Genesis 23:1-16 (ESV)

Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” The Hittites answered Abraham, “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”

Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” Ephron answered Abraham, “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

This almost reads like Shakespeare. All this pomp and flourish are the diplomacy of that age. Abraham is highly respected by the Hittites and they make a big show of treating him with dignity and grace. He returns the favor, insisting on paying a fair price for the field.

Abraham’s righteousness is starting to show. He’s becoming a classy guy.

One of the scariest aspects of being a Christian is that we’re ambassadors for Christ. We represent the king of kings and the lord of lords. That means staying classy. Our behavior should always be worthy of the one we serve.

And of course it isn’t. Every day, the demerits just pile up. Yet somehow the pink slip never arrives. As laughably unacceptable as we are, we are where we’re supposed to be.

Apparently, the on-the-job training is why. Our growth is more important than our performance.

That’s the trademark of a great boss. Meditate on not taking this for granted. Our “luck” in having such a great God should be celebrated.

That’s the heart of worship.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies