Genesis Ch23v1-20 - Hope at a Funeral

Sarah lived to be 127 years old. She died at Kiriath Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.

He said, I am a foreigner and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so that I can bury my dead.

The Hittites replied to Abraham, Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs.

None of us will refuse his tomb for burying your dead.

Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.

He said to them, If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron, son of Zohar, on my behalf,

so that he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field.

Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.

Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites

who had come to the gate of his city.

No, my lord, he said, listen to me.

I give or I sell you the field and I sell you the cave that is in it.

I sell it to you in the presence of my people.

Bury your dead.

Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in his hearing,

Listen to me, if you will, I will pay the price of the field.

Accept it from me so that I can bury my dead there.

Ephron answered Abraham, Listen to me, my lord.

The land is worth 400 shekels of silver.

But what is that between you and me?

Bury your dead.

Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites,

400 shekels of silver according to the weight current among the merchants.

So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre, both the field and the cave in it,

and all the trees within the borders of the field,

was legally made over to Abraham as his property in the presence of the Hittites

who would come to the gate of the city.

Afterwards Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah near Mamre,

which is at Hebron in the land of Canaan.

So the field and the cave in it were legally made over to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

Interesting account.

Let's pray.

Father, we trust that every word written in Scripture is your word to us.

None of it is wasted.

All of it important.

And so we pray and ask that by your Holy Spirit's power

you would help us to concentrate

and to hear your voice to us afresh,

strengthening us

and blessing us today.

In Jesus' name we pray this.

Amen.

Well, it's a reality for us all, isn't it?

Look at verse 1.

Sarah lived to be 127 years old.

She died at Curious Arbor.

Sarah lived

and Sarah died.

It's the story of us all.

Our day, or one day, our names will appear in RIP.ie.

We mightn't live to be 127 years old,

but the same words will tell the same story.

Johnny lived

and Johnny died.

So the big question we all need to ask

and what I want us to think about this morning

is this.

Am I ready

to die?

Am I ready?

Is everything prepared

for your funeral?

You see, chapter 23

seems to be all about Abraham

looking for a grave

to bury

his wife Sarah.

And not from being from these parts,

he didn't have a family grave.

There was no plot

for him to go to.

So Abraham has to go through

the whole business

of asking the local town council

if he could buy some land.

And he's very respectful about it.

Look at verse 7.

Abraham rose and bowed down

before the people of the land.

Verse 12.

Again, Abraham bowed down

before the people of the land.

And finally,

after a bit of wheeling and dealing,

a place has been identified,

the cave of Machpelah.

And the price has been agreed,

400 shekels of silver.

Handshakes all round.

Abraham gets his grave

and Ephron gets his money.

And so,

verse 19,

afterwards,

Abraham buried his wife Sarah

in the cave of the field

of Machpelah.

Well, not much of a story, you say.

There's nothing really here

to hold our interest,

just the sale

of a piece of land.

Why don't we move on

to chapter 24,

to the love story

of Isaac and Rebecca?

Well, before we do this,

I think the whole story

teaches us

how we are to prepare

for our own funeral.

Not how we can go about

buying a grave

or how we can get

the best price

for our coffin,

but how we are to live

our life as we wait

for that inevitable day.

So, let's look at the text

together and see

how we can prepare

for our own death.

First,

in preparation,

live as strangers

in the world.

Live as strangers

in the world.

Abraham may have come

from out of town,

but he's been living

in these parts

for at least 80 years.

He's hardly a blow-in.

Yet, look how he sees himself.

Verse 4.

I am a foreigner

and a stranger

among you.

Now, a foreigner

was somebody

who didn't have

any rights.

He didn't carry

a passport.

And a stranger

meant that you had

no land.

He was at the mercy

of the landlord.

Now, we might think

Abraham is a bit extreme

in describing himself

as a foreigner

and a stranger.

Even the locals

saw him

as somebody

with greater honour.

Look at verse 6.

Sir, listen to us.

You are a mighty prince

among us.

Abraham,

you're one of us now.

You're one of the family.

No, Abraham understands

his status.

Verse 4.

I am a foreigner

and a stranger

among you.

He lives his life

like a refugee

or a displaced person.

Now, why would he do that?

Well, I think there's

two reasons.

Here's the first.

Because he sees

that life

is temporary.

For Abraham,

this is how

he viewed life.

He saw life

on this earth

as a temporary

dwelling place.

He was just

passing through.

You see,

Abraham and Sarah

knew that they only

had a fixed

number of years

to live.

They understood

that life was temporary

and Sarah's death

was a reminder

of that.

You see,

most of us

live

as if we're going

to be here

forever.

We plan our life

as if we're never

going to die.

