COME AS A CHLD - LESSON 62 - THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF SARAH

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

We know that Abraham went back to Beersheba after the Akadah.  One would expect to hear of how he returned to Sarah and told her the good news; but instead we hear of Abraham going back to Beersheba and many think at this point in time that Sarah had returned to Mamre, in Hebron to live in the tents they inhabited there before they came to live in Beersheba.

No one knows the reason for this; perhaps she just loved the place and wanted to be there again.  Perhaps she was not fond of being so close to Hagar and Ishmael.  Perhaps she was grieving about her son going away for so long and wanted to be in the land where she had first learned of his birth.  Perhaps she knew she only had a short time left to live and she wanted to die in the land where they had decided to purchase their family burial grounds in the cave of Machpelah.  

We know that Sarah was a prophetess.  We know that she just somehow knew things directly from God and perhaps she had acted on a KNOWING as her own death was approaching that made her just want to be back in the land where she had experienced so much happiness and had called home for so long.  

Legend has it that Sarah had discovered the Caves of Machpelah before Abraham did.  They tell us that she had requested of Abraham that she be buried there when she died.  The Oral Torah speaks of Abraham stumbling across the cave as he was chasing the calf that he would prepare for The Three Angels who came to visit to tell them of Isaac’s soon coming birth.  These three then left Abraham and Sarah headed for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham and Sarah had received good news on that day, but others were not so fortunate.  

There are also tales of the first time Abraham saw the cave and realized, just as Sarah had previously, that it was the grave site of Adam and Eve.  How did they know this?  It is not explained.  

There are even old stories told of Adam burying Eve in the cave, which is said to be near the door to The Garden of Eden.  The old tales say that when Adam went to lay Eve in the cave he could smell the delicious smell of the Garden.  He too was buried there.  It is said that somehow, the prophet in Sarah knew these things and she shared them with Abraham.  They, together decided to be buried in the same place one day.  After all, God had led them to this place, just beyond the trees of Mamre.  

At any rate and for whatever reasons she had, Sarah returned to Hebron where she died at the age of 127.  There are also many legendary stories around Sarah’s death.  We cannot prove them with scriptures, but some of the old sages teach that Sarah realized Isaac was going to be offered in the Akadah and she pleaded with God to let her die in his place.  Many think that she died the instant that the ram appeared in the the thicket and The Angel of The LORD called out for Abraham not to take the boy. 

When Abraham heard of Sarah’s death, as he was sojourning in Beersheba on his way back from Moriah; he returned  quickly to Hebron and mourned many days for her.  He buried her in the cave at Machphelah, as she had desired according to their plan.

You hear so many stories of all the hard trials and tests and temptations that Abraham had to endure over the years of his lifetime, but you never hear that Abraham wept until you hear of how he mourned for Sarah, his beloved wife, the Mother of his only begotten son.  He wanted to grant Sarah this last request, her request to be buried in the Caves at Machpelah.

There are other Jewish legends which state that these caves were bought from the money that was left in Sarah’s dowry when she died.  She had made clear her request that Abraham buy the caves for a family burial ground.  The place most likely needed to be purchased by Abraham instead of Sarah to be legal, as men were usually the only legal property owners in those days.

Abraham eager to fulfill Sarah’s last wishes and knowing the importance of their joint burial in this spot, offered to buy the cave from Ephron, The Hitite. 

As was the custom, Abraham spoke to the Hitite people at the gates of Hebron asking to purchase the caves in order to bury his wife.  He mentioned that he was a sojourner in the land and needed a burial place for his family.  The Hitites living in the area knew and loved Sarah very much.  They greatly admired and respected Abraham.  They referred to him as being A Great Prince.   They offered him his choice of any of their burial places for free.  

Abraham thanked them for their offer but again expressed his desire to purchase the property so that it could be used as a family burial ground.  He specifically expressed his interest in the Cave at Machpelah that belonged to Ephron the Hitite.  

Machpelah means “double” and the cave was said to be a double space, suitable for burying several couples together.  No one mentioned the fact that this was probably the burial site of Adam and Eve.  Perhaps the Hitites did not know this.   This was probably hidden by God in order to protect it, and Abraham did not bring the subject up to them.  He asked to buy the property for full price so that he could be the legal owner and obtain the deed to the cave. 

