The Faith of Joseph.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we will be in Hebrews 11:22. We will be examining the faith of Joseph. And the Apostle here gives the third example of the faith of one of the patriarchs on their deathbed. We saw Isaac’s faith as he died. We saw Jacobs faith as he died. Now, finally we see Joseph’s faith as he died. For all three of these men, their faith shined brightly as they were nearing death.

Joseph was mightily used by God. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers and taken to Egypt. There, Joseph was lied about and imprisoned, but eventually set free and made second in command in the most powerful nation of the day. There God used Joseph to save many, including his own family. We see in Joseph’s life the beautiful forgiveness he extends his brothers and the tear jerking reunion he had with his father.

But as will all men, the time to die came. And Joseph, who had trusted God through all the hard times, came to the edge of his own mortal end; he died by faith. And we examine now the end of Joseph’s life and the faith it demonstrates.

Please stand with me out of reverence for the Word of God.

Reading of the Passage:

Hebrews 11:22 “22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.”

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Our Gracious Heavenly Father, we commit this time in Your Word to You this morning. Please use it to sanctify us and conform us ever more into the image of Your Son. We ask this in Jesus name, amen.

Introduction:

Our text this morning is another interesting one. The Apostle has clearly been on the theme with the last three examples. He has shown us the faith in death of Isaac, Jacob, and now Joseph. When we think of the faith of Joseph, this would not be the first example that would come to mind. But there is much to learn here. So what is the emphasis of our text this morning?

Text Idea:

By faith, Joseph fully trusted God’s promise to bring Israel out of Egypt, even though he did not live to see it.

This is the big idea. And we can learn from this.

Sermon Idea:

The faith of Joseph teaches us that we can fully trust God’s promises, even if we do not see them in our lifetime.

Transition:

So let’s dive into our text. Interestingly the Apostle Paul tells us two things Joseph did by faith on his death bed. First:

By Faith Joseph Trusted God’s Promise to Bring Israel Out of Egypt.

Explanation:

This is the first thing the Apostle mentions. Hebrews 11:22“22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel...” And this is taken from Genesis 50:24 which says, “24 And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

So we see the setting here. Joseph is dying and calls his brothers to him to say this. And even here we see the beautiful reality of the reconciliation Joseph and his brothers had. Forgiveness had truly reunited this family. Joseph, in love, calls his family to him on his death bed and tells them that God will someday visit them and bring them back to the land God had promised them.

Now we do not know exactly if Joseph is prophesying in the high sense of the word. He might be. Joseph may here be giving a prophetic word from God like Isaac and Jacob did on their death beds. But the text does not tell us. What is clear here is that Joseph is at least recalling God’s promises made to his people in the past. God told Abraham of the coming Egyptian captivity.

When God made the covenant with Abraham, He also told Abraham of the coming captivity in Egypt.

Genesis 15:12–14“12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He (God) said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”

Abraham’s descendants would have obviously known about this. God foretold about their time in Egypt. And it is clear that this was on Joseph’s mind. He is recalling this promise. They will be exiled, and even oppressed for four hundred years. But God had promised that He would bring them out. And God even reminded them of this. You see, right before Jacob came to Egypt to be reunited with Joseph, God spoke to him. He was actually on his way to Egypt and God spoke to him at Beersheba.

We read this account in Genesis 46:1–4“1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.””

This is a beautiful passage. God is here giving comfort to Jacob. it really shows the love God has. He comforts His saints. He tells Jacob not to fear. It is His plan that Israel go into Egypt and there become a great nation. And God promises to bring the children of Israel out and back into the promised land once again. It is likely that Joseph and his brothers would have had this account on their minds because Jacob actually reminded them of it. Right before his death we read these words from Jacob.

Genesis 48:21“21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.”

Joseph is here remembering this promise. And on his death bed, surrounded by his family, he recalls it. And he recalls this by faith.

Argumentation:

It is by faith that Joseph declares to his brothers that God will bring them out of Egypt. See, Joseph remembered God’s promise. And:

Joseph Had Faith in God’s Promises Even Though He did not Live to See Them Fulfilled.

Joseph is dying. And he knows that he will die in Egypt. But he is by faith trusting that God will keep His Word. God will bring them out. Joseph is here living out the definition of faith.

Hebrews 11:1 “1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Joseph has faith that God will due this. He is sure of it. Even though he will not live to see it, he trusts God to keep His Word. He does not see the reality, but through faith he is assured of it. His faith is the evidence of God’s promise.

