We've reached the final chapter of Genesis, and it is indeed the final chapter in the life of Joseph the Patriarch. As we said last time, the latter years of his life, spent in Egypt after the death of his father, are summarized by only a few verses. Joseph lived to the ripe old age of 110, long enough to see the arrival of his great-grandchildren. Some of the words of Joseph are recorded here. I'm not going to suggest that these are all the things that he said on his deathbed, but the Holy Spirit has recorded the things that are important for us to know, what he wants us to know. And so in verse 20, he talks about the past. Speaking to his brothers, he reminds them of the evil that they did against him. He said, but as for you, you thought evil against me. That's what was in your hearts. but God meant it unto good. He talks about how God worked in his life in the past. But then when we come down to verses 24 and 25, he speaks about the prospect, about the future, and how the Lord was going to work even in their lives and in Israel after his death. We have noted that these words reveal what a man of faith Joseph really was. Just like his father, he is referred to in Hebrews chapter 11. And when we read that particular listing of the heroes of faith, when it speaks of Joseph, it pulls out of the narrative in Genesis something that Joseph talked about. Right here in Hebrews chapter 11, Verse 22, it says, By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones. The last words of faithful men are always very interesting. And Joseph died just as he had lived. speaking words of faith and truth. He died the death of the righteous. Balaam, who was a false prophet, said, let me die the death of the righteous, let my last end be like his. And certainly where Joseph was concerned, he did die the death of the righteous. As he died, he talked about several things. We notice here the control which he acknowledged. And these are key words in the entire narrative in verse 20. If you're gonna sum up the life of Joseph, you have words here that are very relevant. Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good. God meant it unto good. One study of Joseph's life is entitled, God Planned It For Good. And indeed this statement of Joseph's is a summary of everything that took place in his life, from the time of his brothers selling him as a slave, to the false charges made against him by Potiphar's wife, to his subsequent jail term of two years or more. Every bit of it was in the plan and purpose of God. Men thought it evil. Men meant it for evil in his case. No doubt the devil meant it for evil in his case. But the Lord was overruling. And that's what Joseph is talking about here. There's a control that he acknowledged. It is the providence of Almighty God. And when we talk about that, we mean the way in which God carries out his great purposes and plans in the world and everything that takes place. And in regard to that, we can talk about the mystery of providence. There's a book by that name. It is by John Flavell, great English preacher. And indeed, providence is a mystery. We don't understand the ways of the Lord. We don't know how or why God works as he does, but we believe that he does. That mysteriously, he has his hand on the steering wheel of our lives. There's nothing that is outwith the Lord's control. Obviously, within that, men are responsible for their own actions, for their sins. When people commit evil, like Joseph's brothers, it's not God's fault. You can't blame God for it. They're responsible for that. They mean it for evil. But the fact of the matter is that the Lord overrules that evil. Joseph's brothers did wrong. Their actions were evil. But though they had an evil intent, and though they were guilty of wicked actions, God was able through all of that to bring about a good result. And we made mention recently of the death of Christ in that regard. On Sunday nights, we've been studying John chapter 13, where Judas betrayed the Lord. He did wrong. He sold the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Satan entered into him. No doubt it was an evil action that he was involved in. Pilate then did wrong when he washed his hands and tried to absolve himself of any blame for Jesus' death, even though he handed him over to those who would kill him. The chief priests and the elders did evil. They handed him over to the Romans, and the Roman soldiers did evil by nailing him to the cross. But in it all, the purpose of God was fulfilled. Acts chapter 2, verse 23. The wicked actions of men mysteriously overruled in the providence of God. God meant it for good. And Joseph could see this mystery of providence. He acknowledged it. And also the might of providence, how mighty is the Lord. Ye thought evil, but God, but God. You see, the Lord is in control. They were not in control. There's an overruling hand of God in providence that works. He does not allow evil ultimately to triumph. Evil is not unbridled. The devil is a bit like an animal on a leash. And the Lord will say thus far, but no further. Evil men certainly can be unwitting instruments in fulfilling the purposes of the Lord. There's no doubt about that. But God will carry out his purposes. Man proposes, but God disposes. And of course, when Joseph acknowledged this control of the Lord, he was thinking, too, of God's mercy. And the mercy of providence is seen in these words. God meant it unto good, to save much people alive. God meant it for good. And you will find as a believer, as you look back over your