In Torah portion Chayei Sarah, the Life of Sarah, we read:

וַתָּמָת שָׂרָה בְּקִרְיַת אַרְבַּע הִוא חֶבְרוֹן בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן

“And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan” (Gen. 23:2).

The portion of Sarah’s life records her death, at the age of 127. Why did Sarah die now? This chapter follows the binding of Isaac. After Abraham takes Isaac to Moriah, laying him down upon an altar in an act of obedience to the Lord, the rabbis have speculated that one of the servants with Abraham observing this fled to tell Sarah. In shock, she died. Hope it would seem, the hope of the future, of generations to come gone in an instant.

One verse is dedicated to the years of Sarah’s life (23:1). One verse to her death (23:2). And the remainder of the chapter records the events surrounding her burial.

What happens when our hopes and dreams seem to die, suddenly? I am sure that many of us can relate to Sarah’s shock and sorrow. Perhaps not to the point of physical death, although this is not unheard of, but perhaps to the point of asking, “What’s the point now?”

Him. When a hope or a plan ends suddenly, the Lord is asking us to trust Him. This is not a value judgment about Sarah, but a lesson learned.

The binding of Isaac was not the end of hope, it was the beginning. Abraham and Sarah both loved and hoped in Isaac. Prior to his birth, their hope rested in the Lord’s promise. The Lord asked Abraham to lay his hope upon the altar and dedicate it entirely to Him. By this, Abraham would once again look past the immediate means of God’s promise to the ultimate fulfilment of it: Yeshua/Jesus. Perhaps they were so fearful of losing their hope, that they lost sight of the miracle that brought him.

When the Lord seems to remove our hope, it is only because there is a greater hope yet to be revealed: Him. Ultimately, our hopes and dreams, in faith, lead to Him; not the immediate destination we have before us. Isaac surrendered his life upon Moriah, as he willing laid himself down in obedience to his father Abraham. Isaac’s resurrection restored hope, yet in a future Lamb and a future promised Son.

When hope appears to have expired, wait, for in Him it is resurrected and renewed. Tim Keller wrote, “Christ’s resurrection not only gives you hope for the future; it gives you hope to handle your scars right now.”

What are your scars? What is the pain that has seemingly disconnected your hope? Lay it down. Trust Him. And when the knife is set to the throat of God’s promise, you will find hope eternally resurrected in the person of Messiah Yeshua.

Paul wrote: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

It is the hope that cannot perish that satisfies the heart, as God’s hope, תִּקְוָה/tiqvah, is the cord holding us tightly to Him. The promises of God that are wrapped up in Messiah (2 Cor. 1:20) will not perish, regardless of life’s circumstances; as we are caught up in Him, and He has overcome death and the grace.

Sarah lives, and so do you. He is faithful (Heb. 10:23).

Be well. Shalom.