Previous post: Genesis 22
Here we find the story of Abraham purchasing the only land he would ever own in the land that was promised to him. The death of his wife compelled him to purchase this plot. A couple of takeaways here:
First, it was important that this land was bought with a price. This conveyed legal title to Abraham in perpetuity. This is interesting, because Abraham was an immigrant who had been nomadically living in this area for some 62 years.
Let’s look at this place. Hebron.
This is the area that Moses would send the spies, including—Joshua and Caleb—into to check out the land (Numbers 13). Joshua eventually conquers it in Joshua 10, gives it to Caleb in Joshua 14, allots it to Caleb’s tribe of Judah in Joshua 21 and specifically allots the city of Hebron to the Levites. We see Hebron again in 2 Samuel 2 when David is anointed king there. It becomes the capital city for King David’s kingdom. So, Hebron’s geography carries a ton of significance. In addition to being the location of the tomb of the patriarchs, it’s the key city of the tribe of Judah (out of which the savior of the world would come), city of priests and kings. So, it’s a geographical triumvirate of allusions to Christ. The name Hebron itself means “joining” or “alliance” as in God joining man or God’s alliance with man. Jews inhabited Hebron until 1100 when expelled by crusaders, reestablished a presence a hundred or so years later, and remained there until 1929 when they fled from Muslim persecution. Then, following the Six-Day War in 1967, the Jewish community was re-established there. The city has been a hotbed for violence throughout history. A church was built over the tomb of the patriarchs (source: Wikipedia). This church has been remade into a mosque then a church again a couple times. The location is still a source of much fighting and conflict to this day.
It is interesting that this first relatively tiny plot of land in the so-called promised land was not given to Abraham but had to be purchased by him. And, it was purchased not for living, but for burying the dead. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah, and Leah would later join Sarah here. According to Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve are also buried here (source: https://hebron.org.il/en/adam-and-eve-in-hebron/).
When I think through the general theme of the Old Testament: physical realities representing spiritual truths, what is God trying to show us here?
For one, it’s significant that the first foray into receiving the promised land of God was a burying of the dead. In fact, it was purchasing the place where Abraham would one day be buried as well. For Sarah, this would be her first permanent residence in the promised land: in her own grave. For me, that’s the picture here. Our entrance into the promised land starts with our burial. Death is the first step to permanent residence into the land God has promised us: a life infused with peace and joy. It is important to note that a life of peace and joy does not equate to a life of worldly prosperity or power or health or success….but a life a peace and joy no matter what life brings. In America, we’ve mostly been taught that permanent residence in a life of peace and joy begins with our success…our triumph. Modernity teaches us that a life of peace and joy begins with our personal conquering of demons or mastering some skill or building a perfect relationship. But, the Bible teaches something very different. It teaches a counterintuitive idea: that residence in a life of peace and joy begins not with our achievement, but with a death. A death to our self. A death to the idea that we can fix things on our own. And in that death, we find life. We find the promised land.
This week’s AI rap summary: