Joseph's Bones - Our Eternal Hope

 

So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph’s own. And Joseph said to his brothers, “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.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. (Genesis 50:22–26 ESV).

 

At the end of his life, Jospeh makes his brothers swear an oath to “carry” his bones with them when they leave Egypt and return to the land God had given them. For many readers of this story this verse (v. 25) is almost ignored. Yet it carries with it one of most incredible examples of Joseph’s faith which gave him his unshakeable hope in the future. In fact, in Reformed theology, this verse is interpreted as a profound demonstration of faith in God's covenant promises and a rejection of settling in Egypt. John Calvin commented that this act signaled that the "eternal covenant" did not die with Joseph. It highlights that Joseph's hope was not in his position or comfort in Egypt, but in the future, greater fulfillment of God’s plan.

 

According to D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, Joseph's direction to “carry his bones home” was an incredible declaration of faith in the promise of God. Even after living in the luxury of Egypt for years, Joseph’s heart was never truly there. His request to have his bones moved was a final, physical witness to his belief in God's promise to Abraham. Lloyd-Jones also emphasizes that Joseph died with absolute certainty that God would "visit" His people and deliver them, even if it took centuries. It highlights God’s sovereign governance. Joseph trusted that even though he died in a foreign land (Egypt), God’s plan to bring His people to the Promised Land remained certain.

 

What this means for us today is that whatever this world is, it is not our home. As much as we may have, or as little as we may have, it is merely temporary. We are being prepared to be taken to our eternal home by Jesus Himself.

NOTE: Full essay of this study is available by request (please email request to oldag71@yahoo.com).