The Beginning of the End

Morning, everyone.

Oh, nice and loud.

Thanks, Alex.

Thank you very much.

Just to reiterate,

for the retreat in December,

How many people can I help and support

and come as well?

Okay, so that's part of what we do as a family.

So do not feel as though,

oh, that's going to be the problem.

Please do not let that be the problem.

Anyway, last week we had a climax,

the climax of Genesis 22,

of Abraham finally offering Isaac up to the altar.

I watched a movie this week,

which also had a very strong climax,

The Odyssey.

Can you put your hand up if you've watched The Odyssey?

Gauzy watched it?

Yes.

Juju and I are actually talking about,

can I have the feedback down a little bit on the speaker?

I'm hearing,

we're talking about starting a movie club

to talk about this film.

It's so good.

As climaxes go,

it's pretty strong.

I won't spoil anything,

though, again,

I've told Gabs this before you watched it.

You've had 3,000 years to find out about the story,

so you deserve to have his support for you

if you still haven't watched it.

The climax last week was pretty epic.

You have Abraham,

who's waited for 25 years

for this son.

And then finally,

he does it,

and I share the story about my dad

before he passed,

kneeling down at the cross

in our church,

just in tears,

telling me,

James,

promise me one thing.

Focus on him.

Be true to your calling.

Say yes when he calls you to go,

and that's been the marker of my life

all the way till now.

I imagined Abraham and Isaac

at the cross at Calvary

when Abraham sees Jesus on the cross.

Imagining, by the way,

this does not happen.

Different time.

But just imagining,

given what he had gone through

in Genesis 22,

given that he was willing

to give his son,

whom he loved,

to God,

and then seeing God

do the exact same thing,

going,

now I know,

now I know,

this God,

this Father,

loves us so dearly

that he would not withhold

his only son.

Thankfully for Abraham,

he offers up Isaac,

but then God says,

no,

stop.

I have a replacement for you.

I have a substitute for you.

There's a ram there

that you can use instead.

But at the cross,

you see,

God does not say,

stop.

He says,

in fact,

he says nothing.

Psalm 22,

Jesus quotes the words,

why,

my God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

For our sake,

because of his love for us,

he turns away from his son,

whom he loves,

so that we can live again.

That was the climax

of last week.

And going back to the Odyssey,

one of the things

that really struck me,

of course,

who knows whether Odysseus

was a real person

or not.

But the story itself,

what Nolan tried to do

was just depict

this character

who had gone on a journey,

was a sojourner,

but also was filled

with grief.

Right?

And that's kind of

what carried him through

all the way.

It made me think

the journeys that we're on

and the grief

that we hold,

whether there's moments

where there are true

gladness,

joy,

of what God's given us,

but you and me

would both be lying

if we didn't say

that our lives

also bring us

with grief

nearly every day.

And we look here now,

post-climax,

we see a really

interesting passage here

where,

actually,

Abraham deals

with grief.

I always have a saying,

which is,

I really love

talking to people

who are acquainted

with grief.

Not because of any

weird thing,

but because when I look

into their eyes,

I know that they

know that this life

is not all there is.

That there's a soberness

to it.

There's a clarity

to life

that I think

only grief

can give you.

And you see here

what Abraham does

with grief

is he points

to eternity.

He points himself

to eternity,

and it's through

a seemingly

very mundane,

trivial,

real estate

transaction.

And that's what

we're going to be

doing today.

We had the climax

of Genesis 22,

and now we come down

to something that's

seemingly very earthly,

very mundane,

and very tragic,

and we're going to see

what the Lord has

in store for us.

I'm going to invite

Sonny to come up

to minister to us

and read to us

the Word of God.

So as per our tradition,

can I invite you

to stand out of reverence

and awe for the Word

that's about to be

spoken over us.

Genesis 23.

Genesis 23.

Sarah's Death and Burial.

Sarah lived 127 years.

These were the years

in the life of Sarah.

And Sarah died

at Kiri at Arba,

that is Huron,

in the land of Canaan.

And Abraham went in

to mourn for Sarah

and to weep for her.

And Abraham rose up

from before his dead

and said to the Hittites,

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.

The Hittites answered

Abraham,

Abraham,

hear us, my lord.

You are a prince of God

among us.

Bury your dead

in the choices

of our tombs.

None of us

will withhold

from you his tomb

to hinder you

from burying your dead.

