Joshua 24:32 (NLT) The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the plot of land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for 100 pieces of silver. This land was located in the territory allotted to the descendants of Joseph.

When Joseph was near death, he told his brothers that the Lord would definitely come to get His people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land to fulfill the covenant that He had made with his great-great grandfather, Abraham. He was so sure that God would fulfill his promise that he made his brothers swear an oath that they wouldn't leave his bones behind in Egypt. God had proven Himself so faithful in Joseph's life that he had no doubt whatsoever that one day, all the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would indeed possess the land that the Lord had promised to give them. This faith and assurance in God's promise earned him a spot in the "hall of heroes" that is recorded in the Book of Hebrews, chapter eleven.

It was a totally symbolic gesture, because what use would Joseph have of his bones after he died and why would he even care where they were buried? It just that he wanted the people who would be born in Egypt after him to have that oath to remove his bones from Egypt to be carried to the Promised Land as a hope and as a reminder that God keeps His promises. He wanted his hope in the promise of God to be actively displayed. It was like he was saying that he didn't want his bones to remain in the land of the dead but instead wanted them buried in the land of God's blessings. What a reminder it must have been for the people leaving Egypt! Think of all that it would take for that great number of people to leave a country all at once with whatever belongings they could carry on wagons and carts, while having to worry about carrying a coffin full of bones (probably dust by then) around the desert for forty years. It was a constant reminder of the hope of finally possessing what God had promised.

The verse above brings the request that Joseph had made to his brothers finally come to fruition. A few hundred years passed, but Joseph's belief in God's promises stands as a testimony of the faithfulness of God. Joseph's bones were buried in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor hundreds of years before and there they will remain until Jesus comes again and the dead in Christ are resurrected from the grave. Those bones making their way back to the Promised Land is just one of the many, many signs and evidences that every single word that God has spoken will be fulfilled without a doubt! Believe in God's promises for your own life, because they must and will come to pass!

Pastor Joey Vazquez