Buying Land
Notes
Transcript
1 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Sarah lived to be 127 years old and is the only woman in all of Scripture that we are told how old they were when they died. This suggests how important Sarah was, and is.
Despite her imperfections, Peter lifts her up as an example to believing women.
5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
We are told that Abraham “came to mourn” which could suggest that Abraham was not with Sarah when she died. But it also could indicate that he entered into a time of mourning. The latter is certainly true but we don’t have any indication about the former. In any event, Sarah was able to enjoy 37 years with her son.
3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”
7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”
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.
Abraham followed the business customs of his time (and they were very involved) as he procured a place for burial. The notable differences are two:
he did not haggle over the price (Ephron undoubtedly started high anticipating the need to settle lower)
he did not haggle over the size of the lot. (he wanted the cave, Ephron sold him the cave along with the field in which it was located)
Was Abraham incapable of negotiating better terms? Or is is possible that Abraham had an interest greater than the money he ended up spending. As we look at Abraham’s life, it seems clear that he knew how to manage his resources. It also seems apparent that he conducted business as required but had the resources to do it on his own terms without haggling when he didn’t want to haggle.
8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
What does it mean to be shrewd (since it has a negative connotation)?
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Wise, Wiser, Wisely
phronimos (φρόνιμος, 5429), “prudent, sensible, practically wise,”
And so Jesus gives an instruction that we may think of as odd
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
But He also gives a warning, because we are more than a little prone to over-correct
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The message: become practically wise with wealth, using it to serve God. Abraham, in his purchase of land, demonstrated a practical wisdom with wealth but there is no question that he served God, not wealth.