Genesis 23:4-20 NKJV “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” (5) And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, (6) “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” (7) Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. (8) And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, (9) that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” (10) Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, (11) “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” (12) Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; (13) and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” (14) And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, (15) “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” (16) And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants. (17) So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded (18) to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. (19) And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. (20) So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
This is the Word of the Lord, Amen?
- Sarah is dead. She is not coming back.
- Abraham has mourned and wept for her, but now it is time to deal with the burial.
- Business must be done. Life must go on.
- If you are new to Christian Life Church, welcome! My name is Pastor Christian Shields and we preach through Scripture here!
- We just so happen to be going through the book of Genesis.
- Last week we talked about Abraham mourning the loss of his wife, Sarah.
- The Lord helped us realize that it is ok to mourn… in fact, love demands mourning.
- But the Word also taught us that at some point we have to get up from mourning and get back to the work the Lord has for us.
- Abraham has mourned for his dead, but now he get’s to work.
- What we just read this morning is the business dealings between Abraham and these Canaanites known as the sons of Heth.
- Abraham needed a place to bury his wife’s body, and he had a certain place in mind.
- Abraham wanted the cave of Machpelah may not sound familiar… and it shouldn’t, this is the first time it is mentioned in scripture… but it is the field that the cave of Machpelah is in that should sound familiar.
Genesis 23:17-18 NKJV So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded (18) to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
- Mamre! Now that place should sound familiar, this is a favorite place of Abrahams!
- When Lot and Abraham separated in Genesis 13, Lot chose the plains by Sodom and Gomorrah, but Abraham chose to dwell amongst the Terebinth trees of Mamre.
- It was here that Abrahm was living when Lot was captured by Chedorlaomer… Scriputure says that someone who escaped fled to Mamre and found Abraham there.
- It was here that Abraham was dwelling, in the shade of the Terebinth trees of Mamre, that Jesus himself appeared to Abraham and confirmed his covenant with him.
- In the tent, under the Terebinth trees of Mamre, Sarah had laughed, not believing that she could have a child at her old age.
- Mamre had been a place of rest, a place of lodging, and a place of worship for Abraham and Sarah.
- God had changed history there! Miracles had happened there! And Abraham had spent much time there.
- I would suspect that Abraham could see the cave of Machpelah from his tent in Mamre, and he would have at some point thought to himself “That would make a great burial place for me and my family”.
- Abraham wanted Mamre, he wanted the Teribenth trees, he wanted the cave to bury his dead… So Abraham decided to make a deal.
- The art of the Christian deal… not just the art of the deal, as some have published books about… deals can easily favor one side… deals can be made through deception and trickery. Deals can defraud and scam people… even failing all of that, deals can seem fair on the surface, but still fail to live up to the high standards that Christ has called us to.
- Thus as Christians we ought not to care about the art of the deal, but we ought to care about the art of the Christian deal… we ought to view all of our business dealings, whether it be buying a pack of gum at the dollar general or buying acres of land from a realator… we ought to look at these deals through a Christian worldview and behave Christlike through them all.
- And I think in the verses we read this morning we see Abraham dealing business in a very Godly and Christlike manner.
- Let’s pray
- Now I want to point something out before we get started here… because we are going to be talking about how Christians should conduct business… but I want to point something out…
- Listen church: Abraham WANTED something. And that is ok.
- It is not sinful to have a moderate desire for something.
- If you want to buy a Nintendo Switch 2, that’s ok! You can desire that without sinning.
- If you want a new car, that is ok, you can desire that without sinning.
- If you want to buy a new house, that is ok, you can desire that without sinning.
- Abraham had a desire to buy land to own and to bury Sarah in, he loved this land, it was good land, he had good memories there, he wanted it… and that is ok.
- A moderate desire to obtain things you want by fair and honest means is not the same thing as coveting the things of your neighbor’s.
- Coveting your neighbors wife is a sin… plotting on how you will steal her away, as David did with Uriah’s wife… but saying “That is something I want, and I shall acquire it fairly and justly” there is nothing unchristian or unfair about that.
- OK, that is important for the rest of the sermon, we are not a poverty minded church, but we are a CHRIST minded church… you guys with me?
- So let’s talk about the Art of the Christian Deal…
- Now if you are well off and have done financially well in life… this sermon may have some parts that are hard to hear.
