1 Faith and loss.

Faith and Loss

Genesis 23 In the fall of 1995 Pauline Cox was dying. The significant thing about Pauline and Carl was their love. Married 50+ years and they were still in love. Over those few weeks that Pauline was fading Carl told me stories of W.W.II and how Pauline waited and worried. One time his ship was lost at sea in the S. Pacific. Pauline didnt know if he was dead or alive. Then together they struggled to keep the dairy farm. Pauline worked at his side. Disappointment pain struggle. But they always prevailed. Carl smiled when he told me about a time they were sleeping out on the back porch. Texans sometimes did that in the hot summer. That part was notorious for scorpions. I didnt know it, but scorpions like to climb. At night they drop down. One dropped right on Pauline. She screamed and flicked it off. The thing landed right on Carls Adams apple and stung him good. He said after I got over the hurt we laughed till we cried. Now Pauline was going. Diabetes heart dialyses, then she fell and broke her pelvis. She couldnt fight back. Doctors say there is nothing more they can do. Keep her comfortable. The day we all dread arrived for Carl. The last goodbye. One night I was in the room and Pauline was hot. Laying there. Wasting away. Carl, in his mid seventies, stood beside her bed all night and fanned her with a newspaper the way a newlywed might care for his bride. All night long he never stopped. After all those years the flame burned. I sat with him at her bedside. Carl has those kind of eyes that sparkle in the corner. Not now. The sparkle was gone. I wondered if it would ever be back. Tears weld in the corners. I asked, Carl is this the hardest thing youve ever had to do? He shook his head, fighting back tears, We lost a baby once, but this is worse. When I left the hospital I had an overwhelming urge to go home and kiss Amy. I was tempted to stop our look at Abraham last week. Go out on a good note. The triumph of faith over trials. But that episode on Mt. Moriah wasnt the end of the story. God fulfilled his promises, all of them. But Abraham still had to go through something we all must face. LOSS. And once more he shows us how to do it the right way.

Genesis 23. Exegesis: Verse 1. One hundred and twenty-seven. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age is mentioned. Thirty-seven years after Isaac. Dont know about the way they kept the years. Isaac was 37 and still not married. Could be regular years. Verse 2. And Sarah died. . . Those three little words were the most painful Abraham had to endure. Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult challenge of life. And it is one that fifty percent of married couples will face. Ill. . .Queen Victoria on the loss of Albert. . . Always wishing to consult one who is not here, groping by myself, with a constant sense of desolation. That must describe how Abraham felt. Verse 2 this is the first mention of someone weeping over the death of another. Abraham and Sarahs relationship was unique. Era of polygamy. Abraham was faithful to one woman. The episode with Hagar was a blip. Not his idea. Certainly she was never a real wife. The one great love was gone. Never ready for that. Some grow bitter. Ill. . . Thomas Hart Bentons wife. Famous American artist died at the age of 85. He once said, The great thing about old age is that you outlive your enemies. A friend called to console his widow. I thought Thomas would live forever. She snapped back angrily, He wasnt supposed to die! She died two months later. How do you proceed with faith when the loved one is lost. Might be a mate. For many a child or grandchild. Easy to despair. Lose hope. Lose your way. Abrahams actions tell about his faith. Two things are going on here. The physical meaning: Just like in the episode with Isaac we see the reality of the situation. A man loses his mate and subsequently shows us how to live by faith in loss. Model of how to live by faith in the midst of loss.

2 The spiritual meaning: The second thing that is running through the web and woof of this story is a metaphor of how Christians are to live in hope. Metaphor of the hope of resurrection in his actions. Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Kiriath-arba that is Hebron. Joshua 15:13 Arba is called the father of Anak. The Anakim were a tall or gigantic tribe. Probably Hittites. Abraham had been absent from this area which was then called Mamre. Around 40 years have past. During the interval Arba apparently took control. While on the way Sarah died. Must have known she was dying and moved her from the land of the Philistines. Or else they had gone back there late in life. For us this was a small thing. For the Jews this became huge. This piece of land was the basis to their claim to the Promised Land. Lets track the deal: Verse 5 - 6 notice the esteem of Abraham. They were saying take the best and you deserve it. His reputation was very high. Verses 7-8 Abraham insisted on buying it. Verse 9 He chose the cave at Machpelah. Verses 10-11 the shrewd negotiator wanted to dump the field too. Abraham agreed to buy both. Verses 12-13. Ephron suggests a price. A subtle way of quoting the price. Here we see something of the ancient way of dickering. This will later aid in understanding the negotiation of Balsam with Balk. Verse 16 very expensive. Abe weighed it out. Money was not standard. Measured by weight. This is the first mention of a shekel. Very important that Abraham paid for this land. This would be a standard. The caves of Machpelah are in the city of Hebron. Beneath a Muslim Mosque. Third most important Mosque in Islam behind Mecca and the dome of the Rock. Abrahams burying place is at Hebron, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem . . . After we went in, we looked through a little hole in the floor and down into the cave where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are all supposed to be buried. (Rachel is buried at Bethlehem.) Notice the repetition of verses 17-20. This sounds like a legal document. It is. Were deeded over. . . witnessed too by the sons of Heth, and all in the city. . . Describes it again. Repeats, were deeded over to Abraham. The point of this powerful little vignette is that Abrahams purchase of the burial plot sealed the promise for the land. Bought. Paid for. The descendants would come to reclaim it.

I. The Model of Faith

Abraham in his grief needs to bury her and in his actions models faith. Verse 3 Sons of Heth were in control of the land. Heth is a Hittite name. So this is an engagement with Hittites. Three great promises: legacy, land, and influence. The legacy was the son, Isaac. Father of a multitude. The Land was Canaan. The Influence you shall be a blessing.

This section deals with the promise of land. J. Vernon McGee, asked, Why didnt he take Sarah somewhere else to bury her? It is because the hope they have of the future is in that land. What he was doing even in the midst of the pain of loss was saying, the time has come to stake my claim. This will be the land of my people. I will buy into the region. His hope was to one day be resurrected together with Sarah from this land. He was also leaving a legacy to God. Lord, even though Ive lost my most precious possession I cling to your promise and here make it good.

In the midst of personal pain and grief God still moves to seal his plan. Faith in the future in the hopeless moment.

II. The Metaphor of Hope.

God weaves into the story a promise for us. Nation of Israel is a type. They are us. The way that God dealt with them is a picture of how he deals with you. For example: Joshua is the man who followed Moses and led the children to the Promised Land. His name? Same as Jesus. Taking the people to the Promised Land. Back up in the story and Abraham becomes a type of Christ. Buying the hope of eternal life. Verse 4. Stranger and so-journer. The point was that he was just passing through. There is a Messianic connotation. Remember the reply of Christ when the young man came to follow him.[20] And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." He lived without land. Point was that his home lay elsewhere. For us there is a similar calling. 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers. . .

3 Carl and Pauline were a lifelong love. And when Pauline died it was as if a part of Carl went with her. One day I saw him walking and asked how it was going. He said, Another week is gone. For four or five years he marked time. But it wasnt despair at the thought of never seeing Pauline again. Just the emptiness of the moment. Faith pushed him through. ill. . . Vance Havner quote, God hasten the day when there will be no more sea!

A. We see our lives as transitory.

This is not our place. Dont fall in love with the scenery. 2CO 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

B. We See the seed of land a hope for the future.

This becomes a type for us to follow. John 14: our place is eternal. And we see this figure in the way God promised land. Just as the purchase of the land symbolized our future so Jesus work in Glory promises us a better life. And that will empower us to live with faith: