June 28 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Hebrews 11:17–22

Devotional

On his deathbed Joseph reminded the people of Israel that they were to be strangers in the land of Egypt. The Lord still has a people who have learned to be strangers in the earth. They have become strangers in the city of destruction and to their sorrow they are also strangers to God. They cannot live anymore in sin, but it can also be that they do not dare reckon themselves among God’s people. They may have burned the bridges behind them so that they do not want to go back and cannot go back. They may know that sin is so bitter, but at the same time, however, they wonder, shall I ever reach the land of Canaan? From their perspective it is impossible. They have said farewell to the house of bondage in Egypt, but they dare not say in confidence that the gate to the land of Canaan is open. Such people can say with the psalmist: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Ps. 42:1).

Our text contains comfort for such people. Those bones of Joseph are for them evidence that they will yet reach Canaan. Those bones declare: Trust in Him, pour out your whole heart unto the Lord. He shall deliver the poor and the needy.

God’s Word is still the same as it was in the days of the Israelites. God is also the same. And the promises are the same. How often did the people of Israel think they would not enter Canaan? In the wilderness they had everything against them. They thought, “We will never get there.” But when they saw the coffin with the bones of Joseph they remembered the divine guarantee that God would fulfill His promises. That is how the people of the old covenant traveled onward in hope.

In hope, the people of the new covenant travel onward. When they look to themselves, traveling onward is an impossibility. They, too, have to die in the wilderness. They die to their own ambitions. But when they look to God’s Word, then they are strengthened. Then they know God’s Word shall fully come to pass.

The bones of Joseph are still a testimony, even for the New Testament church. They speak to a people who cannot do anything as they look to themselves, but who nevertheless can do all things when they look to Christ. Those who seek the Lord are of no use to the devil because they desire God first and foremost. Such people will not be able to find any comfort in their searching. They only find comfort in what God Himself has said. That is why they need to cleave to the Lord. In this way God’s Word will strengthen them, like the bones of Joseph strengthened the people of Israel during their journey.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.