Verse of the day:
Genesis 47:29-30 When the time
drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now
if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and
deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but
let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in
their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.”
What
would be most important to any one of us if we were told at this very moment
that we were going to die, for certain, within this coming week? What would be
most important for us to accomplish in that time period? Would the things that
we have worried about and made priorities in our lives still be a worry or as
important? What would we change? What would become most important to us? The
Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this
the judgment”. Death is the one thing that cannot be avoided in this
life. As a matter of fact, there is not one person alive who has been
guaranteed that he/she will be alive tomorrow (unless Jesus returned today). If
this be true, which it is, then let us stop and think about what we have made
most important in our life, and consider what things we worry about most. Jacob
has not had an easy pilgrimage on earth. He suffered much, but now is coming
near to the time that he must die. His son Joseph he had for seventeen years
before his brothers betrayed and sold him into slavery. Now, after finding out
that Joseph was alive and being reunited, God has chosen to redeem that time
and give Israel another seventeen years with his beloved son. God brought
Joseph back into Israel’s life during a famine that affected both Egypt and
Canaan. However, even when the famine was at its worst, God provided for
Israel, and his family, because of what God had done in Joseph’s life, and how
He was using him. Now, his only concern is where he will be buried. Why was
this particular issue such a concern in a time when Israel was so close to his
time to die? First, we can learn from Israel’s life that only God can truly
redeem our time and make right the things that have gone wrong. He promise that
He would work all things together for our good; ALL THINGS (Romans 8:28). Secondly,
why do we worry about things that God already told us He would take care of,
and provide for us, if we sought the Kingdom of God first (Matthew 6:25-34)?
Finally, of all the things to prioritize in our lives, do we stop and consider
what our relationship to the Lord is, and where we will finally find ourselves
when death come knocking at our door? Do we stop to consider that what is most
important in this life is our relationship with Jesus, and whether or not our
family, loved ones, and friends also have an intimate relationship with Him?
Jacob, now nearing the time of his death, was first, and foremost, concerned
with being buried in the land God promised to give him and his descendants;
Canaan was their promised resting place, and is our picture of Heaven. For
Jacob it was a matter of being put to rest in the place God promised would be
his final resting place. Like Jacob, we must concern ourselves with whether or
not we are truly heaven-bound, and whether or not we have been diligent in
living our lives in such a way as to allow God to use us to bring others to a
saving knowledge of Jesus. Sadly, we are far too quick to want to read
devotionals about how we can do better in living our lives, but turn a deaf ear
to ones that remind us, and encourage us, to share the Gospel with others. God
was very clear when He said, in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature.” In the end, when our time comes to die,
there will be nothing that is more important than whether or not our home is
Heaven, and whether or not we truly lived this life for the glory of God that
enabled us to share Jesus with others.
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