Friends, this evening I want to speak to you about a subject that is set before us in the life of Joseph, about the way his father, he began to realise that his days are coming to an end. How did Joseph react? How did Jacob react? How should the people of God react? to the time of their death. D.L. Moody, the famous American evangelist who came to this country many years ago in the late part of the 19th century, he became ill with some heart condition. He cancelled his engagements and returned to his home to Northfield in Massachusetts in America. He dragged himself, his biographer puts it, he dragged himself up to his bedroom to dress for dinner, but he felt so exhausted that he couldn't go, he had to go to bed. And he declined very quickly, as so often it happens, people declining quickly. And it became clear that he was dying of that heart condition. And on the 22nd of December, 1899, he suddenly, while he had been in some kind of a coma or deep sleep, he opened his eyes and he spoke to the people around him very clearly. He said, Earth is receding. Heaven is opening. God is calling. I must go. This is my triumph. This is my coronation day. If this is death, he said, it is sweet. I have been looking forward to it for years." And a little later, Mudeev, he raised himself on his elbow and he cried out again, what are you all doing here? And his wife explained to him that he had not been so well and he fell back in his bed disappointed. And he said, this is very strange, I have been beyond the gates of death to the very portals of heaven and here I am back again, it is very strange. And then he, to everyone's surprise, he got out of his bed, he went to the window looking out, he sat in his chair and then very soon he passed away and died. His soul left his body and went to be with the Lord in heaven. Let me tell you of another death of a man of God. It is no exaggeration to say that the world, the western world had been watching the course of events in that place Menton in the south of France, where the Prince of Preachers, as he was known, was laying ill. Some days before his death, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Baptist preacher, gave out the last hymn to a company of worshippers who had gathered in his sitting room. He could hardly have chosen a more appropriate farewell. The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks, the summer morn I've sighed for. the fair sweet morn awakes. Dark, dark has been the midnight, but day spring is at hand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land." C. H. Spurgeon, he fell asleep in Jesus on that Sabbath evening, the 31st of January, 1892. in the presence of his dear wife and a few of his close friends. In many ways, the book of Genesis is, if I can say it reverently, is a graveyard. It contains this story and the account of how death started. Right near the start, there is the death of Abel, then eventually there are the deaths of everyone during the flood and throughout the passage we are confronted with the deaths of individuals. Again and again people die. We are told why people die is because of the entrance of sin into the world. All of us are affected, not only humanity, but also all alive creatures of God, animals and vegetation as well. They die. And all of these things teaches us something. teaches us. And here is a lesson for the people of God. For here is a saint, Jacob, who is coming to the closing days of his life. We are told in verse 29 of chapter 47, and the time drew nigh that Israel must die. The time drew nigh that Israel must die. It almost seems that with the breakdown of his body, there is the built up of his faith. So it is that his last years are not worthy because he walked with God. In the beginning, when he was brought by Joseph to see Pharaoh, he could testify of this, that all these years the Lord has been with him and he has been walking with the Lord. He has been a faithful pilgrim. Not perfect, but faithful. His last days are noteworthy because he worshipped God. In verse 31 of this chapter that we read together, at the end it says, And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head. This bowing of himself upon the head of the bed, it is a word that is used in various other places only in parts where people have worshipped God. It's a bowing of worship. That is a wonderful thing to see a man in whom the Lord has been working throughout his life and at the end of his life he ends it with worship. His last moments are noteworthy. because he welcomes God. In chapter 49 and verse 33 we read, And when Jacob had 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 was ready, ready to go. He knew that God was near to take him, to be with him. So, I want to speak this evening about the sunset of a life, the last days of God's people, the last moments of God's people, and those who are around them. How should we be? How should we be preparing for that day? How should we be reacting when that day approaches and when we are in the midst of it? And what would happen to us? And what should others around us be doing? The Bible says that precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints in Psalm 116. It also tells us in Revelation 14 verse 13, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Now we can sum up this section of the scriptures by viewing them in three bedside scenes. I am going to only deal with the first of these three bedside scenes. They describe three times when Joseph came to the bedside of his dear father as he neared the end of his journey on earth. Three times in which Joseph visited his dying father and each visit had its own particular significance. They were all significant visits, they were not just mundane visits, but every time there was something special about it. The first time he went alone, just he and his father. and they talked about something