Old Testament reading: Genesis 21-23
The greatness of the man Abraham can be seen in the response of his neighbors to Sarah’s death. To the man, all the sons of Heth freely offered any piece of their property for Abraham to bury Sarah. Abraham chose a cave owned by Ephron the Hittite, who also promptly offered it to Abraham free of charge. Abraham refused even a discount for the property, offering to buy it “full price.” Abraham demanded that Ephron value the property, to which Ephron replied, “My Lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” Thus, Abraham is seen not only as a friend of God, but also a friend to his neighbors. One thing you might note is that Abraham and Sarah were not living at the same place when Sarah died. Abraham had been dwelling at Beersheba (22:19) while Sarah was living at Kirjath Arba (23:2).
New Testament reading: Matthew 19-21
Reading the parable of the laborers in Matthew 20 always brings me a certain degree of melancholy, as I am always reminded of my dad when I read or think on this text. In 1996 my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He was not a Christian. When the severity of his disease was discovered and he was given 3-6 months to live, I visited him at his home and asked him if he was familiar with this text. After he gave me the gist of it, I pleaded with him, “Dad, it’s the 11th hour.” To this he responded, “You act like I’ve got one foot in the grave.” I preached his funeral thirty three days later. He left this life no more prepared to die than on the day I pleaded with him to consider his soul. Here’s the truth of the matter: If you are not living in service to Jesus, you never know when the 11th hour is upon you. The wise man said, “For a man does not know his time: like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them” (Ecc 9:12).
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