Go East: The Romance of Abraham and Keturah

Go East:

The Romance of Abraham and Keturah

1854 B.C.

D. E. McReynolds

After the death of Sarah:

Then again Abraham took a wife,

and her name was Keturah.

And she bare him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,

Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.

–Genesis 25: 1-2

Copyright © 2013 D. E. McReynolds.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-(866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover design: Nathan Brown

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations and references are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7945-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7947-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7946-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012923603

WestBow Press rev. date: 4/08/2013

CONTENTS

Chapter 1  Keturah

Chapter 2  Twice Rescued

Chapter 3  Wedding Day

Chapter 4  Six Sons

Chapter 5  A Trip To Sodom

Chapter 6  The Sacrifice

Chapter 7  Family Reunion

Chapter 8  Go East

Chapter 9  A Season Of Rest

This book is dedicated to

my dear friend, Irma Porter,

a well-educated retired teacher

who encouraged me in

the wonderful world of writing.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank the people of Salem, Oregon’s Center 50 +, writers group and the WYTTs of the Salem, Oregon Library, for their encouragement. They provided information, suggestions, corrections, and recommendations for clarity and better phrasing. Their immense help is greatly appreciated. Thanks to Jay Pritchard, who keeps my computer on good behavior and corrects my work.

PREFACE

Before the blessing of the revealed redemption to also include Gentiles, the Hebrew nation promised to Abraham was formed. This nation was to provide the Redeemer with authentic proof of His deity by genealogy, history, and prophecies so we would know For God (Elohim) so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

–John 3:16 KJV

***

Eight sons were born to Abraham by three wives. Sarah, his first wife, bore him one son named Isaac, whose seed was chosen by Yahweh, to establish the covenant promises. Ishmael was Abraham’s first son by his second wife, Hagar. Yahweh told Abraham, He would make of Ishmael a nation, because he is thy seed. (Genesis 21:13b, KJV). Also Ishmael had twelve sons, named by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations (Genesis 25:16b, KJV). Six sons were born to Abraham by his third wife, Keturah, to whom Abraham gave gifts, and then sent them eastward, away from Isaac (Genesis 25: 1, 2, 6 KJV); east, to a country where many years later kings were raised up to return the descendants of Isaac taken captive to Babylon, back to the Promised Land.

"Wow, Abraham, what do we have here? The protagonist and the antagonists? Did you know then that John 3:16 would bring the son-ship?"

Abraham was a needed foundation for this story: it is about his meeting Keturah, his third wife and their six sons. The boys just did not seem to have a life. Bits and pieces of Scripture and historical events hint of their presence and purpose, but for the most part, remain a little obscure, unlike Ishmael and Isaac. Those two are in plain view. If Ishmael received great promises because he was a seed of Abraham’s, surely Keturah’s sons also would be included in temporal promises to Abraham.

Hypothetically, Ishmael’s appearance in the story usually promotes a romance. Finding Keturah lost and dying in the desert, brought her to Abraham’s camp in Beersheba to be nursed back to health. His plan was to return for her and selling the red haired beauty in Egypt.

I begin my hypothesis with how Abraham met and married Keturah and then she had sextuplets. The flack I received from my critique group almost caused me to change it, but then on the news I would hear reports of multiple births, including Octomom’s. And then, when almost again persuaded to make a change, news came of a woman in Egypt who gave birth to seven babies, and they all lived. No, the story could not be altered. Abraham was a man of miracles, so why not another one? I was not going to belabor the labor with the six births of: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Part of the story is about the six boys after they arrived, not how.

Paranormal, celestial, violent episodes; romances; and all the situations the six boys took me through; Oy, I-yi-yi, I would leave my keyboard shaky. I hope you enjoy reading The Romance of Abraham and Keturah as much as I did writing it. I also hope you will look forward to reading the sequel, The Six Sons of Abraham and Keturah, when after Abraham told them to go east, the six sons went west and settled in Sidon, but then, by compelling circumstances, were persuaded to go east.

Names and episodes of some of Keturah’s sons and grandsons appear in the Scriptures. Historical records and a book at the library confirmed the personalities I gave to each boy’s name, and assured me of the direction of my quest. A suggestion, words of encouragement, and e-mailed pictures pertaining to an episode or events the six sons may have seen or were involved in kept me writing. The dialect is in today’s vernacular with a few Hebrew words thrown in to keep the story in perspective:

•   Yahweh (Lord)

•   Elohim (God)

•   Yedidim, pronounced, [yedídím] (beloved one)

GO EAST:

THE ROMANCE OF

ABRAHAM AND KETURAH

CHAPTER

1

1856 B.C.

KETURAH

Ishmael took his time taking the stew to the very hungry girls. First he would put some of it—quite a bit—into another container for himself—later. He left hardly enough stew for one girl, let alone three. Well, maybe just two. Ishmael opened the wagon door, and a lifeless body fell halfway out. Abraham’s gaze fell on the girl’s red hair; Keturah. The name jumped into his mind. He moved closer to get a better view.

Oy, it is Keturah. Trying to hide his concern, Abraham said, Looks like you lost one. Abraham knew well what happened as his mind raced back to Isaac and Rebekah’s wedding reception, where he first met Keturah.

ABRAHAM MEETS KETURAH

It was a glorious celebration for Isaac and his beautiful bride, Rebekah. Deborah and Nera were very attentive to Rebekah and her needs, but Keturah seemed to do her best to avoid being involved in anything. Keturah’s red hair and freckles made her stand out. As Abraham watched, he couldn’t help but notice Keturah’s expression of … jealousy? She would glance sideways at Isaac and Rebekah as her hands moved about nervously. Yes, it was jealousy. He realized it wasn’t of Rebekah, but of Isaac. Abraham could tell Keturah resented Isaac. Abraham believed Keturah posed a very serious problem.

~~~~~~

Oh get ready, evening shadows fall;

Don’t you hear the Eliezer call?

There is going to be a wedding,

Our joy will soon begin,