Genesis 23
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Welcome back to Wednesday nights. I say it every night and it never ceases to be true, I love coming to teach this to y'all. It really really really gives me joy that God still to this day has decided to use me as unworthy as I am. And I cannot be tankful enough to you all that you keep deciding to come. There are so many better teachers so many potentially better things you could be doing with your life. But I am thrilled you are here.
Let’s pray and then we can get started.
Let me first say that we have no practice tonight, so I am confiscating the hour we normally use for practice, so no body moves till 9 pm.
Oswald Chambers says this and I love it. Always be determined to know more! If you yourself to not cut the ties that bind you to the dock, God will use a storm to sever them and send you to the sea.
Do not be satisfied with where you are in your spiritual growth. He will grow you up. So you might as well get on out there.
1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
So we know the story of Sarah. How she was barren. How she had a failed attempt at trying to produce a child on her own. We know that she was mistreated by Abraham in that he didn’t defend her or protect her. He lied on her. And we know about the miracle son with Isaac. But now we are about to get a whole chapter about her death. Why do you think this is so important? Obviously this is a powerful woman to do what she did. Totally empowered by God. We though are going to see some things in her death that had God been directing this whole thing never would have happened. So let’s talk about it.
Ok first of all Sarah is the only woman in the bible that we get the age in which she died. She is one of 4 that we hear anything about their death.
Sarah we get the years and place
Rebecca we are told she dies
Lea and Rachel we get their places of burial.
You don’t really get this info for women very much in scripture. So it must be important. First it gives us that she is held with great honor. Second is the number itself.
I hope y'all ready for this. This is new for my wife. We I taught this to our family I made mention of the years and there must be a significance but I didn’t go look it up. I did for y'all and it is so cool.
The number 127 in Hebrew means fertile ground. Tell me God doesn’t have a plan!!!
She lived her whole life as barren or infertile. But God so redeemed her that she became fertile ground. Good soil.
Oh that we would make that transformation in our lives. Are you fertile ground? Does that remind you of a parable that Jesus taught. Which soil are you? There is a deeper meaning there I won’t go into it for the sake of time but if you wanna know about that parable come see me afterwards. Untie your boat. lol
So she was Sarai unable to produce to Sarah fertile soil. Wow!!!
Now notice where Abraham and Sarah are at her death. Hebron back in the land of Canaan. Where he was supposed to be in the first place. Remember he was in the land Philistines. So now he is back to mourn and to weep for her. Anybody notice anything?
Something that may have jumped out at you? 1st thing is that he is mourning publicly. This was and still is a common practice for the people of this culture to mourn publicly. He is doing it so everyone sees it. He does this so that everyone else will also grab how important she was to him. But there is something else.
This is the first time we have shedding of tears being done in scripture. I am not saying that it didn’t happen. But through the flood, through the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah this is the first time that God to his servant moses sad, write this down. He cried. That is pretty big deal. Their relationship is significant and his mourning her is significant. They had been though a lot together. Also another thing to ponder is this.
Abraham is older by 10 years. But for some reason in God’s plan she dies first. In this room we have long married people, short married people, and men yet to be married. My wife and I already made a pack we go together. But I will most definitely go first.
Let’s keep going
3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,
4 “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
5 The Hittites answered Abraham,
6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.”
Grief is important. God says that he is close to the broken hearted. The time of grieving is powerful. But you do see something here.
There is a time to stand up and do the next thing.
You cannot allow grief to crush you. You see he is doing all the weeping. All the whaling. All the mourning and in front of all the important people of the town which he is one. In front of other men. Which he is one. And he does it unashamedly. Then he stood up. He moved on from his grief. It is just like David with his kid from Bathsheba. God says the kid is going to die. David go tears his clothes, sits in ashes, fast and prays and weeps. The boy dies. David goes and showers and says bring food and then worships God. He said well that time is done nothing I can do now, I will see my kid again so let’s move on. Anytime I talk with people who are grieving especially when the one dead is redeemed and the person left is redeemed, don’t allow that person who you claim to love, to have a legacy that their death turned you away from God. You just collapsed on yourself and you don’t like how God did and now you are blaspheming him and living a life with no hope. They don’t want that legacy. My goodness, I loved my wife Sheila when she passed and I thought I was going to give up and quit. I loved my dad when he passed and I was there for both of their final breaths. I carried my wife to the bed to lay her down as she was passing away. I loved Loni. I have seen so many people claim to love all these folks but all three of these people ended their earthly life in the arms of God and if they were alive today would be reprimanding some people for how they live and praying God would change them but you think you are honoring them because you make a fb post. You know what I’d rather you do and I think I have some authority to speak on it for all 3 of them because I knew them so well, shut your fb off and get your face before the lord so you can see them again. That is how you can honor them. I don’t give two cents how much you post about them. It isn’t honoring them nor saving you. You can say you love someone all you want but the way you live your life is what truly dictates that. You may never believe what you say but you will always act what you believe.
Then the second thing I tell people is that this is not how it ends. Revelation 21 tells us so.
So he stands up to honor his wife. The way he lived his life when he asked for the burial plot, they told him man you are a prince among us. Of course you can have whatever spot you want. Just tell us. you have been blessed by God you have been a blessing to us we will gladly honor you and her with this request. Would I walk into your community or you into mine and would that community say that about us? Would our communities say about us that we have brought nothing but honor into it. Or would they say about us, we are glad that tyrant is gone. Would they say that is one less trouble maker or one less grumpy old man. Would the community come together to help your wife bury you. He has lived his life in such a way that even though he is not native to the land they are willing to allow him to bury her.