Abraham rose

and bowed

to the Hittites,

the people of the land.

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,

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.

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.

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.

Then Abraham

bowed down

before the people

of the land

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 for me

that I may bury

my dead there.

Ephron answered Abraham,

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.

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

the current

among the merchants.

So the field

of Ephron

and 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

to Abraham

as a possession

in the presence

of the Hittites

before all

who went in

at the gate

of his city.

After this

Abraham buried

Sarah,

his wife,

in the cave

of the field

of Machpelah

east of Mamre

that is

Huron

in the land

of Canaan

the field

and the cave

that is in it

were made over

to Abraham

as property

for a burying place

by the Hittites.

This is the word

of the Lord.

Thank you,

Sonny.

Please take a seat.

Alina,

when you read

the Bible

do you find

every passage

that you read

just exciting

and invigorating

and something

that you can take away?

That was not me

on Monday morning.

When I read that passage

again I was like

okay we had

just such a

great time

going through

Genesis 22.

One passage

that everyone

is familiar with

and then we reached

23 and I'm like

okay well where

do we go with this?

What is it Lord

that you are trying

to show us

in this?

But before that though

if you have your Bibles

which I do hope you do

I haven't shamed people

for a while

paper Bibles.

Paper Bibles

is the way to heaven

is the way to salvation.

The apps will not

get you there

unfortunately.

That's what it says

in the Bible.

You should read it.

Genesis chapter

if it's your first time

here I'm joking.

Kind of.

Pass it aggressively.

Now

the end of 22

is really interesting.

22 is this

fascinating passage

right?

But for some reason

the author decides

to leave

a couple sentences

at the end

just after the whole

epic incident

on the hill.

and then he says

now after these things

it was told to Abraham

behold

Milca also has born

children to your brother

Nahor

Uz his firstborn

Buzz his brother

Chemuel the father

of Abraham

Hesed

Hazo

anyway

I'll hold this to names

and moreover

his concubine

whose name was

Rumah

bore Teber

Gaham

Tahash

and Maka.

Isn't it interesting

that that's just a random

piece of information

there that he leaves

in one of the most

key chapters

in the whole Bible.

I don't know if you

find it interesting.

I did.

Interestingly because

his brother Nahor

25 years ago

was not called out

of Ur

so he didn't have

to leave home.

He stayed home

he didn't have to

take a leap of faith

to go out

and away.

Almost just to rub

salt in the wounds

is Abraham

has just offered

his son

his only son

whom he loves

his only chance

of livelihood

his social future

is based on

this one son

he offers him up

and then suddenly

he receives news

from home

saying hey

do you remember

that brother

that you left

who actually doesn't

follow God

and doesn't believe

in God

and is still

worshipping the

moons

he has so many

kids

is basically

what it's saying.

Isn't it fascinating?

When you take

that leap of faith

to follow God

you don't know

where he's going

to lead

you don't know

how he's going

to provide for you

and most often

it doesn't make sense.

Abraham's like

wait

I was told

to leave my home

and then you'll

bless me with

family

and my family land

right now

I don't really

have much

whereas my brother

Sarah

who didn't

listen to you

doesn't have

a relationship

with you

is at home

living at large

with 12 kids

and tribes

how's that fair?

What does that

even mean?

