Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Genesis chapter 50, verses 24 and 25.

And Joseph said to his brothers, I'm about to die,

but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land

to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry

up my bones from here. Right after Joseph said those words, he died.

So why would his last words be, carry up my bones from here?

Why is that so significant?

And we know it's significant because Hebrews chapter 11 looks back to this moment and says by faith

Joseph at the end of his life made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions

concerning his bones.

Oh, don't miss the picture here.

Why Joseph's instructions about his bones demonstrated Joseph's faith in God. By this point, as we've read in Genesis, the people of Israel, people of Jacob had multiplied greatly

in Egypt. And Joseph could have said, hey, you're going to stay here and multiply greatly.

Instead, though, Joseph knew God had promised to bring his people back to the land of Canaan, the

promised land. And so as he lies there on his deathbed, he is looking forward in faith to what God has promised, specifically to a future land that God has promised.

Can I say that one more time? Just let it soak in.

As Joseph lies there on his death bed, he looks forward in faith to a future land that God has promised and in this picture

we see how every single one of us who has trusted in Jesus is called to die.

When we face death to look forward with faith to the future land that God has promised to us.

Is this not awesome?

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