22 So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age of 110. 23 He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he claimed as his own.

24 “Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt. 

Genesis 50:22-26 (NLT)

Blessings of life

Children and grandchildren are a blessing of life (Psalm 127:3). As Joseph and the whole family continue to live in Egypt, he gets to see not just his sons and grandsons but great grandsons. He claims them as his own. The original says, “they were born on his knees”. 

Prophecy by faith

Joseph prophesied that God will bless them and take care of them. He tells them that He who is faithful will lead them (the nation of Israel) back to the land He promised to give to their ancestors, Abraham (Genesis 13:15, 17; 15:7, 8, 18), Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13; 35:12). He makes this prophecy by faith (Hebrews 11:22).

“According to this passage and Hebrews 11:22, Joseph was never buried. His coffin laid above ground for the 400 or so years until it was taken back to Canaan. It was a silent witness for all those years that Israel was going back to the Promised Land, just as God said.” (enduringword.com)

Death of a legend

Jacob made this same request (Genesis 49:28-33) to be taken back home after he died. He also made Joseph promise, just as Joseph makes the brothers promise the same. He could have requested a grand funeral like he did for Jacob but he was content just to have his bones brought back in the future, another sign of faith. This was fulfilled when God led Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 13:19).

This ends our study of Genesis.

RЯeflection

• Joseph demonstrated faith that God would lead Israel out of Egypt back to the promised land. It wasn’t for another 400 years. Sometimes answers to prayer take but a few seconds or hours or days. Other times, they take longer, even past our lifetime. Are you willing to faithfully wait?
• Remember what faith is. “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). Hebrews continues, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)