A Place in the Promised Land – Genesis 23
Have you ever heard this saying, “In this world nothing is certain, except death and taxes”? This famous quote was written by Benjamin Franklin to Jean Baptiste Le Roy in 1789. I don’t know if the taxes part is accurate, maybe there are some places in the world you can live tax free, but the part about death is true.
Death can be a scary reality. It is not something we like to think about partly because of the uncertainty of what comes after. Regardless of how we feel about death, it is a reality of the fallen world in which we live. The curse of sin brings death to all mankind.
In our passage today, we see Abraham dealing with the death of his beloved wife Sarah. After mourning for her, Abraham is left with the responsibility of making the arrangements for her burial.
Anyone who’s had to make arrangements for burial after the death of a loved one knows it can be a difficult and trying time. And yet, arrangements must be made. A place to lay our loved ones to rest is needed. Those left behind, particularly if it is a spouse, take great care in making arrangements for their loved one’s final place of rest.
I can remember walking through that experience with my dad when my mom passed away. Special care was taken to choose how she would be laid to rest, from the coffin she would be buried in, to the clothes she would wear. I believe such care is taken because there is a sense of finality to it all. We want to honor our loved ones during this time.
But is death really the end? Is it the end of our existence? In our verses this morning about Abraham’s purchase of a burial site for Sarah, we understand that God is teaching us something about the hope of eternal life for believers. As certain as death is and as final as death seems, the Bible teaches that death is not the end. There is life after death.
Although in somewhat embryonic form, Abraham understood that a resurrection from the dead awaited the chosen people of God. He believed God would make a way for His people to experience eternal life in the promised land.
In the Bible we read that three days after his death on the cross, Jesus was raised from the dead. He was resurrected. Through His resurrection, he defeated the enemies of sin and death once and for all. And because Jesus defeated the enemies of sin and death, those that are in Christ, who have trusted in him, can have hope in eternal life.
But how does what Jesus did give us hope for eternal life?
In so many ways, the actions of Abraham foreshadowed the work of Jesus Christ. Abraham saw the place of rest for his descendants in the promised land, and Jesus saw our place in the eternal promised land. Abraham also purchased his descendants’ place in the earthly promised land, and Jesus purchased his people’s place in the eternal promised land. Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, believers have hope of life after death in the eternal promised land.
Let’s look at this passage together now.
Verse 1-2 state that Sarah lived 127 years and then she died in what would come to be called Hebron. Construction of these verses in the original Hebrew highlight the life of Sarah. The sense we get here is Moses was highlighting the rich and long life of Sarah, who was the first matriarch of the Hebrews. The Hebrews were those people descended from Sarah and Abraham. So, her death and burial would be significant to their descendants. Those descendants would include the Israelites which would be the audience that Moses was writing to when he first penned Genesis. It is interesting to note that Sarah’s death and burial was the first death and burial recorded in Hebrew history and Sarah was the first of the immediate family of Abraham to be laid to rest. This all helps us understand that this was a significant event for the descendants of Abraham.
It certainly was a significant event for Abraham. At the end of verse 2 we read, Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Abraham cared deeply for Sarah. She had been his partner in this journey of faith and trust in God. We just saw in chapter 22 that God had provided through Sarah the promised son, which was the fulfillment of one of His great promises to Abraham.
Some of you may know what it’s like for a spouse to pass away. Many of us have not had that experience yet. I imagine it is extremely difficult when a spouse dies, and I am sure it is very difficult to lose a spouse that has been with you for many years like Abraham and Sarah were. I personally have not experienced this, but I had the experience of walking with my dad through the difficulty of losing my mom. So, I have a sense of the difficulty of that, and I can only imagine the pain of losing someone so dear.
Still death is a reality, is it not? It will come to us all. It was Sir Walter Scott who said, “And come he slow, or come he fast, it is but death who comes at last.” Death is no respecter of people. Death is inevitable. But is death the end?
Look at verse 3. We read that Abraham rose from before his dead and approached the Hittites to ask for a place to bury Sarah. Here Abraham calls himself a sojourner and foreigner among the Hittites. You may recall when we looked at God’s promise to Abraham, it consisted of two major parts: the promise of a great number of descendants and the promise of a land to possess. Abraham had seen the beginning of the fulfillment of descendants with the birth of Isaac. However, the promise of possessing the land had not been fulfilled. We see here that he was still not in possession of any land in the promised land. How do we know this? Well, we know because Abraham must ask for a simple burial plot for Sarah. He has no legal rights in this land that he has spent so much time sojourning through.
He must then go about making arrangements to acquire a burial site. The seriousness with which Abraham takes this matter is instructive to us. From the beginning of Genesis, through modern day, man has viewed burial as extremely important. John Calvin notes that mankind has it divinely ingrained on their minds to bury the dead. There has also been high regard or respect for the actual grave or tomb. We see this in the high regard and even laws concerning disturbing burial sites. It’s as if special care needs to be taken in preparation for something after death.
This is certainly in Abraham’s mind here. We see that Abraham has been content and will continue to be content not owning a piece of the promised land himself, but he is intent on having a place in the promised land to bury Sarah.
Look at verse 5 and 6. 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.”
Well, it looks like Abraham is in luck, doesn’t it? The Hittites think so highly of him that they say he can choose any tomb or burial site from among them. God made Abraham like a prince of God to the Hittites. In other words, Abraham was highly respected. This speaks to the favor God has given Abraham. Believers that walk by faith and not by sight, that trust in the steadfast love and faithfulness of God tend to find favor and good success in the sight of God and man – Proverbs 3:4. That was the case here with Abraham and the Hittites.