Transition:

And we see this proved out by the second thing Joseph did by faith. You see:

By Faith, Joseph Gave Commandments About His Remains.

Explanation:

Hebrews 11:22 “22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.”

We see the full account the Apostle is referencing again in Genesis 50:24–26 “24 And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.”

Most of us likely find this odd in our modern day. In our day we think virtually nothing of the value of our bodies. When we think of great acts of faith we likely do not think of funeral arrangements. But Scripture tells us that one of the chief acts of faith of Joseph’s life was his planning for his funeral arrangements. What an interesting fact. And the fact we don’t think this way today should tell us something is wrong. So what is so significant about Joseph by faith giving commandments about his remains?

Joseph Gave This Command as Evidence of His Faith in God’s Promise.

Joseph was so confident that God would bring the Israelites out of Egypt that he planned for his remains to be taken with them when they went. This is confidence. Joseph knew God would keep His Word. He may not have known when, but he knew God would keep His Word. And we see later in Scripture that Israel did take the bones of Joseph with them.

Exodus 13:19“19 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.””

And they carried Joseph’s body with them until they arrived in the promise land.

Joshua 24:32“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.”

Joseph knew that God would keep His Promise. And he directed his funeral arrangements according to the promise of God.

Argumentation:

And there are several very important things we can learn from this. First:

Joseph Died as an Israelite, not an Egyptian.

Think of Joseph’s position. He was the Prime Minister of Egypt. He was second in command to Pharaoh. He was literally Pharaoh’s right hand man. Joseph was entitled to a royal Egyptian burial. He was practically royalty. He could have had a state funeral the likes of which we could only imagine. But in his death, he rejects his status as an Egyptian to be numbered among his nomadic brothers. He would rather die a son of Israel than a prince of Egypt. This demonstrates great faith. He rejected the reward of this world for the future reward of all the faithful.

But beyond this, by giving these funeral arrangements:

Joseph Strengthened the Faith of the Israelites Through This Command.

Think of the living testimony this left for the children of Israel. The body of Joseph was embalmed and then most likely given to his brothers. They kept his remains in honor. And as time passed, Israel was enslaved and began to groan under slavery. But think of the impact of Joseph’s body.

You can picture the scene can’t you?

One man would say, “Will God ever free us? Will we ever go back to the land of promise?”

And another would respond, “Yes, someday God will free us! Look, there is the house that holds Joseph’s body. Remember his words? God will visit us and set us free. And Joseph commanded us to take his bones with us when we go.”

This would have been a constant reminder that someday, God would free them. Every time they saw the bones of Joseph they would have been reminded that God had promised to save them.

Transition:

But there is one lesson from Joseph’s words we desperately need to learn in our day. We need to learn:

The Value of a Christian’s Body.

Argumentation:

In our day the attitude towards the bodies of the dead truly tragic. I have lost count of the amount of times I have heard Christians say “Once I’m gone it doesn’t matter. Just throw me in a hole.” I’ve even caught myself saying things like this. But this shows a lack of biblical thinking in regards to our bodies. We must recognize that:

We Are Not Gnostics.

Gnosticism was an early Christian heresy that was evil in many ways. But one of the central beliefs of gnosticism that was condemned as heresy was that they believed anything physical was evil. Anything physical was bad, only The spiritual is good. This means that it was by nature evil to be human. Our human bodies were so corrupted by sin that they are now utterly evil. The only thing of value was the spiritual. And the gnostics taught that any concern for the body or anything physical was evil.

This was outright condemned as heresy by the early church. If we think about this Biblically, we can easily see that the Bible actually teaches the opposite. The Bible clearly teaches that the physical is of value and is important. We see this in the fact that Christ took on flesh.

Think about it, Jesus had a real human body. He ate, he drank, he slept. Think of the wedding at Cana. Jesus there made good wine. Wine that’s chief purpose beyond demonstrating his power was to make a wedding feast more joyful. Think of the accusation of the pharisees. The pharisees accused Jesus of being a glutton and drunk. Why? Because He often feasted and drank with people. He was not a glutton or a drunk but he did own that He often ate and drank with people. This means he celebrated and feasted with people. These are earthly concerns.

Jesus was not only concerned with the Spiritual. He was intimately concerned with the Physical and even taught that we should enjoy the physical world with godly joy. We ought not to abuse it but enjoy it to the glory of God. And we see this in the commands. The Bible is filled with commands about how we are to use our bodies for God’s glory and our and others joy and benefit.

