The Bible says Abraham, the patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, died in “a good old age, old and full of years.”
But exactly how long did Abraham live?
According to the Bible, Abraham died at 175 years of age. But why is this number significant?
Genesis 6:3 says, "Then the Lord said, 'My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be 120 years.'"
So, after God declared that humanity's age would not exceed 120 years, He allowed Abraham to live 55 years beyond this limit. Abraham knew the limitation Genesis 6:3 placed on a person's lifespan.
At 100 years of age, not only did he struggle to trust God's promise, but he also doubted that, even if the promise were fulfilled, he would live long enough to see it. We are sure he wrestled with the tension between faithfulness and trust. Yet, somehow, he forged ahead, stayed focused on the prize, and remained faithful despite his perceived limitations declared by Almighty God Himself.
Little did he know that God would give him 55 more years.
God’s Promise and Fulfillment
In Genesis 17:6, God promised Abraham, "I will make you exceedingly fruitful." In Genesis 18:10, God told Abraham, "Your wife Sarah shall have a son."
Genesis 18:11 records it best: "Now Sarah and Abraham were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, 'After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?'"
God Was Not Done With Sarah and Abraham
As humanity ages, Sarah's question becomes relevant to everyone across generations. As people age, they wonder if they still have any usefulness left.
God made it clear that Sarah and Abraham still had a purpose He would fulfill through them. They could have given up, but instead, they believed—not without doubt or eventual amazement at God's goodness to them, but nonetheless.
Then the day came. At the age of 100, God fulfilled His promise and gave Abraham the chosen seed through Sarah—Isaac.
At this time, Abraham may have been good at math and concluded, "Well, I can be around for Isaac's first 20 years before I die if God gives me the maximum years of promise in my life."
Another Test of Faith
But in God-like fashion, He was not done "testing" Abraham. In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to take Isaac and offer him on Mount Moriah as a sacrifice. Even in old age, after a long period of waiting on God for fulfillment, Abraham faced another test. This test was symbolic of what would come later in the New Testament when God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, and followed through with sacrificing Him for the sins of the world.
Pointing to Jesus
Everything God asked of Abraham—though he didn’t know it at the time—was meant to point humanity to Jesus and the sacrifice He made on the cross. Abraham's understanding was minimal at best, but his trust was rock solid. During this excruciating request from God, Abraham responded in Genesis 22:14, "God will provide."
And God did.
It is difficult to determine how old Isaac was when Abraham took him to be sacrificed, but he was old enough to understand what was happening and old enough to carry the wood. Most scholars believe Isaac was a young man, around 15 to 18 years old, perhaps even 20. This would put Abraham at 120 years of age—the limit God set for humanity. Abraham was willing to offer Isaac, whom he had waited on God to fulfill for 25 years.
Abraham obeyed.
What faith in his old years! Age doesn’t negate effectiveness for God; selfishness does.
Selfishness sometimes grows with age but not with Abraham. He trusted God at 120, just as he did at 75.
Faith Beyond Age
But as God would have it, if He extends life past the promised number, He also requires faith during it. If Abraham was 120 years old when asked to offer Isaac, then he was 137 when Sarah died, as recorded in Genesis 23:1 (Sarah was 127 years old, and Abraham was 10 years older than her).
Once again, Abraham had to persevere, trust the Lord, and believe that God knows best—even in death.
Genesis 23:2 says, "Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her." Life requires tears at times, and yet Abraham still trusted the Lord. As Job said in Job 13:15, "Though He (God) slay me, yet I will trust Him." This is what a life of faith looks like, even years after the promised years are complete. People of faith do not have to weaken in their faith with age despite sorrow; they can become giants for future generations to look to and draw strength from as they travel down the same roads at their appointed time.
Legacy of Faith
Genesis 24:1 says Abraham was old and advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in all things. Yet Abraham still did not quit.
At roughly age 140, Abraham sent his servant to find Isaac a wife. He kept pushing into the future of the generation behind him, preparing them to live out who and what God had called them to be and do. This is a legacy—a godly legacy—and this is what true faithfulness to God looks like.
A Model of Faith
Then, the unexpected happened again in Abraham's life. Genesis 25:1 says, "Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah." Most believe Abraham was in his 140s when he remarried and lived with Keturah for over three decades before dying at 175 years old.
Abraham modeled for people of faith that one must keep living, regardless of what one faces, knowing that if one still has a pulse, one still has a purpose in God’s economy.
Abraham lived each day as if it were his last, and one day, he was right, but until that day, he lived. He didn't die before he died like so many others. He lived. He lived by faith, and faith supersedes age and circumstances. Abraham defied the odds because God defied the odds, and Abraham's faith was not in himself, his age, or his circumstances but in the timeless God he served.
Genesis 25:7 says, "Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, old and full of years."
That phrase, "good old age," is antithetical to modern society, but in God’s economy, it is spot on. Good and old can and do go together for people of faith.
Abraham is an inspiration to all ages and generations to press on until the final breath.
