Faith That Looks Beyond the Grave - Treasures of Faith - Week 7 Day 7

TODAY'S TREASURE

God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.

Genesis 50:25

Transcript

Faith That Looks Beyond the Grave

Chuck and Sharon Betters

Today’s Treasure

God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.

Genesis 50:25

As Joseph lay dying in Egypt, far from the land of promise, his final words were not of regret, fear, or self-congratulation. Instead, he looked forward to a promise not yet fulfilled, to a future he would not see in this life. His dying declaration was not about what he had accomplished, but about what God would certainly do: “God will surely come to your aid.”

Joseph’s deathbed faith wasn’t wishful thinking. It was rooted in the covenant God made with his great-grandfather Abraham. Though Joseph had risen to the highest political position in Egypt, his heart still belonged to the land God had promised to His people. He died in Egypt, but he belonged to Canaan. That’s why he didn’t ask for a monument, he asked for movement. He wanted his bones carried out when God delivered His people.

This was more than symbolism. It was a physical declaration of a spiritual reality: Egypt was not his home. Joseph’s faith clung to God’s promise across generations. This is what Hebrews 11 celebrates. Faith that endures to the end. Faith that dies believing, even when it doesn’t see the promise fulfilled in this life.

This kind of faith can only exist in the soil of God’s faithfulness. Joseph had seen God's sovereign hand through betrayal, slavery, prison, and political power. He had been elevated and forgotten. Yet through it all, he saw the steady, unshakable hand of God. So in death, he trusted that the God who had kept every promise so far would surely keep this one too.

Theology matters, and biblical theology helps us see God’s promises are never bound by our lifetime. His covenant is multigenerational. The promises He made to Abraham weren’t fulfilled in full for centuries, but they were never forgotten. Joseph’s bones, carried out of Egypt in Exodus 13:19 and buried in Joshua 24:32, are a tangible reminder that God finishes what He starts.

Joseph's life and death point us beyond himself. His bones were a shadow, a signpost to another grave, one that would not remain filled. Jesus, the greater Joseph, also died in faith, trusting the Father. But His tomb is now empty, because He rose in victory over death. And in Him, we don’t just have promises, we have fulfillment.

Because of Jesus, we can look beyond our own graves. Our hope isn’t in temporary deliverance but in eternal resurrection. Like Joseph, we may not see the full redemption of our stories in this life. But our faith does not rest on what we see. It rests on the One who promised: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

The question is not whether God will keep His promises. The question is whether we will trust Him when it looks like He’s forgotten. Joseph shows us how to die well, not clinging to this world, but holding fast to the world to come.

His life teaches us faith doesn’t always look triumphant. Sometimes it looks like bones waiting to be moved. But make no mistake, those bones preach a sermon: God will come. He will redeem. He will bring His people home.

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

Are you walking through a season where God’s promises feel distant or delayed? Joseph’s story reminds you even death cannot stop God’s plan. You can live and die with confidence, knowing God is faithful to His Word. Your prayers, your obedience, and your pain are not forgotten. Your story is part of a much bigger one, and God is writing every line with perfect wisdom and love.

Like Joseph, live today in light of eternity. Let your words, your work, and your worship point others to the God who always comes to the aid of His people. Let your legacy be one of faith that looks beyond the grave.

PRAYER

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—thank You for being the God of generations, the Keeper of every promise. Help me to trust You, not only in life, but in death. Give me faith that endures, hope that looks beyond the grave, and a heart fixed on Your eternal kingdom. May my life and legacy reflect the joy of belonging to You. In the name of Jesus, who conquered the grave. Amen.

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Adapted from Treasures of Faith by Chuck and Sharon Betters with permission from P&R Publishing

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