Among the Hittites: Genesis 23:3-16
When God calls us into relationship, He does it knowing our witness affects how people see Him as well. There are people in the world who don’t believe in God because they see so little in those who claim to follow Him. There are other people in the world who find God because of the characteristics they see in those who follow Him. Jesus Himself tells us that the world will know us by our love for one another.
Once Abraham finishes mourning, he goes among the Hittites to find a place sufficient for Sarah’s burial. This is one of the hardships of being a nomad. Since Abraham moved around and let his flocks graze wherever the grass was green, he didn’t have a place capable of serving as the family burial plot. He goes to the Hittites to purchase some ground.
Abraham says he wants to bury Sarah out of sight. This isn’t meant as an insult. As a nomad, Abraham moved around. There wasn’t a need to bury Sarah in sight. They wouldn’t be able to take Sarah with them every time they moved.
There’s a deeper point to be made. Abraham didn’t put down roots to a particular locale. Abraham didn’t settle down and depend on the resources a particular place had to offer. Abraham understood life is best lived depending on God’s provision. Life is more than where we live.
Sarah may be dead, but her memory goes with Abraham wherever he goes. Sarah’s body may rest in the tomb, but she continues to live in his heart. Sarah may not walk with Abraham again, but Sarah does walk with God. Abraham needs a place to show his respect for the dead, but he isn’t making a shrine.
To this end, Abraham goes among the Hittites to find Ephron. Abraham indicates he is interested in the cave of Machpelah. Ephron comes forward and the business transaction begins. Ephron says he will give Abraham the field and the cave. Ephron isn’t trying to give the field and the cave to Abraham, and Abraham knows it. Ephron is indicating that if Abraham wants the cave, he’ll need to buy the field as well. Abraham hears Ephron’s offer and agrees to be interested in the field as well as the cave. He completes the worldly deal and purchases the field and the cave honorably before the Hittites.
This explains why the Hittites tell Abraham they respect him and consider him a prince of God among them. They may not worship God as Abraham does, but through Abraham’s honorable dealings with them they have come to appreciate the values of God. Through Abraham, the Hittites see the morality and ethic God has been teaching Abraham. Abraham’s witness living among the Hittites speaks not only to Abraham’s character but also to God’s. When God calls us into relationship, He does it knowing our witness affects how people see Him as well.
