Genesis 23- dealing with death
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Dealing with death
Dealing with death
Have any of you dealt with the loss of someone you love?
Have any of you dealt with the loss of someone you love?
My mom, My daughter, my Dad....
It hard- loss is hard
Q. who would you say the hardest person to loose would be ?
depending on the person it
will effect you differently -
loosing my mom had different challenges
to loosing my daughter
Today we are going to read about Abrahams loss
and how he dealt with loosing the person He loved most
His wife Sarah
Abraham shows great faith and trust in God
despite going through the most tragic event of His life.
Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
The chapter starts off telling us the age of sarah
and we should not overlook this
We need to grasp this important fact before moving on
Abraham and sarah were married for over 100 years
Abraham and sarah were soul mates
they had many sucesses and failures
She was with Him When he left the land of Ur
She was with Him when he was given the promise of God
She roamed the land of cannan with him
and fled to egypt during famine
She witnessed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorah
and She laughed at Gods promise of a son
She also rejoiced in the fulfillment of that promise when she bore Isaac
She had gone through thick and thin with her husband Abraham
as she was a wonderful example of
a godly wife
Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
Peter likens Christian women to Sarah
A holy woman who was the perfect compliment to her Husband
they made a great team and now Abraham was loosing her
remember why God created eve
And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Men and women come together
and compliment eachother perfectly
this is why homosexual relationships are so unnatural
they were not made to compliment eachother
it goes against Gods design and desire
Sarah was Abrahams helper
and Abraham was Sarahs protector
and now Abraham has lost the love of His life…
now
How many times have you heard She is in a better place?
Its always said by people who dont know what they are talking about
if they are not forgiven by faith in Christ
then they are paying for their sin
through an eternal judgment
think of a life sentance in legal terms....
that is not a better place.
2. even if they are it is perfectly natural to mourn the death of a loved one
mourn as a believer who has hope
mourn as a believer who has hope
When you loose someone
it is completely natural to mourn their death
we are taught to be strong
dont show emotion
and a bunch of other lies
it is natural to mourn when bad things happen
you need to feel that emotion and be real with it
Jesus wept at the though of lazarus dying
yet he was going to raise him from the dead
therefore though we mourn
we do not mourn as those with no hope
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
If the one who dies is in Christ
He or she is in a better place
though it doesnt and should not take away the pain
we can still have joy
knowing that they are in the presance of Jesus
When I lost the man who led me to Christ
All I could think was it is good for him
and bad for me
but I would smile at the thought of Him in heaven
This understanding will lead Abraham in faith
through the loss of His wife
picking back up in
Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
Abraham goes to the owners of the land
to buy a burial place for His wife
The owners of the Land began the negotiating by calling abraham a mighty prince
they are being condescending
yet as a believer He was a mighty prince and child of the most High God
the people made it known the land was for sale
and
Abraham was familiar with the land
He knew the cave that He wanted to buy
the cave of Machpelah
Now He starts to bargain with the owner
It was very common
to bargain in a ridiculous way
remember we need to read the bible culturally…
part of hermenutics
(repeat this word )
How you read the bible taking into consideration
who wrote it, time period, who they were writing it to, what was the cultural context…
Have you ever been to another country and had to baragain with people..
jamaica— salt shakers carved out of coconuts for $50
Here they way they bargained was
seller offers it for free
the buyer says no, I will pay for it
seller gives a very high price
and then they start negotiating it down from there
Abraham decided to pay the astronomically high price for the field
He displays the civil uprightness to pay full price
and not try to negotiate
He pays 400 shekels of silver
So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
Abraham buys the field and the cave
and buries Sarah there
Abraham has bought a small piece of the promise land
before God had given it over to Him
Abraham buried her with the promise in sight
He had not recieved it yet
but it was as good as gold to Him
By faith he burried His wife
knowing that The entire land of Hebron would be His one day,
further more that one day He would be living in a much better city
in heaven
that brings us to our next point in dealing
with the death of a loved one
remember where our citizenship is
remember where our citizenship is
lets look back to verse 4
“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
Abraham knew He was a visitor and forigner who belonged in heaven with God
His home was not on earth
and neither is yours
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
Abraham knew His city of promise was going to be Canaan
and by faith He buried His wife there
believing that God would give him that land
He also had faith that He would be with His wife again
because He knew She would be a part of the city to come
in the afterlife
Q. How many of you think of the afterlife?
death will always make you dwell on this
there is an afterlife
and it is much longer than this life.
Abraham knew Where Sarah was going
and he was reminded that their citizenship was in heaven
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Let the death of our loved ones lead us to
look into our future dwelling place
in Heaven
With Jesus
and our loved ones who have trusted in Christ before us
So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
Abraham was able to buy the field and cave to bury Sarah
EVentually this cave became the tomb of
Abraham, Isaac, rebekah, Jacob, and Leaa
but we must remember
this one thing about death
The tomb Of Jesus is empty
the Gospel is the persona and work of Jesus Christ
part of that work is raising from the tomb 3 days after death
and all who believe in Him and His work
will be forgiven, saved, and made righteous before God the father…
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
if you are in Christ you will go to heaven
because every sin that makes you guilty before God
will be cleared from your name
we can then say
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
because we will have been promoted,
Just like Sarah....
Do you know where your going to go after you die...
willl it be a promotion to heaven
or a demotion to hell?
trust in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved....
pray