Thursday Night Bible Study

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Genesis 22:20-Genesis 23 

"Death In The Family" • 4.8.10 • Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- There are times when one looks at the Bible and sees a deep well of truth. Then there are other times when the well is more like a small puddle!

- And yet, that puddle is not just any water, but living water.

- We had the experience of diving into the ocean with Abraham and Isaac last week. It's possible to have stayed there for several weeks.

- Aside from getting a wonderful preview of what God the Father and God the Son agreed upon in the actual act of redemption, we also saw the faith that God requires of us.

- Faith that is willing to give up that which is precious to us and the faith to willingly lay down our lives, dreams and desires for the sake of God's call.

- We move on and come to a passage that might not seem to be as deep, but it will cover some important ground, for Abraham will deal with the inevitable subject of death.

- We'll look at the chapter and then gather some invaluable help from Abraham's experience.

Text

• Genesis 22:20-24 : "Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, 'Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.' And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah." : Abraham and his brother, to our understanding, have been long separated. This news spans the entire history of that separation.

- This news might have come through a courier or a traveling caravan. It must have brought a smile to Abraham to hear about his natural family and their success.

- Nahor had eight children through Milcah and another four through his concubine Reumah.

- Usually, only male children are listed. In this list, a female granchild is listed, Rebekah, who will be important in about a chapter.

- You'll notice from this list that Nahor did not follow the plan of God either when it came to marriage. Culturally, taking a concubine was an acceptable practice.

- Biblically, the standard is and will always be one heterosexual male and one heterosexual female, committed one to another legally for life. Nahor and Abraham both failed in that respect.

- The joy of this discovery was shortlived, as Abraham learned of news that was not so good.

• Genesis 23:1-4 : "Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 'I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.'" : It seems from this passage that Sarah died while Abraham and Isaac were away in Beersheeba.

- She died in what would later be known as "Hebron" which will have significance later.

- For the first time in scripture, a woman's years are accounted for. In fact, in the whole of scripture, this is the only time that such information is recorded. Sarah was an important person.

- Turn over to I Peter 3. Peter is instructing women on how to live according to faith.

• I Peter 3:5,6 : "For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror."

- Sarah ordered herself under Abraham and followed his lead into a life of faith. Beside bearing the nation of Israel as Isaiah 51:1,2 declares, she is honored biblically for her submission.

- Turn over to Hebrews 11. Sarah also has the distinction of being the only woman mentioned explicitly in the hall of faith.

• Hebrews 11:11 : "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised."

- For all the mistakes that were made, biblically, Sarah is called an admirable woman of faith.

- Abraham came to mourn and weep for his wife of over 6 decades. This is the first time that we hear about the concept of mourning and weeping in the Bible.

- This is very telling. Faith does not insulate us from difficult sadness.

- We note this because there are some who would believe that mourning of any kind is inappropriate, or that it is a sign of a lack of faith.

- In fact, I'd go a step further: Many in the church lack a true emotional quotient. They cannot handle what they term "negative" emotions in any measure.

- As a result, upon seeing something devastating, they immediately look for some positive thread that allows them not to have to suffer the moment.

- I remember a few months ago, someone saying to me, just weeks after my sister's death, "Are you still hurting?" In that moment, I wanted to hurt them!

- I thank the Lord that in His word, we can find men and women of faith who mourn and weep. Men and women who become depressed and hopeless. There are men and women who are incredibly angry! Most of these godly people would not fit the bill of your average church!

- Later in the scripture, we'll see that mourning and weeping was mandated by God and lasted more than a month for spiritual luminaries.

- Jesus Himself wept in the New Testament over His dead friend Lazarus.

- Faith allows us to deal with pain and be healed. It does not permit us to ignore it.

- Turn over to 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul is addressing the subject of death.

• I Thessalonians 4:13,14 : "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus."

- Notice that Paul says that we sorrow, but not as others. What is our hope? The resurrection of Jesus Christ. When did Abraham understand that? On Moriah where he witnessed the Lord's day!

- The world mourns as they look at life and consider it lost. We mourn and look at life found.

- The death of a believer is to be a source of joy. It is to be a coronation.

- But there will be a time of mourning because of how the loss affects us and it’s right to do so.

- Now with Sarah gone, Abraham has to look to purchase a plot of land. In the middle east then, as well as today, you would seek to bury your dead on the very same day of their death.

