As we age a bit, one tends to reminisce of past days or events which were significant. Thank God for our memories! I was sitting at my desk the other day when I glanced up to a shelf of memorabilia, and noticed the small toy figure of R2D2 in the Star Wars series, made popular in the late 1970’s. That brought back a flood of memories to me. My son Mark was at the perfect age to become enamored with all the stories, movies, and characters in the Star Trek and Star Wars genre. As a doting parent, I bought him many of the toy characters in those series. He would line them all up in his room, and he could identify every one of them – Kirk, Spock, Scottie, Dr. McCoy, C-3P0, R2D2, Princess Leia, Hans Solo, Darth Vader, etc., etc. The only ones to survive with us today are the R2D2 and Princess Leia figures.
Secretly then, I began to have my favorites also. I always liked Dr. McCoy, because I guess I liked his nickname “Bones.” Where did that name ever come from? A little research led me back to the Civil War days of the 1860’s. The medical surgeons during that era became known as “sawbones,” I guess, because they performed so many amputations during that war. Later that identification was shortened to “Bones,” and in some inside circles the name is still around today; but I dare-say any of you, as a patient, ever would refer to your doctor that way. Nonetheless, Dr. McCoy was called “Bones” in an endearing manner by all the crew of the starship Enterprise.
So, as I sat there at my desk with those memories swirling around in my head, my Bible was open along with some study materials, because I had been preparing to teach my Sunday School class of fifth and sixth grade boys. The topic of the lesson was concerning the blessing Jacob was giving to his 12 sons before he died. Those blessings given in Genesis 49, incidentally, are very prophetic regarding the sons’ future tribes. Then, the final chapter (Gen. 50) closed with the request by Joseph to take his bones with them when one day Israel returned from Egypt to Caanan. That’s how I got from “Bones” McCoy to Joseph’s bones. Further, that’s what got me intrigued about Joseph’s bones, and why the Holy Spirit directed Moses, author of Genesis, to include that little tidbit of ‘seemingly insignificant information’ (or was it?) about Joseph’s bones. He slipped that into the last three verses of the book of Genesis:
Then Joseph said, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” So Joseph died at the age of 110. After they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. (Gen. 50:24-26)
Since Genesis is a book of beginnings, that’s where I want to start with Joseph- as his story begins. It is tempting to rehearse all the wonderful stories in Genesis about the life and trials of Joseph; for after all, he is the principal character of the book occupying 14 of 50 chapters. However, I wish to narrow my thoughts about Joseph to several major ideas concerning God’s covenant relationship with Israel.
When God chose Abram (Abraham) from among the inhabitants of the earth, it was not due to anything he had done or was doing at the time. His religious culture was the worship of the god of the moon. Abraham probably was a part of that along with everyone else in his day. So, why Jehovah God chose him will forever remain in the mind of God, and a mystery to us. All any of us can say is that God is Sovereign and He can do as He pleases (Psalm 115:3). As believers, we simply bow the knee that God has called any of us. There is nothing in which we can boast except Christ Jesus. God told Abraham He was going to give him a people, a land, and a blessing for the whole world. Further, God ratified that unconditional promise by Himself in Genesis 15 and credited it to Abraham for his belief in God’s promise to him. Sometimes this is called the Abrahamic Covenant. That promise remains in perpetuity to this day! The Apostle Paul mentions this over 11 times in the N.T,
This covenant promise was firmly believed down through the course of time by Abraham’s descendants. Even Jews in the days of Jesus were looking for the promised Messiah. The angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32-33). Orthodox Jews to this day are looking for Messiah to come and establish His Kingdom. They are not wrong in understanding the covenant promises as related to the Messianic Kingdom. Sadly, they stumbled greatly by misunderstanding and refusing to believe nor accept Jesus as the Messiah. They shouted, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him,” then put Him on the cross.
During the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God was directing and moving in overt, and many times in covert, ways to fulfill his promises. Numerous events fill the pages between Genesis 12 and 36 – some good, and some worse. However, each of the patriarchs believed God’s promise and taught it to their families. God is always pleased with faith. The Bible says “without faith it is impossible to please God” Abraham believed, and taught God’s covenant promises to his son Isaac. Isaac believed the covenant promise, then passed it down to his son Jacob. Jacob, too, believed, and taught it to his son Joseph. In addition, God intervened and interjected Himself into the lives of these men to prove Himself faithful to His covenant word. Later in the law God would have more to say to Israel (and to us) about the importance of passing this heritage to the next generation.
Jacob must have done a good job of instilling the truth of the covenant promise which God made with Abraham to his son Joseph, and perhaps with his other sons as well. Jacob had several encounters with God to reinforce His covenant with Abraham. First, the covenant was confirmed to him in a dream which many call the story of “Jacob’s ladder” (Gen. 28:12-15). Next, Jacob had a wrestling match with the Lord at which time his name was changed from Jacob to Israel (32:24-30), further confirming the covenant promises of a people, a land, and a blessing. These events may have been the backdrop to Jacob’s special love for Joseph. The Bible tells us that Jacob loved Joseph dearly because he was his wife’s, (Rachael), son born later in his life. Jacob’s preferential treatment of Joseph created issues among his brothers later; but regardless, Jacob loved Joseph and wanted him to know and love God. We might assume that Jacob, because of these personal experiences, and perhaps some of the escapades of his other sons, now took opportunity to pour into Joseph, not only his own love, but instill in him the covenant truths and love of Jehovah God.
