Genesis 23 (Mourning)

Sarah Winchester's husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing and selling rifles. After he died of influenza in 1918, she moved to San Jose, California. Because of her grief and her long time interest in spiritism, Sarah sought out a medium to contact her dead husband. The medium told her, "As long as you keep building your home, you will never face death."

Sarah believed the spiritist, so she bought an unfinished 17-room mansion and started to expand it. The project continued until she died at the age of 85. It cost 5 million dollars at a time when workmen earned 50 cents a day. The mansion had 150 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, and 10,000 windows. And Mrs. Winchester left enough materials so that they could have continued building for another 80 years.

Today that house stands as more than a tourist attraction. It is a silent witness to the dread of death that holds millions of people in bondage ().

Our Daily Bread, April 2, 1994

Death is a reality that we all face. Whether it be of loved ones or our own. We are all confronted with it.

And with that death, the ache of mourning and sorrow.

This morning we will witness the passing of Sarah’s life and we will see Abraham mourn.

In so studying this passage, we will consider the reality of mourning and look at the provision God has made for us in that.

Outline

Abraham buries Sarah - A time of mourning - -

What does it mean to mourn?

What causes mourning?

Is it sinful to mourn?

For what does the Bible say we ought to mourn?

What resources does God give to us for mourning?

His Grace -

His Comfort -

His Mercy - 5

His Son -

His Love -

His Sympathy - ;

7. Abraham Obtains Burial Place – Vs. 3-18, 20

8. Abraham Buries Sarah – Vs. 19

Sermon Body

Last week,

Abraham tested - Passed - willing to sacrifice son, believing God would raise him.

God prevented him, affirmed His promise.

Challenge

That we would possess such faith

Today

Grief, sorrow, mourning.

Death of Sarah

Leads us to consider to topic of mourning.

Abraham Buries Sarah – 23A time of mourning – Vs. 1-2

Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

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.

On an interesting note, Sarah is the only woman in scripture whose age, death, and burial are mentioned. No doubt due to the honor and influence she had over the rest of history. But you will never find another’s woman’s age, death, or burial specifically addressed in scripture again.

She lived to be 127 years old Saw Isaac become 36 years oldSarah was 90 when God came and told her that this time next year she would have a son. iii.Isaac was therefore born when she was 91. Even in her old age, she was given a long enough life to enjoy her son for a good many years before her physical death.

They were still living in Hebron (Kiriath-Arba), in the land of Canaan at the time.Abraham wept and mourned for her death.

Mourning is a natural part of life. Death in this physical realm is an experience that none of us are strangers too and none of us are immune to.

We all must face death of the ones we love, eventually, and even our own death.

The challenge for us is how to do we handle our mourning so as to honor God?For many - inability to reconcile their grief with God’s person, has destroyed their meager faith.

Thus, this is a critical issue for us to consider.

Mourning

What does it mean to mourn?

Mourn

MOURN, v.i. [L. maereo.]

1. To express grief or sorrow; to grieve; to be sorrowful. Mourning may be expressed by weeping or audible sounds, or by sobs, sighs or inward silent grief.

Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep. .

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. .

MOURN, v.t. To grieve for; to lament. But there is an ellipsis of for, the verb not being transitive. When we say, we mourn a friend or a child, the real sense and complete phrase is, we mourn for a friend, or mourn for the loss of a friend. "He mourn'd his rival's ill success," that is,he mourned for his rival's ill success.

1. To utter in a sorrowful manner.

What causes mourning?

Death of loved ones

Jacob for Joseph ()

- The ruler whose daughter died

Injury and sickness

Woman who was plague her whole life with sickness

You see lepers, cripples, etc mourning over their afflictions.

Loss of property and possessions

Job 1:20–21 ESV

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Hurts and offenses

Israel mourning for their captivity and abuse under the hand of pagan nations (albeit for their own rebellion)

Disappointments in life

Sin (Will return to in a few moments)

Loss, pain, unfulfilled desires, sickness, etc are reasons why we suffering in this life, why we grieve and mourn.

Application:

What has your heart gripped in mourning today? Share that with someone you trust and ask them to pray with you for God’s strength and comfort.

