CHRIST'S BURIAL
"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and THAT HE WAS BURIED, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" - 1 Cor 15:1-4

Devotion 2 of 14
                                
IN DEFENSE OF BURIAL
  The "burial" of Christ is part of the Gospel. That situation requires some elaboration on the matter of burial. Today, in the Western world, burial is being abandoned in favor of cremation -- even among believers in Christ. Reasons for the preference of burning to burial are offered. Some of them include, "It makes no difference what we do with the body after the spirit has departed from it." "It is more economical to cremate the body." "Why should we make a big thing out of how we handle a dead body?" All of these remarks melt in the light of God's Word.

  If we had no other Scriptural insight than the fact of Jesus being "buried," that should settle the matter for us. If it is countered that Christ's body was going to be raised from the dead, therefore necessitating His burial, it must be  remembered that we too will be raised from the dead. But there is more.

The Saints of Old
  Abraham was called "the friend of God" (James 2:23). It is of interest to note how the Lord spoke to Abraham of his impending death. "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be BURIED in a good old age"  (Gen 15:15). One might choose to believe the language is inconsequential. We will find,  however, absolute consistency in Scripture in the matter of the death of the righteous.

  Prior to his own death, Abraham's wife Sarah died. Even though godless societies (from which he himself had been extricated) practiced cremation, Abraham buried Sarah's body. "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"  (Gen 23:19).

  In fulfillment of the Word of the Lord, Abraham was buried. "And his sons Isaac and Ishmael BURIED him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre"  (Gen 25:9).

God Buried Moses
  How did the Lord handle the death of His faithful servant, Moses? He certainly had a variety of options open to Him. He had burned up the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19). He had also consumed the wayward sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, with fire (Lev 10:1ff). However, these were judgments, not to be compared with the Lord's disposition toward Moses. "And He [God] BURIED him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day"  (Deut 34:6). 

  Those supposing that the manner in which we handle the bodies of those who have passed on is inconsequential, need to consider what God Himself did with Moses' body--something that has been revealed in Holy Scripture. Also ponder that a critical aspect of the Gospel itself is the BURIED of Jesus.

PRAYER POINT: Father, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, help me in all decisions, whether regarding life or death, to act in harmony with the revelation of Your own character.

-- TOMORROW: CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD --