God’s Timeline – Part 30
Sarah
Dies
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
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SERMON INTRODUCTION (2021 A.D. = 5781 Jewish
Calendar Year)
o Adam, Eve, and the Fall
-
Cain and Abel
o Evil Fills the World
-
Noah Did All God Commanded
Him
o The Flood 2400 – 2300 B.C.)
o God’s Covenant with Noah
-
Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin
-
Nations of Noah’s Sons
-
Tower of Babel
-
God calls Abram (2112 B.C.)
o Abram and Lot part ways
o Rescue of Lot
-
The Lord’s Covenant with
Abram for Isaac
o Hagar and Ishmael Born (2101 B.C.) Abram 86 years old
o Sarai and Isaac
-
The Three Visitors
-
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
-
Birth of Isaac (2088 B.C. Abraham 99 years old Sarah 90-Hagar and
Ishmael sent away)
-
The Lord tests Abraham (2070-2068 B.C. Isaac 18-20 years old)
-
Sarah Dies 127 years old
(2051 B.C. Abraham is 136)
-
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 23
“Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2
She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham
went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to
the Hittites. [descendants
of Heth]
He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for
a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “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.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the
land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my
dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9
so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the
end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site
among you.”
10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he
replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate
of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give [should have been sell] you the field,
and I give [sell] you the cave
that is in it. I give [sell] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13
and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay
the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land
is worth four hundred shekels [approximately $4,200 in 2021] of silver, but
what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him
the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of
silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field
and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was
deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who
had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in
the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land
of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the
Hittites as a burial site.”
I.
WHY IS THE DEATH OF SARAH RECORDED IN SCRIPTURE FOR
US?
a. I believe there are a few
lessons here
i.
We
see Abraham’s “test” in the previous chapter (approximately 17 years before
Sarah’s death) was a success and the Lord had achieved exactly what He set out
too by giving Abraham the test.
1. To grow Abraham making him
spiritually mature
ii.
We
also see a picture of the coming resurrection of all
iii.
And
we see the first and only time a woman’s (Sarah) age, death and burial are
recorded. Abraham and Sarah truly are important as the beginning, the new Adam
and Eve of sorts.
1. Abraham is the father of us all –
Romans 4:6
2. Sarah is the mother of us all – 1 Peter 3:6
b. Without Genesis chapter 23,
22 would remain a mystery
i.
It
would not make much sense for the Lord to tell Abraham to do something, then
prevent him from doing it.
c. Reading Genesis chapter 23
may seem uneventful without understanding Abraham’s faith
i.
We
read many chapters before Genesis 22
where Abraham had little faith.
ii.
We
read as Sarah and Abraham took the promise of the Lord into their own hands,
trying to fulfill the promise in the flesh instead of having faith and trusting
in the Lord to do what He promised.
iii.
This
all lead up to the reasoning for what took place in Genesis 22
when God tested Abraham
iv.
Now
Genesis 23 is needed to complete the picture for us
1. We need to see that the test
worked for Abraham
2. We need to see that it was
different this time for Abraham and his faith
a. Before the test of Genesis
22, Abraham had faith for a while, then followed his flesh on matters. After
the test, we need to see he no longer trusts in himself, rather the Word of God,
and he now follows the spirit rather than the flesh.
II.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT ABRAHAM’S NEW FAITH?
a.
BEFORE THE TEST
i.
He
still heard from the Lord
ii.
The
Lord still gave Abraham promises
iii.
Abraham
believed and had faith and trust, but it didn’t last
iv.
Eventually,
Abraham would “do” in the flesh instead of hearing the Word of God and doing
“it” – in this case, wait on the Lord for Isaac
b.
AFTER THE TEST
i.
Hears
from the Lord
ii.
Believes
in the promises and has faith and trust in the Lord
iii.
Becomes
a doer of the Word, walking in the Spirit rather than just a hearer who
eventually tires of waiting on the Lord and does in the flesh
iv.
