Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 22:20--23:20.
Between the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19) and the
marriage of Isaac (Genesis 24), there is Genesis 22:20—23:20. It provides a
much less well-known episode related to the death and the burial of the
matriarch Sarah. It reports to us the death of a godly woman.
Here are seven practical
applications that flow from this passage:
1.
We are reminded that the God of the Bible is a God of
providence, who is working all things to His glory and our good.
Genesis 22:20-24 reveals the
providential work of God in history. It tells us that God was raising up
Rebekah from the line of Abraham’s brother Nahor to be a wife for Isaac after the
death of Sarah. He is Jehovah-Jireh, the LORD who provides (Genesis 22:14). We
should remember that “God is at work all around us,” even when it seems we are
surrounded by frowning providences.
2.
We are reminded that God will keep his Word.
God was at work to keep his
promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). He spared Isaac and will provide through Isaac’s
union with Rebekah the raising up of a great nation from Abraham. He will keep
his promises to his people.
3.
We are reminded of the shortness and the preciousness
of each life.
Genesis 23:1b says, “these were
the years of the life of Sarah.” Should Christ tarry we will each have both a birthday
and a death day. As Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we might
apply hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
4.
We are taught that the proper response to death is
godly grief and sorrow and even tears.
We see this in Abraham’s response
to Sarah’s death: “And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her”
(Genesis 2:2b). The Christian sees death as a consequence of sin (Romans 6:23: “The
wages of sin is death”), and so it calls for grief and sobriety.
5.
We are shown by example that the proper way to dispose
of the body at death is burial in the ground in hope of the resurrection from
the dead.
Genesis 23:19: “And after this,
Abraham buried Sarah his wife…”
6.
We are taught that the land promise was fulfilled to
Abraham, but an even greater promise is yet to be fulfilled.
Abraham was indeed “a stranger and a sojourner” (Genesis
23:4), but we move toward “a better country” the “heavenly” country, the city
God hath prepared for us (Hebrews 11:16).
7.
We are told that a godly woman is to be praised and
honored even in her death.
As with all fallen men, Sarah was
a sinner. She had concocted the plan to have Hagar serve as a surrogate. She
had deceived Abimelech. She had laughed when God promised her a son. She was also,
however, by God’s grace, a godly woman. God’s love for her in Christ covered a
multitude of sins.
The description of a godly woman in
Proverbs 31 begins, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above
rubies” (v. 10). Sarah was a virtuous woman. Peter put her forward as an
example in 1 Peter 3:1-6, noting, “whose daughter ye are, as long as ye do
well, and are not afraid with any amazement” (v. 6). Proverbs 21:28 says a
godly woman’s children and her husband will arise to praise her. Of course, no
godly woman lives only for the praise of mere men, but she desires most of all
the smile and approval of her God.
Finally, we must also note also that
our ultimate hope is not that we would be praised in our death. Our hope is
that we will be raised from the dead by the same power that raised the Lord
Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day. Because he lives, we too have the
hope of life eternal. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul asked, “O grave where is thy
victory?” (v. 55), declaring, “The sting of death is sin” (v. 56). Yet he concluded,
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 57).
Christ is indeed our only comfort
and hope in life and death.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jeff Riddle
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