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Bible History of the Old Testament |
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No. 15 Death of Sarah - Death of Abraham
This text is continued from last month. Before we leave the remarkable thing that happened to Abraham and Isaac on the mountain, we should view it in its bearings upon Abraham, upon Isaac, and even upon the Canaanites. It is very remarkable that a German writer who has very much opposed the truth of this scriptural narrative, has been compelled to some extent to admit the deeper bearing of this history on the faith of Abraham. He writes: "Hitherto even Isaac, that precious gift so long promised, had been only a natural blessing to Abraham. A son like any other, although the offspring of Sarah, he had been born and educated in his house. Since his birth Abraham had not been called to bear for him the pangs of a soul struggling in faith, and yet every blessing becomes only spiritual and truly lasting, if we appropriate it in the contest of faith." At God's bidding Abraham had given up his country, kindred, and home, and then his paternal affection towards Ishmael. He had yet remained to give up Isaac after the flesh, though, so as to receive him again spiritually; to give up the one heir of all the promises God had made to him. All Abraham had to go on was a simple absolute faith in God and his perfect confidence knew that if it came down to that, God could raise Isaac from the dead. In this way God purged, so to speak, all the flesh that clung to the promise God had given. In this way Abraham's faith was perfected and his love purified. When Isaac did not resist what God said and allowed himself to be bound for sacrifice upon the altar, he entered into the spirit of Abraham, developed a faith for himself, and showed himself truly the heir to the promises. This surrender to God of the first-born was also the very first example that was later set out in God's Laws to the people after they left Egypt. During this time in history, there were cruel human sacrifices that were being offered to hundreds of different kinds of gods. By doing this, God gave his sanction to a different kind of offering. This was a forever substitute - animals for humans - until the time was ready for the One Complete Sacrifice to be made by Jesus. Until it was time for Jesus to sacrifice himself, God put an end to human sacrifices. After Abraham went to Mount Moriah and offered Isaac to God, he lived many more years. It seems that there was nothing more than God wanted recorded about his life after this event, though. The next thing we read is about the death of Sarah at the age of 127. She is the only woman whose age is recorded in Scripture. At her death, Isaac was 37 years old and Abraham was once more a resident of Hebron. The account of Abraham's negotiations for a burial place for Sarah is very pictorial. It also strikingly exhibits his position in the land as a stranger and a pilgrim, but also his faith in the promises for the future that God had given him. Abraham was undoubtedly well-known and admired greatly, because they thought of him as a "prince of God". The way that he went about acquiring the field was pretty much true Eastern fashion. He conducted the business at the City Gate in front of everybody with plenty of witnesses. He also bargained for the land in much the same way that they do today. This was the first actual land that he had owned since he started on his journey with God. In this cave of Machpelah lie treasured the remains of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah and Leah, and also the embalmed bodies of Jacob and perhaps Joseph. No other spot in the Holy Land holds so much precious dust as this; and it is the only "holy place" to this day that can be pointed out with perfect certainty. Since the Moslem rule, however, it has not been accessible to either Christian or Jew. The site over the cave itself is covered by a Mahomedan sanctuary, which stands enclosed within a quadrangular building, 200 feet long, 115 feet wide, and 50 or 60 feet high. The walls are divided by pillasters that are about 5 feet apart and 2 1/2 feet wide. This building is built with immense stones that are no less than 38 feet long, and dates from the time of David or Solomon. The mosque within it was probably anciently a church; and in the cave below its floor are the patriarchal sepulchres. Three years after the death of Sarah, Abraham resolved to fill the gap in Isaac by seeking a wife for him. The next text will take up here. There is nothing else mentioned about the 38 years which followed the death of Sarah except that Abraham took another wife for himself named Keturah who bore him six sons. They became the ancestors of Arab tribes. Next is the mention of Abraham's death at 175 years old. This puts him living 75 years after the birth of Isaac. To quote the significant language of the Bible, it says that "he was gathered to his people", which is an expression far different from dying or being buried, and which implies reunion with those who had gone before, and a firm and assured belief in the life to come. As his sons Isaac and Ishmael, who were both aged men, stood by his sepulchre in the cave of Machpelah, we seem to hear the voice of God speaking it unto all times: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they ere strangers and pilgrims on the earth". Hebrews 1 1: 1 3 For more information from this book, please go to the archives page at my site www.cathydeaton.com There are more articles of interest there, also. This text is taken from the book Bible History Old Testament written by Alfred Edersheim. This book is used by permission.
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