THE LORD SPOKE (January 09)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Genesis 23-24

He could have had it all. It was his by divine right. Abraham had been promised all the land of Canaan. Forever.

The negotiations with the Hittites in Genesis 23 don’t sound extremely amicable. Though they had gathered to make him an offer, by the time the papers were signed it was clear that no one was really very willing to give up any land for a song.

The meeting took place at the city gate, the normal place for judicial matters of this nature. Six different geographical names are used to locate the exact plot. The walled city of Hebron was known as Kiriath Arba at the time (Gen. 23:2). It was located in the land of Canaan (Gen. 23:19). Nearby was a famous stand of oak trees where Abraham had first pitched his tent and built an altar to the Lord (Gen. 13:18). They were apparently named Mamre after one of the other local inhabitants and a friend of Abraham who accompanied him on the expedition against the four kings of Mesopotamia when they attacked the region (Gen. 14:13,24). Abraham was still camped there when the angel of the Lord announced that Sarah would have a child (Gen. 18:1f). Both Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 35:27) lived at the family homestead at some point and eventually all three patriarchs and their wives, with the exception of Rachel, were buried there.

Near the oak trees of Mamre,which belonged to an Amonite, there was a field belonging to Ephron, the Hittite. On the edge of that field was a well-known cave (it had a name of its own) that became even more famous on this occasion. Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah as the burial site for Sarah.

Did you catch that? The one who received the promise of all the land, had to buy a small plot from a foreigner. And he bought it at an exorbitant price. Though the original tender sounded like an open offer, the price of 400 shekels of silver was terribly inflated. Furthermore, a Bedouin nomad was required to purchase a significant parcel of ground along with it when all he needed was a burial cave. Hittite laws stipulated that if a landowner sold only a small part of his land he was still responsible for full taxes on the whole. Ephron insisted on selling “both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field” (Gen. 23:17).

Abraham did not insist on his “rights” nor balk at the unfair conditions. Quietly he closed the deal in the knowledge that God was in control. After seeing how the Lord gave him a son and the promise of many descendants, he wasn’t worried about collecting dirt and stone and trees. In His time, God would provide that too.


New Testament: Matthew 9

Taken with the last chapter, Matthew presents here a broad list of healing and miracles performed by the Lord. The slam dunk comes in 9:35 when he tells us the Jesus went about “healing every disease and sickness. That’s so different from modern-day religious quacks who blame their failures on a lack of faith in the patients.

Some of Jesus “patients” had zero-faith! Like the dead girl (9:18-19, 23-26). Or the woman with death in her womb (9:20-22). Or the man with dead legs (9:1-7). When the Lord told him his sins were forgiven, the teachers of the law recognized Jesus’ words as exactly the same that the High Priest pronounced on the Day of Atonement when he came out of the Temple after offering a propitiation for the sins of the nation. They accused Jesus of blasphemy. But how do you argue with the power of the very Son of God?

Matthew himself didn’t! The tax collector left everything and followed Him (9:9-11). In fact, he organized an evangelistic dinner at his own house so other tax collectors could meet this Man of Galilee. They and many “sinners” followed Him while the religious people remained aloof and critical (9:3,11,24,34). His word to them, and to us, was “I desire mercy, not sacrifice [quoting Hosea 6:6], for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus is the friend of sinners! Aren’t you glad?

Did you notice how the chapter closes? When Jesus saw the many needs of the people around Him, He was moved with compassion. They were helpless and harassed, like sheep without a shepherd. His first response was a call for prayer. We might want to do something about the needs, and well we should. But the first and best thing we can do is to call upon the Lord for His help. He is more concerned than we could ever be and He has the resources to do something about it. So let us enlist His aid, so to speak, and then enlist in His service.