Genesis Chapter 23

Notes on chapter 22:

1. First use of word love is Abraham to Isaac (also Father to Son as type of Christ)

2. Isaac's age undeterminable exactly (5-39 yrs.) probably 20s up

3. Isaac weaned: Sarah 92-93. he is offered, then she dies at 127.  She was 90 when Isaac was born, Abraham was 100 years old.

4. Abraham was asked to "offer up", not to sacrifice.

5. Abraham died at 175 and was about 137 when he went to Moriah and he split the wood (Abraham was not like an old man today; perhaps like a guy in his 50s)

6. Jewish Rabbis said this event killed Sarah

7. Abraham was told God would provide a lamb, but a ram was found-it was not the Lamb

8. Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah (25:20)

Abraham = God the Father

Isaac = Jesus

Abraham’s servant = the Holy Spirit

Rebecca = the bride of Christ

The Jewish Talmud lists Isaac’s age at the sacrifice as 37, while Josephus said he was 25. Who can say for sure, maybe he was 33? Whichever, a man strong enough to carry the wood on his back would have been strong enough to stop his aged father from tying him up if he had wanted to.

Genesis 17:17
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

GENESIS CHAPTER 23

POSER:  Camels do not have cloven hoofs.

(Leviticus 11:4 [KJV])

Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

(Verse 23:1 [KJV])

And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

·        Isaac was no about 36-37 years old.

·        He is also still not married

(Verse 23:2 [KJV])

And 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.

·        They have moved from Beersheba to Hebron, or Kirjatharba, the land of Arba, head of the Anakims (giants)

·        Kirjath means “town of”+ Arba = The Town of Arba

·        This town is worth an entire Bible study on its history and archaeology

·        Just imagine what they went through together, all of those years.

o   Hagar and Ishmael

o   Two times Abraham telling the leader of the country/group that Sarah was his sister

o   God giving her husband the promises

o   Waiting for a son until she was very old

·        Abraham is weeping only for himself, not for Sarah. As long as they have been together, he has been a man of faith who knows that they will be reunited soon, forever.

·        God calls us to weep and mourn as a duty, not as a law.  He knows we need it for ourselves

(Verse 23:3 [KJV])

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

·        It appears from the narrative that the sons of Heth attended the funeral of Sarah

·        Abraham was so mournful that he was prostrate on the ground for Sarah

·        There is a time to stop mourning also

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(Ecclesiastes 3:4 [KJV])

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
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(Verse 23:4 [KJV])

I 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.

·        We are all strangers among the people of this world

·        This is how we can cope with this world-as not from it, and temporarily abiding on it

(Exodus 6:4 [KJV])

And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.

(1 Peter 2:11 [KJV])

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

(Hebrews 11:13 [KJV])

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

(Verse 23:5-6 [KJV])

And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear 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.

·        There are people who walked with God and lived peacefully with their neighbors

·        There are those in Scripture who walked with God and who the world hated like there was no tomorrow, no matter how peaceful they were:

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(Acts 7:54-60 [KJV])

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.  But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

·        The difference is in what God was trying to accomplish and how

·        Hebrews 11 talks about two types of people of faith: heroes and martyrs, sometimes the same

·        The outcome of our walk with God is up to God, not us.  If God wants our neighbors to be nice back, He will allow it.  If He wants them to hate us in return for our love and friendship, that also is up to Him.

• These people loved Abraham……….why? He humbled himself
• For that, they called him  "a prince"

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(1 Peter 5:5-6 [KJV])

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

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(Verse 23:7 [KJV])

And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

• They had been talking sitting down, since Abraham had already stood up from the ground before the body of Sarah
• This bowing down is a cultural sign of respect, not worship, as Abraham believes in God

(Verse 23:8 [KJV])

And 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,

• If the world spent as much thought on the soul after death than the funeral, casket, reception, cemetery plot, music, etc. then they might seek the LORD.
• This attitude does not apply to Abraham, but to the world.
• Abraham is not ashamed to admit that he is a stranger among them and knows he has to humble himself to get what he needs to bury Sarah.

• He even "communed with them"
• Sarah was "fair to look upon" while she was alive, even until she was ninety years old, but once we die, no matter how pretty, our loved ones want to remember us how we were, never how we are.``

(Verse 23:9 [KJV])

That 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.

• This cave is for future use as well, for Abraham.

(Verse 23:10-11 [KJV])

And 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,   Nay, 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.

• This was a public affair, with witnesses to make it binding, done with integrity, dignity, character, ethics. 
• No attorneys needed or present!   All word of mouth

(Verse 23:12 [KJV])

And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

• Again a sign of respect and not worship.  Abraham would not worship a mere mortal man.

(Verse 23:13 [KJV])

And 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.

• From his personality exhibited thus far, it is obvious that it is not out of the pride of his wealth that Abraham does this, but rather not wanting to take advantage of them
• The "rich" usually are cheap and do not want to pay for anything out of greed=lack of integrity
• The truly rich are rich with the riches of Christ and money is a tool, not an idol
• Abraham was wealthy, but had no love of money and did not move away from God

OF THE LOVE OF MONEY
(1 Timothy 6:10 [KJV])

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

OF CHRISTIANS

(Ephesians 1:18 [KJV])

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

OF MOSES

(Hebrews 11:26 [KJV])

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

OF THE RICH

(James 5:2-6 [KJV])

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

(Verse 23:14-15 [KJV])

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,  My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

• Ephron desires Abraham's friendship rather than money.
• Since Abraham is willing to pay, Ephron offers him a steal, a bargain
• This was true friendship, not something of today, which is the opposite, with the "Me" Generation, thinking they are "owed", which would say,
• As of Tuesday, March 6, 2012, that would be $4615.8 US

"I worked hard for this land and this cave. I want my fair share of my investment back."

(Verse 23:16 [KJV])

And 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.

• The word "current" is where we get the word currency from, meaning the customary tender
• Because of the audience, it is a binding contract and Ephron has to accept the silver from Abraham

(Verse 23:17-18 [KJV])

And 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 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

• This area was turned into a private cemetery
• This shows how special Sarah was to everyone, not just Abraham
• The land all around was not yet Israel's land, so he bought this little patch to bury Sarah

(Verse 23:19 [KJV])

And 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.

• Finality.  Closure. Abraham can now finally go on with his life
• While the mourning and burial are part of God's will, death to a believer in the proper perspective is a temporary separation with our loved ones
• In the Big Picture of God's Plans, this was one step. The same is with us today, eve though we are not Israel or Abraham.

(Verse 23:20 [KJV])

And 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 Sons of Heth were not family, yet they showed this kindness to Abraham

(Proverbs 16:7 [KJV])

When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

• We are not today always assured that this will happen, though we treat and love our neighbors
• The good news is that this is a sign of the end times

(Matthew 24:10-13 [KJV])

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.   But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.