THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
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J.M. Kennedy tells of an Indian cemetery which has some tombstones over 100 years old. On one of them is the following inscription:
"Pause Stranger, when you pass me by.
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be.
So prepare for death and follow me."
However, an unknown passerby had read those words, and inscribed the following underneath:
"To follow you, I'm not content,
Until I know which way you went."
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Gen 23:1-4
1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
2 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.
3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
4 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.
KJV
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Even the greatest of people die. Life is brief and uncertain. We have today, because God has given it. But tomorrow is not yet ours.
Abraham mourned and wept. But, thank God, our whole life is not bound up in one person. We must bury our loved ones "out of" our "sight." Because, if we are left alive, there is still more to be done for the Lord.
See how death makes beggars even of the richest and most powerful people.
God had given all this land to Abraham. Why then, is he begging to purchase
a funeral plot?
God had promised the land to Abraham. He is now dwelling in it, and God is keeping him safe. However, Abraham does not OWN the land. That is a promise to his descendents. ((See Acts 7:4-5))
Abraham was insistent upon purchasing the land in which he would bury Sarah. When a man can PAY, he ought not to PREY upon others.
This was a specific place Abraham had probably seen. It was owned by a man named Ephron. Read through the conversation and see how Abraham was determined to pay, and not be indebted to anyone (see also Genesis 14:23).
This was the FIRST land Abraham ever purchased. This is the ONLY land Abraham ever purchased. And it was purchased in faith and hope of a RESURRECTION.
One day, our Lord is gonna burst the sky wide open with His glorious presence! The trumpet will sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise FIRST. Then we who remain, shall be gathered with Him in the twinkling of an eye. And we shall (who believe) be with Him forever.
See 1Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Love ya,
Bruce