Is it sinful to mourn?

No. Not necessarily. In fact, , says blessed are those who do it.

Christ mourned and wept for Lazarus when he died in

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."

Jesus wept.

Jesus sorrow was a mixture. Sorrow over Lazarus’ death - though he knew he would bring him back

Sorrow over Mary and Martha’s grief

Sorrow of the disbelief he saw around him

Point is though, God; Jesus experienced grief.

Sorrow, mourning can’t be sin if God experiences. Mourning, in and of itself, is not sin. It is a good given emotion to be used for his glory and for the good of others.

How do we use sorrow and mourning for His glory and the good of others?

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

When we rejoice in our suffering and sorrow; When we rejoice in our grieving over the death of a loved one; when we rejoice in our ongoing chronic illness, when we rejoice in the loss of all our earthly possessions and say as Job did:

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.

And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

When we praise God in our mourning, in our sorrow, our grief, our trial, our affliction; we prove the value of his worth; we give him glory because even in our suffering and sorrow, we can sing His praises and remain faithful to him.This magnifies him as the highest good and that even in our suffering and mourning there is reason to hope, to rejoice.

This benefits others because it exemplifies and magnifies the worth of God to others and draws others to Him as their highest and best good. It reveals the worth of God to them and God can use this to draw sinners to Himself.

It benefits others because they begin to see the worth of God and God can use it to draw them to Himself.

So mourning is a God given emotion, a good and appropriate emotion that God intends to use TO DRAW US NEAR TO HIM, to find comfort, strength, grace, mercy, and hope when all else is taken away.

Mourning, grief, sorrow is intended to draw us nearer to God and find from His presence all we need.

Application:

How might God be using your season of mourning for His glory and your good?

What is one thing He has taught you during your season of mourning? What is one way you have grown in this season?

I said it was not necessarily sin. Can it be sin? YES

SIN

It can become sin when it becomes all consuming and causes us to take our eyes and hearts off God. When is causes us to lose faith, abandon faith, commit other sins of worry, fear, doubt, anger, sinful depression and despair, jealousy, envy, covetousness, or any other sin, it has become wrong.

When we turn FROM God instead of TO God in our mourning, it is sin.

Otherwise, it is not and it is intended to draw us nearer to God and delight in Him even in our mourning and sorrow. It is intended for us to hold him up as the supreme satisfaction of our hearts.

Not that we can’t be sorrowful over that which we have lost at the same time, we can. But is God still glorious more? Satisfying more? That is the test of our grief and mourning.

Application:

In what way(s) have you sinned in your mourning? Repent of these sinful responses, seek God’s forgiveness, and mediate on a specific verse to guard your heart and mind from returning to that sinful response.

Mourning is not usually something you have to command, encourage, or instruct to do. It is typically a natural response to life

That bible says specifically one thing that we are to sorrowful for. There is one thing for which we seek SEEK sorrow and mourning.

For what does the bible say we ought to mourn?

The bible often speaks to the grief of mourning. But only once does it consistently admonish us to mourn and grief. It is always in regards to sin.

Sin.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Our sin ought to produce in us mourning and grief.

They put Jesus on the Christ

They grieve the Spirit of God

They mar the glory of God

It causes ripples of pain and suffering in lives around us

It can impact generations of our loves ones.

This is grief over the sin itself and not over the consequences.

Jesus speaks to this mourning in His “sermon on the mount” in .

Mat_5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Perhaps you have understood this passage to be mourning in sorrow over death, illness, injury, and loss as many have been led to believe over the years. But that is NOT what this is talking about.

Let’s read the passage in context and get the bigger picture.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Christ is speaking to the crowds and teaching about a character of godliness. He is speaking and preaching about a person of godliness.

Poor is spirit, is humility.

Meek is strength but not arrogant, self seeking, over bearing strength but reserving tempers and attitudes and refusing to get riled or react, rather have the strength of character to behave self controlled.

Hunger for righteousness – those who long to do what is right and have an increased appetite for what is right as opposed to what is wrong.

Mercy – Show mercy and a lack of a vengeful attitude towards those who wrong us.

Forgiveness.

