Of Death and Promise

What a great Sunday we had last week, celebrating the work of Jesus—His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection—while looking at Genesis 22, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, his only son, and God’s providential prevention.

All of this pointing to God’s giving His Son, His only Son, Jesus in our place, and the proof that Jesus’ sacrifice was entirely sufficient: God raising Him from the dead.

We read almost all of Genesis 22 last Sunday, all except the last few verses (which really seem to belong to the next chapter, our text for this morning).

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do, please turn with me to Genesis 23). Keep your Bible open in front of you this morning, and look with me now at then end of Genesis 22.

Genesis 22:20–24 NIV

20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

From all appearances,

The people of God are (seemingly) insignificant…

Abraham has one son, Isaac. Isaac who, by the way, was almost killed. That’s it. One son. And now, almost like someone is rubbing it in a little, it’s brought to Abraham’s attention that his brother has 12 sons.

“Thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you’re at it, why don’t you give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?”

One son. Twelve sons.

Abraham’s family tree is one small branch, terribly insignificant, just barely a people.

Some people say these verses are here just because they introduce to us Rebekah.

I’m on the side of those who say these verses are here so that we do the math. And I hate doing math. But this is pretty simple math.

One son. Twelve sons.

Isaac versus these twelve in the non-covenant line.

Almost nothing versus crazy fertility.

God’s people appear fragile, few, flimsy, and unimpressive. On the other side of the family, there’s vigorous growth and strength of numbers.

This is Dale Ralph Davis’ opinion of the situation and what it means for you and me:

“God’s people so often seem weak and nondescript over against the success and achievement and power of the world around them. They are ‘mustard seed’ stuff. They can look like a pretty hopeless bunch of folks.

So…don’t get overly worried when Christ’s people in the world don’t seem to be dominant or flourishing or recognized or esteemed or tremendously significant. Their insignificance is often par for God’s course. But God will see to it.”

Don’t get overly worried when Christ’s people seem insignificant. Why? Because it’s just the outward appearance. We know better, don’t we?

Christ’s Church, wherever it is, in its individual parts and the sum-total of it, is stronger and more substantial than any other group of people. No matter who and how many stand against His people, God stands with His people.

Who, then, can be against us with any effective measure? Paul poses the question this way:

Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Seemingly insignificant though the people of God may seem, we know better. We know that a small number doesn’t limit what God will do.

Here with Abraham, it’s his one son verses his brother’s brooding football team, complete with back-up quarterback.

Where we, the church, are concerned, we might be outnumbered by the world, but we will not be conquered. Jesus has established His Church and nothing will prevail against it.

Grab your Bible and follow along as we read Genesis 23. Hold on, it’s a wild ride (not really).

Genesis 23 NIV

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. 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.

Abraham’s line is woefully outnumbered, and now his wife dies. We learn, pretty quickly,

The people of God are (seemingly) insignificant, finite/temporary creatures…

Many have wondered why this chapter—in all its yawn-inducing length—is included in the Bible. You might be questioning why I read the entire thing out loud, besides the fact that (2 Tim 3:16-17) “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...”

Besides that, this chapter does teach us a few important truths. First: we are mortal.

We are finite, temporary creatures.

Sarah dies. Abraham grieves. And in his grief Abraham has to bury his wife.

One commentator jokes that this might be the best biblical text for funeral directors to use as a cautionary tale: “Don’t wait until the last moments when you have to make decisions under the pressure of time and the stress of grief.” Pre-plan your funeral. That’s really good advice.

But this story, obviously, isn’t about that. It is, sadly, yet another reminder for us that death is certain. We are finite, temporary creatures. This is true for all of us, though only a few of us will, like Abraham’s wife Sarah, live to be 127 years old (insert John Hough joke here).

Sorrow and grief are part and parcel of our earthly existence. I’ve lost count of the number of funerals I’ve officiated or attended. There have been hundreds.

Abraham’s grief and sorrow is something sadly common to us all; not even the covenant-people of God are immune.

The death of Sarah is a special death. Interestingly enough, Sarah is the only woman in Genesis whose age is given at death. And Sarah is, in one sense, the mother of the people of God in this world.

The death of Sarah is a special death in the biblical account, but it’s a fairly ordinary trial, unlike the call of God to Abraham to sacrifice his son.

Abraham had to be anticipating the eventual death of his wife, whether or not he’d outlive her. He knew she would not live forever, finite and temporary as we are.

God’s people are not impervious to grief and sadness. This, you well know. There’s no one in this room who isn’t familiar with grief or loss.

We could, even should, mention here that the resurrection of Jesus changes what death means for those who belong to Him. We know that death is not the end. Because Jesus lives, we too, shall live.

“Lives again our glorious King, alleluia! Where, o death, is now thy sting? Alleluia! Dying once He all doth save, alleluia! Where thy victory, o grave, alleluia!”

We know the good news, we have resurrection hope, but the grief we feel is very, very real. Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you don’t mourn and weep over your loss. Sometimes it comes in waves. It hits at odd times. Sometimes it overwhelms.

Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

Of course he did. As he should have. Don’t downplay this or the reality of grief and sorrow here and now.

We are finite, temporary creatures. Abraham seems to understand this. He says, Gen 23:4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

He realizes his transitory nature. He’s here temporarily, as is his wife, not just in the land, but on earth.

