This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of an exposition of Genesis 22 by Grant Gains from Sunday May 11, 2008.

Two of the themes that run through Genesis in general and the history of Abraham in particular are the themes of seed and land. God promised Abraham that he would father a great nation and that he would possess a foreign land. In Genesis 23, we learn something about Abraham’s faith and the promise of the land. Abraham finds himself living in a cursed land among cursed men, and yet he faithfully buys a portion of the land that he will inherit.

Genesis 23:1- 2 says, “Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.” The longevity of Sarah may amaze us, but we must remember that it was a tragically early death because she, just like us, was made to live forever. The fact that Sarah dies is a reminder of the curse that came on mankind and the land that he should have filled and ruled over (Gen. 3). Also, this occurs in the land of Canaan, who had a further curse called down upon himself (Gen. 9:24-25). There is no doubt that Abraham finds himself in a cursed land. Not only is he in a cursed land, but he is among a cursed people. The Hittites were the direct descendants of Ham through his son Canaan (Gen. 10:15-17).

Despite the fact that Abraham is in a cursed land with cursed men, he acts in faith and buys the cave of Machpelah with a portion of the land from Ephron the Hittite in order to bury Sarah. This theme of the land runs throughout scripture. In Genesis 1:28, God blesses mankind and tells them to fill and subdue the earth/land. However, man fails and brings the curse upon himself (Gen. 3). Noah holds promise, but he also fails. God does something interesting with Abraham. He takes responsibility for the covenant and the promises made. When Genesis 23 was written, the Israelites were preparing to enter the cursed land still held by cursed people. Eventually, Israel would enjoy a kind of dominion under the rule of David and Solomon, but that also faded to the point that they were cast out the land into exile because of their sin (Jer. 27). However, there was still hope. In Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah acts in faith the way Abraham does in Genesis 23, he buys a portion of land even though the nation is going into exile.

The hopes of the OT are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus enters a land that is cursed and under the rule of cursed men as well. However, we soon learn that the real enemy is the serpent of old. In Matthew 4, the serpent tempts Jesus and offers to give him the kingdoms of the world. Throughout his ministry, Jesus wages war on a different front than his followers expect. Jesus does take the land back and defeat his enemies, but he does it by taking the curse on himself (Gal. 3:10-14). Jesus now rules from heaven, and we know that he will take full possession of the land in the future and we will rule with him (Rev. 2:26).

However we have a present focus when it comes to the land as well. How are we to take possession of the land now? We must focus on the seed rather than the land. A story that illustrates and teaches this point is the story of the rich young ruler (Matt. 19). The young ruler would have been a prime candidate for the kingdom agenda if the focus were on land and possessions. However, he goes away dismayed because he cannot sell his possessions. The disciples, however, left everything to follow Jesus, and Jesus promised they would inherit much more (Matt. 19:27-30).

Therefore, we have at least to points of application when it comes to the land and acting with the same kind of faith that Abraham had in Genesis 23. First, our primary focus must be on making disciples and seeing people become part of Abraham’s seed through faith in Jesus Christ. Second, we must forsake taking the land now knowing that we will possess all things later. The faith of Abraham inspires hope in us. We know that the cave that holds Sarah and the grave that will hold us if the Lord does not come first will one day be a small portion of our possession. In Christ, we will have victory over the cursed land.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 23.

~TWM