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Thank you for joining me for another episode

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of the Mysteries of God's Word

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. Today we're in Genesis , chapter

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23 , which records

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the death of Sarah , abraham's

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wife , and the first purchase

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of land that Abraham makes in

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the promised land that he might bury

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his wife , sarah . Beginning

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at verse 1 , we read Sarah lived

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127 years

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. These were the years of

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the life of Sarah , and Sarah

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died at Kirith Arba , that

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is , hebron , in the land

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of Canaan , and Abraham

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went in to mourn for Sarah and

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to weep for her . Scripture

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recording that Sarah lived 127

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years is the only age

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of a woman ever recorded in Scripture

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. Perhaps this

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is because of Sarah's importance

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as the mother of faith . Hebrews

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11.11 reads by

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faith , sarah herself

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received power to conceive

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even when she was past

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the age , since she considered

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him faithful who had

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promised . The

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age of Sarah being recorded here also

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gives insight into how she bore

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Isaac past that age

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of childbearing . Isaac is

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now 37 years old when

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she dies and

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we're told that Sarah died at Kirith

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Arba , that is , hebron . This

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area was an area that

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Abraham often spent a lot

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of time at . Hebron

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is where the Oaks of Mamir were a

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regular campsite for Abraham . Where

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the Oaks of Mamir were a regular campsite for Abraham . It would appear that Abraham had recently

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left Beersheba and the area of the Philistines and

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he headed back to his other favorite campsite

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near Hebron . Hebron

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is a town southwest of Jerusalem

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, about 40 miles , and is referred

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to here as Kirith Arba . The

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name of Kirith Arba was a name

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for Hebron after the time

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of Abraham , so that's a notation

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for those who would read this

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. During the time of Moses and

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Abraham , he went in to mourn for

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Sarah and to weep for her . We

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see here the lifelong love

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that Abraham had for his wife

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, sarah . We

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also see the importance of grieving and

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allowing ourselves to express our

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emotions regarding the loss

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of someone that God has given

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to us . Although we

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might say that Abraham and Sarah had

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some bumps along the road of their marriage

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, sarah was the love of his life

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and in that way you

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could say Abraham was a one-woman

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man , and we see that

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love on display as

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Abraham is mourning for his lifelong

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helper , Sarah . It

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was customary to grieve the dead

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by sitting down beside their grave

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for many hours and even days

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. In verse 3 we read

3:24

Verse

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4 is very important for us to understand

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the context of Abraham's

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status in the land

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of Canaan . He

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says , abraham

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is not considered a citizen or a resident of this area by the locals or even by himself . Even

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though God promised that

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this land would be his possession

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, he is still an outsider

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. Some scholars believe

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that the Hittites had come to occupy

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this land sometime while Abraham

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was in the land of the Philistines

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, because there's no mention

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of Mamir or any of the Amorites

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at this time . Others

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believe that the Amorite chiefs were more

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akin to the mountains or the hills , while

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the Hittites settled in towns

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or villages . But

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Abraham asks the Hittites here

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, give me property among

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you for a burying place . So

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Abraham is asking the Hittites

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that he might have property

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among them . So

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, knowing he's a foreigner in the land

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, abraham requests a piece

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of property to bury his dead . Now

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, unlike we might think , purchasing

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land amongst the Hittites

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doesn't make Abraham a

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possessor of the promised land

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any more than he was before . Eventually

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we will see that Abraham's

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prodigy , the Israelites , will

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come into possession of this

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promised land , symbolizing

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for all believers the promised

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land of eternity . But

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during the life of Abraham , the

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Hittites that control the region

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are still considered the

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possessors of this land . In

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Acts 7 , 5-7

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, stephen , in his speech , reaffirms

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that Abraham didn't even have a foot's

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length while he lived in

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the land of Canaan , and

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Hebrews 11 , 9-10

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tells us that Abraham chose

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to continue living in tents in

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a foreign land because he was looking

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for a city whose designer

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and builder is God

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. Abraham

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was searching , ultimately

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, for the eternal promised land

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that God himself would

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build . Let

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me read Revelation 21 , verses

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1 and 2 . The

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Apostle John talks about the new heavens

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and the new earth this way . He

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says Then I saw

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a new heaven and a new earth , for

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the first heaven and the first earth had passed

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away and the sea was

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no more . And I saw the

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holy city new

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Jerusalem coming down out

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of heaven from God , prepared

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as a bride adorned

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for her husband . That's

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the city Abraham was looking

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for , the

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city whose foundations and

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whose designer and builder was