life, that all things did work together for good because you were the called of God according to his purpose. Sometime, sometime, we'll understand. Someday we're gonna bless the hand that guided and bless the heart that planned. We then want to think about this, the confidence which Joseph avowed. Joseph talked about what would happen after his death. He was not afraid of death. He said, behold, I die. Behold, I die. And what Joseph said about himself, we all can say about ourselves someday. going to die. If the Lord Jesus doesn't come first, if the Lord Jesus doesn't come first, we're going to die. But Joseph is almost looking forward to his decease. You see that? He's confident that the presence of God would be felt by his brothers. He said in verses 24 and 25, God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land. God is going to be working in your lives. He's going to visit you. I'm going to leave, but God's not leaving. I will die, but God is not dead and God will not die. I'm going to depart. but God's work is going to go on. And this is what the Lord does. He buries his workmen, but his work continues. For every Moses who dies, there's a Joshua who God raises up. Great saints of God move on. Sometimes we wonder why they have to move on so quickly. I've been thinking recently about some of the great men of God and missionaries of the cross, preachers of the word who died young. It's incredible how many of them didn't even make it out of their thirties, hardly out of their twenties. Young men, even some like Spurgeon who died in his fifties, George Whitfield who died in his fifties. Those are young men, really. Great saints of God are removed, but God remains with us still. The work of God continues. The presence of God would be felt by them. The promise of God would be fulfilled to them. And we made mention of those promises last time. We're not gonna look at those verses again, but Genesis 13, Genesis 26, Genesis 35 contained the promise of God that was given, first of all, to Abraham, and then to Isaac, and then to Jacob. And this same promise was given to Joseph, and Joseph believed God's promises, and he encouraged his brothers to believe those promises as well. He had confidence in the word of a covenant-keeping God. Do we believe God's word? Do we believe God's promise? It is so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word, just to rest upon his promise, just to know, thus saith the Lord. There's something else I want us to focus on today, and it is the command which Joseph announced. Look at verse 25 of Genesis 50. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel. In other words, he made them promise, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. I want you to promise that you're going to take my earthly remains with you on your earthly journey until you go back to Canaan. I don't want to be buried in Egypt. but I want you to promise me that you're going to take my bones with you. That's why Hebrews chapter 11 says what it says. Let's repeat those words. By faith, Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. It's really strange this, isn't it? He didn't ask, like his father, to be taken to Canaan and buried in the cave of Machpelah along with his loved ones. But he gave a commandment regarding his bones. Now, that strange request demonstrated Joseph's faith. It just showed you what faith he had. By the way, these are the only words of Joseph found in any other part of the Bible. Hebrews 11, 22. His dying words. They were words of faith. He knew the children of Israel one day would leave Egypt. He believed that. Now, it was going to take hundreds of years for that to happen. But he believed in the Exodus. And by making them promise to take his bones with them, he was revealing just how confident he was in God's Word. He believed in God's promise, and he wanted them to act upon it. He demonstrated his faith by the command that he gave. He gave commandment concerning his bones. And let me just say the subject of bones in the Scriptures is a very interesting study. And the underlying principle in every case is the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises. For instance, the Lord said about the Passover in Exodus 12, verse 46, "'Neither shall you break a bone thereof.'" They were not allowed to break any of the bones of the lamb at the Passover. And obviously, the great fulfilment of that was almost 1,500 years later when the Lamb of God was hung upon the cross. Remember how the soldiers came? The Bible tells us there in John 19, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. And again, we can refer to Psalm 34, and verse number 20, where it says, he keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken. Ultimately, that's fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph gave commandment concerning his bones. Think about Ezekiel 37, then. There's a vision there of a valley of dry bones. Here's an army. that has been wiped out. When you see bones, you see what used to be bodies. There's no flesh there. There's bones. That's all that's left, the skeletons, and they're all piled together in that place. The Lord gave that vision to Ezekiel, and he said, "'Son of man, can these bones live?' And Ezekiel said, Lord God, thou knowest. Lord, only you know if these bones can live. And we know that in the vision, when he spoke to the four winds, the four breaths, the four winds would come, he said, come, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. By the breath of God upon the bones, they became an exceeding great army. There is a Negro spiritual about Ezekiel 37. I'm sure you've heard it. leg bone connected to the thigh bone and so on. That's what it's talking about, Ezekiel 37. And obviously the great lesson there was the restoration of the nation of Israel. But the bones of Joseph are actually mentioned and spoken of four times in the Word of God. Four different places in the Bible present the subject of the bones of Joseph, covering a period of about 1,500 years. But here he is, he gives a command to his brothers, "'You shall carry my bones from hence.'" And if you turn in your Bible to the book of Exodus, chapter 13, Exodus chapter 13, you'll find in verse 19, well, let's read verse 18 for the connection. But God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. It means they went by five in a rank. