 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. 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.”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. Meditation People break promises because we are fallen and sinful people. We are tempted to impose on God what is normal in our world- But God is totally other. God is a Promise Keeper and His faithfulness will not be deterred by our failures. We must trust God and His promises. Sarah dies. Scripture names Sarah a woman of faith who trusted God to be faithful to His promise of giving a child, even in her old age. (Hebrews 11:11-13) This same Sarah laughed at God’s promises (Genesis 18:12) and grabbed her slave Hagar for her husband (Genesis 16:2). God is faithful to keep His promises when we fail! Abraham buries Sarah and is faced with a question. Should he take the grave as a gift or pay for the land? God had promised Abraham the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18-20) meaning the grave was rightfully his. Abraham paid the price (11-16) and guarantees his children will not be slaves to the Canaanites, leaving no debt to his offspring. Abraham trusted God’s promise by not allowing another to have rights to even a small portion of the land. Sarah was buried at Hebron where the seed of Sarah, king David, would later sit to rule. (2 Samuel 5:5) Ultimately the fullness of God’s promises are accomplished by grace and seen in the rule of David’s greater offspring, Jesus Christ. Sarah dies but the promises of God live on. God’s grace is displayed in His keeping all His promises in life and in death. Richly Dwelling -Are you surprised scripture reflects on Sarah as a woman of faith (Hebrews 11:11-13)? What does this teach you about God’s grace? -It would have been easy for Abraham to take the free land but his family would have been in debt to the offspring of Ephron. There is an earthly cost in not receiving the gifts of the world, but to trust in the gifts of God’s promise. Is trusting God’s promise worth the cost for you? -All God’s promises are “YES” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Return to Christ and ask Him to give you faith to trust Him, the promise of God. Key Verse 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. Comments are closed.
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