RPG Adults
A HISTORIC FUNERAL
SATURDAY, MARCH 29
Genesis 50:7-13
Psalm 49:11-20
“…Honour thy father and mother…”
A HISTORIC FUNERAL
Abraham and Isaac both had simple funerals, each attended by two sons. Jacob, however, was different. It was a State Funeral and a very stately funeral! He was attended to the grave by twelve sons and a very great company consisting of “…all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house… And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen…” (Gen 50:7-9). All the pomp and grandeur befitting a national leader was accorded to Jacob. It would probably be correct to say that this cortege made the longest trip ever recorded, a distance of about 700 kilometre, to and fro. The whole elaborate procedure consisted of three parts:
1. The long caravan procession made its way up north-eastward from Egypt, skirting the Red Sea, across the Sinai desert, towards the southeast of the Dead Sea, then up the east bank of the Jordan River.
2. When the convoy reached the “…threshingfloor of Atad…” (Gen 50:10), they paused for a seven-day formal period of mourning in which the Egyptian officials participated.
3. The actual burial was attended only by the family members. “For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah” (Gen 50:13), which Abraham had bought for a burial place for the family.
The whole affair was attended by great sorrowing which even the Canaanites took note of, and by reason of this, the place was named “Abelmizraim” (Gen 50:11), meaning “The mourning place of the Egyptians.” Joseph loved his father dearly and to him was given the honour of burying him.
THOUGHT: “To every thing there is a season… A time to be born, and a time to die…” (Eccles 3:1-2)
PRAYER: Not just my life, Father, but may my death speak of Thy goodness too.