Summary of Roland's Sermon: Coping with death (Genesis 23) This sermon focuses on Genesis 23 and explores the themes of faith, God's promises, and perseverance even in the face of difficulty. Context: Follows the story of Abraham being tested by God, where he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22). Chapter 23 bridges a 20-year gap with little explanation of what happened during that time. Key Points: God's faithfulness: Even though there seems to be a pause in God's plan, He is still working behind the scenes. Abraham's faith: Despite loss and unanswered questions, Abraham continues to trust God's promises. Sarah's legacy: Though not perfect, Sarah plays a vital role in God's plan as the future mother of nations. (Galatians 3:29) The importance of faith: Examples of Abraham and Sarah's faith are given to illustrate the importance of believing in God's promises, even when things seem difficult. (Hebrews 11:11) Abraham's purchase of the field: Symbolic of claiming the promised land, even though it wouldn't be fully his in his lifetime. Demonstrates his belief that God would keep His promises to him and his descendants. Death and the Christian Hope: Death is not the end for believers. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) Christians have the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) Core Message: God is faithful and keeps His promises, even when we can't see how. We are called to live by faith, trusting in Him even in the midst of life's challenges. Bible References: Genesis 18:14 Genesis 22 Genesis 23 Galatians 3:29 Hebrews 11:11 John 3:16 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 Transcript Is that better? I agreed to do this a few months ago and then I looked at it, I just gulped and I thought, well, it's probably one of the shortest chapters in Genesis, Genesis chapter 23. And it's basically the death of Sarah, that's Abraham's wife. Then Abraham buys a field with a cave in it and then he buries his wife. And that's it. I think there's a little bit more to it than that and we're going to find out. I do like the scriptural accounts of people in the Bible because it just tells you everything about them, the good points, the failures, the difficulties. And we have, I think chapter 23 in my mind is a bit of a transition chapter because it's all about Abraham and Sarah. And it's all about God's promises to Abraham. And of course his main promise is that Abraham and Sarah would have a son called Isaac and through Isaac all the nations of the earth would be blessed. We're going to come to look at that in a moment. Chapter 22 is from what you heard last week from Andy was about Abraham being tested, God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. And it's difficult to get your head around this. The promise of God is that he would give them a son, Isaac, and the covenant, that agreement that God had made between himself and his people would be that Isaac would be the means of the blessing of God upon the earth. And yet he asks him to sacrifice his son and he went through all that yesterday. We come to chapter 23 and in effect there's a leap forward in time. There's about 20 years gap. There's nothing said what's happened in that 20 years. It's estimated that Isaac would be in his late teens and then it goes silent. What is happening? Has God gone off for a nap, a break? Has God gone away? And it just struck me that whilst there are gaps, life goes on. God is still at work whether you see it or not, whether you feel it or not, even though it feels like you're not working is working. Yeah, even when we don't see that you're working is still working. And chapter 23 in effect is a bit of a transition as I've said. It's from Abraham and Sarah and now with Sarah's death there is going to be a transition from Abraham to Isaac. We'll read in that in the next chapters. Very little is said about the nature circumstances of Sarah's death. Sometimes death comes unexpectedly through accident or some other cause or through a period of prolonged illness and decline. But we're not told anything about that. The scripture is very, very scant on that. It simply says in chapter 23, we'll read chapter 23 and then we'll get into this. So it says this, Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Abba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead. The Hittites replied to Abraham, sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead. It just struck me as I was reading this, the choicest of our tombs. You know, the choicest of wine, the choicest of fair food. The choicest of our tombs. Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said ...
