Genesis 23
Bible Passage: Genesis 23
Sarah dies. Gen 23:2 records that Abraham wept. Remarkably, this is the first recorded instance of Abraham weeping. He had experienced many uncertainties, problems, and heartaches in his life – he faced countless unknowns when he left his hometown and followed God’s calling (Gen 12), he was disappointed when Lot left him (Gen 13:5-12), he was saddened in his heart as he sent his son Ishmael away (Gen 21:9-14), he was deeply grieved when he was told to offer his son Isaac (Gen 22:1-10). But the single instance where the Bible records Abraham weeping was when Sarah died. And then Abraham gets down to buying a choice plot of land to bury her.
As I read this short yet weighty chapter, a few questions came to mind:
(1) In relation to the previous chapter, in the time before her death, what was Sarah’s reaction had she found out that Abraham had planned to sacrifice their only son Isaac to God? She had been very protective of Isaac (Gen 21:9-10) and could not have allowed Abraham to carry out the sacrifice.
(2) Was Sarah’s death sudden? We read in Gen 23:2 that Abraham “came” to mourn for Sarah. It seems that he was not with Sarah when she died. He had stayed on in Beersheba (Gen 22:19).
(3) Why was Abraham so adamant on buying the plot of land to bury his wife when the place he chose was offered to him for free?
A Piece of the Promise
Today, if something is promised us, we will wait eagerly for it to be fulfilled because there is the element of certainty in a promise. Our hopes are high and we are filled with anticipation. However with the passing of time and promises still unfulfilled, it is natural that we may feel disheartened and discouraged. A bright picture of hope for the future gradually dims, growing duller, and may eventually fade away.
God promised Abraham many things. One of the most amazing promises which was fulfilled was a son in his old age. But God also promised him a land for his people, yet Abraham at this point in time did not own even a single acre of land. He was living in tents and moving from place to place. This promise of land was not coming to pass! When it seemed that God was not fulfilling His promises, how did Abraham respond?
We see Abraham going to great lengths and costs for Sarah to be buried in Canaan. He insisted on paying for the land so it could be his to keep as a deed had to be drawn for the transaction. His actions show that his faith in God’s promise had not diminished and he strived to make it a certainty.
There are other examples in the Bible where man like us, in their flesh, weak as they were, remained faithful to God and kept their faith in His promise. Some never lived to see their promises fulfilled in their lifetimes, but left beautiful stories of faith behind for us to read and emulate.
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
Heb 11:13-16
It takes a HUGE amount of courage to follow a God we cannot see physically. It is only through faith that we are able to place our trust in Him and experience His existence and wonderful abidance on earth, and it is only through faith that we can hold on to Him until we meet Him in our heavenly home.
Find Us Faithful sung by Steve Green came to mind as a nice song to accompany this sharing. Here are the video and lyrics, you can sing along to it:
Find Us Faithful
We’re pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who’ve gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who’ve gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness
Passed on through godly lives
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind
May the clues that they discover
And the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them
To the road we each must find
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
2 Comments
PS
Gen 23:6 “Hear us. my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”
Gen 23:20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
May be Abraham did not want Sarah to be buried in mixed burial ground shared with people of Canaan bec they did not worship the same God.
After i received baptism, i make a small request to my mum that if i pass away unexpectedly, please call the church and the church will assist in my funeral. i was the only believer in my family at that time, i worried that my mum will be at a loss of what to do and forget that i m a Christian. Most probably my mum will use a chinese ritual funeral and put my ash in one of the chinese temples.
Some may say it doesn’t matter bec my soul is already rested in the Lord.
Not sure why but it matters to me. In life or death, i belong to Lord Jesus bec He paid for me with His blood. He washed me clean to start anew. When i leave this world to enter life eternal i do not wish to see my dusty tent in a messy situation.
More importantly, i hope that the funeral will be a chance for the church to get in touch with my family and the door of salvation will be opened by the grace of God.
Yes, silly me. These nitty gitty things remind me that my faith is young and is to be kept with care and attention.
InHisTime
Hi PS, never thought of that until i saw your comment.
I also wonder if my family will use a chinese ritual funeral when i die and get a monk to chant and perform rites while casting my ashes into the sea.
I hope that one day i can summon enough courage to tell them of this request and hopefully this could be a door to their salvation, not only for them but also for extended family members.
And no…you’re not being silly:) Grateful for your insight as this also helps born-in-church Christians to understand our situation as well..!
It is good for us all.