Not So Final

Not So Final
Words of Faith 8-30-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 50
[4] When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh's court, "If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, [5] '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.' "
[6] Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do."
[7] 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-- [8] 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. [9] Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
[10] 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. [11] 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.
[12] So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them: [13] 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 as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. [14] 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.

Jacob had a big funeral. I mean big! Certainly the biggest this family had ever seen. The body of Jacob had to be embalmed for the long trip back to Canaan. All the family came along with many dignitaries from Egypt. Jacob was buried back home in Canaan along with Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, and Rebekah. This was to be his final resting place on earth.
Funeral services have always fascinated me. As a pastor, I have officiated at literally hundreds over the past forty years. My goal has always been to celebrate our faith at such times while reflecting the needs and wishes of the family and the deceased. Every funeral service is different and involves the local and family customs and the personality of the person we remember.
I have done services with bagpipes and others with choirs. I have had services that were more of a party than a sad service. I had one service for a billionaire, and there have been several services where I needed to negotiate a discounted price with the funeral director on behalf of the family. I had to pay for a couple of services myself because the family simply could not. I have had services with over a thousand present, and there have been a few that were attended by only one. I have helped lay to rest people over a hundred years old and some that were only a few hours in age at the time of death.
The service of "interment"-- putting a body in a final resting place-- is always different as well. Some families choose cremation and others a traditional burial. Some are interred in a cemetery or mausoleum nearby, while others, like Jacob, are shipped "back home" to rest with family. Still, others have their "cremains" sprinkled as ashes into the ocean, river, or onto a mountain. This is always very solemn because it represents a final farewell and entrusting remains to a resting place.
A few things are common. It is true that a hearse never pulls a U-Haul. You can't take it with you. It is also true that no matter how fancy the box or the clothing, we all move out of this world pretty much the same way. As Solomon said, all come from dust, and to dust, all return (Eccles. 3:20). Our mortal life and death are very much the same no matter who we are.
But that is not the end.
Jacob probably did not know it as he drew his last breath, but immediately he was to be in what the Bible calls the "bosom of Abraham," a place also called Paradise. Joseph did not know as he lovingly buried his father's body that one day the Lord would call the faithful to a glorious physical resurrection.
Neither Abraham nor Jacob truly knew the great Truth that would come from their seed, Jesus, or that "what is sown perishable will be raised imperishable." Neither Jacob nor Joseph could have imagined the great truth that was coming to pass in generations to come. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands (2 Cor. 5:1).
The truth is that those who die in the Lord are blessed. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me (John 12:24-26).
Who would have thought? What we sometimes call a "final resting place" is not nearly so final.

Father God, I entrust my whole being to You. Use me this day, and in the years You have numbered for my life. In Your time, gather me to Yourself and call me to the great and glorious resurrection of all who trust in Your Son. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.