Genesis 23
Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer-Lord, Open my mind and open my heart and help me learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 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.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. [a] He said, 4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 "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 you his tomb for burying your dead."
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 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 9 so 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."
10 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. 11 "No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me; I give [b] you the field, and I give [c] you the cave that is in it. I give [d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead."
12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there."
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels [e] of silver, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead."
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
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 the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
Abraham was caught in a foreign land looking for a place to lay his wife to rest. His reputation was strong, even in the foreign land. The locals offered to give him a place to bury Sarah, but he insisted on paying for it. This was a way of negotiating.
He ended up paying a high price. In most cultures, the way we bury dead says a lot about who we are. No price was too great for Abraham. When I worked at the funeral home a few years ago, I saw over and over how people paid a high price to give a loved one a great funeral.
God had promised that land to Abraham,(it was part of the promised land.) He could have taken it, but he did not want the tomb of his wife to be cursed. He was truly a wise man.
Prayer- Lord, help us to use wisdom when dealing with others. Even though we know that things would be given to us, we need to pay something to show value. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Tings to do today-Pray for Jeremy Lester and his family. Jeremy is a soldier in Iraq and was stabbed in the chest yesterday. Pray for healing.
Prayer-Lord, Open my mind and open my heart and help me learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 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.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. [a] He said, 4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 "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 you his tomb for burying your dead."
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 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 9 so 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."
10 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. 11 "No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me; I give [b] you the field, and I give [c] you the cave that is in it. I give [d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead."
12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there."
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels [e] of silver, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead."
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
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 the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
Abraham was caught in a foreign land looking for a place to lay his wife to rest. His reputation was strong, even in the foreign land. The locals offered to give him a place to bury Sarah, but he insisted on paying for it. This was a way of negotiating.
He ended up paying a high price. In most cultures, the way we bury dead says a lot about who we are. No price was too great for Abraham. When I worked at the funeral home a few years ago, I saw over and over how people paid a high price to give a loved one a great funeral.
God had promised that land to Abraham,(it was part of the promised land.) He could have taken it, but he did not want the tomb of his wife to be cursed. He was truly a wise man.
Prayer- Lord, help us to use wisdom when dealing with others. Even though we know that things would be given to us, we need to pay something to show value. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Tings to do today-Pray for Jeremy Lester and his family. Jeremy is a soldier in Iraq and was stabbed in the chest yesterday. Pray for healing.
posted by Steve Killam TMTL | 6:24 AM
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