Sermon Nuggets Mon Jan 28 A
Fitting Memory
Gen 49: The Death of
Jacob
29 Then he gave them these
instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my
fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the
cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham
bought as a burial placefrom Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. 31 There
Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife
Rebekahwere buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The
field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished giving
instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last
and was gathered to his people.
A Fitting Memory
For several months we have been
going through the book of Genesis. It is the foundation of the Bible. It is
God’s introduction of himself through creation, fall, redemption, and providing
a plan to bring people to himself and bless the world for his glory and his
honor. The Bible is God’s story, not man’s story. And as the message of the
beginnings ends with the patriarchs it gives to the Jewish nation the promises
in a literal and a spiritual way that brings hope to every generation.
Last week we talked about the
Blessings and prophecies Jacob passed on to his sons. Now in this last chapter
and some verses that precede it we see the way in which Jacob and Joseph wanted
to be remembered when they passed away.
During times of funerals folks will
often share special memories and times of special accomplishments and
relationships of the deceased. We have received memorial gifts in honor of a
loved one who died. Those gifts honor the memory of someone by sharing in
projects or ministries of the church.
Certain times of the year we honor
those who serve in the Armed Forces and those veterans who have died, and
especially those who died in a war. We also follow a practice as Christians to
have a memorial celebration we call communion. It is a special time to remember
the life and death of Jesus Christ who died for our sins and salvation. We also
proclaim his life in the resurrection from the dead.
Now once again Jacob talks about
his death. Jacob was ready to die many times before this. It almost seemed
humorous, the number of times he mentioned it.
One pastor related the story of one
older member of his congregation who called him to her death bed several times
to practice the ritual of hand holding, asking if she was ready to die and
quote Psalm 23 and praying together. The only problem is the woman didn’t die,
but she practiced it numerous times and he had better be ready to respond when
she knew it was her time to go.
How do you imagine it will be when
you die? If you had a say in that most would wish it to happy like Jacob where
he lived a full and rich life and gathered his loved ones around him to share
in love and memories. Most Christian
parents would want to be sure their
loved ones were believers and followers of Jesus Christ.
Friends I say this with great
sensitivity and love. Perhaps your loved one never embraced Christ and repented
and trusted Him for their salvation. We an account in Luke 16 of a rich man who died and was eternally lost. His
wish and prayer was his loved ones would not follow him in his ways but turn to
the Lord. That most certainly would be the greatest wish of all those who have
died, those in Christ and those who did not believe.
Are you prepared spiritually for
this journey of death? Accept Christ
today before it is too late.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Jan 29 Honor
Gen 49:29-50:14
Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and
kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians
in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking
a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the
Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
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.
Memorial -A time to Honor
The idea of honoring the dead is
Biblical. Now we are instructed not to pray to the dead, or worship the dead,
like some cultures and religions, but to reflect on their memories and
recognize the mankind is a far different creature than animals. We have a soul
is special and the life we live is special.
Joe Bayly, in his book on death,
contrasts the death of his grandmother and his own father. One of his early
memories as a child was being led into my grandmother’s room in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, to give her a final kiss. She was dying. Grandma was conscious,
slightly raised in bed, her white hair braided and carefully arranged on the
quilt she had made as a young woman. The four-poster bed was the one in which
she had slept for fifty years, in which her four children had been conceived
and born.
There was a bouquet of sweet peas
from Grandma’s garden, which gave the room a faintly fragrant. Her family
surrounded her. In a few hours she died.
Forty years later Bayly recalled
how his children were with their grandfather when he had his last heart attack.
The EMT’s came and put Grandpa on a stretcher, carried him out of the house,
and that was the last his grandchildren saw of him. Children were excluded from
the hospitals. Joe and his wife were with him in the intensive care unit of the
hospital. The mechanics of survival—tubes, needles, oxygen system, electronic
pacemaker—were in him and on him and around him. The staff informed them they
had to leave after visiting hours, and Grandpa died alone, that night. His
grandsons had no chance to give him a final kiss, to feel the pressure of his
hand on their heads
We understand the scientific
progress God allows. There are people with us today because of the medical
tools God has chosen to give us. There are many who have been given longer life
with the help of medical and surgical treatment that would not have been possible
50 years ago.
But there is something missing from memories when
dying at home was part of each family experience. Jacob died in bed, at home,
surrounded by those he most loved, and by those who most loved him. While most
of us would prefer to die like Jacob, most may not have that choice. The need
for very specialized treatment in a hospital or an unexpected death may snatch
us from those we love without any warning or opportunity to say a final
farewell.
