By age 137 Abraham was a highly respected figure in Hebron, viewed by the locals as “a mighty prince,” Genesis 23:5. So when it came to finding a burial place for his wife Sarah, who’d just died at age 127 (1), Abraham could have pushed the ‘mighty prince’ bit to get the spot he wanted.
Instead he went in person to the sons of Heth (the Hittites), opening the negotiation process for a burial spot by humbly admitting he was “a foreigner and a stranger” in Canaan (3-4). It was a good place to begin the process, because the sons of Heth had more than bragging rights to that whole area of Canaan. Their father was Canaan himself, Noah’s grandson, so they could rightfully claim that land by ancestral birthright. Abraham could have got snippy in return, though, claiming the great God himself had promised that entire land of Canaan to him (17:8).
So things could have turned nasty, but Abraham’s blunders with king Abimelech in chapters 20 and 21 had taught him the value of mutual respect and the softly, softly approach in tricky situations. Not only, then, did he admit to being a mere stranger to the sons of Heth, he also “bowed down” before them (7). In two ways, then, he placed himself in a lower position to them, or as Paul might have put it, “in humility he esteemed them as better than himself” (Philippians 2:3).
And when offered the chance by the sons of Heth to “bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs” (6), Abraham came back with “If you are willing” – or “If it’s fine with you” – when making his request in verse 8. It was all very respectful and amicable on Abraham’s part, tuning himself to the Hittites’ culture and customs, and their rights as landowners.
And when offered his choice of burial spot for free (11), we now see Abraham’s respectful attitude as being totally genuine, because again he “bowed down before the people of the land” (12), and again if it was fine with them, he’d very much like to pay the going price in full (13).
I suppose one could say, “Well, that’s just how they did things back then, bargaining back and forth.” But this was different, because God had called Abraham to be a blessing to people (12:2), and that, clearly, was at the forefront of his mind in his dealings with the people around him. He wanted everything above board, in the presence of witnesses too (16, 18), just like his offspring one day who would also “be spotless and blameless and at peace with both God and man,” 2 Peter 3:14. But, like Abraham would we also, therefore, experience “A life of blessing in every way”?….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 