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, "'For he had straightly sworn the children of Israel, "'saying, God will surely visit you, "'and you shall carry up my bones away hence with you.'" That same casket, that coffin, had Joseph's bones in it, and Moses took those bones with him out of Egypt when they left at the time of the Exodus. Then we come to the book of Joshua, and you see there another mention of the bones of Joseph. Joshua chapter 24, and verse 32. This was in the land of Canaan. which was the wish of Joseph. And again, we have this reference in Hebrews 11, by faith, Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. You know, what's interesting, the book of Genesis finishes with the words He was put in a coffin in Egypt. It's worth mentioning that at the very beginning of Genesis, we have the story of the fall of man into sin. And what was the result of the fall of man? Well, the wages of sin is death. In the day that thou eatest thereof, God said to Adam, thou shalt surely die. by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, so that death passed upon all men and that all have sinned. So we have here again a reminder right at the end of Genesis of what happened at the beginning of Genesis. That is death, a coffin in Egypt, the result of sin. Interestingly, the word for coffin is ark. a bit like Noah's Ark or the Ark of Bulrushes. It has been a custom of nations to honor their distinguished dead with monuments or memorials. Sometimes they'll set up obelisks so that the deeds of valor and attainment might be remembered by future generations. God was with Joseph in all the things that happened to him. God was with him in all his glory in the Egyptian palace. But you'll notice in the book of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit doesn't dwell on the sufferings or the glories of Joseph, but he conducts us to his deathbed scene to show us his faith. It's a great thing when people die in faith, you know. When people know I'm going to heaven, that's my assurance. When I take my last breath, I'm going to be with Christ. which is far better. And here we have what someone called the greatest act of faith in Joseph's whole history. It's Joseph's monument to future generations. By faith, when he died, he made mention of the departing of the children of Israel. That, he said, by faith. That was a prophecy. He knew it would happen, because God promised it. And he gave commandment concerning his bones. Now, many years before, You remember he said to his brothers that he wanted them to tell their father of all his glory in Egypt. But now when he is departing from all his glory in Egypt, and Egypt is fast fading from his vision, Canaan comes into view. He's thinking about his inheritance. Those who are around his bed, He is infusing them with this glorious hope, reminding them of the character of God, the great promise keeper, who will surely bring them also to the promised land. He wanted them to know that Egypt was a foreign land to him. Just like the world should be a foreign land to us. We're not here to stay. Some people live as if they'll never die, but they will. They'll leave everything behind. Just a personal reference, my house is filled with things that belonged to my late wife. It's absolutely full of her things. Her clothes, her shoes, her hats, her ornaments, her pictures, her books, her embroideries, her sewing kits, her little puzzles that she did, even her cell phone. When she left, she left it all behind. All of it. And she's not coming back for any of it. It's really jarring to think about that. It really hits home when you look at all those things and realise she'll never touch those things again. She'll never be near those things again. She's gone from all of that. Folks, we're not here to stay. We're not here to stay. We need to live loose by the things of the world. That doesn't mean you can't have nice things. That doesn't mean you can't have a pretty house with ornaments and all the rest of it. But remember this, you're not staying here. You're moving on. This world is not my home, I'm just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore, so goes the song. To Joseph, Canaan was the hopeful place. It was the promised land. Egypt was not his home. It was not going to be the home of the children of Israel for very long. It was a foreign land to them. Canaan was the homeland. That's what he's talking about here. That's why he gave commandment concerning his bones. I don't want to be buried here. Don't leave me here. This is not my home. Canaan is my home. That's where I'm going. And so when you, my brethren, go up, I'm going up with you. My bones are going to be transferred to the land that God