ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Burial vs. Cremation

Text: "My Father made me swear, saying Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me." (Gen. 50:5}

The Case for Burial

The purchase of a field by Abraham as a place to bury his wife and his children (Gen. 23) is the earliest account of the purchase of land. It considered a matter of humiliation to be buried in the ground of a stranger, and Abraham desired a place where he would have the continuing right to bury his dead, "And after this, Abraham buried Sarah."

Jacob charged his sons, "I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field... of Machpelah which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought...of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; and there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife: and there I buried "Leah." (Gen. 49:29-31)

Joseph sent word to Pharaoh "My father made me swear saying, ‘Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me.’" (Text)

From the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the people of God have buried their dead. When God blessed Abram, He said, "Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace: thou shalt be buried in a good old age." (Gen. 15:15) Therefore Solomon said, "If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say that an untimely birth is better than he." (Eccles. 6:3)

Since God commanded that even executed criminals were to be properly buried (Deut. 21:23), it was a peculiar judgment of God upon the king of Babylon that while kings lie in glory, the king of Babylon would be cast out of his grave "as a carcase trodden under feet." He would not be joined with the kings of the nations in burial because he destroyed his land and murdered his people. (Is. 14:18-20)

Jeremiah prophecied of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "they shall not lament for him saying, ‘Ah, brother!’ or Ah sister!’ they shall not lament for him saying ‘Ah Lord!’ or ‘Ah, his glory!’ He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast froth beyond the gates of Jerusalem." (Jer. 22: 18,19)

Speaking of the days yet to come when Gog will invade Israel, Ezekiel prophecies that God "will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel…and it shall stop the noses (of the people)." And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them that they may cleanse the land. (Ezek. 39:11, 12)

In the New Testament, the body of Jesus was would in linen clothes with spices "as the manner of the Jews is to bury." (Jn. 19:40)

"And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him." (Acts 8:2}

The people of God are to bury their dead first, because God’s Word teaches us to respect the body God has fashioned for us. He even forbids us to print marks upon it. (Lev. 19:28)

Second, belief in the resurrection of the body makes it a desirable thing to see it "return unto the ground" from whence it was made. (Gen. 3:19)

Third, the Lord was buried; and down through the ages, followers of Christ have wanted to be "planted together in the likeness of His death." (Rom. 6:5)

Note that it is the influence of the Bible upon our society that makes our military men recover their fallen comrades for a proper burial, even though they may be engaged by enemy fire.

The Case for Cremation

With the reported shrinking of available land for use as burial plots, cremation, or the act of burning the dead, offers a viable option to many. It is certainly less expensive than the cost to embalm, and the cost of caskets has skyrocketed in recent years.

In the days of Roman persecutions, the Romans allowed Christians to leave the catacombs to claim their dead and to bury them. The Romans burned their dead (1), but then, they also abandoned their elderly and diseased to be devoured by wild animals, or to die by exposure.

It is the testimony of Lucian that the Greeks burned their dead, while the Persians buried theirs. 2 Cicero believed burial was the more ancient practice, although the Romans in his day practiced cremation as well as burial.3

Cremation was the custom of the ancient Greeks and was a custom adopted by the Romans, but neither the Hebrews nor the ancient Orientals practiced it. It is the testimony of Thucydides, Plato and of Plutarch, however, that the Greeks often buried their dead. 4

God warned Israel that they who "wrought folly in Israel" were to be burned. (Josh. 7:15) And, it appears cremation was practiced in Israel in times of plague. (Amos 6:10)

Cremation vs. Burial

In our day, Orientals widely practice cremation often storing the ashes of their loved one in an urn on their mantel; yet, Abraham sought to bury his dead out of his sight. (Gen. 23:4)

Scripture teaches the body was formed from the dust of the ground, and unto dust shall it return. (Gen. 3:19) Man was not fashioned from ashes.

Burial is therefore the most natural way to care for the dead.

For this reason Jews try to hasten the decay of the body that it may return to the earth as quickly as possible. To do this, they rub the corpse with egg because as egg will rapidly ferment, so it will cause the body to quickly decay. They also drill holes in the casket to aid in the draining of the body.

Consider this: although Christians believe God can as easily raise the dead from ashes as He can from the dust of the ground yet cremation is rooted in unbelief. The heathen practiced it because they did not believe the body would rise again.

The Expense

But what of the expense? Must we go to the extreme expense of embalming, of purchasing a metal casket and a cemetery plot? The answer is "No!" You should check the laws of your state, but in Georgia, the dead may be buried in a Pine box, in a plot of ground, provided the land totals at least 4 acres; and, if the body is buried within 24 hours, it does not need to be embalmed.

Cremation has never been popular among Christians because Christ was buried; and as He rose from the dead, so believers look for that resurrection that will redeem their body from this earth. Barring an attempt to halt a plague, Christians should honor their dead by giving them a "proper Christian burial."

Footnotes

1 Francis A. Schaeffer. How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company. Copyright 1976, p. 24.

2 The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Edited by James Orr. VI. II of 5 vols. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. "Creation" by George B. Eager. Copyright 1960, p. 744.

3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.

Text: "The Lord hath made all things for Himself; yea, even the wicked, for the day of evil.’ (Proverbs 16:4)

When the Bible affirms "The Lord hath made all things," it follows first, that all things have been made; and second, that it is the Lord Himself who has made them. Now if God did not tell us the reason he made all things, then we would have no right to interpolate our speculation. However, He hear tells us plainly that He made all things "for Himself." It follows then, that the works of creation and all events are designed so that He will receive glory.

In order that there be no misunderstanding, Solomon adds, "yea, even the wicked." From this we deduce first the term "wicked" entails not simply the drunken, the profane, the gambler and the traitor, but them who have knowledge of the voluntary, sacrificial death of the Son of God who yet remain impenitent.

Second, we deduce that it is the Lord Himself who has made them who have no sorrow, and who experience no shame for their sins. He has made "all things" and therefore He has made all people, including them who do not have enough love for Him to cease to do evil, and to learn to do well.

Lest we should conjecture what purpose the Lord could have for making the wicked, He tells us that it is "for the day of evil," that is, for the Day of Judgment --that day which results in everlasting perdition. When God withholds the gifts of repentance and faith from wicked people, it is because they are "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." (Romans 9:22}

People die in their sins because they were "of old ordained to this condemnation." As they are the "children of Disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2), "being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed" (I Peter 2:8), so they are offended by the good Word of God, and turn His grace into lasciviousness. (Jude 4)

As the Lord does not give them eyes to see, so He does not give them ears to hear. (Deuteronomy 29:4) As He reveals to some, so He hides from others.

As a parable is in the mouth of fools (Proverbs 26:9), so the Word of God to them that perish. "All these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see and not perceive; and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest at any time they should bee converted and their sins should be forgiven them." (Mark 4:11,12) God is not willing they should be converted.

God thus exercised His right as Creator to make "one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor." (Romans 9:21) He exercises His divine prerogative to show mercy "on whom He will show mercy, and whom He will He hardens." (Romans 9:18)

While the Word of God is the power of God unto salvation for some (Romans 1:16), it is the "savor of death" to others. (II Corinthians 2:16) These "like natural brute beasts (were) made to be taken and destroyed." (II Peter 2:12) For this reason they shall perish in their own corruption.

Reader, has God given you the grace to repent and to believe on the only begotten Son of God?

A Query in time by – The Angelus