Ephron the Hitite was sitting among those who were mourning for Sarah.  They were  all at the city gates, which was also the place of conducting important business.  All the Hitites were gathered to hear this business transaction that the grieving Abraham was making with Ephron the Hitite. 

Ephron the Hitite answered Abraham's request to buy the cave:  “ No, my lord, I will not accept payment for it, I would be honored to give it to you.  Furthermore, listen to me:  You only asked for the cave, but as far as I am concerned, I have already given you the entire fieild as well.  And as for the cave within it, I have already given it to you; and I have given it to you in full view of my compatriots.  Bury your dead.”

The fact that Ephron offered to give Abraham the entire field suited Abraham because he wished for the place to be an area used for a family burial ground.  He would do well to own the whole field and not just a part of it.  I'm sure Abraham was thinking too of God's promises that his descendants would inherit all the land one day.  Perhaps Abraham even wanted Sarah's death to be honored by making this long ago promise finally come about.  It was something that they had dreamed of and hoped for together.  It was what they had built all of their life around.  It was part of her last wishes.

Abraham replied to Ephron:  “If only you would listen to me!  I do not want to accept the field for free.  I am giving you the money for the field.  It is here in my hand, take it from me so that I may bury my dead there.”

At this point Ephron replied saying:  “My lord, listen to me.  What’s four hundred silver shekels worth of land between friends like you and me?  Forget about the money and bury your dead.” 

This was quite an understatement, because four hundred shekels was a huge amount of money!  Way more money than most would consider the field was worth.  Ephron continued to flaunt his generosity and pretended to refuse payment.  He was only using this technique for setting the price at a higher amount in the long run.  Abraham understood this.  Nevertheless, he weighed out for Ephron the whole amount of silver that he had mentioned the property was worth, every penny of the four hundred shekels.

Abraham did not try to bargain.  He paid full price in front of the whole community of Ephron the Hitite’s most trusted neighbors.  Ephron accepted Abraham’s offer and Abraham became the legal owner of the caves and the field and the trees surrounding the field and in the field.    Because of the purchase price of the field it was recorded in the records as no longer being simply a community property, but it was now considered to be the property of a nobleman.  Abraham buried his beloved wife in a cave located in what was considered to be the field of a noble.  This would mean that Sarah had a royal burial. 

The purchase of this land was extremely important because it was the beginning of the time of the descendants of Abraham owning the Land of Canaan.  It was the first property owned outright, though water rights had previously been obtained for the well in Beersheba.  This was actual land with caves and a field and trees.  It was the perfect place for Abraham’s family to be buried.  Abraham knew it was the will of God and he was very happy to obtain this property.  It partially fulfilled God’s promise that Abraham and his descendants would own the land of Canaan.

This cave and this field are still in existence.  Some believe the cave is under what is now a Muslim Mosque located in Hebron.  Today Jews are usually forbidden entrance into that particular place.  This location has become a very popular tourist sight.  Other’s believe that the popular tourist sight is not actually the true location, and another place has been spotted which is suspected to be the true burial place.  Right now, only God knows for sure.
    

 You would think at this point that the story of Sarah and all that we know of her would be over? Right?  

Wrong!  

We hear of her again, indirectly in The New Testament. 

Do not forget that Sarah and Abraham believed in the promise of a coming Messiah.  They believed even before they had the evidence that we now have of Christ coming and dying on a cross as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  Sarah had great faith.  In her long and blessed life full of strange trials and even huge mistakes and sins, she trusted that God loved her and forgave her.  She trusted that The Messiah would save her one day.  She was a believer!
  

Even as Sarah died and Abraham laid her in her grave in the Cave at Machphelah; Sarah had always carried in her soul the belief that she would one day be resurrected.

It was long after the death of the faithful Sarah that Jesus came to walk the earth. He lived and died for all of mankind.  He lived a perfect sinless life, and that great day came when He was resurrected from the dead!  He was found alive again!  This month, in the Feast of First Fruits we celebrate His resurrection!
  

Sarah had kept that feast all of her life.  She KNEW things.  She saw the fulfillment of it even before it happened.  Sarah KNEW that the waiving of the barley of the early harvest meant much more than a Thanksgiving offering for the first crops of the farmers.  She knew it was all a type of symbolism that stood for the Messiah and she understood that He would

raise her up in resurrection one day also. 

