|
Thought for the day...
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 -
Day 53
|
 |
|
|
The Patriarch Joseph
"By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones." Hebrews 11:22
Christ makes you acceptable with God; faith makes you great before God. God includes Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, in His "Hall of Fame." That God includes Joseph among His greats comes as no surprise: After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph remained faithful to God, refusing to become immoral, even when it meant being thrown into prison. Joseph became Prime Minister of Egypt and the savior of the Hebrews during a great famine.
But none of this is mentioned in Hebrews 11. Joseph finds greatness in the economy of God because before he died he gave instructions regarding his funeral. On his deathbed he gathered his people around him and said, "God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence." [89]
As a foreigner, Joseph had climbed to the pinnacle of power in Egypt. But he wanted the generations that followed to know that his hope was not in the grandeur of Egypt, or being buried in a large pyramid. Rather, it rested in the promises of God. Joseph knew that God would someday take his people back to Canaan, and he wanted them to carry his bones with them, not for the sake of his bones, but to identify with the hope of his people.
It is interesting to note that unbelievers do not commend the promises of the world to others upon dying. Those with an eternal hope have cause to commend the promises of God to their progeny. When you die, will those that know you be able to identify your hope?
|
Devotional © Copyright by Walter A Henrichsen.
|
|