And if we do

think about

the future,

we think about

all that we're

going to do

in our retirement.

No,

this account

reminds us

that we are

temporary

beings.

We live

and we die.

One day

our names

will appear

in R.I.P.

second reason

is that

Abraham knew

this was not

his home.

Being a foreigner

and a stranger,

this earth

was not

home for him.

In fact,

that is the

status and position

of all

of God's people.

Peter,

who was

a disciple

or apostle

of Jesus,

wrote a letter

to a bunch

of Christians

who were going

through a hard

time.

They were

finding it

difficult.

And this is

how he wrote,

this is how he

addressed them.

To God's

elect,

strangers

in the world,

scattered.

heard.

And as the

letter goes

on,

he encouraged

them to

live out

their lives

as foreigners

and strangers

here on

earth.

This is how

God's people

are to think

of themselves.

Now,

I'm not

suggesting that

it's wrong

to buy a

house or

that we

should sell

up all

our goods

and go

and live

off grid.

No,

it's about

an attitude

of our

heart.

One

writer put

it like

this.

Christians,

that is

followers of

Jesus,

are like

immigrants,

foreigners,

temporary

residents,

refugees.

We do

not belong.

We are

outsiders.

The death

of Sarah

was hard

for Abraham.

Look at

the end

of verse

two.

Abraham

went to

mourn

for Sarah

and to

weep over

her.

Of course

he would

miss

Sarah.

They had

been married

for years.

Yet in

the sorrow

he knew

this was

not the

end.

They were

strangers

on earth,

temporary

residents,

longing

for their

eternal

home.

So let's

ask ourselves

the question

how do

you live

your life?

If you

see this

world as

your only

home,

then life

will be

lived as

one big

bucket list.

We live

our life

focused on

what I

want and

doing

everything

that I

please,

planning our

life all

around the

things I

want to

do.

But if

life is

temporary,

and if

we understand

that this

earth is

not our

true home,

then we

will be

outward

focused.

Instead of

serving self,

we will be

serving others.

We will be

a generous

and a kind

person.

Why?

Because we

know that

everything that

we have on

this earth

we're not

going to

take with

us.

It is all

temporary.

It will

vanish in a

puff of

smoke.

We are

looking

forward to

our eternal

home.

So how

do you

prepare for

your funeral?

Well,

first,

live as a

stranger here

on earth.

Second,

in preparation,

live by

faith in

God's

promises.

live by

faith.

Our first

reading,

chapter 23,

seems to be

all about

Abraham just

buying a

grave.

A plot

has been

identified,

negotiations

take place,

the price

is agreed,

but finding

a grave in

the right

place is

all

important.

not because

of the

view,

but because

of the

promises

that have

been made.

Remember

God's

promises?

Let's go

back to

chapter 12

to remind

ourselves just

what God

had promised.

Chapter 12,

there were

three main

promises that

God made.

chapter 12,

verse 2,

there was

the promise

of a

people.

God was

going to

bring about

a people

for himself

through the

family of

Abraham.

Verse 2,

I will make

you into a

great nation

and I will

bless you.

Then there

was the

promise of

the people

being blessed,

end of

verse 3,

and all

peoples on

earth will

be blessed

through you.

There would

be a

son coming

from the

line of

Abraham who

would bring

blessing to

all the

nations.

And then

third,

there was

the promise

of a

place to

live.

Let's pick

it up in

verse 5.

Abraham

took his

wife Sarai

and his

nephew Lot

and all the

possessions

they had

accumulated

and the

people they

had acquired

in Haran

and they

set out

for the

land of

Canaan.

Now

underline

that.

Canaan.

And they

arrived there.

Verse 7,

The Lord

appeared to

Abraham and

said,

To your

offspring I

will give

this land.

So God's

people will

be in

God's

place and

they will

be blessed.

Now it's

important to

understand that

this promise

was crucial

and Abraham

needed reminded

of it.

So look at

chapter 17

verse 8.

God reminds

him again of

this promise.

Chapter 17

verse 8.

The whole

land of

Canaan

where you

now reside

as a

foreigner

I will

give as

an everlasting

possession to

you and to

your descendants

after you

and I will

be their

God.

Back to

chapter 23.

So there we

have it.

God's

great promises

that he

will have a

people who

will have a

place to

live in

and they

will be

blessed.

Yet despite

all of these

promises

Abraham still

has no

land.

He doesn't

own anything.

In fact he's

having to

negotiate with

the locals

to try and

buy a

small field.

Now just

because Abraham

has no

land doesn't

mean that God

has forgotten.

What God

says God

does.

What God

promises God

will fulfil.

