Glory to God

Author: Joseph

Date: April 1, 2018

After many years of sojourning, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were becoming weary in their old age. As they were passing through the land of Hebron, Sarah died.

"God’s promise still required that Abraham obtain his inheritance rightfully..."

Abraham needed a place to bury Sarah, and so he asked a group of Canaanites if he could have the cave that belonged to Ephron the Hittite. When God had previously made a covenant with Abraham, He told him, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite…” (Genesis 15:18-20). This meant that all the land of the Hittites already belonged to Abraham’s descendants. God’s promise still required that Abraham obtain his inheritance rightfully, in a way that God would be glorified.

Abraham offers to buy the cave from Ephron the Hittite, but Ephron states that he will freely give the field and the cave to Abraham to bury Sarah. Abraham, as a sign of respect and appreciation, bows, but then again says that he will only accept the land if he is allowed to buy it from him.

Abraham knew that accepting the land without purchasing it would have allowed him to obtain the land, but it would have also taken away from his legitimacy as its owner. Land not obtained through a purchase was not permanently owned and could be taken away by the one giving it if they chose to do so. Abraham knew that God’s promise of inheriting the land meant that he had to own the land rightfully and give no one else claim to what belonged to him through God’s promise.

Abraham had to stay blameless before man, so that he could inherit God’s promise to its fullness and bring glory to God. Abraham purchased the land from Ephron and the land becomes his, for a high price, but nevertheless, the land is rightfully gained.

What might seem to be the easiest way of fulfilling God’s promise may not be the way God wants to fulfill His promise in your life. God wants the glory for the works that He does in your life and will not share glory that rightfully belongs to Him. Are you trying to fulfill God’s promise in your life in a way that does not bring Him glory or that lessens the glory due to Him alone?

Bible Passage: Genesis 23:1-20

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org

Photo Credit: Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay.com.