- And if you have struggled financially… then for you also, this sermon may have some hard to hear parts for you.
- And, well, if you are firmly in the middle class, well, then ALL of this sermon is probably going to be a little tough to swallow, without the help of the Holy Spirit…
- Basically what I am saying is that this sermon goes against American norms, and as Americans, regardless of class… there are things we need to hear this morning… Y’all ready for this? Praise God, let’s get into our four points this moring!
- The Art of the Christian Deal
- Point One – Abstain From Stealing
- Point Two – Humility Goes Farther than Pride
- Point Three – Have a Low Opinion of Wealth
- Point Four – Do Business Openly and Above Board
- Alright church, lets dive in with point one, abstain from stealing…
Point One – Abstain From Stealing
Genesis 23:11-13 NKJV “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” (12) Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; (13) and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”
- Abstain From Stealing…
- Now I know what you are thinking “We all know Exodus 20:15 Pastor you don’t have to tell us…” right? (If someone says Amen, jokingly ask them to quote it).
Exodus 20:15 NKJV “You shall not steal.
- It’s the eighth commandment!
- And I know, you are all astute Bible students who are passionately in love with Jesus who would never steal anything in your life… but may I suggest that stealing has become such a large part of American culture that you may not even know you are doing it?
- This point isn’t about “don’t go into Walmart and steal a bunch of electronics” (But don’t do that, Deacon Josh will catch you and it will be awkward…)
- I expect most of us know that is wrong, we have a conscience that tells us that it is wrong even before we become Christians… but what about in other areas of life… other areas of business…
- Let’s first examine how Abraham could have stolen in this situation.
- First, Abraham had stayed in this field many times before… never seemed to be a problem.
- He could have probably just buried Sarah there without asking… after all, it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission? Right?
- No harm no foul right?
- Nobody’s gonna know… how would they know?”
- But he didn’t… he didn’t take what didn’t belong to him, even if no one would know… EVEN if no one would care… because THAT’S STEALING.
- But guys… THIS LAND IS A PART OF THE LAND THAT WAS PROMISED TO ABRAHAM!
- It is going to be a part of his families inheritance… now we know from scripture this doesn’t happen until after Abraham dies… but Abraham had faith that it was indeed his inheritance… so surely he has some kind of claim to this land, right?
- No! Abraham knows it is not his yet… it belongs to the sons of Heth… it belongs to Ephron… and so Abraham goes to talk to him…
- And look what happens… Ephron offers this land to Abraham for FREE!!!!
Genesis 23:11 NKJV “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”
- So case closed… right? Abrahm can and SHOULD take this field for free, right?
- No sin here, right‽
- But he doesn’t… he pays for the field…
Genesis 23:16 NKJV And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
- ABRAHAM YOU FOOL! WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY…
- Or is it?
- What you might not know is that in ancient culture it was customary to offer something for free to a friend…
- But it was also understood that you DO NOT take this offer.
- This is similar culture in many eastern countries today… try to offer to pay for something in Singapore… they will say “No”… you have to offer three times before the person ACTUALLY believes you are offering to pay… the first two times are just being polite and it would be rude for you to say yes… this was a frustrating lesson for us Americans to learn.
- So it was in Abrahams time… Now Abraham COULD have said yes… he could have rationalized and said “Welp, he offered it to me”… but if he would have taken that field for free… he would have been abusing a cultural norm… and he would have knowingly gained that field dishonestly.
Proverbs 10:2 NIV Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.
Jeremiah 17:10-11 NIV “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (11) Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools.
- Listen… if you go to Walmart and buy a bunch of stuff, and you get to the car and realize they forgot to ring something up… or something rang up for WAY less than it should of… THAT IS NOT A BLESSING… THAT IS A TEST.
- If you got something that you didn’t pay for, and you were supposed to pay for it… and you drive off knowing FULL AND WELL that you were supposed to pay for it… YOU STOLE THAT THING. Christians should abstain from stealing.
- If you are selling your car and you know the transmission is bad… but you sell it “as is” and some sap comes along and asks you “How’s it run” and you say “Yeah, I mean I am selling it as is… but I think it runs great”.
- No you don’t think it runs great! You liar! You want him to buy your lemon… and if he does buy it, legally you are in the clear… it was sold as is… he has no legal recourse…
- But in God’s eyes, you stole that persons money, by tricking him into buying a lemon. Christians should abstain from stealing.
