Listen carefully to the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God from Genesis chapter 23. Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and said to the Hittites, I am a sojourner and foreigner among you. Give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. The Hittites answered Abraham, Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead. Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, people of the land. And he said to them, if you're willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron, the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns. It is at the end of his field. For the full price, let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place. Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that's in it. In the sight of the sons of my people, I give it to you. Bury your dead. Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land, and he said to Ephron, in the hearing of the people of the land, But if you will, hear me. I give the price of the field. Accept it from me that I may bury my dead there." Ephron answered Abraham, My Lord, listen to me. A piece of land worth 400 shekels of silver, what's that between you and me? Bury your dead. Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, 400 shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham as a possession. in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, in the cave of the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites. Since our reading in God's word, let's ask his blessing upon it now. before the prayer. Oh, Lord, our God, tonight we've heard you speak, and now we pray that you would grant the active work of your Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and minds. Please help us to understand what you're saying, oh, Lord God, and to take it to heart. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, death is big business. And you'll know this, of course, if you have ever participated in discussions with the funeral director after the death of a loved one. Wounds are still fresh. The tears are still wet. Ready or not, out comes the paperwork and the price sheets, at which point you discover that the funeral home is not a charitable organization. Far from it. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral and burial in the United States in 2023 was $8,300. You could opt for cremation. It'd be less. The median drops to $6,280, but that's still not a small sum. Either way you cut it, burial or cremation, for families that are in dire straits who are not particularly wealthy, The financial implications of death can bring on more stress than the death itself. It turns heartache into greater heartache. Now, it's certainly true that our modern capitalist society has figured out how to maximize the cost of death. We're pretty good at that. Some in the industry, though not all, will play on your emotions to try to upsell. Something like this was said to a member of my family once. Your father would be more comfortable in the larger, meaning more expensive casket, as if that sort of thing mattered. Or, you know, I think your loved one would appreciate it if you bought the vault that's waterproof to keep them comfortable. You know, it's things like this. But despite the fact that that sort of upselling may sort of be new, the headaches and the hassles of death are not entirely new. It has been the case since time immemorial that once someone dies, you got to do something with the body. There are logistics to work through. And we find that to be the case when we open our Bibles tonight to Genesis 23, where we find Abraham weeping by the deathbed of his dearly departed wife. You might say that Genesis 23 is the beginning of the end for Abraham's generation. A real transition point in the life of the covenant people. Because despite all their positive dealings with God, Abraham's family, we see here, they're not going to live forever. At least not in this world. And so Abraham enters that process here of figuring out what he's going to do with his wife's body in a world where he doesn't actually own any land. And it's amid that process, as we'll see, that God finally, finally, finally gives Abraham a Canaanite plot of land to call his own. Now our story begins with Sarah's death in verses 1 and 2. Without much pomp or circumstance or detail even, the Bible reports that Abraham's wife died at the ripe old age of 127. That sounds no doubt wildly old to us. But it's a reminder that in the context of the Bible, Abraham and Sarah still lived in that what we might call transitional period after the flood where life expectancies were slowly tapering off. People think of the Bible as a book where everybody lives hundreds and hundreds of years. That's not true. The Bible does feature some extremely long lifespans, but all of those long lifespans really take place in the very early chapters of Genesis, and then they taper off. Even with that consideration in mind, though, Sarah was quite an old woman whose lifespan was surely a testimony to the blessing of God. And when she finally drew her last breath, the Bible tells us she was at Hebron, or Kiriath Arba, which is an alternate name that's given in the text. And if you think back, Hebron is that place which had so often served as home base for Abraham and his family during their years of sojourning in the land of Canaan. In recent chapters they had been spending time down south in Beersheba, but they had at some point in the interim evidently found themselves drawn back again to that place where God had so worked in their lives and had made so many of his promises to them. And seeing that Sarah had died, we read that Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and weep for her. Given the