has given to you. And there's no doubt that in this Joseph had thoughts of the resurrection. I have no doubt about that. Now, why did Joseph not command that his body be taken up to Canaan for burial immediately, just like Jacob's was? Because no doubt Pharaoh would have agreed with that. Well, the answer would seem to be his love and affection for his brothers. They were strangers in Egypt. They had been looked after, shepherded, forgiven, nourished by Joseph. His going away would fill their hearts with sadness and loneliness, and that reminds us, does it not, prophetically, of later on when the Lord Jesus made known to His disciples that He was going to be going away from them, and their hearts were filled with great sorrow. He promised them another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who would always be with them. And, of course, He left emblems of His glorious person behind. The bread at the table, communion cup. Sensible signs, memorials of his presence. The Bible says of Israel and all the affliction he was afflicted. And the angel of his presence saved them in his love and in his pity. He redeemed them and he bared them and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah sixty-three verse nine. Joseph's asking his brethren or commanding his brethren to promise to carry his bones out of Egypt, to take his coffin with them, would be a constant reminder of a coming day that they could look forward to with joy, the day of resurrection. History doesn't record anywhere that any sort of a monument was set up to Joseph in Egypt. There was no memorial to his long reign of 80 years on the throne along with Pharaoh. No such memorials were erected and he would have no tomb in Egypt because his expectation was that he would be carried away to Canaan. And that's exactly what happened later on in history. It demonstrated his faith And these words also directed his family. See, these are his brothers, but there were future generations coming after them. And the same information was going to have to be given to them about this coffin. You can imagine the grandsons of these brothers, and their great-grandsons, and they see this casket, this coffin with the bones inside, and they're wondering, well, what is that? Why are we carrying this with us? Well, the information would have been given to them. The descendants of Joseph would have been reminded of this. You've got his coffin with you, with his unburied remains, as a reminder that you are not to make your home in Egypt. You're not to be staying here. Oh, you might be here for a period of time, but when God's time comes, you're leaving. And surely that would encourage the children of Israel in hard times. It should have. When they were in bondage, when they were in hardship, They should have looked at Joseph's coffin and remembered, we're not staying here. We were given a commandment to take his bones out of here. So one day we're going to be leaving. They may have wondered, how will we leave? Because they were slaves. They couldn't just say, well, we're leaving. Like people who lived in the former Soviet Union or behind the the bamboo curtain in China or some of these other places like North Korea. Christians couldn't just say, well, I'm off. I'm leaving. Bye. I'm off to America to live. A lot of them would love that, but they can't. They're trapped. They're slaves in that country. They're not allowed to leave. That's the way it was with the children of Israel in Egypt. They weren't allowed to leave. They were under their slave masters. But by faith, they knew one day God's gonna bring us out of here. Now, they were tempted to settle down in Egypt with its leeks and its garlic and its onions, et cetera. But when that temptation came upon their hearts, they should have been rebuked by the coffin and by the bones of Joseph. That casket is going out of here someday. That's why it's here. That's why the bones of Joseph are with us, because there's that hope before us of our leaving. And again, I say, Christians need reminding. We are in the world, but we're not of it. Yes, there are things that we love about the world, and the Bible says that God giveth us richly all things to enjoy. There's a lot of things about this life that are very enjoyable. But at the end of the day, we are in the world, but we're not to be of it. We're not staying in this Egypt because it is not our real home. Hebrews 11 says, Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one which is to come. I am going to a city where the streets of gold are made, says the hymn. That's our hope. And the command of Joseph demonstrated his faith. The command of Joseph directed his family. And the command of Joseph also delayed his funeral. You know, this is a rather interesting fact. Joseph was embalmed in Egypt. His body was placed in a coffin, and of course he realized that his body would deteriorate, it would disintegrate. There would be that process that happens to every human body, which is why Joseph didn't say, you'll take my body up, he said, you'll take my bones. He knew that all that would be left of his body would be his bones, the skeleton. But they carried up his bones, and buried them over 200 years later in Canaan. We read that again if we want to find the confirmation of it. In Exodus chapter 13, when at the time of the Exodus, the Bible records of Moses that he took the bones of Joseph with him. For he had straightly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. That happened in fulfilment of Joseph's wish and in connection with