THE STING IS GONE

“Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
    Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are your plagues?
    O Sheol, where is your sting?
    Compassion is hidden from my eyes.” [Hosea 13:14, ESV]

For many, death is the ultimate fear. In fact, most fears are, at the root all about death. If we fear car accidents, shootings, getting sick, all of these things are because the possibility of death lies within them. If death weren’t a possibility—if we could take that risk out of the picture, we could handle just about anything that came our way, with strength and fortitude. However, in the midst of those trials, lies (always) the possibility that one may not survive.

The process of death can be very painful. It can be instantaneous, as in tragedy—be it accidental or intentional; but not being able to see it coming, and having it happen quickly, somehow comforts the survivors. Knowing that our loved one(s) didn’t “suffer long”, seems to make us feel some semblance of relief. Outside of the death of those who are the children of God, death is ALWAYS painful, whether it is instantly painful—quick, or whether it is lengthy; death will “sting”.

In the prophecy of Hosea, God speaks through him, to His people (Israel & Judah—and as the church, we are spiritual Israel) and He shares this compassionate passage, in the midst of passages of judgment—all mingled together. Within the midst of the judgment, He provides hope for those who will repent, and seek His face. It is the same offer He extends to all of mankind today—it is a choice; no one has to experience the sting, or even the fear of death. For the child of God, there is only one death—the death of the body—and it is only a conduit to real life—it’s the commencement, not the end. However, for those who don’t accept Christ, death comes twice—first the body—(and there is no comfort in knowing that there will be no sting or pain) nor is there is the hope of rest, then the eternal death of the soul. Sting-free death is how Stephen could be stoned, gazing up into the Heavens asking God to forgive his attackers, and how the early Christians could be fed to the lions singing praises and wearing smiles because they were counted worthy to die for the Name of Christ. It is also how, today persecuted Christians around the world are able to bear the persecution, and yet stand, while all around them, family members are imprisoned unjustly, beheaded, or homes burned to the ground with children and others inside—and still, they continue to serve  God, passionately.

In 1^st Corinthians 15, Paul mocks satan, with “ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 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 15:51-57, KJV]. The adversary of our souls thought that he could destroy us, not only with death, but with the fear of death, too. he was wrong on both accounts. When Jesus died for us, He received and bore our “sting” in His body, for us. He took every bit of the pain of our death, in His sinless, innocent body—satan’s dastardly, diabolical, wicked plan failed, miserably.  Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah Who would bear the entire burden of mankind’s sin—past, present and future is recorded in Isaiah 53:4-12:

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, [yet when] He was afflicted, He was submissive and opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.

⁸ By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living [stricken to His death] for the transgression of my [Isaiah’s] people, to whom the stroke was due?

⁹ And they assigned Him a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief and made Him sick. When You and He make His life an offering for sin [and He has risen from the dead, in time to come], He shall see His [spiritual] offspring, He shall prolong His days, and the will and pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

¹¹ He shall see [the fruit] of the travail of His soul and be satisfied; by His knowledge of Himself [which He possesses and imparts to others] shall My [uncompromisingly] righteous One, My Servant, justify many and make many righteous (upright and in right standing with God), for He shall bear their iniquities and their guilt [with the consequences, says the Lord].

¹² Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers], and He shall divide the spoil with the mighty, because He poured out His life unto death, and [He let Himself] be regarded as a criminal and be numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore [and took away] the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors (the rebellious).

Because He died, we don’t have to die the second death—and because He died, and was wounded, bruised, chastised and took the stripes that we deserved, we were given the right to pass from death to life, with no sting. His loss was and is for our immense gain. It doesn’t mean we won’t die. It means we have no reason to fear (physical) death—it is not the enemy of the saints. In fact, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” [Psalm 116:15, KJV]. That word precious in the Hebrew is “yaqar”, and it means: “valuable, precious, rare, splendid, weighty”. When we die it isn’t a light thing. God anxiously awaits the opportunity to give us rest from our pilgrimage in this foreign land of trouble, sorrows, pain, violence and woes. This isn’t the world He created (in its creative state), or the one He intended for man to have dominion over, but this world is the world we inherited, by virtue of sin’s presence. He longs to free His children from its impact. In fact, He longs to free all of mankind from its impact, but He won’t force anyone to choose Him; that is a choice that every man, or woman must make for him or herself. Freewill is of great importance to God—He won’t make anyone enjoy eternity with Him, against their will—forever is a long time to spend with Someone you don’t really love.

Death is nothing to fear, when you know Him. It is a release—a chance to exhale the troubles, pains, and sorrows of this life, and breathe in the freshness of peace, and rest of an eternal Kingdom of only glory, to glory, to glory….

I have great peace in knowing that as a child of God, when (physical) death comes, it won’t be greeted with fear and trepidation, but peace in knowing that I am one step closer to my eternal destiny. In fact, eternity is what I was created for; this is my time to prepare for it.

Almost home….anticipation.