Genesis 23 (2011) The story of Abraham is drawing to close in Genesis. First, he must prepare a place for he and his wife to be buried

Transcription

1 Genesis 23 (2011) The stry f Abraham is drawing t clse in Genesis We still have a cuple f chapters befre we nte Abraham s death But Mses is preparing us even nw t mve t the next patriarch, Isaac And it s wrth nting that the ccasin fr this transitin was Abraham s success n the muntain Having passed the test, Abraham s faith has been demnstrated and the prmises f Gd are secure in his heart But befre Abraham may leave the earth peacefully, he knws he must attend t tw imprtant details First, he must prepare a place fr he and his wife t be buried Prper burial was an imprtant sign f respect, but Abraham has nwhere he can claim fr his resting place He has remained a wanderer in the land He has never bught any land r even allwed smene t give him a prtin f the land as a gift The mst he has btained is the right t sjurn in the land f Gerar But Abraham wants be buried in a place he can rightfully call his wn And this will als be the resting place fr his wife S he must make arrangements t buy a plt f land The secnd thing Abraham must attend t is finding a wife fr his sn This was the mst imprtant duty f a patriarch Fathers selected wives fr sns and arranging marriages was f supreme imprtance 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 23 2 Abraham has Isaac late in life, and s he feels a sense f urgency t find Isaac a wife sn Tday we learn hw Abraham handled the first pririty And in cming weeks we ll learn hw Abraham finds Isaac s wife But interestingly at the end f chapter 22, Mses inserts a mment f insight cncerning finding Isaac a wife befre he begins the stry f Abraham s burial place Gen. 22:20 Nw it came abut after these things, that it was tld Abraham, saying, Behld, Milcah als has brne children t yur brther Nahr: Gen. 22:21 Uz his firstbrn and Buz his brther and Kemuel the father f Aram Gen. 22:22 and Chesed and Haz and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel. Gen. 22:23 Bethuel became the father f Rebekah; these eight Milcah bre t Nahr, Abraham s brther. Gen. 22:24 His cncubine, whse name was Reumah, als bre Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah. After Abraham returns frm Mt. Mriah with Isaac, he receives sme welcme news Abraham s learns that his brther Nahr has als been raising a family back in Ur We remember that in Genesis that Abraham s father, Terah, had three sns: Abraham, Nahr and Haran Haran died in Ur befre having any daughters Abraham married Sarah and left Ur with his father headed t Canaan accrding t Gd s instructins That left Nahr as the last living relative f Abraham back in Ur It s been abut 65 years since Abraham last heard anything abut his brther back hme But nw Abraham learns that Nahr s wife, Milcah, has given Nahr a large family Nahr has eight sns And then Nahr tk a cncubine and prduced fur mre sns 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 23 3 But Mses is careful t nte that ne f Nahr s sns, Bethuel, brn t Nahr s first wife, was the father f Rebekah This news might have given Abraham reasn t return t Ur First, it wuld be natural fr Abraham t want t be near his family, especially as he entered the last years f his life Nt nly culd he find a wife fr Isaac amng friends and family members, but Abraham culd als expect t be buried n the family land Instead, Mses carefully recrds Abraham s determinatin t remain living in the land but nt jining with its peple Abraham is ging t find a burial place in a land that is nt his hme And he s ging t find a wife fr his sn that wn t call Canaan hme either A wman frm Ur wh sees Canaan as a freign place as well Gen. 23:1 Nw Sarah lived ne hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years f the life f Sarah. Gen. 23:2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebrn) in the land f Canaan; and Abraham went in t murn fr Sarah and t weep fr her. Sarah dies at the age f 127 Sarah is the nly wman in Scripture t have her age at death nted At this pint Abraham is 137 ld himself They ve been married fr prbably ver 100 years And Abraham ges int the tent where Sarah had been lying and weeps fr her We understand hw hard it is fr smene t lse a spuse after a lng marriage But hw hard is it t lse smene after ver 100 years f life tgether? 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 23 4 The separatin must have been unbearable In fact, Abraham will live anther 38 years withut Sarah And her death als greatly affects Isaac, leaving him sad and desiring a wife t fill the vid left by his mther We can als assume that Abraham s murning was greatly lessened by his cnfidence in knwing he wuld see her again in the kingdm This is the same hpe that cmfrts all believers in the face f death, bth their wn mrtality We re tld Sarah dies in Hebrn Hebrn is 25 miles nrtheast f Beersheba, which was the place that Abraham was living in chapter 22 when he tk Isaac t Mt. Mriah The name Hebrn came alng later, as Mses indicates in the text The name f the place in Abraham s day is Kiriath-arba It gains the name Hebrn later frm Abraham The wrd hebrn means friend, as in the friend f Gd Hearing that Sarah died in this area tell us that Abraham is still sjurning, nt settling dwn in the land In chapter 22, he was living in Beersheba but he has left the land f Gerar and has mved int anther area f