As we look at this last moment in the life of Abraham and Sarah together, let’s remember the typology we have mentioned before. The relationship between Abraham and Sarah is a picture of God the Father and His relationship with the nation of Israel. Just as the union of Abraham and Sarah brought forth the promised son, Isaac, the relationship between God and Israel brought forth the Promised Son, Jesus, who was foreshadowed in the life of Isaac. When Isaac was offered to God on Mount Moriah, he was fulfilling the type for the offering of Jesus as a sacrifice for sin.
Genesis 23:1 says, “Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.” We see that Sarah has been blessed with a long life. Isaac would have been born to her at about age 91; therefore, Isaac is now about 36 years old—a man in his prime. Not only did she get to give birth and raise her son, she has seen him well into adulthood. So God has been very gracious to Sarah.
Genesis 23:2: “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.” This is a great personal loss for Abraham. They have had a very long life together. Sarah has faithfully followed him along, leaving her home and traveling throughout the Promised Land, and dying in Hebron, just south of Jerusalem. Her faith has grown right along with his and it has become an element that binds them together. In the customs of that day, mourning was an important time. Our modern mindset seems to want to rush everything along, including grief, but we see Abraham’s example was to take time to reflect on Sarah’s life and to grieve over her loss.
Keeping in mind that Abraham is a picture of God and Sarah of Israel, we see here a prediction of the death of the nation. In Jesus, we see the grief of God over Israel’s coming death. In Matthew 23:37-38 Jesus lamented,
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate.
Likewise in Luke 19:41-44, it is recorded And when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, saying,
"Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
So with the death of Sarah, we see a prediction that the nation of Israel would one day die.
Genesis 23:3-4 says,
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."
Abraham is presently living in Hebron and the people group controlling this area is the Hittites. There were three different groups called Hittites and they seem to have originated in Anatolia—part of modern day Turkey. Apparently at some point, a group moved south and settled in Canaan.
Notice that even though Abraham has been living as a nomad in the land of Canaan for more than 60 years, he still considers himself a sojourner and a foreigner. He never “integrated” with the people. It is important as Christians to realize that we are also strangers and foreigners, sojourning in the world—in it, but not of it (John 17:14-16). Even though we are not of this world because we do not follow its ways, our bodies are of the earth and when death comes the body must be buried out of sight. I Corinthians 15:42 says, “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.” So we know that the body has to be dealt with when it dies, but it is buried with the hope of its resurrection.
Genesis 23:5-6 says,
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.”
We see from these verses that Abraham’s integrity is known and respected. He is still “possessing the land” by force of his faith as evidenced in his character and influence. Abraham most likely has come to the city gate at Hebron where business was normally conducted and is asking to purchase property to be used as a tomb.
Genesis 23:7-9 says,
Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, "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 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.”
Having stated his business and been respectfully received by the Hittites, the negotiation for purchase of a tomb begins. Abraham describes the tomb he has in mind, naming the present owner and its location. His request is for the cave only and it will be the first and only property he purchases in the land of Canaan.
OBSERVATION: The less you own of the world, the less the world owns of you. It is fitting in Abraham’s life that all he owned of this world was a grave. Likewise, Jesus said that He did not even own a place to lay His head and in the end, He was buried in a borrowed tomb.
Genesis 23:10-11 continues,
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 is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”
Ephron counter-offers here by naming not only the cave, but also the field attached to it. It should probably be understood at this point that Ephron doesn’t mean he will relinquish the field with no price. “I give it” is most likely a negotiating phrase. He has “upped the ante” a bit by requiring Abraham to buy more than just the cave, as he originally requested.
Genesis 23:12-13 says,
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.”
As the negotiation progresses, Abraham agrees to buy both the field and the cave. This will place him in the position of taxpayer and will tie him with all the responsibilities of a landowner.
OBSERVATION: Property certainly ties up people today. Do we possess our possessions, or do they possess us?