At the death of his beloved Rachel
Jacob hoped to die. (Gen 35:). Later when it appeared that Joseph was dead,
Jacob saw little reason to live. “Then all his sons and all his daughters arose
to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go
down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” (Gen 37:35). When Simeon was detained in
Egypt and Benjamin was demanded as part of the integrity of Jacob’s sons, once
again Jacob became preoccupied with death talking about going down to Sheol in
sorrow (Genesis 42:38). Even when Jacob learned that Joseph was alive he was
talking about death. “Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have
seen your face, that you are still alive” (Genesis 46:30). He lived 17 years
longer.
Each country and religion has
various burial customs. Even in different parts of the United States customs of
burial are different. My Uncle was a mortician in Colorado and he found it odd
that people would come and visit the family and body in mortuaries. In his day Colorado
people went the homes of the survivors. In Detroit where I grew up, I never
remember a death without at least two full evenings of visitation and was
surprised about only one evening here in Minnesota.
I remember my first funeral as a
pastor in Wisconsin. I came to the visitation and everyone sat down in chairs
quietly. I thought this was the custom. I sat down also and sat in silence. I
was feeling awkward as people looked at me and I looked at them. After a short
time, I quietly told the family I needed to go and offered a quiet prayer with
them and left. It wasn't until about three funerals later that I was made aware
of the custom of the pastor having a prayer service at the funeral home and
people expecting me to come and give some words, Scriptures and public prayer.
I was so embarrassed.
The Egyptian mummies perhaps points
to the unique techniques they had in embalming. The folks of Jewish descent
today in America are usually buried without embalming within 24 hours of the
death and people come and console the family many days afterwards. But embalming
was needed as Jacob was to be taken up to Canaan to the field of Machpelah, and
buried in the cave along with his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac,
and their wives. Leah, too, was buried there, and it would seem that at that
time he had hewn out a place in the cave for his own burial. Many Egyptians
followed the procession, but then left the family alone for another period of
time. This would then have been a more private family matter neither
participated in by the Egyptians nor viewed with curiosity by the Canaanites.
I remind people before a funeral
service one of the appropriate things we do is remember the good times, recognize
the struggles life gives us. To reminisce is a way of honoring those who have
gone on before us. It is part of our grieving process.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds Jan 30 Healing
Gen 50:15-18 15 When Joseph’s
brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a
grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So
they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before
he died:17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask
you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in
treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the
God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw
themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
Memorial -A time to Heal
The story of Joseph and his
brothers is far different than the family depicted in the Godfather series of
the Calone family, where all was peaceful until after the death of the father
and the mother When the parents passed away Michael Calone, the new Godfather,
had revenge on his brother in law first, and later his brother by killing them
for offenses done in previous years. The
message was clear. “We don’t get angry, we get even.”
But that was not the case with
Joseph. The brothers feared retaliation now that Jacob was gone. Now, years
later, they were still plagued with guilt about their treatment of Joseph. They had experienced 17 years of grace. But,
they reasoned, that was a time when Jacob still lived. Now that he is dead,
would Joseph seek revenge?
They bring a message to Joseph from
their father. The message is simple: "please forgive your brothers."
It breaks his heart that the brothers don't take his love at face value. Joseph
gathers his brothers together and says, "Am I in the place of God? You
intended me to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now
being done, the saving of many lives."
Vengeance belongs to God, not man.
Joseph would not consider usurping a prerogative, which belonged only to God.
Joseph was aware their attitudes and actions were evil, but the result was
intended by God for the good of all. Instead, Joseph returned kindness for
cruelty. The kindness Joseph had shown while his father was alive would continue
he reassured them
Memories can bring honor, but it
can also bring bitterness. While in the nursing home there was a sweet
gentleman named Elmer. He attended regularly my Bible studies. He never had any
visitors. We talked often about the Lord, but little about his family. I
remember visiting Elmer at Vets hospital and reading passages of salvation and
comfort while he was on a respirator and about 2 weeks later died. I was asked
to do the funeral. I expected only a few from the nursing home to come, but to
my surprise there were sons and daughters there whom I never met nor heard of.
There was no weeping, no sharing of memories, no real connectedness.
It was after the memorial service
when I got into private conversations with his children to discover the Elmer I
knew they did not know. Elmer was an alcoholic, abusive father who did such
physical and emotional damage to the family they could never forgive him.
Whatever his past was I did not know, but apparently when he was forced to no
longer drink his whole personality changed and he was the nicest man, but they
never knew him sober. Bitterness, resentment, and even revenge lingered in the
minds of the children who wanted to see their father in hell not in heaven.
