# 456 Organ Donation

The Book of Genesis

Day 456

Ge 50:1 Then Joseph fell on his father's face, and wept over him, and kissed him.  2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.  3 Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.  4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,  5 'My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me." Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.'"  6 And Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear."  7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,  8 as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen.  9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.  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.

This is quite a funeral! Joseph weeps over his father  and kisses him goodbye. Then the long process of embalming, mourning, and burial begins. One thing we all know; the Egyptians know how to preserve a body. Mummified remains are legendary! This task of embalming was turned over to Egyptian physicians who would remove most of the vital organs, dehydrating the body, and then wrapping it tightly. The whole process took 40 days!

I find it interesting that there is no objection from Joseph or his brothers for this treatment of their father’s body.  I mean shouldn’t a body be buried whole? How is God going to find all the body parts on the Last Day when we will all be raised from the dead? Re 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

The sea will give up the dead! Not one person’s remains will be out of the sight of God!

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again but God can and will!

We are reminded of that fact in Eze 37:3-6, “And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."  4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!  5 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.  6 "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

By the way, this whole embalming process of Jacob should help alleviate any qualms about organ donation! Donate! It is lifesaving and a blessing for others! Let God sort it all out in the end!

In the end, He’s not going to ask you if you stall have all your body parts! He’s going to ask you if you are in Christ! We will be judged by our works, and our work is this: Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." “(Jn 6:29)