Genesis 50: 1-14

The Death of Jacob - Funeral Planning ( 2 of 2)

 Beginning in Chapter 50, verse one, we’re going to look at his funeral. He died at the end of chapter 49 and the opening 14 verses of chapter 50 look at the impact on the family and the funeral of Joseph. 

Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.

(Genesis 50: 1)

You might have called Joseph Jacob’s favorite son. Clearly, he was grieved, he was bereaved and he cried and all of that is perfectly legitimate, for man or woman, that how it ought to be. Emotion lack this doesn’t show a lack of faith it just the reality of our loss in this life.

The apostle Paul dealt with a situation where he founded a church in Thessaloniki. After he left after left town some people in the congregation apparently died, and Paul addresses the question of loss and loneliness. In chapter four of that letter, he says we do not experience sorrow as others who have no hope. Then he says God’s going to raise them up when Jesus comes so don’t worry about them, and to comfort one another with these words, but what intrigues me is he says we sorrow not as others who have no hope. 

You see there are two kinds of sorrow, you can be sorrowful and have no hope, and that would be deeply painful. Or you could be a believer in Jesus Christ and know that if the person that’s departed was a believer, and you still sorrow, but only up to a point. So, to be upset at our loss is perfectly legitimate, but you don't have to see it as the end of everything, like others who have no hope, for the promise of the Bible is that we will see them again. Remember, the last verse, of the previous chapter when it said after Jacob died, “he was gathered to his people”, and Joseph knew he was going to join him in the future There’s no chapter break in the Hebrew text, so we can put these two verses together and know that when we die we will be gathered together with our people. 

Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father, Israel. So, the physicians embalmed him. taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

(Genesis 50: 2-3)

Where are they when this happens? Egypt, and that would be the normal thing to do in Egypt and probably a good thing if they were going to take Jacob’s remains back to Israel and bury them there. And as we’re going to see in a minute, he’s taken back to Israel he’s brought to a specific site, and he’s buried there. The Egyptians mourn for him 70 days which is interesting. Apparently, that was their custom. Which leads me to say that people grieve, they lose a loved one and they mourn that’s normal, and, in this case, they mourn for 70 days, which was only just two days fewer than the mourning period prescribed for a Pharaoh. This is a big deal, for more than two months, they went through a mourning and grieving process for Jacob, Joseph’s father.

When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favour in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

(Genesis 50: 4-5)

Now this strikes me as interesting, because he was second in command, Pharoah had put him in charge, but Joseph didn't go to Pharaoh direct, he went to the court and told them of the promise he made when he swore that he would bury his father in Canaan. He asks their permission to go and promises that if you let him go, he will come back. Why did he go through the officials of the court instead of to Pharaoh himself. Most likely, this was because those in mourning were not permitted to be in Pharaoh's presence. As we can tell, Joseph avoids mentioning what Jacob said about his allegiance to his ancestors in the land of Canaan (Genesis 48:21). Perhaps he was concerned the Pharaoh would not approve of any perceived lack of loyalty to Egypt.

From a prophetic point of view Joseph's request to leave Egypt, even temporarily, foreshadows similar requests made by Moses to another Pharaoh, centuries in the future (Exodus 5:1–4). The Pharaohs who rule during Moses' life will not show regard or honour for Joseph’s delivering the nation in the past (Exodus 1:8) and will not respond as warmly as does the Pharaoh of Joseph's era…. So, Pharaoh replies.

Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.” So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt—  besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.

(Genesis 50: 6-9)

This is interesting some of the officials go with them and of course all the brothers and the family go. Matter of fact, everybody went apparently, except a few who were not able to go. Only their little ones, their flocks and their herds were left in the land of Goshen, so the small children were left behind one would assume with a few adult women to look after them and their animals. Bible experts say this was a token that they would as promise, come back. That’s the implied pledge of choosing to leave the children behind. We are told that chariots and horsemen also go, so it must have been a very large group.

I was looking at this passage in preparation and I thought to myself if I had twelve sons and they all had wives and they had children and. maybe some of them have grandchildren and they would also have had servants, and then add in the officials of Egypt this would have been a huge group. It would in fact have been a long processional for a funeral. I read somewhere that the Chariots carried the food supply and the horsemen went along for protection, so they were well protected against anybody who might want to molest them as they made their way from Goshen in Egypt all the way back up to Canaan, where he’s going to be buried at Hebron. 

