Reflecting the Image

Scripture:

Genesis 50:24–26

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely come to you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, “When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 And Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old; he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. (NRSVUE)

Observation:

The children of Israel were living in Egypt. Joseph had unexpectedly provided a way for his family to survive there. He served Pharaoh and organized the storage and distribution of food so that there was provision throughout the time of famine. Egypt had become a place of rescue and refuge for Joseph’s family, but Joseph knew it was not their final home. God had made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph believed that God would fulfill that promise.

Joseph believed this so firmly that he made plans for something that would happen long after his death. “God will surely come to you,” he told them. God would act. God would fulfill His promise. They were still God’s people, even while living in Egypt.

Then Joseph made them promise something rather unusual: “You shall carry up my bones from here.”

Joseph would not live to see the promise fulfilled. He would not experience the Exodus or walk into the land God had promised his ancestors. But he arranged his death around the expectation that God would be faithful. He was embalmed and placed in a coffin, ready for a journey he believed would someday come.

The coffin became a vessel carrying more than Joseph’s bones. It carried a testimony to the faithfulness of God. Somewhere along the way, the story had to be told from one generation to the next: Joseph said that God would come to us. Joseph said that God would bring us out. Joseph said that when the time came, we were to carry his bones with us.

And they remembered.

Generations later, when God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, Moses took Joseph’s bones with him. The promise had been carried from one generation to the next until the day came when the people could participate in its fulfillment.

Application:

Joseph was investing in generations he would never see. His charge to “carry up my bones” was an expression of faith in the God who had promised His people a homeland. His bones were preserved because the story was not finished. Someday God would lead His people onward, and when He did, Joseph wanted them to remember the promise.

Yesterday I was in a gathering where we were talking about passing faith on to the next generation. Much of the conversation centered on the importance not simply of taking children to church, but of allowing them to experience faith as part of everyday life in the home. Children need to see faith lived out in the lives of those who are raising them.

My parents made it a point to have family devotions with us every morning before we went to school. We read Scripture together and we prayed together. My parents spoke regularly about their faith and trust in God. I remember hearing often about the way the Lord had spoken to both of them through the same passage in Isaiah, on the same day, at the same time, while they were in separate places. I watched my parents minister to people around them every single day.

They literally oozed Jesus.

Without ever saying the words, they were telling us, “Carry up my bones.”

Carry this with you. Remember what God has done. Remember that God can be trusted. Remember how we prayed. Remember how we read the Scriptures. Remember how we loved people. And when God leads you onward, follow Him.

As our own children were growing, we made sure we had family devotions every day. We read Scripture together and we prayed. Now our daughters have children of their own, and I know they have family devotions with their children. They read Scripture and they pray.

The practices themselves are not the faith, but they can become vessels that carry the faith. They hold Scripture, prayer, testimony, memory, and expectation before another generation. They teach us how to recognize the faithfulness of God and how to expect that God will continue to be at work.

Someday my children and grandchildren will continue the journey without me. I won’t be embalmed and placed in a coffin for them to carry to another homeland — and I’m quite happy about that! But I do want to leave them something worth carrying. I want them to remember that Scripture was read, prayers were prayed, God was trusted, people were loved, and the Holy Spirit was welcomed into the ordinary life of our home.

My parents gave that to me. We have tried to give it to our daughters. Now I watch them giving it to their children.

But Joseph’s bones were never intended to keep the Israelites in Egypt. When God moved, the people were to move too. They were not told to remain behind guarding Joseph’s coffin — and certainly not to worship the bones. The bones were a vessel carrying the memory of a promise. They were to carry that testimony with them as they followed God into a future Joseph himself would never see.

Maybe that’s an important word for us as well. We don’t have to recreate every practice of a previous generation or remain where they were. Neither should we worship the “bones” of the past. But before we discard them, perhaps we should ask what they were carrying. What did those practices teach us about prayer, Scripture, testimony, holy living, community, and the work of the Holy Spirit? How did they help us recognize the presence and activity of God? And how do we carry that faith faithfully into the place where God is leading us now?

Joseph’s descendants didn’t remain in Egypt protecting the coffin. They picked it up and followed God.

Carry up my bones.

Carry the testimony forward. Remember what God has done. Trust His promise. And when God leads you onward, go.

Prayer:

Lord, by Your grace, may I live a life of faith worth remembering. Thank You for those who have gone before me and whose lives taught me to recognize Your faithfulness. Help me to carry their testimony forward without mistaking the vessels for the faith they carried. May my children and grandchildren see You at work in my life and learn to trust You for themselves. And when You lead the next generation into places I will never see, give them courage to carry the faith and follow You. Amen.