Written by: Don Egan

Genesis 23 v 1-4
Sarah lived to be 127 years old. She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried because of her. After a while he got up from the side of his wife’s body and went to talk to the Hittites. He said, “I am only a stranger and a foreigner here. Sell me some of your land so that I can bury my dead wife.”

Notes
Many people associate old age with declining health, but for the believer this ought not to be the case. God says of believers, “I will give them a long, full life, and they will see how I can save.” (Psalm 91 v 16). We also read, “Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyes were not weak, and he was still strong.” (Deuteronomy 34 v 7).

I once had lunch with a man who was 103 years old. He didn’t wear glasses, a hearing aid or use a walking stick. If we apply our faith, we can walk in divine health like Abraham, Sarah and Moses.

The psalm says, “My whole being, praise the LORD and do not forget all his kindnesses. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He saves my life from the grave and loads me with love and mercy. He satisfies me with good things and makes me young again, like the eagle.” (Psalm 103 v 2-5).

Today, let us declare by faith that God, through Jesus, heals all our diseases and renews our youth by putting his word in our mouth, and that he satisfies us with long life.

Genesis 23 v 5-9
The Hittites answered Abraham, “Sir, you are a great leader among us. You may have the best place we have to bury your dead. You may have any of our burying places that you want, and none of us will stop you from burying your dead wife.”
Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, “If you truly want to help me bury my dead wife here, speak to Ephron, the son of Zohar for me. Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah at the edge of his field. I will pay him the full price. You can be the witnesses that I am buying it as a burial place.”

Notes
Abraham was outstanding. He stood out from the crowd because of the blessing of God upon his life and his obedience to God. He had left his family to follow God, and amazing blessings followed that obedience.

Do you stand out from the crowd? Christians should be outstanding and strive for excellence in all they do. We may say that Abraham was a hero from the Old Testament and we could never live such a significant life. But the same blessing comes on everyone who gives their life to Jesus Christ. 

The Bible says, “Christ took away the curse the law put on us ... Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews...” (Galatians 3 v 12-14) The same blessing can be ours if we choose to do things God’s way and walk in obedience to God’s word.

The secret is having Jesus inside us. William Temple said, “It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like that. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, I could live a life like that.”

Have you invited Jesus into your life? Have you asked him to fill you with his Holy Spirit? Live an outstanding life - follow Jesus with all your heart!

Genesis 23 v 10-15
Ephron was sitting among the Hittites at the city gate. He answered Abraham, “No, sir. I will give you the land and the cave that is in it, with these people as witnesses. Bury your dead wife.”
Then Abraham bowed down before the Hittites. He said to Ephron before all the people, “Please let me pay you the full price for the field. Accept my money, and I will bury my dead there.”
Ephron answered Abraham, “Sir, the land is worth ten pounds of silver, but I won’t argue with you over the price. Take the land, and bury your dead wife.”

Notes
In the mid 1980s, both my parents and my son died prematurely. Some people said, “How can you go on believing in God?” But God is not some fairy tale idea that disappears like a mist when trouble comes. It is in times of great grief and trouble that God proves his love to us.

Billy Graham wrote, “Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as adversity has done. Out of pain and problems have come the sweetest songs, the most poignant poems, the most gripping stories. Out of suffering and tears have come the greatest spirits and the most blessed lives.”

Jesus said, "A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life – life in all its fullness.” (John 10 v 10) God is not the one who brings trouble, sickness or death. But God comforts those who mourn. He calls us to weep with those who weep.

Many thought the tragedy in my family would be the end of this ministry of good news. But God can always take our negatives and develop them into positives in his dark room.

A man in Rwanda heard my story and invited me to speak words of hope to the people of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. From that first visit has grown a wonderful ministry where we bring hope to forgotten people. We are sponsoring children’s education, building a school and preaching good news in that nation. One lady said to me, “Because you have come to Rwanda, we know that God has not forgotten us.”

Trouble may come but must not overcome. We need to grieve our loss, but we must rise up and step into our abundant tomorrow, full of Jesus and obedience to him.

Genesis 23 v 16-18
Abraham agreed and paid Ephron in front of the Hittite witnesses. He weighed out the full price, ten pounds of silver, and they counted the weight as the traders normally did.
So Ephron’s field in Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold. Abraham became the owner of the field, the cave in it, and all the trees that were in the field. The sale was made at the city gate, with the Hittites as witnesses. 

Notes
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law”, or so the saying goes. All the key people in the scriptures possessed what was rightly theirs. Abraham wanted to buy the land for Sarah’s burial ground rather than receive it as a gift that may have later be disputed.

