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Genesis 23, Hebrews 11
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,1 4 “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.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God2 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.” 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.”
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.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels3 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.
17 So the field of Ephron in 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 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.
[1] 23:3
[2] 23:6
[3] 23:15
(ESV)
11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
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.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,1 they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
If you do have a Bible, I invite you to turn to Genesis 23 and also Hebrews, Chapter 11. In Genesis 23 and Hebrews 11. We've been working our way through Genesis. And if you remember when we got to chapter 23, I actually skipped over it and I I said we're gonna skip over this and we're gonna come back to this on Easter. And so it's Easter and so we will be looking at Genesis chapter 23.
Joel Brooks:I'm not gonna read it all. We'll read the first nine verses and then a couple others. Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Caryath arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
Joel Brooks:And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up before his dead and said to the Hittites, I'm 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, hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us.
Joel Brooks:Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold 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're 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 at 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.
Joel Brooks:Then go to verse 19. After this, Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, In the cave of the field of Matt pelah, East of Mamre. That is Hebron. In the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a bearing place by the Hittites.
Joel Brooks:And now Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8, which we didn't know. Abraham and I, we did not know that this was gonna be the verse that he shared this morning. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith, he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land.
Joel Brooks:Living in tents with Isaac and Jacob. Heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that had foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man, in him as good as dead were born descendants, as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
Joel Brooks:These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. This is the word of the lord. Thanks be to God. If you would pray with me. Father, we do ask that you would honor the very reading of your word, and that through your spirit, you would begin to do your work.
Joel Brooks:Lord, that we would see Jesus more clearly at this time so that we might love him more and worship him with all of our heart, soul, and strength. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. Lord, may your words remain and may they change us. And we pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.
Joel Brooks:Shortly after John Wesley, was converted, in the year 1738, He immediately began preaching, and he would eventually go on to be the father of the Methodist Church. But not everyone enjoyed his preaching. It was somewhat scandalous with his preaching about the need for repentance, and the need to be born again. As a matter of fact, when he, just a couple years after conversion, when he went back home to go preach at the church he grew up in, the church where his father had been pastor before he died, the pastor, the new one there, would not allow him access to the building, would deny him the chance to preach there. And so John Wesley, after the doors were closed and he wasn't allowed in, he turned around and he walked into the cemetery, And he found the tomb of Samuel Wesley, his father, and he stood on top of it.
Joel Brooks:And he began to preach. He didn't do this as a way of honoring his dad. He he wasn't doing this, so his dad, you know, looking down from heaven would be proud of him. He did it because that tomb was the only plot of land, the only piece of land that his family owned. And it was the only place that he could legally preach from, and no one could stop him.
Joel Brooks:So he preached on that burial plot. And I've been thinking of that story often as I have been reading and studying Genesis 23, because I think we have something very similar at this tomb plot at Machpelah. A sermon is being told on top of the tomb of Sarah. You have to ask yourself, why is a story like this in the Bible at all? And it's a somewhat long story actually.
Joel Brooks:There's there's a there's long parts of it about negotiating the price, drawing up the contract, gathering the witnesses. There's a lot of repetition. I didn't read all of it because honestly, I didn't wanna bore you with it. But but there's a whole lot there, but why? People die all the time in the Bible and we don't have stories like this, about buying the burial plot.
Joel Brooks:Why this one? Well, it's because like John Wesley, this burial plot would be the only land that Abraham would own. And there's a sermon that he is preaching from this tomb. The death of Sarah here, obviously, had to grieve Abraham. Sarah was a remarkable woman.
Joel Brooks:That's not to say she didn't have her ups and downs, because she certainly did, but she did have faith. Don't forget that it wasn't just Abraham who left his homeland to go off into the unknown, believing in the promises of God. Sarah went with him. She believed God as well. She certainly had her moments of doubt, but overall, she trusted God.
Joel Brooks:This is why the author of Hebrews tells us that Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. So Sarah had placed her faith in God, but where did that get her? Where exactly did it get her? Yes. She had a son.