We are not gnostic. Christians acknowledge the value of the physical, including the value of our physical bodies. Christianity does not teach that the human body is worthless. In fact, Christianity teaches that the body is intimately connected to our identity and being. Humans are both body and soul.

Humans are Body and Soul.

When we look at the whole of Biblical theology the Bible makes it clear that we are not just spiritual beings. Nor are we merely physical beings. We are both physical and spiritual. We are body and soul or body and spirit. Human beings have a physical body and an eternal soul. The body can be destroyed. The soul is eternal. It will never be destroyed. The human soul will exist forever either in glory or in hell. But the human body and soul are inseparably part of who we are. They are connected. In fact, for the Christian we have the promise of being in our bodies for all eternity after the resurrection.

And at this someone will likely say the eternal body we will inhabit will be a different body. But the Scriptural record shows that it will be the same body, just restored and perfected. The Bible teaches the continuity of our bodies.

The Continuity of Our Bodies.

Listen to 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. “13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

This passage contains a lot. But in this passage one of the truths we see is that on the last day when Christ returns, the dead will rise. The bodies of the saints will be brought back to life. The souls of the dead saints will descend with Christ, and their bodies will be raised. We read similarly in 1 Corinthians 15:42–43“42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.”

The body is sown in corruption. Our bodies are under the effects of the curse. But at the resurrection they shall no longer be under that curse but be in a glorious state. Paul continues:

1 Corinthians 15:51–54“51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””

These passages teach us much but one thing we see is that these are the same bodies. The saints who have died do not descend on the last day in new bodies. All those who have died will be reunited soul to body. The body will be perfected. Then the living will be caught up into the air to meet them. All the saints, those who died of old age, those who were martyred, those who died at sea will have their bodies perfected.

And this is the point where I have had people ask me about those who’s bodies have been utterly destroyed. What about those who have been burned or who died thousands of years ago? Will they be restored to their original bodies? Yes. The God who formed Adam out of dust will gather the atoms of Adam’s body and reform his long dead body. But he will still be Adam. Eve will still be Eve. Noah will still be Noah. Abraham will be Abraham. And yes, even Joseph’s bones which were buried in the tomb of his fathers in the promise land will have life breathed into them. His flesh will be restored and indeed perfected. And he will be caught up in the air. There will be continuity. He will still be Joseph.

The greatest example of this Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:20“20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” This verse means that Christ is the first human to be raised to the eternal resurrection. Remember, Christ is truly human. He is the first fruit of the resurrection. But Jesus was still in His body. His old body did not fade away in the tomb. The same body was raised. The body that went into the holy tomb was the same body that walked out that Sunday morn. It was placed in there in corruption and death. He walked out perfected and glorified. So shall our bodies be.

Transition:

But why do I emphasize this? Okay, the body is important. So what? This matters because it has shaped how Christians treat the bodies of their dead for all of history. There is beauty in Christian burial.

The Beauty of Christian Burial.

Christians have always cared for the dead because we recognize the value of the human body. The human body is made by God, and an integral part of our very being. It must always be treated with respect. But in our age we have sadly bought into much of the lie of Gnosticism. There is a massive part of Christianity that no longer sees the value of the body, even in death. We should not be this way.

We should never say that what happens to our bodies is meaningless. It is not. We should treat our dead with honor. That body is human. That person is made in the image of God. The soul has now departed and the body remains. But that does not mean it does not have value.

This is one of the things I love about our church. We have our very own graveyard right outside. We have a special place where our family is laid to rest. Their bodies are honorably buried Just outside. We lay them there knowing that when Christ returns those graves will spring open with perfected humans to join Christ in the air. Our fathers and mothers, grandparents who are buried right there will be restored.

This is why, as sad as it is, I truly love doing the funerals of the saints. I always tell families that the bodies of their beloved family member will not remain dead forever. Someday it will have life breathed back into it. This is comforting. Death is not eternal. Death for the Christian is a temporary speed bump. For the saints, death is temporary. This is why Paul said “Comfort one another with these words.” But here I must give a warning. This comfort is only for Christians. For the lost, they will die twice. They will die physically, but then their soul will be cast into hell where they will be tormented for all eternity. This is why the lost must repent now before it is too late. If you are here and you have rejected Christ, I give you no hope in death. The only hope is for you to repent. Repent now, before death comes for you.

