In Genesis 23 we see the sad departure of Abraham’s wife Sarah from the pages of history. She is an important figure as the mother of the faith alongside Abraham who is the father of the faith. The place of her burial therefore becomes significant. The Hittites were willing to give Abraham some land to bury Sarah, but he insisted on buying the land by following the standard legal procedure. Here is the point: this is the first step toward the possession of the land. The fact that Sarah was buried here gave the land its first sense of concrete significance for Abraham’s descendants. It was a sign of things to come, and Abraham is acting with this in view. Abraham was a nomad. Such people did not ordinarily buy property. But now he acts with a view to this changing as God had promised. He is taking God at his word. That is the thing that characterises Abraham, and this is why he is the father of the faith. The grand fulfilment of the promise was still generations away, but Abraham does this one small thing, and it is one tiny step towards the fulfilment of the grand promise. So it is with what we do in our lives. Even our greatest works with God are only one small increment of growth for the Kingdom of God. But every increment is vital. The Kingdom of God comes through many small acts of faith.
Ask God to give you opportunities to grow your faith.
Read Genesis 23