Joel Brooks:She had Isaac, but that is far short of a nation. And although God had promised them back in Genesis 13, that, they would have not just a child, not just a nation, but they they would have all of this land of Canaan. As much as they could see in every direction, it would be theirs. Not just their descendants, but it would actually be theirs. Yet when it came to the end of her life, what does she have?
Joel Brooks:She had absolutely nothing. God had even renamed her. Remember, her name was originally Sarai, but then God had named her Sarah, meaning princess. Well, princess needs a nation. It needs land.
Joel Brooks:Princesses live in castles. Yet, Sarah and her husband were still sojourners, Still wandering around, still living in tents. They had no permanent home. And this wasn't because they couldn't possess or or or buy something. They had the wealth to do it, but they refused to buy what God had promised to give them freely.
Joel Brooks:And as a result, when it comes to the end of her life, they didn't even own a single acre of land. Nothing. So what is Abraham to do now? It certainly looks like after 50 years of trusting and hoping, it seems like when Sarah died, God's promises died with her. The promises of God had failed.
Joel Brooks:And so, a sensible man would have called it right then and there. It's time to give up on this dream because it's nothing more than a pipe dream. It's time to go back home. It's time to take Sarah and bury her back where she belongs, back in the homeland. That is unless Abraham begins thinking.
Joel Brooks:That that is unless God's promises don't end in death. What if death is not the time for me to give up, but death is actually another opportunity for me to exercise faith? You see, Abraham has already seen the Lord overcome death before. He saw the Lord overcome death within his and Sarah's own bodies. When their ability to have children was as good as dead because of their age, Abraham believed.
Joel Brooks:And God in a sense, went back in time, reverted their bodies back in time, and and did a miracle, and God kept His word. We read about this in Paul's words to the Romans in Romans chapter 4, that in hope, Abraham believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations as he had been told. He did not weaken his faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead since he was a 100 years old, and when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb, no distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God. So Abraham had seen resurrection power, if you will, enter into the life of Sarah already and into his own body, which allowed for the conception of Isaac. And that's why later when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham was willing to do so because he thought, you know what?
Joel Brooks:God can raise him from the dead. And we read that in Hebrews when we read, Abraham considered that God was able to even raise Isaac from the dead. The resurrection and this was allowed him to go through that sacrifice all the way up to the end before God stopped him. And I love that word considered that the author of Hebrews tells us. Abraham considered that God was able to even raise the dead.
Joel Brooks:This means that Abraham, he thought about this. And you know that Abraham had to deeply think about this. That God had already shown His power to heal the dead parts of His own body. And that He again, He has proved over and over His goodness and His faithfulness to Abraham. And considering all of these things, he thinks God can raise the dead.
Joel Brooks:God can raise the dead. Resurrection is the answer. Death will not be the end of God's promises. Let me just say, Abraham isn't believing in some pie in the sky hope. He's he's not believing in some vague afterlife here.
Joel Brooks:He's not believing and hoping that, you know, Sarah's spirit will just go floating around, and that she'll be given a harp and wings for all of eternity. That comes much later in Plato, or in our current times, in Oprah or Doctor. Phil. But that is not the resurrection that's preached in the Bible and it's not the resurrection hope of Abraham. There is nothing vague about what the resurrection is in the Bible.
Joel Brooks:It's not a vague hope. Abraham believes here that God will physically, bodily raise Sarah from the dead in order to keep his promises. The land that God promised was a physical land. And so the bodies that we have to have to enjoy, it have to be physical bodies, not some disembodied spirits. And so Abraham, we see, he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac because he believed in the resurrection.
Joel Brooks:And now he is willing to bury his wife in the promised land and not back in her old home because he believes in the resurrection. Once again, church death is not a reason to give up on the promises of God. It's not insignificant in the story that, we are several times repeatedly told that the cave is right by Mamrah. You can actually go today, if you go to Israel, you can visit these caves in Machpelah, which is right by Mamre or Hebron. It's the 2nd holiest site in all of Judaism.