specific then. The next time Joseph brought his two sons and something happened that we will see next time God willing. The third time he went with his brothers to their father's bedside. But here let us look at this first visit that Joseph makes to his dying father's bedside. And what he encounters and what they discuss mainly is about Jacob's burial. Jacob's burial. And that's what we want to think about this evening. Jacob's journey is nearing the end. In his 147th year, he realizes that the angel of death is already on his way to lay his cold hand upon him. But there is no regret in his words. There are no uncertainties when he's talking. It's amazing to see the assurance of this child of God. It's such a sad thing when you talk to someone and they're not sure where they are going, where they are heading. It is such a sad event when in a funeral service the minister doesn't know what to say about the place where the individual who has gone is. But this man, he knows. This man is certain. Are you certain? Am I certain? By God's grace, this is something of God's grace, causes us to know Him and to be certain of Him. Here is faith. As Jacob is sailing into eternity, here is his faith. As he is talking to his son, his faith is speaking. Certainty is speaking. It says in verse 29, These words, he called his son Joseph and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand upon my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me. Bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt, but I will die with my fathers and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place. He was sure about where he was going. but he wanted at the same time his body to be buried in a certain place with his family, with his fathers. I want you to notice that in relation to his father's burial Joseph was first of all practical. He was practical. They discussed the issue of the burial. Burial is the thing that the scripture instructs God's people to, after the death takes place, that we are to be buried in our society and throughout the history. There are all kinds of ways that people have have disposed of the body, but the Lord has revealed to us that the body as well is to be honored. It's the body also that as believers Christ has died for our bodies as well. And so the way we honor the body after death is to bury the body, not to simply get rid of it through burning the body away or doing some other thing with it. And so, Jacob is concerned about this. He wants to make sure that things are done in the right way, in the God-honouring way. And Joseph is very practical about this as well. He sensed that his time was coming to an end. So, he summons Joseph to come to him, to his side. And this high-ranking official, though his son was, When his father calls, he responds. He is honoring his son, his father. What a thing it is, what a joy it is when you call your children and your children come. Immediately they come. Children, do you do that? When your parents call you, do you go straight away or do you take your time or you simply pretend you don't hear? Here was Joseph. Joseph who listened, who came with all his business, He came, he had time for his father. And as adults as well, if you have a father who is alive, how we should honour our fathers and our mothers. One thing we notice here is the way he cares for his father. Joseph caring for his father. The Bible tells us in verse 12 of this chapter, and Joseph nourished his father and his brethren. He nourished his father. While they were there in Egypt, he was caring for them. for his father is mentioned first. Joseph who was a 17 year old boy who was doted by his father found himself a position of taking care of his father. And he made sure that all the needs were met. And as we age Things reverse, so often, with our parents. This is what Joseph is doing. And this is something he is teaching us. Here is a man who has great responsibilities. He is an important man. And yet, he is nourishing, he is caring for his father. Yes, he could command, he has command of all Egypt. And yet this is his testimony. Young people, boys and girls, men and women, do you watch out for your aging parents? Do you provide for them? Do you make sure that their needs are met? We are living in a society that older people are becoming more and more something that we are told that we should dispose of and cause them to feel guilty that they are a burden on society and a burden on the family. It shouldn't be amongst Christians. And we think about as well those amongst us who do not have their children nearby. They are in a sense our spiritual fathers and mothers, and how we should care for them as well. It's not just our own families, but others around you. You should provide for one another when there is a need. Making sure the needs are met. Our Lord Jesus Christ, you remember? Joseph typifies the Lord Jesus. For Christ we know in the Gospels how when he was hanging upon the cross shedding his blood for our sins yet he showed how perfect he was as a son and how he instructed his disciple John to care for his earthly mother. Behold thy son he said to Mary and he said to John behold thy mother How caring our Lord Jesus is still for us. So here was Joseph practically caring for his father. But also he practically honored his father. Honored his father throughout the time that he had opportunity. When his father came to Egypt, he was honoring his father. He was in a sense, if I could use the word, he was proud of his father. He was so glad that he had a father like Jacob. And if we have parents who are especially spiritual parents, how we should be thankful to God that we have such parents. Praise God, some of you are sitting here and you can give thanks to God for godly parents with all the things you can point to, yet they brought you to the Lord Jesus Christ. They brought you