Genesis 23
1And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
2And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
3And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
4I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
5And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
6Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
7And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
8And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
9That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.
10And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
11Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
12And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
13And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
15My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
16And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
17And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure
18Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
19And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
20And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
The POFW Daily Bible Reading 
Putting a down payment
God promised Abraham he would inherit large ammounts of land, but here we see him grief stiricken as he finds himself without even a plot of land to burry his wife Sarah. So he buys a field with a cave, which actually becomes the burrial site for himself, Issac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob. But more importantly, the cave and the accompanying field are like a down payment on God’s promise to give this land to the self-described “alien” who now lives in the region- not as a citizen, but as a foreigner.
15My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
Abraham understood taht he would have to pay for a place to bury his wife. So many of the people wanted to just give him land,and he tried to tell them that he would pay them.So Ephron said ok my land is 400 pieces of silver. Abraham was blessed because it wasn’t just one little plot, but a whole field and cave. Ephron was blessed because he sold the land for 400 pieces of silver.
Who are we to say how a blessing is to come about. God works in intresting ways.
v 2 ” And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her”
We can identifiy with the lost of a loved one, and the empty space it leaves in our hearts.
Time passes slowly when we suffer.
GOD knows and cares about the pain and loneliness we bare.
Thank- you JESUS….
HE IS OUR COMFORTER
We have a hope in Jesus. 1 Thes. 4: 13
We are going to a place where we’ll never die….
There’ll be no more weeping where we’re going
some sweet day.
Quote:
” This earthly home is just an elevator
To take us home. to our place that
Our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.”
Abraham chose to purchase the land at the amount agreed upon,to be sure there would be no questions asked of who the land belonged to where his wife was buried.
All was done in the legal former manner of that time.
It is said that the record is fascinating to read, but that it is also noteworthy for this: The only land Abraham ever really possessed was a burial spot for his wife. It says years later Abraham was buried in the same cave.
God promised Abraham of all the land that would be his. Yet in the records it states that the only land that Abraham ever really possessed was his wife and his buriel grounds.
It seems that Abraham was more interested in the possessions of land or territory in the spiritual realm rather than in the natural realm.
POFW may not ever own the city of Fort Worth on paper, but spiritually this city is spoken for and owned. Devil your time is up !!!!!
Eviction notice served, IN JESUS NAME !!!!
23:19 buried Sarah his wife…in the land of Canaan . In that culture ,people had a srong desire to be buried “with their fathers” (see note on 25:8-) in their native land .By purchasing a burial place in Canaan ,Abraham indicated his unswerving commitment to the Lord’s promise . Canaan was his new homeland .
SHORT LIVED PROMISE
1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
Sarah being in her 90’s when Isaac was born and dying at 127 did not leave her much of her life to enjoy her promised son. I am also reminded of the short lived promise of John the Baptist who announced and foretold of the coming Messiah only to be murdered shortly thereafter.
GOD’s promises are YEA and AMEN! It is very important that we seize the PROMISE and enjoy our time with the PROMISE for we may never know how SHORT LIVED the PROMISE may be.
Thank you JESUS for the PROMISE of the HOLY GHOST! I seek to live and enjoy to the fullest HIS PROMISE in me.
BE Church
The name Hagar is compromised of the word ger and ha would imply it’s feminine. This was the word used in the bible as the name of the mother of Abrahams first born ishmael it meant stranger. Abraham used the masculine of this word when he spoke to the people in Hebron saying I am “ger” or stranger in our tongue, I find it ironic that at Sarah’s funeral, he had to tell the crowd, I am a stranger, or I am Hagar, someone who has found themselves in a strange land, in a situation they didn’t ask for having to rely on people they don’t know. The sons of Heath responded to Abraham, you aren’t “ger” your a prince.
how many times when we face a problem, do we call ourselves “ger” saying I don’t belong here. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I came o this church I’m a stranger when we are a prince. This land, this city where Abraham was at 500 years down the road, would be The Capitol of Judah or praise. It was a town who’s name meant friend.
The city is now one of the 4 holy cities of the palestinians it is also one of the 4 Jewish holy cities because it is where Abraham was buried. The descendants of Hagar claim this town s their capital because there father is buried there and The Islamic culture calls it, the city of the friend of God
Abraham exhibited integrity when he could have taken the offer to bury Sarah in the cave for free, instead he did what was right and paid for the cave so that there could be no misunderstandings later. The easy way out isn’t always the best way.
Friend and Foreigner
Abraham was both of these things… He was a friend of God but a foreigner in the land he was searching for a place to bury his beloved. Times will come when are in a foreign place but never forget that you have a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
This chapter illustrates kindness and generosity. The days of giving and helping, and expecting nothing in return are fading with each generation. All that call themselves Christians should never let this fade away, especially if we are filled with God’s Spirit. If we are to Be-Church than we must Be-Kind, and Be-Generous one towards another, which encompasses giving of; time, talent, and treasure. May the good Lord Bless you all in Jesus name, Amen
Abraham wanted to do what was right and pay for the land to where his wife would be buried. He could’ve just taken the offer and buried her for free but he chose to do what was right and was blessed with more than just a small piece of land to bury his wife.
Abraham shows true signs of humbleness. In all that was going on around him, he still maintained who he was and did not forget where he came from.