Chayay Sarah, The Life of Sarah
B’reshiyt (Genesis) 23:1 – 25:18
Melekim Alef (I Kings) 1:1-31
Matthew 2:1-23; 8:19-22; 27:3-10; Luke 9:57-62; John 14:1-31; Hebrews 11:13-16; 1 Corinthians 15:42-58; Philippians 2:1-11
Have you ever known anyone to enter into a contract to buy a property with a shady seller? A real estate deal can turn into a major headache, if there are strings attached that cause legal trouble, such as a hidden pitfall with an adjacent landowner.
Back in the late eighties, I entered into a contract to buy a small lot in the city of Idanha from an elder in our church. One reason the price was so cheap was because the lot was triangular shaped and I’d have to buy the other triangle from the adjacent owner. The original surveyor had made a mistake. But trusting my elder, I signed the dotted line.
However, I later found out that I hadn’t done the research I should have. The long side of the triangle ran straight through the house. The adjacent landowner was a corrupt sawmill owner who was waiting for the opportunity to acquire the property however he could. What a hassle! But by the grace of Abba, I ended up negotiating with him and buying the other triangle piece to make it a whole rectangle. I ended up a wounded soul.
Having learned a lesson, Abba showed me He didn’t want me tangled up in real estate. He wanted me freed up to minister the Word and the Spirit to hungry and thirsty souls. If Paul rented a house for two years in Rome, welcoming all those coming in (Acts 28:30), renting was good enough for me. I only wanted ‘to owe no one, nothing, except to love one another.’ (Rom 13:8). I now believe that my wife and I will be part of the greater exodus; we don’t want real estate strings to hold us back. But if Abba directs one of us to buy property, may it be an honest deal according to the principles of the Scriptures.
The first deal buying property as recorded in the Bible involved an intriguing negotiation between Abraham and Canaanites in the land. Abba has lessons for us to learn that all households can benefit from – so dig in with me in this first occurrence of a land contract.
Know Who You Are Dealing With
Then Abraham rose from before his death and spoke to the sons of Heth, Genesis 23:3
Not staying down mourning, Abraham did his market research. By the Holy Spirit he knew exactly what piece of land was suitable for his wife and his offspring. Of all the people in the land, who did Abraham speak to about burying Sarah? Interestingly enough, it just so happened to be that ‘the sons of Heth’ owned that piece of land.
The name Heth means ‘terror.’ Spelled chet, tav, in paleo Hebrew the name pictures those outside the walls of covenant relationship, outside of law and order, outside where terror can prevail.
It also means to ‘break by terror, fear or dismay’. Sons of Chet control, fear-monger and manipulate people with terror to do their will. Sound familiar to you? An extreme version is the terrorists we hear about in the Middle East. On the other hand, anyone under satan’s dominion could become ‘sons of Chet’.
Be Apart From the Culture
To start the negotiations, Abraham made it clear to the owner that he was not a member, nor a part of the culture of Chet – terror. He didn’t rule his house that way. He was a stranger and a sojourner in the land, looking for a place to bury his deceased wife.
When it comes to relating with fear-mongers and manipulators who break people down with fear tactics, we should make it clear right from the start that we are not a part of their culture, nor under their dominion. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Abraham came to the sons of Chet only to conduct critical business, not to become part of their cult of terror. We need to make it clear that we identify ourselves as a set-apart people, just sojourners in a strange land following Yeshua – in the world but not of it.
Why anyone who believes they are righteous would side with Hamas terrorists against the people in the land of Israel befuddles me. Sure there are many unbelieving Jews in the land today. But where is the seed of Abraham, the seed of Messiah (Gal 3:16) allowed to exist – say in Gaza or Israel? Israel is the only nation in the Middle East where communities of believers in Yeshua and Jews are allowed to grow, fellowship, and worship. Where would you want to live?
I love what Yeshua had to say when He had to confront the devil –
“I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” John 14:30
May we boldly say of our adversary: “he has nothing in me!” We can stand before them with no fear! We are a holy people set apart unto YHWH our Elohim.
Expect Favor With the Landowners
The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, “Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” Genesis 23:5-6
Although his entourage was a minority, in the land, Abraham had an excellent reputation and a powerful presence among those who dwelt in Canaan. Against all odds, he had won some big battles. Even the sons of Chet respected him as ‘a mighty prince among us.’ They showed him a favor by offering the best of their burying places to him.
As we grow up into the head as the body of Messiah, I believe we can expect to enjoy the favor of the people we deal with in life. After all,
Yeshua kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor of God and men. Luke 2:52
To be a blessing to all the families of the land is in the blessings for the seed of Abraham, who we are in Messiah.
Be Humble and Show Respect
And Abraham rose up and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth. Genesis 23:7
Even though the sons of Chet were pagan Canaanites, Abraham showed due respect to the landowners, coming before them with humility. He did not come with a superior air of being more righteous, nor acting like he had the advantage of favoritism with the Creator. Paul may have had Father Abraham in mind when he wrote to the Romans:
Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Romans 13:7
No Fuss, Full Price
And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for a burial site.” Genesis 23:8-9
It is interesting that of all the real estate negotiations we read about in the Scriptures, none of them record the buyer starting with a low offer vs. the seller’s high starting price. Abraham didn’t start with a low price but initially offered to buy the piece of land for the full price. Haggling for the best deal was not Abraham’s way. His love was for God and his seed rather than for wealth and power. His goal was to stake a claim in the land.
