Thursday, July 14, 2016

Joseph's Faith In God's Promises

Exodus 13:19

And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God shall surely take care of you; and you shall carry my bones from here with you."

Genesis 50:25-26

Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here." So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Joshua 24:32

Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph's sons.

Joseph's faith in God was strong. They were not even slaves yet when Joseph died, they were enslaved when a new Pharaoh came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph (Exodus 1:8). The Israelites kept that coffin the rest of the three hundred plus years they were in Egypt, then took it with them when they left, and the 40 years they wandered in circles in the Desert. Then when they finally entered the Promised Land and conquered some of the wicked nations who were there, Joseph's bones were finally laid to rest. 

God's promises are always fulfilled, even when it seems He's taking a long time; He always knows the right time. Our time-frame is very short, as our lives end so soon; God's time-frame has no frame--it's eternal.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!