Genesis 23

Sarah, loving wife of Abraham, died at the age of 127 in Hebron.

She was born in 1803 B.C. in Ur of the Chaldees (present day Iraq).

She was the daughter of Haran and the granddaughter of Terah.

She married Abraham, a half-brother who became very wealthy in the cattle business and traveled widely, spending some time in Egypt.

She gave birth at the age of 90 to now 39-year-old Isaac.

Burial will be in the cave of Machpelah.

Chapter 23 opens with the news that Sarah had died. It appears that when she died in Hebron, Abraham was in Beersheba, about 26 miles away. Why were the two of them apart? Was she shopping? Visiting friends? Or did she hear that Abraham almost killed her son and decided that she needed to get away from her crazy husband?

Anyway, Abraham had not done any pre-planning for a burial, perhaps because his life was so nomadic, so he heads off to find a nice place for Sarah to be laid to rest. Her resting place will become a family tomb that will be the final resting place also for Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob.

As was the custom of the day, when Abraham told a Hittite that he wanted to buy land to bury Sarah, the bargaining began. It was the custom that the seller would offer a very generous deal to the buyer, which was to be turned down, it was meant to set a friendly tone for the negotiations. The Hittite offered Abraham any plot of burial land that he wanted, for FREE. Abraham, as was expected, refused this generous offer. He then asked to be able to purchase the cave at Machpelah, which in Hebrew means, double cave. This was to become a family plot.

A grave plot at Shiloh Cemetery in Ireland, Indiana costs $500. A plot at the pet cemetery across the street is only $150. One woman, after hearing the price difference, asked if she could bury her husband in the pet cemetery. No, you cannot. Today, in Jerusalem, a single plot in the largest cemetery costs $30,000. Burial space is so limited that they have built underground burial tunnels. Some have seven floors and look like underground malls. An option being considered by authorities is the ancient bone-gathering method where the dead are buried temporarily for a year, then the bones would be gathered and placed in an ossuary or bone box. These ossuaries are small limestone boxes approximately 20 inches long, 10 inches wide and 12 inches high. Usually they have a flat, gabled, or rounded lid. This secondary burial would allow the original graves to be recycled.

Let us get back to the negotiations. The Hittite then asked a ridiculously high price for the cave. It was then expected that Abraham would negotiate downward, but he did not. He accepted the first price. Along with the cave came a field of land with some trees, and perhaps a well. Why did he buy the whole package? Abraham was a herdsman, not one who would settle down. This was not a retirement community he was buying into. The seller wanted to sell the package because he did not want the feudal responsibilities that went with land ownership. Buying this land, which was the only land he ever owned in the Promised Land, was a way of renouncing other communities as his home. He is saying, in effect, “This is now my home.” The seller is saying, “It’s a package deal. I do not want to have any feudal responsibility to the king. Take it or leave it.”

Say, wouldn’t this be a good time to have a homework assignment of getting your funeral paperwork and plans to make it easier for your loved ones? Do you have a will? Living will? Medical Power of Attorney? Funeral plans? Letter of Instructions? Does someone know what you own and where the important documents are kept? Have you written a draft of your obituary? The more you do now, the easier it will be for your family at a very difficult time. It is one last act of loving kindness that you can do for them.