Verse 7-9, “ 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.”
It appears Abraham has already identified a good spot. He has already identified a place for Sarah’s burial. It is the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron. Abraham saw Sarah and their descendants, those who were partakers of the promise, all gathered in the land of promise in the future. Even after death. Using the land for Sarah’s burial demonstrates Abraham’s faithful expectation that God will fulfill the covenant promise of land. And not only that but God would gather His people in that promised land even after death. This could only happen through a resurrection. In the same way, Jesus saw believers’ place in the eternal promised land. He knew the promised land awaited those who were united to him by faith. How do we know that he knew? John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may also be.” You see, before the foundations of the world, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were preparing the true promised land for their people. And Jesus had that promised land in view, he saw the true descendants of God in the promised land.
It is only those true descendants of Abraham that will inherit the promised land. They are the ones who will be resurrected to eternal life in. Philippians 3:10 says, “10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” So a question arisesAre you united to Christ this way? Will you experience resurrection in the eternal promised land?
There is a second piece, though, that we see in our passage. Abraham is not willing to simply have the place for burial, he is intent on purchasing the land for a burial site. In fact, he must purchase the burial site.
Verses 10-13, “ 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.”
Abraham engages in formal negotiations with Ephron in the presence of other Hittites. We know it is a formal negotiation because it takes place at the gate of the city. The city gate was the place of judicial decision-making in the ancient middle east. The Hebrew term for “plot” often bears the idea of a possession of land that is passed down as an inheritance. So what Abraham is trying to purchase is a burial plot that can be passed down to future descendants. Ephron offers to give the land to Abraham, at no cost. But Abraham refuses. Why does he refuse? Abraham turns down the offer of no payment for the land to fully establish his rightful claim on the land for him and his descendants.
We can relate to Abraham’s desire to own the land outright. For those of us who have purchased land, it can get really messy really quick if it is not clear who officially owns the land. I have heard of instances where land is purchased from a seller and after some time passes, the new landowner is approached by the landowner who is adjacent to them and is looking to sell his plot. But it turns out that this person actually owns a piece of the new landowner’s property due to some problems with the initial survey. This would be bad enough but imagine if the land in question involved a burial plot, where a loved one was buried. And now, that land and burial plot may become the property of someone else. That is what Abraham wanted to avoid.
So, Abraham refuses Ephron’s offer to give the “plot” at no cost. Some say that even though he is courteous, Abraham projects a sense of urgent tenacity here in verse 13. In the original language, the words translated “listen” and “take” are imperatives and the word “indeed” is a particle of intensification. The point is Abraham is serious about the purchase of this plot. Notice, however, that Ephron attaches a portion of land with the cave. Ephron is certainly a crafty businessman. He knows a good economic opportunity when he sees one. Abraham does not necessarily want the cave and the land, but he agrees to purchase both as Ephron suggested.
Now listen to these next verses. 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.
Ephron uses a subtle yet crafty way of stating the price of the field without directly asking Abraham to pay for it, knowing that Abraham is likely to pay a good price for the land. This would be like someone coming up to my dad’s farm looking for an old beat-up 1989 gray Dodge pickup truck. It just so happens that my dad has a decent graveyard of old farm pickups around his house. The person says to him, “I restore old pickups and I’ve been looking for an old beat-up 1989 gray Dodge truck and can’t find one anywhere. My dad would get a big smile on his face because he just so happens to have one that has been lying dormant for over 20 years. He knows he can get a good price for something he was not necessarily looking to sell. The same happens here with Abraham and Ephron.
However, somewhat surprisingly, Abraham agrees to Ephron’s asking price without any negotiations. The price of the land was likely high, but Abraham was willing to pay the high price to have unimpeachable rights to the land. So, Abraham pays Ephron what he was asking.
Verses 17-20 are essentially a summary of the previous 16 verses but Dr. Currid suggests 17-20 may have a formal meaning. He writes, “It reads like a legal document, a final contract, or bill of sale. Then the contract is dutifully witnessed by the sons of Heth (the Hittites) – everything appears legal and above board.” So the purchase is finalized. Abraham now becomes the legal heir to a small “plot” in the promised land.
So, we see that Abraham purchased and secured a resting place for Sarah and his descendants in the temporal promise land. Purchasing the land for Sarah’s burial demonstrates Abraham’s faithful expectation that God will fulfill the covenantal promise of possession of the land. It also foreshadows Jesus’s purchase of the eternal promised land for the true descendants of Abraham.
Listen to the words of Hebrews 11:13-16, “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. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
Physical death in this world is inevitable. Yet Abraham is confident that not even death could separate Sarah or himself from the love of God through Christ and the fulfillment of living in the promised land.
Christ’s death and resurrection purchased and secured a resting place for believers in the eternal promised land. And because Christ did this, believers can have hope in eternal life. Those who are united to Christ through faith will experience a resurrection and experience eternal life in the promised land.
I close with these words from the apostle Paul, who truly gets to the heart of the hope of life after death and a place in the promised land when he says in 1 Cor. 15:55-57, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. The victory is eternal life.
Will that be the case for you? Are you united through faith to Christ, and can you look forward with hope to life after death? A hope that comes from knowing that because Jesus saw our place in the promised land and Jesus purchased our place in the promised land, we can enjoy eternal life in the promised land. I pray that you do. And I pray that if you do not, you will surrender to Christ today.
Let’s pray.