Joel Brooks:So we know where these caves are. But Mamre keeps getting mentioned over and over in this story. It's important. It's important that we know where this burial plot is located because it was at Mamre that God made his promises to Abraham and Sarah. It was in Mamre that God had promised to make them into a great nation.
Joel Brooks:It was at Mamre that God had promised their son, Isaac. It was at Mamre that God promised that they would have all the land as far as their eyes could see. It was at Mamre that the Lord came again and renewed these promises before he went to Sodom and Gomorrah. And what Abraham is doing here by buying this burial plot here in the closest place he can to Mamre as he is saying is, I am planting Sarah in the promises of God. I refuse to forget about the promises of God.
Joel Brooks:In the midst of horrible grief, he's holding on to God's word. And I use the word plant here because plant is the right word. Abraham believed that, like a seed, someday, Sarah would be raised into new life, and he wants her to be raised in the land that God has promised her. So he plants her there in the land that God has promised her. And 25 years later, Abraham's going to be buried there.
Joel Brooks:And then Rebekah, and then Isaac, and then Leah, and then Jacob, all buried in the cave of Machpelah. Even at the, the end of Jacob's life, spoiler alert, we're gonna kinda fast forward in Genesis a little bit. But even at the end of Jacob's life, when he gathers all of his children together, and and he gets Joseph in front of him. And by this point, Joseph is the wealthiest or the 2nd wealthiest and most powerful man in all of Egypt. And he makes sure to tell Joseph, when I die, don't bury me here.
Joel Brooks:Bury me back at Machpelah. And he has seen, what he's saying is, I have seen the way that you bury. I know that you have all the resources to build the fanciest of tombs here in Egypt. You lack no resources, you lack no land, but I don't want any of those things. I've got this small, little, tiny burial plot back in the promises of God.
Joel Brooks:Take me and bury me there. There is a sermon being preached at this tomb. A sermon that testifies to the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection to come. But you have to ask yourself, was their hope a failed hope? Paul says in Romans, says that Abraham hoped against hope.
Joel Brooks:He hoped against hope. But was it nothing more than a fool's hope? I mean, he did die after all. It certainly seemed to be a fool's hope for the next 1900 years because we keep seeing death have the final word. And it did not matter who you were, how great you were, or how great of a faith you had.
Joel Brooks:Death seemed to always have the final word. And so we have Moses. Moses could take on pharaoh. Moses could part seas, but when Moses met death, death won. You have Joshua.
Joel Brooks:Joshua could could also he could he could part the river Jordan. He could go up and he could see the walls of Jericho come crumbling down, but when Joshua met death, death won. You could go on to to David. David could meet Goliath and meet him with nothing but a sling and wind, but when David met death, death won. Elijah could take on the prophets of Baal.
Joel Brooks:He could call fire down from heaven, but when he met death, death won. Daniel could be thrown into a lion's den and all the mouths be shut, but when Daniel met death, death won. And over and over again, we could go on. We keep seeing all these heroes of the faith, and once again, it did not matter how great you were. It did not matter how much faith you had.
Joel Brooks:When you met death, death seemed to always win. Death kept winning. And so it certainly looks like that Abraham's hope against hope was a fool's hope. But then we come to another tomb. We come to another tomb and, church, there is most certainly a sermon being preached on this tomb.
Joel Brooks:When we get to this tomb, there's no long narrative. There's no long description about how this tomb was purchased. There's no lengthy details describing the deed drawn up, the the negotiated price, the witnesses that had to be there for the purchase of such a tomb. Because this was not a tomb that needed to be purchased. It was one that only needed to be borrowed.
Joel Brooks:Jesus would be the one who would be put in this tomb. And although Jesus was fully a descendant of Abraham, He was no ordinary man. He was the sinless, perfect Son of God. Fully human, fully God. And when Jesus met death, death lost, and Jesus won.
