What About Cremation?
This article was a part of FBC Lindale’s 2021 Easter Devotional
Alternatively, you can listen to the audio to this article here:
Part 1: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/nYIfbrefiwb
Part 2: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/hxm9jqefiwb
Part 3: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/ZKC5vpefiwb
Part 4: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/aF3BFoefiwb
I am indebted to Dr. Rodney Decker’s 2006 lecture on cremation, found here: http://fbclindale.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Decker-CremationLectures.pdf
What About Cremation?
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain…So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 1 Corinthians 15:35-37; 42-43
How should we handle our dead? We need to consider the doctrine of the resurrection and the Christian view of the human body when we approach the topic of funerals. Much of the atmosphere of thought in America regarding death and funerals is sub-Christian at best and sometimes outright pagan at worst. For example, the Christian view of the body is not that we are souls who are trapped inside prisons of flesh. The Christian hope is not to become an angel or some sort of spirit that lives a celestial life, no longer bound by our loathsome, physical bodies, as some consider them. It was Plato who wrote about how the soul is imprisoned like the oyster in its shell, and that death is not something to regret, but something to be welcomed because it would mean being freed from the shackles of a physical life [Plato, Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 9 (translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925, 250c.]
The Christian view of creation is that the Lord made all things good. When God made us in His image He blessed us and gave us purpose connected to how we use our bodies upon the earth, working and multiply, and this He called very good (Gen 1:28-31). In fact, before Adam had a soul he was first given a body, and then was given the breath of life (Gen 2:7). God created us as enmeshed spirit-body creations.
As Christians when we die we are in the presence of the Lord. But this is not the end. The Christian hope is to see Christ return to the earth, and He will resurrect us from the dead. Our final hope, ultimately, is not to go up to God but that God would come down to earth.
The central verse of Revelation, when the 7th angel blows his trumpet, declares, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). One day the governments of this earth will be taken over by Christ’s rule. And in Revelation 21:2-4 we read, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
We long for the new heavens and the new earth, because not only will our bodies be glorified, but all of creation will be renewed. As it says in Romans 8:21-22, all creation has been longing in its birth pains to “be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” One day the earth shall become Eden as it should have been, and we will continue to live forever as enmeshed spirit-body creations.
I. The History of Cremation
How, then, should Christians evaluate the funeral practices available to us? Does it matter how we treat the bodies of our loved ones? When it comes to the practice of cremation, we have to first acknowledge the non-Christian theology that has historically been connected with the act. Hinduism has practiced cremation for thousands of years. They view the act as a purification process, whereby burning the body cleanses the soul, preparing it for reincarnation. The soul that survives the fire will “fly birdlike to the world of the ancestors or the world of the gods.” [Prothero, Purified by Fire, 6. Quoting the Vedas, the oldest Hindu holy text.] Buddhism has practiced cremation since its beginning. The Buddha was cremated in BC 483, and his followers cremate their dead to allow the spirit to escape and await the next reincarnation. The soul is thought to remain inside the body, and the fires of cremation sever the soul and the body ["Personal Ceremonies: Marriage / Funeral Rites,” <http://www.buddhanet.net/funeral.html>, accessed 2/08/2021.]
Confucianism initially forbade cremation, but in 1875 after a ban on the practice was lifted by the Japanese government, citing superior sanitation and preservation of land use, it was widely adopted. Today, 99.97% of deaths in Japan end in cremation. ["International Cremation Statistics 2014". The Cremation Society of Great Britain.]
The practice of cremation has been quickly adopted in the United States. In 1960 only 3.5% of deaths ended in cremation. But by 2018, the number has grown to 53.1%. The Cremation Association of North America forecasts a rate of 59.4% by 2023. ["Trends and Statistics". National Funeral Directors Association. 2011.] ["Industry Statistical Information", 2020 Annual Report. Cremation Association of North America, 2020.].
