25 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.”
Joseph had faith! He knew God’s promises were sure, so he made arrangements for his body to be taken to the Land of Promise after his death. Sometimes we think that God must finish His work during our lifetime, on our timetable. We get impatient with the progress being made and we push with our human strength and effort in order to speed things up. But God does not work on the same schedule as we do. Joseph realized this. He knew God would bring about the promised deliverance. He knew God would settle them in the Land of Promise. It did not bother him that he would not be alive to see it happen. He just wanted to be part of what God was going to do. He allowed even his death to be a testimony to the faithfulness of God. I can imagine his relatives carrying his body for burial. It was almost as if Joseph were the seed being planted in the ground that would later bring forth fruit. Joseph was sure of God’s promise. He wanted his family to be sure of it as well. Joseph planned for his death and for what would happen after his death. We need to do this same kind of planning. Don’t be afraid of death. It is coming. Instead, embrace it and plan for how it can be a testimony of God’s faithfulness to His Word and His faithfulness to us. I don’t think we need to ship our bodies to Israel, but our death should speak of the hope we have in the resurrection of the dead, and of life eternal. So as we close out another year, I pray that this next year will be one of promise and of hope, that Jesus will show His hand mightily working in and through your life.
The Arnold Journey 