But for the saints, beloved, death will someday die. Death will be ended. It will be swallowed up in victory. This is why 1 Corinthians 15:25–26“25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” After Christ, through His church and the Holy Spirit subjugates all other enemies, the end will come. And on that glorious day, death dies. The final enemy dies. The final dragon is slain by the Hero, Christ. And to Quote C.S. Lewis, “death itself will begin working backwards.” All those saints will once again live.

You see, Joseph knew this. He knew that it mattered how he was buried. He was not an Egyptian. He was one of the saints. He ought to buried as a saint. It mattered that his body was cared for. An Egyptian burial would not have prevented him from being raised on the last day, but it still mattered. He knew his body was part of him. It mattered that he was laid to rest as a saint. You see, Joseph believed the promises of God. He believed the children of Israel would be set free from Egypt. But he also believed that someday his body would be raised to glory. And he wanted to be laid to rest with his fellow believers. This was a testament to his faith.

Transition:

Joseph was a man of faith. He lived by faith and he even died in faith.

Conclusion:

So let us ask our question.

How Did Joseph Live by Faith?

Joseph lived by faith by fully trusting the future promises of God, even when he did not live to see them.

Visualization:

He trusted the promise of God to free Israel and he trusted the promise of God in regards to his own body. He lived and died in full faith of these promises.

Reiteration:

He trusted the future to God. He fully trusted God to keep His Word.

Application:

How Can We live by Faith Like Joseph?

1. See the Value of the Body.

Just as Joseph saw the value of what happened to his body after his death, we should see the bodies of the saints as valuable. We should not dishonor them or devalue them. We should know that someday they will be raised.

Beloved, all those who went before you and died in faith will be raised. Beloved, when you die, know that if you are a believer, you will be raised. Be comforted by these words.

And let me give one more word of comfort. As your pastor I just want to express one more comfort in love. I do not all of your life stories. But I know that many people have lost children. Please know my heart breaks for you in this. As your pastor, please hear my love for you. And know this, 1 Corinthians 7:14 “14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.” This may seem like an odd verse to comfort you with, but please hear this. This verse clearly teaches that the children of believers are holy. Even if only one parent is saved, God says here your children are holy.

And that word holy is one of the most comforting words to parents in all of Scripture. You see, beloved, that word holy is the exact same word the New Testament uses for believers. Beloved, God sees your children as belonging to Him. And to anyone who has lost a child, this can bring comfort. God says that child IS holy. That Child is His. Christians can have comfort knowing that their children are in heaven. To any of you who have lost children, know that the believer has hope. On the final day, that child will be raised.

Know that I as your pastor love you dearly. Be encouraged by the words of David when he lost his child. 2 Samuel 12:23“23...I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”” David had full trust in God’s promise. He knew someday he would be reunited with his son who died in infancy. As unbelievably hard as this situation is, rest in this promise. Christians, your children who have died in infancy are with the Lord and someday you will go to be with them. And on the final day they will be raised. Rest in this promise.

And this is the second thing we must apply. How can we live by faith like Joseph?

2. Trust in the Promises of God.

Joseph died fully trusting in the promises of God. He trusted that God would keep His Word. In the same way. Let us always trust God’s promises. Remember 2 Corinthians 1:20“20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” We can fully and without doubt trust God’s promises.

Christians, you can trust God’s promises. Rest in these. Whenever I have been in a dark time, I am always pulled out of it by reading the Word of God. Specifically by reading the promises of God.

I remember when Caspian was born and he was flown to Denver at only one day old. I was terrified he was going to die. I couldn’t sleep. I could barely eat. I couldn’t even cry. But the only thing that gave me hope was when I opened the Bible and just started reading the promises of God toward the children of believers. That was it. I worked my way through the Old Testament and New. Verse by verse reading every promise I could find. And I remember just sitting in that little NICU room and having it just hit me. God promises that my child is His. My child belongs to Him. And God says that He loves my child. I remember reading God telling Abraham that He would be his God and the God of his children forever. I then turned to Acts 2:39 “39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.””

God is Caspian’s God. My son belongs to Him. And God loves Him. And that promise just brought me back to reality. That verse right there brought me so much comfort. I would wake up at night terrified, but would quote that verse. And I realized that trusting in the promises of God brings us peace.

Appeal:

So whatever is happening in your life, I give you this hope. Christian, you can trust God. You can trust His promises. And the Bible is full of them. God is not a liar. His Word is true. Whatever is happening in your life right now, turn to God’s Word and believe it. Trust His promises. Live by faith like Joseph. Trust God’s Word. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

2 Corinthians 1:20“20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”