SARAH DIED
“[1] Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. [2] And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.”
Verses 1–2 are some of the most sobering verses in all of Genesis. Here, we see that Sarah died at the age of 127. The woman whose story we’ve followed closely over the past eleven chapters has now breathed her last. Her story has come to a close. The woman who received the promise of life has now tasted the bitter reality of death. And here in these two verses is the sobering reminder that we will all eventually have similar words penned about us. Just as Sarah died, we will die. Our story will come to a close.
Death is an unwelcome intruder. It’s a tragic reality that wedges itself into the song of all of our lives. So, here’s the truth we all have to face: one day, life on this earth will end for all of us. Eventually, we’ll be reduced to words on a page, pictures in an album, or videos on a feed. No matter how extravagant your life might be, “And ______ died” will one day be words that conclude the small paragraph used to describe your life. One day, our story will come to an end and the earth will go on without us.
Is this a reality we’ve all come to terms with? Have we wrestled with the reality that one day we will breathe our last breath?
Well, the beauty of the gospel is that it addresses this unfortunate reality. The gospel interjects life into death, hope into hopelessness, and peace into chaos. All who look to the finished work of the cross as their hope will one day pass from death into life. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
ABRAHAM MOURNED
Sarah passed away at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Hebron is a place we’ve encountered several times already in Genesis. We’ll come back to this in a moment, but it’s the very place the Lord promised to give Abraham in Genesis 13, and it’s where Abraham and Sarah spent a large portion of their lives sojourning together. And it’s in this very place that Abraham goes to mourn and weep for Sarah.
Before we get into the theological implications of this, let’s consider the practical side. This detail matters because it reminds us that death is painful, and it’s okay to feel that pain. It’s okay to mourn, and it’s okay to weep. It’s okay to not be okay in the face of loss. No cut heals instantly, and death cuts so deeply into our hearts that it takes time to heal. In fact, we should love so fervently that it hurts deeply when we lose those we love.
The Bible gives us permission to mourn. It gives us permission to weep. Abraham mourned and wept. David mourned and wept. Even Jesus mourned and wept. So yes, it’s right for us to weep and mourn as well.
At the same time, Scripture consistently presents mourning as something meant to be shared. Abraham went into the city to mourn for Sarah. The grief he felt wasn’t hidden among the trees of the desert; it was expressed publicly among the people. Grief is intended to be shared, not internalized. We are called to weep with those who weep.
ABRAHAM’S ACTION IN MOURNING
But notice what happens next once Abraham is among the people. After Abraham mourned and wept, he rose up and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
Here in this verse is an important detail for us as we consider the topic of grief. As real and necessary as grief is, it’s not meant to be paralyzing. Life, in some senses, continues even as we begin to heal, and mourning doesn’t have to be debilitating.
Mourning can coexist with movement. Responsibilities can still be carried out through tears. Progress can still be made as we process the hurt we are feeling. We can continue forward in life even as we grieve the loss of those we love.
As Abraham mourned the loss of the woman he loved, he also took action in securing a permanent place of burial for her. He honored her not only with his tears, but with his actions. Before the Hittites, the inhabitants of Hebron, Abraham humbly requested a piece of land where he could lay her to rest. Even in his grief, we see Abraham continuing to move forward in faith.
As we see in verse 5, “[5] The Hittites answered Abraham, [6] ‘Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.’”
I love the phrase “prince of God among us.” It’s a title of honor, one of deep respect. At the heart of this phrase is an acknowledgement that Abraham’s life has made an impression on the people around him. Over the years, he has been seen as a man who has walked with God. He’s a respectable man amongst the people of this area! We should long to have a similar reputation. We should strive to be men and women who walk so closely with God that our neighbors and co-workers say something similar about us! A life of proximity to God will be noticed by others.
In response to this request from the “prince of God,” the Hittites make a generous offer. They say, “Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” This is such a generous offer. But, as generous as it is, it’s not what Abraham is after. He doesn’t want to use a tomb; He wants to own the land of the tomb.