Some of the reasons given include less religious affiliation, more affiliation with non-Christian religions, higher average education levels, less home ownership, and a more transient population. Because more people are not rooted in one place they do not desire to bury their loved ones in a local graveyard, since they plan to move eventually. Other historic arguments in favor of cremation have included hygiene and environmentalism. “Save the Land for the Living” was a slogan adopted by enterprising cremationists in 1974 [British Cremation Society slogan, 1974, Kazmier, “A Modern Landscape: The British Way of Death in the Age of Cremation” (Ph.D. diss., Rutgers Univ., 2005), 4)]
II. Christian History
But how should cremation be viewed through the lens of Christian history? Burning on a funeral pyre has traditionally been a pagan act in the western world. Although burial was most commonly practiced in early Rome, by BC 400 until the 1st and 2nd centuries, cremation was the most common practice. In the late 1st century AD, cremation was so commonplace that Tacitus, the Roman historian (c. 56-120 AD) referred to it as Romanus mos ("the Roman Way”) [Tacitus, Annals, 16.6].
The early Roman Catholic Church forbade cremation because they understood how it was associated with pre-Christian religions. In 789 AD cremation was outlawed by Charlemagne and even punishable by death for this reason. [Bregman, Lucy (2010). Religion, Death, and Dying. Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger Publishers, 3].
The Roman Catholic Church, in their attempt to modernize church doctrine and practice, lifted the ban on cremation in 1963, under the Second Vatican Council. The Easter Orthodox Church to this day forbids cremation, except in the case of an epidemic, where disease is a concern. [“Cremation”, <https://www.oca.org/questions/deathfunerals/cremation> accessed 2/08/2021].
Protestants began to adopt the practice of cremation after World War 1 in response to the Spanish Flu outbreak. The European death toll was between 2 million and 2.3 million from 1918-1919. [Ansart, Séverine (May 2009). "Mortality burden of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic in Europe". Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses. Wiley. 3 (3): 99–106]
III. The Bible
How should we evaluate the practice of cremation biblically? There are only three texts that indirectly reference cremation as a burial practice in the Bible: two of them are exceptions in times of war, and one is a passage of judgment against a nation.
1 Samuel 31:8-13
The bodies of Saul and his three sons were captured by the Philistines. Their enemies desecrated them, cutting off their heads and pinning the bodies to the wall of Beth-shan. The valiant men of Jabesh-gilead heard what had been done, and under cover of night took the bodies down. They “took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabeshand fasted seven days” (1 Samuel 31:12-13). We can assume that the bodies of Saul and his sons were badly decomposed. The distance from the wall to Jabesh-gilead would have been about 10 miles. The men cremated the bodies rather than carry four corpses. “It was probably considered more honorable to cremate the royal retinue than attempt to haul the mutilated, stinking bodies elsewhere for the usual Jewish burial ceremonies” [Decker, 6.]. In 2 Samuel 2:5, David commended the men for the kindness they showed Saul by doing this. It would, however, be inappropriate to consider that this verse be used to normalize the practice of cremation. The narrative simply describes what happened, and this was an exception during a time of war.
Amos 6:8-10
The Lord prophesied judgment by military invasion through the prophet Amos to Israel. The ruin will be so great that one house will have the bodies of ten men. “And if a relative, or his undertaker [literally “the one who burns him”], will lift him up to carry out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ And that one will say, ‘No one’” (Amos 6:10, NASB). In the aftermath of the attack, with so few survivors, there would be no possible way to properly bury all the dead in Zion. The imagery is that there will be ten dead people per one survivor. The spread of disease would become a public health crisis. Therefore, the only solution that will be available to the living is to cremate the masses of the dead. “In the carnage of war, normal burial is not always possible, especially when the number of casualties is high” [Decker, 8.]. Again, this passage is an exception during a time of war, where cremation was seen as the only option to dispose of the large number of the dead.
Amos 2:1-3
Earlier in his book, the prophet Amos delivered words of judgment to God’s enemies. Among the list of wicked nations, Moab is singled out, and their sins are publicly recorded. What is the reason given for why the Lord will not turn back His wrath? “Because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom” (Amos 2:1). Most likely Moab desecrated the tomb of the king of Edom, dragging his body out and burning it until his bones fell apart like chalky lime powder. Notice that the judgment is not for tomb raiding, but specifically for burning the body, with the intention to profane the body with fire. Consequently, the Lord will deliver a judgment fitting the crime: “So I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds” (Amos 2:2).