I believe Joseph probably internalized his understanding of and his worship of the Lord God at a very early age. From his father Jacob he knew the covenant promises and believed God would eventually fulfill everything that He had promised to his father, to his grandfather Isaac, and to his great grandfather Abraham. That is what sustained him throughout his entire life – through the bad times and the good. He knew also that God would continue his faithfulness long after he was gone. The Bible says he was 110 when he died. No doubt, there were times when he questioned certain events in his life. He was sold into slavery, he was imprisoned on two occasions, and he was accused of rape. The Bible says, “They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons” (Psalm 105:18). Yet the Bible repeatedly says, “The Lord was with Joseph, and gave him success in whatever he did.” (Genesis 39:23).
As he was eventually elevated to a position of prominence in Egypt, it was becoming clearer to him of God’s purposes, and his part to play in the grand orchestra conducted by God Almighty. The dreams which he flaunted before his brothers at first were now making sense. Initially, he had revealed them to his brothers from a position of immaturity, and lack of discernment. That insensitivity landed him in a pit awaiting slave traders who eventually sold him into Egypt. However, gradually Joseph began to understand what God was doing with his life; but more trials were yet to come before he finally understood. Years passed followed by many more trials and discouragements before his entire family finally arrived in Egypt by means of a severe famine. Only then did Joseph understand why God led him through a deep valley of trials before elevating him to the position of second in command to the pharaoh of Egypt.
It was then that Joseph began to realize who he was in God’s plan. When it came time to reveal himself to his family he said, “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7). This speaks volumes to us of God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises to Abraham. It had been a long time since Joseph as a youth had been taught by his father Jacob about God’s covenant promises. But it lodged in his mind and heart and stayed there. Then, he didn’t know what part he would play in God’s design. Now he did. As an active participant he was to preserve Israel in God’s unconditional covenant promise to “Father Abraham.” He was a vessel fit for the master’s use.
Part of the Abrahamic Covenant involved a land promise. Joseph had been living in that land until he was sold into slavery. Now he was in Egypt as a ruler and his family was living peacefully in Goshen, a fertile land in Egypt along the Nile River. The family was together, but still away from the promised land of Canaan given to Abraham and his descendants by the Lord God. Joseph and his aged father Jacob knew that one day Israel would return, but only in God’s timing. Little did they know that God was going to build an entire nation while in Egypt, involving a long period of slavery lasting almost 400 years. Yet many in Israel continued to believe in the covenant promise that one day it would come to pass. Even as Jacob lay dying, he called his sons to him to receive the customary blessing. Noted earlier, the blessing was prophetic and reached beyond the sons to the tribe and clans of each son. Jacob gave Joseph the first blessing of a portion of land he owned in Canaan. Further, Jacob requested of his sons that when he died, he wished to be buried in Canaan where Abraham and Isaac and their families were buried. Subsequently, when Jacob died, Joseph and his brothers took Jacob’s body to the land of Canaan to be buried in the family burial place. They believed in the promise.
While Joseph could not see into the future, he firmly believed God’s covenant promises would one day be realized. It is well to remember that God is a covenant keeper. His promise to Abraham was unconditional. Joseph’s life demonstrates this. How could a kid in a slave pit in Canaan rise to become second in command to Pharaoh in Egypt and preserve and grow an entire nation? Only God could do such a thing. It is because He is faithful to His Word. He is a Covenant Keeper. He can be trusted. Joseph believed this, so, at the age of 110, his dying statement to his brothers was to take his bones with them when they left Egypt to return to the land God promised Abraham. He knew it would happen because he believed the covenant promise. He just didn’t know when.
Joseph’s Bones! They didn’t belong in Egypt. Joseph was embalmed, awaiting the day when he would be carried by someone, sometime in God’s future back to the land of Canaan – the land of promise. WE now know God’s time was to be 400 years into the future when a nation of about 2 million were led by a man named Moses out of Egypt back to the promised land. Guess what happened when the nation left Egypt for Canaan? The Bible says, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear with an oath” (Exodus 13:19). What an awesome God! He had caused that promise to be remembered by many, many people for 400 years. Further, through an additional 40 years of wilderness wandering, Joseph’s bones were carried along by the children of Israel. Even when the nation entered and conquered the promised land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, Joseph’s bones were carried around awaiting their final resting place. At the close of Joshua’s life recorded in chapter 24 of the Book of Joshua, a brief notation is mentioned in the last verses: “And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob gave to Joseph as an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants” (Joshua 24:32). How about that! Thus ends the story of Joseph’s Bones.
We might well ask, “What are some things that we can take away from a story such as this?” Obviously, the flood gates are open, and the mines are deep and full of treasurers. However, I would like to focus on just four spiritual truths gleaned from this study.
