Genesis 23:1

The Bible says in Genesis 23:1-11 “And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. 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. 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. 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.”

Abraham was blessed greatly by God with many blessings. But all of the blessings did not keep Abraham from suffering the sorrows of life that all people are heir to. Sarah died. Her time had come. “It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment.” The fact that Abraham looked for a grave for Sarah that was removed from his “sight” tells us how great was his grief in losing his beloved wife. God had given Sarah her name which means “princess,” because kings would be descended from her. She would be the princess of many people who would be blessed because of the blessing pronounced upon Abraham. Now she was gone, and Abraham was left without the love of his life. Abraham said in Genesis 23:4, “that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” He said it a second time in verse 8. There is a time to mourn, but there is also a time to get over our grief and to get on with life. In my view those who live in mourning year after year, and who allow the death of a loved-one to cloud the rest of their lives are not wise. Christians shouldn’t allow the death of a loved-one to cloud the rest of their lives by continually focusing on the sorrows of their lost. We should reminder that our loss is temporary and that we shall see our loved-ones again. Also, believers need to remember that God knows what is best, and He chooses when each person enters the world and when each person leaves the world through death. We must accept what God has chosen. If we believe in the teachings of Jesus, then we also believe in the resurrection from the dead. Yes, we shall terribly miss those Christians who die, but we will see them hereafter. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

The Bible says in Genesis 23:12-20, “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. 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. 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. 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. 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.”

The fact that Abraham insisted upon paying for the cave at Machpelah tells us something about his character. He was determined to pay a fair price for that which he received. Abraham did not want to receive something for nothing. He was not interested in profiting from others. Abraham was interested in keeping his self respect and being faithfully accountable to the Lord for his behavior and his actions towards others. Every believer should be like that.

When Abraham sends his servant to search for a wife for Isaac, a very important scriptural principle is presented. The Bible says in Genesis 24:1-4, “And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.” Abraham said to his servant, “that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites.” The Canaanite people were known for their great depravity, ungodliness, and sexual immorality. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 7:14-17, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” The Bible also says in Psalms 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

The people who lived before the great flood married unbelievers, and thereby violated this important spiritual principle. The results were terrible. It says in Genesis 6:2, “That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” And then it says in Genesis 6:5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” King Solomon is an example of not only going to an excess with women, but in uniting in marriage with ungodly women: women who did not know the Lord. Solomon lived in a time when the world allowed men to have multiple wives, and even though Solomon abused his power as king and took multiple marriages to another level, Solomon’s main failure was the fact that the women that he married were not believers. This failure of Solomon’s resulted in his own corruption and downfall. The Bible says in First Kings 11:1-6, “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.”

To find a wife for his son Abraham told his servant to travel back to the land of Abraham’s kinsmen. The implication is that it was there that the servant would find a believing wife and not a wife of the Canaanites. But the servant brought up a hypothetical situation. What if the woman that he found would not travel to Isaac who now lived in the land of Canaan? Should the servant take Isaac back to the land of Nahor? The Bible says in Genesis 24:5-8, “And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.” The reason that Abraham would not allow Isaac to be sent back to the land of Nahor is very clear. Abraham remembered God’s promise, and Abraham believed God’s promise. When it came time to make a decision, Abraham made his decision based upon God’s Word. The Lord God had said to Abraham, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” If you believe God’s Word, then your actions will show that. You will do things based upon what God has said.

The Bible says in Genesis 24:9-14, “And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.”

The most important thing that Abraham’s servant did was to pray to the Lord. In Genesis 24:12 he prayed, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day.” This is one of the most important things to do in the search for a spouse: pray. God created you, and unless you are one of the few exceptions in which God wants you to remain celibate, God has created a life-long mate for you. In order to find that mate you must seek God’s leading. Every marriage can be a marriage made in heaven, but you must do things God’s way to get there, and not your way. First, you must have the same standard that Abraham had: you must not consider the people of the world as being part of the pool from which you will look for a spouse. If you are a believer in Jesus, you must not allow even the remote possibility that you would marry one of the Canaanites, that is, an unbeliever. Also, remember that we are in the last days. Some people will claim that they are believers when they really are not. You will need great wisdom from God in order to avoid making the wrong choice. That is another reason that it is so important that you pray just like Abraham’s servant prayed. You might need to pray for many years concerning whom God would have you marry. But if you keep praying, God will guide you.

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