Hebrews 11:22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
Genesis 50
24 And Joseph said to his
brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this
land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
25 Then Joseph took an oath from
the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry
up my bones from here.”
26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
It
had been 70 years since Jacob moved his family to Egypt and it would be another
350 years or thereabouts until God would send Moses to lead the Israelites out
of bondage and back to Canaan. However, Joseph had a dream. Why a dream and not
a vision? Two reasons:
·
First
because Joseph was a dreamer. The first dream we know about happened to him
when he was 17 years old. God gave him a dream about his future … and it came
to pass just like God showed him.
· Almost 100 years later Joseph had another dream. The Bible says old men dream dreams. Joseph certainly qualified. He had served God all of his life and God gave him a dream concerning his next adventure.
Joseph made his brothers swear to not leave his bones behind. And they didn’t. Hebrews 11:22 credits Joseph with having faith that even when he was dying, he believed in a greater and continuing plan of God for him and his family.
Exodus 13
18 So God led the people
around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of
Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”
If
you are familiar with the account of the Children of Israel’s journey, you know
they soon encountered the army of Pharoah at the Red Sea. God opened it up for
His children to escape and closed it up on their enemies. Joseph’s bones were
there.
·
Then
they went to Mount Sinai and met with God and received the 10 Commandments.
Joseph’s bones were there.
·
Then
they went to Kadesh Barnea where the 10 spies depressed the people and they
refused to trust God and go into the promise land. Joseph’s bones were there.
·
Then
they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Joseph’s bones were there. (The
old generation all died and were buried in the wilderness … Joseph’s bones kept
going! He had faith for the dream God had given him. It didn’t matter what
others did … he was going to the promise land.)
·
Then
Moses died and Joshua led the children across the Jordan River. Joseph’s bones
were there.
·
Joshua
and Caleb led the children to battle after battle in the land of Canaan for 25
years. Joseph’s bones were there.
· 30 years after they entered the promise land, Joshua is 110 years old, well over 400 years after Joseph had died and his body embalmed and placed in an Egyptian coffin, we come to the last chapter in the book of Joshua. Let’s read:
Joshua 24
1 ¶ Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
Shechem
has been called a number of different names throughout history and even in the
Bible. It is the city of Sychar, known as Samaria, today it is called Nablus. It
is situated in the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. This is the
spot where Abraham built his first altar to Jehovah in the land God promised to
give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let me show you what it
looks like today:
Looking down from Mount Gerizim, where the children of Israel rehearsed the blessings of God … this is the city of Shechem.
Several well known Bible sites and Bible stories have their home here. Both Old Testament and New. Jacob’s well is here, where Jesus met the Samaritan woman. The sons of Jacob took retribution on a young man named Shechem and the family of his father Hamor for defiling their sister Dinah. (Genesis 34)
I did a series of made for television Biblical documentary programs from several of these sites. Unfortunately they are some of the most dangerous places to visit and therefore aren’t included in our group tours to Israel. But you can see them on some of our programs at ChurchOnline.TV.
One of the places I love to visit in this valley is Joseph’s Tomb.
This is the historic burial place of the bones of Joseph.
The reason why it is in such disrepair and severely damaged is due to the conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians. Attempts to bomb and destroy sites that are important to the Jewish and Christian faith have been ongoing for several years and one group succeeded in blowing the roof off of this tomb of Joseph. They simply do not want anyone to visit and claim any rights to the land. Nonetheless, here are the bones of Joseph. Right where he always wanted to be … and for a reason only God knows.
When Joseph opens his eyes in the resurrection, this will be his view and he will now see an exit has been made for him by the enemies of his God. You just can’t keep a good man down.
Let me show you one more interesting thing from that area. Right up from Abraham’s altar and Jacob’s well, situated on the side of Mount Gerizim, is the city of Samaria. 800 Samaritans still live here. They believe they are the only true descendants of the Children of Jacob who first came into the land of Canaan with Joshua and the bones of Joseph.
I met and did an interview with the high priest of the Samaritans. He may not look like you think a high priest would look like but nonetheless he is. This is him:
The
Samaritans celebrate Passover one month later than the Jews in Jerusalem and I
happen to be visiting him just a day or two before they were about to kill
their Passover lambs. They still do it the way the children of Israel did it
3500 years ago. It was fascinating to listen to him describe the slaughter and
the celebration.
These are the polls from which they hang the lambs, one per family, and kill them to allow the blood to be drained and collected before roasting the meat and celebrating all night in respect and remembrance of all God did to deliver them from Egyptian slavery and the hand of Pharoah.
Well, back to our story for this evening.
Many believe, as do I, that Joshua was standing at Joseph’s tomb, burying the bones of Joseph, when he made his last address to the children of Israel before his death. It was at this time Joshua declared:
Joshua 24:15 ¶ “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.
Two things I hope you take away from the message tonight:
1.
Dare to dream beyond your lifetime.
a. Joseph believed in the
dream God gave him because he had faith in God.
b. Joseph’s bones still
speak even though he is still surrounded by the enemies of God.
c. You just can’t keep a
good man down.
2.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!
a. No doubt Joseph’s
bones were an inspiration to Joshua that What God promised, He was able also to
perform.
b. No doubt Joseph’s
bones were an inspiration to Moses as well.
c. What inspires you to
trust the Lord with your future and your family?
d. See what God has done
… don’t let go of the site of all God has already done … He didn’t bring us
this far to let us fall now.
