Walk In Newness of Life Pt. 35 Samuel & Abraham Speak from the grave!

We have one more lesson from the life of Abraham that is recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke. We have words from Abraham from the grave. Before we get to Abraham, I want to look at one Old Testament example of someone speaking after they died. 

Samuel spoke from the grave.

Such a startling event happened at least once before in the Old Testament. King Saul was ready to fight the Philistines and the Spirit of God had departed from him because he did not fully obey what God commanded. The king searched for a woman who had a "familiar spirit" that is to say, she was a "necromancer." A "necromancer" is one who pretends to communicate with dead spirits in order to foretell the future. 

Saul wanted a medium to communicate with the prophet Samuel, who had been dead for a number of years. A necromancer was located for Saul, and much to the woman's astonishment, God permitted Samuel to come up from the grave and speak. 

1 Samuel 28: 11  Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12) And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. 13) And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14) And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. 15) And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16) Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17) And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: 18) Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. 

The woman described Samuel and he spoke to the king and asked why his rest had been disturbed. The king told Samuel how God departed from him and he needed direction. First Samuel asked Saul why he was asking him, because God was doing exactly what He said He was going to do. Second, Samuel told the king that the reason God took the kingdom from him and gave it to David was because Saul failed to obey the word of Jehovah. 

Thus, Samuel's voice from the grave contained a simple message. Hear and heed the word of God!

Abraham spoke from the grave. 

Luke 16:19-21  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20) And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21) And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  

Jesus spoke about two different men who died and told us where their soul was. It is important that the rich man was not named by Christ but the poor, sick beggar was named. His name was "Lazarus" which means he whom God helps. His name indicated the plight of this poor man. He could only rely upon God for help and he had faith and hope that God would take note of his dire condition. 

The first man Christ introduced was a very wealthy man who had the finest clothes and enjoyed the best food, home and entertainment that money could buy. He was living what the world would call "the good life." There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, provided that it is earned by honest and hard work, rather than by stealing or cheating others. 

However, God's law provided for the needs of the poor and such benevolent action by the rich man is absent from this account. (See Deuteronomy 15:7-11; 23:22; 26:12; Proverbs 19:17; 22:9; Matthew 5:42). He selfishly lived for his own pleasure every day and did not provide for the poor as God commanded. 

Jesus spoke of a second man, a beggar whose name was Lazarus, one who had no wealth, no honor and who was looked down on by society. He had serious health issues and was covered with ulcerated sores. This poor beggar only wanted to eat crumbs of food that fell on the floor at the rich man's home and were thrown out by his servants. Moreover,  wild dogs licked his sores as they foraged for food. 

Lazarus died and was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. 

Luke 16:22-24  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24) And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  

Both men eventually died but their souls went to opposite destinations. Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. The awful struggles he endured in life were over and his faith in God was rewarded. 

In our last lesson we read about the death of each saint being precious in Jehovah's eyes (Psalm 116:15) and death for a born again Christian is like falling asleep (1 Corinthians 15). This proved to be true for Lazarus, as angels escorted him into the place of rest for Old Testament believers. What a beautiful picture of comfort and hope this paints for the believer. 

The rich man who died ended up in "hell." The word translated "hell" in this text is "hades" and it generally refers to the unseen realm of the dead. Notice that the rich man was in a conscious state. He was being tormented which means he felt pain and suffering because he was now eternally separated from God. 

The rich man had his mental faculties and could see Abraham from a great distance. He cried out to Abraham for mercy and begged for Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger into water and to put it on his tongue to cool him. Then he exclaimed that he was tormented in the flames of hell. The rich man still viewed Lazarus as a beggar but he was the one now begging for a drop of water. 

What happened to believers (or saints) in the Old Testament when they died?  The physical body went to the grave of course, but their soul went somewhere else. Samuel described where his soul was as a place of rest. Jesus called it Abraham's bosom.  Jewish teachers described  "Abraham's bosom" as a special place like the garden of Eden. The fact that it was named after Abraham reminds us that he is the father of faith, the friend of God, and we stand in the covenant of faith Jehovah established with Abraham.   