Now, at this point something rather unusual happens.

When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father.  When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.

 (Genesis 50: 10-11)

So, Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

(Genesis 50: 12-14)

Now what is strange about this is if you look at a map they were in Egypt and there was a direct route from Egypt straight to the southern part of Palestine. Which is where Abraham bought the field from a Hittite as property for a burial place. Therefore, these opening verses of Chapter 50 are simply telling us about the funeral of Joseph. It’s telling us that his sons did as they were requested, and they did as they were promised. I guess if we’re going to put ourselves in their shoes, if people gave us instructions for their burial, we should honor their wishes and carry them out. So, if you are involved in the Funeral arrangements or somebody else, do what they requested and do what you promised to do.

I said that this message was about the burial of Jacob. But I also said I think this tells us several things that maybe we should consider in planning our funeral. For example. something about it should act as a testimony of our faith. Just requesting to be buried in Canaan was a testimony to his faith in the promises of God. 

Let me make several final observations. 

Number one, as you’ve heard me say before as we’ve gone through Genesis, we need to look at these stories in the context of the Book of Genesis. If we took this story and put it in the context of the Book of Genesis, I think we would see that this is really another indication of a Patriarch believing God. I’ve stated that several times, but I think that’s critical. Jacob’s burial in the land is important to the overall purpose of Genesis. God had promised the land to Abraham and had given the patriarchs a small portion of it. Through the lives of these men we see that God would fulfill his promise and do for their descendants all that he promised. They counted on the future faithfulness of God who had proven himself faithful to them personally during their lifetime. 

This burial of Joseph is important to the purpose of Genesis, and the purpose of Genesis is to record that God promised the land to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and. This fits that purpose that these Patriarchs believe that God was going to fulfill his promise to them.

Another observation I would make is that in one sense this fits the purpose of Genesis, and it talks about the faithfulness of God, but that also talks about the fate of these men. The burial of believers should be done in such a way as to give testimony that the one who died believed in the future resurrection and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Jacob believed the Lord to the end and. The whole funeral procession involving all those Pagan Egyptians was a testimony to them that here is a man who believed God. They could not go through this without knowing that. 

If you’re making arrangements for your funeral perhaps it should include a testimony of your faith in Jesus Christ. It ought to bear testimony that you have believed the Lord’s promise for you in respect to life after death.

If after listening to this message, you have you learned to trust the Lord just a little bit more in respect of your eternal future then I will have achieved a lot. If I didn’t teach you anything else other than trust the Lord then I’ve succeeded, 

One more suggestion and it is the kind of thing I would probably never have said unless I was going word by verse through this book and that is you should make plans for your burial, then part of this is a testimony of you faith in God, through Jesus

So. Let me spell some things out. 

Number one, you need to express your practical wishes regarding your funeral. Now is that something that most people don’t? But that’s what these guys did, and there are examples. 

The second number two. I think you should make sure that the person taking the service makes sure what is said is a testimony to your faith in God. I think it is really helpful if you put it down on paper and give it to somebody, because sometime nonbelieving family members will try and exclude that aspect from the arrangements.

The third thing I would say is this. You need to make some estate plans. I’ve been saying this off and on for years since I first bumped into this in the scripture, but if you’ve accumulated any kind of material possessions, then you need to figure out who gets what. It’s commonly called a will. Let me tell you why. There’s a special court called probate court and probate court does one thing, and the one thing is they will determine who gets what you left if you haven’t stated your preference. If you do not have a will the state will write your will. If you do nothing, they write your will for you, it will go to a probate judge, and he decides who gets what. So, you might as well make some plans for it. Abraham did, Jacob did, and we need to do the same. As a pastor who has had the privilege of getting to know some funeral directors, I can tell you should see what happens when people don’t plan. It would be the greatest motivation in the world for you, to make some plans if you saw how some families behave during funerals. If you make plans, you can be a blessing to your family and other believers and if you don’t you will be a burden to the people that you leave behind, and that shouldn’t be put on them. You need to make the decisions to help them survive the trauma of your loss and all it will mean to them, and you’ve got biblical warrant for doing it and it’s here in Genesis chapter’s 49 and 50, and we can be thankful to God for that wisdom.