With Whom Do You Associate?

Genesis 23:12: "Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in their hearing, 'Listen to me, if you will. I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.'"


After Abraham's wife, Sarah, died at the age of 127, Abraham needed to plan the burial of his deceased spouse. Not owning property in God's promised land, the patriarch petitioned Ephron the Hittite to purchase a cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre to bury his wife.



Interestingly, the Hittites affirmed Abraham as a "mighty prince among (them)." Ephron and the other Hittites were wise enough to know that divine favor was upon Abraham, for he had acquired great numbers of sheep, cattle, camels, donkeys, and servants (see Genesis 12:16), and the Hittites wanted to enter into an alliance with the patriarch in order to benefit from this blessing. For this reason, the Hittites offered the choicest of their tombs for Abraham as a free gift.


Abraham respectfully declined their offer, wanting instead to pay full price for the cave of Ephron at Machpelah. But a second time, Ephron insisted Abraham take the field as a gift. Again in response, Abraham bowed in respect to the Hittites, but he would not take the property as a gift . . . only a payment of the full purchase price would do. This exchange continued until the price was declared and Abraham paid the 400 shekels of silver for the property. The Hittites then publicly deeded the field and cave to Abraham so that he could bury his wife. I'm sure that the dialogue was awkward at best; here these people seemingly were extending their graciousness to Abraham only to find that the offering of free land was not being welcomed.



As one first reads through this account in Genesis, one might conclude that Abraham was treating the Hittites' generosity with contempt; however, one must remember that the Hittites were a pagan people who did not honor the Lord. Abraham knew that his taking of this land would only give these pagans license to expect favors in return. They might even want to intermarry with Abraham's family in order that they might tap into the blessings that the patriarch had received from "his God." Abraham knew that unholy alliances with pagans would only increase the chance of his descendants turning away from the One True God, so he respectfully declined the repeated offers of the Hittites to receive the choice land as a gift.



This account is a good word for those of us who have surrendered ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Whereas we are assimilated into the world and live among believers and pagans alike, we must be discerning as to the level of relations that we have with those who do not honor the Lord. This mandate is most significant in the area of dating/marriage. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14 addresses this concern: "Do not be yoked with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? . . . . What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" Throughout Scripture, one reoccurring theme in the life of the Jewish nation is their spiritual demise after forming unholy alliances with pagans. Never do we find God's people growing in their intimate fellowship with the Sovereign Lord after intermarrying with wicked nations; rather, the covenant people would end up becoming as wicked as the people with whom they chose to associate. This truth is explicitly shared with us in I Corinthians 15:33: "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'"



As Christians, we are called to be the reflective light of truth to the world; this necessitates that we interact with the world in order that we can share the precious message of the Gospel with those who have no relationship with Christ. Still, me must establish boundaries when it comes to intimate associations with those who have not surrendered themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To fail to set these boundaries would only lead the Christian down the path of recalcitrance that eventually would estrange him from a right relationship with the Lord.