AudioSurveys are often conducted about the things we fear in life. Invariably, and understandably, the fear of death and dying ranks high on the list. If it were possible to broaden the research out to cover the entirety of human history, based solely on anecdotal and literary evidence, it seems that this has been the most fearful thing for people, regardless of the place or time in which they have lived. Much human behavior and belief is driven by a fear of death, and the subject occupies much conversation today and in ages past, at least as far as we can ascertain. Just take our passage and its broader context, for example. Joseph’s brothers had plotted to kill him, and deceived their father into thinking he was dead. Then Jacob said that he was going to mourn himself to death because of it. Then there was a famine that caused Jacob to send his sons to Egypt, saying, “so that we may live and not die.” Then Joseph was talking to them about what they must do in order to not be put to death on the charge of spying on Egypt. They had to go back and get Benjamin while Simeon remained hostage in Egypt, where he may die. Then when they told Jacob about all this, he refused to let Benjamin go because he was convinced Simeon was already dead and that Benjamin would die too. Then Reuben offered his own sons’ lives in exchange for Benjamin if he died. Then Jacob again said he was going to grieve himself to death. Then they start starving to death again because the grain is running out, and that is where our text picks up again. When we think about this family, it is hardly a wonder that they are so filled with anxiety about death. Jacob, of course had deceived his brother and his father. His sons had a rap-sheet a mile long, ranging from incestuous adultery (two-times over), mass murder and pillaging, and the betrayal of their own father following the murderous schemes and human trafficking of Joseph. With all of that on their conscience, who would not dread the possibility of facing God in judgment after death? And perhaps this is the reason that the fear of death is so common. After all, the Bible says that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that the wages of sin is death, resulting in an eternal separation from God and experience of unending torment. Even if we are unaware or do not believe the Bible, we see ourselves in the mirror and we examine ourselves when we are alone with our thoughts, and feel the prick of our own consciences convicting us of our moral failures. When we consider our words, thoughts, and deeds, we are aware of the unavoidable truth. We do what we ought not do. We do not do what we ought to do. And this pattern of repeat behavior presents itself in us from the moment we are capable of conscious action. So many people wonder why they are constantly plagued with guilt, but the reason is because we are guilty people before God. And the Bible says that it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment (Heb 9:27). Perhaps someone may say that all this talk of death and judgment is nonsense, and only creates and fuels an irrational and superstitious fear of death. They may be convinced that death just marks the terminal point of existence, after which life is completely extinguished into nothingness, without any conscious experience of any sort of so-called afterlife. That is a pervasive opinion, but we have to acknowledge that it carries with it some very high stakes. The philosopher Blaise Pascal suggested that every person is essentially gambling with his or her life on whether or not God is real. But the truth will be irreversibly revealed at death. Betting with your life that God is real and that we will face Him one day, Pascal says, carries no risk – only the potential of an infinite reward. But betting that He does not exist carries seemingly no reward – only far greater risks. A person betting against the reality of God and eternal judgment carries with him or