By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones. (Hebrews 11:22)

Blessing By Faith

After Jacob returned to Canaan with Leah and Rachel, he purchased a field at Shechem. He erected an altar in the field and called it “El Elohe Israel,” meaning “God, the God of Israel.” One hundred eighty-five years earlier, Abraham built an altar on the same land as a sign of the promises of God. Jacob established an altar at Shechem to show the faithfulness of God in keeping his promises. The altar confirmed Jacob’s vision at Bethel years before when the Lord assured him that He would always be with him and that Jacob would return to the promised land.

At one hundred thirty, Jacob moved his family to Egypt to be with Joseph, his beloved son. It had been twenty-two years since Jacob had seen his son, believing him to be dead. Jacob lived seventeen years in Egypt, and when he knew he was dying, he made Joseph promise him that upon his death, his son would take his body back to Canaan. After Jacob’s death, Joseph and his brothers took their father back to Canaan and buried Jacob in the cave of Machpelah, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite.

Joseph lived to be one hundred and ten years old. He took an oath from the children of Israel that upon his death, they would carry his bones when they left Egypt. The difference in the story of Joseph is that, unlike Jacob, his bones would remain in Egypt until the Hebrews were released from the bondage of Egypt. They could have made the trip to Canaan as they did with Jacob, but Joseph wanted the people to remember a promise God had made them. The Lord had told Abraham his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land and be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years, but God would deliver them.

Because of his deep faith in the promises of God, Joseph told the people they would leave Egypt one day. As a sign of the promise of God, Joseph’s coffin would remain in Egypt for hundreds of years as a memorial of the promise of God. Whenever the people saw the bones of Joseph, they would know God promised to deliver them, and He would keep His promise. After the conquest of Canaan and the division of the land, the family of Joseph buried their ancestor as a sign of the fulfillment of the promise of God.

Jacob built an altar on the ground where Joseph was buried, calling it “God, the God of Israel.” For the Christian, the cross of Jesus has been left as a memorial to remind us of the faithful promise of God to deliver us from sin and death. God, the God of Israel, is faithful and true to all His promises. When the people saw the remains of Joseph, they knew God would not abandon them.

The cross of Jesus is a memorial to the faithful promise of God to deliver us. Sin is defeated in the Red Sea of the blood of Christ. Death is defeated as the saved enter the promised land through the Jordan River. By faith, Joseph wanted the people to know that God was a God of promise. That same faith is proven in our lives when we commune before the cross of Jesus Christ. God cannot lie, and He keeps all His promises. He washed away our sins and promised eternal life. Trust in God. Believe in His promises.