God will surely visit you” (Gen 50:24).1
In Genesis 50:24-26, the man whom Pharaoh officially named the saviour of the world (41:45) is anticipating his own death. His brethren had grown used to him as their leader and provider while they navigated Egyptian culture. Their comfort and confidence depended on their proximity to him, the man God had used to single-handedly preserve the entire world from starvation and death. With a man like that next door, who wouldn’t feel secure? But moving forward, they would be forced to face the future without Joseph’s commanding, compassionate presence.
Joseph knew this. He also knew that God’s plans for Israel’s future would not end with a coffin in Egypt. According to God’s Word, there was a hope far greater for them than could be found in the best pastures that the River Nile could provide. The sure expectation covenanted to Abraham hundreds of years earlier, and ratified by blood (15:9-21), had never been altered. And they could take courage in the same faithful word that motivated Abraham to look for a city. Joseph wanted to remind them that their stay in Egypt would be temporary.
However, the one who was sent before them for suffering and salvation has not only past and present promises to pass along; he also has a commandment for them to carry out: “Carry up my bones from hence” (50:25). Joseph had no interest in his casket becoming a permanent fixture in a society that would eventually cease to recognize his sacrifice and authority (Exo 1:8). Nor did he want to see his brethren resign themselves to lives of oppression and suffering, forgetting that God had a better future for them. So, he gathered them around himself.
These men had gathered around him before. Once, they had left Joseph’s presence in disgust after hearing of his dreams (Gen 37:8). Another time, they encircled him in their hatred, stripped him of his coat, threw him into a pit and sold him to some travelers (37:19-28). Years later, in contrition and repentance, they gathered around again when Joseph revealed himself to them as saviour and lord in reconciliation (45:4). He kept them close in Goshen, where he nourished them and protected them from the hostility of Egypt (46:34). He would even calm their fears when they gathered around him with doubts and troubled hearts (50:19-21). But now he was leaving.
Now, the eleven men closest to Joseph are assembled around him again, this time in the most intimate of settings: his deathbed. Here, the saviour of the world reminds them of a covenant established long ago and gives them a commandment, connecting something tangible to a promise of deliverance from an oppressive, hostile environment: “[God] sware to Abraham,” “God will surely visit you, and bring you out,” and “Ye shall carry up my bones” (50:24-25). The bodily remains of Joseph would soon serve as a visual reminder of the promise of God to remove them from Egypt.
After being embalmed, Joseph’s body would most likely have been stored in a sarcophagus and put under a mastaba as a visible tribute to his character and sacrifice. But no matter how sweet the memory of the person was, the promise made on his deathbed could never be disconnected from those bones. “God will surely visit you, and bring you out.”
For an Israelite enjoying Egypt and growing his wealth in Goshen’s pastures, those words wouldn’t mean much, as he did not really want to leave. But when a new king came to the throne, things changed. The new king didn’t recognize Joseph’s contribution or respect Joseph’s character. Thus, Joseph’s people became targets, and the new Pharaoh made them serve with rigour, afflicting them until their lives became bitter (Exo 1:8-14).
Perhaps being whipped as a slave at the brick kiln would drive a man to visit that tomb one evening and say, “Things may be difficult now, but these bones assure me that God will bring us out.” Maybe a midwife, pressured to kill baby boys and watched closely by Pharaoh’s guard, would slip away to the bones and cry out to God for help, praying that this would be the day Jehovah would fulfil His promise to remove them from this Godless land. Or imagine being the parents of a newborn and losing your boy to the Nile because of a policy set and enforced by an evil, satanically energized government! The incredible grief of losing children to Egypt could only be tempered by the promise linked to Joseph’s remains: “God will surely visit you, and bring you out.”
Eventually, the promise that gave them strength to carry on through Egypt’s difficulties gave way to the realization of God’s power on the night of the Passover. In fact, the second time we read of Joseph’s bones is when the promise is being fulfilled and God is taking them out. Moses brought the bones of Joseph with them (Exo 13:19)! No more need for a reminder of God’s promise; they were now realizing God’s power!
This sets the stage for some New Testament parallels. Think back to the upper room. On the same night in which He was being betrayed, the Saviour of the world had the eleven men who were closest to Him now gathered around Him. They had grown used to being with Him and to the feeling of security that His leadership had given them. But now, on the eve of His departure, they are facing a future without His physical presence.
The Lord knew their fears. He also knew that the cross wasn’t the end. There was resurrection, Pentecost, evangelism, church building and a kingdom yet to come. So the Lord reminds them of the New Covenant that Jehovah had already spoken of more than 600 years earlier, a covenant that would be ratified by His own blood. Then He also gave them a commandment linked to physical emblems. When He took the bread and the cup, instituting the Lord’s Supper, He was giving them tangible items to remind them of His character (“in remembrance of me”), and of His sacrifice (“my body which is given for you”). But remember, Paul also tells us that the symbols aren’t just for looking back; they are associated with a future prospect: “till he come” (1Co 11:26). The emblems remind participants and observers of the promise the Lord Jesus made in the midst of the eleven, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself” (Joh 14:3).
Maybe that promise is far from our minds as we settle into the world’s ways, trying to get the most we can from this life. But for those who know the hardship of Christian suffering in a society that is against Christ and His people, the Breaking of Bread is a refreshing reminder of His imminent return to take us out. As our culture becomes increasingly aggressive against Christian values, even taking many children of the Lord’s people down into its godless spiral, the Lord’s Supper provides a perfect opportunity for us to long for our own exodus, and pray the prayer of John on Patmos, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20)! Bring us out!
But aren’t these articles supposed to consider Joseph in John chapter 4? If so, how do these bones influence our understanding of the interaction at Jacob’s well? To see that, we need to go to the third mention of Joseph’s bones in the Bible.
The book of Genesis may close with Joseph’s death, but Joshua ends with his burial. We are told that the Israelites buried the revered remains “in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought … and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph” (Jos 24:32). Yes, that Shechem. Yes, that parcel of ground. Yes, that inheritance. Joseph’s bones were buried there, and although they had traveled many miles and many years, one can’t help but think that at their burial the promise of Joseph and the reminder of God’s faithfulness would come to mind: “God will surely visit you.”
Visiting that site 1400 years later, on that fateful, dusty day at the sixth hour, and looking a few hundred yards to the southeast, you would see a small group of men walking toward Jacob’s well. The bulk of the group leaves and goes into the city, but one Man remains, seated on the well. Now get closer. Take your time. Who is this Man? A Jew? Yes. One would know that just by His clothing. A Galilean? No doubt, you could tell by His accent. Listen to His words and you’ll soon confess, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46). Witness His miracles and you might say, “Thou art a teacher come from God” (3:2). But there’s more. If we could go back to creation, we would see this Person already existing with God. Even further, we would learn that all things were created by Him, and the pinnacle of our lesson would be this: “And the Word was God” (1:1). This is not just another thirsty traveler; this is the Eternal I AM!
So, with the bones of Joseph and their rich meaning only a stone’s throw away, a journeying Man stops at Jacob’s well, and one cannot help but think that heaven’s title over this entire narrative would be this: “God will surely visit you.”
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