cultural setting in which this occurred, the description found in verse 2 is likely restrained. It was customary in this ancient Near Eastern environment, this world of the Bible, to mourn much more actively than we are accustomed to today. It's the respectful thing to go to a funeral today and be quiet and somber, but funerals in the ancient world were not quiet, somber affairs. clothes would be torn in grief, ashes would be placed upon the head, and great weeping and wailing would make it known, without a doubt, that death had visited a house. And so it's safe to assume, I think, that Abraham probably did mourn for his wife quite vigorously. Why wouldn't he? In a book that ordinarily places much more focus on its male characters, tracing the line, Genesis has repeatedly presented Sarah as a dynamic and storied individual who had, in her own right, memorable encounters with God. She was that great matriarch, that great woman of faith, whose faith received the promises and the power of Yahweh when He allowed her to conceive well past the age of conception. God had revealed things to her. God had done things for her. And she was a living testimony to the blessing of God upon His covenant people. And so as she passed from the scene, Abraham wept, and appropriately so. This was a great woman who was now going down to the grave. However, the death of Sarah and the mourning of Abraham actually receive a very small share of the Bible's attention in comparison with the attention which it places on those events which transpired shortly thereafter. So we move from Sarah's death in verses 1 and 2 to Abraham's negotiations beginning in verse 3. Having wept for his wife as a loving husband, we read that Abraham then rose up and he went to work. Like many who have lost a loved one, he busied himself, putting his mind on logistical matters, doing the work that needed to be done. And in his case, the matter which really began to consume his attention was finding a place to bury Sarah. Remember, Abraham did not actually own any land. He was a very wealthy man. He had great riches, but he didn't own any land. We saw back in Genesis chapter 21 that we had hit a milestone when Abraham was finally granted land rights of a sort to a well in Beersheba as he negotiated that agreement with Abimelech. But he still didn't own the land that well was located on. And so that was no use. What was he to do? Where was he to lay Sarah to rest? The burial of a body is a significant thing. It's a symbolic thing. It's important. And so he had to answer these questions quickly. We find then that in the text he had a plan. Iram had a plan. Despite those recent years in Beersheba, as we mentioned, he had spent a lot of time in Hebron over the years. And during those years in Hebron, he had developed strong relationships with the inhabitants of that land. Think back early in the Abraham story when Lot is taken. You have the battle between the five kings and the four kings and Lot is carried away captive and Abraham has to go to war. Back in those days, Abraham was located around Mamre there, which is right next to Hebron. And back in those days, remember, he had taken some of the inhabitants of that region as his allies to go fight in battle. And so he had relationships with these people over the course of many, many years. And so consequently, it's to the Hittites, people that lived there, that he would go, those sons of Heth, who were descendants of Canaan. And coming before them there in the city gate where official business was usually conducted, he made his pitch. Here was his pitch. I am a sojourner and foreigner among you. Give me property among you for a burying place that I may bury my dead out of my sight. For all of his achievements, for all of his riches, for all of his reputation, Abraham came to the Hittites with humility. I'm just a sojourner, I'm a traveler, I'm a wanderer. He knew that he was a transplant at best. And so he could not very well demand a burial plot. Here we find him meekly petitioning the Hittites for a burial plot with full recognition of his place in their society. But while Abraham showed humility, the Hittites did not treat him in kind. We find in the text that they immediately exalted him. This was a man that they thought quite well of. According to their words in verse 6, they recognized him, as they say, as a prince of God among them. Meaning he was a man of might. He was a man of favor. He was someone who was worthy of respect. He had been greatly blessed by the Lord. And as such, they offer to let him bury Sarah in the choicest of their tombs. Abraham would not be forced to pick among the scraps. The leaders, evidently speaking for the group, they assure Abraham that none of the Hittites would dare hold back their burial places if that's where Abraham wanted to put Sarah. He could have his pick of the litter. In response to this generous offer, we see Abraham bows down before them. He shows his respect. He shows his appreciation for their willingness to provide for him in his hour of need. And he would take them up on their offer to take his pick. But this was not quite the thing that he was looking for. And we can discern that when we listen to his words in verses 8 and 9. Here's what he says. Try to spot the difference in what he's saying and what they're saying. He says, If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron, the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, it's at the end of his field, for the full price. Let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place. Did you catch it? Note the clarification that Abraham makes in his response. He does have his eyes set on a particular plot of land, Caleb Machpelah, which was situated at the end of a field belonging