"Abraham and Sarah's Land" (Genesis 23)

“Abraham and Sarah’s Land” (Genesis 23)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM March 13, 2016

Genesis 23 (NIV)

23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. ² She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

³ Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.  He said, ⁴ “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶ “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁷ Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸ He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf ⁹ so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

¹⁰ Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. ¹¹ “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give  you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹² Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land ¹³ and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

¹⁶ Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

¹⁷ So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded ¹⁸ to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. ¹⁹ Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

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1.    The Faithfulness of God

a.    In fulfilling his promise to give Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan.
b.    In fulfilling his promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son.
c.    In fulfilling his promise to make Abraham great and give him a “name” among the peoples of the land.
d.    In fulfilling his promise to bless others through Abraham.

2.    The Faith of Abraham

a.    In recognizing his pilgrim status in the land (3–6), but trusting God to bless him with the land in the future.
b.    In choosing to purchase a burial plot in Canaan and not back in Haran, demonstrating his commitment to the Lord’s call and his faith in God’s promise to give him this land.
c.    In choosing the location of Sarah’s burial place – at one of the original sacred sites where Abraham worshiped God when he first came into the land of Canaan and where the Lord appeared to him (Gen 13:18; 14:13; 18:1).
d.    In his humble negotiations with the Hittites, the people of the land, trusting God to bless him with what he needed.
e.    In his faithful and dependable interactions with the Hittites.
f.    In his looking to the future inheritance of the land by his descendants as the Lord promised.

i.    Hebron/Mamre became the central dwelling place of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (18:1; 23:2; 35:27; 37:14)
ii.    Abraham is buried there with Sarah (25:9)
iii.    Isaac/Rebecca and Jacob/Leah are buried there (49:28–33; 50:13)

g.    In trusting that God would keep his promises even after Sarah (and Abraham) were gone.

i.    The death of Sarah reminds us that God’s covenant people still go through the common disappointments and struggles in this world.
ii.    God’s promises do not always come to full blossom in our lifetimes. They certainly didn’t in Abraham’s. The writer of Hebrews tells us that he was looking for a better city.

Main Idea: Abraham’s purchase of a burial plot for Sarah in Canaan teaches us the faithfulness of God in keeping his promises and provides us a model of faith in God, trusting God to keep his Word even when the fullness of those promises have not yet matured.