Genesis 23:14-15 concludes the negotiation:
Ephron answered Abraham, My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
These folks had a certain artistry in their business negotiations. We see here that Ephron names his price in a delicate manner. Four hundred pieces of silver will make the purchase.
Genesis 23:16 says,
Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.
The purchase is now complete. Abraham pays the agreed upon price in the presence of the leaders and makes his first and only real estate purchase in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 23:17-19 says,
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.
We see that Abraham received not only a cave and field, but also all the trees associated with that land. It is interesting to note that the name “Machpelah” means “to double over.” Possibly this name signified that the opening was situated low to the ground and required crouching in order to enter.
Property is the basis on which this world’s system revolves. The Bible tells us that the world is passing away. Remembering Lot’s wife, who looked back at all she was leaving in Sodom and became a pillar of salt, and also the Rich Young Ruler whose heart was tied up in his possessions, we would do well to limit our desire to own a part of this world.
Our story concludes in Genesis 23:19-20:
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.
Just as Sarah died and was buried, Israel “died” spiritually as a nation 20 centuries ago when she rejected the Son of promise. The nation officially “died” in 70 AD when the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem. Accordingly, God “buried” her throughout the world. Ezekiel 36:18-19 says,
So I poured out My wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries.
Let’s look at two more passages in Genesis as we conclude our study of Abraham. Genesis 24:67 says, “Then Isaac brought her (Rebekah) into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” Here we see Isaac, the promised son and a picture of Christ, marrying Rebekah after his mother’s death. His marriage to Rebekah brought him comfort. Likewise Jesus “married” His bride, the Church, after the death of Israel. Just as Abraham’s servant Eleazar went out and searched for Rebekah and persuaded her to marry Isaac, so the Holy Spirit has been moving throughout the world, searching for those willing to leave all and be joined to Christ. He has been betrothing the Bride to the Promised Son for two thousand years.
QUESTION: Do we bring comfort to Jesus as Rebekah comforted Isaac?
Finally, Genesis 25:1 says, “Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.” Abraham married another woman after the death of his beloved Sarah. The name “Keturah” means “thick clouds or smoke.” This is very interesting because thick clouds and smoke are associated both with the presence of God and with climactic end times events foretold in the Bible. Isaiah 6:1-4 says,
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of Him Who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Likewise, Psalm 97:2 says, “Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” Concerning the Day of the Lord, Joel 2:1-2 says,
Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!
And in Joel 2:30-31, it says,
And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
Finally, Revelation 15:8 says,
and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
So we see that the name “Keturah” can be associated with the glory and presence of God as well as end times phenomena. What does this have to do with Israel and the death of Sarah? Let’s take a look at Ezekiel 37. This is a famous vision and prophecy in which God shows Ezekiel a valley full of dry bones and tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. As Ezekiel prophesies to the bones, they come together and are covered with sinew and flesh. Finally, Ezekiel is instructed to prophesy to the wind to come and bring the bodies to life, and he prophesies to the wind and breath comes into the bodies and they live. What does the vision and prophecy mean? Let’s pick up with verse 11.
The He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O My people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O My people. And I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’”
So we see from this vision that at the end of the age, Israel will be “resurrected” from all the places where she has been buried among the nations. In AD 70, after Israel had died spiritually and then literally, the Romans deported the Jewish people all over the Roman empire. The nation was “buried” throughout the world and had been for centuries until 1948 when the nation of Israel was officially recognized again. Keturah, then, is a picture of the resurrected Israel, coming back into being at the end of the age when the judgment of God is beginning to be felt on the earth. Immediately after the prophecy of the valley of dry bones, Ezekiel prophesies of the War of Gog and Magog, an end times battle in which God defends Israel from a massive invasion headed by Russia, Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Turkey, and others. This battle proves conclusively that the true God is the God of Israel. Looking at these prophecies makes reading the news a bit eye-popping!
Thanks so much for joining in our study. I hope it was helpful in your personal growth and discipleship. Tax season is now approaching and I work for a CPA firm, so it will be several months before I can return to posting. I hope to be able to present a study on The Kingdom of Heaven. Blessings and grace to you!
