Sarah’s Death
June 1, 2024
Commentary
This chapter records the funeral of one of the most remarkable and most loved women in the Bible. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is recorded. She was 127 years old when she died and a good example of a woman who followed her husband to the end.
1. Abraham’s grief (vv. 1-6) – There is no doubt about it that Abraham loved his wife of over 60 years. Verse two says, “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.” If there is one time that a believer’s testimony should really stand clear it is when death visits the home. Abraham’s testimony was “I am a stranger and a sojourner” (v. 4). A stranger is a person who finds himself in a place where he does not naturally belong. A sojourner is a temporary resident and one who is only staying for a little while.
2. Sarah’s grave (vv. 7-18) – Sarah’s grave is important because it was the only piece of land that Abraham ever personally owned on this earth. The cave in the field of Machpelah before Mamre became the burial spot for Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob.
3. Nephron’s gift (vv. 19-20) – It appears that the tomb was offered to Abraham as an outright gift, but we learn that Nephron never had any intentions of giving it to him. He knew exactly what he was going to ask for it.
Application
As Abraham, in hope, purchased a grave site in the land, so I, as a believer have a hope beyond this life. Death in this life, which is temporary, is only the beginning of eternal life which will last forever. I already know more people there than I know who are still living in this life.
Genesis 23:1– 20 (NET)
1 Sarah lived 127 years. 2 Then she died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife and said to the sons of Heth, 4 “I am a foreign resident, a temporary settler, among you. Grant me ownership of a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead.”
5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 6 “Listen, sir, you are a mighty prince among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you from burying your dead.”
7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, the sons of Heth. 8 Then he said to them, “If you agree that I may bury my dead, then hear me out. Ask Ephron the son of Zohar 9 if he will sell me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly for the full price, so that I may own it as a burial site.”
10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hittite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth—before all who entered the gate of his city— 11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell you both the field and the cave that is in it. In the presence of my people I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
12 Abraham bowed before the local people 13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay to you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I may bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and weighed out for him the price that Ephron had quoted in the hearing of the sons of Heth—400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time.
17 So Abraham secured Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city.
19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site from the sons of Heth.
Illustration: Survivors of The Last Ship Sunk in World War II
David Harrell wrote a book telling the story of his father, Edgar Harrell. Edgar was one of the 300 survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, the last US ship sunk by enemy contact in WW2. 600 of the 900 men who survived the ship’s sinking were stranded in the water for five days – many with only a life vest – all facing thirst, hunger, injuries, dehydration and sharks. They all came face to face with fear and the possibility of death. Edgar testifies of those days alone in the ocean, “Clearly there were no atheists in the water that day. Gone was that damnable attitude of pride that deceives men into thinking that there is no God, or if there is, they don’t need Him. When a man is confronted with death, it is the face of Almighty God he sees, not his own. We were all acutely aware of our Creator during those days and nights.” (David Harrell, “Out of the Depths,” Xulon Press, 2005, 112-113).