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Genesis 23The Death of Sarah
1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.[a] He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.” 5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”
10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give[b] you the field, and I give[c] you the cave that is in it. I give[d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels[e] of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
Abraham’s wife Sarah just passed away and he might have been upset and emotional. But for him even in this period of mourning he was able to keep his wits about himself. He may not have been able to think straight, but usually when tt happens to anyone, it would be best to still retain the basics of law in our heads. Abraham was able to do that, using whatever knowledge of the Hittites’ culture to strike a deal and buy land. He was able to do so in the most honest business dealings he knew, with witnesses to the transaction.
Furthermore, he was a foreigner in that land, and thus strived to do it in b/w and without ambiguity. Knowing his current emotional turmoil, all the more Abraham carried out their custom with extra care and caution not to overlook anything. Acts 24:16 Like Paul, Abraham had strived to keep his conscience clear before God and men.
APPLICATION: I experienced my own emotional turmoil this Chinese New Year’s, I thoroughly didn’t enjoy myself. The long weekend was meant to spend time with family and revel in the festivities and such, but I let my anger take control and remained in a one-sided cold war with my parents. And then I blamed God.
So when I was upset, I wasn’t careful where I tread but deliberately stepped on everyone’s toes. -.- I’m just know trying to find another outlet for my anger, but in the meantime, I hope to strive more to keep my conscience clear before God and men.
