7Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt— 8along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
9Both chariots and horsemen went up with him, and it was an exceedingly large procession. 10When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, they lamented and wailed loudly, and Joseph mourned for his father seven days.
11When the Canaanites of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn ceremony of mourning by the Egyptians.” Thus the place across the Jordan is called Abel-mizraim.
12So Jacob’s sons did as he had charged them. 13They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
14After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.
“Luther remarks that there is no burial recorded in the Scriptures quite as honorable as this or with such wealth of detail.” (Leupold)
“The cave of Machpelah is the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.”
Some people and some religions make shrines out of burial grounds placing their faith in the dead. There is a mosque over the cave of Machpelah, but we need to remember.....
Mark 12:27 (ESV)
27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living....
Jacob had a funeral and a procession fit for a king or president. But in the end he was a mortal man no different than you or I.
Those of us in Christ will be in His presence when we die.
Will anything else matter?
Prepare today for the kingdom of God, tomorrow will be too late.
Blessings, David
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