No names are mentioned specifically, but when Jesus rose from the grave on the third day, there was a great earthquake and many others were also resurrected with Him.  They were the first fruits of His labor; the early harvest of the souls of God.  Christ was the first; they were His first fruits after Him. 

Would not Abraham and Sarah be among these who were risen?  

Who among the people of the earth were more faithful?

Who  among mankind walked with God more than these two?  

Who among the dead of Israel would you expect to have believed in the Messiah with such great faith as to have believed without seeing?  

It was Abraham and Sarah and many of their loved ones who rose on that day after Christ, and perhaps even Adam and Eve!  They were the first to look for a Messiah who would cure the curse of the sin that they had fallen into.  God had told them there would be One.  They had believed and brought their insufficient sacrifices until God had provided The Perfect One.   They had passed this truth on  through the generations and this truth had come to be very significant in the lives of Abraham and Sarah.
 

I firmly believe that when Christ rose on the third day, Sarah rose right after him and greeted him soon after the event inside the City of Jerusalem! 

Did people recognize her?  It is doubtful that anyone would have recognized any of these Saints who had died many, many years before The Resurrection.  They would not have known what they looked like or who they were. 

So we only have vague references to this event; but they are plain enough to tell us that most likely Sarah obtained the resurrection of the early first fruits.  We can read Matthew 27:50-52 and conclude that Sarah surely would have been one of the ones mentioned:

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.  And, behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

What more amazing truth could there be?  

Do you think after all that God had been through with Abraham and Sarah that He would not have granted them a little time to be with The Messiah as He walked the earth here in His resurrected body?  What a wondrous day this must have been for Sarah and Abraham!

What conversations do you think they had?  

It must have been quite a reunion for them with The Messiah, because they had known Him, even though they had not physically met Him!  They had believed in faith and they actually got to see and participate in the evidence they had believed in!  Their faith had come full circle.  It must have been a wonderful thrilling reward from God, one of many that I suspect are still going on in heaven!

This is one discussion that you will not find in the writing of the Jews.  Of course not; as they have not yet believed in Christ.  Not all of them anyway, but there is that exception; where two of their founders. Abraham and Sarah, most likely rose from the dead and met The Messiah they had always believed in person!  

The scriptures tell us that the rulers of the day tried to cover up the true events of Christ’s resurrection.  There is not a written record of the names of these Saints of the earth; the only exception would be the holy writing in The Book of Life that is kept by God in Heaven. 

There must have been quite a family reunion with Abraham, Sarah and Isaac on that day.  Abraham and Sarah would also have had the opportunity to meet many of their descendants that they had only dreamed of, but never lived to see; their grandchildren and their great grandchildren.   

But what happened to Sarah after this?  There is yet even more to her awesome story, and the last part is the very best part! 

We find the answer to this question in Ephesians 4:8:

“Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.”

The resurrected bodies of the founders of The Nation of Israel were positive proof to the people of earth that faith in Messiah guarantees a resurrection from the dead and eternal life with God.  Sarah and Abraham now get to reside in Heaven together with God.   When Jesus ascended 50 days later, they also went with Him.

This was yet another proof; this marvelous event for Sarah and her family, of God’s plan for mankind, and how it will always be completely successful and perfect.  Sarah got to be a part of it all! 

 After Jesus was on the earth for 50 more days following His Resurrection, He Ascended back into Heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father.  He took all of those who rose from their graves after Him back with Him.

And this is the miracle of resurrection; the whole story.  Our Messiah, Jesus Christ made it all possible.  He will make it possible for you too if you let Him.  He gave His life to be able to offer you this gift!  

 Sarah was blessed to be a part of this whole process!  Will you be so blessed with her?  

All you have to do is have faith in Messiah.  All that is required of you is that you BELIEVE.  If Sarah could believe this even before she saw the proof of the Messiah's resurrection, how much more so should all of us be able to believe this?

We have all now lived to see the days of proof.   Let us continue to believe.  Let us continue to follow.  Let us all be looking forward to our own reunion,  just like the one of Abraham, Isaac and Sarah when the time comes for yet another resurrection, let us all be ready to join Him!