Abraham tells the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner/stranger among you.”

Abraham is saying he’s not a resident of the land, nor does he have the rights of a resident. And he has no land of his own but has settled, like a tenant upon the land belonging to someone else.

The book of Hebrews says Abraham and his people admitted that they were foreigners and strangers on earth (Hebrews 11.13).

That’s not a bad thing to admit. The Bible wants all of God’s people to make that admission, to realize we’re not all that different from Abraham.

The LORD tells the people of Israel:

Leviticus 25:23 NIV

23 “ ‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.

David believed what Abraham believed:

Psalm 39:12 NIV

12 “Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.

Peter writing to the scattered church:

1 Peter 2:11 NIV

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

Brothers and sisters, we must think about ourselves the way the Bible instructs us to think about ourselves.

I’m a foreigner here, an exile here. And so are you.

Abraham’s a sojourner in the land; we’re finite and transitory, temporary, impermanent.

James, the half-brother of Jesus would call you a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

But there’s another truth to be found in this chapter, a more significant truth, a truth that should steady us through the ups and downs of this life.

Though we seem insignificant, and though we are finite/temporary, there is still the promise of God and the God who is faithful to fulfill the promise.

You remember the promise God made to Abraham. I’m sure you do. It comes up several times throughout his life (as recorded for us in Genesis).

In the initial call of Abraham’s life:

Genesis 12:6–7 NIV

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

A little later in his journey with God:

Genesis 13:14–17 NIV

14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Part of the reassurance to Abraham:

Genesis 15:7 NIV

7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

Genesis 15:18–20 NIV

18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

The promise reiterated.

Genesis 17:8 NIV

8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

That’s the promise of God to Abraham. It’s been promised for all these years. And now, something incredible comes to pass.

The give-and-take of the business deal, I think, gets in the way of our picking up on the main point.

The locals offer Abraham use of a borrowed burial plot (v. 6), Abraham makes a counter-proposal for the cave of Machpelah for full payment in silver (vv. 7-9); there’s talk of witnesses (the presence of my people) and all the legal requirements, and then Ephron makes his own counter-offer to give/sell both the field and the cave to Abraham (v. 11).

It goes on and on, back and forth, for a terribly long time. It’s a sample of Middle Eastern bargaining. It’s written for us here, because I’m sure this is how it went down.

But, boy howdy, does it take some effort to get through.

But what’s really going on? What’s the great truth of this chapter. Look at verse 2 and verse 19:

Genesis 23:2 NIV

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.

Genesis 23:19 NIV

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.

Do you see it? Do you?

Each of these verses refer to Hebron and then adds the words in the land of Canaan.

In the land of Canaan!

This should jog our memories (or is it a soft ‘j’…yog our memories?) to the promise God made in Genesis 12 and Genesis 13 and Genesis 15 and Genesis 17.

Genesis 23 is connected to the promise of God. Here Abraham obtains a cemetery plot for his wife, Sarah. Some of the land is deeded over to Abraham. A small piece of Canaan is now his!

This field and the cave in which Sarah is buried is in the land of Canaan. It’s a tiny bit of land in the land that God promised, a small parcel of what the LORD had promised. But it’s there! It’s there!

The LORD’s promise of the land has begun to come true.

This is a small sign of God’s faithfulness.

Small signs of God’s faithfulness in are present in our own lives. If you think about it, you’ve had those moments. Sometimes, we don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear, but God is constantly giving some sign of His faithfulness to us.

A positive and long-awaited phone call, with unexpected good news.

A neighbor offering help when you wonder, “How in the world am I going to get this done?”

Family and friends showing up in support at a wedding, a funeral, an adoption hearing.

Money arriving by mail when making the ends meet seems impossible.

The well-timed text message or phone call.

An answered prayer.

Abraham becoming the legal owner of a small plot of land in the Promised Land.

Small signs of God’s faithfulness. This is the wonderful, if not surprising truth, of this section of Genesis:

The people of God are (seemingly) insignificant, finite/temporary creatures, who are guided and sustained by the ever-faithful God.

A few verses in Genesis 22 and all of Genesis 23—doesn’t look like much, but they tell us God has already begun to fulfill his promise, if only with a small faithfulness.

All these years separated from Abraham, we know so much more about the faithfulness of God than Abraham could have possibly known.

We’re reading Abraham’s story this morning, and yet we know about the One from his line, through whom ALL the peoples on earth are blessed.

God has been abundantly faithful to us!

Galatians 3:16 NIV

16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.

God has been faithful to His promises. He can’t not be. It’s His faithfulness that guides us and sustains us.

When we feel small and insignificant, He is faithful. He’s with us. We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

When we face death and dying, loss and sorrow, He cares and He’s faithful to walk with us through it all.

When He makes a promise, He’s faithful to keep it. Every promise, every time. For His glory and for our good.

He is faithful and He’s just. He’s is faithful to guide and sustain His people.

Brothers and sisters, I pray you know this.

Friends, if you don’t know the LORD, if you haven’t put your faith and trust in Christ to save you, let today be the day.

Come talk to me. Or find someone here to speak with. Find an elder (Don, Joe, Tyler, Richard, myself), or any member of the church will be willing to speak to you.

In repentance and faith, entrust your finite life to the infinite, ever-faithful God!