创世记二十三章六节说到“最好的”坟地，指上好的坟地。主耶稣在地上的时候，没有美好的居所。但祂死后，被放进非常美好的坟墓里（太二七57-60）。祂生活在贫寒的家里，却埋葬在富足的墓里。在圣经里，这是一个原则。我们不该住在美好的屋里，却该豫备最好的墓。亚伯拉罕注意坟地过于帐棚。创世记没有一字说到亚伯拉罕如何支搭帐棚，花费多少，或者支搭帐棚的确实地点。他支搭帐棚，就像人到山上露营几天一样。亚伯拉罕是真正露营的人，终其一生在露营。他不大在意帐棚，却非常关心坟地。在本章，我们看见以麦比拉洞的详尽描述。甚至在旧约里的耶路撒冷，也没有描述得这样详细。
现在让我们来看这事的意义。在新约的光中我们能看见，亚伯拉罕蒙了神的呼召，晓得自己是客旅，是寄居的，在仰望一座永久的城，和更美的家乡（来十一9-10，16）。当他仰望这更美的家乡时，他亲爱的妻子忽然死了。但亚伯拉罕没有放弃他的信心。他并没有对以撒说：“以撒，你母亲和我一直在仰望一座有根基的城，和更美的家乡，就是神所应许我们的。我们始终有这盼望。现在你母亲死了。她怎样到达那里？也许我们的神不可靠，我们不该再相信祂了。”亚伯拉罕没有这样说。我们查考希伯来书的记载，就看见亚伯拉罕不失望，也没有失去信心。反之，他在复活的神里面有着刚强的信心，相信他亲爱的妻子会在那城，并在那更美的家乡。这个相信含示复活。
创世记二十三章不是论复活的一章，乃是论进入复活之门的一章。在创世记二十三章，撒拉不是进入复活，乃是进入那门。照着亚伯拉罕的领会，撒拉的死就是进入复活的门。亚伯拉罕没有轻忽这事。他可能多少轻忽他的帐棚，但他不轻忽妻子的坟地。他购买麦比拉洞的用意，不仅是要把撒拉葬在那里，也是要把自己葬在那里。在希伯来文里，麦比拉这辞的意思是双或成双。凡葬在这洞里的，都是夫妻：亚伯拉罕和撒拉，以撒和利百加，雅各和利亚（创二三19，二五9，四九29-32，五十13）。在亚伯拉罕的深处，充满了期盼，有一天他的妻子要在那有根基的城里。这含示复活。在雅各死前不久，嘱咐众子要把他葬在麦比拉洞。在古时将雅各的骸骨从埃及运到迦南埋葬不是一件小事，但雅各的众子为他这样作了（创五十13）。藉此我们能晓得，雅各在将要死时，认为死并不是了结，乃是站口，是进入更美家乡的门。
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The Best Buying Place – Gen. 23:19
Two Things Needed to Fulfill God’s Purpose — The Second Item is the Land
Genesis 23:6 speaks of the “choice” burying place, referring to the best burying place. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He did not have a good dwelling place. But after He died, He was put into a very good tomb (Matt. 27:57-60). He lived in a poor home but was buried in a rich tomb. In the Bible, this is a principle. We should not live in a good house, but we should prepare the best grave. Abraham paid more attention to the burying place than to the tent. Genesis does not say a word about how Abraham pitched his tent, how much it cost, or the exact location where he pitched it. He pitched his tent just as people do camping on a mountain for a few days. Abraham was a real camper, camping throughout his whole life. He did not care much for the tent, but he cared very much for the burying place. In this chapter, we see a detailed description of the cave of Machpelah. Even Jerusalem in the Old Testament is not described in such detail.
Now let us look at the significance of this matter. In the light of the New Testament, we can see that Abraham was called by God and realized that he was a stranger and a sojourner, looking for a permanent city and a better country (Heb. 11:9-10, 16). While he was looking for this better country, his dear wife suddenly died. But Abraham did not abandon his faith. He did not say to Isaac, “Isaac, your mother and I have been looking for a city with foundations and a better country, which God promised us. We always held this hope. Now your mother is dead. How will she get there? Maybe our God is not reliable, and we shouldn’t believe in Him anymore”. Abraham did not speak this way. If we study the record in Hebrews, we will see that Abraham was not disappointed, nor did he lose his faith. On the contrary, he had a strong faith in the God of resurrection, believing that his dear wife would be in that city and in that better country. This believing implies resurrection.
Genesis 23 is not a chapter on resurrection, but a chapter on entering the gate of resurrection. In Genesis 23, Sarah did not enter into resurrection, but she entered into that gate. According to Abraham’s realization, Sarah’s death was an entry into the gate of resurrection. Abraham did not neglect this matter. He might have somewhat neglected his tent, but he did not neglect his wife’s burying place. His intention in buying the cave of Machpelah was not only to bury Sarah there but also to bury himself there. In Hebrew, the word Machpelah means double or folded. All who were buried in this cave were couples: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah (Gen. 23:19; 25:9; 49:29-32; 50:13). Deep within Abraham, he was full of expectation that one day his wife would be in the city with foundations. This implies resurrection. Shortly before Jacob died, he charged his sons to bury him in the cave of Machpelah. In ancient times, to carry Jacob’s bones from Egypt to Canaan for burial was not a small thing, but Jacob’s sons did it for him (Gen. 50:13). By this, we can know that when Jacob was about to die, he considered death not as an end but as a station, a gate into a better country.