Genesis 25:7 – “This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.”
This is a simple verse that contains a lot more than just the cumulative number of years a great man lived on the earth. There is a story behind the numbers. We can thank God for the obedience of Abraham. His choosing to walk with God and to have the faith to believe God has impacted us whether we realize it or not. Romans 4:16 declares that we are Abraham’s children. Thank God for Abraham’s faithfulness!
Our text tells us that Abraham lived to be 175 years old. He was 75 years old when he left Haran in obedience to the voice of God (Genesis 12:4). He is given promises concerning his offspring and the land he is to possess. These two themes continue throughout the book of Genesis. It would be 24 years and 5 promises later that Abraham would receive his final divine communication concerning the birth of the promised son Isaac. Abraham is 100 years old when Isaac is born (Genesis 21:5). Abraham lives out another 75 years and dies in a “good old age” (Genesis 25:8). I believe those numbers are not accidental.
Abraham’s father, Terah, is called an idolater in Joshua 24:2. So, we can only speculate what Abraham’s life was like his first 75 years. We have no details in scripture. Abraham lives the next 25 years waiting on the promise of God. He lives the next 75 years enjoying the fulfillment of the promise of God and is blessed of the Lord. I believe God redeemed the first 75 years with the last 75 years. Maybe the reason we don’t have any details on the first 75 years is to illustrate to us that God does not hold the record on our past.
What I want you to take away from today’s devotional is the power of God to redeem the time. The years that have been eaten up and stolen from you are able to be restored back to you in such great measure that they will not only make up for lost time, but will exceed those troublesome times. May this year be the start of the redemptive years for you!