Truth For Life

Guest (Male): As Christians, we're called to stand out from the surrounding culture and how we live our lives. Today on Truth For Life, Alistair Begg explains why we should be just as radically different from the world in our dying as we are in our living. Let's find out why and how that's possible.

Alistair Begg: Now, can I invite you to turn with me again to Genesis? And anywhere between 46 and 50 is a fine place to be. We're moving around as we cover this matter. And before we turn to the scriptures, let's pause again in a moment of prayer.

Speak, oh God, we pray to our waiting hearts. And where there is no sense of waiting, create it within us, we pray. Come to our expectant souls and minister your grace. And where there is no expectancy, forge it in us, we ask, so that with light shining on the path of our lives afresh, we may walk in obedience to your word and live in the joyful light of your provision. Accomplish then by your spirit what only you, oh God, are able to do through the voice of a mere man, so that we might give you all the praise and the honor and the glory for Jesus' sake. Amen.

We're returning this morning to what we have noted as society's only remaining taboo subject, namely death. You haven't perhaps anticipated the rigors that would be represented in the consideration of this most vital of subjects. And yet I put it to you that here in this matter of death, and indeed the issue of victory over death, is at least for the Christian our greatest expression of thanksgiving.

Indeed, when Paul in writing 1 Corinthians 15 reaches the conclusion of his great chapter on the resurrection, he reaches a high note by exclaiming, "But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." In other words, the Christian perspective on death is radically different from anything that the world is able to offer.

And indeed, men and women today are largely threatened by the whole prospect of life's demise. When we recognize the fact that the world that we have invested so much in is about to pass us by, when we realize our place in the great continuum of time is so ephemeral, it's so transient. We're here just for a moment. When we look up at a starlit sky and realize that we will be long gone before the very radiance from those stars reaches us on earth, we're confronted by the one subject that we do not like to face.

It's much more attractive to listen to the pundits who tell us that the world as we know it is going to go on forever. That's why we have to pay so much attention to looking after it. After all, it's all we've got. Don't mess it up. It's the only thing we have. And indeed, all of our prizes and all of our successes will be able to follow us likewise.

Hardly surprising that these things should be prevalent in our day, because the very seduction of humanity that is recorded for us in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis points to this very thing. And if you turn for just a moment to Genesis 3, let me show you exactly what I mean by that.

Men and women today are seduced into thinking that we won't really die and that we will go on forever. Where did this strange notion appear from? Well, what we're told in Genesis 3, when the evil one, Satan, the serpent, comes and tests and tempts the couple in the garden of Eden, he says in verse one, in response to the affirmation of the statements made by God, "Hey, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? Is this something God really said?"

And you can see that that same strategy has run down through time even to our very day, where surrounding the message of advent, as with other Christian celebrations, we will find continuous and frequent references within various publications which will essentially simply ask the question, "Do you really think that God said this? Do you really believe that God has spoken in this way?" thus challenging the conviction of faith.

And in the woman's affirmation of God's statement comes the further response of the evil one. It says Eve to the serpent, "God did say in verse three, you mustn't eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden and you mustn't touch it or you will die." Then comes the response: "You will not surely die. You will be like God."

And in the last decade, there has been a quite dramatic flowering of interest in death and dying despite the fact that it is a taboo subject. And a tremendous body of literature and theory which has blossomed under this very heading here from Genesis 3: the notion you will not surely die, you will be like God. A sort of pantheistic idea whereby God is everything and we are part of everything and therefore somehow or another we are God and we have found ourselves, as it were, caught up in some strange mythological way with immortality.

And yet reality slaps us on the face. Hits us with a stark and stirring, crushing blow. Old age, the onset of illness, strips away all of our illusions of immortality. Every funeral procession that catches us in our rearview mirror is a reminder to us of the fact that all of these pagan mythologies have no basis or substance to them at all. And indeed, if we are to find any answer for this issue of death, we must indeed look somewhere else.

And so it is with great joy that we're able to turn to the pages of Holy Scripture and find that it is absolutely full of this victorious message of how an individual may face death and may be victorious over it. It is foolish, really, to spend all of our life trying to learn how to live when we have never settled the issue of learning how to die. And we went further to suggest that until we have learned how to die, then we could never really learn how to live.

And it is within the framework of our studies in Joseph and particularly in looking at the death here of his father that we're confronted by this matter once again. Now, we said three things of Jacob, one of which we gave time to and left two behind. We said that Jacob knew when he was leaving.

Now, we know that he didn't know exactly when he was leaving, but we saw that there were certain pointers which are experienced in many people's lives which pointed to the fact of his demise. We then said that we would pick it up at our next point, which is where we now find ourselves. Not only did Jacob know when he was leaving, but he knew what he was asking. He knew what he was asking.

