Jewish Cremation?

This week, the body of Israel’s former prime minister Ariel Sharon was laid to rest in a grave at his family’s ranch near Sderot, Israel. Monday, international leaders paid tribute to the ex-military leader who went on to lead his country through difficult times. Sharon died last Saturday at age 85 after being in a coma for eight years following a stroke. Among those gathered were former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Vice President Joe Biden. Sharon’s flag-draped coffin, flanked by an honor guard, lay in state at the Knesset before being transported to its final resting place. There are two words in this paragraph I want you to note: “coffin “and “grave.” Sharon was buried, not cremated as are so many today.

My latest book CURSE BREAKING (CLICK HERE to order) deals in detail (pages 106-108) with curses than can be attached to cremation. I’ll not restate here what you can read for yourself, in fuller explanation. Historically Jews have strongly opposed cremation. Jewish law firmly states that the dead must be buried in the earth (“to dust you will return” – Genesis 3:19). Jews believe that the body belongs to God. Even after the Holocaust, many godly Jews actually gathered the ashes from death camp crematoria and buried them in Jewish cemeteries. In Deuteronomy the law commands that the dead are to be buried (Deuteronomy 21:23). Cremation destroys the body making it impossible to obey this biblical injunction. Furthermore, Jews consider the body to be created in God’s image, and to violate that deliberately by burning is an affront to God himself. (This principle also applies to self-injury and tattoos.) Cremation is nothing less than a violation of the sanctity of the body. Orthodox Jews hold that cremation is a rejection of the concept of resurrection and an emulation of pagan practices. Read CURSE BREAKING for more information about the historic Christian position on cremation and reconsider any ideas you have had about being burned at death.

An encouraging word:  FALSE GODS

“The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods” (Psalm 16:4). Whatever you allow to take the place of the Lord in your life is another god. Such “gods” in our culture aren’t necessarily images of wood or stone, they are often the things that replace religion, such as pleasure, money, lust, or inordinate entertainment. The reason sorrows increase is that the real power behind any false god is a demon (1 Cor. 10:20) and such evil forces come to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). Beware running after false gods lest you pursue a demon in disguise.