Genesis Chapter 23 Discussion

Me too Karen Sue, yes to all you say, Praise the Lord!

Lauren, You said earlier there is No Fear or Condemnation in Christ Jesus so with this being said I will share with you when those thoughts come, they are from satan himself and I have learned when thoughts come I say in the name of Jesus satan you can get behind me and ask Jesus to take my thoughts captive and submit them to His word. If we do not do this immediately satan has a chance to toy with us and that's what he wants because he knows his time is short and He knows He cannot pluck us from Jesus hands.

We Are His, I am a child and Dau of the One True King the Most High, God Almighty and His Kingdom is coming soon!!

Amen Lauren....We are covered by the Blood of jesus and there is No Fear or Condemnation in Christ Jesus!! Thank you

Thank you Chris for your insight. BTW if you read part of my tesitmony I replied back to Rick you'll see I go by "Karen Sue" because God made me New in Him and used the Saving of my mom to help me to like my middle name. Kinda like changing Saul to Paul:) It's funny strange how when my dad was not in Alzheimer mood he shared he named me after an Actress named Karen Steele who he lusted after that was in westerns and this should've made me not like my name too but I guess since I had a bonding with my dad who once beleived in God then and not her as my mom abandoned me as a baby and I lived with GP in TN on cotton farm til I was 2.5 yrs.

I really do not think the retired pastor in that prayer mtg meant it the way it sounded. I do believe he meant grieving the Holy Spirit by choosing to stay in sin when Jesus died to offer New Life in Him who is Holy and cannot sin!! I may or may not ask him one day if God leads me only! I do believe I will talk to Our church Pastor Sunday for his take on this subject since he leads the prayer mtg on Sun night and surely he heard this too.

yeah, I like this Rick. I have struggled in the past with feeling sorry for myself, feelings of

abandonment, which come from the belief that I have been abandoned or rejected. The deeper I go

in prayer, the more clearly amazed I am and overcome with joy and humbleness, to realize

that not only did Jesus come for me. He DIED for me, shed his blood for me, he claimed me

with his very blood..... The revelation of this has blown me away, that he loved me so much....

I mean, he didn't just buy me a Hallmark card and gift for my birthday! He wiped out my sin!

How on earth could I continue to believe I am abandoned? How could I dis his Blood like this?

I mean, what his Blood accomplished for me? Who could understand this mystery, except

those who walk in faith, and to whom it's been revealed? What amazing grace and mercy,

that God is so in love with even us! God loves when we pray, "Lord, please show me how

much you love me, and why.... I have forgotten." Doors really start to fly open.

the way of faith is full of paradoxes. In Isaiah 53 it says the suffering servant poured out his life unto death.

And that he bore the sin of many. And many other things.... all of which are happening within us, as the Lord

is within us. So, we suffer, yet our yoke is easy and our burden is light What a mystery. I am

deeply desiring to understand and to live that redemptive love. "So that death worketh in us, but life in you."

I sit with this a lot....... Thank you for your comment, I have pondered that question deeply too. I know one thing, there is no guilt or fear or condemnation in Christ's suffering on earth; O suffering, where is thy sting? When we are covered in the Blood of the Lamb there is peace, and the darkness, in him, is always coupled with great light.

Hello Karen. That does seem like a strange word to give in prayer: "that God help us to sin less so Jesus won't suffer anymore." You'd have to clarify with the pastor as to what he meant by this, as he could be thinking in terms of "grieving the Holy Spirit" ( Ephesians 4:30). As the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God & of Jesus ( Romans 8:9), it is God Himself in us Who, by His Spirit, knows all that we go through in this life, whether in honour or dishonour of His Name.

We know there is much praise, exaltation & glorifying of the Lord God in Heaven continuously (Revelation chapter 4), but in that worship there would always be a consciousness of the folly of the wicked on Earth, or of those hearing the Gospel & maybe on the verge of submitting to God's Spirit, or even the child of God who strays away, whether wilfully or accidentally. God knows all things, for He is God, so I feel that in the exuberation of praise & worship in Heaven, there is also the solemness of the tragedies of fallen creation or when we succumb to Satan's taunts & lies instead of withstanding him with the Word of God.

