The Faith of Joseph
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The faith of Joseph DIG: How did Joseph get to Egypt? Why did the writer of Hebrews pick this event to characterize the faith of Joseph? By the time of Joseph’s death how many of his descendants were living in the Promised Land? What did Joseph make his brothers promise him? What common theme can be seen in the lives of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph? What is the acid test of our faith? How is the faith of Joseph seen?
REFLECT: Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all passed on to their children God’s promises of blessing. What legacy are you passing on? Are you passing on a legacy of holy living and faith in God, or one of worldliness and sin? If you have children, do they see your faith reflected in your daily life? Do you spend time teaching them about the truths of God’s Word? The greatest inheritance we can leave our children is not material wealth, but a living faith in God.326
By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. Of all the exciting events of Joseph’s life this seems a strange summary, but it fits the approach of viewing the patriarchs’ faith at the time of their death. Joseph’s story is well known: betrayed by his brothers, he ended up as a slave in Egypt. Trusting ADONAI, he was ultimately delivered and raised up to be prime minister to Pharaoh, with great power and wealth. When a famine stuck Canaan, his family arrived as refugees, only to find their long-lost brother as the keeper of Egypt’s grain. Jacob, who had mistakenly thought Joseph was dead, rejoiced, and the covenant family came for what would turn out to be a very long stay in Egypt.327
Joseph spent all his adult life in Egypt. Though a fourth-generation heir of promise, he could not claim even to have traveled in the Promised Land, much less to have inherited it. It had been some two hundred years since ADONAI had made the initial covenant with Abraham. Two hundred years of promise, and no fulfillment in sight. In fact, by the time of Joseph’s death, none of Abraham’s descendants of promise lived in the Promised Land at all. Because of the famine in Canaan, Joseph brought his father and brothers to Egypt. Jacob was carried back to Canaan after he died, and Joseph would be satisfied if only his bones could be buried there. If he could not inherit the Land, at least the Land could “inherit” him. It was not until the Exodus that Joseph’s bones were actually taken to Canaan (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Cf – Moses Took the Bones of Joseph With Him), but his heart and his hope had always been there.
Joseph had to look ahead to see the promise, yet he saw it clearly and confidently. He knew that God intended to take the Jews back to the Promised Land of Canaan. So he said: I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aide and take you up out of this land to the Land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 50:24). While Joseph was making his brothers swear to take his bones back to Canaan, he repeated the assuring words of faith: God will surely come to your aide (Genesis 50:25). But those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB).
Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all believed in God in the face of death. Their faith had wavered sometimes in life, but it was strong and confident in death. Death is the acid test of faith. For hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, courts of law have taken a dying person’s word at face value. The need for lying and deception is over, and what is said on a deathbed is usually believed. So with our testimony of faith. Not only is the need for hypocrisy and pretense over with, but it is also extremely difficult to fake faith when you know you are facing eternity. A dying person’s faith is believable because a sham cannot stand the test.
A believer who fears death has a serious weakness of faith, for to die in Messiah is simply to be ushered into the presence of the Lord. For me, to live is Christ, Rabbi Sha’ul says, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). For those who believe, death has been swallowed up in victory (First Corinthians 15:54).328
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