Genesis 23: Grace and Place

 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
God’s grace guarantees God will keep His promises despite human depravity. God’s covenant people can trust God’s faithfulness because God assures His promises through His own work. 
 
Sarah dies. Scripture names Sarah a woman of faith because she trusted God’s promise to give a child, even in her barren state and old age (Hebrews 11:11-13). Sarah had previously laughed at God’s promise (Genesis 18:12) and grabbed her slave Hagar for her husband (Genesis 16:2), losing hope in God. God’s grace redeems our failures. God is faithful to keep His promises.
 
Abraham buries Sarah, faced with a question: Should he take the grave as a gift or pay for the land? Addressing the entire community (10), Abraham is described as a “foreigner and stranger” (4) even though he has lived in the land for decades. God had promised Abraham the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18-20) and Abraham could have taken the land as a gift. Yet Abraham paid the full price (11-16) to guarantee his offspring would not be indebted to people of the land. 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, the place where her greater offspring king David would later sit and rule (2 Samuel 2:5:5). God’s grace offers space to experience God’s blessing in a specific place through submitting to His beneficial rule and reign. David’s greater offspring, Jesus Christ, offers the fullness of God’s grace and God’s blessing.

Sarah dies and is buried but the promises of God live on.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What does it say about God’s grace that Sarah is reflected upon as a woman of faith (Hebrews 11:11-13)?
 
-Why is it important that Abraham did not allow the inhabitants of Canaan to have any right to the space of the land God had promised Him? What does it say about Abraham that he chose to welcome God’s free promise more than the cultures offer of free land?
 
-How can you trust God’s grace more and embrace God’s rule through Christ so His blessing can flow on you and through you in every place He puts you?
 
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.