Today we read about Abraham wanting a proper burial site for his deceased wife Sarah.
There were three aspects of this transaction that stood out to me. The first, is that within the Covenant of Circumcision, Abraham was promised the entire land of Canaan by God, but Abraham would not let the Hittites give it to him. He could have thought that this is the first step in the fulfillment of God’s promise, but he demonstrates how in tune he is with God, knowing that the time for that had not yet come.
The second, is that Abraham made this transaction in the public of all. He could have discussed the terms with Ephron in private, but he demonstrates how a good business deal ought to be done; above board, in the light, and fair.
The third and last thought, is that Abraham insisted on paying for the land despite it being offered to him at no charge more than once. Perhaps he had the foresight in knowing that if the land was gifted to him, he would have carried this need for repayment of the gift until Ephron was satisfied, which may have then been weighed in Ephron’s favour.
Not just knowing but understanding God’s will, handling our transactions with fairness and honesty, and not having debt held over us, are my take-aways from today’s reading.
Lock Your Wings 
While reading the text, I wondered how much it cost for Abraham: Was four hundred shekels of silver a lot or a little?
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I had wondered that too. So I attempted to find some insight into that, but it turns out to be tricky to do. At this time in history, they didn’t have coins with a number value like we do today, they were valued by weight. My Bible converted 400 shekels of silver into about 10 pounds. According to a 2016 site that I came across by googling, this amount would equate to $128,000. Again, this may not totally accurate, but kind of helps to put an actual value on it.
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Throughout the reading I noticed the reference to Abraham as a foreigner and the positive way he was treated by the people of the land where he lived. In our Sunday school class we have been talking about our responsibility as Christians to international students who are foreigners in our land. Just as Abraham was treated well and welcomed into their culture may we welcome the refugees and international students to Canada in the same way.
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Great, thanks for this! That is a rather large sum of money for a burial site!
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Good point. I totally missed that one!
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“Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty seven years old.” Genesis 23:1
Sarah lived almost 40 years after calling herself old. Not much of a takeaway, but if God could use Sarah when she was old, He can use us too at an old age.
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