to a man named Ephron. He had obviously thought about this. But Abraham does not want Ephron to donate his land. He does not want a donation. He wants him to sell it. Why? I mean, we just talked about how outrageous funeral costs are. Would this not be worse for Abraham? Wouldn't you take a free funeral? Assuming you were old. Would that not be worse? Well, no, actually. Think about it. If you bury your family member in a public cemetery, that plot may belong to your family member, in a sense, but you don't own the cemetery. You may buy the right to inter a body in a particular place, but you usually aren't buying the place. And that seems to be the distinction at play in our text. The Hittites were offering Abraham a grave plot, but Abraham wanted to buy himself a graveyard. He didn't just want the plot. He didn't just want burial rights. He did not want a donated tomb. And we see this insistence as he carries on in his negotiations. He wants the Hittites to entreat Ephron in this way. But Ephron, we find, did not need to be entreated. He did not need to be sought out and called to the negotiating table. Because Ephron was sitting right there in the city gate. He could answer for himself. And his answer to Abraham shows us that he was willing to give up his field in the cave that was in it. He wouldn't withhold his property from Abraham. He wouldn't be the most low-down, selfless Hittite around. If that's the burial plot that Abraham wanted, there you have it. Bury your dad, Abraham. Bring her. Put her in the cave. But after bowing, with respect and appreciation again, Abraham clarifies once more that he's not interested in having the land gifted to him. He says to Ephron, but if you will hear me, I give the price of the field. Accept it from me that I may bury my dead here. See, Abraham is tired of renting. He's ready to buy. And after thinking on it, maybe picking up what Abraham was putting down. Ephron decides to engage in a little old-fashioned bargaining himself. He says, My Lord, listen to me. A piece of land worth 400 shekels, 400 shekels of silver, what's that between you and me? Bury your dead. Apparently Ephron is still a little reticent to sell, but he wants Abraham to understand that if he does sell, it's going to cost a pretty penny. With men as wealthy as Abraham and Ephron, money was a minor matter. But if it were to matter, if it were to matter, the price would be steep. In fact, it'd be 400 shekels steep. That was a lot of silver. So this piece of property was either quite the acreage or Ephron was intentionally setting the price really high. One or the other. And with that mind, with that high price kind of floated, 400 shekels if you were going to put a price on it, Ephron probably expected Abraham to haggle. He probably expected him to come back with a lower offer. That's not what Abraham does. Instead, Abraham immediately seizes on the price. All right, weigh it out. 400 shekels of silver, weigh it out in front of the Hittites, give it to Ephron. He weighs it out with plenty of witnesses on hand, so that when this land comes into his possession, it is deeded, not loaned to him. Abraham may not have learned the art of the deal, but he did now own a piece of the Promised Land. No one would be able to take this away from him in days to come. He had bought it, it was his. And he had a whole slew of witnesses to confirm that. And therefore, as we approach the end of this chapter, what we see is that after Sarah's death and Abraham's negotiating, the Lord's covenant promises begin to blossom. They've blossomed in various ways throughout this Abraham narrative here. But we now see another unique step in progress towards fulfillment of all that the Lord had said. After spending so much time talking to God in Hebron, near the Oaks of Mamre, we read that the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it, all the trees that were in the field throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham as a possession, not just as a burial plot, but as a possession in the presence of the Hittites before all who went in at the gate of his city. Think about it. God had promised all of Canaan. And now that Sarah was dead, Abraham finally owned a little bitty tract of it where he could bury his wife. Eventually, Abraham would be buried there with her. Isaac and Rebekah would later join them. And many years after, Jacob would be carried up from the land of Egypt in order to join his wife Leah in that cave. That the cave of Machpelah at the end of Ephron's field would be the abode of God's covenant people for generations as they went down to the grave. And for this reason, we might think of the cave of Machpelah as the most obvious physical symbol of that reality which we read about in Hebrews chapter 11. The patriarchs and their families died before they could receive the fullness of what had been promised to them. They only got a glimpse, a little foretaste. The cave at Machpelah was that foretaste. And because they walked by faith, it could be said that they saw the fuller picture, they saw these things, they greeted them from afar, appearing into that cave at Machpelah, maybe they could have imagined what was to come. But for the most part, they remained strangers and exiles upon the earth. That was not a great detriment because they had enough foresight. This is what the book of Hebrews says. The book of Hebrews says that they had enough foresight and enough faith to understand that the cave of Machpelah and indeed the whole land of Canaan was but a temporary model of a lasting home in God's presence. Mesopotamia wouldn't do. They could have gone back there if they wanted to. Canaan wouldn't last. Abraham and Sarah followed the Lord with faith set on a better country, a heavenly