the will of God. The Lord made it happen. The fact of the matter is that Joseph's bones were taken out and they were buried in Canaan. And it was the longest funeral in history. His bones were placed, his body was placed in a coffin, but not buried for hundreds of years. The coffin or the ark, it was a mummy case. And it went with the Israelites, if you think about it, through the Red Sea. They carried that coffin with the bones inside over the Red Sea. It accompanied them throughout the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Of course, there was the Ark of the Covenant that went with them. There was the tabernacle that went with them, but also a casket, a coffin with Joseph's bones. And when you think about it, this was a period of over 40 years of unbelief. And during that 40 years of wandering and unbelief, they carried with them a symbol of great faith. Because that's what the bones of Joseph were, a reminder of the faith of that man. that they were not going to stay there, that they were going to leave and they're going to end up in Canaan. And of course, not only did they go through the Red Sea, not only did they go through the years of wilderness wandering, but finally, the book of Joshua tells us they went over Jordan and into the land of promise. And there we read at the end of the book of Joshua. In chapter 24 and verse 32, "'And the bones of Joseph, "'which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, "'buried they in Shechem, "'in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought "'of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, "'for a hundred pieces of silver, "'and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.' "'They brought up those bones, And so the longest funeral in the Bible came to an end. It was over 250 years. Those who started out at the beginning of that funeral procession were not there at the end. But Joseph's bones and his coffin spoke of an exodus, a departure for the land of promise. Now, as we close, let's think about this. As believers, we don't have Christ's bones. and we don't have his coffin, nor do we have the shroud that covered his face. Don't listen to that rubbish that people will tell you about the shroud of Turin and stuff that supposedly was on the body of Jesus. Just so much potpourri, that's all that is. Just another money-making exercise for the Church of Rome, with all the other relics that they like to boast about. We don't have Christ's bones, we don't have a coffin, but we have an empty tomb. And you can go there to that tomb over there in Israel, it's still there. And right there it says, he is risen as he said. And of course, this speaks of a day of glorious departure, the empty tomb. Believers are bound for the promised land. This is our hope. Yes, we might die, and if we don't have the coming of Christ first, we will die. But the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, from verse 51, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, that means sleep and death, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Joseph's bones were put in a coffin in Egypt. So it will be for all of us. There'll be a casket. There'll be a funeral. There'll be services. We'll be put into the grave. But it's not the end. And for Joseph, it was not the end. Nor is death the end for any of us. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment." After this, the judgment. Some time ago, Richard Dawkins, the famous, infamous atheist, Bible denier, God-hater, was asked by an interviewer what he believed happened when you die. And his answer in that smarmy, smirky voice of his was, well, you just cease to exist. And I thought of that scripture. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. after this, the judgment. If he's right, and there's nothing after this, he doesn't have anything to worry about. He's got nothing to be concerned about. But if he's wrong, he's got so much to be concerned about. He's got so much to be unhappy about. He's going to a lost eternity. My Bible tells me in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 1, for we know, not we think or we hope, we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, that's the human body, we have a building of God and house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. If this body is destroyed, we're still going to be in existence. will be in heaven, in that building of God that's not made with hands. The Bible goes on to say in that same chapter, therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. It is worth noting that in verse six, the words at home in the body are the same as is translated in verse eight, present with the Lord. The thought is to be at home with the Lord. That's what Joseph was looking forward to. By telling his brothers, I want you to take my bones with you. I want you to keep them in the coffin. And future generations will take them with them back to the land of Canaan because I've got an eternal hope. I have got an eternal hope. Do you have an eternal hope? If our bodies are placed in a coffin in this world, what is our hope? is our hope that we will, in our soul and later in the resurrection, in our body, be present with the Lord. Because that is the great hope of the believer. That is the great thing that is set before us in Scripture. This corruptible must put on incorruption. We're going to be changed. And we're going to be like Christ, for we shall see him as he is. What a hope we have. May the Lord help us to live by faith with that hope before us. Amen.