under the sand of the Word of God. That's a wonderful privilege, wonderful blessings. Not many people have the things that you have and our children have. and how it should cause us to long for children, to father and mother children who do not have the things we have. And how we should care for those that their parents don't care for their spiritual soul. Here is Joseph honoring his father in a land where shepherds were despised, were hated, We know that from the time that when his brothers came and he sat them around the table we are told that the Hebrews had to sit separate from the Egyptians because they were shepherds and they were despised by the Egyptians. And his father was a shepherd. And what does he do? As soon as his father comes to Egypt, Joseph takes his father to bring him to Pharaoh, to bring him face to face, meeting the king of Egypt. And there is no shame at all in Joseph. He doesn't hide his father out of embarrassment or try to deny their connection. No. Rather, he with honor, proudly, he brings his father into Pharaoh's court to meet the king. You know that, how honoring your father and your mother, and if you take it further, the scriptures' speech, about those in authority, those in other situations being also our father and mother. We have to have respect and honor those who are in position of responsibility. And how honoring father and mother is a duty placed on us by the Lord Himself, both in the New Testament and the Old Testament. And Joseph practically, he honored his father. Are we too big or too busy to give our parents the time, the honor, the attention that they need? Are we too busy to care for those in our fellowship, in other situations? where we know there is a need with those who are older than us, with greater responsibilities, more mature than us. So, this is something practically Joseph demonstrates. He honored his father. And then thirdly, Joseph was responsive to his father. In verse 29, We read this, and the time drew nigh that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph out of all the other ones. Weren't they able to help him and care for him? But he calls Joseph, the most busy one, he calls Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me." Jacob's last request was that he be not buried in Egypt. He even had Joseph swear to it, using an old Hebrew custom of placing one's hand under the thigh. You see he wanted to make Jacob's last hour comfortable. That's what was in the mind of Joseph. He responds in this way. He accepts what Jacob was saying to him. Sure he stood before Jacob with his important ropes and his responsibility as a great statesman. But more importantly, Joseph stood by his father with the affection of a great son. Are you practical when it comes to those who are older than you, toward your parents? Do you know what it is to give them some honour, tenderness, loving kindness, gentleness, that care, that responsive attitude. Isn't it tragic that the only time some children appear is when their parents die? And how sad it is. When I have been in certain situations where children have come to a funeral that I have gone and they are so sorry that they, for the past whatever months, they have not seen their parents whom they knew were unwell. Or there had been some kind of disunity in the family and there had been a breakup of relationships. How sad that is. So here is the situation. Jacob calls his son, Joseph responds in this practical way. And then we want to think about the way Jacob was spiritual. Jacob was spiritual. He is now an old shepherd, a beat up old shepherd who had been living in Egypt for 17 years. And on his deathbed, this man, he wants people to know and his son Joseph to know that he is not to be buried in Egypt. For him, that is so important. you might think Allah is just being fussy old man just wanting to have his way and you know how old people can become sometimes and how they have to have their own way and they have their routine and you have to do the way they like it to do and you have to make their tea the way they like it to have and so on and it can be so difficult sometimes and they won't listen to you sometimes I'm talking about my family here. Nobody else here. Is this situation just like a Gloucestershire man not wanting to be buried in Norfolk? Is this the case? No. There is more to it than this. There is more than sentiment here. To ask to be buried in the promised land of Canaan is to show one's faith in the promises of God and one's interest in the things of God where God has covenanted to be and to bless and to prosper the people of God. Indeed, Joseph, he himself shared Jacob's faith. And when it came for Joseph to die, how does he respond? He says about his bones to be taken back and buried in Canaan with his fathers. He requested the same kind of burial in chapter 50 and verse 25. But why? Well, you recall, I'm sure, God's words to Abram. Know of a surety, the Lord said to Abram, the father of these people. The Lord says, know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years, and also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterwards shall they come out with great substance. That's in chapter 15. in verses 13 and 14. Now Jacob knew that what God had promised he would perform. Jacob was sure of it, that his God was so powerful and his God was so faithful to his word that he would do it. The Lord said that Israel would live in a foreign land for 400 years. But then they would move back into the promised land. So when Jacob asked not to be left in Egypt, he was saying that he believed in God's promise. That's what he was saying. I am believing in God's promise. That we will go back to live in Canaan, the land that God had given to us and promised us. We will go back and that's why I want to be buried in my father's land, the promised land, God's land. Friends, what a thing