In this week’s Torah portion, Sarah dies at 127 years old. Her son, Isaac was around 37 years old. Abraham was about 137 years old. When Sarah died Abraham inquired about a piece of land for a burial site for his family. The Hittites offered to give him the land.
There are two possible reasons why they did this. The first one is leverage. If Abraham accepted their gift then he would owe them something later in the future.
The second reason is they genuinely liked him. I believe this may have been the case. Abraham was a wealthy man with a generous heart. You saw that in his dealings with his nephew, Lot.
Based on scripture, he was a man of integrity, a man who dealt honestly with others in business and in his personal life, and a man who was trustworthy. This is why I believe the Hittites wanted to give him the land for free.
However, Abraham refused to receive the land as a gift. He insisted on paying for it. I believe he understood the consequences of receiving this as a gift because without the exchange of money, which comes with a transfer of the deed, the land can always be questioned as to who it belongs to.
Not only that, but the back-and-forth negotiations proved that the transaction was neither forced or acquired illegally. At one point the actual owner mentioned a certain amount of money. He told Abraham that 400 shekels were nothing that could come between their relationship. Abraham took notice of the amount and promptly paid it and received the deed to the land.
Consistency is the Key
When you read through scripture you’ll see that Abraham is consistent in the way he handles his affairs. He’s always making sure only God gets the glory, that his integrity is intact, and that his business dealings benefit everyone involved.
Just like when Lot chose the better piece of land, yet Abraham’s flocks kept increasing. This caused him to become wealthier.
Just like when he rescued Lot and the king of Salem wanted to give him all of this stuff. He told the king he didn’t want it because he didn’t want anyone saying they made him rich. Only God could do that.
When the Impossible Becomes Possible
When I think about Abraham’s trust in God the Most High I am amazed. It’s no wonder God called him His friend. It’s no wonder God chose him to become the father of many nations. Abraham didn’t rely on man for his substance or an increase in his substance. He trusted God.
God asked him to do what some men think is the impossible several times. The first time was when God asked him to leave everything he knew and love behind. He had to leave his country, his city, and his father’s house. He had to turn his back on everything he was being taught to follow an invisible God that his father had stop following.
The second time was to believe that God would get Sarah pregnant at 100 years old, that this would be the heir to the promise and not Ishmael.
The third time involved offering up his own son, the promised child, on the altar. Now what makes this even more interesting is that Isaac wasn’t a little boy. He was a grown man who carried his own execution wood on his back.
Does this sound familiar? Well, it should. That’s what Yeshua/Jesus had to do. Isaac could have said no, but he didn’t. He trusted his father, just like Yeshua trusted his Father.
God never let Abraham fall on his face. Instead, He brought forth all of His promises to him. From Abraham to David to Yeshua to you and me God is still bringing His promise to Abraham to pass.
There’s no better relationship than when someone keeps his promises to someone else long after he’s gone. The love, the closeness, and the faithfulness are unbelievable. God called Abraham His friend. Their relationship was so close that God told him what He was about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah before He did it. He didn’t hide anything from him because they were friends.
How would you like to have that kind of relationship with God?
A Strong Foundation for Yeshua
This is what is amazing about the Bible. When you start reading from the beginning of the book you’ll start seeing similarities in the back of the book. You’ll see that there is a pattern to everything done by God. Nothing is haphazard. It’s all planned out.
It shows that Yeshua has a strong foundation under him. If you only read the New Testament, you’ll never see it. It’s imperative to start from the beginning so you can recognize how God works.
The Old Testament shows God’s mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness, hatred for sin, sadness for separation from Him, lovingkindness and everlasting love for his people, deliverance, and protection. It shows the strong fatherly side as well as the nurturing motherly side.
When you’re able to see this you’ll see how Yeshua acted – just like his Father. Sometimes, he was enraged and quick to discipline. He showed a lot of compassion and mercy. He healed, set free, and delivered people. He taught his disciples and prayed for them. He did what he saw his Father do. He spoke what his Father spoke. He became the visible image of the invisible God Most High, who is a loving Father and the Creator of all.
I urge you to start at the beginning and read all the way through until you’ve reached the end. Then start all over again. You will learn more and more as you go through the Bible this way.
What do you think? How do you see Abraham? Can you see Yeshua in this passage of scripture? I would love to hear your thoughts. Drop your comments below.
Tags: Abraham, God’s friend, friend of God, Genesis, Genesis 23, Torah portion, Sarah’s Life, foundation, strong foundation, Yeshua, patterns in the Bible