THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

May 6, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

In the very last chapter of Genesis, Jacob dies in Egypt. His very last words to his sons, before his death, was to be taken back to the land of Canaan to be buried.

He said, "Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. This is the cave in the field of Machpaleh, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah."

So Joseph told the physicians who served him to embalm his father; which was a forty day process. And the Egyptians mourned his death for seventy days.

When the days of formal weeping passed, Joseph requested that Pharaoh allow him to go to Canaan to bury his father, and then he would return following the burial. Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father just as he made you swear an oath." Joseph, his brothers, his father's household, Pharaoh's servants, the elders of the land of Egypt all made the trek to Canaan to bury Jacob. After the burial, all of them returned back to Egypt.

Then at the age of 110, Joseph dies. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.

Jospeh could have made the same request that his father had. "When I die, take me back to Canaan and bury me there in the land of my forefathers." But he didn't. Joseph's request was very different!

In Exodus chapter 13, we find out what Joseph's request had been.

Moses and the Israelites left Egypt and verse 19 says, "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear an oath saying, 'God will surely remember you, and then you are to carry my bones away with you.'"

Joseph didn't want to be taken out of Egypt until the rest of his family were able to leave permanently and go back home to Canaan to live!

In Hebrews 11, which is known as the faith chapter of the Bible, we read these word in verse 22 (NKJV): "By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones."

Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem a parcel of ground for 100 pieces of silver; which became an inheritance of the children of Joseph. It does mention Joseph's burial at that piece of land until the very last chapter of Joshua, in the next to the last verse.

Joseph's family had been entrusted with the responsibility of passing the instructions down from one generation to the next to remember to take his bones with them when it came time to leave. Upon leaving Egypt, they went to wherever Joseph's coffin was kept and carried it along with them on their journey. For forty years, they were responsible for carrying his bones everywhere they went. When they were in battle, they were responsible for protecting his bones. They may have been the assigned duty of specific individuals, to carry the bones of Joseph to insure their safe arrival in the Promised Land. Then upon their arrival, they continued carrying them with them until they finally reached the land that his father, Jacob, had purchased and were able to finally bury him as he had instructed.

There may have been times when those carrying Joseph's bones thought, "Why didn't we just leave his coffin in Egypt, instead of having to carry him with us;" especially after 40 years of wilderness living. They may have had that thought crop up, "Joseph is dead! He would never know if we had left his bones behind and not brought them with us to bury in Canaan." For the first few years it may have been fine and an honor to be responsible for transporting this great leader's bones. But as time went by, it may have grown wearisome and their enthusiasm may have wavered.

But those bones were not just the bones of a great leader and patriarch of the family. Joseph's bones represented hope and the fulfillment of God's promise that He would one day allow His people to go back to their homeland and dwell there.

Sometimes God may give us a promise, but years go by without seeing the fulfillment of if coming to pass. Others may see it as something that has died, that should be buried. They view our promise as carrying a box of dead bones around with us.

There may even be times when we become weary and disheartened, because the journey from when the promise was given until it being fulfilled is taking a whole lot longer than we ever imagined. We may even question whether or not there's any purpose in us carrying it around with us; or if we should let go of it and bury it.

Joseph's bones may have grown fragile and brittle, and transporting them took special care so they would not disintegrate and turn to dust.

That is like it is with the promises which God gives us at times. It grows fragile and brittle over time, and we have to handle it with care so that we can see the fulfillment of it coming to pass. We don't want to allow it to fall apart and turn to dust, so we protect that promise and do everything we know to while waiting for the right time to arrive and God brings it to completion.

Romans 8:24b-25 (TLV) speaks of hope. "Hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

When we see prayers answered or promises fulfilled, we don't continue holding onto hope for those things to be revealed. It's during that waiting time that we do not see, that we hold onto hope. But we do so with perseverance.

Perseverance means we hold onto God's promise with tenacity, persistence, determination, patience, steadfastness and endurance.

Joseph knew what God had spoken. He knew that one day the Hebrew people would leave Egypt and go back to the Promised Land. He did not live to see it fulfilled, but he was so sure of it, that he requested that his bones be taken with the Israelites when they left to go back home. He didn't say, "If this happens," but he said, "when it happens." When he was on his death bed, he knew that his body would stay in Egypt for a period of time, but died in peace knowing that one day he would be taken back to his homeland and be laid to rest there.

This gives me hope! It gives me hope that when God speaks, He will bring it to pass. It gives me hope that when difficulties come or I end up in the wilderness longer than God ever intended, His promise will be fulfilled; whether it's my own fault for unbelief or the faults of others that keep me there.

It doesn't matter if what others see is a coffin full of dead bones that I'm carrying around with me; I know what it really is. It's my promise!

There came that day, after many years of carting Joseph's bones around, that he was finally buried and his desires came to pass. His bones were young and alive, covered in flesh, when he had been sold into slavery as a young boy. Even though Egypt had been where he lived for the vast majority of his life, he still had ties to Canaan. His heart was attached to that land which God had promised His children. He got to go back as an adult when they went to bury his father. At that time, perhaps he knew that he would never see it again with his eyes; but he knew, without any doubt, that there would come a time when his bones would be buried there, because God had promised that land to His chosen people.

Joseph grieved at the loss of his father and all the years that they had been separated. But really, wasn't that pretty loving of God that he would allow Joseph an opportunity to go back home to see it one more time during his lifetime, when they went to bury Jacob? He got to set his eyes upon the land promised to them by God.

While we are waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled in our own lives, there are times when He will lovingly give us a glimpse of what it's going to look like. He does so to give us hope, so that we will persevere and steadfastly hold on, without giving up or letting go.

I encourage you to not forget those promises which God has spoken into your life. Don't let others convince you that you're carrying around dead bones which need buried. Steadfastly hold onto hope until you see it come to pass!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

These days, it seems like people can't manage to wait a few months for Christmas. I can't imagine what the Israelites felt like with forty years of "Are we there, yet?" and "How much further?"

We can skip from Joseph's life to the birth of Moses in just a few minutes of reading. And we can get all the way to the Israelites entering the Promised Land in just a few hours. It tends to give us the illusion that God's promises come in just a matter of hours.

Sometimes, those promises take years. Joseph had to wait generations. And we are still waiting for Jesus to return.

But that doesn't take away from the truth of the promises.

ON THE MENEWE:

No Peek Chicken

In a greased 9x13 pan, mix the box of rice (original recipe), cans of mushroom and celery and can of water. (Add an extra can of water if desired to make the rice more moist.) Arrange the raw chicken on top of the rice mixture. Sprinkle the packet of Lipton soup mix on top of the chicken to flavor it. Cover and seal with foil. Bake at 350 for 1-1/2 hours or until done and tender. "Don't peek" until it is done!

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

There is an old hymn that says, "Count your blessing, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done." One thing our pastor has done during these past few weeks is to ask our church family every few days to share how God has been blessing them. It's easy to get caught up in media hype or comment and opinions of others during this pandemic that has been taking place. It's easy to become focused on what we can't do or can't have or can't see. It's easy to become negative or critical and think about everything bad that is happening.

But God hasn't changed! His love is still steadfast, His mercies are new every morning, He remains faithful, He is trustworthy, He is kind, He delights in His children, He cares about us, He is our provider and protector, and the list could go on and on. So I encourage you to take time each day to consider the blessings of God and make Him your focus!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

If God said it -- He will do it.

I don't know how. I don't know when. I don't know where.

He. Will. Do. It. - Christine Caine

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org