Pure in heart – no defiling passion or sinful longings.

Peacemakers – not quarrelsome or angry, dissentions or troublemaker.

Does it makes sense, then, to understand mourning in verse 4 as sorrow over death or loss? No. The context helps us understand that what Christ is speaking to is sorrow or mourning over sin that leads to repentance, salvation, and sanctification. The comfort is found in forgiveness, salvation, and sanctification.

This mourning in the famous beatitudes is not mourning over death and loss but mourning over sin that leads to repentance.

And we are told that we are BLESSED if we do it. We are told to seek it! We should be seeking to increase our sorrow over sin and our hatred of it because this leads to repentance and salvation!

The one thing we should DESIRE MOURNING for and MAKE EFFORT to obtain is sorrow over SIN that leads us to repentance and a turning away from it. Consider Paul’s harsh words to the Corinthian church.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife.

And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

The Corinthian church has bold, flagrant sin among them and they were proud about it! Paul says, should you not rather MOURN and cast this one who has done this out?He goes on later in his second letter to tell them….

5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are comforted.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

First - God comforts the downcast - persecuted.

Second - Godly grief, godly sorrow, godly mourning that leads to repentance is good.

Mourning over sin has huge rewards!

There should be genuine, deep mourning over sin in our own lives and in the lives of those around us who are professing Christians. We are in fact, TOLD to mourn over sin and that mourning should be used to draw us to repentance; a turning away from those sins for all time. Mourning has its purpose. It is intended to draw us to repentance and it is intended to draw us nearer to God in faith and love and devotion.

Application:

When was the last time you mourned and grieved over your sin? (Not the consequences of it, but the sin itself?) When was the last time you were grieved because your robbed God of His glory by your sin? That you were grieved because you caused grief to the Spirit of God? That you were grieved because you recall that Christ on the cross was the consequence of that sin you just committed?

Evaluate your grief; your mourning. What is the true reason for your grief?

In pray, on your hands and knees before Almighty God (El Shaddai) ask God to grieve your heart over your sin so that the grief will lead you to repentance and transformation by His grace!

The final question in this little sidestep this morning is, what resources are we given to deal with mourning in a godly and biblical fashion? Mourning is not wrong unless it leads to rejecting God or sin. How then are we to use mourning for God’s glory? How do we handle the effects of mourning in our lives because it is powerful and strong and so pervasive in our lives? What has God provided to help us navigate these dangers and dark waters of mourning and sorrow, both over loss and death and over sin?

What resources are we given for mourning? (In no particular Order)

His Grace

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul experienced sorrow and mourning over this thorn in his flesh.

Someone who opposed him

Poor eye sight (or other health issue)

Enticement to sin (sin struggle)

In any case, Paul struggled with this and pleaded with God three times before finally submitting Himself to God and accepting that His grace was sufficient for the trial.

The same is true of us in whatever condition and state we are. GOD’s GRACE IS SUFFICIENT for your mourning.

Paul Tripp

“Discouragement focuses more on the broken glories of creation than on the restoring glories of God’s character, presence, and promises.”

We can become discouraged and grieved by the weight of the brokenness of the world. We must remember to take our eyes off the brokenness of the world and put them on Jesus. Whether it be death, chronic illness, loss of property or possessions, or whatever the case is; His grace is sufficient.

During your times of mourning, accept God’s grace, moment by moment to sustain you. The mourning, the trial, the hardship may NOT be taken away right away or ever. Learn to trust in God and rely upon the grace in which He provides.

When we are weak, He is strong. His grace will make up the deficit you are experiencing.

God is faithful and will provide the necessary amount of grace, no more, no less, to sustain you in your time of mourning and sorrow.

His Comfort

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Context: Suffering for ChristGod provides comfort.

What else is more reassuring and comforting than the hug, embrace, prayer, and support of the ones we love and cherish? iii.God provides comfort. He will often provide it through His body, his bride, his church. Many times, God uses US, each other, to be the hands, feet, and words of comfort and strength.

Other times it comes in the reading and remembrance of His promises and truths.

Music, good gospel music with lyrics of truth, are a powerful means of reminding us of the truth of God’s word and encouraging our hearts.

