I.        THE UNSHAKEABLE FAITH OF JOSEPH

1.      By faith Isaac, Jacob and Joseph were able to face the future with courage and optimism.   

2.      When Joseph was near death he made the Israelites promise that they would take his bones with them when they returned to the Promised Land.  They were faithful to this oath and four hundred years later took his casket of bones back to the land God had promised (Exodus 13:19).

3.      Isaac, Jacob and Joseph died with their faces toward the future.   

II.   JOSEPH’S CASKET OF BONES REMINDED THEM THAT THEY WERE THE PEOPLE OF GOD

1.      Joseph wanted to be identified with the people of God even in his death.  He deliberately chose to disassociate himself from Egypt, its rules, its gods, and its customs even beyond death. 

2.      By means of this casket of bones Joseph would not only have his bones returned, but he would remind the people that they were the people of God.   

III.  JOSEPH’S CASKET OF BONES WAS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE PROMISES OF GOD

1.      God had made some great promises to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:1-3).   

2.      The New Testament teaches that those who trust Jesus Christ as Lord are the spiritual descendants of Abraham.   

3.      As Joseph’s casket of bones reminded the children of Israel of God’s precious promises, so we should let the Bible and God’s promises in the Bible, the church and the faithful testimony of believers, past and present, remind us that the promises of God are directed to us.   

IV.  JOSEPH’S CASKET OF BONES WAS A VISIBLE REMINDER OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD

1.      As God had been with Joseph through all of his life, Joseph wanted to bear witness to the abiding presence of God with Israel.  By his casket of bones, he continued to serve as a challenge to their faith.

V.   JOSEPH’S CASKET OF BONES WAS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE PURPOSE OF GOD

1.   Salvation for Israel.   

2.   Salvation for a lost world.   

3.   Salvation for you.