I'm unsure whether this adequately answers your enquiry or even helpful, as each one would have perceptions of Heaven according to the understanding of the Word & the Light given to us. Some Christians believe in a very jovial lighthearted God on His Throne - I cannot perceive such characteristics of God, at least from the my reading of the Bible. But yes, God does require us to deal with sin ("sin less" as the pastor said); joy when there is victory & a true heart before the Throne, and grief when we fail Him. But you're right in stating that Jesus has once suffered for our sins - that agony, crucifixion, & death can happen no more.

Karen Sue Your correct Jesus Christ suffered once for all time for mans sin, in fact in the old testament

it say he was beaten more than any man that ever lived so no matter what movie you've seen as an example

when he was put on the cross you did not want to look upon Him and I believe without almost getting

physically I'll. The enemy did everything he could to make Jesus sin or break fellowship and he never did.

In fact in hebrews 12:2 Who for the joy that was set before Him he knew the goal and did it ALL OUT OF THE

LOVE OF GOD WORKING IN CHRIST. When born again God sees us as His children because we endeavor to

believe and walk honestly before Him we are no longer fighting with out father we work on walking with Him

in harmony and alignment on His word and to boot all sin payed in full once and for all. That's the grace that

we do not want to buck against because that's like kicking God and His son in the face saying I don't care, then

we lose and so does God because he wants us to walk and be witnesses and more than conquerors through

His Son who Loved us and gave Himself for us.

AS I was in a Prayer Team mtg at church I heard this retied pastor pray this way and thoughts started soaring and I know He din't mean any disrespect to God and God knows our heart and when we pray He knows so I'm not afraid of praying right or wrong but want to be praying in God's will and word. Are We suppose to pray that God help us to sin less so Jesus won't suffer anymore or as i once or twice hurting for my lost neighbors & family/world have said to God...Lord, if my heart is breaking for the Lost yours must be too so please help them surrender soon. This came to my mind when I this replaying in my head. It came to my mind that how can Jesus be suffering when 1 Peter 3:18 says Christ suffered ONCE, for our sins and Hebrews 9:28 says ONCE, He offered to bear the sins of many...Jesus Wept which is the shortest verse but that is past temse so why do we as humans think he's weeping for our sins When Revelation 21:1-7 says No More tears and pain in heaven and He is in Heaven from what I read sitting by the right hand of God. Do you really think God gets hurt inside seeing what His creation's doing or those that have accepted Him thinking He suffers. I believe God has righteous Anger towards us NOT listening, but I believe He is a fair, Just and Loving God who gives more than 2nd chances. At least I know He did for me. I think He allows our choices to draw US to a Loving Forgiving God and it's Our choice to surrender. I'm not sure about whether He feels about it in the sense of suffering or hurting or weeping then wouldn't that make His word a lie. I know He doesn't lie as His Wrod says He's the Word and He's the same yesterday and today. Please pray with me, I'm Praying about these things and praying I can talk to my Pastor Sunday. I just want to have sound doctrine if someone ever brings this up and I pray God will give me wisdom and discernement on this subject and I find Peace about it. Thanks for reading and your prayers and/or any incite.

Hello again,

This is the account of the death of Sarah at age 127 and how Abraham purchased "the cave of the patriarchs" In Mamre, Hebron (known by other names in other times) also called Kirjath Arba. This territory was known for the Philistines (who later warred with the Israelites up unto David's days. At this time, Abraham lived peaceably as a visitor and foreigner in this land, so he may not owned any land at this time. He negotiated to buy the cave in the field of Ephron, a Hittite. At first it seemed that Ephron was going to give the land to Abraham, but Abraham insisted on paying a fair price for it. He was wise to do so. He wanted to do business above board with his neighbors. Ephron finally named a price and Abraham weighed out the silver in the presence of Ephron and the sons of Heth. Notice that Abraham had only wanted to buy the cave, but Ephron threw in the field it lay in as well. That was his way of honoring Abraham as a "prince" among them. It is apparent that Abraham lived an upright life among these people and they had great respect for him as well as congenial relationships. Abraham did not have any extended family to share his grieving with except for Isaac, it seems. However, the sons of Heth meet with him as he stayed by Sarah's body and supported him in his grief. It is unknown how many of the people in Canaan shared his faith in the True God. This time is still fairly close to the time of Noah as people spread out from Mesopotamia. It is not stated how long the Canaanites had lived in this land, perhaps since Canaan (Noah's grandson) set out with his clan to settle there. I think it is reasonable to think that they were there a few hundred years, since Canaan had to be born and reached adulthood to migrate. there. So, Abraham buried Sarah in peace.