Whatever the means and venue, God provides His comfort and love to sustain us in times of trial and hardship.

This is turn is the motivation and comfort with which we comfort others.

Those who have gone through dark trials and losses and have experienced great comfort from God and the from the hands of His people, are the quickest and best (most of the time) in extending that comfort back because they know firsthand how hard it is and how much you need that comfort.

To illustrate this, years ago when I was still in high school (which is getting to be further and further away), I was at TLC (BBC). I remember sitting in the main lounge with 30+ guys after the evening was done, just before lights out. I do not remember what was discussed or what the topic of the session were that week. I just remember praying, and crying, as God gripped my heart with something. And I remember as I was praying and began to cry, I felt two arms, one from the guys on either side of me, neither of which I really knew (and I don’t remember who they are today), I felt their arms over my shoulders and I remember the comfort and encouragement they gave to me. I remember nothing but what it felt like to experience comfort from God at the hands of his children. And it has stuck with me to this day. It is a powerful illustration in my life of the power of God’s comfort and it does exist as a strong motivator for my being a comforter to others whenever possible!

God provides His comfort to help sustain and strengthen us in our times of mourning and sorrow. Count on it. It will be there.

His Mercy

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

The steadfast love of God never fails. It never ceases and is, in fact, NEW EVERY MORNING. It is as faithful as the sunrise. God will provide new mercy each day.

Don’t try to live today on tomorrow’s mercy. It won’t work! Survive today on today’s mercy and trust God to be there again in morning.

Ever wonder how long you can go on like this? Ever think you cannot endure?

There will be new mercy in the morning to sustain and strengthen you for that day.How long can your endure like this? Forever.

Trust the mercy of God to be there. Trust the steadfast love of God to be ever present, even when it feels like it won’t be there. Trust the promises of God over the feelings of the moment.

God is faithful in that He provides every morning what you will need to be sustained through that day. He will give you nothing more and nothing less.

Even in the wilderness, he provided manna, daily. He told them do not take more than what you need for today. And when they did, it was moldy and worm ridden.

God was teaching them and He is teaching us, learn to rely and depend on the DAILY, necessary provisions of His mercy and love. It will be there, by faith, when you need it. PERIOD. This is the God we love and serve.

His Son

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

God did not withhold anything but gave that which was most precious to Him in order to save and redeem us. He gave the life of His own Son. He did what He asked Abraham to do; Gave His ONLY SON.This is the hardest and greatest task there is to accomplish. Anything else is easy in comparison.

God will not withhold ANYTHING that is necessary for His glory and our good. He will provide for us everything we need, grace, strength, mercy, comfort, and healing in our darkest moments.

In our mourning, turn to God and He will freely provide all that we need to find hope and healing in the presence of God. If ever you doubt it, consider the fact that He has already given that which is hardest to give.

The giving of His Son is testament to His love.

His Love

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,

nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It does not matter what dark trial you are going through, God’s love has not abandoned you.

There is nothing in creation that will separate you from the love of God. There is nothing in creation that can remove God’s love from your life.

Not even the angels or spiritual powers of evil can do that.

The presence of mourning, of trials, of hardship in your life is NOT evidence that God has abandoned you or that He is not loving.

It is hard for people to understand and accept how a God who is supposed to be good and loving can allow bad things to happen.

It is hard for people to understand how a loving God can allow a 3 year old child to die; or how a loving God could allow a woman to be raped and murdered; or how a loving God could allow a mother of four to die and leave her husband and children alone; or how a loving God could allow a loving and hard working father to lose his job and struggle to provide for his family; or how a loving God could allow the loss of a home and everything in it to a fire; or how a loving God could allow terrorists to fly airplanes into a building, claiming the lives of hundreds; or how a loving God could allow a child to be born with chronic illness; or how a loving God could allow an accident that would leave one a quadriplegic; or how a loving God could allow…..you fill it in.

How is this a loving God who has the power to stop it and does not?

The world has a hard time fathoming such things and I cannot begin to imagine the pain and heartache involved in such things.

