This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Welcome to Daily Drive Time Devotions and week 5 of our look together through
the book of Genesis. Going to chapter a day, we're looking at day 23 and chapter
23 today. And as we turn the page to this chapter, we begin to turn the page in
the lives of the people that we're following in Genesis.

Listen to what happens in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 23. "Sarah lived to be 127
years old. She died at Kirath-arba," which is Hebron, "in the land of Canaan.

And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. " Sarah dies and
Abraham goes to weep over her. Think of the experiences that these two had had
together, the faith experiences.

They went from Haran to the promised land. They went from childless to Isaac.
They went from Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah.

Their lives had been an incredible journey of faith. And Abraham goes when his
wife dies and he weeps for her. And then you expect, because of what has
happened throughout the book of Genesis, that the rest of the chapter is going
to be some kind of long eulogy for Sarah, or at least a listing of all of the
blessings that God has brought into their lives in some way, and the lineage
that's going to come out of their lives.

But instead, the rest of this chapter, chapter 23, is about a land deal. I want
you to listen to what happens. It's going to sound very detailed to you, and
you're going to wonder, why is God talking to us about this?

Listen to what happens. Let me go through the details, beginning in verse 3 and
down through verse 20, and then let's talk about why this happened. Here's the
story of what happened that day.

Then in verse 3, Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the
Hittites. He said, "I'm an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property
for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.

" The Hittites replied to Abraham, "Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince
among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs.

None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead. " Then Abraham rose
and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, "If
you're willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with
Ephron, son of Zohar, on my behalf.

So he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end
of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among
you. " Ephron, the Hittite, was sitting among the people and replied to Abraham
in the hearing of the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.

"No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me. I give you the field and I give you the
cave that is in it.

I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead. " Again, Abraham
bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in their hearing,
"Listen to me, if you will.

I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so that I can bury my dead
there. " Ephron answered, "Abraham, listen to me, my lord.

The land is worth 400 shekels of silver. But what is that between me and you?
Bury your dead.

" Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had
named in the hearing of the Hittites, "400 shekels of silver," according to the
weight current among the merchants. So, Ephron's field in Makphala near Mamre,
both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the
field, was deeded to Abraham as his property and the presence of all the
Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Afterward, Abraham buried his
wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Makphala near Mamre, which is at Hebron,
in the land of Canaan.

And so the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a
burial site. Well, there's the chapter. And you might be asking, why a whole
chapter of the Bible on a deed for a burial site?

Because this deed for this burial site represented ownership. It represented
ownership of the piece of the promised land, and it also represented ownership
of where Abraham himself would be buried. In fact, from Genesis 49, we know that
this place, this cave of Makphala, would become the burial place of Abraham and
Sarah, of Isaac, of Rebekah, of Jacob, and Leah.

And all through the Old Testament, we're told that God is the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. This is their burial place. And so, very clearly, we are told
in this chapter, this burial place of the patriarchs of the Jewish faith, it is
not owned by Israel's enemies.

There was a deal made, a land deal made, and this place is owned by the Jewish
people. Now, there's an interesting lesson in this. The Hittites that day wanted
to give to Abraham this burial site, and Abraham insisted on buying it.

He didn't know, he did not know that we'd still be reading about it today. He
didn't have any idea how important it was, but he knew that it was important.
And he knew that if he allowed someone to give him this site where his relatives
were buried, that they would still have ownership, because they made it as a
gift, of a place that he needed to own.

They would still have responsibility, and they would use that responsibility
potentially even against him. Here's the lesson in this. Sometimes a gift is not
really a gift.

Many times a gift is an obligation. I don't know if you've heard that old phrase
about somebody who maybe moves into town to start a new business, or who moves
into town to become a pastor of a new church, or moves into town to begin
serving the community in some way. Here's the old phrase, "Beware of those who
meet you at the train bearing gifts.

" Now, gifts are a good thing, but sometimes the people who first meet you with
gifts, they're not wanting to give you a gift. They are wanting to in some way
tie you to them. They're wanting to build a responsibility.

They're trying to buy something for the future. So there are times in life when
it's a great thing to accept a gift and to enjoy a gift, but there are other
times in life when I need to take responsibility. You need to take
responsibility and say, "No, I appreciate the offer, but before God this is my
responsibility, and so before God I must give, I must pay, I must do this.

I can't let someone else do for me what God has asked me to do. " Before we
leave this, it's just a story about a cemetery that's bought this day. Before we
leave this, there is another incredibly important truth behind what's going on
here.

It's the remembering of those who have died and the fact that the place of
burial is a very important thing to those in the Jewish faith. And I would just
say that you and I who are completed Jews, now believers in Jesus Christ, we
could learn something from that. I've noticed many times that when it comes to
cemeteries, people don't go there often.

Some do. When it comes to funerals, some people come, but a lot of people who
should be at that funeral aren't there. I know why it is.

We're busy. We're busy with life now. I also know that underneath it, for some
of us, we don't like to think about death.

We don't like to be reminded of our own death, and so we don't take time to
remember. Because we're busy or because we're afraid, we don't take time to
remember those who are already in heaven. That is a mistake, because we're
headed for heaven.

That is a mistake, because this life is not all there is. And living as if this
life is not all there is. One of the good things about a cemetery, one of the
good things about a funeral is reminding myself that there is more to life than
here and now.

And as we talk about cemeteries, as we talk about funerals, I just want to
remind you that there is a moment when a cemetery is an exciting place. Remember
Jesus was resurrected out of a cemetery. And remember there will come a day when
our bodies, your body, my body, as a believer in Christ, we will be resurrected
as well.

Never forget that at the end, one of the most exciting places to be is going to
be at the cemetery. That's where the greatest excitement is going to happen.
Because a cemetery, a funeral, is not just a place to look back.

It is a place to look ahead to what God has. That is why it was important to
Abraham that day to buy this burial place. That is why it should be important to
you and I to remember not just those who have died but to look forward to being
together forever in eternity.

Jesus Christ, as we take a moment to talk to you, we want to tell you we are
grateful that you were resurrected out of a grave and that one day you will
resurrect us out of those graves. In the end, Lord, we will spend eternity
together with you. And a cemetery, a funeral, is just a reminder of the fact
that we are transitioning towards that place where we will spend eternity with
you.

Lord, help us all to know you. If somebody is listening to this who doesn't know
you yet, who doesn't know for sure that they will be with you, I pray right now
that in their hearts they would say, "Jesus, I want to be with you. You want to
be with me?

I want to be with you. I trust you for salvation. I trust you for eternity.

I trust you for my life. " And Lord, we look together towards that day when we
will be with you forever. In your name, Jesus, we pray.

Amen. Join us tomorrow as we look at chapter 24. We're going to learn some
amazing lessons about success from a servant of Abraham.