All the patriarchs are buried here, except Joseph (near Shechem) and Rachel (near Bethlehem).
You will recall that the Lord had instructed Abraham, “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever” (Gen 13:14-15). That was some land survey! No need to measure; whatever you can see, it’s all yours. But the man of God, if he had known the verse, might have quoted, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Cor 6:12). Because I can possess something in this world, doesn’t mean I should. Many things are more costly to maintain than to initially purchase. Often it isn’t the money that something costs which is so expensive; it’s the time it takes from my life that could otherwise be spent for eternity. So of all the land that God offered Abraham, the only piece he actually purchased was where they buried him! When Sarah died, it became a pressing need, and he was able to buy the cave of Machpelah as a burial crypt. My wife and I visited the cave many years ago; it’s off limits today. But I recall at the time that the large building constructed by Herod over the cave had one end for Muslims and the other end for Jews—still reminding us of Abraham’s two sons and their offspring. Sadly, both ends seemed equally blind to the truth. Why did Abraham not become a great landholder? No need to guess: “By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb 11:9-10). Ah, a place that’s out of this world! There’s an investment worth making.