CHAPTER 23

(1860 B.C.)

SARAH

¹And Sarah was an hundred and twenty-seven years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah (Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age, death, and burial are recorded).

²And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. (The phrase, in the land of Canaan, is given regarding the place of Sarahs death, in order that we might know that she did not die in the country of the Philistines, but rather in the Promised Land. She had fought this good fight of Faith with Abraham every step of the way; consequently, in a sense, as he was the father of us all [Rom. 4:16], Sarah was the mother of us all [I Pet. 3:6].)

³And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke unto the sons of Heth, saying,

⁴I am a stranger and a sojourner with you (this was a confession of his real inheritance, a better country, even an Heavenly [Heb. 11:13]): give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight (this request of the sons of Heth was a sign to Abraham of his right and title to the land of Canaan, which the sons of Heth would not have understood).

⁵And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

⁶Hear us, my lord: you are a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his sepulchre, but that you may bury your 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 (they had no idea that Abraham was looking forward to the possession of the whole land; and because he did so look forward, the possession of a grave was by no means a small matter to him),

⁹That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, 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 among you. (In the purchasing of Machpelah for a buryingplace, Abraham gave expression to his Faith as it regards Resurrection. He stood up from before his dead. Faith cannot long keep death in view; it has a higher object. Resurrection is that which ever fills the vision of Faith and, in the power thereof, it can rise up from before the dead.)

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 who went in at the gate of his city, saying,

¹¹No, my lord, hear me: the field give I to you, and the cave that is therein, I give it to you; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you: bury your dead (the Canaanites had no idea of the expectations which were giving character to Abrahams actions on this occasion).

¹²And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. (His purchase of this tomb was not only a proof of his love for Sarah, but a testimony to his belief that she would rise again and with him possess the whole land, which, to be sure, he will see in totality in the coming Kingdom Age.)

¹³And he spoke unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if you will give it, I pray you, hear me: I will give you money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there (this is the first time that money is mentioned in the Bible as a medium of exchange).

¹⁴And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

¹⁵My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between me and you? bury therefore your dead (the reason so much attention is given to this by the Holy Spirit is because it proclaims the hope of Resurrection and the inheritance founded thereon).

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 (while Abraham would pay the Canaanites for Machpelah, he would look to the Lord for the entirety of the land of Canaan, which most certainly one day will be his).

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 (in the cave of Machpelah, his own remains, and those of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were deposited; Rachel alone of the great Patriarchal family was not buried here)

¹⁸Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city (the bargain was sealed).

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. (Abrahams love for Sarah demanded an honored tomb for her precious dust, and faith in respect of her furnishes a testimony as to her resurrection. Love bent down over her sleeping face, and faith stood up from before its dead, proclaiming the Resurrection that is most surely to come.)