But…I do want to want to throw up a caution flag also. Though there is respect here, there could be a hidden agenda that if we give it to him, he owes us and it isn’t really his property. We could take it back anytime we want it. He is a foreigner. He is an alien.
7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land.
8 And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar,
9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”
Now just for the record. Again grieving is process. This says that he rose. Wasn’t he already standing. Well how many of you have gone to a viewing and the spouse stand to greet you then when they have hugged your for coming go back to sitting beside the casket or turn to just stare at their loved one one more time. So that is probably what has happened. He said his peace and then sat to look at Sarah some more. Then they said their peace and now he rises to be respectful again and he bows.
Abraham says ok here is how I want it to go and I am saying this in front of all of you all. If you are ok with me burying her then here is where I want to do it.
Machpelah means in Hebrew ready for shouting…double portion. So we have a double portion of fertile ground.
I want that place and I want to buy it at full price so there will be no question about it. No argument no haggling. I will buy it and it will be mine. I don’t want to make a deal or nothing. I just want it. Ok now look at this. This is why i said earlier there may be a devious plan or at least motive here.
10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city,
11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”
Look at what this man does. Abraham has already stated that he would buy it full price right? In front of all of those witnesses and this is phase one of the brilliance of Abraham as the master negotiator. In this culture if you make a deal in front of witnesses, it is done. There is not go back there is no changing it. The deal is set and you must honor it or everyone in the town knows what kind of person you are and it could be the death of you. You cannot back up.
Ephron just thinks he is a good negotiator.
So he is trying to give it to him. I will not sale it to you. Seems nice but he is trying to keep Abraham from owning land. Once you own land, you can make roots. How many of you have seen a movie where the small town has an outsider come in and they want buy land and they do their best to keep them from owning it.
This is what is happening right here. See i I give it to Abraham then when he is dead I can take it back. But if the promise God made to Abraham is going to happen then it has to start with someone owning some land.
So let’s see the negotiator.
12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.”
Abraham again shows respect. And says look if you are going to give it to me then just sale it to me for whatever the price is. Like who in their right mind says no to this. I am going to give something away but you insist on buying it. Cool show me the money. My wife is a little bit harder to bless in that way than I am. I will give you 2 push backs. Hey chris. I wanna buy your lunch. Man you aint gotta do that. I know I don’t have to but I want to. Are you sure. Yeah man I got it. Cool. My wife will try and snatch the ticket from you and all kinds of stuff. Not me, I will take all my blessings with gratitude and take your blessings if you just lay them around lol
So Abraham picks the spot and knows what he wants. How long you think he wanted that property? lol I mean as soon as they say you can pick any spot you want and he immediately picks this one. He been looking at this.
I also want you to look what does Abraham originally ask for? He ask for the cave only. Then in the negotiation, Abraham throws in the field so now we are talking about the entire thing. Abraham is so good. I wish I could take him to my next car deal.
Look at this.
14 Ephron answered Abraham,
15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
Abraham is being very specific about what he is going to do with the land. He isn’t going to buy it and build a trailer park on it. Ok. He aint trying to build condominiums. He is simply stating that I am going to use it as a burial plot. But he has masterfully put in the field with the cave.
Then here comes the wise old Ephron. Lol He says look Abraham, that field is worth 400 shekels of silver. What is that between you and me. Ahh I aint gonna charge you that. It is way too much. Just go bury your dead. What is the rule Ephron just broke. Don’t be first to throw out a number. Lets talk about that number. And his number is astronomical.
24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
9 So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.
Quickly let me give some hidden Hebrew context here. The final letter of the Hebrew Alphabet is the tav. The tav meaning or symbolism is truth, completion, divine protection and covenant. I don’t have time to go into all of those individually. But look at this. This field if Abraham purchases it, will be the first Israel owned land in the promise land. So this number is God saying, I have completed my covenant and done exactly what i said I would do. Other examples the children of Israel spent 400 years in Egypt in slavery. It just goes on and on. The number signifies a beginning and an ending and purification and restoration.
He shot high to discourage the purchase… in fact his amount would be 1.3 million today. For the temple mound that would be 162,500 today and for the other field in Jeremiah we would be paying 55,250.
The sad part is that Ephron didn’t know that Abraham had folding money. Look at this.
17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over
This is too funny to me. It is the epitome of the salesman judging the book by the cover and the guy is looking at the lambo. Then the sales men tries to take him to the pintos. And the guy pulls out cash to buy the lambo. Or for you pretty woman fans where Julia Roberts goes into the store and the ladies are all rude and won’t help her and she walks in and says you just missed out on all of this commission. One of my favorite parts. Ephron is trying to do the same thing and he gets called on it.
Here is where the master negotiator again was brilliant. Ephron gave a price in front of everyone and Abraham says done. In front of everyone. So if Ephron does not take this money, he is the bad guy.
So just like that Abraham has a new field. Check this out.
Look at this so good. Yall know I go a little deeper than most. The name Ephron means malleable like clay or mortar. So by his very name when he came up to Abraham, he was already beat. God is just too good.
Abraham had the ultimate phrase, how much you take for it as she sets. lol you ever done that. Just like she sets. Abraham says done. Here you go. In front of everybody.
17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over
18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
Notice this is nice a field. It is a nice piece of Land. All the trees in the whole area. And everybody knows it belongs to him. Again here is the beginning. Also don’t miss this. What was the event that got Abraham into this position?
The death of his wife. That event was what pulled the people to his favor to offer the land. See we have to again be careful what we are praying to God to avoid. It could be the very thing positioning you for the blessing.
19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.