Sermon – “Abraham Mourned”

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. 3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a for-eigner 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 pres-ence 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 lis-tened 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 Abra-ham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

Good morning God is good and all the time God is good he is so faithful that second praise and worship song says God works through these hands so these hands are whole when God is working through our hands our hands are made holy when God is working through our lives their words or words are holy when God we allow God to work in and through us then our actions become holy what we say what we do become holy when he is able to work in through us it’s more I’m going to continue in Genesis before I go there and share this this week many issues many try an issues this week but one was ahead break issues with my truck and I usually do a moment Canada work and I was put new brake lines on the rear of the truck in the center brake line you know your truck has to be able to have a suspension and move up and down so you have a rubber line that goes from a solid line up here down to a little block so I had extreme difficulty trying to get that top line hooked up and there’s not a valve or you can’t shut the fluid off the fuel fluid keeps running you’re trying to get up and everything and it just was not going very well in my lovely wife come out there and she’s like you haven’t difficulties yes. Would run him down marm clean into armpits I have my new cologne was worn Wagner dot three that’s a brake fluid facial No So anyway so you guys did you pray I said. No I didn’t so we stopped I put the capper thing we prayed and things went much better I was able to get that line hooked up so thank the Lord for a white That reminds me to pray was have as much difficulty because I did not pray so stop and pray before we begin would be the best method so anyway this morning outside of my message Abraham mourns. We had to see what it mourns mourned you know as we began in chapter twenty and we learned about the with Abraham and of them Aleck how he told Sarah to tell King a boom Aleck that she was his sister and you know that the whole event surrounding atten and then he given her back to Abraham Chapter twenty one we learned the birth of Isaac and Ishmael Beah and scent of way and how that you know really troubled Abraham he hated this and his firstborn son away chapter twenty two just last week one of the greatest test that I know of on to a man to go and sacrifice his own son God commanded him to go and sacrifice his son and Abraham was faithful to God provided God provided God does always provide and I was going to say I might finish up this little series in Genesis but I may actually do another because as I was reading. Chapter twenty three I began last Sunday reading reading as we was traveling up to Camp Joy asked when my son lives there to drive that time to read and as I was reading Chapter twenty three I read twenty three and twenty four twenty fourth really good and I almost thought well I’m going to skip Chapter twenty three because really it’s just it has the death of Sara the passing of Slayer and Abraham purchasing the cave in the field with which he was going to Barry’s wife so almost the really not much there to preach on if I was going to skip that one and jump to chapter twenty four. But I didn’t. Because there is a lot there what a dishonor it would have been not to honor Sarah all Mother’s Day Yes for Sarah or is the only woman mentioned in Scripture word speaks of her death her age her burial it’s all mention why because it was getting on her to Sarah the mother of the Hebrew children. So we’re going to begin we’re going to actually read the entire chapter it’s only twenty verses Genesis twenty three. Sarah lived one hundred twenty seven years these were the years of the life of Sarah so Sarah died and her death Arba that is Hebron he brawn in the land of Canaan and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. The neighbor Ham stood up from before his dead and spoke to the sons of Heth saying I am a foreigner and a visitor among you give me property for a bird or burial place for among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight and the sons of had answered Abraham saying to him. Hear Us My lord you are a mighty prince among us. And we’re going to see as we continue on as they go through the message why they thought him to be a mighty Prince so they said we you are a mighty prince among us bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places none of us will behold withhold from you his burial place that you may bury your dead than Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people with the land the sons of Heth now when Abraham bowed himself he didn’t bow down to them to worship them that was a greeting that was a sign of respect you know today in in our generation how do we greet people most of the time it’s a handshake it’s a handshake to greet greet one but he bowed himself to the people 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 F. or on the son of the whore for me that he may give me the cave of met Matt Pola 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 F. ront wealth among the sons of Heth an effort on the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of pet all who entered at the gate of his sick. He saying 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 that Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land and he spoke to Ephron and hearing of the people of the land saying if you will give it please hear me I will give you bonny for the field take it from me and I will bury my dead there and never on answered Abraham saying to him 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 and Abraham listen to F. Ron and Abraham wait out the silver for after on which he had named in hearing of the sons of Heth four hundred seven shekels of silver currency of the merchants so the field of F. are on which was and. Which was before mammary 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 dated to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who went in at the gate of the city and after this Abraham