Gen 23:4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Genesis Chapter 23 begins with the death of Sarah. She “lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old” (v.1). The rest of the chapter (v.3-20) is devoted to the description of a legal transaction involving the purchase of a burial plot for Sarah in Hebron in Canaan. Here is the summary of the negotiation between Abraham and the Hittites for the burial ground. (1) The Polite Request. Abraham: “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight” (v.4). (2) The Generous Offer. The Hittites: “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” (v.6). (3) The Specific Request. Abraham: “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” (v.8, 9). (4) The Liberal Gift. Ephron the Hittite: “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” (v.11). (5) The Upright Buyer. Abraham: “I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there” (v.13). (6) The Price Offered. Ephron the Hittite: “The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver” (v.15). (7) The Purchase Completed: “And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver” (v.16). What Are The Lessons For Us? 1. The business arrangement shows Abraham was a just man. The Hittites were generous to offer the land as a gift to Abraham. But Abraham would not take it for free. In this he maintained his integrity so that no one could accuse him of covetousness or greediness. It is a lesson for us that we should be above board when it comes to money. We must be blameless (1 Timothy 3:2). 2. The purchase of the cave of Machpelah was an expression of his faith in God. It is normal for people to be buried in their native land where they were born. Abraham’s native place is Haran and not Canaan. But he chose Canaan as his family burial ground. Before Jacob passed away in Egypt, he requested his children to bury him in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 49:28-33). His son Joseph made request for his bones to be buried in the same place (Genesis 50:25). By burying Sarah in Canaan and later for himself and his descendants, Abraham was laying claim to the promise of God that this land would be given to him and his descendants. Home is the place where God chose for him. And, Abraham sees a better home that is heavenly prepared for him: “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:16). 3. Be not respecter of persons. We see also the generosity of the inhabitants towards their foreign visitors. Abraham was “a stranger and a sojourner” in the land of the Hittites (v.4). Yet, the natives treated them with extra-ordinary kindness and generosity. Are we treating the foreigners who are working here with kindness and generosity? Are you treating your foreign domestic helper or your foreign employees with kindness and generosity? Sad to say, many treat the foreign workers with disgust. As Christians, we know better than to treat them with disgust (John 13:34, 35). Without them our streets will be dirty and we will not have our houses and train lines built. Love them!