The
contrast of these two positions are shown to us before Genesis 22 and after.
c.
FORESHADOWING WHAT IS TO COME
i.
Genesis 23 also
shows us what is to come
1. We are to hear from the Lord
and have faith and trust in Him and His word
2. We are to walk in the Spirit
being “doers” of His word
3. We also know, the
resurrection is coming!
4. We can have full confidence
in the Lord, His Word, His Spirit, having faith and trust that He WILL do what
He says
a. Not in our timing, but His
b. Not in our understanding,
but His
c. If He says it, it WILL BE
ILLUSTRATION: Sarah died in the Promise
Land. Abraham wants to bury her in land that does not yet belong to him. The
Lord promised that one day ALL of this land would be his.
III.
WHAT CAN WE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS FOR OURSELVES?
a. HOW IS MY FAITH?
i.
You
may hear from the Lord
1. Romans 10:17 - faith comes from hearing
the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
ii.
You
may know what His will is for you in your life
1. Romans 12:1-2 - I appeal to you
therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that
by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect.
iii.
You
may believe
1. James 2:19 - You believe that there is
one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
iv.
But
do you have faith
and trust in Him?
v.
Are
you following His Spirit?
1. Galatians 5:16 - But I say, walk by the
Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
vi.
Are
you a “doer” of His Word?
1. James 1:22 - But be doers of the word,
and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
b. HOW CAN I MAKE IT STRONGER?
i.
You
can spend time in prayer 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, 17 pray
continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for
you in Christ Jesus.”; Matthew 1:6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the
door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is
done in secret, will reward you.”
ii.
You
can spend quiet time with the Lord Luke 5:16 “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”
iii.
You
can read / listen to His Word 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed
out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for
every good work.”
iv.
You
can meditate on His Word Joshua 1:8 “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips;
meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
v.
You
can study His Word 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.”
vi.
You
can fellowship and have conversations about the Word with other believers 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one
another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
vii.
You
can join Bible Studies Hebrews 10:25 “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit
of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day
drawing near.”; Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.”
viii.
Whatever
you decide to do, you MUST DO something! John 13:17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you
do them.”; Luke 11:28 “But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the
word of God and keep it!”
c. HOW CAN I KEEP IT STRONG?
i.
How
do you keep any relationship strong?
ii.
“Teacher,
which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” – Matthew 22:36-38
iii.
And
a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:39
iv.
“Whoever
claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does
not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God,
whom they have not seen” – 1 John 4:20
v.
“Nevertheless
let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and
let the wife see that she respects her husband.” – Ephesians 5:33
vi.
“Whoever
does not love does not know God, because God is love.” – 1 John 4:8
vii.
“No
one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you
will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be
enslaved to money.” – Matthew 6:24
viii.
“Do
not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the
world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.” – 1 John 2:15
ix.
“If
you love me, obey my commandments.” – John 14:15
x.
“Depart
from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” – Psalm 34:14
xi.
“Surely,
Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with
a shield.” – Psalm 5:12
xii.
“Wherefore,
my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13
CONCLUSION –
We may have little faith
when we first find the Lord. If we put our trust in Him, our faith in what the
Word says, if we surrender to Him, walking in the Spirit, the Lord WILL fulfill
His promise IN OUR LIVES.
God is going to do what
He says, regardless of whether or not we have a relationship with Him.
What Christ offers us is
this, to be part of the great reward which IS coming.
If we choose not to
partake in the Lord’s substitutional sacrifice for our forgiveness, if we
refuse to confess our sin and repent, we will not be counted among those who
will receive the promise, rather, we will be weeping and gnashing teeth in
wonder why the Lord God won’t open the gates and let us in!
We are all sinful and
fall short of God’s Glory.
No one but Jesus Christ
Himself kept the commands of Moses.
The Lord promises that
anyone who calls on His name will be saved.
Confess, repent and surrender
to the Lord putting your faith and trust in Him being doers of the Word.
Next week we will learn about Isaac and Rebekah
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