In reading Genesis 23 I was struck by the sorrow Abraham must have felt at the death of Sarah, his wife. God had promised Abraham all the land he could see and ancestors as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the sand on the seashore. Yet, in his time of mourning after her death, he sits with the people of the land to ask politely to buy the field and cave at Machpelah. So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre – both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field – were deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site. v. 17-20.

In the notes below it said Sarah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were buried in that cave. There is such a heaviness when those we love die. It feels like we’re wading through heavy water and everything slows.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (Isaiah 25:8) “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (Hosea 13:14) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. I Corinthians 15:50-58.

We feel the sting of death when those we love die, when we succumb to disease, when we realize finally how tenuous everything is we put our hope into. There is a finality on this side of death. But thanks be to God…He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. v. 20.

Jesus paved the way in death just as He paved the way while living on this Earth showing us in real time what it is to trust God and live a life loved and loving. Sarah died. We will all die. We will all be resurrected and I can’t wait for that family reunion! The heavy weight of sorrow will be no more. I can’t help but think when we see the Lord…we will finally know what true joy and love are.