We would be wise, we would be very wise, if our first thought every morning was about death. We would be wise if every time
we got up Went in the bathroom to shave, wash our head, look
in the mirror. We could picture our faces looking
up at us from a coffin because soon we must die, you and me. And frankly, believing God, I
like to think about that. I like to think about death.
I like to be reminded of death. I am pained greatly, as you know,
when I see friends lose a loved one or have lost a loved one. But I like still to think about
death. Blessed is that man who, as he
lives in this world of sin and sorrow, lives with comfort and
hope in the prospect of death. Last Friday night, after the
opening session of the Conference in Rescue, we found out one of
the ladies on her way to church that night passed out, ran off
a ravine, and plunged to her death. Saturday morning I preached
on the subject to the folks there. And now we're faced again with
the very real prospect of someone we love dearly dying. Providentially,
my text tonight is Exodus 13 and verse 19. Here the Spirit of God tells
us that Moses did something that must have been very conspicuous
to the nation of Israel as they made haste and left the land
of their captivity and bondage on the night that God brought
them out of Egypt. We get the idea sometimes as
we read this story that the children of Israel were fleeing like they
were afraid, and they were in a hurry because they were fearful
of Pharaoh pursuing them. That's not the case at all. The
children of Israel were brought out of Egypt on the night when
God passed through the land. When the Paschal Lamb's blood
was found on the doorpost and judgment passed over them, they
went out with a high hand. They went out with God's mighty
stretched out arm as a conquering people. They didn't go out as
slaves sneaking out in the night, fearful they might get caught.
They went out as slaves who had conquered their captors and spoiled
their captors, and they went out with a high hand. But they
went out in haste. And as they did, listen to what
Moses did. Verse 19, And Moses took the
bones of Joseph with him, for he had straightly sworn the children
of Israel, saying, that is, Joseph made his brethren swear to him,
saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my
bones away hence with you." Reckon why? Reckon why? Why did Joseph require his brethren
to swear to him that they would not bury him in Egypt, that they
would not leave his bones behind in Egypt, but rather when they
went out they would carry his bones up with them out of the
land of Egypt? I know this. The Spirit of God
tells us in Hebrews chapter 11 that Joseph's act in making his
brethren make this pledge to him was an act of faith. And
the Spirit of God tells us that Moses' act in bringing Joseph's
bones out of Egypt was an act of faith. And that Joshua's act
in burying Joseph's bones in the land of Canaan was an act
of faith. So this whole thing is an act
of faith in Christ displaying something very important for
you and me. My subject tonight is burial
or cremation. It might seem like a strange
subject to you, but it's not so strange as it might seem.
Should we be buried or should we practice cremation? In other
countries, cremation is far more common than burial. And it is
getting very common in this country. I recall years ago when I was
in Australia, I observed something strange. I wasn't being foolish,
or, well, I guess I was, but I didn't know I was. I saw these
walls, like our church sign out here, and it looked like they
had little mailboxes in it. And I asked the pastor at one
of the churches, I said, what on earth is that? Come to find
out, that was their graveyard. They didn't cremate anybody down
there. Cremated everybody. Stuck their
ashes in a little box and stuck them in the graveyard up next
to the church building. And it's becoming very common
in our country for folks to practice cremation. About a year ago,
I was shocked by the fact that a preacher I had known for over
35 years was cremated. That's what he wanted. And I'm
frequently asked, should believers be cremated? Well, does the Bible
give us an answer? Now let me make this statement
emphatically. No, the Word of God does not
give us a clear, definite answer, and therefore I refuse to make
a clear, definite statement by which I would bind the consciences
of you or any who hear this message. I told you I was shocked by the
fact that this preacher I knew requested that he be cremated.
