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10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!" 12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there." 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 "My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead." 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants. 17 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place. ~ Genesis 23:10-20
Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 23 where Sarah, the wife of Abraham has just died and Abraham is about to bury her. Abraham felt the pain of losing his wife and he wasn't afraid to show it. Faith is not the enemy of tears. Believers in the God of the Bible are not those who weep over the passing of a loved one as if we will not see them again. No, believers in the Lord are those who weep because of the love that was shared while our loved one was on this earth.
In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 'No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!'"
After Abraham had previously asked for the double cave owned by Ephron the son of Zohar, Ephron extended to Abraham a most gracious offer of the field and the cave for free. Ephron's response was typical for the Lord had given Abraham great favor in the eyes of the Canaanites.
In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, 'If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.'"
Abraham, after bowing out of gratitude, requested that Ephron allow him to pay him for the cave. Abraham had asked for the cave but Ephron offered the field and the cave, even though the field was never mentioned by Abraham. This meant if Abraham wanted the cave, the field had to go with it.
In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 'My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.'"
Ephron offered the land with a price of four hundred shekels, which was an inflated price, and Abraham paid the high cost and receive the cave that went along with the expensive field, even though Ephron offered it for free at first.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants."
Earlier when Abraham and Sarah first met Abimelech King of Gerar, Abraham received from Abimelech 1000 weight of silver to cover the matter of what happened. God not only watched over Sarah then, He also ensured the right place would be there in her death. And Abraham had 600 of silver left over as a blessing from the Lord. This is what God does. When Sarah was taken by the king, it was probably a very stressful time for them. But God turned it around for good. And not only that, He gave them a blessing for later. This is exactly what God does for all of us who trust Him for our daily provision. When something bad happens in our lives, we have to trust that not only will it turn out for good, but God will actually bless us abundantly for His glory in the process. And, the greatest blessing is a deeper walk with Him.
In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "17 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city."
The purchase of the cave and the land and all in them was complete. In this purchase, God pulled back the curtain enabling us to look into the eternal realm to see what actually happened that day when this woman of God died. More on that in just one moment.
In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place."
In this story Abraham was called by the sons of Heth "a prince of God." The Lord Jesus Christ is noted as God’s Prince in both Isaiah and Acts, thus Abraham here was a type of Christ.
Abraham wanted a place to bury his dear wife in anticipation of the resurrection, and in order to get it, he had to purchase the land with the cave. In Genesis 3, the devil obtained the title deed to the earth.
This is proven in Matthew 4 where we read, "8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.'"
Abraham purchased that cave owned by Ephron whose name means "of the dust." In the Garden, Adam, the man of the dust, was deceived and became under the control of the devil. The name of Ephron’s father, Zohar, means "brightness." Zohar was a picture of Satan, the ruler and title owner of the world. This story is a picture of our redemption. Adam gave up the title to the earth when he sinned. The Lord Jesus Christ came to buy it back. Along with buying it back, He purchased the souls of all who would be humble enough to believe that His death on the cross paid for our sin.
Interestingly, Heth means "terror" and is a picture of all the people of the world who live in fear of death because they cannot meet God’s Law. When it was given at Mount Sinai, the people trembled and asked not to hear God speak to them directly again. Since the law was given, men have lived in terror because there is no way we can meet it. The Law of Moses condemns all to death. These sons of Heth, or "sons of terror" are witnesses of what will transpire at the end for those who refuse to receive the free gift of forgiveness of sin.
The cave was named Machpelah meaning "double." That cave signified double delivery from death. The Lord Jesus Christ didn’t come to just purchase the title deed to the world for the Jews, but He did it for Gentiles as well. His death filled this double role. And, all of this took place in a place called Kirjath Arba which means "City of the Four" and is a picture of the world which Jesus is reclaiming. The number four consistently designates the earth in the Bible, representing the four corners or directions of the earth. Kirjath Arba is also called Hebron which means "joining," providing a picture of how the Lord Jesus has made one bride out of two, both Jew and Gentile.
And finally, in v.17, the word "deeded" was used meaning "rose" or "stood up." This word was employed to show that this field, with all belonging to it, came into the hands of a greater person; out of the hands of a private man into the hands of a king. Picturing that the King of the Universe bought back through His death, burial and resurrection. He has all willing enough to believe in this grand story.
