The Bible explores real life with all of its many powerful, often painful emotions. One of these is grief. How does the Bible portray grief? Where do we see it? And how does Scripture teach us to deal with grief?

Three Biblical Portrayals of Grief

We grieve over the death of a loved one or say goodbye to our grown children when they leave home. We grieve over violence committed against ourselves and our loved ones and violence against our communities.

Tamar grieved her sexual abuse. Mordecai and the Jews of Persia grieved their future suffering when Haman plotted to destroy them. Paul’s friends grieved as he left them because they knew they would not see him again (