Wei for Embalm Hem Fitim Olketa Christian?
Taem hem klosap for dae, last samting wea datfala faithful laen dadi Jacob askem hem: “Berem mi witim olketa dadi bilong mi insaed cave wea stap long field bilong Ephron datfala Hittite, long cave wea stap long field bilong Machpelah wea stap front long Mamre long land bilong Canaan.”—Genesis 49:29-31.
JOSEPH showim honor long samting wea dadi bilong hem talem taem hem mekius long wanfala kastom wea olketa long Egypt duim long datfala taem. Hem komandim “olketa servant bilong hem, olketa doctor, for putim medicine long dadi bilong hem mekem hem no rotten (Embalmim).” Insaed story long Genesis chapter 50, olketa doctor hia followim wei bilong olketa for iusim 40 day for redyim dead body. Wei for embalmim body bilong Jacob hem mekem famili bilong hem and tu samfala bigman bilong Egypt fit for tekem body bilong Jacob for go berem long Hebron wea hem 400 km awe, and from olketa wanfala bigfala sekson, gogo bilong olketa hem isisi nomoa.—Genesis 50:1-14.
Waswe, bae enitaem olketa savve faendem body bilong Jacob wea olketa embalmim? Maet hem barava hard for faendem. From Israel hem wanfala area wea garem staka wata, diswan mekem wei for faendem olketa oldfala samting wea stap long graon hem lelebet hard. (Exodus 3:8) Olketa oldfala metal and ston samting hem isi for faendem, bat samfala samting wea isi for nogud olsem kaleko, leather, and olketa dead body wea olketa embalmim, rotten from wata and olketa samting wea bin happen.
Wanem nao wei for embalm? Why nao pipol duim? Waswe hem fitim olketa Christian?
Wea Nao Disfala Kastom Start Kam From?
Wei for embalm hem wei for putim medicine long dead body bilong man or animal for mekem hem no rotten. Pipol for raetem history agree hao wei for embalm hem start from Egypt bat olketa bilong Assyria, Persia, and Scythia duim tu. Maet pipol start for interest and traem wei for embalm taem olketa faendem hao olketa dead body wea sandbis bilong desert bin berem olketa no rotten. Kaen wei olsem for berem man bae stopem wata and air from kasem dead body, so datwan katem daon wei wea dead body hem rotten. Samfala tingse maet wei for embalm start taem olketa faendem olketa dead body nating rotten from olketa stap insaed natron (sodium carbonate), wanfala kaen salt wea staka stap raon long Egypt.
Goal bilong man wea embalmim wanfala body hem for stopem natural wei wea body start for rotten, wea savve start tu-thri hour bihaen man dae. Sapos hem savve stopem disfala natural wei, body bae no rotten or maet hem mekem disfala wei for rotten kamap moa slow. Thrifala samting nao hem need for duim: mekem datfala dead body luk olsem taem hem laef yet, stopem wei for hem rotten, and stopem olketa insect for kaikaim disfala dead body.
Main reason why olketa long Egypt bifor embalmim dead body hem from religion bilong olketa. Idea abaotem laef bihaen man dae hem join witim wei for garem feeling for contactim world bilong olketa man. Olketa biliv olketa bae iusim sem body for olowe and disfala body bae kasem niu laef. Nomata wei for embalm hem samting wea planti duim long datfala taem, no eniwan faendem yet eni story bilong olketa long Egypt wea explainim hao olketa duim. Best record wea stap hem bilong Greek man for raetem history Herodotus long mek-faev century B.C.E. Bat olketa sei taem man trae followim olketa direction wea Herodotus talem, olketa no savve mekem gud.
Waswe, Hem Fitim Olketa Christian?
Olketa wea embalmim Jacob no garem sem biliv witim hem. Bat iumi sure hao taem Joseph givim go dead body bilong dadi bilong hem long olketa doctor, bae hem nating askem olketa for prea and duim olketa samting saed long kastom wea olketa bilong Egypt maet duim taem olketa embalmim dead body. Jacob and Joseph garem strongfala faith. (Hebrews 11:21, 22) Nomata hem luk olsem diswan hem no komand bilong Jehovah, Bible hem no tok againstim wei wea olketa stopem dead body bilong Jacob for rotten. Wei wea olketa embalmim Jacob hem no wanfala example for nation bilong Israel or for Christian kongregeson. For tok stret, Word bilong God no talem eni klia instruction abaotem diswan. Bihaen taem olketa embalmim Joseph long Egypt, Bible no talem eni moa samting abaotem diswan.—Genesis 50:26.
