A) INTRODUCTION.

B) CREMATION.

C) EMBALMING.

D) CONCLUSION.

 

 

A) INTRODUCTION

 

The Biblical established way was to bury in the ground the individual (see Gen. 23:4 & 19; 25:9; 35:8 & 29; 40:30; 50:13; Due. 21:23; 1Sa. 31:13; 2Sa. 2:4-5; 2Ch. 16:14; Ecc. 6:3; John 12:7; Acts 5:6 & 10; and many more).

 

Keep in mind that in the Jewish line of thinking, to “bury” a body was to express belief in the resurrection.  But do not then come to the conclusion that any other form of burial would discount you from being resurrected.

 

 

B) CREMATION

 

 

Cremation is mentioned in First Samuel 31:12-13, were “Saul and his three sons” were cremated.  If this practice were against God’s Commandments or Will, the Bible surely would have mentioned it; as other abominable things that Saul did were not passed by lightly.  Also, some Bible commentators have even suggested that the first and best-known mention of a “cremation,” was the “burnt offering” in the Book of Genesis, where Abraham is asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on top of a funeral pyre (see Gen. 22:1-18).

 

The problem comes about in that Orthodox Judaism forbids the practice of cremation.  As in First Samuel 31:12-13 mentioned above, the Jewish community considers the burning of one’s body to be shameful.

 

Generally speaking however, the words “burnt,” and “people,” when combined, are often used in a negative connotation; usually used as a form of punishment to kill or defile, (whether the person was dead or alive).  An example of this is seen when the godly King Josiah defiled the altars of Ba-al and burned the bones of the priests upon their own altars, so as to desecrate them in Second Chronicles 34:1-5.  And in Amos 6:9-10 (see also Amos 2:1) we see that there is a person who comes along with the relative who is to “burn” (cremate) the dead bodies (albeit these are rejected or despised people of our Lord).  However again, if our Lord did not want this practice of burning one’s body, certainly mention would have been made of it.

 

 

C) EMBALMING

 

 

Another form of burial mentioned in the Bible is embalming, mentioned in Genesis 50:2-3 & 26, which speaks of Jacob and Joseph being embalmed.  Surely God would have provided a way out of Egypt for Jacob and Joseph if He forbade the practice.  Other examples would be Lazarus (see John 11:44) and our Lord Himself (see John 19:40) being laid to rest in burial clothes, which might be considered a type of embalming, even though it was not for the purpose of longevity, as the Egyptians were known for.  However again, even though Jacob and Joseph were both embalmed, both of them wanted their bones to be “buried” in the Promised Land (see Gen. 47:30; 50:25; Exo. 13:19; Jos. 24:32; Heb. 11:22).

 

 

D) CONCLUSION

 

 

When it is all said and done, the fact that our Lord can put back together our bodies, whether eaten by lions or sharks, blown up by bombs, or whatever circumstance, is to assume that our Lord is incapable of putting us back together; and that would be a mistake by us.  Although it appears that the Biblical method of burial is for us to bury our dead in the ground, what our Lord is really looking for, in regards to being resurrected upon His Second Coming event, which is the main reason this question of proper burial comes up in the first place, is that our “characters” be without blemish while living upon this earth.  Besides all this, we will be given new bodies anyway (2Co. 5:1-2; you can also see 1Co. 15:38-49, specifically verse 44; however, this is discussing character, not new bodies per se).

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