Heb 11:22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
This verse brings us to an end of a 6 verse section of Hebrews (Heb 11:17-22) that spoke of four generations of patriarchs that had trusted in the Lord. In each generation these men had lived lives that exhibited their great faith in the future fulfillment of the promises of God :
- Abraham trusted that God would keep the Abrahamic covenant, this faith enabled him to be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac Vs 17-19
- Isaac showed his trust in the fulfillment of the promises of God by handing them down to his sons, Jacob and Esau. Vs 20
- Jacob’s faith in God’s covenant was shown by blessing his grandsons upon his death bed. Vs 21
- Finally, in our text today, we see Joseph’s belief in the future deliverance of Israel from Egyptian captivity, told others of the promise and gave instructions on how his bones should be delivered back to the promised land following Israel’s release. Vs 22
Four generations of men who trusted in the promises of God, being handed down from generation to generation. Are we handing down God’s promises to the future generations? Are we displaying our faith to our loved ones through our words and actions?
Folks, words are cheap and our children can see through our words. By living Godly lives we give our faith life, meaning and importance to our loved ones and all those around us. May the Lord bless each one of us as we “Think On These Things”.
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I to wonder what we are handing down to our children, etc. Thanks for the post.
Naphtali,
Thank you for a very relevant question. Lord bless you.
thank you
Terry, the Lord is good. God bless you.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. While I believe that parents have the responsibility to bring up their children, I believe the local Church should have a strong ministry to children and teens – arguably the most important ministry of the Church. Our children need to grow up with a Biblical worldview. They need to know WHY they believe WHAT they believe.
Sadly, when contacting pastors about a children’s ministry I often received the reply “Oh we’re not interested in CHILDREN!”
May our lives always reflect a true image of Christ to everyone – and especially to children.
We serve an amazing God!
AMEN!
Thanks so much for this, Rob. I can’t always speak or say what I may want to. So for me, this is an encouragement, that my actions and life count too!
God bless you as you help us think of the good God things!
You are not alone, for many it is difficult to be able to verbally speak to others about the Lord. Although this is a very important aspect to being a witness for Christ, the lives that we live can speak even more loudly than our voices. If we think about it the “fruits of the Spirit” that are so important for us to bear in our lives ALL involve actions, many do not involve speaking. Lord bless.
Wonderful faith acted upon by Joseph in confidently giving instructions with regard to his bones being carried back to the Promised Land! Very strengthening and encouraging post here, Pastor Rob!
The Lord is good to us. Thank you for the kind words.