First, one cannot minimize the value of messaging the Word of God to one’s family. While it is true there were no written scriptures in the days of this era, nonetheless, oral truths and convictions about God were passed on from one generation to the next. Further, God was pleased with those who believed his word and taught it to the next generation. God promised Abraham covenant blessings and he believed, and God rewarded him. The Bible says that “whoever comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb. 11:6b). Remember, Abraham believed it and passed God’s word on to his son, Isaac. Isaac believed and passed His word on to his son Jacob. Jacob believed it and passed God’s word on to his son Joseph. The value of teaching the word of God to the next generation cannot be stressed enough. Thank God for churches with Sunday Schools, youth groups, children’s ministry programs, Christian Schools, Bible Colleges, Seminaries, etc. which help construct this generational truth. However, these activities, as valuable as they are, do not substitute for parental responsibilities in this matter. Hundreds of years later, following the time of Joseph, God gave His written law for Moses to give to the people of Israel. In it He declared this requirement for Israel, but with applications for all believers:
“Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
To me, one of the saddest verses in all of the Bible states that “After that whole generation died, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). Oh God, may that never be us!
Second, our God is a promise keeper. He is faithful, and therefore He can be trusted. Joseph learned the power of Romans 8:28 played out in his own life. Not only did God care for him throughout his many trials and tribulations, He was caring for Joseph because He is faithful to His own Word. By His sovereign will, He had declared to Abraham His great covenant promises, and throughout each succeeding generation He is seen (sometimes unseen) bringing His promises along. Joseph was privileged to realize his part in that great covenant promise of God. As one studies the word of God, he comes to realize that the Bible is one great story of God’s faithfulness, built around His covenant promises. Without doubt, it is the greatest story ever told. The case can be made that God works with mankind through His covenants – some conditional and some unconditional. God is seen as faithful to both. Joseph ultimately understood the unconditional covenant God had made with his forefathers, and he acted accordingly. And for believers in Jesus, God’s faithfulness explains why the Apostle Paul wrote that ‘He who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion until the very day that Christ appears” (Philippians 1:6). Count on it! God is a covenant keeper. Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Third, this truth is built upon the first two. Because God intended his Word and his covenant promise to Abraham to be believed and perpetuated throughout the generations to follow, and because God is faithful to His promises, the conclusion must be that God’s plan for Israel has yet to come to complete fulfillment. Their story has not yet reached its ultimate conclusion. The Bible says there still is much to transpire before that happens. God has not changed his mind, nor revoked what he once promised. We would all be doomed if that were the case. The Apostle Paul expressed it this way: “I ask then, did God reject his people (Israel)? By no means! God did not reject His people whom He foreknew” (Romans 11:1-2a). Then he goes on to say, “…as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable” 11:28b-29). Therefore, there is a glorious future ahead for the people of Israel according to God’s word, but not just yet. They stumbled! Did they stumble and fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their sin, salvation has come to the rest of the world. Israel’s fall is only temporary. One day their riches will be even greater when God brings all his promises into complete fullness (Rom. 11:11-12). One day in the future millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Bible says, “In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his coat and will say ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you’” (Zechariah 8;23). This verse is a great metaphor of the supremacy of Israel in the future, because one day they will repent, turn to God and be saved. God will forgive their sins and restore them to himself. His plans for Israel will come to pass based on His covenantal faithfulness.
Finally, one cannot overlook the promise of constant care, guidance, and protection God gives to his people as they are being used to fulfill His will and purposes. On many occasions during the trials and tribulations of Joseph, the Bible reminds us: “the Lord was with him.” That was great comfort for Joseph, and it is great assurance to the believer as well. Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Sometimes Joseph could not see nor understand God’s hand while he was in the thick of those difficulties, but he could rest assured in the promises of God. So can we if we belong to Christ. Those who belong to Christ are eternally securely in Him.
Conclusion
No one knows the location of Joseph’s bones today. They have probably turned to dust somewhere in or around the city of Shechem (now called Nablus), located about 35 miles north of Jerusalem. God knows. One day, however, when Jesus Messiah returns to establish his millennial kingdom upon this earth at the end of the Great Tribulation, the prophet Daniel (ch.12:1-3) tells us that righteous Old Testament saints will “awake.” They will be resurrected bodily to everlasting life and to positions of honor in the kingdom. They will “shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father” (Matthew 13:43). That will include Joseph’s Bones, which, at that time, will be resurrected and transformed into a glorified body, fit for the millennial kingdom of Christ, and then for all eternity.
To make this personal to you and me, those who belong to Jesus Christ have a covenant promise from God as well. Jesus has promised to come again to receive us to himself. And this could occur at any moment. We call this event “the Rapture.” This will occur before the Great Tribulation. One generation will be alive (maybe our own) and will be transformed at his coming. All other believers whose bodies lie in the grave, but whose spirits are now with Jesus, will be resurrected and transformed into his likeness. Here is the way the Bible tells it: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
(1 Thes. 4:14-17) I am planning to be present in that number! How about you?
Bob Yarbrought lives in Dallas, TX and is very active in his church.