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We read in our Torah portion for this week (i.e., Korach) the terrible fate of Korah and his co-conspirators: "And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up" (Num. 16:32), which the sages say metaphorically refers to being consumed by this world, its desires, and its end...
Life is a serious business, an irrepeatable opportunity. Many trifle their way to the grave, fully unprepared for the shock of the world to come... How few make it the great business of life to prepare themselves "until their change comes" (Job 14:14); how few consciously number their days to obtain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12)? We mustn't fool ourselves by thinking we have a long road ahead before we face who we are at the time of our death (Luke 12:19-21). "No one knows the day or hour," yet it is certain to come, and wisdom bids us be prepared. All must die; there is no escape (Heb. 9:27). "No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from this war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given over to it" (Eccl. 8:8).
In light of this somber truth, do you reflect on its significance? Have you taken time to consider how it will be for you at your death? Allow such thoughts to awaken you from your careless and unwatchful state. Lay up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20). You are not saved by doing ma'asei tovim (good works) but they evidence genuine faith (Eph. 2:10). Good works validates the presence of faith, and its absence is a sign of "Laodicean" apostasy (Rev. 3:14-22). Considering the vastness of eternity, human life is likened to a mere vapor that quickly passes away (Psalm 103:15-16). It is madness to put off that which is of ultimate concern until the last moment. Therefore "repent one day before you die." Live each day as if it might be your last before your judgment (Heb. 9:27), and may our blessed God help you to "seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isa. 55:6).
כי־ידעתי מות תשׁיבני
ובית מועד לכל־חי
"For I know that you will bring me to death,
and to the meeting place for all the living."
(Job 30:23)
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Of course dying "in the LORD" assumes that you are really "in Him," that is, that you are a person whose heart is known by Him (1 Cor. 8:3). You can't die in him if you have never lived in him. In this world we learn to die, and as we die in Him, so we will live in him. Resolve this within your heart: אַשְׁרֵי הַמֵּתִים אֲשֶׁר מֵתִים בָּאָדוֹן - "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord," כִּי מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הוֹלְכִים אַחֲרֵיהֶם - "for their works follow them (Rev. 14:13).
Concerning the prospect of death we are full of great confidence because Yeshua has overcome death for us and secured our place in heaven (John 11:25; Heb. 2:9-10). "We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast" (2 Sam. 14:14). Though physical life inevitably returns us to dust (Heb. 9:27), death does not have the final word, since God wonderfully "devises the means by which the banished are brought back home." If you belong to the Lord, your death is the day of precious homecoming to be with your beloved Savior: "For me to live is Messiah, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). As it is written, "just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven" (1 Cor. 15:49). Amen.
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