September 8, 2026; Genesis 23

Daily Dose of Hope September 8, 2026   Scripture:  Genesis 23   Prayer:  Abba Father, We come to you today in awe of your love for us.  Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice.  Thank you for sitting high and looking low.  We give you all the glory and praise, Lord Jesus.  Help us to be less selfish and more like you.  On our own, we mess it up.  We need you, Jesus.  We need you minute by minute.  Guide our thoughts today, Lord.  Guide our words and guide our actions.  May we look more like you today, Lord, than we did yesterday.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  We are currently working our way through the book of Genesis and today we are looking at Genesis 23.   This chapter details the death of Sarah and Abraham's grieving.  We get a picture of how the ancient Hebrews buried and mourned for their deceased.  Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is recorded, so that tells us something about her – she is very highly regarded.    Abraham, very appropriately, grieves deeply for his wife.  Then, he has to figure out where to bury her.  He has a place in mind, the cave of Machpelah.  It was located in the land belonging to Ephron the Hittite. In his travels around Canaan, Abraham had earlier lived in this area and there built an altar to God (chapter 13). He knew this cave and was willing to pay for it.    They do this weird negotiation.  In those times and in that culture, it was appropriate to first offer the plot for free, knowing that the purchaser would refuse that.  Then, there would be back and forth negotiation.  We can see this in the Scripture.  Abraham ends up getting the burial cave for 400 shekels of silver.  I read a few articles that this was a real rip-off, but Abraham was wealthy and he wanted the land.  He would have paid any price for it.  Remember, eventually, all the land was to become Abraham's.  But for this small piece, Abraham actually possessed a deed.   So, Sarah is buried there.  This is also where Abraham's son buries him.  It's where Isaac and Rebekah are buried, where Jacob buries Leah, and where Joseph buries Jacob.  It is often called the Cave of the Patriarchs. Blessings, Pastor Vicki