Sermon Tone Analysis

Review

Remember that the main point of this section is that God begins His chosen Nation in order that this Nation would make an impact to all the other nations.

Background ()

God calls Abram ()

God Tests Abram about Land Part 1 ()

God Tests Abram about Land Part 2 (

Abram begins to act like a nation ()

God seals His promises with Abram ()

God Tests Abram about Seed Part 1 ()

God codifies a covenant with Abraham ()

God’s Covenant relationship with Abraham (

A replay of the Past: Abraham and Abimelech ()

Birth of Isaac  ()

Sign of a Great Nation: Covenant with Abimelech ()

God Tests Abraham about Seed Part 2 - Offering of Isaac ()

Death of Sarah: Securing the Land ()

Finding Rebekah: Securing the Seed ()

Abraham’s Death: Continuing God’s Plan ()

Throughout this section, Moses has highlighted the faith of Abraham in response to the call and promises of God.

Abraham is not painted in a perfect light.

He has moments of great faith in God’s promises and he has moments of great failure and complete stupidity.

Abraham's imperfections serve to highlight the perfect patience, love and covenant faithfulness of God.

This story of faith comes to a climax in the section today.

15.

Death of Sarah: Securing the Land ()

A. Sarah’s Death (23:1-20)

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.”

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.”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.” 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.”

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.”

16 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.

“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.

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.

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

Upon returning from Moriah, the narrative shifts to tell the story of Sarah’s death and burial, “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.”

Now Rabbinic tradition teaches that this death happened almost just after Isaac and Abraham returned from Moriah.

Imagine the scene, “hey boys how was your journey?” Isaac responds, “you’ll never believe it!

God told Dad to sacrifice me on an altar and we hiked to the top of this mountain and I was confused because there was no lamb and then Dad made it clear that I was the lamb and so I got on the altar and just as Dad was about to sacrifice me God showed up and then there was this Ram that he provided and it was awesome Mom!”

And you can just see the blood rush from Sarah’s face as she’s hearing this and imagine what the shock would have done to 127 year old heart.

I wanted to tell you of this comedically tragic interpretation because I tend to agree with tradition, this most likely happened right after Isaac and Abraham came back.

Let’s look back at verse 3, “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.”

Remember that Abraham did not own any land in Canaan.

He merely had water rights to a well in the land.

The people of the land, the Hittites do not want to sell Abraham any land for this would allow him to be officially established as a landowner.

In ancient near eastern culture you had to be a landowner before you could own land which is why the Hittites don’t want Abraham to become part of the landowners club, “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.”

Abraham, however, is insistent and will not be denied, he wants to join the Landowner’s club, why because God promised to give Him this land and He wants to officially own a part of this land now in the site of the Canaanites.

Finally the Hittite, Ephron, offers to sell the land to Abraham for 400 shekels of silver.

You ask, is that a lot?

To put this in perspective the standard rate for selling land found in Leviticus is 50 shekels for 6 acres.

That amount should have bought 50 acres of land.

In today’s money Abraham paid about $15 million, conservatively…for a burial plot.

That’s insane but Abraham’s willingness to pay this high price demonstrates His faith in the Land promise as well as God’s great blessing on Abraham’s wealth.

B. Sarah’s Burial (23:10-20)

Sarah dies at 127 years old - most likely when Isaac and Abraham return

“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.”

Now, remember that Abraham did not own any land in Canaan.

He merely had water rights to a well in the land.

The people of the land, the Hittites do not want to sell Abraham any land for this would allow him to be officially established as a landowner.

They disguise this desire by rejecting his request and offering one of their tombs for free.

Abraham, however, is insistent and will not be denied.

Finally the Hittite, Ephron, offers to sell the land to Abraham for 400 shekels of silver.

To put this in perspective the standard rate for selling kand found in Leviticus is 50 shekels for 6 acres.

Although the official size of the burial plot that Abraham purchased is unknown it stands to reason that he did not purchase the land at its value.

400 shekels should have bought Abraham 50 acres of land.

Abraham’s willingness to pay this high price demonstrates His faith in the Land promise as well as God’s great blessing on Abraham’s wealth.

Abraham wants to buy land to bury his wife

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.” 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.”

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.”

16 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.

“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.

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.

20 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 don’t want Abraham to become a landowner - offer to bury her on their property

Abraham is forced to purchase land at a high price - Willingness to pay reveals His faith and God’s blessing of great wealth

16.

Finding Rebekah: Securing the Seed ()

A. The Faithful Servants (24:1-9)

“1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years.

And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land.

Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.

7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”9

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.”

As Abraham nears the end of his life he must ensure that Isaac’s future offspring is secured.

He employs his oldest servant to go the country of his family and find a wife for Isaac amongst the daughters of his nephews.