BBBI - 2018.04.18 - PM - Seeing God in Our Valleys (Gen. 23:1ff)

BBBI - OT101.2 - Genesis II  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:05:06
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As believers, we look beyond our grief by knowing that we will live forever with God beyond the grave.

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Introduction

Genesis 23:4 KJV 1900
I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
Get Attention:
Genesis 21-22 shows us Abraham really living on the mountain, and in Chapter 24, we're going to be attending a wedding for Isaac. But snugged right between these peaks of glory we're reminded of how fragile life truly is. Let's see how Abraham walked with God in the valley, so that it can encourage us to follow his example in our own valleys.
Raise Need:
We need to trust God in all points, the high points and the low points.
Orient Theme:
The sure promises of God are not given for this lifetime alone
State Purpose:
When facing grief and death, the believer's faith in God's promises should be most transparently displayed
Main Thought:
As believers, we look beyond our grief by knowing that we will live forever with God beyond the grave.
Sub-Introduction:
Connecting Context:
Connect the flow of the Narrative concerning how Moses has set the stage for the next saga concerning Isaac by describing how Rebekah was born through Nahor (Gen. 22:20-24).

I. Abraham Sorrows Over Sarah's Death (Gen. 23:1-2).

A. Sarah's Years - 127 (Gen. 23:1).

Genesis 23:1 KJV 1900
And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

B. Abraham's Tears (Gen. 23:2).

Genesis 23:2 KJV 1900
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.
Application: Bible Principle - As Life Comes Before Death, So Loss Comes Before Gain (Gen. 23:1-2).
Transition: Abraham certainly felt deep sorrow when his life-companion passed, but let's continue to consider now how:

II. Abraham Finds Strength to Continue (Gen. 23:3-18).

A. Abraham Seeks a Burying Place from the Children of Heth (Gen. 23:3-6).

Genesis 23:3–6 KJV 1900
And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, 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.

B. Ephron Offers the Field and Cave of Machpelah for Abraham to "Bury Thy Dead" (Gen. 23:7-11).

Genesis 23:7–11 KJV 1900
And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, 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. 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, 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.

C. Abraham Legally Purchases Them for Four Hundred Shekels (Gen. 23:12-18).

1. Abraham requests they sell it to him (Gen. 23:12-13).

Genesis 23:12–13 KJV 1900
And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. 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.

2. Ephron agrees to sell for four hundred shekels of silver (Gen. 23:14-15).

Genesis 23:14–15 KJV 1900
And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, 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.

3. Abraham buys it outright in the city gate before witnesses (Gen. 23:16-18).

Genesis 23:16–18 KJV 1900
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. 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 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
Application: Bible Principle - Faith in God's Promises Beyond the Grave (Gen. 23:3-18).
Transition: God expects us to sorrow, but not as others who have no hope, as seen in the strength that Abraham was able to find in the supernatural help of God to continue on, not in the weakness of his flesh, but in the hope of faith in the eternal promises of God:

III. Abraham Buries Sarah in Hope (Gen. 23:19-20).

A. Sarah Laid to Rest in Hebron (Gen. 23:19).

Genesis 23:19 KJV 1900
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.

B. Abraham's Newly Acquired Possession (Gen. 23:20).

Genesis 23:20 KJV 1900
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.
Application: Bible Principle - The Believer's Faith in God's Word Is Demonstrated Most Powerfully In the Face of Death (Gen. 23:19-20).

Conclusion

Summary/Review:
The Hittites had no word for “gentleman,” so they called Abraham “a prince of God.” Abraham kept company with God until he became a partaker of the Divine nature. It is impossible for a saint, no matter what his experience, to keep right with God if he will not take the trouble to spend time with God. In order to keep the mind and heart awake to God’s high ideals you have to keep coming back again and again to the primal source. If you do not, you will be crushed into degeneracy. Just as a poet or an artist must keep his soul brooding on the right lines, so a Christian must keep the sense of God’s call always awake. Spend plenty of time with God; let other things go, but don’t neglect Him. And beware of practical work. We are not here to do work for God, we are here to be workers with Him, those through whom He can do His work. [Oswald Chambers, Not Knowing Where (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1996).]
God Wants You To:
As believers, we look beyond our grief by knowing that we will live forever with God beyond the grave.
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