February 26, 2026

In Genesis 23 Sarah passes away and is buried. Aside from the grief Abraham must have felt, three thoughts come to me.

He mentions to the children of Heth that he is a stranger in the land with them. While the purpose of this is to say he doesn't have burial land, I can't help but imagine the weight of how much more a stranger he must feel given Sarah's passing. Sarah, who elevated him, who went through immense trials with him, who made covenants with the Lord with him, Abraham without Sarah just doesn't feel right. He must have felt so alone, a stranger.

What's beautiful is how his kin treat him during his grief. When he asks if he can obtain burial land from them they tell him to pick anywhere because he is a mighty prince among them. This could easily be read as they obliged out of respect for his elevated status, but I wonder if it's more covenant related. The footnotes say "a prince of God". This makes me think of the temple. They could have been saying "we are heirs of God by covenant, and through consecration we will give you land to bury Sarah".

I also love the example Ephron shows is of ministering - comforting those who stand in need of comfort - my the way he treats Abraham in offering him the land and saying forget about the money. "What is it betwixt us?" Sounds a lot like an eternal perspective and Christlike love.