Olketa body bilong olketa man wea rotten finis wea insaed olketa tomb long Palestine showimaot hao wei for embalmim dead body hem no kastom bilong olketa Hebrew, especially long wei for mekem body hem stap gud for longfala taem. Olsem example olketa no embalmim Lazarus. Nomata olketa pasolem hem insaed kaleko, pipol wea standap long there long datfala taem wari taem olketa ting for pushim aot ston wea satem tomb. From Lazarus hem dae for fofala day finis, sista bilong hem sure bae hem smel taem olketa openem tomb.—John 11:38-44.
Waswe, olketa embalmim Jesus Christ? Olketa story insaed Gospel no showim datwan. Long datfala taem, hem kastom bilong olketa Jew for redyim dead body witim olketa spice and oil wea smel naes bifor olketa go berem. Olsem example, bifor olketa go berem body bilong Jesus, Nicodemus givim staka spice for redyim dead body bilong Jesus. (John 19:38-42) Why nao hem givim staka spice? Maet wei wea hem lovem and respectim Jesus hem muvim hem for showimaot kaenfala fasin olsem. Iumi no need for tingse olketa spice hia hem for mekem dead body no rotten.
Waswe, fitim wanfala Christian for les long wei for embalm? Iumi savve tingim wei for embalm olsem wei for delayim wei wea body hem bae rotten. From iumi dust nomoa, taem iumi dae iumi bae go bak long dust. (Genesis 3:19) Bat tingim hao long nao bae olketa keepim dead body start from taem hem dae go kasem taem bilong funeral? Sapos olketa famili member and olketa fren bae kam from farawe ples and olketa laek for lukim dead body, bae olketa need for embalmim datfala body.
So long saed bilong Bible, hem olraet nomoa sapos need hem stap for mas embalmim dead body or maet from samfala famili member laekem diswan. Olketa wea dae olketa “nating savve long eni samting.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Sapos olketa stap long memory bilong God, bae olketa rise ap for kasem laef insaed niu world bilong hem wea hem promisim.—Job 14:13-15; Acts 24:15; 2 Peter 3:13.
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WEI FOR EMBALM—LONG BIFOR AND DISTAEM
Long Egypt bifor, hao olketa embalmim wanfala dead body hem depend long position bilong famili bilong hem. Wanfala rich famili maet bae duim followim wei olsem:
Bae olketa iusim wanfala metal samting for aotem brain bilong hem thru long nose. Bihaen datwan, olketa putim samfala medicine long hed bilong hem. Next samting hem wei for aotem olketa part insaed body bat no heart and kidney. For kasem olketa samting insaed bele olketa mas katem body, bat olketa tingim diswan olsem wanfala sin. So for faendem wei for go raonem disfala problem, olketa Egyptian man for embalmim dead body markem wanfala man wea olketa kolem, man for kat, for hem nao mas duim. Kwiktaem bihaen hem duim diswan hem mas ranawe bikos panis bilong diswan hem wei wea olketa bae cursim and sutim hem witim ston.
Bihaen olketa aotem evri samting from bele, olketa wasim gud. Herodotus man for raetem history raet olsem: “Olketa bae fulimap datfala spes witim barava gudfala myrrh wea olketa smasem, and cassia, and evri narakaen difren spice bat no frankincense, and then olketa sewim ap datfala kat.”
Then, olketa bae sokem datfala body insaed natron for 70 day mekem hem kamap drae. Bihaen datwan olketa bae wasim datfala dead body and then pasolem insaed long linen. Then olketa putim wanfala kaen gum wea olsem glue long datfala linen, and then olketa putim datfala body wea olketa embalmim insaed wanfala timba box wea olketa mekem luk naes wea sheip bilong hem olsem man.
Distaem, wei wea olketa embalm hem kwiktaem nomoa. Olketa savve duim diswan long wei for putim medicine for embalm insaed olketa vein and artery and tu insaed bele and olketa spes bilong lung. Thru long olketa year wea go pas, staka difren kaen medicine wea olketa iusim hem kamap. Nomata olsem, from kost bilong hem and wei wea hem sef, olketa planti taem savve iusim formaldehyde for embalm.
[Piksa]
Gold coffin bilong King Tutankhamen