Although, “one must be careful not to transfer inappropriately what was perhaps a deliberate war atrocity to normal funeral practice. The point of the text is significant in this regard [when considering if it is wise for a Christian to cremate], but it is not legitimate to cite this as a proof text which forbids cremation in all situations” [Decker, 7].
Fire as Sign of Judgment
Many times the Lord uses fire to bring death and judgment. Nadab and Abihu brought unauthorized incense into the holy place, “And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (Lev 10:2). The Lord did not respect the offering of Korah and his rebellious company, “And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense” (Num 16:35). Achan troubled Israel with his secret sin, “And Joshua said, ‘Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.’ And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones” (Joshua 7:25). The enemies of Elijah were consumed with a fire from heaven, first a group of 50 men and then another group of 50 men (2 Kings 1:10, 12).
Death by fire was to be used in two exceptional cases in the Levitical code. The first: “If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you” (Lev 20:14). The second: “And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire” (Lev 21:9).
The mode of these two capital punishments is singled out as particularly heinous, even among lists that includes human sacrifice, witchcraft, cursing parents, adultery, homosexuality, incest, and bestiality. Death by fire was supposed to be an exceptional judgment, meant to rid God’s people of this evil. Again, as with the three passages above, we should not read into these passage a normative pattern for funerals. These texts do not explicitly prohibit cremation as a practice. To cremate is not a sin. But we must consider how events such as these would have transformed the moral imagination of God’s people. “Such a history of judgment fire hardly provided a positive incentive for the burial practice of cremation.” [Davis, 62].
Elsewhere in the Bible God’s wrath is symbolized with fire. The arrogant nation of Assyria and its king will be judged: “the Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire” (Isa 10:16). The Lord will consume the nations: “Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire” (Isa 30:27). The place of judgment for Assyria’s king is likened to a crematorium: “For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it” (Isa 30:33). All throughout the prophets the wrath of God is akin to a fire: “remove the foreskin of your hearts…lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it” (Jer 4:4). “On the day of the wrath of the Lord, in the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed” (Zeph 1:18). “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze” (Malachi 4:1).
In the New Testament we frequently have fire used in the place of God’s judgment. “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt 3:10). “It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire” (Matt 18:8). “Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41). Our work as Christians will be judged as though by fire: “each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done” (1 Cor 3:13). The end-time judgment of Christ is almost always associated with fire: “the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance” (2 Thess 1:7). “…a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (Heb 10:27). “…the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (2 Pt 3:7). “Sodom and Gomorrah…serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7). “Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth” (Rev 8:5). “These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur” (Rev 19:20).
Again, none of these passages forbid cremation. To cremate is not a sin. But we must also weigh the collective force of these passages, and the many others not mentioned, when we consider how to handle the bodies of our deceased loved ones. What association does fire invoke in our imaginations? Ought a Christian to be comfortable subjecting their loved ones to fire when considering the conceptual world of the Bible and how it uses fire in its symbolism?
Biblical Uses of Burial
In the Bible burial is the standard for the treatment of one’s body after death. The words “bury” and “grave” in Hebrew are nearly identical, and they occur over 200 times in the Old Testament. These burials are “in a cave (Gen 23:19), under a tree (Gen 35:8), beside the road (Gen 48:7), in the desert (1 Kgs 2:34), in a garden (2 Kgs 21:18), or on a hill (2 Chron 32:33). This may be either earth burial in a dug grave, or internment in a tomb.” [Decker, 13].
Depending on the social status and chronological period, the tomb is better know in the Bible lands since it is an obvious, often a prominent, structure. These might consist of natural caves, but the best known (especially in the vicinity of Jerusalem and Jericho) are hand-hewn in soft rock. There are several styles and customs evident, but typically a tomb would be used for multiple internments, most commonly of family members. In some periods bodies were (permanently) buried individually in coffins placed in hewn niches or laid on rock shelves (without a coffin). In other times the initial burial was individual, but after a corpse had decomposed so as to leave only bones, the bones were transferred to an ossuary (a stone or pottery bone box or pottery jar) so as to make room for additional burials of family members. [Decker 14].