At the time of one’s passing it can
be a time when families break up or come together in healing. Part of looking
at the past and thinking about the events as we do can bring healing. It took
many years before a US President could go to Germany and lay a wreath, in honor
of the dead soldiers. The memorials of the Holocaust carry the heaviness of hatred,
prejudice and destruction, but to remember as was depicted recently again on
the TV with the story of Anne Frank is a way to bring healing to past sins.
But don’t glorify war. It is
horrible. There are wrongs, there are acts of innocent suffering, there is the
repulsion of inflicting death on others when you wonder if there isn’t a better
way. There is a time to seek forgiveness to give forgiveness and heal. Our
coming together to honor is also a time to heal, to ask forgiveness and to
forgive and pray that peace will last.
The times when people come to
graves to think of loved one can also be a time for healing, not only the grief
over the loss of a loved one, but the forgiveness that needs to be given. Pastor
Steve Newton from Lakeside Christian Church had a vision of having a memorial
spot in the Cambridge Cemetery to honor those babies who had been aborted, or miscarriages
or still born. After the bench and marker was put up many ladies and men go
there to think, pray, some to ask forgiveness, some to questions God. Most will
find a place to release emotions and find healing. Some can let go of the past
guilt or bitterness.
One picture that moves me is of a
man on his knees grieving over a name on the Viet Nam wall as his hand tenderly
touches the marble. People come for comfort, for memories, for releasing
emotions, for healing. It has been a good thing.
At times of memorial ask those
offended to forgive you and forgive others their offenses by leaving them in
Gods’ hands. Healing is recognizing Christ’s blood changes the past because on
the cross he paid for all the offenses. Healing is at the cross.
Things were made right between Joseph and his brothers
because forgiveness was asked for and given. The relationship was restored.
Memorial time is a time of healing.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs Jan 31 Hallowed
Gen 50:19-21
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be
afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended
to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now
being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then,
don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured
them and spoke kindly to them.
Memorial- A Time to Hallow
It was President Lincoln at the
Gettysburg grounds who in his famous speech said, “we cannot dedicate, we
cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.” The deeds of the brave men
and the cause of freedom for which they fought that all men are created equal
is a God given value that makes this worth fighting for and dying for. The God
is a divine cause.
Joseph could forgive not because
there is any civil war to be fought, but there is a spiritual war that is
always being fought. Satan seeks to kill and steal and destroy. But Joseph
understands that holy work is being done in the offspring and descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He knows that he also was called to holy divine work
by saving his family and the nation of Egypt. He saw Gods’ hand in the evil
that brought him and others good. He could focus on the works of God and give
him praise and wanted them all to see what God was doing.
He points us all to God’s
sovereignty. God was guiding the circumstances of his life. He looks back at
the events of his life and sees that God was working in the details.
The doctrine of providence is not very popular today. There
is infighting even within a small minority of the Baptist General Conference
over the doctrine of the openness of God. When difficult circumstances come our
way some contemporary folks are quick to jump "to God's defense."
They proclaim, "God had nothing to do with it!" or worse, they will
say, "God couldn't do anything about it."
But there are two problems with
these statements. What is comforting about believing that God is powerless to
control the things that happen in your life? And second, trying to defend God's
reputation they make God less than God. God's promises, His plans, His purpose
are now subject to the arbitrary whims of man. If He is God, of course He could
have done something about it. God’s foreknowledge is what this is also about.
He knew while Joseph dreamed of the stars bowing what was going to happen. He
knew about the coming of the nation back to the Promised Land. There is comfort
to hallow memories and activities by looking back and seeing God’s wisdom and
hand in the fight against evil and know we are on the winning side.
That doesn't deny evil. We are not
saying what his brothers did was good. Joseph acknowledged his brothers
intended evil. They wanted to hurt him. They sinned and were responsible to God
for that. What Joseph acknowledged was God took their evil intentions and used it
for good. So when children commit terrorist acts, when one person abuses
another, when drug dealers peddle death to others, when God's standards are
laughed at and ridiculed, these are evil acts. These people will stand before
the judge of the world and have to give account for their wickedness. I believe
God has chosen (according to His wisdom) to allow us a measure of freedom. They
were fully responsible for their decisions and choices that God let them freely
make. You make them and I make them. And with that freedom came consequences.
But what the Bible teaches is that
in God's mercy He uses the free acts of men (albeit evil) to accomplish his
purpose.
Joseph did not always understand
God’s plan. Neither do we. I’m sure there were many nights when Joseph cried
out "Why Lord?" Job was
confused about the evil done to him and asked, "God, what have I done to
deserve this?"
