Recognized Mourning

 Recognized Mourning

Genesis 50: ¹⁰ Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

 

¹² So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. ¹³ For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. ¹⁴ And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

 

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After leaving Egypt, Joseph and the rest of the funeral processional arrived at the burial site. The inhabitants saw the mourning. Joseph mourned an additional seven days on top of the seventy and the forty done in Egypt.

 

My Observations:

• The Philistines recognized that Joseph and the Egyptians were not trying to raid the land, rather they were in mourning.
• The locals saw that the Egyptians mourned, and were so amazed that they named the place Abel Mizraim, which means “Where Egyptians Mourn.”
• Almost a third of a year was spent mourning over Jacob.

 

When Jacob made his sons promise to go back and bury him in the place where Abraham and Isaac were buried, they may have had mixed emotions. They had to go back to the place where they plotted against Joseph and near the place where they murdered someone out of vengeance.

 

They had been gone for almost twenty years, but the feelings may have still been there. The locals saw that they were minimally armed so they left them alone. Egypt and the Philistines were not friends, so this funeral was strange. GOD provided a peaceful mourning time.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about the inhabitants of the Canaanites?
• Have you ever been at odds with someone but saw that they were going through something?
• Can you recognize that someone you may be arguing with may be going through something only GOD can see?

Relieved and Excited

Relieved and Excited

Acts 12: ¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

¹² So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. ¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵ But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”

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“At least it’s not raining anymore” I said to the other long-faced campers. Moments later, the van rolled back to the campsite with the injured child all bandaged up. They had been gone for hours. I was relieved that the person was alright. I was more relieved to have our leader back. I mean we couldn’t do anything without him and we were bored!

• When the trial is over, I get relieved.
• When the trial is over, I get excited.
• When the trial is over, I want to tell everyone.

Rhoda answered the door, heard Peter’s voice and became so excited that she forgot to open the door. Everyone at the house was mourning the death or Mary’s son, James brother of John. It seemed like the little excitement of seeing the power of the HOLY SPIRIT was lost. But Peter arrived under impossible odds. The excitement grew.

• GOD wants me to seek HIM in the middle of mourning.
• GOD wants me to seek HIM in the middle of the trial.
• GOD wants me to seek HIM in the middle of the pain.

It is not easy to praise GOD when it seems like all is lost. I mean, just when I start living my life for GOD, it seems like more problems occur. GOD knows the persecution will increase when I give my life to HIM. BUT GOD does provide relief and excitement that keeps me going. Some things cannot be fixed, but I put my trust in GOD to use them for HIS good.

• Are you in mourning?
• Does it seem like all is lost?
• Will you understand that it is alright to be in mourning and GOD loves you even though it may be difficult to hear that right now?

Dear LORD, please heal those hurting right now. Bless them with peace that only comes from you. amen

Am I Mourning Over the Right Things?

Ezra 10: ⁶ Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

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Pouting over my defeat, I sat at my desk moping. I was asked to be the head of one company’s multi-million dollar technology group and when asked “could you let 30% of your workforce go?” my answer was “no.” I wrestled with that. Was I being a wimp?

• The world calls what I stand up for “crazy.”
• The world says what I follow is absolutely “nuts.”
• The world declares what I believe is “insane.”

“You should have had the courage to go for the money” is what I would hear other people say as they spoke of their acts of “being tough” in this setting. I mourned for a while but looking back I pray for those who fell prey to the economics of politics rather standing firm in the pasture of prayer.

• GOD wants me to mourn over the direction the world is heading, not just the country.
• GOD wants me to mourn over where my neighborhood is heading, not just my city.
• GOD wants me to mourn over the state of my block, not just my part of town.

Get out and do something about it is what I hear. I have to mourn over my sins and the world around me. With absolutely no power to remove win, I need to mourn and point to the being who can do something about it, namely JESUS.

Only GOD can sustain me so mourning over the loss of my wallet, car or job should be minimized. I am not belittling the situation; BUT GOD has a way of saying, focus on ME, have compassion on those around you and you will be blessed. Stop caring about politics and start caring about people.

• What are you mourning over?
• What worries you?
• Can you open your eyes to your neighbors and mourn over them until you see them understand who CHRIST is?
• Will you add compassion for the people around you so they can come to know the living GOD?