buried Sara his wife in the cave of the field of McCullough before mammary that is Hebron in the land of Canaan so the field and the quay that is in it were deed to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place may god add his blessings to the here in the reading of His Holy Word let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you and praise you for your word we thank you for your word which reveals your relationship with mankind father that shows us that you are that you love man did you want to have it that relationship with us and father I just pray that you have this blessed your word today father may your word touch our hearts and just speak to us give us what you can have it would want us to have Father that we may live for you that we may walk in your ways dismay your presence be here and would speak to each one in Jesus’ name amen. What a bitter day this must have been for Abraham What a sad day perhaps one of the lowest points of his life the mostly motional point of his life because this is the only time the scripture ever mention that Abraham wept he wept for Sarah Abraham and Sarah had been through so many disappointments Yes so many joys but so many disappointments and heartache in their lifetime we know that Abraham was disappointed when his nephew Lot left him we know that he was heartbroken when he had to send Ishmael away his firstborn son. He was sad that he had to send Ishmael and Haggar off but the Lord said No listen to your wife Sarah. And no doubt that his heart was ripped into when God said Now I want you to take that son Isaac and sacrifice him to me in a place right would show you but again at the death of Sarah though he wept. He wept for her because he loved her dearly. There would have been about seventeen years that had elapsed between chapters twenty two and twenty three by the time of Sarah’s death Isaac would have been about thirty seven years old because it’s easy to do the math we know that she was ninety years old when he was born says she was under twenty seven when she passed so he would have been about thirty seven years old Abraham had taken Sarah and his son and they move back from Berseba to have wrong this is where they first lived when they went to the land of Canaan so it would have been like a homecoming to them to go back to that land some say that the meaning of Hebron means fat in this of soul there is great evidence that this area has abundant water supply in its soil is excellent for agriculture my friends that’s the two most important gradients for. Good produce water and good soil abundance so I believe that is what it means fatten a civil. You know they didn’t have to enter homes back in that day. They didn’t have a figure on that you could take a loved one to that past and they do all the things they do that the body could be laid out for days and days back then the custom that they had to be relatively quickly but they would take the body of the wanted to pass in a place in a tent by itself. It was into this tent that Abraham went is into this temple he wept in mourning for his beloved Sarah. Not know that most everyone understands or has experience what it means to mourn to lose someone that you love dearly. We all know that the the greater the love the greater the morning right the greater the love the greater the morning I mean we’re not going to weep and wail for a stranger but we’re going to weep and we’re going to wail for that one that we love dearly I can remember vividly remember one of the most emotional funeral services of ever but attended I have a first cousin cousin. That lost his wife giving birth to their child and I believe that was probably about seventeen or eighteen years ago because Ike is now seventeen or eighteen I’m not real sure when his age. But my Cousin Ted his wife June she was just such a sweet loving person she was just had a beautiful spirit about her seat she just was so kind and loving and you could just see the love that those two had for one another had she lived I’m sure when they hit the Raiders in the ninety’s you still seen that sparkle in Iraq I know that as with George and Debbie not another couple that we knew. But June passed giving birth and at the funeral at the graveside he was broken I mean he was is broken he clung to the casket and just wept over it for the law I mean on and on and on and it just it ripped your heart to see that. But he loved her that much. He wept bitterly for her we’ve all experienced it to some degree. I was blessed Maybe I should even go there I was blessed to have a father in law. That treated me like a son he was like a father to me like a second father to me. But Mulligan it was hard very hard so we know what it is to live lose one that we love so dearly I’m sure that Abraham when he thought of Sarah he thought of that beautiful young girl that he that captured his heart so many years before he may have remembered how beautiful she looked on her wedding day. He may have remembered the kindness the kind person as she was he might have remembered that soft touch. He may have remembered that young woman that was willing to say yes I’ll follow you where we gone I don’t know wherever godly. OK I’m going with you he remembered that the willingness to say yes or that’s master I’ll go with you. Remembering all the adventures that they’ve been through. Remember this he was born in say he’s my brother willing to. Go wherever he went she says I will follow wherever God sends you I’m with you and I’m sure that was on his mind. As he mourned as he wept he may have also remembered the many times that she wept. Because of her barren womb but then also the joy they had whenever I came. So many memories so many memories will come to our minds when we think of that one that we love so dearly we think of the years that we had with them. Or sometimes the lack of years that we had with them and bring tears to our eyes sometimes it may feel like the tears will never end. But they do they do people back then in Abraham’s time were just like us today. You know they would meet someone they fall in love they get married they want to spend the rest of their lives together they build memories they build families. But whenever we have to mourn we know that we must go on life must go on we like Abraham must get up from our morning. And go on with