1. Death of a Princess (1-2)

A Venerable Princess!

Sarah’s death at age 127 may seem to us a venerable old age. But it actually shows the continuing deterioration of the human condition away from our original situation in the Garden of Eden.

· Man created perfect. In the Garden protected from all harm and decay. But in the Dust World genetic mutations creep in that gradually result in a shorter life span.

· Abraham and Sarah both lived well into their second century, Sarah dying at 127 and Abraham at 175. But they were relative youngsters when they died, compared to some of their forebears, including the famous Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old! But hundreds of years later Moses was thought to be exceptionally old at 130, and not long after Moses’ time we no longer read of people living to any longer life spans than are common today.

· The bible account agrees with genetic theory and those laws of thermodynamics which describe how everything runs down, breaks down, goes from complex to simple.

Sarai’s New Name

Ever noticed how God has a thing about names?

· Abram to Abraham. Exalted Father to Father of Many Nations

· Jacob to Israel. Deceiver to Struggler.

· Simon to Peter. Rock of Faith.

· Sarai to Sarah. …To reflect her new status as a Princess. Not only was she married to one who is called in this passage a prince by the Hittites who knew him, but more importantly, she was one from whom would come the kings of nations …and eventually the very King of Kings, King Jesus.

· And of course ultimately this pre-occupation with names points to the most important name of all. The Name of Jesus. Jesus means God Saves, and the name of the Saviour is exalted above all names.

Philippians 2:9-11 proclaims: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

And in Revelation 19:11 to 16, John says “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

So the Saviour was given the name Jesus at his birth, but that name has been exalted and God has added other names by which we know him. The Word of God, and King of Kings, and Lord. What’s in a name? Everything, because the bible also tells us that only those who are speaking by the Spirit of God can call Jesus Lord and really mean it. What name do you know him by? Is he the Word of God who reveals God to you? Is he God the Saviour? Is he your King and Lord? Or will you know him only as Judge? What name will be on your lips when you meet him face to face?

· Our New Name – Revelation 2:17

In the psalms, God says to his people Israel, fear not, for I have saved you, I have called you by name, you are mine. The bible reveals that in Jesus under the New Covenant we also are called by name. Together as the family of God in Jesus we bear his Name, but we will also each have a new name of our very own. Did you know that? Revelation 2:17 – Jesus says in John’s vision: “To him who overcomes, I will give …a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Isn’t that cool? In eternity, you will get your very own new name. It will reflect your own unique relationship with God.

Well, from the heights of Revelation, let’s now return to the other end of the bible from which we’ve just jumped! And we see Abraham traveling back to Hebron to mourn for Sarah. Now this Hebron is a special place.

A History of Hebron

· Isaac buried there (Gen 35:27-29); and Jacob (Gen 50:12-13)

· The King of Hebron attacked the Gibeonites for siding with Israel Josh 10. They were defeated by Joshua and the area given to Caleb, but then the city was made a city of refuge and also given to the priests as a priestly city.

· David ruled there for seven years before establishing his kingdom in Jerusalem.

· And of course, Hebron is very near Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

Abraham WENT to mourn (v2)

Now notice what it says about Abraham when Sarah died. In verse 2 it says “Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.”

Abraham WENT to mourn. Where was Abraham? Not at Hebron with Sarah, but as we saw last week, after God tested him at Mount Moriah, he and his two servants, did not return home. Instead he went and lived for a while in Beersheba. Presumably he took Isaac with him also, though the bible doesn’t specifically mention him. The most logical explanation for Abraham’s actions here is that wanted to be near where Hagar lived, so that he could visit the son he had by her, Ishmael. This is the perhaps the final and most poignant irony to come from Sarah’s act of disbelief in giving her maidservant to Abraham to have a child by him when she though that God would no longer keep his promise to Abraham through her. As we have seen, that surrogate birth that Sarah arranged had sad consequences for all their relationships, and when Isaac was born the matter came to a head. Hagar and Ishmael were finally sent away, as we saw last week. Sarah and Hagar could no longer stand to be with each other. But Abraham loved his son Ishmael and wanted to see him. And so, as a result of her unbelief, Sarah died by herself, without Abraham by her side, since he was off visiting his son Ishmael.

Did Abraham love Hagar more than he loved Sarah? We cannot tell for sure, but we can be sure that he did love Sarah. He went back immediately and wept over her. And he goes to extraordinary lengths to see that she is given a burial fit for the one whose name now means ‘Princess’

2. Abraham the Alien (3-6)

Abraham enjoyed a good reputation

Now we read in verse 3: “Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, “I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.””