Our Lord’s own burial was in a borrowed tomb, and what He experienced was typical of Jewish custom, aside from the lavish amount of spices and perfume that adorned His body. In fact, the burial of the Messiah was foretold, in addition to His death: “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth” (Isa 53:9). In addition, the way Jesus’ body was handled with great care and reverence by those who loved him should not escape our notice.
God Himself once buried someone. When Moses died God did not leave his body exposed to the elements and animals on top of Mount Nebo near the plains of Moab. Moses had climbed the mountain because the Lord wanted to show Moses the promised land one final time that He swore to give to Abraham’s descendants. “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day” (Deut 34:5-6). The only one who could have buried Moses was the Lord. No other person is named. We should note that, when given the option, God chose burial for His servant, Moses, and God chose burial for His Son.
To Not Be Buried Was a Judgment
To refuse burial for someone was a sign of contempt reserved for one’s enemy. “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies…And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away” (Deut 28:25-26). “Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it….And all Israel shall mourn for him [the child who is to die] and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam” (1 Kings 14:11-13).
Notice how those whom the Lord rejected are not buried, but the one in whom something pleasing was found in the eyes of the Lord is given the honor of a burial.
In another word of judgment Jeremiah says that the bones of the wicked kings of Judah, along with the officials, priests, prophets, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who worshiped the sun, moon, and stars will be exhumed and given no burial, but their bones will be exposed under the very sun, moon, and stars that they loved to worship. “And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground” (Jer 8:1-3). Even those who had once been buried will not be given the honor of remaining in their tombs, but they will be judged posthumously for their idolatry. The ancient Israelites understood that burial was the proper and regular way to treat the bodies of their dead. To not be buried was a dishonor.
Theological Considerations
When the Lord redeemed us He not only saved our souls but also our bodies. “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:19-20). The context of this passage is in regards to sexual immorality, but the broad principles are applicable for how we view the lordship of Christ over the choices we make with our bodies, including funerals.
Paul taught that what the Lord purchased through His death and resurrection included our bodies, and therefore our bodies belong to Him. He has the right to tell us how to use them, or how not to use them. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?…For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1 Cor 6:15-17). Our bodies (and souls) are mystically connect to the Son of God, and therefore it matters how we use our bodies in this life. We are not free to think that “every sin a person commits is outside the body,” as Paul learned the Corinthians were being taught by false teachers, and therefore they excused their own sexual sin. But our bodies are connected to Jesus, and therefore while alive we must honor God by not using our bodies to indulge in sin.
In regard to funerals, we must ponder whether the lordship of Christ over our bodies ceases upon death. Does the Lord no longer own our bodies when our life expires? Another question, much harder to answer, needs to be pondered as well: do our bodies cease to be a part of the body of Christ in death? If our bodies are currently, while alive, a part of Christ, and if our bodies in the resurrection will be part of Christ, then would it be too far afield a thought to not also conclude that even in death our bodies are still somehow mystically united to Christ?
Take, for example, how the concept of personhood is still attached to a body after death. When Jesus was buried the text does not refer to His body but to His person. Joseph “took him down, wrapped [him] in the linen, and placed him in a tomb cut out of rock” (Mark 15:46). John Mark, the author of the Gospel, did not use the neuter third person singular pronoun it, referring to the body, but the masculine prononun him, referring to the person.
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead He did not cry, “Dead body, come out!” He instead referred to the one who is in the tomb as Lazarus. Even though his soul was not in the tomb the body was referred to as a person, not as the corpse of a person. [Decker 21]. “Even in death the body that is laid in the tomb is not simply a body. It is the body of the person. More properly, it is the person as respects the body. It is the person who is buried or laid in the tomb.” [Murray, The Nature of Man, 16.]
In addition, as Christians we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit as His temple (1 Cor 6:19). Granted, our souls leave our bodies when we die, as also the Holy Spirit no longer dwells in the deceased. But it is still a body where the Holy Spirit once dwelt. There are many monuments and tokens of men that commemorate historic events and personages: the field of Gettysburg, the crown of Henry the 8th, or a bed where Napoleon once slept.
These locations and objects are carefully treated and preserved by men. We even recognize that there are many who give special attention to the locations where Jesus once ministered while on earth, and many go on pilgrimage to visit what they consider to be holy sites. Should we not, then, as those who fear the Lord, also give special consideration and care to a body where the Holy Spirit once dwelled for a time?
