THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
While living with sorrow there is an extreme amount of depressions and ridges we will venture through. The Lord is patient and knows this.
He is after all he is the man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
Gen 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which [is] beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
Deut 34:8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping [and] mourning for Moses were ended.
Gen 50:3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
There is a limit to what the human heart can contain as far as heavy mourning. At first the grief can be uncontrollable and the chest feels such pain that it seems to almost explode. Yet, whether or not we want to admit it the old axiom of “time heals all wounds” contains validity. You would go insane if this were not the truth.
But what does this have to do with the worst thing that can happen?
I speak as one who has lost two children. The first was by natural causes, a heart defect and the second through suicide, which is unnatural.
I have told myself that this is the worst way to lose a child.
I was wrong; the Lord has since shown me otherwise.
There are many books out there on the subject of grief and the process. Yet, without the God of the Bible they are meaningless and offer no hope. They are nothing more than a futile effort to bring comfort without The Comforter.
Therefore lets search the Holy writ and see some examples given on the loss of children.
1. Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
There is no doubt that losing your child at the hands of another child is a sorrow that few of us could endure without emotions of guilt, shame and hate. Abel was serving the Lord and doing that which was right and was murdered.
Adam, I am sure, saw first hand the ramifications of bringing sin into the world. Adam lived not only to see Cain kill Abel, but his future grandchildren kill each other.
Adam no doubt took this self-induced burden to the grave.
2. While he [was] yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters [were] eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. (Job 1:18-19 KJV)
Job losing all his children at once by seemingly a natural cause was a dreadful blow. This loss is repeated in earthquakes, hurricanes, physical and mental illness, acts of war and other natural events. Yes, war is a natural event to man. Ecc 3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
The daily newspapers are filled with these stories-they are just stories to us, unless it is one of our own. But with these terrible loses there maybe self-blame. Yet it is seldom justified.
Job suffered through this with terrible grief, but did not charge the Lord foolishly. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. (Job 1:20-21 KJV)
These are grievous events and the heart quivers with pain, but to lose a child by natural circumstances is far, far easier than the grief of Adam.
3. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. (Matthew 2:16 KJV)
The hands of mad men have murdered many a child down through history. When these mad men have power similar to Herod or Hitler the parents are powerless to seek justice and must endure this act of wickedness. Grief fills their hearts and hate against the madmen that brought this about.
Yet, in this country we are losing our children more and more due to wanton murder. The justice parents seek is rarely given. They must live with not only the loss, but also a hatred of a judicial system that will not take the life of the murderer. While death of a murderer will not restore the life of a child, the thought of knowing that the wicked received not the punishment true justice demands only compounds the grief. But the child of God must realise that there is a payday coming that no offender can escape, no liberal court can deny and no team of defence lawyers can defer with any amount of plea-bargaining.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27 KJV)
The grief suffered by these parents is wrapped in unfairness and is a weightier grief than losing a child due by natural events.
4. Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son [is] stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; [he is] a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged [is] accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance. (Deuteronomy 21:19-23 KJV)
Perhaps next to our last example this is the worst way to lose a child.
It is one thing to be ungodly and not try to lead a child down the straight and narrow, but in spite of prayers and efforts to have a child die due to his own rebellious nature is heartache beyond description. Many a devout father and mother have had their child on death row. Still, many more have had their child die while committing sin. Be it a wreck while drinking and driving, a drug overdose, killed by police or any other such acts losing your child in this manner brings shame, grief and asking the age old question of “where did I fail”. Few will grieve the loss of a murderer or other criminals and if it is your son or daughter this grief will be shared mainly alone.
David tasted this.
2 Sam 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
Joab council echoes the sentiments of weeping for a criminal (11Samuel 19:1-8).
And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. And the victory that day was [turned] into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent. (2 Samuel 19:1-8)
5. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. (Leviticus 10:1-2)
There is no worse way to lose a child than having God directly kill them, many may think this is above the Lord, but it is not.
Deut 32:39 See now that I, [even] I, [am] he, and [there is] no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of my hand. Aaron was not even allowed to properly grieve for his sons.
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD [is] upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. (Leviticus 10:6-7)
Judah lost two sons also as God killed them both. And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled [it] on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. (Genesis 38:7-10)
Did Aaron and Judah grieve? I am sure they did. Perhaps, you say that this type of action is only under the Old Testament. It is not.
Here Paul is writing the Church at Corinth to New Testament saints. He is warning them with fear. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
(1 Corinthians 11:29-31)
Every time a person dies it is someone’s son or daughter.
Let us sum up the matter on losing children. If your child is saved and lives to a ripe old age and should bring forth-healthy children it is a blessing.
A blessing is something you do not deserve.
There has been dedicated Christians who love the Lord and have had their offspring die due to murders, pagan governments, disease, war and natural catastrophes. We often do not recognize these simple truths.
There are parents who have lost children who have offended either God or the laws of civil conduct. Yet, they still loved them.
The bottom line is This is not heaven.
The world is under a curse due to man’s rebellious nature. Many of the diseases and heartaches that befall us are produces of mankind’s doing. We may not have the answer to it all, but God does. We can only to serve, FEAR and trust the Lord and seek the God of all comfort when losses arise. We are to comfort others in their misfortunes.
It would be naive to believe suffering will not come our way. Job suffered to show us faith in suffering. Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
We have no assurance of happiness here on this battered sphere. Heaven is the only place of no sorrow or death. Therefore even so come Lord Jesus.
The author of this work believes without reservation, that the King James Bible is more than just a priceless work of literary art, which it is. But it is has indeed been preserved without error by God’s providence as an infallible book that the common man in the English speaking world can hold and own, and the light it can give rest entirely on that man’s faith in it and its Author. And all those who believe otherwise have either been duped, have an unclean motive, are just ignorant or see no issue of importance in having God’s word readily available in an infallible form. No amount of linguist ability can give any extra light if there is doubt to its content, the Holy Spirit will not honour anyone that want to subject this English Bible to an inferior position.
YOURS TRULY
BILL WEST