life I found a story about how important it is that we do move on stories about a noted poet named Paul Laurence Dunbar. Says that his house is open to the public in Daytona they didn’t Ohio when Dunbar died his mother left his room exactly as it was on the day of his death at the desk of this brilliant. Man was his final poem hand written on a pad of paper after his mother died her friends discovered that Paul Lawrence’s done Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s last poem had been lost forever because his mother had made his room into was shot in a shrine and did not move one single thing did not even close the blinds the sun had reached out the ink in which the poem was written until it was invisible The poem was gone it was lost forever if we stay in mourning we lose so much of life you see we must get up and we must move on or we lose more life. We have hope we have a reason to rise up from our morning and go on first this learning is for thirteen fourteen says but I do not want you to be ignorant brother and concerning those who have fallen asleep lest you sorrow as others who have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus we know that Abraham believed in the resurrection because we know that is that faith was strong enough that he believed that God was going to raise his son Isaac back to life after he sacrificed and. We talked about that last week Abraham went on he stood up from his morning in verse three and forty. Said that Abraham stood up from before his dead and spoke to the sons of half saying 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 I think the reason he rose up is because he had eternity when his heart because he asked these Chapter three verses four and five and then one through eleven Solomon says there is a time to weep there is a time to laugh there is a time to mourn and a time to dance there is a time to cast away stones and time to gather stones there is a time to embrace and then there is a time to refrain refrain from the bracing then the universe nine what profit has a worker from that which he labors I have seen the God given task with which the sons of men or peat to be occupied he has made everything beautiful when it’s time also he has put eternity in there are it’s Except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to M. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good and their lives God has put eternity in our spreaders and sisters Abraham said I am a stranger in a so durn are among you that is the word of the man who looks beyond this earth. And all that this earth has to offer and looks to that which God has in store he looks forward to that city which maker and builder is God He doesn’t look to this earth and what this earth has to offer he’s looking ahead he’s not looking behind he is in the Valley of the shadow of death. But he sees the light. And that light is that light from the City of God You know when we’re in that valley the shout think of a shadow kids when you see a shadow if you see the shadow before you were the light. Behind you the lights behind you. There is a lesson there. If we continue to walk with our back to the light all we’re going to ever see is the shadow before us even the shadow of death the only way we will rise up from the shadow of death is to turn back towards the light the light of God. Eternity have our hearts and our mind set on God on his light on his eternity and then we will conquer we will overcome the shadow of death we will rise up from our morning we must look to the light always look to the light we must not walk in the shadow. You must face the light. We must realize that we as Abraham are Sojourners and pilgrims in this life. We must lift our eyes beyond this life and look to that city. Dr Barnes house relates an interesting incident that illustrates this very point he told of a young woman whose husband was killed in action during war when the telegram came this young Christian woman read it through and she said to her mother Mother I’m going up to my room and please do not disturb me her mother called the father at work and told him what had happened and he came hurrying home and immediately went up to the room he opened the door very quietly the room was carpeted and the young woman did not hear him come in and he saw her kneeling beside her bed the telegram was spread out on the bed before and she bowed over it and as he stood there he heard her say Oh my Heavenly Father of the my Heavenly Father without a single word the man returned around went out of the room went back down to the stairs back down the stairs to his wife he said she is in better hands than mine. Because she was looking to the light this is what faith does in our our grief the very strength of Abraham’s faith is in the midst in the midst of anguish is that he was a stranger in this land he was looking to God That’s the only thing that can satisfy the human heart when we look to eternity. The verses that follow Abraham’s rising up from morning reveal why he was so well were specked that among his neighbors the sons of Heth for they said to him as I again I’ve always said you are a mighty prince among us. He didn’t earn that respect by swimming swindling It’s when I can’t spit say the swindling and cheating his neighbors did he didn’t earn that respect that way. He earned it by being respectful by being authentic in those days in the in the east. Most business transactions were carried out at the city gate there would be many witnesses there it’s kind of an interesting way to do business I think meet at the city gate and we’re gonna work this thing out and we’re going to buy this property is all out in the open not the hidden Abraham was very open and very honest in his dealings he was open to which piece of property he desired was peace he would like F. Ron offered to give him that piece of property I’ll give it to you the give you the field and a cave Now some people might have read through that and say wow Abraham missed a great opportunity he coulda had that field in that cave for free now. He couldn’t have. That’s just the custom of doing business in that day that’s the way they began the bargaining process that’s just the way it was done F. Ron really had no intention of giving that land free of charge. That’s just the process if Abraham would have said who Wow