In the book of Joshua we read, “But there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received their land. So Joshua said to the Israelites: ‘Why do you wait so long to take your land? The LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you.’” (Joshua 18 v 2-3)

Sometimes we wonder why we have not possessed certain things that we know God promises to believers. But Joshua put the onus on those who had not possessed. “Why do you wait so long to take your land?” God has already given us his word, his Spirit, his Son, his blood, his faith, his righteousness. What more do we need to rise up and possess the land for Christ? What more do we need to rise up and possess our healing, and to be people who make history?

Have you possessed the “land” that God has given you? If not, how long will you neglect to go and take possession? God has placed us here on earth to enforce the victory he has already won for us. That’s why he taught the disciples to pray, “May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6 v 10)

God is looking for people who will take full possession of all he has given us. People who will change the world by enforcing the kingdom of Jesus in all the earth. It’s time to rise up and possess the land!

Genesis 23 v 19-20
After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. (Mamre was later called Hebron in the land of Canaan.) So Abraham bought the field and the cave in it from the Hittites to use as a burying place.

Notes
When people die, we bury them. If we didn’t, they would begin to rot and cause a stink. What about your past? Have you buried it? Have you forgiven and forgotten past hurts and disputes? We cannot alter our past, but we can put our past on the altar.

Your past has no control over your future - except that which you allow. If you hold on to past hurts and offences, they will soon begin to rot and cause a stink. They will mar your character. We say, “Don’t nurse a grudge”, but we do nurse babies so that they will grow bigger. The same is true if we nurse a grudge - it will grow.

Jesus took all our sin and all our offences on himself. He died and was buried with them. But when he rose from the dead, he left sin buried.

The devil will try to use every negative thing that has ever happened to you to hold you back. That is why you must let the past go. I have had plenty of opportunities to get hurt and offended, but I chose not to, as far as it depended on me.

The Bible says, “Try to live in peace with all people, and try to live free from sin. Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord. Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace and begins to cause trouble among you. A person like that can ruin many of you.” (Hebrews 12 v 14-15)

Have you buried the past, or are things getting a bit smelly?

Genesis 24 v 1-4
Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. Abraham said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my leg. Make a promise to me before the LORD, the God of heaven and earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

Notes
Walt Disney died before the official opening of Disney World in Florida. At the opening ceremony, the speaker said, “I wish Walt could have seen this!” Behind him, Walt Disney’s widow whispered, “He did!”

Abraham had a vision: to give birth to a great nation, through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. He got the vision from God. He believed the vision against all odds. He spoke the vision every time he told his name (Abraham means “father of nations”). He invested his time, money and energy into the vision. Even when his wife died and he was very old, he was still working to bring the vision about.

He invested in the future. He made plans for his successor.

What is God’s vision for your life? If you are not sure, ask God. The Bible says, “But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to all people, so he will give you wisdom.” (James 1 v 5)

When you get the vision, write it down. “Write down the vision; write it clearly on clay tablets so whoever reads it can run to tell others.” (Habakkuk 2 v 2)

God calls you, not just to give you a ticket to heaven, but to a vision here in this life. He says to you, “’I say this because I know what I am planning for you,’ says the LORD. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.’” (Jeremiah 29 v 11)

God has a plan for your life. Today it is time to rise up and take hold of tomorrow. Be a history maker! With Jesus, you can do it.

Genesis 24 v 5-9
The servant said to him, “What if this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”
Abraham said to him, “No! Don’t take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he promised me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ The LORD will send his angel before you to help you get a wife for my son there. If the girl won’t come back with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under his master’s leg and made a promise to Abraham about this.

Notes
"…you must not take my son back there," Abraham said. Most of us are tempted to go back to where we came from at some time. Israel would later plead with Moses to go back to the land of slavery, rather than press ahead by faith to the promised land. Peter went back to fishing after he had denied Jesus (see John 21 v 3).

When faced with difficulty, many of us are tempted to retreat to where we came from. But Abraham was clear that must not happen to him or his son.

To get the breakthrough you are looking for, you will have to leave something behind. It will cost. And it won’t be something you are trying to get rid of either.

Paul said, “Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining towards what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.” (Philippians 3 v 13-14)

Today is not the day for you to turn back. Life in Christ works. The word of God works. Your life will change for the better, but you will have to stick with the programme. There are no drive-through breakthroughs, but you have to fight with the weapons God has given you. ”We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places…” (2 Corinthians 10 v 4)

Pay-day is coming! Don’t turn back!


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes