Genesis 23:13
And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
The ground in question lay at Hebron, where the cave of Machpelah was bought to serve as a burial place for the family. Abraham openly made the offer to Ephron to pay money for the field, asking him to take it so that he might bury his dead there, his beloved Sarah. In doing so his conduct displayed respect and proper courtesy toward others. It stands as a finest example of the power of true courtesy and of the true, Christian gentleman, who knew what is due from one person to another and from man to his fellow man. In making the purchase he bowed before the sons of Heth.
When Sarah died he owned none of the promised land of Canaan and had no ground in which to bury her, so he had to buy the field to lay his dead in. This meant he lived as a pilgrim and stranger, without present prosperity and without possessions in land, in gold, or in silver. He was satisfied to wait because the view had been opened to him of future immortal life on this earth purified as his home, and of the city whose builder and maker is God. All believers share the same position, seeking that city and holding the claim of future immortal life with an eternal weight of glory rather than expecting the full reward here.