wonderful I take it he would have lost all respect. Among his neighbors he would have greatly insulted F. wrong. Another part of the custom back then. Is that someone wishing to sell property be it a piece of land or some other kind of property I don’t know might have big cow I don’t know but selling whatever property the custom was that they would ask twice as much as they actually wanted Ford. That would then begin the bartering process and I’m sure everyone has heard the borrowing the phrase that we used for bartering with someone today and I know it’s not really a con thing but we say will do them down right that’s what we say I mean if if we go to buy a car and that car’s twenty thousand dollars we’re saying we’re going to do him down if we get we get him down to eight hundred thousand when we go away to really feel good don’t we because we bartered that with them and got them down on the price at the houses two hundred fifty thousand we can get him down to two hundred thirty five wow we do them down we feel good about it we like to do that but I am absolutely positive that that phrase did not come from Abraham’s bartering practices because he didn’t even try. He paid the full asking price so actually F. rom took advantage of Abraham because we know that the practice was viewed as twice as much so the lamb was really only worth two hundred seconds of silver but because Abraham said I will pay you the full price didn’t barter. He got more money he really kind of took advantage of Abraham. He could have said no actually you know that is all too much but he took the four hundred dollars took the money and run. Why does God give so much detail concerning Abraham’s purchase of this property you know there are many sites in the land of Palestine that claim to have great significant historical background but not all of them have been authenticated. This one brothers sisters have been has been authentic A Did they know for sure that this is the K. We’re Abraham and Sarah is Barry they know for sure that this is the cave we’re Jacob and Leo are buried together it has been authenticated they know that it is real it is true it is there you can go there today if you want to fly to Israel does it escape it authenticates scripture it authentic H. this word Abraham bought that piece of land buried his wife and is there today but not only does it authenticate the scripture it paints for us a picture of what an authentic follower of God is how an authentic follower of God will live it shows us how we should walk with God how we should walk before God how we should walk before neighbors. Respectful. That we would be thought of as a prince among men. Listen to what one author says an unknown author says it means to walk with God. And on a boat describe what it means to walk with God begin the day with God kneel down to him in prayer that the pure heart to his abode and seek His love to share open the book of God and read a portion there that it may hollow all your thoughts and sweeten all your care go through the day with God even though you may not see rever you are at home or abroad he still is near to the converse and mine with God your spirit heavenward rise acknowledge every good bestowed and offer grateful praise conclude your day with God your sins to him confess trust in the Lord’s attorney in blood and plead his righteousness lie down at night with God who gives his servant sleep and when you tread the veil of death till safely guard and keep May we all have that kind of fellowship with God then we will know its blessed benefits. Psalms nine verse ten says The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed a refuge in time of trouble. Indeed he is. And those who know your name will put their trust in you for you lord have not for saken those who seek you we may mourn we may have to go through times of extreme stress. We may have to go through many troubles in this life but we know that God will not for sake of those who seek Him. This was indeed a very trying week as John already mention many of my fellow workers no longer have a job yesterday they did today did don’t as I talk with my wife this week talk with Karen even with thirty eight years there. I did not know that my job was secure she said and what are we going to do if you lose your job and my response very first response was The Lord has provided for us for the thirty nine years we’ve been married and I feel certain he’s not going to let us down now. He will provide God is our provider he will not for sake us he will not leave us he will be there with us no matter what we go through in this trouble in this life what trouble we go through in this life but we just need to keep looking to the light look into him in the book of Hebrews it speaks of all the heroes of the faith it speaks of Abraham It speaks of Sarah speaks of Joseph it speaks of all the wonderful heroes that we love so dearly. But it says this of the them and and all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise. They did not receive it in their life time though they did not receive it they look forward to it we are to look forward to eternity they understood that nothing new in this or SAD of what satisfies the heart. They understood that they were just strangers and pilgrims do we really understand that the display to so short we are made to be creatures of eternity the book that please ask he says he put eternity into man’s heart. Do you have your heart set on eternity we are not made to be creatures of time we are not made to be satisfied with this brief period of life and then pass into endless eternity we are made for eternity that’s wait the way God made us the apostle Paul says Set your mind on things that are above and not on the things of the earth Colossians three two that is the attitude that is the state of mind that we must live in if we expect to have grace in peace in our hearts in our lives. If you have a troubled soul. Set your mind on things above. What to say set your minds on the things of heaven and things this earth will go strange we dem. That’s what I encourage you to do day walk with Him look to him don’t look to all the things that work spirits in this world be it morning or be it stress be a troubles but let’s look to Him and trust in him. He will never leave us nor for sake of because he loves us amen amen.