And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, 4 “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.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “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.” Genesis 23:3-6 (ESV)
For the majority of the past 127 years, Abraham had lived with Sarah, as they shared their pursuit of the city whose “builder and maker was God.” Their nomadic lifestyle had lead through mountains high and valley’s low. Yet, their quest to follow God only cemented their relationship with one another. As they grew older, the filtering effect of memory allowed the bleak Hagar encounters to be separated from the glorious, gleaming Isaac moments. She became more wife, than sister. Abraham loved Sarah.
However, as life always does, it ends up in death. Sarah died at the age of 127.
Abraham, the sojourner that he was, found himself in need of a plot of ground, wherein he could bury something that had died. He turned to the Hittites, and requested of them a parcel of land for a burying place. He didn’t have long to wait. In their pre=embalmment culture, the nature of death necessitated hasty burial practices. As much as Abraham loved living with Sarah, he knew that death mandated immediate burial. Hence, Abraham’s request… that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
His request fell on receptive ears. The Hittites understood how critical it was for the dead to be buried. They immediately offered their choicest tombs for Abraham’s use. Later on in the chapter, when Abraham offered to remunerate Ephron in exchange for the burial plot, this was his reply: Genesis 23:11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” In other words, far be it from me to charge a man in need of burying something dead.
As we journey on a quest similar to that of Abraham’s, we also periodically need to “bury” some things. Our sinful nature repeatedly brings us face to face with death. Our faults and failures must be dealt with hastily. As we sojourn, repentance needs to be our most treasured travel companion. Never stray far from repentance. Paul admonished in Ephesians 4:26 When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down. Things associated with death must be buried quickly. Mistakes do not need to be embalmed or preserved for public viewing. Bury your dead.
Thankfully, God in His infinite mercy, hastily forgets what we repent (a type of dying out) about… never to be remembered against us anymore. God is NOT the problem. We are.
To often we, as humanity, fall prey to the temptation of refusing someone who is in need of a grave. We hesitate to offer some of “our ground” so that they can get something out of “their sight.” Furthermore, if we do offer them the ground, we expect to remuneration for it’s use. Again, I direct your attention to Paul’s advise in Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
God forbid that I should ever gloat in the fact that a fellow brother or sister is in need of a grave. My response to a brother’s calamity is a direct indication of my degree of spirituality. Rather than standing aloof, as he frantically searches for a burial plot, I want to hastily offer my choicest piece of ground for his use. I don’t need the details of why he needs it. My only response should be that of Ephron… If you are in need of a burial plot, I have some ground. Go ahead and use it. I don’t want anything in exchange for it. You just need to go ahead and… bury your dead.
Anyone know where a fella’ could find a grave? It won’t be long before I will need one.
