"Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah." (v.1)
The scripture evidently bestows great honor upon Sarah for she is the only woman of God in the Bible whose age at the time of her death is mentioned. In fact, very few of the women of God in the Bible even have their death itself recorded.
The New Testament speaks of Sarah as one of the great women of faith in the scripture: Sarah is honored in the “Hall of Faith” chapter of the book of Hebrews (11:11), “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.” She is also looked at as an example of a godly woman in 1 Peter 3:6, “Just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”
In Sarah's generation, 127-years was a disappointment because most people lived a lot longer than she did. Abraham would now live on for another 40 years without his beloved Sarah, who had influenced him in many ways. Evidently Sarah died rather suddenly and unexpectedly, For Abraham was away at the time of her death. Otherwise if she had been ill a long time one would assume that with the great love that Abraham had for her, he would have been at her side at the time of her death.
It is interesting to note that as rich and influential as Abraham must have been at this point in time, that he didn’t own a single piece of property, and hadn’t even built his family a house. In Hebrews 11:8-10 we read that Abraham lived in the promised land, but did so as an alien or sojourner living in tents, and he did this because he was really looking for the city whose architect and builder was God (that would be heaven). So Abraham had to purchase a plot of land (which included a burial cave) from the sons of Heth for 400 shekels of silver in order to burry Sarah his wife (vv.3-20).
Whenever someone dear to us departs who is in the Lord, life here on earth becomes clearer. That is, it becomes very clear that we are just pilgrims here, this is not our home. Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) Thus, when you begin see your treasure (family, loved ones) moved into heaven, your heart follows.
Loosing a loved one is never easy, especially when it seems to come prematurely. But remember, if they are in the LORD, we shall see them again.
The Truth: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