Make it Ironclad and Official
Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard. So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. Genesis 23:16-18
According to historians, four hundred shekels would have bought a huge estate in those days. Abraham definitely paid ‘the full price.’ Why didn’t he try to negotiate with Ephron? After all, he had said
“No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it.” Genesis 23:11
Abraham probably knew there would be strings attached if Ephron just ‘gave’ it to him. Abraham wanted the property free and clear, with no possibility of his offspring losing it to loopholes or a handshake deal. Abraham didn’t want to spend the time haggling over the price to come away with as much money in his purse as he could get away with. Burying his wife with honor and integrity was far more important and valuable to him than maximizing the silver in his money bags.
After all, Abraham was a very rich man (Genesis 13:2), He knew that his money came not by hardball business deals, but by the blessing of the Father in Heaven on him, his family, his servants, his livestock, and everything he owned. Moses put it this way:
“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember YHWH your God, for it is He Who is giving you the power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:17-18
It was official. Generations later, including in our day, the nations would claim that Abraham or his descendants stole the caves, stole Hebron, and even stole the Land of Israel. But the Torah records for us the first ironclad and official purchase of land.
Buy Property for Future Generations
Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of qesitah (an unknown unit of value, a piece of money); and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. Joshua 24:32
Although we don’t have an account of how the deal went down, we can assume Jacob followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and paid the full price for the burial plot. From what we know from the Book of Job, a qesitah was on par with a ring of gold (Job 42:11). Historians have found that 100 qesitah must have been the full price for that real estate.
Jacob bought this property from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father (Gen 33:19). Hamor means ‘he-ass’, and knowing how the sons of Shechem treated his daughter, Dinah, Jacob may have dealt with a dangerous character like Abraham had done.
But here’s documented evidence that the seed of Abraham has another stake in the land of Israel to this day. Although access to Joseph’s tomb is hotly contested, it doesn’t change the fact that the sons of Joseph own this piece of land. Can you say ‘Amen!’?
The Purchase of the Most Hotly Contested Real Estate on the Planet
Later on, King David purchased a piece of real estate that turned out to be the most hotly contested piece of real estate on planet Earth. As with the patriarch’s needing to bury their deceased, the common thread of death necessitated the purchase of the threshing floor of Ornan, which turned out to be the Temple Mount
(1 Chronicles 21).
Upon slaying giant warriors in the land, King David and his mighty men had fallen into the sin of pride. Satan had moved on David’s heart to take a census in all of Israel. He hadn’t consulted the priest or prophet and so YHWH Elohim was very displeased. Out of three judgments the prophet Gad declared, David took the third – three days of the sword of the LORD.
David was distraught over the 70,000 who’d died by pestilence when YHWH relented and stopped the destroying angel from entering Jerusalem. The angel of YHWH told Gad to tell David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan. But David wanted to re-purpose the threshing floor to be an altar site.
Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to YHWH; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be restrained from the people.” (1Chronicles 21:22)
David didn’t care about haggling, he had 70,000 to bury and a destroying angel to stop. He had taken a hard threshing, chastening at the hand of a displeased Father in Heaven. As Abraham did with the sons of Heth, David offered to buy the site for ‘the full price.’
Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all.” 1 Chronicles 21:23
Like Ephron and the sons of Heth had offered to ‘give’ Abraham their burial site, Ornan said “Take it for yourself.” This offer sounds so much like Ephron sitting among the sons of Heth responding to Abraham’s offer ‘for the full price’:
“No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for YHWH, or offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” So David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site. 1 Chronicles 21:24-25
Let there be no mistake, King David bought the temple mount site for the full market price as recorded in the document with the highest authority, leaving no room for dispute. The purpose of the purchase? The sacrifice of animals on the altar out of repentance for pride and allowing satan to move on a soul. The animals were consumed by the fire of YHWH and reduced to ashes; much like a body dies, the spirit is taken up to heaven and the body returns to the dust of the earth. The altar service is a picture of repentance, death to the old Adam’s sinful flesh, and spiritual resurrection by the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Burial Tomb for Yeshua's Body
The next piece of land acquired for the Messiah and His seed would be the site of Yeshua’s body raised from the dead. That’s what Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph all looked forward to – the resurrection of the dead. Why did Joseph make the Hall of Fame of Faith (Hebrews 11:22) by giving orders to the sons of Israel on their exodus concerning his bones? Because he believed his body too would be resurrected when the Messiah rose from His tomb in the Land of Israel. This is what we believe!
The final real estate deal in part fulfilled the purpose of the redemption of man. The land transaction was part of the fulfillment that Abraham and the patriarchs looked forward to in their day. This piece of real estate puts another stake in the land for Abraham’s seed.
After these things, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take Yeshua’s body away. Joseph was a disciple of Yeshua, but secretly for fear of the Judean leaders. Pilate gave permission, so Joseph came and took the body away. Nicodemus, who had first visited Yeshua at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Yeshua and wrapped it in linen with the spices, as is the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where He was executed, there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. John 19:38-41
Not every Jewish authority, nor all Jewish customs, were evil and contrary to the Word of YHWH. A member of the Sanhedrin re-purposed his burial place (Mat 27:60) for the body of Messiah, where He’d rise from the dead. The Pharisee Nicodemus assisted Joseph of Arimathea in preparing His body according to ‘the Jewish burial custom’. YHWH is not opposed to all things Jewish in performing His will.
The Messiah Who had given His Life didn’t end up owning property, He had no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). His treasurer had embezzled His funds, betrayed Him for 30 shekels, and hanged himself.
Ephron and Ornan had offered to give their real estate but sold them. But fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9, the rich man Joseph of Arimathea did give his tomb for the body of Messiah to be buried.
But praise His Name He was only there for three days! Because He lives, the seed of Abraham lives! The sons of Israel are stakeholders in the Promised Land.
In the Name of the Risen King Yeshua,
David