Nor can I begin to try to answer each and every individual case, but I do know this; for the Christian the presence of these things does NOT mean the absence of God’s love!

Part of the problem is that we misunderstand what love is. We assume love is the act of making much of me, of pleasing me, and giving me what I want; of making my life comfortable and pleasing, of smooth sailing and a carefree, trouble free life. That is NOT love.

We fail to understand that LOVE is doing what is in the best interests of the other person, even if that involves pain and heartache at times.

Yes love is passion and yes love wants to please the one we love, the object of that love, but love is also doing what is best for that one we love. It is seeking their BEST INTERESTS AND THEIR BENEFIT.

We discipline our children with time outs, spankings, loss of privileges, and such because we must teach them between right and wrong, about consequences to choices, and to be responsible adults who love God and do what right. Discipline is often hard and painful but it is loving! It is in the best interest of the child.

I cannot begin to speculate or imagine God’s purpose in using the trials, hardships, and suffering we endure and see all around us.

All I can do is rest secure in the knowledge that His love is never far from us and we cannot be removed from it.

I rest on promises like .

His love is EVER present and near to those who are his children and even in our suffering and mourning and hardship, we can claim and rest upon the love of God which is an ever present reality for the rest of eternity.

I can always count of His love and even when it does not make sense, I can believe it and trust it and cling to it.

His love for us is demonstrated in his Son on the cross. There is no greater display of love and when we doubt it, look no further than the cross.

In His love, in our trials and our mourning, we also have his sympathy.

His Sympathy

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When we experience mourning and sorrow, we are facing a temptation to trust and love God or reject Him. God understands. He was fully man and knows the pain of loss and temptations and struggles that come with.

Christ is able, therefore, to sympathize and provide the strength and grace necessary.

He experienced every human emotion we do (except sin –but even in that he felt the pain and power of the temptation); he experienced loss of loved ones; he experienced pain, rejection, trial, hardship, and every thing we could possibly imagine.

In order to be a faithful, merciful, sympathizing high priest, he had to endure what we do; He had to experience what we do. He came and lived a human life to fulfill the requirements of the law by living a perfect life AND TO EXPERIENCE LIFE AS WE DO SO THAT WHEN HE WENT BACK TO HEAVEN HE COULD BE A FAITHFUL, MERCIFUL, AND SYMPATHETIC high priest better able to understand and lend aid to us.God knows what your pain, your mourning feels like.

He knows what your trials feels like and what it does to you everyday you live it. He knows and trust me, He is sympathetic. He feels your pain and knows just how much grace and mercy and strength to lend you to help you endure and walk through it.

Does that provide a measure of comfort or a WHOLE lot of comfort to you? It should!

It should also give us confidence and boldness to come directly to God, even in our confusion and lack of understanding, to get the help we need, when we need it.

Remember, faith trusts the promises of God and does not demand explanations. It is okay to ask but be ok if God refuses to explain.Find confidence, hope, solace, and rest in the fact that God understands and sympathizes with us in our predicaments and that He knows precisely what we need to endure. God is not uncaring to our situation but feels the weight of it as we do.

After all isn’t this what sympathy is? It is the sharing of the emotion, weight, and brevity of the trial and situation and in so doing, better able to lend support, comfort, and resources.

God does this for us in any and every situation we can encounter.

That is a promise to rest upon!

This is what we must do in our moments of grieving and mourning, whatever the source of that mourning; We stand upon the promises of His grace, His comfort, His Mercy, His Son, His Love, and His Sympathy. Resting upon these promises, we cannot fall. Resting upon these promises, the dark cloud of mourning will NOT overwhelm us and we will find all we need in these dark moments.

Application:

Which resource, which promise that God supplies do you most need to cling to today?

What is your plan to remind yourself of this truth in your hour of need?

As we conclude this morning, let just consider Abraham’s honoring of his precious wife.

Abraham Obtains Burial Place – Vs. 3-18, 20

And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,

"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."

The Hittites answered Abraham,

"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."

Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land.

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,

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 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,

"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."

Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

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."

Ephron answered Abraham,

"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 listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

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

to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.

The Hittites were living in the land at this time and Abraham approaches them, most likely at the gate of the city where the business was conducted, and asks for a piece of land on which he can bury his wife.

