, in which the first events in human history so pointed to Jesus Christ, his work and the blessed results of it? 
It has been Gods work and the work of his Spirit. 
Where now is the scientist, who imagines to be able to attack the Word of God, being above it with his science? He shrivels together before this mighty old book, preaching the end from the beginning, Gods book, Gods truth. Nobody can get round it.

The first judgment

We now get the story of the great flood in Genesis 6 till 9. Perhaps you do not believe it. But it is striking, that among numerous tribes in Asia, Africa and America that story has survived the centuries in some form or another, a mighty witness for the truth of the biblical story. But what does it tell? 
In a shortened form it tells, that God purified the world by the great flood, but spared Noah and his family with many species of animal life in an big ship, who filled the earth after the flood again.

Judgment obviously. People did not believe Noah, who preached and warned over a hundred years. And they sinned more and more and thought their behaviour quite normal, or imagined that God has no eyes or is not interested. 
There is nothing new under the sun. That old story seems to give a description of our own days. People think to be their own boss. They are independent and autonomous, they'll decide themselves what is right or wrong. Away with all restrictions and any taboo. Away with all that reminds of God and Christianity. And seemingly God does not hear or see. So they go on from bad to worse, till……. Yes, till judgment comes, as in the flood. 
There was however a possibility to be spared. God had Noah make an ark. That big ship endured the waves and the tides, wave after wave came upon it, but inside all were safe.

Marvellous. Again a history that is a blue print of things coming thousands of years later. Judgment is coming, that is the message of today as well. But there is salvation in Jesus Christ. Whosoever believes in Him, is safe. He, yes, He went into Gods judgment, hung upon the tree, died our death. All the waves and billows of Gods wrath have gone over Him (Ps 42:7). Who believes in Him shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life (John 5:24). 
And what will be the end of the way? A purified earth, where Jesus Christ will reign in righteousness. 
Christ Himself, speaking of his future appearance and the judgment of the wicked, pointed to the flood: But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (Mattheüs 24:37-39). 
But there is something more to be said. The ark must be built of gopher wood and it must be covered (kaphar) with pitch (kopher). Those three words: are KFR or GFR in Hebrew. But the word for atonement is also KFR. So the ark witnessed three times of the ground for safety within, propitiation, as many more times can be witnessed on what ground one will be safe in Christ, viz. by KFR, that is by propitiation, the covering of the sinner by the blood of Jesus Christ. 
Centuries afterwards there was an ark in the sanctuary of Israel, covered with the mercy seat, in Hebrew the kaphoret, a witness again of KFR, atonement or propitiation.

So much similarity in so much prophecy, a so oft repeated witness of what would come centuries afterwards, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, cannot be chance, nor can it be planned by men and made to happen thousands of years afterwards. 
In the Bible God is speaking to men. It asks seriousness, willingness to listen and to consider carefully. Who turns away with a shrug, will not see the divine origin of the book, nor understand it.

The first of the three patriarchs

Chapters 22-24 in Genesis make up a remarkable series: 
22 And it came to pass after these things, that God tempted Abraham and said unto him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Behold, here I am." And He said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." 
23 And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjatharba (the same is Hebron) 
24 But thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac…..(verse 4). And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death (verse 67). 25 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 

Shortened we have: 
1 The sacrifice of the beloved son and his return. 
2 The death of Sara, who gave birth to that son. 
3 A bride for the offered, but living son. 
4 A wife filling the place of Sara again. 