And just as quickly as I was shocked, I was embarrassed and
had to confess shamefully before God my haughtiness, my arrogance,
and my presumptive self-righteousness, because I have no right to sit
in judgment over another about things about which God does not
give specific command. And we need to learn that lesson
and learn it well and learn it every day. If God Almighty does
not require something of his people, you and I have no right
to require it of them. If God Almighty does not require
that you do or not do something, you and I have no right to require
it. Religious folks tend, we naturally
tend, to think because we like or don't like something, that
makes it righteous, that makes it holy, that makes it spiritual,
and we start to impose those things on others. And that is
totally contrary to scripture. The fact is, God says plainly,
who art thou that judges to another man's servant? To his own master
he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holding up,
for God is able to hold him up. Let every man be fully persuaded
with regard to all things of indifference. Let every man be
fully persuaded in his own mind. In other words, there are many
things in this world about which it is entirely up to you whether
you do them or don't do them. I realize some of you do not
enjoy the blessed, blessed privilege of tobacco. I realize you don't,
and that's perfectly all right. You can actually be saved and
not do it. That's all right. Some of us
do, and that's all right, too. That's entirely at your discretion. I use that a little facetiously,
and yet I use that with great purpose. Those things that are
matters of indifference are truly matters of indifference. What's
a matter of indifference? Anything about which God does
not give specific command in His Word. Having said that, Yet
I'm often asked, and several of you have asked me recently,
should a believer be cremated or should he be buried? While
the scriptures don't give us any clear command, they do, in
my opinion, give us clear indications of what we should do, and certainly
indications that perfectly satisfy my own mind, indicating that
our bodies as believers are buried because this is most consistent
with the faith of the gospel. Our Lord Jesus was buried. That's good enough. That's good
enough. When we confess our Lord Jesus
Christ in believer's baptism, we are buried in a watery grave. Buried because of our death with
him, raised up from the watery grave because we are raised with
him. and also buried with him in anticipation of the fact that
we shall be buried in the earth and raised up from the grave,
the watery grave, because we live in hope of the resurrection
that's coming with him. Clearly there is a connection
between the burial of our bodies and faith in Christ Jesus the
Lord. Now let's go back to the book
of Genesis. Genesis chapter 49. You'll remember that Abraham
buried his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah in the land
of Canaan. And when Abraham died, his sons
Ishmael and Isaac buried him in the same cave. They went to
great trouble and great expense to go back to that place and
bury their father. And in Genesis 50, Joseph had
his father Jacob embalmed and spent forty days Forty days mourning
him. Forty days. You sometimes think
we have funeral services two or three days, or a week after
somebody dies, why is it so long? Joseph spent forty days mourning
his father. And then took a great long procession
out of Egypt up to the land of Canaan to bury his father Right
here where Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried. Forty days. Why did he do that? He got special
permission from Pharaoh. Pharaoh gave him special leave
to go up out of Egypt and carry his father up there to bury him.
It was a matter of great expense. It involved a lot of time. It
involved a lot of trouble. Let's read about it. Beginning
in verse 33 of Genesis 49. When Jacob made an end of commanding
his sons, He gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded
up the ghost and was gathered unto his people. He went home
to glory. Verse 1, chapter 50. And Joseph fell on his father's
face and wept upon him and kissed him. You reckon that's all right,
don't you? You reckon that's all right.
Joseph knew full well his father had gone to glory. I don't have
any question. Joseph knew full well his father
had gone to glory. But oh, how it hurt him to bid
his father goodbye. And he fell on his face and kissed
him. And Joseph commended his servants,
the physicians, to embalm his father. And the physicians embalmed
Israel. Now, I know there are lots of
religious idiots who fuss about embalming and lots of various
religious organizations You can't embalm anybody, that's contrary
to faith. I think Joseph is a pretty good example of faith. He's a
pretty good example of faith. He embalmed his father, and forty
days were fulfilled for him. For so are fulfilled the days
of those which are embalmed, and the Egyptians mourned for
him threescore and ten days. And when the days of his mourning
were passed, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying,
If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you,
in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying,
Lo, I die. In my grave, which I have digged
for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now
therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and
I will come again. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and
bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. And his sons did unto him according
to as he commanded them. For his sons carried him into
the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field
of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession
of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite before Mamre." Now
no doubt those who saw this man Joseph, this prime minister in
Egypt, have his father embalmed, and then spent these 40 days
mourning for his father, and then took this long procession
up out of Egypt back into the land of Canaan to bury his father
there with Abraham and with Sarah in that place that Abraham had
purchased for the burying of his people, in that place that
God had promised to give to Abraham for a possession forever. They
must have thought, why all this trouble? Why all this bother? Why all this expense? Why you
could just as well burn his body? Doesn't Joseph know that the
body is just a tent, just an outward tabernacle for the man?
