Today I read about the 1st time mourning was mentioned in the Bible. Abraham’s wife died & he mourned & wept for her. He interrupts his grief, however, to secure a place for proper burial.
Abraham states something that’s quite noteworthy as he makes a request of the Hittite elders:
“Here I am, a stranger & foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.”
As a nomad in a foreign land,
the land God promised to become The Promised Land,
Abraham owned no land.
Now, on the day of his deepest grief, a transaction is made to posses land to bury in, but not large enough to live upon.
As I ponder the transaction, it seems that there is something quite significant:
👉🏽This was the first piece of The Promised Land & it was secured as a place for death!
👉🏽Abraham was promised the land that he was about to purchase, but He didn’t presume on God’s timing.
As a sojourner who knew that his end date might come before seeing the promise fulfilled, he secured a place for burial.
Peter quotes Abraham when he proclaims, “Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires…”
We’re all temporary strangers passing through a world that is waging war against us. The things of this earth (house, car, clothing career) are temporary. What is steadfast & sure is that death is the fate of all.
It made me wonder:
Would my life look different if I remembered my status as a resident alien, knowing that my end date could happen at any given moment?
Like Abraham, I’ve secured my place for eternity, but unlike Abraham, it cost me nothing but belief in Jesus who conquered death so that we might too!
Abraham was promised the land, but he didn’t live in captive wait for it to happen. He lived his life as a foreigner, waiting for God to make good on His promise.
Father, like Abraham, we say, “Here I am, a stranger & foreigner” in the world You created. Let us not be so closely tied to the things of this earth that we’re not free to sojourn as You see fit. Remind us that when our place in eternity is secure, we need not spend too much time, talent or treasures on the things of this passing earth.
GENESIS 23:1-24:51
MATTHEW 8:1-17
PSALM 9:13-20
PROVERBS 3:1-6
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