Death is associated with loss, grief and pain. As believers, we know that death is not the end of our existence, there will be life after death and we will be in God’s presence. Will we be confident and hopeful when we are confronted with death?

Genesis 50:1-14 is an account of the events after Jacob’s death. After Jacob “had madean end ofcommanding his sons” (Gen 49:33), he died and there was a time of mourning and grief in Egypt. Grieving is not an expression of a lack of faith in God, but rather, the feeling of sorrow and sadness over the loss of the physical companionship of the person who had died. Jacob was mourned in Egypt for 70 days (Gen 50:3b) which indicated the importance and high-standing of Jacob in Egypt as the father of Joseph. He was embalmed so as to preserve his body from decaying during these 70 days of mourning in Egypt. The grand and extravagant funeral of Jacob in Egypt is a sign of hopelessness that unbelievers have as their hope pertains only to the things of this world. This is why when one dies, the grander and more extravagant the funeral of the person is, the better.

However, as children of God, death is a reminder of the reality of the sins of men for it is because of sin that men would die (Rom 6:23). God had promised the children of Israel that a Messiah would come one day and would have the victory over death. This Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ, who was sent by God into this world to die on the cross for the sins of men. It is by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross that God has forgiven the sins of men and given them eternal life in heaven. This is the blessed hope that every child of God can have.

Joseph understood and had the faith that God will fulfill His promises and hence, instead of burying his father Jacob in Egypt where he was given such a special and grand funeral, he, together with the other sons of Jacob, brought Jacob’s body out of Egypt to the land of Canaan to be buried (Gen 50:7-10) as instructed by his father before his death. Despite the many occasions in Jacob’s life when he was unfaithful towards God, Jacob had become a godly testimony to his children in his death. It is, therefore, never too late for one to be a godly witness and testimony for the Lord.

As a Christian, death is but a temporal parting. The Lord Jesus had conquered death by dying on the cross on our behalf so that we can be saved and have eternal life. This gives us the hope and assurance that we will be in the presence of God after death.