We have now finished the climax of the story of Abraham. It started off with an initial trust in this promise that God made to Abraham (Genesis 12.1-4) and it ends with this final act of obedience in by trusting that God will resurrect the heir, Isaac (Genesis 22.1-14). Abraham has been revealed as someone who embraces the call of God in complete faith, no matter if it seems ridiculous. Now, this promise God made to Abraham must be transferred to the next generation. In the coming chapters, we deal with three elements in this transition of the promise from Abraham to Isaac.
- The death of the mother (23.1-20)
- A wife for the son and heir (24.1-67)
- The death of the father (25.1-18)
Today, we are going to look at the death of the mother, Sarah. Let's read the text:
1 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.[a] He said, 4 “I am an alien and a 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[b] you the field, and I give[c] you the cave that is in it. I give[d] 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[e] of silver, but what is that between me and you? 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.
The passage divides itself very simply into three sections. We first see the problem (23.1-4), the dialogue (23.5-16), and the problem resolved (23.17-20).
The problem is simply this, Abraham's wife is dead and he does not own any land in order to bury her.
Because of this, he enters into a dialogue with Ephron the Hittite, which was very eastern in nature. The dialogue produces the field that Abraham is going to buy to bury his wife.
And what happens after that is the burial of Sarah.
That's it.
That's the story.
But what is the point of it?
I know this story is serving as a transition story between Abraham and Sarah, but what message does this story have for us today?
The key when interpreting Old Testament literature is always looking at the Old Testament stories on three different levels.
The top, base level, is the Moral level.
This level consists of presenting some kind of moral to a story that we can learn. Like we can say about this story that Abraham dealt kindly with the Ephron the Hittite, and so we should deal kindly and respectfully to those who we engage in business with.
But the application does not stop there, it goes much deeper.
The second level, you have to ask yourself what is happening with Israel, the people of God.
In this level, you begin to see what kind of people God wants to use and how he wants to use them. God uses Abraham because Abraham has been faithful, and God is going to honor those that are faithful to him. And this faithfulness is a mark for the rest of Israel, for their father, Abraham, is their model, their example.
But there is still one more level of application.
The problem is simply this, Abraham's wife is dead and he does not own any land in order to bury her.
Because of this, he enters into a dialogue with Ephron the Hittite, which was very eastern in nature. The dialogue produces the field that Abraham is going to buy to bury his wife.
And what happens after that is the burial of Sarah.
That's it.
That's the story.
But what is the point of it?
I know this story is serving as a transition story between Abraham and Sarah, but what message does this story have for us today?
The key when interpreting Old Testament literature is always looking at the Old Testament stories on three different levels.
The top, base level, is the Moral level.
This level consists of presenting some kind of moral to a story that we can learn. Like we can say about this story that Abraham dealt kindly with the Ephron the Hittite, and so we should deal kindly and respectfully to those who we engage in business with.
But the application does not stop there, it goes much deeper.
The second level, you have to ask yourself what is happening with Israel, the people of God.
In this level, you begin to see what kind of people God wants to use and how he wants to use them. God uses Abraham because Abraham has been faithful, and God is going to honor those that are faithful to him. And this faithfulness is a mark for the rest of Israel, for their father, Abraham, is their model, their example.
But there is still one more level of application.
Top level: the Moral Level
Middle Level: The Israel Level
Bottom Level: The Covenant Level
In the bottom level, the question we always have to ask about any OT text is simply this, What is happening with God's covenant with Abraham. And specifically, what is happening to the four promises God made to Abraham:
- Bless your name
- Give you promised land
- Give you descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
- All nations will be blessed through you
As we take a look at our text today through this bottom level, we see something very interesting. As a result of Sarah's death, Abraham ends up purchasing a tomb in the promised land.
Slowly but surely, God is fulfilling his promise to Abraham by giving him the promised land, one piece of land at a time. He first got the well at Beersheba, and now he is purchasing a cave and field.
God is faithful to those who are faithful to him.
When we step out in faith, and live lives that are faithful to God, he gives us what he promised he would give us, namely eternal life.
And as we wait for the Big gift, there are small gifts we receive here, today, that confirm that one day we will receive that big gift of eternal life.
So how has God been faithful to you? How is he bringing about his covenant in your life?
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