Bible Reading: Genesis 23; Nehemiah 12; Matthew 22; Acts 22
Genesis 23:4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
As the wife of Abraham, the father of faith, Sarah is the only woman in scripture that has a record of her age at her death in the Bible. That does not mean other women were not buried, it means the Bible does not record them. Abraham was a stranger and a sojourner in the land of Canaan. As a stranger, he was a foreigner, an alien. He was from a different country. As a sojourner he was passing through or wandering in that land. He lived in tents and never had a permanent dwelling place. He did not buy land in Canaan. He did not build a house in Canaan. Why? The Bible tells us:
Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Abraham was looking for a city built by God. God GAVE him the land of Canaan. Abraham's descendants were the ones who lived in this land as theirs. So Abraham was give all the land but he never really owned it in his life time. Because of this the only land he ever bought was a burying place for his wife. Interestingly, Abraham honored the Hittites who had possession of this land and bought a burying place for Sarah. Here we see a bit of Eastern real estate trading going on. He publicly declares his desire to buy some land. They tell him take what he needs. He publically asks for a specific piece of land and then the owner of that land begins to speak for himself and his family. He says, "Take it, Abraham, it's yours." We might have said, "Wow! Thank you, you are so kind." But, we would have completely misunderstood the bargaining and contract laws of the ancient world. There was no written deed or contract drawn up. However, the transaction was made publically as the men sat in the city gate. Because it happened publically, everyone present was witness to the transaction.
Ephron states a price for the land and then says Abraham can have it. So Abraham accepts the price and weighs out silver for the purchase. Abraham is doing business with integrity and according to custom here. His family burying place is now purchased and Abraham can now have the funeral for his wife. Interesting that at a time of death, a business deal is discussed so thoroughly in the Bible. I take from that several things:
It is important to make preparations for the proper burying of your family.
- Sarah was buried, not burned up.
- Mourning the loss of loved ones is a part of life.
Christians believe in a resurrection from the dead. The body of a dead believer is said to be asleep while the soul and spirit go to be with God. The body will be resurrected when Jesus comes to get us.
In Christ,
Rody