. Same may ask, “Why did my spouse
die? Why do I have cancer? Why is my
relationship such a mess? Why does everyone else seem to prosper while I
struggle?
Believing in God's providence
doesn't mean that you will understand what God is doing it only means you will
trust that God is doing something. We don't define "good" the same
way that God does. To us "good" is that which makes us happy,
satisfied or brings us enjoyment. We see good in the absence of any pain. But
God's definition is different. God defines good as that which leads us to
Christ likeness, or that which brings us to trust Him more or which advances
His Kingdom. Or what is a witness to his judgment. The Bible teaches that some
people will be used for God’s glory in judgment.
Our perspective is faulty. We don't see the whole picture.
We must trust God's wisdom.
We have studied the book of Genesis
for several months. But in doing so our perspective is skewed. The events in
these pages have not taken place over a monthly period; they have taken place over
several hundred years. Consequently we may miss the faith that was necessary to
hang on.
Think of the many months Noah was
building the Ark with no evidence of a flood
Think many years between God's promise that Abraham would
have a child and the birth of Isaac. Think of the 14 years Jacob worked so he
could be married to Rachel. Think of the years of bareness Rachel endured
before she had Joseph. Think of the years of separation between when Joseph was
sold into slavery and when he saw his family again.
In each of these cases I suspect
there were questions. These people wondered if God has forgotten them. But He
hadn't. And He hasn't forgotten you. God knows where you are and He knows where
you are going. This is a time to hallow. To make our earthly experiences and
disappointments a spiritual experience. To look to God and praise Him for where
he has lead us and how he has used circumstances to mold and make us and where
he will be leading us. We are in process. We only see glimpse of a greater
plan. But praise God we are part of it by grace and our faith in trusting Him
through it all.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Feb 1 Hope
Gen 50: 22-26
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with
all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and
saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the
children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s
knees.
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers,
“I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you
up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear
an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must
carry my bones up from this place.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of
a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a
coffin in Egypt.
Memorial – A time to Hope
This is
another death, but it points to the hope of the promised fulfilled. It
identifies the family of God the Israelites as opposed to the adoptive family
of the Egyptians, not just the race, but the faith. He knows the people will
reach the Promised Land and even though it is 400 years later when we get to
the book of Exodus when the people are free to go they take the bones of Joseph
and carry them to the burying place of his father just like promised.
The land and people were promised
by God. There was no doubt what was going to happen. The only question was
when. That is hope. That is planned history.
More than
50 years elapsed between the death of Jacob and the death of Joseph. Apparently
the history of their lives weren't important for us to know. But the promise
was important. In some respect I’d like to maintain the history from Genesis
and go right into Exodus and all the way through the Old Testament in
preaching, but I won’t subject you to that endurance. Plus there is value of
moving the fall into a New Testament book and get a balance.
But my
point is- God’s timetable is not ours. But the hope and assurance of his
promises keep us going and even making plans. We do not know if Christ will
return in our life time, but we live in the assurance of that promise, so death
has a different perspective, this world has a different perspective, the events
of the Middle East have a different perspective all because of hope in the Word
of God and the knowledge of we are not just left to chance, but to the divine
movement of history to the culmination of the world just as God had planned and
revealed to us in the rest of the book.
People
living with hope make life have purpose and meaning. It is not based on
falsehood, but seeing how prophecy is fulfilled gives us greater confidence in
the workings of the Almighty.
Joseph was a continual reminder to
the Israelites in Egypt that some day the exodus would occur. Day after day in
Egypt, that coffin spoke of Israel’s future and Joseph’s faith. Both men, Jacob
and Joseph, determined that their death and burial would be a testimony to
their faith and a stimulus to the faith of their offspring.
Genesis chapter 50 is not the end
of the story; it is only the end of the book of Genesis. Moses has yet four
books to write, and God has ordained another 61 before the final chapter is
written. And in the final chapters of the book of the Revelation we once again
return to paradise. (Rev 21:1-4)
When our Lord quoted the statement
of God the Father, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob” (Matthew 22:32), He did so to prove there is life after death. For,
otherwise, He would have said “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”.
Our hope is in the Lord and Him
alone especially at his second coming when the entire kingdom is under King
Jesus. We have hope as individuals by the abiding presence of Christ and
guidance in our lives until he takes us to glory. Our hope as a nation is not
in our politicians or military or financial system. It is in God who is the God
of the world, not just the USA. And when we leave him, as our nation is doing,
then America will fall into ruins like all the countries before. We do have a
divine destiny and responsibility until the Lord calls us home.
Pastor Dale