Doesn't he know that life goes on after death, the body alone
decays and rots and goes back to the dust? Of course Joseph
knew all that. He knew all that. But Joseph
knew what few seem to recognize. Not only did the Son of God redeem
our souls, he redeemed us. And the scripture speaks of a
day called the redemption of the body, the redemption of the
purchased possession, the final deliverance of these bodies into
the glorious liberty of the sons of God. We place far too much
emphasis on the flesh while we live. And thy fear placed far
too little emphasis on these bodies when we die, when we bury
our loved ones. Joseph did what he did to honor
his father, whom he loved dearly, who had taught him faith in Christ. Joseph, what are you going to
do with your daddy now? I'm going to do the best I can. to honor
him before my family and to honor him before everybody else. Let
me show you a couple passages. 2 Chronicles chapter 16. Here is a king by the name of
Asa. He did lots of things he oughtn't to have done, but he
was a dearly loved king. And in verse 14 we read, they
buried him in his own sepulchers which he had made for himself
in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled
with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecary's
art, and they made a very great burning for him. Asa is dead,
and they honored him. Honored him in his death by a
funeral that displayed great honor for him. Look at chapter
21 of 2 Chronicles. Here's another key. Everybody
wanted him dead. Everybody wanted him dead. 2
Chronicles 21 verse 19. Of Jehoram, this is what we read.
And it came to pass that in the process of time, after the end
of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness,
so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning
for him like the burning of his fathers. So the burial of the
body, the embalming of Joseph's father was an act of honor. And certainly it's right for
us to honor particularly God's saints when they leave this world.
Joseph embalmed his father also because embalming was a declaration
that life goes on. It was a declaration. Among the
heathen, this is everywhere acknowledged, among heathen peoples throughout
the ages, the Egyptians began this practice, as far as I can
tell, and they did so because they thought that the man who
had died really just passed into another sphere of existence.
And so they embalmed them and built the huge pyramids for their
pharaohs and so on. Now while their religion was
totally pagan, that which was implied in their embalming, Joseph
fully recognized and believed. We recognize that for believers,
life never ends. Life never ends. Turn over to
John chapter 11. John chapter 11. David saying, in the sight of
the Lord is the death of his saints. They are his saints,
and they are precious to him. They are bought with his precious
blood, and their death as well as their life is precious to
him. Here in John 11, verse 25, Lazarus had been dead for three
days, and our Lord is telling Martha, and He is telling you
and me, Lazarus wasn't dead. Lazarus wasn't dead. Hear me,
children of God. God's elect never die. Lindsay just buried his mother. I buried mine a few years ago.
As far as I know, she's dead and suffering the second death.
Your mama hadn't died. Blessed and holy Is he that hath
part in the first resurrection? On such the second death hath
no power. Look at what our Lord said, John
11, 25. Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
on me shall never die. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that? I'm not going to die. I am not
going to die. But rather when I have put off
this body, this earthly tabernacle, when I have laid it aside for
a while, then death shall be swallowed up of life. Right now
I'm dying. Right now I'm dying, but I'm
not going to die. This body shall go to the grave
and I shall go home with Christ in glory. Joseph embalmed his
father in hope of the resurrection. Did you ever wonder what Paul
means when he speaks in 1 Corinthians 15, 29 about baptism for the
dead? Baptism for the dead? The Mormons,
you know, they baptize people in the name of folks who have
already died, as have other heretical groups throughout history. because
they believe that by being baptized in their name they can save that
person from hell. That's not what Paul's talking
about. What's it mean, baptism for the dead? Best I can gather,
the word baptize that's translated baptize there in 1 Corinthians
15 29 has the same implication as the washing of cups and platters
in Mark chapter 9. And the word baptize is often
used for washing or bathing. And this is what they did with
that woman in Acts chapter 9 in Joppa, that woman named Tabitha.
When she had died, they washed her or they embalmed her and
laid her in an upper chamber. And what Paul is speaking of,
I think in 1 Corinthians 29, I won't speak with any definiteness
about it because I don't know for sure. I think this is what
he's saying. If you don't believe in the resurrection,
Why do you embalm those folks? Why do you go to the trouble
of baptizing or washing the dead? Why do so? Oh, we do this because
we believe in the resurrection of the dead. Christ has redeemed
our bodies as well as our souls, and it's altogether proper that
we embalm and bury and treat with honor those who have died
in the faith in hope of the resurrection. Joseph then buried his father
in the land of God's promise. But now look at Genesis 50, verses,
well look down at verse 26. That's what Joseph did for his
father. He embalmed him, buried him in the land of Canaan, believing
God's word and God's promise. Believing in the resurrection
of his father. Now look at Joseph's very last act on this earth. Genesis 50, let's begin at verse
22. Joseph dwelt in Egypt. He and his father's house, Joseph,
lived 410 years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children
of the third generation, the children also of Macher the son
of Manasseh, were brought up upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph
said unto his brethren, I die. I die. Blessed is that man who
can stare eternity in the face and say calmly, I die. It's all right. It's all right. I die. Read on. And God will
surely visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land
which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph
took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely
visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from hence. You shall
surely carry my bones out of this place. So Joseph died, being
410 years old, and they embalmed him and put him in a coffin in
Egypt. What a strange way for the book
of Genesis to end. They put him in a coffin in Egypt. Genesis means beginning. It is the book of beginnings.
