Summary of Genesis 23:
Sarah lived to be 127 years old. She died in Hebron. Abraham offered to buy a burial plot from the Hittites, and they told him he could pick any plot to bury her in, free of charge. Unsatisfied, Abraham approached Ephron and offered to buy his cave. Ephron offered to give it to Abraham. Abraham refused and offered to pay for the land. Ephron reluctantly agrees, and the land is deeded to Abraham. Abraham then buries Sarah.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 14, Day 5: Genesis 23
14) Personal Question. My answer: Inspirational. God is a personal God and wants a relationship with all of us.
15) They call Abraham “a mighty prince among us.” His reputation has spread, as well as his blessings from God.
16) Abraham purchases his first piece of the Promised Land, thereby owning it.
17) Personal Question. My answer: I’m unsure if they do nor do I know how. All I worry about is trying to do God’s will each and every day. The rest just falls into place.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 14, Day 5: Genesis 23
We see Sarah honored and buried here in a fitting manner. We also see her death. In today’s world where everyone is scared of dying so they put their life on hold and instead trust in masks and medical doctors, we see here that everyone lives, everyone dies, and the truth is death is better because you get to go home. The lies the devil has fed us has spread and put the fear of death in people when it should be the fear of God.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 14, Day 5: Genesis 23
Fun Fact: Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age when she died is recorded. She led a good life and stands to be an example for us all. (Isaiah 51:1-2 and 1 Peter 3:3-6). She is also mentioned more often than any other woman in the Bible as well.
Here we see one of the patriarchs of the Bible weep over the loss of his soul mate. Where we get tears as a sign of weakness is beyond me.
Abraham’s foreigner remark alludes to heaven as our real home.
Abraham wants this cave as the place to lay his wife. He built an altar to God here (Genesis 13:18) and believes it fitting for Sarah. It’s no different than us picking out a nice place to bury our loved ones.
The exchange between Ephron and Abraham is an example of how bargaining was done in that time and in that culture. Ephron had no intention of giving Abraham the land but that is how the bargaining started off. Kindness took precedent and is still predominant in the Middle East today when bargaining. This also testifies to the truth of the Bible.
As we continue our study of the book of Genesis, we’ll see this cave of Machpelah become the family burial plot of Abraham, with Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob buried here.
You can still see the Cave of Machpelah, which is considered the second holiest place for the Jewish people after the Temple Mount. It has a really cool history and would probably be a really cool place to visit one day.