What is Abraham's bosom?

Luke 16:25-26  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26) And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 

The rich man who died ended up in "hell" but  Abraham spoke to him and it is worth noting what he said to the rich man. First, Abraham did not condemn the rich man for his unbelief. He called him "son" which is an interesting word. It can refer to the bond of love between a parent and a child. 

Metaphorically, it refers to those who are cursed and doomed to God's wrath. I think Abraham's use of the word "son" indicated both meanings. He certainly had pity for a suffering soul in the flames of hell. He also knew that God was just in condemning the rich man to hell. 

Abraham reminded him that he lived the good life and received good things, while Lazarus suffered many evil things while he lived. Now, the tables were turned and Lazarus was comforted while the rich man suffered greatly. 

This is an example of the fate of those who believe God, contrasted with the fate of those who do not believe God. The rich man's great sin was his failure to live by faith in God, because the just shall live by faith and without faith it is impossible to please God. 

The simplest way to understand Abraham's bosom is as a place where the souls of all who die go. It is divided into two compartments. The first compartment called Abraham's bosom was a place of rest like the garden of Eden.  The second compartment was called hell and was a place of fiery torment.  

Both compartments were for the souls of those who died in the Old Testament. Why was this necessary? Because no believer who died could go to heaven until Jesus Christ came, lived a sinless life, died in our place paying for our sins and rose from the grave. 

Saints resurrected when Jesus rose from the dead. 

Matthew 27:52-53  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53) And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 

When Jesus came out of the grave many Old Testament believers also resurrected and appeared to many family members. These were the believers who died in faith.  

Jesus spent 3 days in Abraham's bosom. 

1 Peter 3:18-20  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19) By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20) Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 

Peter taught us about what Jesus did as He spent three days and nights in the grave. The sinless Son of God also went to the place of rest and no doubt filled the hearts of all those saints with joy and hope in the resurrection. Jesus even preached to those disobedient spirits which were in the same place where the rich man was suffering. He reminded them that Noah preached the gospel for one hundred and twenty years before the flood but they would not hear and heed the Word of God. 

Jesus took all O.T. saints with Him to heaven.

Ephesians 4:7-10  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9) (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10) He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

Paul tells us what Jesus did when he rose from the dead. He took all of the Old Testament believing saints from Abraham's bosom (He led captivity captive) and He presented them as a firstfruits offering of the resurrection to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:23). 

Abraham's final words to us.

There was no way for a soul to pass from one side to the other. There is a "great gulf fixed" that is a permanent barrier between the two places. The word translated  "gulf" is used in the word "chasm" and means a vast vacuum of space between two places that cannot be bridged.

Luke 16:27-31  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28) For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29) Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30) And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31) And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.  

The rich man pleaded for Abraham to send Lazarus to his father's home because he had five brothers and he did not want them to die and end up in fiery torment. 

What was Abraham's reply? He pointed to the Word of God and said they have all that they need for salvation and living by faith in Moses and the prophets. The rich man pleaded by saying that if Lazarus was raised from the dead and went back to talk to his brothers, they would believe. Abraham firmly replied that if they will not hear and heed the inspired scriptures then they would not believe Lazarus if he returned to testify to them. 

Today, when believers die they are absent through death from their body, and are in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-10). 

Thoughts to Ponder...

First, when we die, we will retain full awareness of who we are, our family connections and of our surroundings. Believers will be taken into the presence of God (John 5:24-29).

Second, the time to lead our children to Christ is now. The time to be a witness to the lost about sin, judgment and eternal condemnation and of salvation through repentant faith in Christ, is while we are still alive. 

Third, we must always be anchored to the Word of God and share His truth with others. Samuel, Abraham and Jesus Christ pointed us to the scriptures. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 

When we are born again our future is secure and a home in heaven is assured. I pray that these truths will sink into our hearts and bring us great hope, comfort and encouragement to live for the glory of God.

Bob