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sermonette: The Faith of Joseph

Confidence In God's Word
David C. Grabbe
Given 02-Sep-06; Sermon #791s; 16 minutes

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If we were to do character sketches of all the men and women in the Bible, It is doubtful that we would find any with such a record as Joseph, with the obvious exception of Jesus Christ. Joseph's story covers 20 chapters in the Bible, and in that considerable space, Joseph receives less criticism and more praise than any of the other patriarchs and probably more than any other non-divine being. Of all of the events of this admirable man's life, the one that God highlights as being the most noteworthy may be somewhat surprising to our minds. This singular incident is significant because of the faith involved, and it is the one that God draws our attention to in the faith chapter of Hebrews 11. But before we turn there, let's briefly recall what this man's life consisted of. There are many facets to Joseph that are praiseworthy, and seeing all the ones that God did not mention gives us an indicator of how important he saw that one event in Joseph's life. Recall that Joseph grew up in what we would consider to be a very stressful family situation, if not downright dysfunctional. His father had 2 legitimate wives and 2 concubines. Joseph then had only 1 real brother, 10 half brothers and 1 half sister that we know about. Because he was the son of his father's favorite wife and because he received greater attention and affection, he was despised by his siblings. When Joseph was 17, he had a prophetic dream from God foretelling of his dominion over the rest of his family, and this, in addition to the favor of Jacob, only increased his brother's envy of him. Shortly after this, he was sold as a slave, only after barely being convinced by Reuben not to kill him, but his brothers. In Egypt, Joseph was bought by Potiphar, a captain of the guard. And Joseph served Potiphar faithfully, earning Potiphar's respect and trust until Potiphar made him ruler of his whole household, second only to himself. And this lasted until Joseph, in his integrity, refused the advances of Potiphar's wife and was thrown into prison for his troubles. Even though Joseph was starting out at the bottom again, God was with him and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. It was not long until Joseph was once again in the position of being second in command. And had authority over all the prisoners. It says twice that because God was with Joseph, everything Joseph put his hands to was prospered. While in prison, Joseph was divinely used to give the interpretation of the dreams of two of Pharaoh's servants. Joseph thought that might have been his ticket out of prison, but it was not until fully 2 years later that Joseph finally gained an audience with Pharaoh. When Joseph was 30 years old, he was again blessed and being used by God to interpret dreams. This time the dreams of Pharaoh. This was the 3rd set of prophetic dreams Joseph was involved with, and as a result of the interpreting and the subsequent advice he was inspired to give, Joseph was a 3rd time made 2nd in command, only this time over all of Egypt. After Joseph was elevated in this responsibility and the famine began in the lands, he was given the opportunity to exact any revenge he would have wanted on his half brothers who came to buy grain in Egypt. And even though, Joseph let them stew for a bit, He nevertheless used this opportunity to reunite his family rather than Lording over them. His half brothers, who showed him little little or no kindness in his youth, ended up being blessed rather than destroyed when the tables were turned and Joseph had the advantage. This man exemplified honesty, integrity, faithfulness, patience, grace, restraint, wisdom, and a whole host of other truly admirable qualities. But the incident that God marks out as being the pinnacle of His faith happened literally at the very end of his life. Please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews 11 we find the story of Joseph in verse 22. Hebrews 11:22 says, by faith Joseph, when he died or when he was dying, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel and gave commandments concerning his bones. That's all it says. Joseph's faithfulness throughout his long life is above question, but it was this final act of faith that God emphasizes to us and sets before us as an example. It says that Joseph made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and the margin says he remembered it. At the time, though, Joseph was still in a position of high honor and esteem, if not authority, the families of the sons of Jacob were in a very good position too, and there probably was not any inducement for them to leave. But Joseph remembered something that made him mention that this large extended family would one day leave Egypt. Verse 22 also says that Joseph gave commandments concerning his own bones. We will get to the actual command in a moment, but there is something to consider here. Remember that in Egypt the Pharaohs were considered to be essentially gods, and Joseph was not actually the Pharaoh. But it is quite possible that his position under Pharaoh might have earned him a place in one of the pyramids. At the very least, he would have been entitled to the Egyptian equivalent of a state burial with all of its ceremonies and trappings. Were he a material, materially minded man, he might have been obsessed with the size and grandeur of his tomb, or who his tomb was next to. He might have fretted over his legacy and over his place in history, wanting to make sure that future generations gave him reverence. He could have taken his place with the kings of old, but because of his faith, he gave far different instructions. Please turn with me back to Genesis chapter 50. Genesis 50:24 to 26. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die or I am dying, and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of or from the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from here. For Joseph died, being 110 years old, and they embalmed him and put him in a coffin in Egypt. Notice Joseph's confidence in these verses. He says twice that God would surely visit the children of Israel. There is no doubt in Joseph's mind that his brethren would be led back to the land God promised to his fathers. Joseph made the children of Israel swear upon this sure thing, that whoever was alive at that time would carry his bones with them if they left Egypt and went back to their ancestral land. When Joseph said that God would visit them, he was not using the word in the sense of a social call. It is never used that way in reference to God. Sarah was miraculous when God visited Sarah, she miraculously conceived Isaac, and God decreed that He would visit the iniquities of the Fathers upon the children to the 3rd and the 4th generation. When God visits someone, it may be with either friendly or with punishing intent, but God is always shown as acting or performing a work. Thus, Joseph was signifying that God would be acting on Israel's behalf when he brought them out of Egypt and back to the land of their fathers. Again, the children of Israel at the time of Joseph's death could have looked around and reasoned that their circumstances were not wholly bad, but by