Humans have their customs concerning burials after death. But what does God show us about this subject?
1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old:these
were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba;
the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan:and Abraham came to mourn for
Sarah, and to weep for her.
3 And Abraham stood
up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, 4 I
am a stranger and a sojourner with you:give me a possession of a
buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
Comments by Joan Boney
Burying the dead out of your sight is the important thing ...
When
my mother died, the only person to be consider was me. It would do no
good for me to go to a worldly funeral where people gather. I don't
need to hear words over my mother as the world needs. I knew it would
do my mother no good at all. The question is what should I do for me. (I can't do anything for the dead person for that person is asleep and won't know what I do.) I have to think of me.
When my dad died 20 years before my mother, I had my mother to consider. We had a standard type funeral.
But when my mother died, it was another matter. I have no brothers or sisters. I was the only person to be considered.
God
had given me dream to show me she would die after her 2nd fall. So I
knew her life would end after the second time she fell. After this
fall, she was taken to hospital and operated on for broken hip. She was
97 years old. When I brought her home, she would fall and I had no one
to help me lift her off the floor so I would call 911 and ask for
someone from fire department to come help. Once she fell twice in one
day. Fireman said I was going to have to make other arrangements. I
put her in assisted living where she was for a little less than one
month before dying. Someone from the assisted living called me at 1:00
a.m. and told me she died. I told the person to call Steed Funeral Home
and ask them to come pick up her body. I did not go to the assisted
living. Concerning burial, I had paid the funeral home about 2 months
before she died and arranged with them to simply bury my mother, no
standard funeral. I would not be there. The man at funeral home said
they could do that, but he wouldn't want me to feel bad about doing it
that way six months later. I never felt bad at all. It would do my
mother no good to do as the world does. From the Bible, the only
example I could see of burial is Abraham made arrangement to bury Sarah out of his sight.
I certainly didn't need to look at a dead body. My faith is in
resurrection. So funeral home picked up my mother's body and buried her
and called me after they had buried her and told me they had buried
her.
My cousin said, "We can have a memorial for her."
I told my cousin if she needed a body to have memorial, I would save my
mother's body for her She said nothing about needing my mother's body.
About a year later,
I was in a department store and the woman in charge of the assisted
living home where my mother died was standing there and I spoke to her
and she would not speak to me. I said to her, "I'm Joan Boney." She replied, "I know."
and turned her back and walked away. Later I realized they thought I
was evil because I didn't do as other people when someone at their
facility dies.
Gen. 23 ...
5
And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, 6 Hear us,
my lord:thou art a mighty prince among us:in the choice of our
sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his
sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. 7 And Abraham stood up,
and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of
Heth. 8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I
should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to
Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah,
which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it
is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst
you.
10 And Ephron dwelt among the
children of Heth:and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience
of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his
city, saying, 11 Nay, my lord, hear me:the field give I thee, and the
cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my
people give I it thee:bury thy dead. 12 And Abraham bowed down himself
before the people of the land. 13 And he spake unto Ephron in the
audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I
pray thee, hear me:I will give thee money for the field; take it of me,
and I will bury my dead there.
14 And
Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, 15 My lord, hearken unto
me:the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that
betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
16
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the
silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four
hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
17
And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before
Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that
were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made
sure 18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of
Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after
this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Machpelah before Mamre:the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. 20 And
the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for
a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
And concerning the way we are to view death, the apostle Paul said ...
I Thess. 4 ...
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (those who die), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep (die) in Jesus will God bring with him.
15
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep.
16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:and the dead in Christ
shall rise first:
17 Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Genesis 23 & I Thessalonians 4 were patterns for me and these were the ways I viewed death and I still view death this way.
I know my mother was born again. That is the focal point for me.