“By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.” Hebrews 11:22
November 14, 2023
We cannot give God instructions on how and when we want to die. To even say that is embarrassingly presumptuous. God in His sovereignty determines how we will cross the bridge of death into the next life. It may be a sudden, totally unexpected experience. Or it may be a diagnosis of terminal cancer giving you a few months or years to live. After all is said and done, it is in God’s hands. How did Joseph make it into the hall of faith? Joseph left Canaan, involuntarily, when he was 17 years of age and lived in Egypt until his death at the age of 110. We are told that faith faces death by the promises of God. Joseph lived and died with the awareness of how he fit into God’s redemption-kingdom plan. Therefore, he knew where he belonged – in Canaan, not in Egypt. We also know that Joseph died having forgiven his brothers for the sin committed against him (Gen. 50:22-26). It is especially important that the epitaph to Joseph’s life was faith in God’s promises to Abraham concerning the land (Gen. 12:1-3). Are you planning your own funeral? What truth about God and the gospel are you leaving in the hands of those who speak at your funeral? Joseph knew what he believed, namely, that God would one day deliver His people from Egypt. Plan your funeral. Think it through and live until then in such a way that you will have preached the hope that is to shape our approach to death.
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Is there some crisis through which you are presently passing which is calling you to live by faith?
As the years are slipping away how are you moving into the last chapter of your life? How are you handling the temptations that come with diminished time to live?