Faith (vv. 24-25). “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones” (Heb. 11:22 nkjv). God’s promises to Abraham (Gen. 15:13-16) were passed along to Isaac and Jacob, and Jacob shared them with Joseph (48:21). Faith isn’t a shallow emotion that we work up by ourselves, or an optimistic “hope-so” attitude of “faith in faith.” True faith is grounded on the infallible Word of God, and because God said it, we believe it and act upon it.

True faith always leads to obedient action (James 2:14-26). Joseph knew what he believed and where he belonged. Therefore, he didn’t want his coffin to remain in Egypt when God delivered his people. He made his brothers swear that they would instruct their descendants, who would then pass the word along to future generations, and they kept their promise. Moses took Joseph’s remains with him when the Jews left Egypt (Ex. 13:19), and Joshua buried him in Shechem (Josh. 24:32; see also Gen. 33:19). Since Shechem became the “capital” for Ephraim and Manasseh, the tribes founded by Joseph’s two sons, that was the ideal place for him to be interred.

When you stop to consider the matter, it’s really remarkable that Joseph had any faith at all. He had lived apart from his family for many years, and a powerful false religion in Egypt surrounded him. There was nobody in Egypt that we know of who could encourage his faith. If Joseph had resorted to the excuses people use today for rejecting God’s promises, he would have ended up a pagan himself.

His “believing” brothers had treated him cruelly, the Lord had caused him to experience severe trials, and the people he helped forgot about him in his hour of need. “If that’s what a life of faith is all about,” he might have argued, “then I’m not interested.” But Joseph’s faith, though tested, didn’t falter. All he had to go on were his dreams, but he clung to the promise that one day his brothers would bow before him, and the Lord didn’t disappoint him.