And his requests are largely twofold, as you're about to discover. He is concerned first of all about his burial and he is concerned secondly about the blessing which he is about to bestow upon his posterity, and particularly upon his grandchildren through Joseph. So will you notice with me his concern then first of all about the place of his burial? And notice this, you may actually want to write this if you're taking notes: Jacob's concern for the location of his burial is not primarily about geography, but it is about theology. It's not about geography; it's about theology.

And let me unpack that for you and explain what I mean. Chapter 47 and verse 30 reads as follows: "Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried." Very straightforward request. Born of what? Simply a concern for tidiness on the part of Jacob? After all, that's where the family plot is and don't let me get it out of sync, put me in the same place? No.

Is it driven by the fact that he really didn't enjoy Egypt and wanted to be removed from it as quickly as possible? Certainly not, because the record provided for us of his final 17 years of life enjoyed within the framework of Egypt are wonderful years. After all, he had lived for all that time thinking that his boy Joseph was dead to him, and now he is alive and he's enjoyed his company.

And a very embittered and disruptive kind of family life, especially in the early days, has known at least a semblance of harmony and purpose during these years lived in the wonderful provision of God under the hand of Pharaoh and within the framework of Joseph's headship in Egypt. And the days have been wonderful.

So if it is not simply a desire for tidiness and if it is not in reaction to perhaps a bitter and unhappy experience in Egypt, why then would Jacob be so concerned to be buried back in Canaan? That's the question. Here's the answer.

Jacob recognized that as in his life, so in his death, he was making a statement about his place in the unfolding plan and purpose of God's covenant relationship with his people. Now, that may seem like a mouthful to some of you just now, but stay with me and I'll try and make clear what that actually means.

Jacob wanted to ensure that his family after him would be fully aware of the fact that they did not belong in the land of Egypt. They did not belong in the land of Egypt. They belonged somewhere else. And the reason that they belonged somewhere else was not simply as a result of geographical ties, nor as a result of nationalistic fervor, but it was actually as a result of God's sovereign purpose over all of time.

That he had reached down into time and laid his hand upon Abraham and promised to Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation. This was fairly stretching for Abraham in so far as he was already an elderly man and his body was as good as dead and his wife was past childbearing age.

And so Abraham had nowhere to go and nothing to go on except in obedience to the promise of God. And stepping out in obedience to God's promise, he had forged his way in life and God had established with him this promise of his provision, passed through his son Isaac and on then into the life of Jacob.

And so as Jacob gets near to the end of his days, he wants to ensure that those who follow after him will be absolutely clear about this. If you recall, and I've mentioned this to you before, but it is such a forcible illustration of the same kind of thing, if you recall in Fiddler on the Roof, when the father sings about tradition and as he bounces all across the hayloft there and as he stops every so often and makes certain statements regarding tradition, at one point he stops and he says, "Tradition teaches us who we are and what God expects of us." Teaches us who we are.

And you see, Jacob needed his boys and his grandchildren to know who they were. Do you know who you are this morning? Oh, you say, well, I know my name, I know my social security number. Yes, but do you know who you are? Or do you live with that sense of alienation that is almost palpable in our contemporary culture? That sense of facelessness? That sense of emptiness and meaninglessness that is all wrapped up in this transient human experience?

And you have a sneaking suspicion that no one knows who you are, no one cares who you are, that you were born without reason, you will die by chance, and you will enter into oblivion. And it is small wonder then that you find yourself quaking at the prospect of the jangling of the keychain of the undertaker.

But Jacob knew who he was. He was Israel. He had encountered God. He had been wrestled to the ground by God. He had come in all the fullness of his strength in Genesis 32 and he'd had his hip displaced so that he had limped for the rest of his life. So that his boys and his boy's boys would look and say, well, there is yet another mark upon my father.

And now, says Jacob, when you bury me, make sure you put me in the right place. Not because I'm concerned about geography, but because I'm concerned about theology. I'm concerned that my grandchildren will know who they are. I'm concerned that they will understand the commitment which God has made to his covenant people in promising to them the land of Canaan.

Genesis 46, verses 3 and 4, before Jacob, you remember, goes down into Egypt to be reunited with Joseph, God speaks to him in a vision at night. And in verse 3, he says, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there."

Can you imagine? I mean, just try and put yourself inside Jacob's head for a moment. Here he's got about 70 or 75 people, a few carts and bits and pieces. He's just discovered that his boy's still alive. And as he's trying to make sense of all of that and as he gathers up his bits and pieces and the carts that have been sent from Egypt and as he faces the prospect of this reunion, God meets with him in a vision and he says, "I am going to make you a great nation down in Egypt." And he must have looked around and thought about his sons and all the rebellion and all the chaos of them and said, out of this you would make a great nation? Out of this?

And what did he have to go on? He had nothing to go on except the strength of the covenant promise of God. I'm going to do this. And not only should you not be afraid to go down, but I want you to know that I will go down to Egypt with you. And here's the crucial phrase: "I will surely bring you back again. I will surely bring you back again."

