The findings of my research surprised me. There were way more stories in the Bible that involved caves than I had previously thought! And as I did even more thinking, I realized how many good lessons that we can learn from these stories.
So that's how this series has come about! I'd love to share some of the lessons that I've learned from cave Bible stories with you, and throughout the next few weeks I'll do just that. :)
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The first cave that I'd like to talk about is the cave of Machpelah. Do you remember it? Don't worry, I could hardly do some before I did some more study! To learn more about it, let's turn in our Bibles to Genesis 23. I'll be posting a few key passages here in the article, but you'll gain a greater blessing and understanding by reading God's Word for yourself.Okay. You there yet? Let's read verses 1-4:
"Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath 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.”"
To sum up a lot of words, the next several verses describe the bantering of the native Hittites and Abraham as he tries to persuade them to let him pay for a burial spot. He finally succeeds, and pays four hundred shekels of silver to Ephron for a field and adjourning cave. The cave, as you may have guessed, was called the cave of Machpelah.
Verses 19 & 20 continue the story:
"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."
As an aside, I think that it is interesting that this cave (and field) of Machpelah is the only plot of ground that Abraham ever owned in Canaan! God had promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit this whole land (see Gen. 15); and yet while Abraham was there, he owned just a small spot of ground to bury his dead.
Anyway! On with our story. The next mention of this family cave is made in Genesis chapter 25, just a few pages over from where we currently are. Let's pay special attention to verses 7-10:
"Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah."
Once again, we see the cave of Machpelah coming into play. But what I'd like to point out is that Issac and Ishmael came together to bury their father. To be honest, I haven't studied up on Abraham's sons recently, but from what I remember they weren't exactly buddies. They lived separate lives, far apart from each other, going in drastically different ways. But while Isaac and Ishmael were very different, one task brought them together: burying their father in the cave of Machpelah. Hold that thought...
The next, and final, mention of the cave of Machpelah comes in Genesis chapters 49 & 50. To begin our study of this segment, let's read chapter 49, verses 29-33. But first, a little background. Joseph is in charge of Egypt, and invites his father, brothers, and their families to come down and live with him. They do so for several happy years, but then Jacob realizes that he is about to die. So he gathers all his sons around him, gives them his blessing, and that's where this passage comes in:
"Then [Jacob] gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamrein Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people."
We learn in this passage that Abraham and Sarah aren't the only patriarchs buried in this cave. Abraham's son Isaac, and his wife Rebekah, are also buried in this cave. As well as Jacob's wife Leah. So as Jacob dies, he makes Joseph promise that he will bury him in the cave of his fathers--the cave of Machpelah. Chapter 50 chronicles Joseph carrying out that mission. After properly grieving for and embalming Jacob, Joseph, his brothers, plus several Egyptians make the trek up to Machpelah to bury Jacob.
What's remarkable to me is how similar are the burials of Abraham and Jacob. Oh yes, they are buried in the same cave; and yes, I'd cede that the circumstances surrounding their deaths are different. But what I think is interesting is how in both cases the deaths brought the living family members--usually the sons--together. Now please don't get me wrong--I'm certainly not advocating death as a way to bring a family closer! But I do think it is interesting that it happened that way.
But let's clarify this a little more. Not only did it bring the sons together for a time, but it brought them back to their roots. Did you ever think about that before? Coming back to their roots. Isn't that something that we all should do from time to time? To see where we've come from, to see where we're going, to get a refresher on what we're doing?
Two things pop into my mind as I think about coming back to my roots. First on that list is family worship. Every evening, my parents have made it a point to have family worship with my sister and I. We read out of a devotional book for my sister, and out of a book called More College Faith for me. More College Faith is a really cool collection of stories relating to college life. Not only do they relate to college life, but the different authors tell of how God has in a very obvious way helped them and strengthened their faith during their college years. As one going into/basically in college, these stories really help!
After More College Faith, my dad always reads out of one of Sam Campbell's books. I don't know if you all know who Sam Campbell is, but for those of you who don't, he was a naturalist who in the 1940's and '50s filmed wild animals and then wrote books about his friendships with them. Campbell and his wife lived on a two-acre island in a northern Wisconsin wildlife sanctuary, and would often take in and raise orphaned baby animals (they were doing it legally, of course). The Campbells also had a feeding station on their island, and many of their animal friends would come to eat there.
As I mentioned earlier, the Campbells spent their summers on their island in Wisconsin filming all the wild animals that they came into contact with. When winter came, they would visit schools all over the Midwest and share the films that they had made with schoolchildren.
The other thing that Sam Campbell did was write books of his adventures, and our family has all of them. And so every evening at family worship, Dad reads a chapter or so out of one of these books. They are so good and fun and wholesome...something that is very rare nowadays. Whether Sam is exploring the Canadian canoe country, or barely surviving a mule ride down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, or just exploring the woods near his home, I feel so refreshed by these stories that teach. I feel like I'm transported to another, better world. Where better morals exist, and the true and noble things of life are honored and dwelt upon.
It's hard to explain, but I can say that I really like what these books do! For me, I feel like I am coming back to my roots when I listen to Dad reading the Sam Campbell books. My mind is elevated to better things, and I am connected with my family once again.
The second thing that comes to mind as I think of "coming back to our roots" is the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a full 24-hour period (Saturday) on which I can rest from my regular duties and cares of life to just spend some time with God. I get to go to church, listen to the sermon, and participate in discussion on the Bible. In the afternoon I am able to have some physical rest, plus opportunities to witness for God by writing these devotionals. (Did you know that I spend most of my Sabbath afternoons writing devotionals? Even though I'm writing this on June 30, I'm looking ahead to August when you will be able to read these devotionals on caves!). I love the social interaction with fellow believers, and the encouragement that they give me. Sabbath's a great gift from God to me, and I wouldn't miss it for anything!
I definitely feel like the Sabbath is an example of "coming back to our roots". It's one day in the week when I can set everything aside, and come back to my ultimate Roots...God. I find it interesting that even the Israelites of old had to be reminded by God to remember the Sabbath, to come back to their roots (the Sabbath was actually instituted at Creation, see Gen. 2:2-3):
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." ~Exodus 20:8-11, emphasis mine
I could probably find many more examples of "coming back to our roots", but I think that you get the idea. Through various forms and ways, we need to come back to our roots. To get a refresher of who we are, to elevate our minds to the better things of life. Will you do that this coming week? And now I shall leave you with a very special Bible verse, found in Jeremiah 6:16--
This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls."
Love your closing Bible verse! :)
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