- Abraham goes to the land owners and tells them that he is sojourner and visitor among them. Note those words, as we'll come back to them later.

• Genesis 23:5-9 : "And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, ^'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.' Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. And he spoke with them, saying, 'If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.'" : These sons of Heth answer Abraham very kindly and respectfully. They offer him their most choice burial places.

- There is an understanding that there will be cost, but in Middle east bargains, this was the first volley. The "choicest" would come at a great price.

- The sons of Heth, the Hititte people would be eager to let rich Abraham "have one!"

- Abraham asked for the cave of Machpelah. He asks that no favors be done. He will pay for it full price. What is that about? Why not get a little "friend" discount?

- This might be in concert with his philosphy that we discovered when he saved the King Of Sodom. To Sodom's King, he said, "I won't even take a sandal strap from you!"

- On the other hand, you will also remember that there was some dispute about a well that Abraham had dug with the Philistine people.

- Abraham wants no dispute here. He wants to own this outright and in full view of all.

• Genesis 23:10-13 : "Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 'No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!' Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, 'If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.'" : The city gate was the place where business was transacted. There were no contracts or computers. There were only witnesses.

- It's here that Abraham meets Ephron, in front of the entire group of business people.

- Ephron offered the cave for free. Again, Abraham insisted that he pay for the field. Abraham is not willing to receive this at no cost, nor would Ephron have given it away.

- Abraham is honoring their business traditions.

• Genesis 23:14-16 : "And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 'My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.' And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants." : Ephron has listened to Abraham. Now, he sticks it to him: 400 shekels of silver. That was the asking price. Nobody pays the asking price! We all negotiate down.

- In fact, I have an aunt that can get the car thrown in and have the dealership making payments to you! Abraham shockingly pays the asking price, which was exorbitant.

- You can almost hear him now: "What is that between us!?" What a small price for such a great cave! Now, go bury Sarah!

- Abraham says nothing and not even flinching, Abraham counts it out and buys it outright.

• Genesis 23:17-20 : "So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 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." : Abraham comes into possession of this area. It's near Mamre, the area that he was always found.

- Twice, Moses mentions that this land was deeded to Abraham. First, it was a possession. In verse 20, it's a property for a burial place.

- What is Abraham doing? He is securing a place for his wife and his children in the promised land. He is paying it forward.

- His children will have to return here and in fact, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, Jacob and Joseph will be laid here in the cave of Macpelah. Abraham bought into what the Lord had promised him.

- His money reflected his heart, which is a challenging word to us!

Conclusion

- As we close tonight, I want to draw our attention to 5 principles that are given to us in this narrative by the Holy Spirit, that help us to deal with the subject of death and loss.

- Of the five, two come from just before and just after this chapter respectively.

- First, we must have an accurate view of resurrection truth. I think it's God's grace that Abraham had just come from an experience that taught him about this very truth.

• Hebrews 11:17-19 : "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called,' concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense."

- Second, we must allow healthy emotions to flow for healing to occur. Abraham wept. He mourned. He spent time reflecting on what he regretted and celebrating what he loved.

- Be free to be sad. Be free to release all of that, as the Bible declares to us that when we mourn, we will also be comforted.

- Third principle: We must have an accurate view of our life on earth. Abraham declared to the sons of Heth, "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you."

- He was not just talking about his status among them. He was prophetically speaking, and completely representing the heart of every true believer.

- Turn over to Hebrews 11 and Philippians 2. These are passages that you will want to hold closely to.

• Hebrews 11:13-16 : “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.”

• Philippians 3:20,21 : “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."

- Principle #4: We must travel through this life with as little attachment as possible. Abraham lived all of those years in Canaan. It's significant that his sole possession was a grave.

- It was a matter of function and faith, not fashion and fancy.

- Death has a way of weeding out that which is truly unimportant.

- Finally, fifthly: We must look into the next generation and invest ourselves there.

- Abraham did that by, 1) purchasing something that would belong to his family forever, and 2) by looking to provide a wife for his son in Genesis 24:1-4.

- He actively sought to prepare what was needed for Isaac's life. He did not dwell long on his own loss. It's tempting, but faith sees beyond our needs, to where we can be a blessing.

- Because of these things, Abraham will later be able to marry again, which we will see soon.

- In all of this, I believe we see a life that is lived well and a grief that is handled right.