When Abraham buries Sarah his wife in the newly purchased cave of Machpelah, meaning double or fold, he had been repeatedly promised ownership of the land of Canaan, “Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him” (Gen. 12:7). A promise given to children he did not have. Yet, years later, as he stands and mourns for Sarah, he owns only a cave. Sarah had followed Abraham out of his father’s house (Gen. 12:1-3), and she was caught up in this calling, in this hope, and in this promise. Later, they received the promise of a son, Isaac, but neither received in full what they had departed their homeland for (Heb. 11:13-16). Still, the grave was not an end for either Sarah or Abraham. Every promise spoken to Abraham was followed obstacles that appeared to overcome the promise. The grave, while not the full, was in part, a step toward fulfillment.

While Abraham would not live to see his descendants settling in the Promised Land, as Messiah told us, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (Jn. 8:56). Abraham, the prophet (Gen. 20:7), saw the day of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. But what day? Perhaps it was the day of His birth, or the day of his revelation. Personally, I believe Abraham’s joy was the prophetic sight of an empty tomb.

Abraham purchased a tomb for Sarah; and in that tomb, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be buried. Generations later, a wealthy man named Joseph purchased a tomb for himself, where the Lamb promised to Abraham would be laid (Gen. 22:8). What Abraham saw in Isaac as a type, the resurrection, the promised Lamb would be in full: life from the grave. Abraham purchased a small piece of land in the Promised Land for his beloved Sarah. Yeshua, laid in a tomb owned by another, purchased all who would believe in Him, the promised Lamb, the resurrected Son of God (Ro. 10:9-10). As Paul writes in Romans 6:4, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Further, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The grave at Machpelah was not an end, but a beginning. Abraham could see this in part, but not in whole. How blessed we are to have received the revelation of Messiah and an empty tomb. We could mourn at the tomb like it is an ending, or we can trust in the Lamb and see it is only the beginning. Every promise of God is “yes” and “amen” in Yeshua (1 Cor. 1:20), but do not expect the way to be free of obstacles. Like Abraham before us, the promises have been given, therefore the obstacles are sure to come. Do not become frustrated, disappointed, or despondent. Why? Death has been defeated; the grave overthrown (1 Cor. 15:55-56). How? “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am” (Jn. 8:58), and “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn. 11:25). This is good news worth celebrating, and sharing, regardless of the circumstance.

Maranatha. Shalom.