Thinking about death, being ready and the confidence Joseph had in the promises of God
Quote from Billy Graham
Are you ready to die?
Is all well with your soul?
Joseph was ready
Joseph was at peace with God
Are you at peace with God?
Are you at peace with others?
Hebrews 11 – a list of the champions of faith
A group of men and women who lived and died well
A faith that is evident in action – examples of Noah, Moses, Abraham
These also died well – example of Jacob (Heb 11:21)
Looking at Joseph and his dying words
Overview:
Egypt is not my home
Faith resting on the promises of God
Real hope in the face of death
Egypt is not my home
Joseph arrived in Egypt aged 17
Not until aged 30 did he minister beside Pharaoh
He died aged 110
His blessings:
He knew great prosperity
The best of the land, Pharaoh’s favour
An Egyptian wife
Two sons
His family came to live with him
He was no longer estranged from them
He never called Egypt his home
His sons were named Hebrew names
He did not have a Egyptian burial
Even though great honour would have been bestowed upon him
His bones were to rest in a coffin, to be taken out of Egypt
You might have thought he would make Egypt his home
Yes the Israelites stayed 400 years
However, with another Pharaoh the Israelites were mistreated and enslaved
What mattered for him was God’s glory
He spent much time in prayer
His dreams were God given
He is looking beyond this life
He is looking beyond this temporary world
Joseph was like Moses – his heart was fixed on God
What matters most to us?
Where is our own home/heart?
Are our treasures on earth or in heaven?
What is the direction of your life/heart?
What are you fixing your hope/desire upon?
We are to have a light hold on the world
We are thankful for His blessings but we do not hold onto them tightly
Example of Job
What matters most – the gifts or the giver?
Example of Jesus Christ – in a borrowed stable/manger, no fixed abode, entered Jerusalem on a donkey, placed in a borrowed tomb
The first lesson – ‘Egypt is not my home’
Egypt became a place of bondage and slavery
This world is corrupted by sin
Faith resting on the promises of God
God had made promises to Abraham – blessing and prosperity through his line (v24)
Joseph had no doubt that what God had promised, He would perform
The Israelites believed that the land belong to them and their descendants
Heb 11:1 – "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
We have faith in the promises of glory and the return of Christ
We believe the promises of God – that is faith
Joseph was at peace
But the brothers still wanted reassurance that Joseph did not hold a grudge (v17, 19-20)
Yet God meant it for good
Joseph reassured them (v21)
He is resting on the promises of God
Quote from Matthew Henry
Yet he lost 7 children
Still he knew great gladness in the presence and service of God
Real hope in the face of death
Exodus 13:19 – an oath made 400 years ago
"And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” "
Prophetic words
The bones must have been a reminder that God would deliver the Israelites
Joshua 24:32 – "The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph."
The burial of the bones was a statement in belief of the resurrection of the body
God could have done this in Egypt, but he believed there was significance in the promised land
Ps 37:3 – "Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness."
Ps 37:27-29 – "Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever."
There is a significance to the land
The Christian can die with great hope and faith – explanation
Example of The Empress of Ireland
Psalm 23:4
Just as these (Old Testament) people lived and died in faith
