GENESIS LESSON 33


     We will begin this lesson in Genesis 23:1 "And Sarah was an
hundred and seven and twenty years old: [these were] the years of the
life of Sarah."

     After the flood, God reduced the time of life to 120 years, and
so Sarah, Abraham's wife, lived a few more years.

     Genesis 23:2 "And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same [is]
Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and
to weep for her."

     It is a very natural thing to weep at the loss of a loved one. It
is even more stressful to lose your spouse. It is as if some of you
has been torn away, and truly it has, because they two are one flesh.
Hebron is approximately. 20 miles out of Jerusalem.

     Genesis 23:3  "And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and
spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,"
     Genesis 23:4 "I [am] a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me
a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out
of my sight."

     Even though this was the land that God had promised to Abraham, he
did not own even one acre of this land at that time. He really was
saying to them (allow me to buy a burying place from you for my dead
wife). This land someday would all belong to the descendents of
Abraham, and Abraham wanted his wife buried there in the promised land.

     Genesis 23:5 "And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying
unto him,"
     Genesis 23:6 "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."

     These children of Heth were aware that the blessings of God was
upon Abraham. They were excited to think that some of that blessing
might be theirs, if they were cooperative with Abraham. These sons of
Heth were Hittites and descendents of Ham. Any one of them would
gladly have given a place of burying to this man of God.

     Genesis 23:7 "And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the
people of the land, [even] to the children of Heth."
     Genesis 23:8 "And he communed with them, saying, If it be your
mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat
for me to Ephron the son of Zohar"

     Abraham was humbled by their generosity and thus bowed. Then he
said, if it is your wish that I bury my dead here, please talk to
Ephron for me. "Ephron"  means fawn-like, so he had to be a very
congenial man. His father, "Zohar", means whiteness. Abraham had
chosen the cave he wanted.

     Genesis 23:9 "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."

     You see, Abraham intended all along to pay for the buryung place. 
  
     Genesis 23:10 "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,"
     Genesis 23:11 "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."

     Ephron wanted to give this area to Abraham. He offered to give it
to Abraham in front of witnesses. Abraham wanted to pay. This was a
running struggle to see who would weaken.

     Genesis 23:12 "And Abraham bowed down himself before the people
of the land."
     Genesis 23:13 "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."

     Abraham wanted the piece of land, but he wanted to pay for it, so
that he would not be obligated to this people.

     Genesis 23:14 "And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,"
     Genesis 23:15 "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."

     They had finally come to a price, 400 shekels of silver. The
symbolism is great. Again, silver means redemption. A shekel is 10
penny weights, so this was 4000 penny weights of silver. This piece of
land today's standards would be 2331.00 He tried once more to tell
Abraham that this small amount of money was unimportant, but Abraham
wanted to pay.

     Genesis 23:16 "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 deal was finally settled. Abraham paid in front of witnesses.
He would not be obligated.

     Genesis 23:17  "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"
     Genesis 23:18 "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 was very similar to us putting a fence around our property to
secure it fro the world around us. This was showing Abraham's
possession in the midst of a strange land.

     Genesis 23:19 "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."

     Many of the prominent Old Testament people were buried in this
area. Hebron is still in existence today in the Holy Land.

     Genesis 23:20 "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."

     This is the last credit given to the sons of Heth for being
willing to sell this burying place to Abraham.

     For the next lesson, study chapter 24 of Genesis.




































                             Questions 33


1.  How old was Sarah, when she died?
2.  Where did she die?
3.  When you lose a loved one, it is natural to _________.
4.  Where was Hebron located?
5.  Who did Abraham speak to about a burial place?
6.  What did Abraham call himself?
7.  How much of this land, that God had promised Abraham, belonged to
    him at that time?
8.  What was Abraham trying to do?
9.  What did these sons call Abraham?
10. Which of the sepulchres did they offer?
11. For what price?
12. Why did they like the idea of burying Sarah in their sepulchres?
13. Why did Abraham bow to them?
14. What does "Ephron" mean?
15. Whose cave did Abraham want?
16. What tribe was Ephron from?
17. Why did Abraham not want the land free?
18. What price did they agree upon?
19. How much money would that be today?
20. What measure is a shekel?
21. This field was before where?
22. What is, also, Hebron?