Joseph’s bones
Everyone can probably tell the story of Joseph without referring to the bible, from the young to the old. Hearing it for the first time I was fascinated, how could your own brothers be against you? Now I realize it was God’s purpose for him all along, obviously not to be sold off but for him to be in Egypt, we see God telling Abraham (Genesis 15:13)know that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there and will be afflicted for 400 years. But I will bring judgment on the nation and they will come out with great possessions. We also realize that God does not waste crisis. In Joseph’s life he was going through a crisis but to God he was being prepared for greater things.
God’s message to Abraham helps us to understand the great faith that Joseph had in the time of his death and why the children of Israelites were taken as slaves. Joseph was sold as a slave and through him God saved the children of Israel from the drought that was on the lands. At the time of his death Jacob blesses his sons then commits a promise from them that they would bury him where his fore fathers were buried, the land God promised them.
Joseph also commits his kindred to the same promise (Genesis 50:24)- I am about to die but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.’ Joseph had known all along that this was just a temporary place for the children of Israel, he had been taught so by his father Jacob. (Genesis 50:25) God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here.
This was to be a sign to the Israelites of the great faith of their forefathers; it is also a sign unto us today as sojourners of the earth. We have been promised a new earth, a land where there will be no tears and there is no night. Just as God promised the children of the Israelites he will surely come to redeem from our bondage in this world.
His bones were preserved and when God rescued the Israelites we see them coming out with great possessions as they were promised and Moses takes with him Joseph’s bones (Exodus 13:19).In their journey to the promised land the children of Israel were reminded of God’s promise through Joseph’s bones.
The story of Joseph ends in the book of Joshua. (Joshua 24:32) AS for the bones of Joseph , which the people brought out of Egypt they buried at Shechem in a piece of land Abraham had purchased from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. It was an act of Faith in Joseph’s part and it should reflect on our journey today.