And written into the very center of Jacob's being was this faithful statement of God, what he was going to do. And so he gets his son near him and he says, now listen, this is how we're going to do this and these are my instructions for my funeral. I am not to be buried in Egypt. Take me out of here and take me there.

And so look at chapter 50 and a quite wonderful and dramatic description of this funeral procession. You see, nothing could make the point more forcibly that he and his family did not belong in Egypt than to hold his funeral in the land of God's promise. And in verse 7, we read that Joseph went up to bury his father.

And he didn't go alone, in fact it was quite a company. All Pharaoh's officials accompanied him. That would be quite a crew, you must imagine. And the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt. Besides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household.

The only thing they left behind were the children and their flocks and their herds, but they took with them chariots and horsemen and it was, says verse 9, a very large company. Those of you who remember the funeral of Winston Churchill, was it 1964? And you can recall the scenes that were carried around the world as the procession went down the Mall heading for Buckingham Palace. I've never seen anything like it before nor since. It was the great funeral to end all funerals.

Horses and chariots and carriages and soldiers and dignitaries and everyone in the world was there that could be there. That's the picture here. That's the picture. This thing would have been covered CNN, C-SPAN, BBC, NBC, ABC, everything was there. And verse 10, when they reached the threshing floor of Atad near the Jordan, they who had been brought to lament lamented loudly and bitterly and they observed a seven-day period of mourning for the father.

And look at this, verse 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." They didn't understand. And frankly, the Egyptians didn't understand either. The pagans, you see, will never really understand when the believers deal with death the way the Bible says we ought to deal with it.

But the pagans will never be nonplussed when we simply deal with death in the exact same way as the world deals with death. When our funeral services are the same subdued little occasions, when they happen in the same funny little places, when we go through the same little routines and give out the same little sheets, and we miss a classic opportunity to say in our dying, "We are not like you."

And it's not because of anything we have done. We have been made radically different. Thanks be to God, he has given us victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not going into oblivion. We're not in this box. We're gone. You know, I'm going to have a sign, if they ever put one of those boxes, I'm going to have a sign say, "Not here, look somewhere else." You know, I mean, it's—there's no way you're come peering at me and poking at me when they get me cold and dusty. I'll close that thing up. I've got that taken care of already. And I frankly don't want to see you. You don't look that good as it is. Why would you look good then?

I hear a few letters for that, I apologize in advance. Send them. But the fact is, that's not the issue. Joseph's wealth, the Egyptian's ability at embalming, made the expensive journey a practicable one. And there in the family tomb in the cave of Machpelah, Jacob is laid to rest. And in being laid to rest, he teaches a new generation that it is only a matter of time before this man's descendants return to claim their possessions also.

That's what he was saying when he said bury me in Canaan. I want everyone to understand where we do not belong and where we belong, lest they become comfortable belonging somewhere they don't belong and find that all of their joy and all of their expectation then is tied to this locale.

Isn't that the temptation for us as believers? To live in the world and to become of the world, to become friends of the world and enemies with God, to like it so much here, our successes and our finance and our opportunity and all these different things, that we bear scant difference to any who are around us.

There should be for us as believers that about our approach to death in every dimension, certain things that leave no doubt in the minds of the watching world that we understand that death is not oblivion. That it is not entry to a realm where no voice can be heard and no smile be seen. Rather for the believer, it is to be reunited with our loved ones. It is an opportunity for the Christian to proclaim that the king of heaven has come down to earth and made a radical difference.

You see, in the issues of life and in the issues of death, in the great crossroads of human experience, Christianity must make a difference. Otherwise, we find ourselves on the wrong side of the equation as Paul says, if Christ be not risen, then we are of all men most miserable because we are propping up a dreadful mythology. But he says, Christ is indeed risen from the dead. Therefore, where and how we're buried says something.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. We'll hear more about facing death confidently tomorrow.

You know, a message like the one we've heard today demonstrates how the Bible addresses our greatest fears, even topics that most of us are reluctant to discuss. If you'd like to take a closer look at how God providentially cares for you throughout life and death, you have a few days left where you can request Alistair's book, *The Hand of God: Finding His Care in All Circumstances*. The book is a great supplement to our current study. Alistair walks you through Joseph's remarkable story, and in the process, you'll become more aware of how God's hand is guiding you through your own struggles.

You'll discover how the assurance of God's providence can bring comfort to you in times of trouble, give you security in the face of chaos, and enable you to remain humble in your successes. Ask for your copy of the book *The Hand of God* today when you donate to Truth For Life online at truthforlife.org/donate or call us at 888-588-7884.

And before we're done today, let me remind you Alistair is speaking today at a church equipping conference in Mesa, Arizona. He's encouraging church leadership and members to grow in their faith. He would love it if you would keep him and those who are in attendance in your prayers. Pray that God would work visibly in and through them as they study God's word together, that many local churches will be built up as a result of this conference.

Thanks for joining us today. Do you fear death? Would you like to live forever? Tomorrow we'll find out how that's possible. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life, where the learning is for living.