Day 21

“Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.”   — GENESIS 23:1-2

Sarah is the only woman whose age is given in Scripture. Her years are counted because each one was significant as are ours. In a day when migration was not the norm, Abraham and Sarah had set out on a journey from their familiar home in Ur of the Chaldeans to a place unknown. They had shared together a lifetime of expectations and disappointments, of daring, adventure, tears and joy. At the age of 127 years, in the land of Canaan, Sarah died.

Genesis, Chapter 23 records Sarah’s death and Abraham’s grief, and from it, we learn three important factors in dealing with death. Firstly, there is a time to die!  We need to be both practically and spiritually prepared for it. Abraham makes provision for her burial, which no doubt they had discussed together, knowing the inevitability of death. Spiritually, she knew “It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Along with Abraham, she had lived with faith in God, which alone would count for her righteousness on that day of judgment.

There is a time to die, and secondly, there is a time to cry. ‘Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her’.  Tears are a gift from God. David writes in Psalms 56:8, “You keep all my tears in your bottle,” because they are precious and meaningful to God. As those who know the Lord, our tears of grief are intermingled with gratitude. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 tells us, “We do not grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.” Tears are the price we pay for the joys we shared. They are natural, healthy and necessary. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Abraham wept, and in our own way, we need to go through the grieving process without trying to suppress it. 

Thirdly, there comes a time when we stop asking: Why? Abraham buried his wife and moved on. Eventually, he remarried, had more children and lived another 38 years. There is a future on earth for those left behind and a future beyond earth for those who have died. When we lose someone we love, we may embrace Christ all the more, knowing He has conquered death, and in Him, we are clothed in immortality. 

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank You with all my heart for the precious gift of everlasting life with You. You have taken the sting out of death and given me heaven to look forward to. 

TO REFLECT UPON: What is my reaction when someone close to me dies? In what ways can I comfort those in mourning?