Dem Bones

I was reading through Hebrews 11 and I read over verse 22. I didn't think anything about it. It just seemed to go along with the flow of the passage and I was only paying attention to the "important" verses, anyway.

Anyway, I got a few verses past that and something hit me funny about that verse.

"By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones."

If you were asked to fill in the blank to "Noah showed his faith by _____," or "Abraham showed his faith by _____," or "Moses showed his faith by _____," you'd be able to answer "By the Ark," or "By offering Isaac," or "By leading the Exodus." And, this is all very easy and anyone who has ever been to Sunday School could fill in those blanks.

Now, why is Joseph's only verse about his bones? If I were to fill in that blank, that wouldn't be the first thing that would come to my mind.

Well, I checked my little reference column and it told me to go to Genesis 50:25. In that passage, Joseph is on his deathbed, and as all people do right before they leave, Joseph is telling his people, his family, some very important things. Imparticular, Joseph tells his loved ones that, when they leave Egypt, to take his bones with them.

Joseph knew two things when he said it.
1. This was not his family's land. Joseph had lived with the Egyptians for many years. He was made second only to the Pharoah himself. He had a good life and his family was well cared for. However, Egypt was not HIS land and the Egyptians were not HIS people. Joseph understood that he didn't belong there.

2. God would bring His people back to his family's land. Joseph didn't know how long it would take. He didn't know if his children or his children's children would be brought back. However, Jospeh remembered the promise given to Abraham and KNEW that God would bring them back to the land promised to Abraham. And, do you notice that Joseph doesn't even allow for the idea that they might not return. Joseph KNEW, without a shadow of a doubt, because of the promise given to Abraham, that his family would go to his family's land.

And, finally, after 400+ years, in Joshua 24:32-33, the bones of Joseph were laid to rest at the foot of a hill in Shechem.

Joseph had faith that the children of Israel would leave the only thing they ever knew and, then, enter into the promised land one day AND that he belonged there.

Can you see that now? Why Joseph's "fill in the blank" was his bones?

You know, you can have the same thing said about you. Wouldn't that be cool? Wouldn't that be amazing? To be listed among that amazing list of people in Hebrews 11? To be listed among them because of your faith?

"By faith Curtis, realized that this land was not his home and gave the order about his bones, that when it was time for God's Children to go to the Promised Land, he would be taken with them and laid to rest in that Land."

Don't you want that said about you? You CAN have that said about you when you "give orders about your bones." You do that by becoming a child of God and living by the obedient faith that Joseph had all throughout his life. THEN, you CAN have that said about YOU and you can be listed among those great servants of God in His Book of Life and find rest in the Promised Land of Heaven.