Abraham enjoyed a good reputation, not just amongst his extended family who knew the Lord and worshipped him, but also amongst the other peoples round about. What we see in the following verses may be partly due to the ancient Middle Eastern way of doing things. Perhaps they were not really offering the land for free, but understood that it would have been bad form culturally for Abraham to have given in and accepted the land as a gift. Perhaps they fully expected his response and it was all part of the bargaining process. But I don’t think so. You get the distinct impression that these Hittites are impressed with Abraham and genuinely want to help him to give Sarah an appropriate resting place. And remember also that once before Abraham has refused to take gifts from unbelievers, when the King of Sodom offered him the plunder from his victory over the four kings. Abraham did not want any man, especially one who did not worship God, to be able to say that they had made him rich. He wanted to give the glory to God. God was the one who blessed him, not pagan kings.

Be that as it may, it is obvious that Abraham enjoyed a good reputation. And it reminds us of what the New Testament says to us. Listen to the Apostle Peter, from his first letter, chapter 3 verse 12: “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

But this story of Sarah’s death shows us something else about Abraham. It makes it plain that he was a, an alien, a foreigner in his own land. He says “I am an alien and a stranger among you.”

Heb 11:13-14; 1 Peter 1:1; 2:11-12

The New Testament also comments on this. In Hebrews 11 we read earlier, verse 13: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Abraham was looking forward to the Promise of God being fulfilled. He knew that one day his offspring would own this land, and it would be the place where God would reveal his salvation and blessing to all the nations. God had said to him that through his seed, his offspring, all nations on earth would be blessed. So he was looking even further ahead than just the earthly kingdom of Israel that was to come. He was looking for the real, cosmic scale fulfilment of the promises that was to come in the person of the Lord Jesus.

Think back to when I preached on 1 Peter a couple of years ago. We learned there that we are sojourners in this world. We are God’s tourists, just passing through. This world is not our real home. Peter addressed that letter to “God’s elect, who are strangers in the world…” and he says in chapter two verse 11: “Dear friends, as aliens and strangers in the world, I urge you to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”

Does your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, impel you to live like Abraham did? To live with a bare minimum of interest in the things that this world esteems as so solid and important and vital and necessary? You don’t have to become a guru, treating your body harshly or inflicting intentional poverty on yourself. Abraham certainly wasn’t poor, and yet he held onto all that he had very loosely. As we saw last week he was even willing to give up the son he loved if God so asked. All that he was and all that he had was at God’s disposal. Is that how our life operates? All the things that this world elevates and aspires to, are nothing in the end. Wealth, fame, sexual gratification, personal fulfilment, thrills and spills and spiritual experiences, political power, investments and nest eggs, art, poetry, music, sporting achievements – whatever this world offers us in pleasure and gain – all of that is as nothing compared to knowing God and living with Him forever in his eternal kingdom. That is what really matters in the end. That is where our real life and our real citizenship is. This world is not our real home. We are aliens, sojourners on our way home, just like Abraham.

3. Abraham’s Investment (7-20)

“Cozy Cave, rural aspect, nice views”

Well, we read in verses 7 to 20 how Abraham makes his investment in the Land God has promised him.

Verse 7: “Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.””

And the rest of the story tells how they come to an agreement over the land and the cave that is on it. That Abraham chose a cave as his family burial plot tells us that he probably picked up some of the habits of the Egyptians when he lived there. He obviously acquired more than just Egyptian servants like Hagar. It sounds very like he had also taken on the Egyptian customs of embalming their dead and placing them in caves or similar burial chambers.

The cave of Machpelah today is still there in Hebron. It would be fascinating if it could be excavated to find the mummified bodies of the patriarchs if they are still there – we may be able to know a whole lot more about Abraham’ lifestyle and even what he and Sarah looked like. But since it is now a mosque, that is unlikely ever to happen. Sadly it is also a site of contention and strife between Abraham’s children, the Jews who claim descent from Isaac and the Muslims who claim Abraham as their own through Ishmael. The place was captured by Israel in 1967, but then recaptured by Jordan later. It is now part of the West Bank Palestinian area. Jews are only allowed in to pray at certain times and in certain parts of it. Sarah and Abraham’s place of rest is now a place of considerable unrest.

His only part of the Promised Land!

In closing, remember again what it says in Hebrews 11: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”

This story of Sarah’s burial highlights the truth of those words. The only part of the Promised Land that Abraham ever owned was his burial plot! He did not receive the Promise himself. Not even the physical fulfilment of a land and a nation. It was not until David and Solomon that the earthly fulfilment would come, a thousand years later. And it would be another thousand years before the true child of Promise was born not far from where Abraham laid his beloved Sarah to rest. Yet Abraham by faith foresaw all of that, if only dimly, from a distance, and made his investment by faith in the Promised Land. He realized that it was only in his death and burial that his future hope lay, the hope of salvation for all the world through the seed of Abraham.

We are no different. Like Abraham all we have to go on is the bare Word of God, and like Abraham we walk by faith and not by sight. The heavenly land is still far off and we perceive it only dimly now as in the distance. Like Abraham, our only hope, our only share in the promise of God, lies in a tomb. But it is not a tomb full of bodies like the cave of Machpelah. It is an empty tomb, from which the Lord Jesus has gone on ahead of us to claim the promise for us.