Don't you think

it's funny

that the author

here just seems

to have a sense

of humour here

who's kind of

just showing

hey

what we see

in this world

is not all there is

there is more

to it

and then sadly

23 starts

Sarah lived

127 years

these were the years

of the life

of Sarah

and then

she dies

is what it says

the consequence

of the curse

even though there

are promises

that are made

to him and his family

there is the consequence

of this curse

which still remains

which is that

we will die

Genesis 25

that whole list

of descendants

and he died

and he died

and he died

and you'll die

and you'll die

and you'll die

and I'll die

and we will all

die

isn't it sobering

when we talk

about acts of faith

when we talk

about trusting

when we talk

about choosing

faith over fear

we also still

must acknowledge

that there is

death

death is still

very much part

of the picture here

in fact

Abraham's in a bit

of a weird place now

he had two promises

given to him

one that you'll have

family and two

your family will have

land

he's received one

through just Isaac

but he's not

got any land

and then it carries

on here

and it talks

about it

verse 3

he goes to the Hittites

which at that point

were again

a prominent people

along with the Egyptians

along with the

you know

eventually with the Greeks

so the Hittites

were a big group

and so they were

the ones who were

kind of owning

Canaan right now

and so Abraham

goes to them

and says this

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

brackets

God had promised

me family

and he had promised

my family

all of this land

but actually

up until this point

I do not own

a single piece of land

I only have one son

and now my wife

has died

and actually

when we left

26 years ago

I promised her

I told her

God said

that we would have

lots and lots of land

and lots and lots

of descendants

but sadly

she's now dead

and she had two sons

one who we sent away

well Ishmael

wasn't really her son

but then Abraham

I offered up

and now

she's gone

and I

as a husband

was not able

to show her

what God

had promised us

I want us to feel

a little bit

of just the

pain and heartache

that Abraham

would have gone through

maybe his husband

sits with wife

his wife sits with husband

going

what were the dreams

that we had

to sail away

to enjoy

our future

together

all the things

that God

had promised us

together

and now we sit

and now he sits

here with grief

going

didn't get any of it

couldn't even

give my wife

a house

is what he's saying

I'm a sojourner

and a foreigner

and I couldn't

give her

a house

could you

at least

give me a cave

to bury her

they respond

to him

by saying

verse 6

here is my lord

you are a prince

of God

among us

bury your dead

in the choices

of our tombs

none of us

will withhold

from you

his tomb

to hinder you

from burying

your dead

so they like him

so again

he's a wealthy man

remember he's a wealthy

Genesis 13

he had so much money

he had to split

from his nephew

so he's got a lot

of people

a lot of cattle

and of course

a lot of tents

in the camp of Abraham

and they know him

and they say

hey you're a prince

of God

wouldn't that be great

to just be described

as that

by people outside

of the faith

there's something

about you

that is just different

you're a prince of God

and hey you do

look we know

you've been living

a sojourner

we know you're a foreigner

which means

we don't really want

to give you our land

but hey

just take your pick

where do you want

to bury your wife

you do that

and so then

he says 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

that he may give

the cave of Machpelah

actually

something else

just interesting here

is he's a foreigner

he's a sojourner

and yet he still

acts with integrity

at every step of the way

to the point

where other people

on the outside

look in and go

you're a good guy

I would love

for us all

to be there

I would love

for people

to look at me

outside

in that same way

and so he

he goes

there is actually

one piece of land

actually it's just a cave

it's the end of this field

owned by a guy

called Ephron

if you can

speak to Ephron

and I can buy

that cave off him

so I can bury my wife

that's all I want

brackets

despite God

has promised me

so much

yeah I'm not getting

any of it

I'm just going to

buy the cave

verse 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 the city

remember the gate of the city

is a very important place

remember Lot

was hanging out

at the gate of the city

it's the place

where all the transactions

are done

okay

this is

this is the interactive

brokers of the day

and this is where

they sit and wait

and actually everything

is made official

and exchanged here

everyone knows about it

so Ephron is sat there

and he's going

okay

and then a fascinating

interaction happens

and this is where

it gets into

literal real estate

business transaction here

and he says this

no Lord

hear me

I give you the field

and I give you the cave

that is in it

in the sight of my sons

of my people

I give it to you

bury your dead

interesting here

Abraham asks for a cave

he only wants a cave

but then Ephron

comes to him

out of this kind of

it seems as though

it seems warm

and kind of generous

he says hey

