Presentation 38

Presentation 38

An old man lay dying and asked his Christian doctor what he had to look forward to in the life beyond. The doctor fumbled for an answer. But before he could speak, he heard a scratching at the door.

"Do you hear that?" he asked his patient. “That is my dog. I left him downstairs but he grew impatient and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside that door, but he knows that I am there. Now is it not the same with you? You do not know what lies beyond the door, but you know your Master is there”.

We turn now to one of the sorest times in Abraham’s life, the death of his wife Sarah and to the subject of bereavement.

Introduction

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Perhaps only those who have lost their life-partner, will know just how deep is the valley of bereavement. And those who have lost loved ones, whether babies, youngsters, teenagers or older relatives, will also know the grief that can arrest our hearts.

Abraham and Sarah had been married over sixty years, and perhaps the last years had been the happiest, with the birth and growth of their son Isaac now aged 37.

We read that, Abraham wept over his loss.

Loss of a Loved One

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Today, Christians, while having a fuller grasp of Christ’s victory over death, still share in Abraham’s humanity. And faced with death they too need to express their emotions. It is a necessary part of the grieving process, which if not allowed to operate, at the time of bereavement, can cause deep psychological and spiritual problems later on in life.

Loss of a Loved One

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Some Christian’s foolishly believe that to shed tears in bereavement betrays a lack of faith or a lack of submission to the "good, pleasing and perfect" will of God. They believe, death is to be treated stoically and tears are to be held in. Well a giant in the faith like Abraham wept! So too did Jesus at the graveside of his friend Lazarus Jn. 11.35.

Such tears not only indicate that death is an intruder which has no part in God’s original creation but also the frailty of our own humanity. We express that humanity as we adjust to the separation produced by the death of someone dear to us.

Loss of a Loved One

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Of course it is possible for people to engage in formal mourning without any heart feeling. There can be long faces, forced tears, black clothing, ritual seclusion - all of which means nothing, if the loss is not felt. But where relations have developed and deepened over years of sharing together, tears are a not only natural but a proper expression of grief.

Loss of a Loved One

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Now, while not to mourn is a great failure, to mourn indefinitely is equally harmful. The preacher in Ecclesiastes reminds us that ‘there is a time for mourning’ [ Eccles. 3.4 ]- that time will vary from person to person. However, he is also pointing out that mourning is not endless!

A balance needs to be found between mourning a loved one and then, for our own sake as well as that of our family, getting on with the business of living. Something Queen Victoria failed to do after Prince Albert’s death.

Loss of a Loved One

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The loss of one’s partner can reveal the true measure of our commitment to God. An elderly couple were regular worshippers at church. The husband was the senior elder. When he died in his mid 60s, his wife decided she would never set foot in the church building again. She was angry with God, who had taken her husband from her and it became clear that she had in fact only ever gone to church in the first place in order to please her husband.

Sarah’s death, though a sore trial, did not erode Abraham’s commitment to God.

Loss of a Loved One

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Abraham would have been the first to acknowledge that Sarah had played an important role in his spiritual pilgrimage. Indeed scripture presents her as an example for all wives to follow;

“Our beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewellery and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” 1 Pet.3:1-6

What will our epitaph be as a husband or wife?

Sarah’s Life

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Think also of Prov. 31:10-12, which says ‘a good wife is a great find and the heart of her husband can safely trust in her’.

During her 60 years of marriage Sarah too had learned to walk by faith. She shared in Abraham’s hardships and deprivations, his sorrows and joys. And on one occasion at least she had shown more spiritual discernment than her husband. She recognised the potential danger of Ishmael to Isaac, the child of promise. Sarah is included among the heroes of faith recorded in Hebrews of whom it is written;

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth”. Heb 11.13

Sarah’s Life

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Sarah’s days on earth were over. It was what she had become during those years that she carried into eternity. In Rev. 14:13 we read that ‘those who die 'in the Lord' are blessed and their works follow them’. We need to use the precious years granted to us down here to grow in faith and obedience. At one point in Israel’s history she recognised her lack of spiritual progress. She was like a field stripped bare by locusts. And God said to her, ‘I will restore the years that the locusts have eaten’ Joel 2.25.

Later in life Christians too can bemoan their lack of spiritual growth and service. God can speak into that despair and say, ‘I will restore the years that the locusts have eaten’. Its not too late to make significant progress if we but wholly surrender our hearts to God.

Sarah’s Life

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God had promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's descendants. At this stage the land was occupied by others and Abraham took possession of no more than a plot for Sarah’s grave. Abraham could have had the plot as a gift from the Hittites but he did not want to receive it on those terms. He did not want to take unfair advantage and leave the landowner feeling cheated.

He recognised that there were certain bargaining niceties to be observed.

Burial and God’s Promises

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I first encountered the middle eastern custom of Ta’roof when in Iran. The Scottish football team was due to play Iran in the World Cup. I had been invited to watch the game in the home of an Iranian Christian. During my visit I admired his brand new TV set. He said, “take it, its yours”. Courtesy in Iran requires the owner to offer any possession another admires. Had I taken the TV set - and my friend would have lost face by refusing it - our friendship would have ended. He would know that I had taken unfair advantage of him. Abraham realised he would really need to pay for the burial plot he could not simply take it as a gift.

Burial and God’s Promises

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The purchase of this burial plot was, for Abraham, a bit like an explorer planting a flag and claiming a territory for his people. Now this plot of land purchased by Abraham was a token reminder that God had promised him the whole land. He was saying, “Although I own just one field, I believe that one day my people will possess it all”.

The fact that Abraham’s hope transcended a piece of real estate on earth becomes apparent in his introduction of himself to the Hittites cf v4 ‘I am an alien and a stranger among you’. He had livedin the land for 50+ years but Abraham knew that this world was not his permanent home. And although Sarah’s remains were placed in a cave, her home too was also now elsewhere.

Burial and God’s Promises

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The author of Hebrews writes.“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Heb 11.13-16.

Burial and God’s Promises

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This is the sure and certain hope of the Christian. This knowledge of heaven allows him to hold loosely the material things in this life. This is why the Christian does not fit into this world and its value system - he is a citizen of another city and death is but the gateway that provides entry to it. Can you say with conviction, “We don’t know all that lies behind the door but we know that our Master is there”?

Conclusion

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God is not a distant deity to men and women of faith but someone they have a personal knowledge of. Someone they have been getting to know more and more over the years. Someone in whom they have placed their trust for salvation. Therefore they are able to say with unshakable conviction, “When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there”.

Can you say that?

Conclusion

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