Abraham says to the Hittites: I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead. The description of himself as a foreigner and stranger is Abraham's theological self-identification — the same language used in Hebrews 11:13 for all the patriarchs: they admitted they were foreigners and strangers on earth. The purchase of the burial site is the first piece of the promised land that Abraham will legally own. 1 Peter 2:11 calls believers foreigners and exiles — the patriarchal self-description is the permanent identity of the covenant people. The application: the covenant people are always foreigners in the lands they inhabit, no matter how long they have lived there. Their permanent home is the city whose architect and builder is God.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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