it is for this man to say. Jacob is a study of contrasts. The first part of his life, how did he live his life? He was a wild man, unruly man. But the second part of his life, by God's grace, when God changed him, he wasn't a perfect man. But God's grace settled this man. made him to be godly, made him to be spiritually minded. Though he was prosperous in Egypt, his chief interest, his heart was in Canaan. Even though I can't go to live back in my homeland where God has promised to dwell, yet at least I want my body to go there. He was more interested in the things of God Canaan than the things of the world, which is typified by Egypt. Here is this man, old Jacob, laying out plans for his funeral and burial. Is this not one of life's necessities to make preparation for death? It is not wise to Is it not wise to follow Jacob's example to prepare? There should be, first of all, physical preparation so that others know the way, the place that is chosen for burial. We have to clearly talk to those around us beforehand or lay it in writing, set it in writing. How should things be done? And Jacob found it to be an important thing. There are spiritual things connected with it. There is also material preparation. This is what chapter 48 is all about. Here there is brought before us the double portion blessing. And this gave the recipient twice as much of the family inheritance as anyone else received. In Jacob's family, Reuben the firstborn should have received this greater inheritance, but he forfeited it because of the way he shamefully dealt in his family. Joseph therefore received a double blessing in chapter 48. We will see that later. We must make material preparation in light of our death. We have to think about where things are going to go. Where are our assets going to go? It's not good enough to say that, well, they'll deal with it when I'm gone. I don't have to think about these things. I don't have to prepare these things. Jacob felt that, no, this is God's money. This is God's assets. Everything I have, the Lord has given to me and I must deal with it in the right way. And so he said, no, the inheritance, the large portion of the inheritance that should have gone to Reuben is not going to go to Reuben. It should go to Joseph. Joseph knows how to deal with this and it is right because of the way Reuben sinned. So, these things are teaching us to be careful not to give our possessions, as we are thinking, planning these things, to people who do not use their money wisely, who are living a life that is contrary to the word of God, or at least have a right balance of it, to measure rightly, to not to use the money, the possession that God has given to us, for things that will not glorify, or to people who will not be using it for the Lord's glory. So, these are some of the practical things we need to think about. And then, finally, there is a spiritual preparation. We have to be prepared spiritually. We have to spiritually be awake until the end. Some people, friends at death, They are so dulled in their mind and blinded and hardened that they go carefree from this scene of time into eternity. And they arrive and cast into the after darkness. What a tragic thing that is! How fearful it is for a person in an old age hardening themselves I'm sure you've talked to some people who are so hard against the gospel. How sad it is when you talk to an older lady or older man and they don't want to know. They are not interested to prepare to meet their God. Friends, the Bible exhorts us that we must spiritually be prepared, spiritually be awake. What about those who are believers? Are you preparing yourselves to meet the Lord? Are you striving for holiness, striving to put away the things of Egypt and desiring Canaan, heavenly Canaan? Are you more interested in the things of God than the things of the world? Do the things of God take a prior place in your life, prominent claim in your life, preeminent claim in your life. We expect to see nothing but Egypt in the hearts of the unsaved. But to see the same kinds of things in the hearts of the saved people of God is not good. to see somebody being so concerned at the end of their lives about all kinds of worldly things. It's not a good thing. It's not a good sign. We need to hear God's Word afresh. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. So we have seen here this evening very briefly the way Jacob talks about his interest to be buried in Canaan. We've seen the way Joseph serves immediately his father and comes to his father's aid and at his bedside. And as we close I want you to remember Even with all Joseph's care and power in Egypt, people came to him and said, we are dying. Even with all Joseph's greatness and power, his own father died at the end. Those who lived on Joseph's provision. Those who Joseph nourished, still died. Even the closest people who were loved by Joseph, they died. But remember the one who is greater than Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives us that true bread that we may eat and live forever. So it is to the Lord Jesus Christ that we must commit our lives, our souls, to live for Him, to devote ourselves to His service alone. And when we draw near to death, maybe in an accident, until we have the last breath left in our lungs and upon our lips, The Lord Jesus who has supported us throughout our lives will meet us at our side as Joseph came to the side of his father. He will assure us of the everlasting inheritance that he has purchased for us by his death. So then on the very bed of death we can bow down our hearts and worship with joyful hearts and breathe our spirits into his faithful hands with the most entire composure and satisfaction. Here is Joseph and his father. And we have a brother called the Lord Jesus Christ who supplies all our needs even at the time of our death. May God bless his word. Amen.