- In any business deal, be it buying gum or buying land or anything in between… you make sure you pay what you are supposed to pay, and that you charge what is fair… we are Christians we don’t need to be dishonest to be blessed, we don’t need to steal to have wealth… We are Chrisitan’s and we make Christian deals amen‽
- Now that brings me to point two… humility goes farther than pride.
Point Two – Humility Goes Farther Than Pride
Genesis 23:4-7 NKJV “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
- Look at the way Abraham approaches this business deal… He introduces himself as a foreigner… a lowly sojourner…
- He could have said “I am the CHOSEN one of God! Slayer of kings! Ruler of nations! WHERE ARE THE SONS OF HEATH‽ I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER! GIVE ME THIS FIELD!
- But he didn’t, he came with humility.
- Here is a life pro-tip from your pastor… NO ONE WANT’S TO HELP A KAREN… Everyone LOVES to make the Karen squirm… to push her buttons…
- On the flip side, everyone wants to help the kind and humble person.
- “But pastor I might get taken advantage of if I don’t show strength, pride, and cunning when I do business” yeah maybe… maybe when you enter a board room you should find the biggest guy there and beat him up to exert dominance!
- Or… maybe God’s ways are better than our ways…
- Abraham introduces himself humbly… but look how they respond…
Genesis 23:6 NKJV “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”
- Abraham says “I am just a wanderer, a stranger” and they greet him with “Hear us my Lord” and “You are a mighty prince among us”.
- They already knew Abraham! His kindness, goodness, and great deeds had already been known amongst the land.
- Had Abraham been a tyrant, a jerk, a real piece of work… I wonder how this deal would have gone down… But Abraham was a generous, humble man… and humility goes farther than pride
Proverbs 11:25 The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.
- No one wants to help a Karen… and by the way, no one wants to help a groveling mess either…
- Abraham was just that day weeping over his wife… he could have came to Ephrone and been like *Weeping and hysterical* “EPHRON… OH EPHRONE… YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN MAKE THIS BETTER… PLEASE YOU MUST HELP ME… MY POOR WIFE… PLEASE… WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”.
- Listen as a pastor I get the sobber begging for money often… they weep and they cry and they tell me their life’s story like they are applying to be on American Idol “Pastor… I have had a hard life ever since I got aids as a baby, and I was blinded when I fought in Vietnam, and my parents sold me for drug money, and my house burnt down last week… and now I just need a few dollars until my disability check comes in”…
- Ok bro… I can see right through that…
- But when people come humbly, people I KNOW… people who I love and have been loved by… when such people in the church come humbly and ask for help… it is easy for me to write them a check…
- Humility goes farther than pride.
- Every business deal you do as a Christian… start with kindness, start with a smile… ask the person how their day is going… CARE ABOUT THEM more than you care about whatever business you need to talk about… and watch how God blesses it.
- I have gotten upgraded on planes.
- I have gotten the best hotel rooms.
- I have even gotten preferential treatment at hospitals… because I am kind, and I speak with a smile, even on the phone… because I love people.
- I remember clearly once, I had a small piece of metal lodge in my eye, and I drove myself to the ER… I walked up to the reception desk with a smile. And I was like “Hey hows it going” and she was like “good!”… and I said praise God… hey I am sorry to bug you, I am sure that there is more important stuff in an emergency room… but I have this piece of metal lodged in my eye… my dad is a Doctor and siad I should DEFINITLY go to the ER… so I am here… do you think someone could see me?”
- This lady was so blown away… she said I was the first smile she had seen from a patient all week! I made her day!
Proverbs 22:4 ESV The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.
- I am telling you, be kind in all your business dealings and it JUST GOES BETTER! Even when you are angry because with a business, it is probably not the cashiers fault… show them love and kindness and watch as they bend over backward to make it right! Humility goes farther than pride.
- Now that brings me to point three this morning, have a low opinion of wealth.
Point Three – Have a Low Opinion of Wealth
Genesis 23:15-16 NKJV “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” (16) And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
- “What is that between you and me?” Ephron asks.
- Abraham agrees, which is why he so readily pays it!
- Neither Ephron nor Abraham seemed to view this money as all that important… they had a low opinion of wealth… a low opinion of worldly wealth that is…
- What kind of wealth are we talking about here though… let’s take a look. The field is worth 400 shekels of silver.