Canaan Just t reiterate...a nmadic lifestyle is very unusual fr anyne with the wealth f Abraham Nrmally, a man like Abraham wuld have settled dwn in a city r built his wn city But Abraham des nt want the wrld t think that he sees this earth as his inheritance frm Gd He understands that his inheritance in the land will cme in a future time But Sarah s death places Abraham in a difficult situatin He has nwhere t place the bdy f his belved wife 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 23 5 And ne day Abraham will want t jin her in death, s he needs t find a place that he can assure will remain available t him frever Since he s been careful t avid setting dwn rts in Canaan, he has n where t turn S Abraham turns t the lcals seeking t btain a burial plt Gen. 23:3 Then Abraham rse frm befre his dead, and spke t the sns f Heth, saying, Gen. 23:4 I am a stranger and a sjurner amng yu; give me a burial site amng yu that I may bury my dead ut f my sight. Gen. 23:5 The sns f Heth answered Abraham, saying t him, Gen. 23:6 Hear us, my lrd, yu are a mighty prince amng us; bury yur dead in the chicest f ur graves; nne f us will refuse yu his grave fr burying yur dead. Abraham immediately left his wife s bdy and entered the nearest city The nearest settlement was a city f the sns f Heth, a Hittite Abraham ges int the city and meets with the sns f Heth in the gate f the city The sns f Heth refers generally t the ruling clan f the twn They are the elders f the city and the land All land belnged t a king, but he permitted individuals t wn the land prvided they paid taxes r rendered service t the king in armies, etc. S Abraham ges t the city elders asking t purchase just enugh land t bury his wife Any purchase in the Eastern culture fllwed a very specific pattern f negtiatin It was a carefully rchestrated dance intended t ensure that bth sides btained the best pssible terms while saving face Neither party culd appear t have been taken advantage f Abraham, hwever, fllws the traditins and culture nly enugh t ensure he btains the land Otherwise, he desn t try t negtiate t imprve his psitin 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 23 6 Fr example, Abraham begins by annuncing he needs t purchase the land t bury his wife Immediately, the sns f Heth and all thse listening in the gate knw that Abraham is desperate He can t wait lng fr the negtiatin t cnclude This is like buying a ticket fr an airplane that is already barding But the sns f Heth themselves wuld lse dignity if they appeared t guge Abraham ver his misfrtune S they play their part in this dance They begin in calling Abraham lrd, as a sign f respect They cmpliment him as a mighty prince amng them There is certainly plenty f truth t these statements Gd has indeed blessed Abraham as He prmised Abraham is mighty in many ways, and his reputatin precedes him thrughut the land Then they make their dance mve: they tell Abraham he can have any f their chicest graves At first it sunds like a generus ffer Abraham gets any plt he wants fr free But that s nt hw things wrked in that day, and Abraham knew it Had Abraham accepted this ffer he wuld have greatly ffended the sns f Heth and prbably never received any plt Instead, Abraham must give regard fr the gracius ffer and then refuse it Gen. 23:7 S Abraham rse and bwed t the peple f the land, the sns f Heth. Gen. 23:8 And he spke with them, saying, If it is yur wish fr me t bury my dead ut f my sight, hear me, and apprach Ephrn the sn f Zhar fr me, Gen. 23:9 that he may give me the cave f Machpelah which he wns, which is at the end f his field; fr the full price let him give it t me in yur presence fr a burial site Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 23 7 Abraham had been seated n the grund during the discussins, which was custmary, but nw he rises t bw Bwing in this way was a sign f respect acknwledging the extreme kindness f their ffer This was the dance that they expected and Abraham understd In fact, Abraham bws befre bth the city elders and the peple f the land Apparently this negtiatin had attracted a crwd in the gate frm amng thse ging in and ut f the city The elders wanted credit fr their fake ffer f genersity, and Abraham was giving it t them Abraham cntinues in the negtiatin by ignring their ffer but then taking anther step frward in the prcess He says that if they did want him t bury his wife in their land, then please direct Ephrn t sell Abraham the cave f Machpelah Apparently, Abraham knew f this cave and believed it wuld serve as a gd burial place The city elders had the pwer t brker a sale, and Abraham is asking them t make this deal happen Abraham adds that he wants it given in their presence, meaning right away Here again Abraham is nt ding himself any favrs, because he makes it clear he must d the deal immediately Then the deals mves frward... Gen. 23:10 Nw Ephrn was sitting amng the sns f Heth; and Ephrn the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing f the sns f Heth; even f all wh went in at the gate f his city, saying, Gen. 23:11 N, my lrd, hear me; I give yu the field, and I give yu the cave that is in it. In the presence f the sns f my peple I give it t yu; bury yur dead Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 23 8 The wner f this cave happened t be sitting amng the sns f Heth in the gate This tells us he was prbably ne f the elders r leaders f the city Abraham