faith, Joseph made mention of this, and the reason is found further back in this book. Please turn with me back to Genesis chapter 15. Genesis 15:13 and 14. And God said unto Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in the land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them 400 years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterward they shall come out with great substance. Recall from Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Joseph did not personally hear God speak, nor did Joseph have the written word of God as we do. Instead, God's words to Abraham were told to Joseph either by his father Jacob and or maybe by his grandfather Isaac, whose life overlapped Joseph's by a number of years. Joseph believed those words to his father's and acted upon them at the end of his life. This is what God promised Abraham, and this is what Joseph heard from his father, if not his grandfather. If we add to this the other promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, particularly concerning the lands, we can identify the word of God that Joseph had and which made up the basis of his faith. Joseph believed the words that God spoke to Abraham concerning what would befall Abraham's children, and he believed that God would judge the strangers whom they would be serving. He also believed God would bring them out of that strange land and into the promised land. These words to Abraham handed down to Joseph formed the trust and the confidence in his mind. That God would visit the children of Israel in a very positive way, and then they would be led to their ancestral lands. There is one more facet to understanding this, and it involves the commandment regarding Joseph's bones. It never states this directly, but this involved much more than just peace of mind that his body would be laid to rest on the family farm. Please turn to Genesis chapter 48. Genesis 48, we begin to see the significance of his bones. Genesis 48 verses 21 and 22. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die, but God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you one portion above your brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. What we see here is that it was not just the children of Israel in general that would be taken back to the promised lands. Here on Israel's deathbed, he has the same confidence that Joseph had on his own deathbed. He was rightly confident that God would bring Joseph back to the land of his fathers. What we are seeing is that when Joseph gave commandment regarding his bones, he was actually contemplating his own resurrection. This is highly significant because as far as we know there had never been a resurrection up to that point. I believe the first recorded resurrection was done by Elijah in I Kings 17. But it is probable that Joseph's faith on this point of the resurrection stemmed from Abraham's own faith. Abraham knew that God was the God of the living and not of the dead. If you remember, Abraham was considered faithful because he accounted that God must resurrect Isaac in order for the promises to be fulfilled. We're not told exactly what was explained to Abraham in terms of the resurrections. Nor do we know exactly what was related to, to Joseph. Well, we know that God's promises were passed down and the story of Isaac's sacrifice, or pseudo sacrifice you might say. Was undoubtedly passed down as well, and this gave Joseph an example of how to correctly reason and conclude when it comes to God's promises from the story of Abraham and Isaac and Abraham's demonstration of faith that a man's death does not hinder God's purpose. Joseph must have correctly accounted that in order for him to inherit the land promised he would be resurrected. And thus Joseph gave commandment regarding his bones. He wanted his bones back on the land of his father, so that when he is resurrected, he will already be there. There is something else to think about here that makes for a very interesting contemplation. Exodus 13:19 records that hundreds of years later Moses took charge of Joseph's bones, and he cites the fact that the children of Israel were put under a solemn oath, that when God visited them they were then under obligation to carry Joseph's bones with them. Then finally Joshua 24 and verse 32, right at the end of the book of Joshua, it says that the bones of Joseph were finally buried at Shechem. So Moses, hundreds of years after Joseph's death, He was well aware of the solemn oath, and he did his part to see it fulfilled. Joseph's bones were carried out of Egypt during the exodus. They were carried through the Red Sea. They were carried for 40 years through the wilderness. After Moses died, Joshua became the protector of the bones, as it were, and after Joshua died also at the age of 110, Joseph's bones were finally buried. We know that the people of Israel up through and including Joshua's time knew about the oath that they were bound to, but thoroughly intertwined with that oath was the faith Joseph demonstrated in prophesying of Israel's deliverance from captivity and his absolute assurance in the resurrection from the dead that would bring him back to life in the land of his fathers. Joseph's faith did not die with Joseph. But in one sense it was carried with Israel all through the wilderness and throughout the settling of the promised land. Joseph's coffin was a witness to any who cared to remember the story. The God was absolutely dependable in carrying out his promises, and that death is not the end. God saw to it that Joseph's faith was continually recounted for generations to come as they carried his coffin around with them. Hebrews 4 tells us that the gospel was preached to the Israelites, but that it did not profit them. And what is the gospel? It is much more than just forgiveness of sins. The Israelites probably would have believed in that, for their ancestors today believe wholeheartedly in that, but it does not profit them either. The gospel is about the kingdom of God established on earth. And about the family of God that can only be entered into through a resurrection. The resurrection is at the very core of the gospel, and here the Israelites carried a reminder of a future resurrection with them all throughout the lives of Moses and Joshua. It is probable that Joseph's coffin and the story of Joseph's confidence that went with it was a large part of that gospel being preached to them. It's an interesting possibility anyway. It took a certain kind of faith for Joseph to endure and overcome the tumultuous years of his youth, and yet those trials were thrust upon him, and in one sense he did not have any choice but to walk through them in faith. But his instructions when he was on his deathbed were not given under the same sort of duress, and thus they can be seen as a different kind of faith. He had the choice to take his place among the great leaders of Egypt, but instead he chose to demonstrate his faith in what God had said to his ancestors and to act upon those words by instructing that his bones be carried with the children of Israel. He had faith in his own resurrection even though he had probably never heard of a resurrection actually taking place. He trusted just as Abraham accounted that God was able to raise him up in order for the promises to be fulfilled. This is the faith of Joseph that God highlights for us in Hebrews 11.