don't just take the cave

take the field

take the field

my sons can see it

take it

bury your dead

and do what it is

that you need to do

on the surface

this looks like

a good piece of generosity

but we actually

if you keep going down further

you'll see that it actually

isn't

bury your dead

then Abraham bowed down

before the land of the people

again showing respect

even though they don't

worship his God

he still respects

the society

and the structures

that are in place

and he said to Ephron

in the hearing of people

but if you will hear me

I will give the price

of the field

accept it from me

that I may bury my dead there

Abraham's like

thank you so much

for offering me

this cave

and this field

but I insist

I want to buy it off you

what's Abraham thinking

he's thinking

okay well

you might say yes to me now

but your kids might not

say yes to me

in the next generations

and then you'll take that field

and that cave back off me again

unless we make it legal

so he's respecting

the structures

that are in place

for society

honoring them

and also insisting

that he does not

take shortcuts

but he does not cut corners in this

he lives as a man of faith

and of integrity

and he says

please let me buy the field

and this is where

Ephron's true colors

are exposed

and he says this

Ephron answers

Abraham

my lord

listen to me

a piece of land

worth 400 shekels of silver

what is that

between me and you

you and me

it's okay

it's just you and me

400 shekels of silver

this is where you know

it's been exposed

because 400 shekels of silver

is actually about 40 years

of wage

I put it into AI

and it's

the equivalent

would probably be about

5 million Hong Kong

what people

what scholars believe here

is that he's charging

an exorbitant price

for the field

that Abraham only wants

to the cave

can you see

he's showing his true colors

here

and actually

if you've been in the Middle East

if you've even done

any kind of bargaining

and kind of negotiation

this is typical

Middle Eastern negotiating

and actually

if Abraham at this point

said oh thanks

I'll take the cave

I'll take the field

thank you very much

there would have been chaos

but instead

there was this

almost superficial

negotiation

that gets Abraham

to the point

where he pays

full market price

for a piece

of land

that he didn't actually want

he just wanted

a cave

to bury

his wife

whom he had promised

so much

and she had passed

without seeing

any of it

this was a grieving man

if you look at just verse

2

Abraham went in

to mourn for Sarah

and to weep

for her

just the grief

that comes

and all he wants

is the cave

and he's pulled

into this

fascinating thing

that happens

with Ephraim

so Ephraim

was like

fine

I will charge you

the 400 shekels

of silver

and he does that

and even then

Abraham listened to Ephraim

and Abraham weighed out

for Ephraim

the silver

that he had named

in the hearing

of the Hittites

400 shekels of silver

according to the weights

current among the merchants

so even then

even the weighing

of the silver

was still

it was still

saying hey

we're going to decide

and it will fluctuate

depending on how much

silver there is

and back in those days

there were less silver

than actually there is now

so this was a very

very expensive

piece of property

that he was buying

for his wife

so they do it

and what can we learn

from this whole story

and that's it

and as I was sitting

there this weekend

what can we see

from this passage

that we can actually

take away from

and the first thing

is that you see

a grieving sojourner

who was very much

willing to grieve

I can tell you this

I always hold

grief and gratitude

hand in hand

there's not a moment

that goes by

in my life

where I don't look

and go

there are things

that I'm grieving

there are things

that I've lost

every yes I say

yes everything

I say yes to

there are ten no's

that I have to say

no to

we all carry grief

in some way

that's almost

part and parcel

of this life here

and yet you see

a grieving sojourner

living in a certain way

where he doesn't get

the promises

fulfilled

and we now sit here

and we have the whole bible

and we see

Hebrews 11

that's filled with

all these great things

said about Abraham

at this point

he doesn't know

he just knows

that the wife

that he loved

is now dead

and she didn't get

what was promised

and in his

last act of honour

to her

last act of love

to her

who no doubt

I mean

those of you

who have moved house

a lot of times

will know how painful

it is

so again

I'm projecting here

but there'll be a moment

where the wife's going

can we just settle down now

I'm so tired

of this tent

Abraham didn't

you say that God

had promised us

this land forever

for our descendants

why are we still living

in this tent

and this tent

has a leak

it's just horrible

and dark

and dingy

he doesn't do anything

until she passes

and he insists

on paying full price

for this land

he is a grieving

sojourner

but he is pointing

to eternity

he's pointing himself

to eternity

and I'll show you why

the reason why

he insists on buying

this land

is because he doesn't

just believe

that God's promise

was about giving them

the land in their lifetime

remember

last chapter

last week

what does Abraham

believe in?