IV. The Hope of the Resurrection
Consider the passage quoted from 1 Corinthians 15:35-37 at the beginning of this article. Paul likens the burial of a Christian to the planting of a seed. It is buried in hope of a harvest. The process of cremation burns the body to ashes and grinds the bones to dust. It is not consistent with the positive, consistent pattern of burial we see in the Bible.
Admittedly, every body will eventually break down and decompose. We will all return to dust, preserved in a casket or not. But preservation is not the goal of a funeral. Nor is disposal the goal of a funeral. Christian funerals are not simply ways of disposing of dead bodies, nor are they merely about remembering the departed or expressing grief. They are not less, but they are more. Rather, for believers funerals ought to be Christ-centered events, testifying all throughout to the message and hope of the gospel. And it is a gospel that ends with a resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. It will be a real, physical life, with grass between our toes in a new heavens and a new earth. The end of the golden chain of redemption is the glorification of our flesh (Rom 8:30).
In light of the non-Christian theology historically attached to cremation, its opposition historically in Christian tradition, the use of fire as symbolism in connection to God’s wrath, the consistent, positive example of burial in the Bible, and the theological themes of the hope of resurrection attached to burial, we must concluded, at the very least, that to cremate is unwise.
In essence I would argue that cremation has become both accepted and popular in an inverse proportion to a knowledge of the Bible and Christian theology…True, many Christians who choose cremation do not view this choice with the same religious and philosophical connotation as do adherents of non-Christian religions or philosophies. It is often an “innocent” decision reflecting lack of information rather than an activist decision to advocate a particular worldview. This, however, only reflects that the church has failed to teach her people in this area. [Decker, 38].
A Question of Wisdom, and Not of Sin
As stated several times above: to cremate is not a sin. What we do with out bodies is a question of wisdom. What do our burial practices communicate to the believing community and to the unbelieving world? Are they able to see from our funerals what we believe about the resurrection of the dead? We have to ask what things might be communicated by cremation. Could it communicate that this body will not be reclaimed? Could it communicate that we will be annihilated? Could it communicate we will never come back to earth when Jesus returns?
As stated above: there are exceptions to the rule. There are two times in the Bible where cremation was used, and it was not judged to be wrong. But these are exceptions that prove the rule. The standard practice for the dead in the Bible was burial.
Is Jesus able to resurrect “cremains?” Yes. There is nothing too hard for the Lord. He is able to resurrect Adam, and all those whose bodies have been lost. He is able to resurrect those burned at the stake and those who were torn to pieces and eaten by lions in the Roman Colosseum.
But what about the cost of funerals? In general, a traditional funeral is more expensive than cremation. But pragmatic considerations should not be our final or ultimate consideration. Financial consideration are not insignificant, but they are not ultimate. There are ways to keep the costs of funerals down, including buying caskets wholesale and not from the funeral home.
The Bones of Joseph
In conclusion, as those who believe in the resurrection, we should be like Joseph, who had faith in the promises of God and gave instructions for how to handle his body upon death. “Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.’ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt” (Genesis 50:25-26).
Joseph believed that God had given the promised land to Abraham and his sons. He knew that their time in Egypt was temporary. One day the Lord would visit them and Israel would inherit the land. Joseph knew he would not see that day with his eyes, but he wanted to be a part of God’s promises and therefore asked that his bones would be carried with them out of Egypt. “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.’” (Ex 13:19). Moses carried the bones of Joseph all throughout the 40 years of wandering. Joseph’s bones crossed the Jordan River. His bones waited patiently while Jericho’s walls fell down and the land was given to the sons of Abraham city-by-city in conquest.
And at last Joseph’s bones were laid to rest by Joshua inside the promised land. “As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought” (Joshua 24:32). Joseph, while alive, rested by faith in the promises of God. Even though he would never enter the land while alive, he entered God’s eternal Sabbath rest. “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones” (Heb 11:22).
As Christians there awaits for us a better promised land and a better day of rest than what the Israelites had. “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Heb 4:8-9). Let us by faith use our bones, like Joseph, to point others to the truth that this world is not our home, and we await a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us use our funerals to testify all throughout of our hope in the gospel.