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God . Back

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in Genesis 23 , verse 5

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, the Hittites answered Abraham

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Hear us , my lord

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, you are a prince

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of God among us . Bury

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your dead in the choicest of our tombs

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. None of us will withhold from

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you his tomb to hinder

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you from burying your dead . It's

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very interesting that the Hittites viewed

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Abraham as a man highly

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favored and exalted by God . They

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even gave him the title the

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Prince of God . Now

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, this area of Hebron was a place

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where Abraham , as we mentioned

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, regularly set up camp . So

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he was well known in this area

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and he had become

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known as a friend of the

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Lord . It's also probably important to recognize he was known as a friend

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of the Lord . It's also probably important to recognize he was known

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as a friend of the Lord that destroyed

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the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and

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he was a friend of the Lord to conquer

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a massive raiding party of

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Ketel Leomer as he rescued

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his nephew Lot . Abraham

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was well known and his God

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was well known in this area

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. The Hittites say Bury

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your dead in the choicest of our

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tombs . Verse 7,

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. Abraham rose and bowed

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to the Hittites , the people of

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the land , and he said to them If

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you're willing that I should bury my dead out

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of sight , hear me and

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entreat for me Ephron , the

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son of Zor , that he

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might give me the cave of Machpelah

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, which he owns

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it's at the end of his field

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For the full

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price . Let him give it to me in

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your presence as property for

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a burying place . So

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we see that Abraham rises

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and bows to those around

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him . So , just as

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a reminder , this scene

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is happening at the city gate

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and Abraham had

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been sitting until now . And now he rises

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and he bows before the Hittites

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, showing his politeness

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. He says , even

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though Ephron is sitting

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there among all of the elders at the city

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gate , abraham publicly asks

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the community of the Hittites if

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they might plead and earnestly speak

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with Ephron regarding this

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cave . Abraham

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doing this indicates such

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a transaction between a foreigner

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and one of the local community would

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require approval of the entire

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community to validate such

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a transaction . And

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during the times of the patriarchs

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, most of the rural

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land , the mountains

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, the hills , the open country was

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considered common property . It

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was often occupied by a number of people

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, different tribes , but

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the land that was close to the towns

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would become divided

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up into smaller lots and fields

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and they would become individually

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owned . So

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Abraham asks that Ephron

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might give him the cave of Mekpala

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. The scripture records that

10:25

this cave was east of Hebron

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and the Hebrew

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word for Mekpala means double

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, double . It's believed

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that this was a double cave . It

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was likely a cave hewn out of solid

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rock , but it was separated into

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two parts for burial

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chambers . And

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Abraham is negotiating

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that he might have this cave as

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a permanent tomb for his

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family . He

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says for the full price , let

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him give it to me in your presence , as

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a property for a burial place

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. While Abraham

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is not considered an occupier of the

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land , this purchase of the tomb

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is going to be honored for many

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years to come . It will

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become a tomb for Abraham , isaac

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and Jacob . Now

11:19

, verse 10 says Ephron

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was sitting among the Hittites

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. And Ephron , the Hittite , answered

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Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites

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, all of who went in at the city

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gate no , my

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lord , hear me , I

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give you the field and

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I give you the cave that's in it In

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the sights of the sons of my people . I

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give it to you , bury

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your dead . So

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Ephron is attempting to

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give this field and land to

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Abraham as a gift , and

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he does it publicly , declaring

11:55

his intentions at the city gate . It

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would seem Ephron doesn't want to sell the property , he just wants

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Abraham to be able to bury his

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dead in his cave

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. Verse 12, . Then

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Abraham bowed down before

12:11

the people of the land and he

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said to Ephron in the hearing of the

12:15

people of the land but

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if you will hear me , I

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give the price of the field . Accept

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it from me that I may bury

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my dead there . Again

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we see Abraham rise up and

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bow down politely to show

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his good intentions to the people at

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the city gate and

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he asks Ephron , if you will hear me

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, abraham seems to

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show a little bit of irritation here that

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Ephron isn't listening to

12:47

his offer . And Abraham again restates

12:49

I give you the price for

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the field . This time

12:53

Abraham offers to pay for the field

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as well as the cave . Verse

12:59

14, . Ephron answered Abraham

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, my lord , listen to me . A

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piece of land worth 400 shekels