- At this point in history a shekel of silver was worth one days wages… so this field is worth 13 months of wages… most scholars put that at between 65 and 150 thousand dollars… so for the sake of easy math, let’s say the field was worth about 100 thousand dollars.
- What is that between you in me? WELL IT IS 100 THOUSAN DOLLARS THAT IS WHAT IT IS BETWEEN YOU AND ME.
- Now maybe you are thinking “Yeah but Abraham is wealthy so it probably was nothing” and it is true, Abraham was wealthy… but not Elon Musk levels of wealthy… his net worth would be about 5 million in todays money.
- 5 million is rich… but no so rich that 100 thousand doesn’t hurt.
- For example… I would put my net worth at about 50 thousand… when you consider the equity I have in my home, all of my stuff, my vehicle’s but also my debt… I am at about 50K net worth… so 100 thousand dollars hurts Abraham as much as $1,000 hurts me… it is not LIFE CHANGING money… but that still STINGS quit a bit… yet Abraham and Ephron thought “What is money between you and me”… Ephron preferred to take the 100k hit just to stay in Abrahams good graces, but Abraham preferred to take the 100k hit to be honorable in his dealings.
- I remember when Amanda was hit by an uninsured teen driver… Amanda called the cops, then got the drivers information… but before the cops could arrive this young girl fled.
- She promised to pay us the 1000 dollars it was going to cost to fix the car… and frankly I was angry about it and was demanding the money.
- For months we tried to get the money, and for months God worked on my heart…
- Finally we did something crazy, we forgave her and her debt and preached the gospel to her.
- The opportunity to show Christ Like forgiveness was more valuable than a 1000 dollars to Amanda and I… and I now I don’t even have that car… I never think about that car… who cares… but I think about that girl from time to time, and pray for her… I still care about her…
- Have a low opinion of money, don’t let it rule over you… and watch how doing business of any kind just becomes so much less stressful.
- I remember watching a game show where one contestant did really bad… other contestants in this girls position cried and wept and begged for a second chance (which they were never given) but this girl smiled and looked at the judge and said “I don’t mind, I am quite happy with my life”… and I believed her… and it made such an impact on me… man I have too high of an opinion of money… when I feel like I have been taken advantage of or got a bad deal IT EFFECTS ME PERSONALLY… and I need to repent of that…
- It is ok to want things, it is ok to have money, it is ok to use money to buy things you want… that is what Abraham did here… but Money is not Abraham’s master… GOD IS!
Matthew 6:24 ESV “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
- That brings me to my final point and I need to make it quick… do business openly and above board.
Point Four – Do Business Openly and Above Board
Genesis 23:17-18 NKJV So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded (18) to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
- It was deeded to him in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who wen in at the city gate…
- This deal was done openly… there was no back room handshake… there was no wink-wink nudge-nudge…
Proverbs 6:12-13 ESV A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, (13) winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,
- Christian’s don’t do business like that… we don’t make deals with wink’s and nudges and secrete hand signals…
- We do things open and above board, were others can see.
- If you feel like you have to hide your business dealings, THAT IS A RED FLAG THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG.
- Re-examine that deal… make deals that you are not ashamed of other people knowing… trust that God is your provider, not your own business savvy.
- Matthew Henrey, y’all know how I like to quote Matthew Henrey, summarizes Abraham’s business deal like this:
Prudence, as well as justice, directs us to be fair, and open, and above-board, in our dealings. Fraudulent contracts hate the light, and choose to be clandestine; but those that design honestly in their bargains care not who are witnesses to them. – Matthew Henry’s notes on Genesis 23:16-20
- Ok, let’s move on to the conclusion…
Conclusion
- Ok here is the conclusion…. Are you ready for it?
- The Art of the Christian Deal is simple: When you make a deal, behave as a Christian… it’s really that simple.
- When you buy things at a store… be a Christian.
- When you rent a car… be a Christian.
- When you sign a business contract… be a Christian.
- Maybe you own a small business… be a Christian.
- Maybe you run a huge business… be a Christian.
- Maybe the most business you ever do is going to work and getting a paycheck… be a Christian.
- Now if you are not a Christian this morning, let’s fix that… to become a Christian is to be born again…
- Gospel Call
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God.
Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids
2808 Schaeffer DR SW,
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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