I heard a pastor give a helpful illustration to communicate the tension here. It would be like going to someone to ask if you could purchase a portion of their property, and they respond, “Hey, you can park here anytime!” That’s a kind and generous offer. But it still misses the point. You’re not asking for temporary access; you’re seeking something permanent. Abraham isn’t looking for a favor; He’s seeking a possession. He’s seeking a transaction.
So, Abraham responds in verse 7, “Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, ‘If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.’”
I think I find myself resonating with what Abraham is doing here. Being part of a church plant that meets in a space that isn’t our own, I find myself dreaming a lot. I’ll drive around the city or scroll through listings, noticing different properties and thinking, “That could be a great long-term home for us.” I’ll start asking questions, Who owns it? What would it cost? Could we ever afford it? And usually, it doesn’t take long before I realize it’s out of our price range, and I move on. But that process of dreaming, observing, and noticing has to be what Abraham has done over the years. Notice how specific Abraham is here. He doesn’t ask for a piece of land in general; he asks for a particular man, Ephron, and he asks for a particular place, the cave of Machpelah. The wording here teaches us that Abraham has thought about this beforehand. This isn’t a spontaneous purchase. Over these years, Abraham and Sarah have sojourned in this land of promise, and he has paid close attention. He has a particular piece of property in mind for his wife’s burial. He want’s the cave of Machpelah that is owned by Ephron.
FAITH IN THE MIDST OF GRIEF
The first and obvious question we need to ask is, “Why this cave?” In other words, “Why is Abraham so persistent on this particular location?” Well, to understand that, we have to remember what Canaan represents. Canaan was the land of promise. It’s the place God had sworn to give to Abraham and his descendants.
Back in Genesis 13:14-18, we saw God make the specific promise that this land would one day belong to him— “[14] The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, [15] for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. [16] I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. [17] Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” [18] So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.”
So, here in this land God had made a promise to Abraham that this land would belong to him and his offspring. And it’s here in this land that Abraham had built an altar and worshipped him!
But! Up until this point, Abraham still does not possess this land. He’s still a sojourner in it. As his wife breathed her last breath, the promise of the land remained unfulfilled. So, although God had been faithful to give them the child of promise, they had not received the land of promise. They were still only sojourners, individuals who moved throughout the land without any legal claim.
That’s what makes Abraham’s actions here are so significant. His actions are an act of faith, a demonstration of trust in God’s faithfulness to carry out his promises. Just as he acted in faith towards God’s willingness to carry out his promise of a child… … he is acting in faith towards God’s willingness to carry out his promise to deliver to him the land of promise. He is not simply looking for a place to bury his wife; he is intentionally seeking to bury his wife in the land that will one day belong to him and his descendants.
He is seeking to bury his wife in the promised land where he dwelt with God and worshipped him in faith. Even in grief, Abraham is living as though God’s promises are still true and will be fulfilled.
Following this request, Ephron answered Abraham,
“My lord, listen to me: a piece of land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
Now, chances are most of us aren’t regularly using shekels to buy anything these days. So it might be helpful to slow down in order to understand what’s happening here.
A shekel of silver in the ancient world was not a coin but a unit of weight (roughly 11 grams of silver). That means 400 shekels would have been around 9 to 10 pounds of silver. Many would agree that this would have been a significant amount of wealth during this time.
Comparatively speaking, Joseph was sold into slavery for 20 shekels in Genesis 37:28. King David bought a major threshing floor for 50 shekels of silver in 2 Samuel 24:24. Jacob bought land near Shechem for 100 shekels in Genesis 33:18-19. So, I think it’s safe to say that the price of 400 shekels is pretty high.
In fact, many commentators note that what we see here likely reflects a common Ancient Near Eastern bargaining pattern. A seller would begin with a polite and generous offer (“bury your dead”) followed by an inflated price that initiates the negotiation process (“a piece of land is worth 400 shekels of silver”). There is a generous language on the surface that often functions as the opening move in a transaction where the real goal is profit. We do similar things on facebook marketplace where we list something way higher than what we will actually accept in hopes of being able to negotiate a desirable price.
