Seize the Moment – Day 408
Deep Roots in the Promises of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, April 29.
Do you have deep roots in the promises of God?
Abraham’s wife Sarah passed away at the beginning of Genesis 23. In verse 2, it is recorded, “Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.”
The rest of the chapter is about a real estate transaction for her burial site in the promised land (verse 3-20). The story focuses more on the negotiations for the purchase of land than on the death and burial itself. Why?
Because there was no going back! Abraham was purchasing the family burial plot in the promise land of Canaan, rather than going back to where they came from. In the face of death, Abraham was literally planting their roots deeply into the promises of God by placing his wife into the Promise Land itself.
This was a loud statement of faith!
This real estate transaction was a big deal! That is why the chapter is bookended by statements of geographical location. Genesis 23:19-20 ends the chapter, “After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth.”
Upon Sarah’s death, Abraham was declaring to Isaac and to all successive generations that God’s promise of this land had been secured—this land is God’s land by His promise and now God’s people through Abraham and Sarah have a foothold in it through this legal transaction and the burial of the matriarch in the land itself.
Seize the moment and stake your claim in the promises of God! It may not be through a real estate transaction, but how does your lifestyle today plant seeds and how does your estate plans for the future declare your deep roots in the promises of God to your future generations?