13:06

of silver . What is that between

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you and me ? Bury your dead

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. Ephron's

13:13

response , asking for

13:16

400 shekels of silver , seems

13:18

to be a high value

13:20

for this field . While we

13:22

can't be certain of the fair market value

13:25

at this time , it

13:27

seems to be larger than

13:29

what is common throughout scripture . For

13:32

example , david paid

13:34

50 shekels to purchase

13:36

the temple site in 2

13:38

Samuel 24-24 . And

13:41

Jeremiah paid a mere 17

13:44

shekels for a field in

13:46

Anathoth in Jeremiah

13:49

32-9 . And

13:52

Ephron says what is that between you

13:54

and me ? Bury your dead . You

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and me . Bury your dead . Ephron continues to try and entice

14:04

Abraham to accept the property without formal payment . Verse 16,

14:06

. Abraham listened to Ephron

14:08

and Abraham weighed out

14:10

for Ephron the silver that he

14:12

had named in the hearing of the Hittites

14:14

, 400 shekels

14:17

of silver according to the weights current

14:19

among the merchants . We

14:23

read here that Abraham weighed

14:25

out for Ephron the silver

14:27

. The shekel was not a

14:29

minted coin , but rather

14:31

it was a standard of weight . The

14:34

shekel was a standard of weight

14:36

used for value in business

14:38

transactions prior

14:40

to minted coins . A

14:43

shekel of precious metal was

14:45

the standard of trade In

14:48

ancient Israel . The standard shekel

14:51

was 11.5

14:53

grams , while the sanctuary

14:55

shekel was likely 12

14:58

grams . So Abraham

15:00

weighs out 400

15:03

shekels worth of

15:05

silver according to the weights

15:08

of the shekel current among

15:11

the merchants of his time . Verse

15:14

17 , so the field of Ephron

15:17

in Machpelah , which was

15:19

to the east of Mamir , the field

15:21

with the cave that was in it . Verse

15:24

17 , before all who were at the city

15:26

gate . These two verses 17 and 18

15:28

, give

15:42

us a detailed description of

15:44

the exchange of property between

15:46

Ephron and Abraham

15:48

. It describes

15:50

the field , the cave , as

15:53

well as all of the trees that

15:55

were in that area were included

15:57

with the transaction . The

16:00

transaction was done publicly and

16:02

it was done in the standard place

16:04

of business , which was the city gate . And

16:07

this contract for land was

16:10

still in effect even after the lives

16:12

of Isaac and Jacob and

16:15

, as we noted in verse 4 , abraham

16:18

is still considered a foreigner

16:20

in this land . This purchase of property

16:22

for the burial of his family doesn't

16:24

make him a possessor of the land

16:26

, the way many of us in the

16:28

Western world may think of it . This

16:32

privately owned land is

16:34

still under the control and possession

16:36

of the Hittites as a group , is still under the control and possession of

16:38

the Hittites as a group . However , we see in Genesis

16:40

, chapter 23 , we

16:48

almost have a full chapter committed to this purchase of land . It

16:50

must have been very important to Abraham and his offspring , as

16:52

this was the first real estate that

16:54

he owned after journeying

16:57

into the land of Canaan

16:59

Verse 19, . After

17:01

this , abraham

17:03

buried Sarah and his wife in

17:06

the cave of the field of Mekpala

17:08

, east of Mamir , that

17:10

is , hebron , in the land of Canaan

17:13

. The field and

17:15

the cave that are in it were

17:17

made over to Abraham as

17:19

property for a burying place

17:21

by the Hittites . After

17:24

the transaction was finalized at the

17:26

city gate , abraham

17:28

buried his wife , sarah

17:30

. He buried her in the cave of

17:32

the field of Machpelah . This

17:35

is the third time this specific

17:37

description and location

17:39

of the field is given . When

17:41

something is restated three times

17:44

in scripture , it's of

17:46

significant importance this

17:48

location of Abraham's burial

17:51

site was not meant to be

17:53

lost and it says that

17:55

the field and the cave that were in it were

17:57

made over to Abraham as

18:00

property . This again is a restatement

18:03

of the official transaction

18:05

, noting that both the field

18:07

and the cave were deeded

18:10

over to Abraham and

18:12

it says as property

18:15

for a burying place that's

18:17

an interesting notation as property for a burying

18:19

place . That's an interesting

18:21

notation and it implies that in the

18:23

agreement for the property was that the land was only to be

18:26

used as a burial place according

18:29

to the Hittites . Today

18:31

, in our language , we might say that

18:34

this property was zoned as

18:36

a cemetery . Thank

18:39

you for joining me today as

18:41

we looked at Sarah's death and Abraham's

18:44

purchase of this field and

18:46

cave in the Promised Land

18:48

. Join me next

18:50

week as we begin to look at the life

18:52

of Isaac . God bless

18:55

you this week .