When Joseph died in Egypt, he requested that his bones be taken back to his homeland when his people returned. This was a statement of faith that God would be faithful to restore His people to their Promised Land.
Two hundred years later, Joseph's descendants complied with his request. Finally, Joseph was home on the land his father had purchased and from where Joseph had been sold by his brothers into slavery. This meant that they had to remember his dying request, take his bones with them as they left, transport those bones through the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, and then deposit his remains in his family's land:
The body of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought from Egypt, was buried at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver. This land was inherited by Joseph's descendants (Joshua 24:32).
His family had to make this legacy a priority. By doing so, some family members were inconvenienced by having to administer Joseph's wish through all kinds of weather, desert travel conditions, wars, and family funerals. What faith projects are you working on that could affect your family's future in a good way? What faith declarations are you making about your purpose and its role for posterity?
You could do this by starting a business or ministry that can carry on into the next generation. You could write a book or craft a last will and testament that includes your testimony. Give some prayerful thought to something you can do that can outlive you and perhaps God will energize it like he did when Joseph simply requested that they take his bones home ... one day.
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