He says that he is a stranger and sojourner among the land. Both terms denote that he is NOT a native of the land and cannot claim land rights by birth, nationality, or citizenship. He is a traveler who has put down temporary roots but this land is not his own. So in order to bury his dead, he must request the purchase of land on which to lay to rest his wife’s body.In that assembly, the Hittite Heth’s sons were present and they spoke up

They hail Abraham as a mighty prince among them. The term we translate might is the masculine noun meaning God, gods, judges, or angels. It is the same words used in the OT over 2600 times, commonly referring to the one true God. It can be used to refer to judges, angels and false gods as well.

Prince means one who is lifted up.Clearly the Hittites regarded Abraham as a mighty man and afforded him rank, respect, and authority in the land.

This lended them their willingness to hand over their best burial sites with none seeming to object.Abraham rose and bowed in gratitude. He then requests that Ephron, the son of Zohar be summoned for him. Abraham is requesting a cave at Machpelah, which he owns, to be used for Sarah’s burial. He is offering to pay full price in order to obtain this piece of land.

Ephron is already present (which Abraham did not seem to be aware of) and answers Abraham.

He offers to FREELY give the land to Abraham at no cost.

Is this a show of generosity? Why was he willing to give it to Abraham at no cost?

MacArthur notes that Hittite feudal policy tied ownership of land to service to the ruler. By passing the land to Abraham he would also be passing along any responsibility for taxes and duties. So while this may be a show of generosity, it is also probably motivated somewhat by selfish ambition and gain. Abraham responds by bowing in gratitude and respect but imploring Ephron to accept full price for the land.Why is Abraham so insistent on paying for it?

If the land were given to Abraham instead of purchased, it could be reclaimed later by Ephron or his children if they so changed their minds.

Abraham wanted, most likely, to be sure the land and burial site was secure and could be used later for his and his offspring if so desired. The purchasing of the land in such a public setting, with the deeding of the land to Abraham, would secure the property as his and would ensure the safe resting of his wife and later himself and his children.

Ephron responds with the price of 400 shekels of silver. A shekel in silver is equivalent to $128 dollars or 4 days wages. So the price of the tomb is equivalent to $51,200 dollars today or 1600 days wages (4.5 years)

Abraham weights it out and the property is deeded over to Abraham. This becomes the first piece of property that Abraham owns in the land that has been promised to his descendents.

It would later become the burial site for Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob.

Abraham Buries Sarah – Vs. 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

Abraham buries his wife and mourns her passing.

We all experience moments of mourning, of sorrow, of trial and hardships in life. None of us are strangers to it and we will still yet face more. The challenge for us is to keep faith and hope in God in the midst of that even when understanding and explanation don’t come.

God is a faithful God who provides as we need in our dark moments of mourning.

Will you trust Him in them? Will you claim the resources He provides in the midst of our mourning?

Will we grief and and mourn over our sin and the affect that it has on our Lord, on those around us? Physical death ought to be a constant reminder of the devastation of sin.

And yet, God has not left us to face that devastation alone. He has provided resources for us.

May we cling to those and in so doing, be growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.

Conclusion

God is a faithful God who provides as we need in our dark moments of mourning.

Will you trust Him in them? Will you claim the resources He provides in the midst of our mourning?

Will we grief and and mourn over our sin and the affect that it has on our Lord, on those around us? Physical death ought to be a constant reminder of the devastation of sin.

And yet, God has not left us to face that devastation alone. He has provided resources for us.

May we cling to those and in so doing, be growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.

Application

Application:

What has your heart gripped in mourning today? Share that with someone you trust and ask them to pray with you for God’s strength and comfort.

Application:

How might God be using your season of mourning for His glory and your good?

What is one thing He has taught you during your season of mourning? What is one way you have grown in this season?

Application:

Evaluate your grief; your mourning. What is the true reason for your grief?

In pray, on your hands and knees before Almighty God (El Shaddai) ask God to grieve your heart over your sin so that the grief will lead you to repentance and transformation by His grace!

Application:

Which resource, which promise that God supplies do you most need to cling to today?