Chayei Sarah “Sarah’s life”
Genesis 23:1–25:18
1 Kings 1:1–31
Matthew 23-28

Coincidence is not a Biblical Word

The Torah reading this week begins with the account of Sarah's death and the bidding for a burial place so that Abraham could properly lay her body to rest. As Abraham must have lain awake many nights just after her death, he could think back to the full and rich life the two of them had led together. As he looked back he could see the hand of HaShem at every event he and Sarah had lived out together. He thought of how events had all seemed so confusing at the time, but now in hindsight they were all brought into such clear order. He could now see that his life had not been made up of coincidences, but rather each step along the way seemed to have been ordered. Even the times he had known he had failed his creator seemed to have been worked into the puzzle of his life for his good.

It was now time for Abraham to quit thinking of his own life though and consider his son and the life that was opening up before him. Surely the thought immediately came to Abraham that if Isaac was to carry out the promises of HaShem he was going to need a wife to help! So where would he find a wife and how would he know who she should be? The thought of choosing a wife from the local people was just not an option. He knew she should be from his family, but he certainly did not want Isaac to be influenced by them and the lifestyle they must still be in. Abraham decides to send his servant back to find a wife for his son.

Finding a spouse for a son or daughter could probably be a stressful time, but Abraham does not seem to be stressed about it at all. He simply calls for his servant and gives him the instructions of what to do. We then read how the servant became a bit stressed, but Abraham was quick to calm him down.
Why was Abraham so calm about the choosing of a bride for this son of promise? He understood that he served a God that did not change. The same One that had directed his life over these one hundred plus years could and would continue to direct in this most important decision and in the life of his son. Abraham knew there was no such thing as coincidence in the life of a follower of Elohim. There were however guided steps.

In light of the current world situation, the life of Abraham and his attitude toward it is such an important lesson for us to study, learn and live by. It is a story that should infuse each of us with a dose of faith and reliance on the One who has not only created us, but continues to direct our very lives on a daily basis. We should as we read, understand there was no coincidence in the lives of Abraham, Sarah and now Isaac. Nor is there any coincidence in our lives today.

Take a moment and think back over your life. How many times can you see the hand of HaShem specifically guiding and directing your steps? Where do you see His protection from harm? Can you see where mistakes were made and how they could have been adverted had you (or I) been listening better than we were at the time? Can you see that life has not been a series of coincidences which have brought you to a time in history, but literally it has been His hand and His voice which has guided you all along the way?

I am told that there is not a Biblical word for our English word coincidence. There is no such word because there is no such concept in the pages of scripture. As we read the accounts of people from Abraham to Paul we as outsiders looking in do not see coincidence, but rather we see providence. Let me ask a couple of questions to ask in light of this concept.

Do we serve a God that changes or does He plainly state He does not change? Do we serve One who is a respecter of persons or One who states he is not a respecter of persons? So what makes us live our lives in such an attitude that we think our lives are being directed any differently than Abraham, his servant or even Isaac? Why do we continue to live like they walked by Divine providence, but somehow things are different in our lives today?

I would like to challenge each of us on this Shabbat to not only remove the word coincidence from our vocabularies, but to eliminate the word from our very lives. Let us learn to live and walk with purpose as we acknowledge our steps and give Him praise for them. Let us walk as Abraham and as David knowing that our very steps are ordered by Elohim and He takes delight in them.