Everything that is began back there in Genesis. But this book
ends with Joseph in a coffin in Egypt. Most fitting. Because Rex, that's
the way everything that began in Genesis must end. Everything that begins here in
life on this earth must end in death. Why do we see Joseph flying there
in that coffin? He laid in that coffin for 300
years. for 300 years. He laid in that coffin, apparently
in some conspicuous place. He was laid out there so that
the people of Israel for 300 years, day after day after day
after day, were reminded that Joseph made them swear not to
bury him in Egypt, but carry him up when God came and brought
them out of that land. And so Joseph lay there as a
public, visible declaration of God's promise. He lay there in
that coffin as a silent reminder of every man's mortality and
the fact that no man is indispensable. Joseph, what a mighty man. What
a great man. What a tremendously useful man.
This man, Joseph, had been used of God single-handedly to preserve
the whole nation of Israel in the land of darkness and bondage.
And now Joseph died. What's going to become of Israel?
What's going to happen to Israel? God's Israel is going to get
along just fine without him. God's Israel will function just
fine without him. The very next thing we read about
the children of Israel is in Exodus 1 and verse 7. and the
children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly and
multiplied and waxed exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled
with them." So life springs side by side with death. And when
the graves are opened and we bury one, the cradle is opened
and we give life to another. But the fact is, you and I must
soon die. This is the end of all men. No
need not thinking about it. No need pretending it's not going
to happen. You're going to die. I'm going to die. So teach us,
Lord. Oh, God, teach us to number our
days, that we may apply our hearts to Christ, that we may apply
our hearts to Him who is made of God and to us wisdom, who
is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Second, that coffin in Egypt
was a herald of hope. Joseph said, you embalm me, stick
my bones in a box, and hang on. God's going to visit you. God's
going to visit you. He's going to bring you out of
this place. He's going to bring you out of
this land of misery and darkness and bondage. He's going to bring
you out of your affliction. He's going to bring you at last
into the land He promised to our father Abraham by covenant,
and He will plant you in that land. And so Joseph's coffin
lay open in Israel, continually declaring the Word of God's hope
that He had given to Israel. And that's exactly, exactly how
we bury our dead. We sorrow, but not as others
which have no hope, because we recognize that we shall be changed
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The dead in Christ
shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Third, that
coffin of Joseph's in Egypt. was a preacher and teacher of
patience. I can well imagine that the children
of Israel, after Joseph had been dead for just a little while,
were expecting any time now for God to deliver them. The Lord
is going to bring us up and give us the land of promise. And fifty
years went by and no deliverer came. And a hundred years went
by And no deliverer came. And 200 years went by, and no
deliverer came. And 300 years went by, and they
were oppressed sore, horribly oppressed by a Pharaoh who knew
not Joseph. And no deliverer came. And as
they passed by and heard Joseph's words, God will visit you. God will bring you up out of
this place. I can almost hear them saying under their breath,
Where is the promise of His coming? Things can't get any worse. Where
is the promise of His coming? Why, the Lord surely must come
or heal old Sodom and Gomorrah, an apology. Where is the promise
of His coming? And so in their unbelief, murmuring
against God, let us not be like them. The Lord is not slack concerning
His promise. as some men count slackness,
but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish,
but that every one of his elect come to repentance and the knowledge
of the truth. And he will at last, when he
has saved the last of his own, come again and bring us into
heavenly glory." This promise, or this coffin laying in Egypt,
was for Israel all the time of their bondage. A pledge of a
possession. A possession that was theirs,
though they could not yet enjoy it. Turn over to Romans chapter
8 for a moment. Joseph, what have you got to
say today? The Lord's going to come, and
He's going to bring you to Canaan. Joseph, what's your word today? The Lord's going to come. He's
going to bring you to the land of Canaan, the land of your possession. Not the land, Larry, you're going
to possess, the land of your possession. The land of your
possession. Blessed Spirit of God, what's
your word to us today? The Lord's coming. And He's going
to bring you into the land of your possession. Romans 8, 16. The Spirit itself bears witness
with our spirit that we're the children of God. And if children,
then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. If so be that we suffer with
Him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God. For the creature was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, nobody would choose that, but by reason