That again is fully prophetic: 
1 The beloved son, who has been offered is Jesus Christ. It is striking to read twice in Genesis 22 "they went both of them together" (Abraham and his son). How great will have been the suffering of that father. We see an illustration of Golgotha, where God gave his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, for our sins. They went both and the Father saw them drive the nails through his hands and his feet. It was for me the guilty one. He, the innocent, for me, in order there would be salvation for me. 
But yet Abraham and his son returned. It could not have been other-wise, for it had to be an illustration of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and He did not remain in the tomb, but is risen and seen by his disciples, forty days long. 
2 The death of Sara is an illustration of the temporary rejection of Israel, the people out of which the Christ was born. That people has been put aside after the rejection and crucifixion of Christ, the Son. They will never be annihilated, but their bond with God has been broken, as the bond between Abraham and Sara was broken by her death. Till now they have no sanctuary, no priest, no offering. 
The death of his mother was grieve for the son. So it is grieve for Jesus Christ, that his people did not accept Him and has been put aside. The gospel tells us, that He wept with grieve. 
3 After the temporary putting aside of Israel the Servant, the Holy Spirit, has been sent by God the Father, in order to fetch a bride for the Son Jesus. That bride is the church. She is bound to Jesus Christ as a bride to a bridegroom: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it….. (Ephesians 5:25). 
The servant of Abraham took ten camels from the camels of his master and departed, for all the goods of his master were in his hand (Gen. 24:10) and he brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah (24:53). 
That is what the Lord has said about the Holy Spirit in John 16:14: He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. The Spirit of God is the Servant sent to the far country, to tell the intended bride of the glory of the offered, but resurrected Son, that she may be longing to meet that Bridegroom. 
The history of the servant, fetching a bride for Isaac, is an illustration of the work of the Spirit of God in this time, now that Israel is as dead for God. 
4 But then, in chapter 25, is spoken of Ketura, being as it were a new Sara, the wife of Abraham. Yes, for the Lord will fulfil his promises. There will be restoration for Israel, when they repent. "For I, brethren, would not have you be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits: that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:25-26). The breach between Israel and the God of Israel will then be healed. Hosea wrote about it: And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and warfare out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies" (Hosea 2:18-19).

Does anyone think, that the order of those chapters, precisely according to the order of the crucifixion, the rejection of Israel, the calling of the bride of Christ, the church, and the future restoration of Israel is chance only? Or did any human being invent it? Do you believe it? 
The truth proves itself. The Bible, the Word of God, is truth and its truthfulness is obvious for anyone willing to investigate earnestly, whether the book is true. Whosoever turns away, because he is disinterested, will regret it hereafter.

The first king among Israel's descendants

The book of Genesis closes with the first king of the family of Jakob. That king was Joseph. 
As stated before, when comparing the end of the first book with the end of the Bible, he was the most beloved son, and ordained by God to be a king. His brothers however envied and hated him. 
When he visited them in the name of his father, they rejected him, threw him into a pit, and sold him at the suggestion of Juda for twenty pieces of silver as a slave. 
Being sold in Egypt, he was put into jail on false accusation. Pharaoh, the great king, called him out of it and made him ruler over the whole of Egypt. And when his brothers came into Egypt in order to buy grain, they kneeled before him, as God had shown in the dreams of Joseph.

Do you recognise the prophecy in this history? 
It is the blue print of the history of Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, sent to his brothers, Israel. They hated and rejected Him. He was sold by Judas for the price of a slave, condemned on false accusation, delivered into the hands of the heathen, crucified and after his death put into a tomb. 
But, as Joseph was called out of jail, so Jesus Christ has been resur-rected by God on the third day and He has been exalted on the right hand of God. He is the Saviour of the world, willing to redeem anyone, who seeks refuge by Him. 
As the brothers of Joseph experienced hunger and had to go to Joseph for bread, so in future the brothers of the Lord, Israel, will suffer in a great tribulation and in their great need repent and bow for their rejected Messiah, Who will then come and redeem them. 
The end of Genesis is the rule of the beloved and rejected Joseph; the end of Gods ways with the world will be the rule of the beloved, rejected, but living Son, Jesus, the end likewise of the whole Bible. 
Those things are chance merely? 
They are not chance. God has foretold, what he will do. His Word, the holy Bible, proves the truthfulness of God. 
Why? 
In order you may believe, what He says, believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and be saved before it will be too late, for God will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. 
You possibly let Jesus Christ wait till now. Please, do not go on in that way, but bow down before that Saviour and Lord.

The Bible is true. God always speaks the truth only. Opinions of men, theories about the origin of all things, we may safely put aside. In due course scientists will do it as well, their theories being out of date, no longer valid, replaced by other theories etc. Gods Word, the Bible, is not theory, but eternal truth, valid for eternity. 
When we know the right way, what value have wrong ways for us? Go the right way to life and happiness, the way through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. He died for sinners. He came into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. See that you will be saved too. God is still calling: where are you?