Genesis 23:17-20

2008.Jan.26 21:02

The Burial Ground

Read Genesis 23:17-20 | Full Chapter

So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the children of Heth.
(Genesis 23:17-20, ASV)

I find it kind of fascinating–well, I probably won’t be fascinated by it for very long–that the first property that Abraham is recorded as actually possessing in Canaan, indeed for the whole nation of Israel, is a place for burying.

For a religion that holds as a centerpiece resurrection–Paul says, "If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we day" (1 Corinthians 15:32) –to have as one of its great ancestral acts the purchase of a place to bury the dead…well, it strikes as a bit ironic doesn’t it?

But it also seems to me to be very appropriate. In her death, Sarah begins to redeem the land from the idolatry of the current inhabitants (See Deuteronomy 7:1-5) (NB: I acknowledge that the preceding sentence may be completely misguided). And throughout the Bible, there is a connection between death and redemption, particularly in the sacrifices of Mosaic law and in Jesus’ death.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(Hebrews 9:11-14, NASB)

So, I’ll no doubt have plenty of opporutunity to talk about the blood sacrifice stuff, and I’m not in the mood. Instead, I just want to remind myself that death is something God is able to handle. And not only that, but where I see death from a mortal perspective, he sees it–in part–from the perspective of what is waiting to be redeemed. I don’t know that I can really get a hold of that.