Then in verse 16, we see that “Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.”
What’s taking place here is profoundly beautiful. Instead of accept the free offer, Abraham sought to pay. Instead of renegotiating, he paid the inflated asking price. Notice the phrase “in the hearing of the Hittites.” This is intended to show us that this is a legal transaction performed in front of a courtroom-like setting. And as everyone is expecting Abraham to make a counter offer, he paid the initial asking price. He didn’t accept the free offer, nor did he make a counter offer. He was willing to make a “bad business decision” in front of the hearing in order to secure the tomb for his wife.
Church, I think there’s a lot to learn from Abraham’s example here when it comes to business.
First, it reminds us of the simple truth that faith and economics are not enemies. Abraham secured part of the land that God had promised through honest and legal transactions. Business is not less spiritual than other church activities. In fact, how we do business can be an act of worship and a display of trust in Jesus. Abraham is displaying his faith in God through a business transaction. Through this transaction, he is saying, “I believe God’s promise that this land will belong to my descendants. Therefore, I am securing this tomb for my wife and descendants.”
Second, it shows us how we should carry out our business. Abraham acted humbly, bowing before the people of the land. He also acted with integrity, paying a fair price for the land. Notice how Abraham didn’t manipulate his audience. It could have been easy to leverage his grief into a cheaper price; but he didn’t! Instead, he acted with transparency and fairness. If someone would have gotten the short end of the stick, it would have been him!
If Abraham acted humbly, we should act humbly. If Abraham acted with integrity, we should act in integrity. If Abraham conducted his business with fairness, we should conduct our business with fairness.
I think Abraham possessed a good deal of wisdom here. He understood that nothing was free, and he refused the superficial/hollow offer that outwardly appeared generous. He wasn’t trying to take advantage of anyone; he was trying to fairly and legally secure a part of the land of promise in order to bury his wife. Abraham’s actions teach us how to approach business through a lens of faith.
Abraham acted as a man who knew God’s promises were real, even when they weren’t visible. And we ought to do the same. Similar to Abraham, we hold onto the promise that we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is waiting for us that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Therefore, like Abraham, we can conduct business fairly through a lens of faith knowing that God’s work will continue here on this earth even after we’re gone and we have an inheritance coming. So, we don’t have to invest in trivial things; we can invest our time and resources into things for God’s kingdom because we know that something greater is to come.
Listen, I don’t know what y’all’s plans are this week with small group. But, I think this could be a great discussion question for your groups. It would serve us well to wrestle with Abraham’s example of business here and ask, “what does his example teach us how to carry out business as a Christian?”
Then in verse 17, we see that the field then belonged to Abraham— “So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.”
The land was secured. It was made a possession of Abraham in the presence of the Hittites. It was now his legal property. Abraham was able to bury his wife on his land in his cave, the very place he built an altar and worshipped the LORD in faith.
This is such a beautiful act of faith by Abraham. He is seeking to secure part of the land of promise through fair business transactions… because he knew that is where his family would be. He knew God would be faithful to fulfill what he had promised.
As you continue to read throughout the book of Genesis, you will later see that Abraham was also buried here (Gen 25:9), along with Isaac (Gen 35:29), and Jacob (Ge 49:49-33, 50:13), and Leah (Gen 49:31).
Over the years, Abraham has learned that God will be faithful to keep his promises. Have we learned that simple truth, as well? If so, we will begin to display that faith through our actions.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
How does the reality of death (“And ______ died”) shape the way we view our own lives? How does the gospel interject hope into the reality of death?
What stands out to you about Abraham’s response of mourning and weeping? What can we learn from Abraham continuing to take action in the midst of grief?
How does Genesis 13:14–18 help us understand Abraham’s actions in Genesis 23? What does it look like to act in faith when God’s promises are not yet visible?
How might Abraham’s actions teach us how to conduct business in a Christ honoring way?