(Hebrews 11:22) By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
This here is a reference to the very last chapter of Genesis. Joseph is talking about the departing of the children of Israel from Egypt back to Canaan. Joseph says (Genesis 50:24) God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Joseph dies there and the book of Genesis ends. The next book in the bible is the fruition of Joseph’s faith. Four hundred years pass from the time that Joseph dies. Many generations have come and gone there in Egypt. And now, by a mighty hand, God is going to fulfill the promises he made to Joseph’s fathers, the ones that Joseph put his faith and trust, in the next book of Exodus.
So after Joseph’s father Jacob dies, they all get back to Egypt from burying him next to Abraham and Isaac. There’s a quick account of an exchange between Joseph and the rest of his brethren where they basically make up and live happily ever after. And the last five verses of Genesis tell the end of Joseph’s life. And these five verses is what Hebrews 11:22 are talking about (Genesis 50:22-26)
22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees.
24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Joseph when he died did two things according to Hebrews:
He made mention of the departing of the children of Israel.
His exact words in Genesis are God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Faith reached back all the way back to the days of Abraham, his great-grandfather, and looked all the way forward to the days of Moses to bring comfort and hope to the present day.
I always wondered as to why did the children of Israel stay so long in Egypt. There was a great famine in the days of Jacob. Come to think of it, there was famine in Abraham and Isaac’s day also. But surely there came a point in time that they considered going back and decided to stay instead. They settled in for a long winter’s night. It was supposed to be temporary. But Joseph never brought himself to leave. And nobody brought themselves to leave until it came a time when they had no choice and were at the mercy of Pharaoh. But in this time of limbo, they clung to the faith and hope of Joseph. The promises of God stood behind them in Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. And the promises of God stood ahead of them in Canaan.
Do you ever feel that’s where you’re currently at? Do you ever feel like a child of Machir? You don’t even have a name. Well… get over it because that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Here’s what you have to think about. (Romans 1:17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. You have to think about Jochebed and Amram. (Exodus 6:20) And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
You have to ask this question. Aaron and Moses were big people in the Bible, yes. But they didn’t just pop out of nowhere. They had a special mom and dad, Jochebed and Amram. We got their names, but not much else. And then they had parents too. Moses had grandparents, and even great-grandparents, and so on. The faith that Moses had was the same one that Abraham had. There’s only one way to get that. Everybody in between had that same faith.
(Romans 4:16) Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, The faith of Abraham and the seed of faith was passed all the way to Moses one way or another. There is a torch to pass on. Therefore there is a race to run. And it doesn’t matter that you are not the first leg or the last leg. No one may ever know or remember your name. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a course that is set before you of great caliber and importance. You’re maybe somewhere between an Abraham and a Moses. Faith is counting on you to bridge that gap and lay hold upon him and live by the grace of God.
What did he do again? He made mention of the departing of the children of Israel. One day, we’re pulling out of here. We, the children of God, are departing this old world. We reach all the way back to Jesus, the one who told us, (John 14:2-3) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And we look forward to that wonderful day when our faith will be made sight.
He gave commandment concerning his bones.
This is interesting. Firstly, it does speak of the extent of Joseph’s faith; his confidence that they would indeed one day depart.
The second thing that comes to mind is that the Lord gave commandment concerning our bones for the day that we’d depart. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
God is gonna change our bones before he carries them up. (Philippians 3:20-21) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body… Ha ha! Joseph’s conversation was in Canaan. Amen? But our conversation is in heaven.
“…conversation, is a word of a very extensive meaning, implying our citizenship, our thoughts, our affections, are already in heaven; or we think, speak, and act, converse with our fellow-creatures, and conduct ourselves in all our intercourse with them, as citizens of the New Jerusalem…” Benson Commentary
He made mention and gave commandment. We ought to be talking about and much, with great anticipation, of our departing. Even in Jesus’ model prayer, he says something we don’t here much in our public praying. (Matthew 6:10) Thy kingdom come… I like the way Paul put it. Our conversation should demonstrate that we are indeed (Titus 2:13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
I dare you today to make mention of our departing. Talk about them resurrecting bones! Don’t wait until you’re on your death bed to do it.
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