Joel Brooks:Jesus did not just go to the cross in order to die. Jesus went to the cross in order to take on death and to defeat death. He went to challenge it, to defeat it, and to come out victorious. Jesus went to death to break it, to break the bondage, and to liberate the world from the curse that has been underneath this sway of sin and death for so long. And so Jesus died and was buried, and 3 days later, He burst forth from that tomb.
Joel Brooks:And yes, there is a sermon being preached at that tomb. And that sermon is one of the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. But what does that mean for Sarah? What does that mean for Abraham? What exactly does that mean for you or me for that matter?
Joel Brooks:For the Bible tells us this, that the resurrection of Jesus when Jesus came up from that tomb, that Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection, guaranteeing us more to come. When Lauren and I, we plant our gardens every April and I feel like I share this every April, April. Because I'm so excited to be out in the garden planting things. But, every April, we plant our garden and we we love cherry tomatoes. And so, we plant lots of cherry tomatoes.
Joel Brooks:But we plant in April for the hope of what awaits us in June. And so we're always going out. We're always checking that garden, those plants for that time when we finally see that first ripe tomato. And we'll take that tomato, we will pluck it, we will eat it. And it's such a joy comes.
Joel Brooks:The joy is this, not just because it tastes so good, the joy is knowing that this is not the last of the tomatoes, but it's the first. It's the first fruit. And with that tomato, we are now promised an entire summer of enjoyment. And when Jesus burst forth from that tomb, He was the first fruit, the first to be raised from the dead. And He is the guarantee that many others will follow.
Joel Brooks:So when we see the resurrected Jesus, what we are seeing is our future. We are seeing an eternity of enjoyment. We are seeing that death will not have the final word, but that we too will be raised. When we look at the resurrected Jesus, we realize that no matter how dark things have become, no matter how hopeless our situation looks, the promises of God will never fail, never. Even death cannot extinguish the promises of God.
Joel Brooks:So Abraham's hope was not in vain. Sarah's hope was not in vain. Our hope is not in vain. Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 1 that the promises of God find their yes in Jesus. It's an important passage for us to understand, church, that the promises of God find their yes in Jesus.
Joel Brooks:So will God keep his word to Abraham? We look to the resurrection resurrected Jesus and the answer is, yes. Will God keep his promise of breaking the curse and redeeming this entire world? We look to the resurrected Jesus and we know that the answer is, yes. Will God really forgive us of our sins?
Joel Brooks:Will He really give us new life? We look to the resurrected Jesus and we know that the answer is, yes. Every promise of God finds its yes in Jesus Christ, our resurrected Lord and savior. And so the question is this, church, and for whoever is listening, have you planted yourself in the promises of God? Have you trusted him with your whole life?
Joel Brooks:If not him, where where are you placing your hope? I mean, we've we've been seeing over the last few weeks, so you place your hope in in your health, or you place your hope in the economy. We see how those things can just be gone in a moment. Place your hope in something that could withstand even death, which can defeat death itself. Those other things are nothing more than a fool's hope, but the hope in Jesus is a hope that's on solid ground because he has triumphed over the grave.
Joel Brooks:So place your hope in Jesus. He's not just any hope. He is a living hope and every promise God has made finds its yes in Him. Pray with me, church. Our father, we pray that through your spirit, you would speak through your word, and even now, you would begin changing hearts, calling many people to yourself.
Joel Brooks:Lord, no matter what life is looking like for us now, no matter how dark the times are, may we firmly plant ourselves in your promises, knowing that not even death can extinguish your promises. For we believe in the God of the resurrection and we thank you and we celebrate this day, Jesus, that you are the first fruits of the resurrection. And when we see you resurrected, we know it's the guarantee of what is to come. We will be raised just like you. And all of our trust, all of our hope is placed in that.
Joel Brooks:We love you, Jesus. And we pray this in Your strong name. Amen.