JACOB'S DEATH | JOSEPH'S LEGACY

Pastor Christopher Choo

Lesson 3681

JACOB'S DEATH

JOSEPH'S LEGACY

When his father died Joseph was about 50 years old. His brothers believe that Joseph didn’t harm them because of the presence of their father. However now when Jacob didn’t influence Joseph anymore, they feared him and what he could do to them. They sent a message to Joseph saying that their father told them to speak to him about forgiving his brothers. And when his brothers came to him and spoke the same words, Joseph wept, these words hurt Joseph because he loved his family.

His forgiveness redeemed his brothers and the future tribes of Israel.

For the gospel can be summed up in one sentence: God in Christ forgave our sins.

That is why Joseph is the most Christlike of the patriarchs.

Yet what was his legacy?

Joseph knew that Israel’s future was not in the land of Goshen (in Egypt) but in that land that God had promised to his great-grandfather Abraham, his grandfather Isaac, and his father Jacob.

That is why he wanted his bones to be buried in the Promised Land as a sign of solidarity.

Genesis ends with these words: “So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him,” according to Egyptian custom, “and he was put in a coffin in Egypt” (v. 26). When God led His people Israel in the exodus, Moses took Joseph’s remains with them. Joseph was eventually buried in Shechem, in the heart of the land, God promised to give His people (Ex. 13:19; Josh. 24:32).

When the author of Hebrews looks back on the life of Joseph, he does not mention Joseph’s wisdom or managerial skills, Joseph’s rise to power, or his brush with death. He does not mention Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams. 

But he does mention Joseph’s desire to be buried in the Land of Promise. This is the sure sign that Joseph believed God’s promise to give his people the land of Canaan. And this makes Joseph a man of faith.

That to me is his best legacy - faith in the covenantal promises of God.