The Shadow of Death

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

(Psalm 23:4)

Death is a subject that most people would rather not discuss. Yet, sooner or later, we all have to deal with it. What do the Scriptures teach us about this appointment that all sinners face?

1.) Death is the consequence of Adam’s disobedience, Romans 5:12: When Adam fell, his soul was immediately separated from God and he died spiritually, although he lived many hundreds more years, only to die physically. What the father is, so the children are and therefore it is the lot of every son of Adam to die as well, Ecclesiastes 8:8.

2.) Death is according to the LORD God’s sovereign judgment and in His appointed time: Though some deaths are considered ‘untimely’ our departure from this world is exactly according to the precision clock decreed by God and set in motion according to His sovereign will. Sometimes those wheels appear to turn slowly for some and more quickly for others but God’s watch piece is never early or late, Job 14:5.

3.) For the elect of God, redeemed by the LORD Jesus, death is but a valley through which we must pass as sinners: Because of the work of the LORD Jesus Christ in His life, death and resurrection, we do not despair. In reality, it is but a shadow of death and a shadow cannot hurt anyone. How so?

First, the LORD Jesus Christ conquered death for His people: Romans 6:9; Revelation 1:18. He has borne the curse of sin on their behalf and although they still must die physically, being still in their sinful flesh, yet, it is but a river that they must cross to reach the other side of glory. That river of death cannot hurt or defeat the believer so long as the head remains above the water. Christ the Head is seated victoriously in Heaven and therefore every believer is safe in Him, Ephesians 1:19-20.

Second, the Glorious Hope of every believer is the LORD Jesus Christ Who will ultimately and fully abolish death at His glorious second coming, I Corinthians 15:26. What a Glorious Hope is Christ the King! He conquered sin, Satan, death, hell and the world therefore believers are: “...more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” (Rom. 8:37)