Genesis 23: 16-20; 49: 29-32
(iii) James Mather
Death means loss, beloved, and I do not need to enlarge on that today. Each mourning heart here could enumerate many things formerly enjoyed with our brother and now lost. Some of these, we know, are lost for ever; some are lost temporarily and will be taken up again soon in a new and fresh and living way. But death is not all loss, beloved. Certain things remain firm and go through death. I wish to speak of two of these.
The first one is divine possession. Death has nothing to say to divine possession. The scripture says, "For both if we should live, it is to the Lord we live; and if we should die, it is to the Lord we die - both if we should live then, and if we should die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ has died and lived again, that we might rule over both dead and living", Rom 14: 8, 9. Death makes no difference to divine possession, and the reason is that Jesus has died. Jesus has shed His blood - in type, has thereby purchased the field that we read of in our first scripture. If you care to read it all at your leisure, you will find that twice over Abraham in such sorrow to bury his wife who had just died, was twice over offered a burying place for nothing and twice refused, finally weighing out the money, the price set, "current with the merchant", v 16. What the passage portrays is the price paid by God, which was the life-blood of His own Son shed on Calvary's cross so that everyone who believes on Him might pass from this life through death to the life beyond and still belong to Jesus. What a wonderful thing! What comfort to our hearts in their desolation to know that death has not affected this wonderful truth in relation to our dearly beloved brother. This can be the blessed portion and it is the portion of many, if not all, here today.
The second thing that remains is the love of Christ. I wish to point out the peculiarity of these words at the end of Genesis. It says, "There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife..." The fact is, of course, that Jacob was present at the burial of his father, Isaac. It was Esau and Jacob who buried him, but he does not say that. He says, “there they buried..." Then he says, "and there I buried Leah". That is a most powerful testimony to the love of the Lord Jesus for His own: "I buried Leah". It was not simply a historic fact as the other incidents might have been. It was what it meant to himself.
Leah very much represents ourselves. Could I just say, in all simplicity, that she represents the saints of this dispensation? There is another wonderful passage describing Rachel's death and when Jacob recounted it he said, 'she died in my arms'. That is one possible translation of the words, "by me". What a testimony that is to the love of Christ for His earthly people. Although they would not have Him and delivered Him up to death, His sense of loss comes through when Jacob says she died in my arms! But Rachel was not buried in the cave of Machpelah as Leah was. Rachel was buried where there was a certain distance still to go to Ephrath, Gen 48: 7. But Leah was buried in the cave of Machpelah which is in Hebron - in the purpose of God, that is where Leah was laid and she was laid there by the loving hands of her own husband, of her own husband. He personally had to do with it and saw to the placing of her body. The word says, "So to his beloved one he giveth sleep", Ps 127: 2. He has done that. Jesus' personal, loving service goes through death. Our brother is presently enjoying the love of the Lord Jesus without a cloud and who would wish him back to this scene of trial and confusion?
May our hearts be strengthened in these things, beloved! When you are owned by Jesus, He never lets go, nor does His love!
PETERHEAD
March 1993
Burial of Peter Buchan