Goodbye for Now

Genesis 23

 The climax of the life of Abraham and Sarah has come to an end as God’s promise came true through Isaac being born. That waiting for the promise was not the suspenseful part of the plan. We learned in the previous chapter (22) that God told Abraham that he would have to offer up his only son as a sacrifice. Abraham passed the test of God and now we see the unfolding purpose of this man Isaac. The future of Israel.In this chapter we see the rest that Sarah now will have as she passed away at the age of 127. Abraham desired to buy a plot of land so he could bury her. The Hittites responded by saying, “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us (vs 6).” Abraham had an example among the foreigners as one close to God, who walked with the true God. He had integrity as he walked among people who did not know who God was but they knew who Abraham was. Abraham did not demand that they give him a tomb for free or because of who he was; instead Abraham had the upmost humility with these people and asked to buy it at is full value. 

When death happens.

Death is going to happen. It is a very sad and can be a very painful process that family members go through. Have you ever been to a funeral of person who was not a Christian and how the atmosphere of the crowd was? Now maybe you have been to a funeral where the person who died was a believer, could you tell the difference between the crowd and even how the service was? Either way, what better place to shine for Christ than in death or dealing with death. What I mean is a lot of people will be looking at you and seeing how you handle these hardships. I am not saying there should not be mourning because mourning should happen, we will miss the presence of those who are not with us, but I am saying what kind of an example can you be. People may not know God but they may know you, and you should be able to point them to God. Abraham had integrity where the people called him a prince of God and they knew that they were close. Abraham also did not take advantage of them but was honest in dealing with the death of his wife. Death is here and it is a result of sin that happened in the garden in ch.3 but I look forward to the part after death. I look forward to eternity with Christ my Lord. I look forward to seeing those who loved the Lord again as they were more than conquerors of the faith.