’Tis a Fearful Thing

Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Genesis 23 verse 2. Welcome to this daily encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Tis a fearful thing was written by John Blaise and read by Stephen Tabor. Genesis chapter 23 verses 1 through 4 and 17 through 20. Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Cariath Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.

He said, I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead. And picking up at verse 17. So Ephron's field and Machpelah near Mamre, both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field, was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Afterward, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, which is at Hebron in the land of Canaan.

So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site. Tis a fearful thing, written by John Blaise. Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch. That line begins a poem written more than a thousand years ago by the Jewish poet Judah Halevi, translated in the 20th century. The poet clarifies what's behind the fear, to love and oh, to lose. In Genesis, an outpouring of emotion occurred when Abraham lost Sarah in death. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. The chapter unfolds the beautiful, grief-heavy story of the loss of one of Scripture's most memorable characters, Sarah, the faithful wife of Abraham.

That old woman who laughed at the news she'd be a mother, but cried in pain as Isaac made his way into this world. We make much of that crisp, humanity-rich verse in John's Gospel, Jesus wept. The Messiah's tears at the tomb of Lazarus emphasized Jesus' loss. To love is indeed a fearful thing.

The poet Halevi calls it a thing for fools, yet he follows by also naming it a holy thing, which it is, especially for those whose faith is hidden with Christ in God. We love and lose everything from spouses, to children, to parents, to friends, to pets, and weeping with painful joy is oh, so human. Yet for the believer in Jesus, our weeping only lasts for the proverbial night. As David wrote in Psalm 30, weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Our Father hasn't left us bereft of hope. Let's pray together. Loving Father, when we lose a loved one, it can seem like it would be better to never have loved at all. In our moments of deep sorrow and loss, remind us of the richness of our relationships. Be our comfort and peace as we mourn, and in time, turn our tears into joy as we look toward the day when we are fully united with you. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. What has affected your ability to love? Who is the last person you wept over, and why?