It mightn't

be according

to our

timing and

it mightn't

be in the

way that we

expect but

God will

fulfil his

promises.

So armed

with that

promise Abraham

now claims

the promise.

Remember the

land that God

had promised to

Abraham was

the land

of Canaan.

Now look

where Sarah

dies in

verse 2.

She died

at Kirias

Arba,

that is

Hebron,

in the land

of Canaan.

And where

is she

buried?

Well look

at verse 19.

Afterwards

Abraham buried

his wife Sarah

in the cave

in the field

of Machpelah

near Mamre

which is at

Hebron

in the land

of Canaan.

You see

Abraham is

looking forward

in faith

to what God

had promised.

And as a sign

of his faith

in God's

promise

he buys up

a piece of

land.

He buys a

burial site

in Canaan.

It's not a lot

of land,

it's just a field

with a cave

at the end,

a few rocks.

But it is

a piece

of the land

that God

had promised.

You wouldn't

call it

prime real estate

but it is

a foretaste

of what will

one day

be received

and one day

enjoyed.

You see

Abraham

was investing

in his

promised

inheritance.

Verse 14.

Ephron

answered

Abraham,

Listen to me

my lord,

the land

is worth

400 shekels

of silver.

That's over

a year's

wages.

That's a lot

of money.

But what is

that between

you and me?

Come on,

let's do the

deal and you

can bury

your debt.

So Abraham

agreed to

Ephron's

terms and

weighed out

for him

the price

he had

named in

the hearing

of the

Hittites

400 shekels

of silver

according to

the weight

current among

the merchants.

In other

words,

the scales

were tipped

in favour

of the

seller.

Seems

crazy money,

doesn't it?

Surely Abraham

could have

negotiated a bit

better and got

a better price.

He could have

even gone

across the border

and found

something a

little bit

cheaper.

No, it may

seem a lot

of dosh,

a lot of

money to

spend on a

burial site,

but this was

an investment

in something

to come and

you couldn't

put a price

on that.

For Abraham,

this burial

site pointed

to something

greater and

far more

eternal.

come with

me,

please,

to Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11,

as we've

seen over

the weeks,

is crucial

to our

understanding

the life

of Abraham.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Here the

writer helps

us understand

Abraham's

faith and

all that he

was looking

forward to.

We'll pick

it up in

verse 8.

By faith,

Abraham,

when called

to go to

a place

he would

later receive

as his

inheritance,

obedience,

obeyed and

went,

even though

he didn't

know where

he was

going.

By faith,

he made

his home

in the

promised land,

like a

stranger and

in a

foreign

country.

He lived

in tents,

as did

his children,

Isaac and

grandchildren,

Jacob,

who were

heirs with

him of the

same promise.

life.

Why would

he live

like that?

Because for

Abraham,

life was

temporary.

This was

not his

home.

Why?

Verse 10.

For he

was looking

forward to

the city

with foundations,

whose architect

and builder

is God.

God.

Look,

when Abraham

acquired the

piece of

land,

he was

claiming his

inheritance by

faith in

what God

had promised

him.

You see,

the physical

land of

Canaan pointed

to a better

and more

eternal land,

a city built

by God,

the land of

the new

heavens and

the new

earth,

the world

that God

will one

day put

right,

the world

where there

will be no

more suffering

or struggles

and no

more death.

This is

what God

has promised

to all

of God's

people.

We have

a glorious

inheritance,

God's

people in

God's

place in

a land,

an eternal

land full

of blessing

and you

can't put

a value

on that.

This is

an inheritance

that no

money can

buy.

In fact,

if we

want to

be part

of it,

we can

claim that

inheritance

by faith

in God's

promise.

This is

something God

delights in

giving freely

to all who

will trust

him.

Isn't

this

something

worth

investing

in with

all of

your life,

whatever

may come,

so that

you may

gain

eternity

and a

home

forever.

So how

do we

prepare for

our funeral?

Well,

we live

as strangers

and we

live by

faith in

the promise

of God.

And

continuing in

preparation,

we live

with the

hope of

the resurrection.

We live

with hope.

Let's go

back to

chapter 23

of Genesis.

Abraham

claimed the

promise.

He

bought his

burial

site,

a cave

at the

end of

a field.

As far

as Ephron

was concerned,

this land

wasn't worth

keeping,

not much

value.

Yet to

Abraham,

this burial

tomb

filled him

with hope.

You see,

hope in the

Bible is not

wishful

thinking.

It's

absolute

confidence

and complete

assurance.

It's

100%

guaranteed.

And that's

what the

burial

site for

Abraham

represented.

Sure

and certain

hope.

Look at

verse 17.

