Ives Run COE #19, Tioga, Pennsylvania
Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel (aka Jacob). So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. ~ Genesis 50:1-3 My immediate thought was wondering if ‘embalming’ meant mummification. It might be, but my NIV notes mentioned the fact that the physicians given the responsibility were doctors under Joseph’s service, and not the normal ritualistic pagan priests used for royalty. I find it quite an amazing testimony to Joseph and his father, that the Egyptians would mourn his passing for seventy days – even if it was mandated, because a commentary I read says it was just two days short of mourning for a Pharaoh. I don’t know what the mourning process entailed, but the details don’t matter. Joseph and his father are Hebrews, people the Egyptians wouldn’t even eat with, and yet they mourned for seventy days. Oh that we, as believers, could affect non-believers in such a way! Joseph did it by the things he said and did. No different than how you and I function daily. But are we affecting people in a positive or negative way for God? Do we live in such a way as to entice people to the Light, or do we live in such a way that we turn people away?
For further information on normal Egyptian mummification rites and rituals and beliefs, the following has an easy-to-read summation – with pictures. 😊
https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/refresh/cont-ed-62/olli/21-fall/egypt3.pdf
Blaine discovered the start of that 63-mile bike trail we did the end of the other day, so we took on miles one through ten+ today. Completely different scenery, but oh, so gorgeous! It was a wonderful day!
The picture just serves to remind us of why we stopped here.
As we approached, we heard sounds.
Naturally, the gravel under our tires hinders sound a bit, so we stopped to listen better.
It was at least a handful of large bullfrogs talking with one another!
We didn’t see them, but we could certainly hear them!
Brought smiles! : )
Anyone out there wanna guess?
If you said soy beans, you’d be right!
Blaine promised me sustenance at the end of the first ten miles at a place called The Burnin’ Barrell Bar. We had a bit of trouble locating it because it’s just off the trail, and there was no cell service (“Surprise!”, she said sarcastically.), so he wasn’t sure which way to go. But he chose correctly and even though no one else was there at lunchtime, the food was excellent! Blaine had a cheesesteak and I had the Amy Special – chicken, peppers and cheese. One of the most amazing parts of the sandwiches was the bread they served it on – Amoroso’s. This company (Amoroso) has created the perfect sandwich bread! Yummy, soft, but tough enough to hold all the ingredients of our overflowing sandwiches!
Bellies full, we returned to the trail and the ten+ mile ride home.
They’ve been working on the road we regularly use to get from Point A to Point B, around here, and I’ve listened to Blaine voice his disagreement with the materials used, so on our way back home, I finally asked him, “Why don’t you like chip and seal roads?”
As he’s explaining, a painful example became apparent when a car from the opposite lane threw up a rock that smashed into our windshield, creating a nice quarter-sized, star-shaped decoration in the lower left area. No further explanation was needed. Good grief!!