Joseph (1672-1562 BC)
By faith Joseph, when his
end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave
instructions concerning the burial of his bones. Hebrews 11: 22 (NIV)
READ: Genesis 37, 41,
50:22-26
When Jacob lived in Paddan Aram
he fell deeply in love with Rachel and arranged to work seven years for
her. Laban, her father, tricked him into
marrying his oldest daughter Leah instead so he worked seven more years for
Rachel. Leah bore several children for
Jacob but Rachel was barren for an extended period before giving birth to
Joseph. Because Joseph was the son of
his favorite wife, Jacob favoured him and gave him a coat of many colours. This caused his brothers to be jealous of him
and they sold him into slavery in Egypt.
His slavery turned into imprisonment when he spurned the advances of his
master’s wife. God remained faithful to
Joseph in the midst of his hardship and gave him the gift of interpreting dreams
which eventually caused him to become second in rank to Pharaoh. Famine then came to the lands and Joseph was
eventually reunited with his brothers and father through some incredible
events. His story is filled with
forgiveness and reconciliation as well as great faith in the Sovereignty of
God. Joseph lived out the rest of his
life in Egypt but before he died he made his family swear that when they left
the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them. Upon his death his body was embalmed and
placed in a coffin in Egypt. This shows
Joseph’s great faith in God as God had promised to give the descendants of
Abraham the Promised Land. Hundreds of
years later when the Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus, Moses took
Joseph’s bones with him (Ex. 13:19).
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. Where do you feel weak in your faith?
2. Ask God how He wants to grow your faith this summer. What does He want to do in your heart?
3. Thank God for what He has shown you, and pray that it would become a reality in your life.
