I remember as a child that when my mother and her sister would take myself, my brother and cousins out shopping, we would always stop for morning tea in a cafeteria in one of the big department stores. After eating, all of the children would watch with amusement when our mother and auntie would argue over the bill. "No, no, no...I'm paying for it..." one would say, only to be outdone by the other, "No, I insist.....you're definitely not paying!" It would go on for quite a while as both had their reasons for believing it was their responsibility to pay!
As I read through the passage from Genesis 23, it brought back these memories! But first, we need to look at the end of the previous chapter which has some information concerning Abraham's brother Nahor, who he had left behind in Ur in obedience to God:
"Some time later Abraham was told, "Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel." Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah."
Genesis 22:20-24 NIV
The reason we have this little snapshot of Nahor's family tree is that Rebekah would be linked to Abraham's family very soon!
"Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 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. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, "I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead." The Hittites replied to Abraham, "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." Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 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 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." 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. "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." Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 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." Ephron answered Abraham, "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." 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. 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 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 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. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site."
Genesis 23:1-20 NIV
It's interesting that Sarah is the only woman mentioned in the Bible, who has her age of death recorded! Surely this was because of her faithful walk and role as the mother of all nations. She is highly regarded and mentioned in 1 Peter 3:3-6 as a 'holy woman of the past' who submitted herself to her husband with a 'gentle and quiet spirit'. No wonder we see Abraham mourning his loss! They certainly had a long marriage and they had been through so much together!
We see how deeply Abraham mourns the loss of his wife and lifelong companion, as he wept for her. Then he is moved to action —he must find somewhere suitable to bury Sarah. The fact that Abraham didn't legally own any of the land by title deed, was something that bothered him when considering where to lay his wife to rest. Land was offered to him as he was obviously highly regarded but we see that Abraham insisted that he pay for the particular land and cave that he had in mind. It was in an area he and Sarah had lived for a time during their travels around Canaan. Perhaps there were special memories there. He had even built an altar to the Lord in this place (Genesis 13:18).
Apparently, the offer to give the land to Abraham was part of a cultural bargaining practice. When Abraham refused to just take the land, then a price was given which was bargained around. Eventually, through fair business practices Abraham obtains the deed for the land with the cave, having paid a generous amount for it. It would become the burial site for Sarah, himself, his son Isaac, Rebekah and his grandson Jacob and wife Leah.
The Lord certainly was gracious to Sarah in her lifetime and clearly saw some wonderful qualities in her:
"And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise."
Hebrews 11:11 NIV
This verse points to Sarah's faith in an amazing God, who she knew was faithful to His promise. At the end of my journey through life, my hope is that those I leave behind will be able to say that I had faith in the One who is faithful in keeping His promises.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank You that You are a faithful God. You love us and have called us. You are with us all through our lives, even in times when we have doubts or go our own way.
"God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV
As we think of Sarah's wonderful legacy of faith, we give You thanks and praise!
"Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name." Psalm 30:4 NIV
"The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy."
Psalm 111:7 NIV
Lord it was so encouraging to see the way Sarah's life brought glory to You and that she was able to be a great life partner for Abraham. Help me as I continue in faith to remember that I am a daughter (or son) of Sarah:
"For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."
1 Peter 3:5-6 NIV
May I never give way to fear but keep on trusting You in all that I do.
In Jesus' Name,
For Your glory,
Amen.
"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."
Psalms 36:9 NLT
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Light and Life for Today
ДуховныеA daily devotional for your time alone with God. In an increasingly dark world, more than ever, we need to look beyond what we can see, past our present circumstances. In order to see the light and experience life as our Heavenly Father intended, I...