he believes

that there's a chance

actually there's a big chance

that God can raise

Isaac from the dead

that's why he's willing

to offer

he's like

I don't know

how it's going to happen

even if I have to

sacrifice and kill Isaac

some way

Hebrews 11 says this

Abraham thought

don't worry

even if I offer Isaac up

God will raise him

from the dead somehow

so Abraham believes

in the resurrection

from the dead

so the reason why

he buys this land

for his wife

who never got to see

the land is

hey I know I didn't

get you this land

in your lifetime

but I assure you this

when you resurrect

you will resurrect

in the place

that God promised you

that's why he bought

this land

because he's saying

this will be a marker

this will be a deposit

this will be a down payment

for our future

because the promise

that we receive from God

isn't in this lifetime

it's for the next one

and the moment

Sarah you wake up

the moment you resurrect

you will be resurrecting

in the lands

that God promised you

because of that

I am willing to pay

above market price

for this land

so that when you wake up

when

not if

when you wake up

when you are resurrected

you will be in exactly

the place

that God promised you

he's not going to take

any shortcuts

because there was another way

that he could have done this

which was not bury her

just cremate her

just get it out of the way

why does he need to engage

with the locals

get this favor from them

or pay so much for them

he didn't have to do

any of that

he never

he'd held restraint

all this time

anyway

why buy her the land now

she's not nagging anymore

and yet in his eyes

there's something

that needs to be done here

that is beyond their life

beyond their lifetime

so he's going to insist

on buying this land

and because it was done

in the presence

of all these other leaders

around the city

around the gate

this transaction

would be official

and it would pass down

the generations

guess who ends up

getting buried there

in the future

not just Sarah

but Abraham himself

and then Isaac

and it continues

and continues

just another moment

of sentimental value here

this place in Hebron

is basically where

after they split

with the nephew Lot

so Lot goes this way

and they go this way

and they set up

in Hebron

it would have been

where they settled

those many years ago

and so he's like

no

I'm putting a deposit

on this

a down payment

for this

this is for our future

he sees something

beyond death

it makes me think

how do we approach

our earthly things now

do we approach them

with an eternal mindset

I once heard a quote

that I've shared

many many times before

that there are

two most important days

in your life

today

and that day

today

the day that you're

living in right now

and that day

when you meet your creator

those are the only

two important days

in your life

and our prayer

is that that day

impacts the way

you live today

when was the last time

you made an investment

that didn't really make sense

in an earthly sense

but makes absolute sense

in an eternal sense

when was the last time

you invested your time

your resources

your money

your efforts

your love

into something

or someone

or some project

with eternity

in mind

if we're honest

with ourselves

that doesn't really happen

because we make investments

for this life

we choose to put time

into studying

so we can invest

into getting the grades

that we need

to get to the university

that we need

to get to the job

that we need

so we can get the lifestyle

that we need

all in this life

but when was the last time

we said

I'm going to make

an investment

that I'm not going to see

that the world

isn't really going to understand

but it is so much bigger

than what I experience

in this life

and there's going to be

a moment

where I'm going to experience

it in eternity

where my wife

is going to wake up

and she's going to be

in paradise

do we here

live

with eternity

in mind

it's impossible

to go through

the book of

the story of Abraham

without looking

at Hebrews 11

so I want to turn

to us there

for the next bit

and then I'm actually

going to invite

a friend up

so if you can

stay awake

until then

I promise you

it will get more

interesting after that

Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

growing up always

I've used this

I've felt this

was just a

just a hall of fame

of people

who just put

their trust

in the Lord

who never put

a foot wrong

who never made

a mistake

who lived life

completely

trusting in their God

but what I

have more recently

seen is that

is not the case

you look

and Abraham

by the way

is the one

who's had

the most written

about him

11 verse 8

by faith Abraham

obeyed when he

was called to go

out to a place

that he was to

receive as an

inheritance

by faith he

obeyed

so that's the thing

he obeys and

goes out

not knowing

what he's going

to get

not knowing

where he's

going to go

and he went

out not knowing

where he was

going to go

verse 8

by faith he

went to live

in the land

of promise

the land that

was promised

to him

he lived

there in

faith

living in

tents with

Isaac and

Jacob

why

because he

was looking

forward

verse 11

sorry verse 10

for he was

looking forward

to the city

that has

foundations

whose designer

and builder

is God

just step

with me

into the life

of Abraham

again

he's promised

this big land

he goes

leaves everything

