Restoring Life: Bones & the BibleSample

HOPE

As a young boy, Joseph had prophetic visions that he would one day rule over his twelve older brothers. One day, Joseph’s jealous brothers sold him to slave traders who took him to Egypt where he worked for one of Pharaoh’s officers. He was then falsely accused by the officer’s wife and thrown in prison. In prison, he leveraged his prophetic gifting to gain freedom and favor in Pharaoh’s court, rising to become the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. Eventually, a devastating seven-year famine drove Joseph’s brothers to Egypt in search of grain, leading to a powerful reunification and the entire family moving to Egypt, where Joseph was, indeed, ruler over his brothers. 

Upon his deathbed many years later, Joseph prophesied again that God would eventually return the Israelites to their promised land and implored his brothers that when they returned home, they must take his bones with them. Moses did take Joseph’s bones with him on the journey and the book of Joshua tells us they were buried in Shechem. 

Joseph’s bones traversed the entire journey with the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land. They were present when the Red Sea was parted. They were there for the 40 years wandering in the desert. They were there when the Israelites first saw the walls of Jericho. Through that entire time, the bones of Joseph served as a reminder. 

His bones were a constant reminder to hold tight to the promise of God, but hold loosely to the process. For just as Joseph’s life took a winding and unexpected path to the promise that he would one day rule over his brothers, the Israelites path home to the Promised Land was full of trials, confusion, twists, and turns. And all along the way, Joseph’s bones served as a symbol of hope and a reminder that we can, nay we MUST, trust the promises of God in our life, no matter the journey we must go through to get there.

Questions for reflection:

What promises in your life have you lost sight of because the process has taken an unexpected path?

What reminder can you take with you to remind you of God’s promises in your life?