Genesis 23:3 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Genesis 23:3

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Abraham mourned for Sarah. They had been together for so long. She had faithfully followed him in his calling to leave behind the security and familiarity of his native land and to go to a land that the Lord would show him. She was as much a believer as Abraham and her heart had been with him in everything that they had done together. She had travelled with him to Canaan, worshipped the Lord with him in that new land. She too had longed for a son, not only because of her natural motherly desire, but because she also believed the promise that God would bless them through a child of her own. They had been married before they had left Ur and had been residing in Canaan for about sixty-two years. Though Abraham had been promised the land by God he does not act presumptuously. He was content to wait for God’s time. He therefore speaks of himself in self-effacing terms. He calls himself a foreigner and a visitor among them. He acts for the honour of God which as a believer, he represents. It was normal in that part of the world for the dead to be buried within a single day of death. Abraham therefore takes steps to bury Sarah. The body will not allow us to cling to it for long. The foul process of decay makes the mortal remains of even the most dearly loved one to become something obnoxious. Man has two parts, soul and body and without the body he is incomplete. It is not that our real love is for the soul; we love soul and body. But the body that dies is a corrupt body. The body that shall be raised from the dead is a glorious body, fit for eternity. We are forced by nature to let go of the old body. The various attempts by different civilisations to preserve the body and to make it less offensive are in vain. Though the Egyptians learnt the secret of embalming, this was a poor substitute for the presence of those who lived among us. But the universal practise of mankind is to bury his dead. This is a testimony to his belief in the afterlife for otherwise the body would simply be disposed of as a useless item. Care for the body even though it has now begun to decay is instinctive in man just because he cannot bring himself to see death as the complete end. He cannot accept that those whom he knew and loved are totally gone out of existence. The body needs to be respected and Christians have always preferred burial to cremation just because cremation treats the body as something to be destroyed. Even though the present body is buried in dishonour, it is raised in honour. Though this is not the same body it belongs to the same person.

Application

Why does the believer mourn for his dead? Is it right for him or her to mourn? Is it not a weakness of faith? Evidently not, for Christ himself wept in sympathy with Martha and Mary at the death of their brother. It would be unnatural and callous for us not to experience deep sorrow at the departure of our believing loved ones, in spite of the hope that we have. Death is a departure. For us who believe it may be only a temporary departure, but it is a departure and of the profoundest sort. There is no communication with those we love once they are gone from this world. But fellowship is what love thrives on, for love’s instinct is to unite together and death is the most profound form of separation. It is not wise to try to jolly up funerals and prevent those who are bereaved from truly mourning.

Two human beings grow into each other when living together as man and wife. It is the closest relationship on earth. There could not be love if there was not an expression of sorrow at departure of those we love. But how different is this sorrow for the believer. For the unbeliever, there is a hope of being reunited, which is groundless. The unbeliever may convince himself that his hope is real, but there is no foundation to it. It is just wishful thinking. Here lies a powerful motivation for false religion, for the human desire to be together again with those they love needs a belief in an afterlife to support it. But the Christian alone has solid grounds for believing that he will see those he loves again. Only the resurrection of Jesus Christ provides sufficient ground for that hope. Only his atoning death can remove the great obstacle which stands in the way of life. Only when God has been propitiated and our sins forgiven can we dare to hope in future fellowship. So for the believer, this sorrow is not without hope, true hope. This means that a limit must be set on our sorrowing as a duty of faith. To sorrow is our duty, but not to sorrow too long. We must give way to natural feeling for a time, or else we cannot fully understand the change that death brings. But our hope in the resurrection makes a world of difference. Death is a great enemy. The unbeliever has nothing he can see to indicate that death has not had its final victory over the one taken from him, but by faith he believes Christ’s promise..

Questions

The term Sons of Heth is a reference to the Hittites. As Genesis 10:15 tells these were the descendants of the second son of Cain. The word Heth in Hebrew means dread or terror. Aalders reports the objection that some have made that the Hittites should be found so far south in Canaan and simply replies that some advanced groups had already migrated into this area by this time.

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Genesis 23:3 Commentary and Bible Study