one. And therefore Hebrews chapter 11 verse 16 declares that God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city, the New Jerusalem above. You see, fundamentally, Abraham's acquisition of the cave of Machpelah was a down payment on an inheritance that could never be complete apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ. He would be the fulfillment of these promises. He would grant them access to that city above. He, through his work, would make possible their entrance into that better country. And so I ask you tonight, congregation, are you walking by faith? Are your eyes set not so much on the things of this world, but on a better country? You've already received. Think about this. Don't miss this. You, if you're a Christian, have already received today more than Abraham and Sarah ever did. already. You could live the rest of your life out in a little rented ramshackle shack by the side of the road, never owning a piece of property, let alone a piece of property in the promised land like Abraham, and you would still, you would still be far richer than that wealthy man of God. Why? Because you see, we live, unlike Abraham, in the already and the not yet. Christ has come. He has bled. He has died. He has risen. And therefore, His kingdom has been inaugurated. And we, as Christians, are blessed to live within its borders if we repent and believe on Him. It's true, the kingdom is not yet consummated. We too, like Abraham, have to do some waiting. We have to wait for Christ to get that last enemy under his feet, which the Bible says is death, before he ushers us into the new heavens and the new earth. But disciples of Christ are already citizens in that land to come. And we today have a guarantee or a down payment on that consummated kingdom that is far more valuable than some burial cave in Hebron. According to Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13 and 14, in Him, meaning in Christ, you also When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. To the praise of His glory. Brothers and sisters, you see, if you are in Christ as one who has received the gospel, then you have been given a precious gift. You've been given the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, in a mystical and mysterious way, grants you access now to that heaven above, facilitating, making possible your union and communion with the risen and enthroned Lord Jesus. The Bible teaches that through the work of the Spirit, we are presently, right now, tonight, seated with Christ in the heavenly places. I can't explain that to you, but it's true. In some mysterious sense, it's like we are with Him right there, right now, even as we await His appearing. Are you aware of that? Are you enjoying that? Is it precious to you? Are you taking advantage of the privileges that belong to you as one sealed by that guarantee Holy Spirit until you take full possession of your inheritance? Does that idea excite you about what is to come? It's like right now we are standing looking into the cave of Machpelah. We've got a taste, we've got a foretaste, but it's a far greater foretaste than the one Abraham received. They're not to excite you. They're not to cause you to burn with love and faith towards the Lord Jesus. Perhaps, though, you find yourself discontent. Do you? You find yourself, despite all that stuff we just said, still discontent, still grumbling, still miserable in some fundamental way. You see, so many of us, even if we confess that theology we just covered, so many of us spend our whole life trying to find a place where we really feel at home on this earth. I do too. If only life were like this, then I would be happy. If only I could get there, then I would be at peace. If only these people were in my life more or still, well then I could really enjoy myself. It's the way we start thinking. And when suddenly we find ourselves miserable because things aren't that way. They aren't exactly like we would like them to be. And then even when we get them like we would like them to be, we find that they don't quite measure up. They're not quite what we hoped for. Don't misunderstand me. It's not wrong to make decisions to better our lives. or to enjoy the good gifts that the Lord has given us on this earth. That's not wrong. It's not even wrong to make yourself a happy home here. We're not a disembodied people, after all. But the problem is this, when those things become ends in themselves, when those things become our ultimate goal, and we lose sight of that better country towards which we are marching, then we become quite pitiful. See, Abraham contented himself with a grave when he had been promised all of Canaan. How? How could he be content with a grave? It's because he was able to view the little that he did have as a down payment on the lot that his offspring would possess. And ultimately, he could content himself because he knew that both the little and the lot were almost nothing in comparison with that heavenly city above. So as those who have already received far more than Abraham, let us tonight, with Abraham's faith, be content, learn godly, holy contentedness with the down payment that we have received in Christ through his Holy Spirit. You have great riches if you are in Christ. And whatever we lack below, whatever we lack below will be more than compensated for above by our generous Father. And so that we live still as a pilgrim people, we as Christians are pilgrims of hope. We are pilgrims of hope because our hope is that one day soon our down payment, Our guarantee will give way to the full possession of all of our inheritance in Christ. And we believe that one day soon, those in Christ shall be in glory. Let us ask the Lord's blessing as we wait for that day. Let us pray.