of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature
itself also shall be delivered from bondage of corruption. into
the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." When we lived in the mountains
in the wintertime, I used to love to get out in the woods
after the first fall of a heavy, heavy snow. Just got to walk
around and listen to the trees bend crack and pop and break. And as I did, I think about that
very scripture, the whole creation growing and prevailing, as does
my heart grow and prevail. What for? Not only they, but we ourselves
also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, Even we ourselves
grow within ourselves, waiting for the adoption. Well, Brother
John, I thought we were adopted already. We were. We have been. We are. But it ain't near complete
yet to wit the redemption of our body. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be. For when we
see him, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Now, look back at our text just briefly. And let me show you
the connection between Moses and Joseph's bones. Moses took the bones of Joseph
with him. Why did the Spirit of God write
that like that? Moses did not personally, physically,
pick up that coffin and carry it out of Egypt. I don't have
any question. He did not personally, physically,
pick that coffin up and carry it out of Egypt. But the Scripture
says here, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him out of Egypt. Why? Because Moses represented
the law and justice of God Almighty. Joseph was typical of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who was buried as one slain under the wrath
and fury and justice of God Almighty when he was made sin for us.
And then he came forth from the dead, justice being satisfied,
the law being honored, because death had no more power over
him, justified in the Spirit. Joseph also represented God's
elect. We are, after all, one with Christ. We who have been brought out
of bondage, the bondage of sin and death, because God's holy
law has no claim upon us, being fully satisfied by our substitute.
Brother Don, that's a stretch. Let's see. Turn to 1 Peter chapter
4. 1 Peter 4. When you read this book, there
are passages like this we're about to read in which it is
virtually impossible to determine whether the passage is talking
about Christ, our mediator, or talking about us who are represented
by him, because the passages are talking about both. We are
one with him. Read this. For as much then as
Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, Arm yourselves likewise
with the same mind, the mind of Christ, for he that has suffered
in the flesh hath ceased from sin." Christ was made sin. He suffered for sin to the full
satisfaction of justice. Yonder he is in glory. He has
ceased from sin. But wait a minute, read on. "...that
he should no longer live the rest of his lifetime in the flesh
to the lust of men." Larry Criss, he never did live in his lifetime
in the lust of men. He never did live to fulfill
the lust of men. What's that talking about? That's
talking about Larry Criss. You suffered in the flesh, in
Christ Jesus the Lord, and when He died in your stead, you ceased
from sin. It was put away so that you would
no longer live like you used to, but live in liberty, in the
glorious liberty of the sons of God. Now one more thing. Turn
to Joshua 24. Moses carried Joseph's bones
up out of Egypt. He did so because Joseph had
given specific command that his bones be carried out of Egypt.
But Moses could do nothing but carry them out of Egypt. Moses
could not bring them into the land of promise and lay Joseph's
bones at rest in Canaan's blessed land. Because Moses represented
law. Law that can never give rest. Law that can never give redemption. Law that can never give grace. Moses represented law. But we
read here in Joshua 24, it came to pass after these things, after
God fulfilled all that He had written, concerning the children
of Israel and the land of promise, that Joshua the son of Nun, the
servant of the Lord, died being 110 years old. And they buried
him at the border of his inheritance in Timnath-sira, which is in
Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. And Israel
served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of
the elders that have overlived Joshua, and which had known all
the works of the Lord that he had done for Israel, and the
bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt,
buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought
of the sons of Hamer, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces
of silver, and it became the inheritance of the children of
Joseph. And so it shall be with us. we shall be buried with our Savior. Just as we are buried with Him
in the watery grave, soon this body will be laid in the earth,
resting in His earth, in His arms. And as this body lays in
the earth, resting in His earth, in His arms, until the day of
resurrection, This man shall enter into rest, rest that only
our great Joshua can give to his own, everlasting rest in
the land of God's promise in heavenly glory forever. Burial or cremation, I'll speak
only for me. Bury me with my Joseph. Bury me in hope of the resurrection. Bury me with the full knowledge that
life has just begun for me. Amen.