The span of Sarah's life was one hundred and twenty-seven years. She died in Kiriatharba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham performed the customary mourning rites for her.
Then he left the side of his dead one and addressed the Hittites: "Although I am a resident alien among you, sell me from your holdings a piece of property for a burial ground, that I may bury my dead wife."
After the transaction, Abraham buried his wife Sarah
in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
Many people buy their burial plots well in advance of their death, and they often prefer a lot in their home town. Their family is buried there and they want to go back, although they spent many years and raised their children elsewhere.
When Abraham buried his wife Sarah in Canaan he didn't return to their native "Ur of the Chaldees." Instead he negotiated with the resident Hittites for a "a piece of property" in the land of Canaan. He was an alien among them, probably with foreign features and a foreign accent. But he was respected for his wealth and he had been there a long time, so they permitted it.
The Lord had promised Abraham that his descendants would own the country some day. I don't suppose he told the Hittites about that. That particular Word of God would not be fulfilled for many centuries, and they didn't need to know.
But with that singular religious ceremony he established a kind of toehold in this foreign land, so far from his native place and his father's house. Sarah's children would never forget where their ancestress was buried, even after an exile of four hundred years in Egypt.
Current events have reminded us that humanity has been migrating for hundreds of thousands of years. Intelligent, resourceful, adaptable: humans move readily to find safe places to raise their children, because -- paradoxically -- human infants are entirely, pathetically helpless. We cannot survive unless we move away from war, famine, disease, and poverty. Although a tribe or nation may be rooted to one spot for centuries, when conditions change we move. Often to a territory that is already occupied.
Migrants meet resistance, of course, from the locals who don't like change, who have forgotten the migrations of their ancestors. But the "aliens," welcome or not, legal or not, will settle in the new country as they bury their dead, intermarry, and raise children. And then, their children become natives.
This mixing of races, cultures, languages and religions is also vital to our survival. The Bible has known that since the days of Abraham, and People of the Bible remember.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.