may have chsen that particular cave because he nticed the wner was already present n that day in the gate Thus it wuld ensure Abraham culd make a quick deal The cave wner Ephrn answered Abraham s request by jining in the negtiatin dance He calls Abraham my lrd als And he says he will give Abraham bth the cave and the entire field that held the cave At first this wuld seem like a very kind and generus ffer But again, this is a negtiatin dance Neither the land nr the cave wuld be free in the end Everyne including Abraham knew that Secndly, the ffer f the entire field was nt a sign f genersity either Under Hittite laws f the day, the king wuld cllect taxes n anyne wh wned land But the taxes were paid by the wner f the entire field r plt f land Smene wh wned nly a small piece f the land wuld nt pay taxes S Ephrn wants Abraham t take the entire field s that Ephrn will avid paying taxes n land that Abraham is using Nw it s Abraham s turn again... Gen. 23:12 And Abraham bwed befre the peple f the land. Gen. 23:13 He spke t Ephrn in the hearing f the peple f the land, saying, If yu will nly please listen t me; I will give the price f the field, accept it frm me that I may bury my dead there Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 23 9 Once again, Abraham bws t shw thanks and recgnitin f the generus ffer (all the while knwing it wasn t sincere) Then Abraham answered by agreeing t pay fr the entire field And he insists he will pay fr the field The insistence t pay was cmpletely expected by the culture But Abraham s quick agreement t buy the field was a cncessin n his part Abraham isn t interested in playing this game any lnger than necessary t btain a burial place fr his wife Since Abraham cnceded s quickly n the earlier pint, Ephrn decides t push Abraham harder Gen. 23:14 Then Ephrn answered Abraham, saying t him, Gen. 23:15 My lrd, listen t me; a piece f land wrth fur hundred shekels f silver, what is that between me and yu? S bury yur dead. Gen. 23:16 Abraham listened t Ephrn; and Abraham weighed ut fr Ephrn the silver which he had named in the hearing f the sns f Heth, fur hundred shekels f silver, cmmercial standard. Ephrn cleverly asks why shuld a piece f land wrth fur hundred shekels f silver stand between their friendship In effect, Ephrn is saying let s nt argue ver a piece f land that is nly wrth 400 shekals As if that s such a small amunt we shuldn t even be talking abut payment Just g bury yur dead His repeating f that phrase was intended t remind Abraham that the clck was ticking n getting his wife in the grave He wanted Abraham t feel the pressure In reality, an acre f land in Abraham s day was generally valued at abut 40 shekels S Ephrn is asking Abraham t pay abut 10 times the actual value f the land 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis In tday s dllars, the land wuld be wrth abut $5,600 but Ephrn said why are we arguing abut land wrth nly $56,000 Clearly, he was trying t take advantage f Abraham s desperatin and guge him, and everyne knew it But again, Abraham can t shw it r he wuld dishnr the ther party in the negtiatin At this pint in the negtiatin, Abraham wuld have been expected t find sme face-saving way t ask fr the price t be reduced This was the mst difficult part f the prcess fr the buyer, because it required that he find a way t request a reductin in the price withut lking t weak In the end, the buyer was expected t bring the price dwn but still pay the highest price he culd befre he lst face S what des Abraham d? He simply weighs ut the silver accrding t the cmmercial standard, meaning Abraham made sure he paid the exact amunt And he paid in view f everyne in the gate He makes clear he is nt dependent n a gd deal nr des he intended t place himself in a psitin where anyne can say they did Abraham a favr He grssly verpaid fr the land Gen. 23:17 S Ephrn s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the cnfines f its brder, were deeded ver Gen. 23:18 t Abraham fr a pssessin in the presence f the sns f Heth, befre all wh went in at the gate f his city. Gen. 23:19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave f the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebrn) in the land f Canaan. Gen. 23:20 S the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded ver t Abraham fr a burial site by the sns f Heth. And s Abraham nw has a place in the land, but nly a single field and nly because he was required t buy it all 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis Abraham is nw able t ensure that remains and thse f his wife will never leave the land Gd gave him But he bught nly what was necessary He never buys any mre f the land, cntent instead t wait fr the Lrd t give Abraham the land prmised Abraham s was willing t buy a little land in Canaan at an exrbitant price rather than returning t the land f his ancestrs where he culd have been buried fr little r nthing Ntice that the last verse f the chapter seems t be unnecessary, since v.19 puts an end t the stry This place is hme nw But v.20 is needed because the pint f chapter 23 is nt the burial f Sarah The pint f chapter 23 is that Abraham has established nce and fr all that his family will call Canaan hme Isaac and Jacb as well as Abraham used this burial site. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacb, and Leah were all buried here Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.