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
The book of Genesis tells us of two men in Egypt who gave commandment that their bodies should be taken back to Canaan: Jacob and his son Joseph. But Joseph’s commandment is seen as an act of faith, while Jacob’s commandment is not. Why is that? Think of Jacob’s commandment, as recorded in Genesis 49:29-31: ‘I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.’ Here we see the motive of Jacob, a natural desire to be buried with his grandparents and parents, and like them, to be buried beside his faithful wife. Joseph, on the other hand, did not have a wife buried in the cave of Machpelah; his wife was an Egyptian. No, his connection with the promised land was not to the past, but to the future. And it was his desire to be part of the great promises of God.
Joseph’s faith was a triumph over his prosperity in Egypt. Nobody would have been more comfortable in that land than he, with all the money and servants and advantages that he could wish. But he saw beyond that. He knew that Egypt was a temporary place as far as God’s people were concerned, because the Israelites were strangers in a strange land. Surely that should be our attitude today. We are not citizens of this earth, having obtained clear titles to mansions in the glory, our eternal home prepared by our loving Saviour. By faith, we live in the good of that home.
Joseph’s faith was also a triumph over death’s claim. As he aged, he became ever more spiritual, bestowing grace on his brethren after the death of their father, and dispensing blessings to all of his family. The commandment concerning his bones shows his firm belief in the resurrection of the just. When the saints are to be called forth from their grave, Joseph wants to arise, not from an Egyptian grave, not even from an Egyptian pyramid, which he might well have claimed, but from the land of promise itself. As great as Joseph had become in Egypt, he knew that God had something even greater in mind for him. And that too should be our attitude. Whatever we have and become here is not God’s final purpose for us, and we should allow that knowledge to keep our focus on being with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:23).
If we claim God’s great promises for us, we will do so with our hearts set in the future, not in the past. – Jim MacIntosh