he's ever

known

and goes

and lives

there

and he lives

in tents

never settles

down

and somewhere

along the way

things turn

and he realizes

that he's not

actually living

for Canaan

anymore

he's living

for a city

that has

foundations

whose designer

and builder

is God

he's going

further away

I think that's

a bit of the

life that we

have as followers

of Christ

is in the

early stages

when we choose

to follow Jesus

it's because

he's going to

help us find

purpose

he's going to

help us

find meaning

he's going

to help us

find

and some

of us

think

he's going

to help

us find

bring health

and wealth

and we're

just going

to be much

more happy

and that's

often how

we start

and I'm not

saying that's

all terribly

wrong

but I'm

saying that

would be a

real terrible

shame

if that's

where we

stayed

and so

then what

happens is

as we

start following

Jesus

we end up

at the place

where actually

Jesus I'm

kind of losing

interest in the

gifts that you're

going to give me

and I'm more

interested in you

because those

gifts have got

to come from

somewhere

and the kingdom

of God is the

gift that keeps

on giving

so I'd rather

come towards you

and that's where

you end up

King David

Psalm 27

says the one

thing I ask

now the one

thing I seek

is to dwell

in the house

of the Lord

to gaze upon

his beauty

to inquire

in his temple

all I care

about is

you now

the life

of a believer

those seasons

those cycles

that we go

through

the whole

objective

is to get

to a place

where Jesus

I want you

more than

the things

that you

can give

me

and recognizing

especially

that I may

not even

get it

Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:13

verse 13

these all

died in

faith

not having

received

the things

promised

but having

seen them

and greeted

them from

afar

and having

acknowledged

that they

were strangers

and exiles

on the earth

Abraham

is there

he speaks

to the Hittites

and says

I am a

sojourner

a foreigner

I am a

stranger

I am an

exile

this doesn't

really belong

to me anymore

if we could

all just

get there

to a place

where we

look at the

comforts and

luxuries and

excitement

and the gifts

of a city

like Hong Kong

and go

and yet I

desire

a better

country

I desire

a city

whose builder

and foundation

and designer

is God

himself

this isn't

enough

with that

said

what we're

praying for

is that

actually

heaven would

come onto

earth

every time

I walk

into Hong Kong

Park

I'm like

what a

beautiful park

surrounded by

these incredible

buildings

reminds me a little

bit of just the

book of Revelation

where there's

going to be

it's going to

be a garden

city

but the whole

point is

and again

remember

my wife loves

trees

that's why

we have a

tree

in our

church

but if you

just look

even look

around

anywhere

that's nice

and hip

and cool

these days

whether it's

Hong Kong

or if you

like Shenzhen

then you

go to

Shenzhen

and you

see all

these

what do

you

Trevor's

like

yes

amen

all these

malls

all these

places

that are

cool

what do

they have

trees

there's

something in

our hearts

that are

just crying

just yearning

for this

garden city

actually

the good

things in

the city

in reality

actually point

us towards

those things

Abraham gets

to the point

where he

acknowledges

and sees

them from

afar

but he

recognizes

he's a

stranger

and an

exile

and he's

now looking

for something

else

I wonder

whether we

can live

with that

kind of

heart

it's funny

he buys

his land

they end

up staying

there

and this

is where

my conclusion

is before

I bring

other people

up

you fast

forward to

the end

of Genesis

Joseph

remember they

end up in

Egypt right

and Joseph

is very

very powerful

he's not

a sojourner

he's not

a stranger

he's not

an exile

he's the

second most

powerful man

in Egypt

and when

he dies

what does

he make

them promise

take my

bones

I do not

want to be

in Egypt

because our

people

our family

were promised

a land

in Canaan

so when

you leave

and God

will come

and deliver

you from

Egypt

and when

you leave

and come

take my

bones

with you

and wander

in the desert

for 40 years

he didn't know

that but

take them

with you

wherever you

go

because I

want my

bones

to be buried

with my

ancestors

with my

great great

great grandmother

my great

great great

grandfather

why

because God

promised us

something

that we

will realize

maybe not

in this

lifetime

but in

eternity

we will

so take

my bones

home

please

is what

Joseph

is saying

he lived

with that

eternal mindset

just like

Abraham

Abraham of course

had this

interaction with

Ephron

and Ephron

thinks he gets

a great deal

five million

Hong Kong

for a field

and a cave

that he doesn't

really use

anymore

and yet what

he doesn't

realize is that

Abraham actually

gets the better

side of the deal

that Abraham

paid 400

shekels of

silver for

his family

to have the

whole land of

Canaan

the whole of

the promised

land

he just won't

see it

just yet

Abraham himself

doesn't see it

Sarah definitely

didn't see it

and yet Abraham

lived with that

kind of faith

it reminds me

of Judas

not for 400

shekels

he just had a

bag of 30

coins

and he exchanges

it

how often do

we deal

in the earthly

thinking we

just want the

best deals

that we can

here

when God's

calling us

to live