It must have been customary to bury dead in caves. Perhaps it protected the bodies from being disturbed by wild animals and also allowed for kin to be buried in the same cave.

I believe it is 127 years of age. A hundred (100) and (+) seven (7) and (+) twenty (20) = 100 + 7 + 20 = 127.

what is "an hundred and seven and twenty" years old

i think that abraham was a man that was greatly looked up to. I feel he also highly favored by people.

Verse 11- Abraham earned the respect of his neighbors because he was a faithful and God-fearing man.

Ps. 90:10 - this Psalm was written by Moses; he had nothing to do with Gentiles as a whole (only a very few that recognized the God of Israel and were accepted); the ages are spoken of for God's people - of which the few Gentiles were counted as. The same for ch. 91.

Abraham was a man who practiced faithfullness.he honoured his wife who also is mentioned in Hebrews11.He set an example that The Son Isaac honoured Genesis25 8-10 burying Abraham with his wife.Today it is an Islaamic holy place no christian or Jew is permitted there.Christians .Jews and Islaamic all belive the promise to Abraham was for them.God in the new testament declares the blessing of Abraham was through the faithseed..Christ..see Galatians3 16

The ages of people started to drop after the flood....probably due to the water above the firmanent being removed as it protected man from the suns rays.also God said mans days would be 120 years.which i believe is the lifespan he gave after the flood.psalm90;10 is for a backslidden people[only reference in bible]..psalm91;16 for obedient. [many refs].Sara lived a lifespan in line with my comments

Compared how long people lived in their days note that sarah did early at 127yrs. Why?

God is honored when we behave in a christlike manner after the death of a dear one!

The lesson i learnt from the life of Abraham in this Chapter is not to take anything for granted when you are making any purchase like land, property, car etc. Make sure you get a clean verifiable, authenticated receipt so there is no dispute in the future. The tendency is to forget collecting a receipt from the seller who is very familiar or close to you. Our Spirituality does not mean we should forsake good common sense in our daily transactions. Abraham was very rich but was not a money waster who spent foolishly. He must have been a good saver and prudent in his spending. This is food for thought.

It is giving us a type of Christ in Abraham. Christ will come to a place where he will now change the image of his bride the church and bury the old, just as Abraham buried Sarah his wife. Christ's action will not be opposed even by people who are earthly as opposed to heavenly people. They will even recognize him as the Prince and Lord on that day. His power will prove unmatched by the Devil's power.The people at Mamre succumbed to Abraham's request as a stranger.

Abraham who walked away from his kingdom trusting the word of GOD, has become a "mighty prince" as said by the inhabitants of kirjath-arba. Follow the word of GOD and be followed by blessing.

Abraham was indeed a humble man and a man of faith.

Ok, so Sarah died in Kirith-arba, and it is also called Hebron. It makes me wonder, was Arba still alive at this time? If you do a lot (i mean a lot) of reasearch on the "Anakim" as mentioned in the bible, is says that most were settled in Kirith-arba. This is not spoken of untill later, after the bible traces the lineage of some of the giants. Like Goliath, from Gath or Gad, and several others.

Abraham, even though considered great, he showed humility in the jesture of bowing.

We as a people each should show humility to those both of high degree and of a lower state.

This is a good example of looking forward to the resurrection and not gathering things on this earth to leave behind for moth and rust to take....

It lets me know that we ought not think of our self as too all that wer possess.For it all belongs to God,and he is a rewards us for being obedient to his word.Even to the very end have faith in God that he will provide all our needs.