So Ephron's

field in

Machpelah

near Mamre,

both the

field and

the cave

in it,

and all

the trees

within the

borders of

that field

was legally

made over

to Abraham

as his

property

in the

presence of

all the

Hittites

who had

come to

the gate

of the

city.

Verse 20.

So the

field and

the cave

in it

were legally

made over

to Abraham

by the

Hittites

as a

burial

site.

The legal

documents

were signed

and sealed.

The deal

has been

done.

It can't

be undone

or rewritten.

It's legally

binding.

This plot

of land,

this burial

site,

belongs to

him now

and forever.

He now

has a stake

in the

promised land.

You see,

for Abraham,

this grave

was a source

of a

strange

kind of

comfort.

Yes,

he buried

and grieved

for his

wife,

but this

grave also

filled him

with hope.

It was a

reminder of

his glorious

and eternal

inheritance,

an inheritance

that belonged

to him and

it was secured

forever by

God's

promises.

Nothing and

no one could

undo what

God promises.

Nothing can

take away

with what

God will

fulfil.

Isn't it

strange

how a

burial

tomb

can fill

a person

with such

great

hope?

Well,

for us,

there is a

greater hope

to be found

in another

burial

tomb,

but this

one

is empty.

The

promise that

Abraham looked

forward to

becomes a

reality

through the

death and

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ.

You see,

Jesus,

the promised

son of

Abraham,

the God

man,

came into

the world

to live as

a foreigner

and a

stranger

amongst us.

He had

no rights.

God

He had no

home.

He came to

this world

with an

outward

focus,

not to be

served,

but to

serve.

And to

serve by

giving his

life as a

ransom.

He died

our death,

taking the

blame for the

wrong things

we have done.

and he

was placed

in a

cave,

a burial

tomb.

There

Jesus

was buried.

But this

was only a

temporary

tomb,

because three

days later,

Jesus Christ

physically and

bodily walked

out of that

tomb.

He crushed

death,

he destroyed

the grave,

and he secured

for us our

eternal

inheritance.

inheritance.

Who would

have ever

thought that

you could

find such

hope in a

burial site?

You see,

faith in

Jesus Christ

gives us

absolute

confidence and

complete assurance

that our

eternal destiny

is secure.

What Jesus

has done on

the cross and

through his

resurrection seals

the deal.

it can't be

undone.

It can't be

rewritten.

It's secure

forever.

Sarah lived

and Sarah

died.

Johnny lives

and one day

Johnny will

die.

die.

But that's

not the end

of the story,

is it?

We have

hope,

absolute

confidence,

and complete

assurance.

So are you

ready to die?

Have you

made preparations

for your

funeral?

people?

Well, to

prepare for

that inevitable

day, we

are to live

as strangers.

We are to

live in

faith and

we live

with hope.

As we

close, I'd

like us to

turn, please,

to 1

Peter.

1 Peter

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

This is the

letter where

all God's

people are

referred to

as foreigners

and strangers.

We live our

life here

temporarily.

This world

is not our

home.

We are

longing for

something better

and greater.

And here

is a

promise

that is

worth

investing

your life

in.

Giving

your all

for

something

to

something

that you

can never

ever lose.

Let's

read 1

1 Peter 1:3–5

Peter

chapter 1

verses

3 to

5

as we

reflect and

meditate

on God's

great

promise.

Praise be

to the

God and

Father of

our Lord

Jesus

Christ.

In his

great

mercy,

he has

given us

new birth,

a new

beginning,

a new

life,

into a

living hope

through the

resurrection of

Jesus Christ

from the

dead,

and into

an inheritance

that can

never perish,

spoil,

or fade.

This

inheritance

is kept

in heaven

for you

who through

faith are

shielded by

God's power

until the

coming of

the salvation

that is

ready to be

revealed

in the

last time.

God

grew,

and

render

its

God's power

tiens.

and

we

praise you,

Lord God Almighty

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

for the life that we have received

by faith

for the promises that are now ours

because of Christ's resurrection from the dead

help us to live our life

as strangers

living our life temporarily

longing for our eternal home

walking each day

by faith in the sure and certain promises of God

looking forward

and longing for our eternal home

that will never perish

spoil or fade

thank you that heaven is kept for us

and that we are kept for heaven

help us to prepare

for our funeral

for our good

and for your glory

Amen

Well I'm sure there's many songs that we could sing in response

to what we've just thought about

but here's one that fits well

what is our hope

in life and death

if this is where your faith is

then you will want to sing

and answer

Christ alone

Christ alone

I encourage you if you're able to stand and sing

and to sing to one another

to encourage us

as we live our lives

here on this earth

God bless you

I need you

I need you

to bring you