"Faith Found in the Dead Bones of Joseph"

It's getting to that time of year again!
Spring has definitely sprung with all the beautiful white & purple blooms on the trees...Thick patches of green grass along with the bright tulips & daffodils making their presence known! Slowly but surely, life is starting to stir again...Even our bunny friend from last year (Thumper) has returned! He loves eating the clovers in the backyard.

It won't be long before The 10 Commandments will be aired, along with "The Days of Unleavened Bread" being observed.... (That's a whole another blog within itself!)

All these sights & smells have stirred emotions within me of our great ancestors, the oppressed Israelites. I've been pondering on the story of Joseph's death and the incredible faith he had... One of my favorite scenes in the 10 Commandments is when they carry Joseph's bones out of Egypt (as Moses fulfilled, Exod. 13:19.) Joseph believed his God would deliver him into the Promise Land ~ whether this life or the next...Also a great foreshadow that he believed in the resurrection as well.

The strong oath he made with his brothers, also gave them hope to believe in the divine promise that "some day" this was going to happen! Just a quick snapshot of the faith & promise...Joseph died at the age of 110. His brothers embalmed him and deposited him in a room (as the Egyptian custom.) The coffin with his bones became a standing exhortation to Israel, to turn its eyes away from Egypt to Canaan, the land promised to its fathers, and to wait in the patience of faith for the fulfillment of the promise.

So when was Joseph's bones actually carried out of Egypt??? A whopping 360 years later!!! That is faith my friend...

I can only imagine the joy the Israelites must have felt as they were being delivered out of Egypt...The song they play in movie is so powerful, but probably doesn't hold a candle to worship they were singing in Exod. 15! Love the first three verses...


Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is his name.


Gen. 50:24-26 "~ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus 3:7-10 ~ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Exodus 13:19 (NIV) ~ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place."

Loss sprouts new life...

We've all experienced it … "Loss."

The pain associated with one’s personal loss is measured by the “value” of what was taken away – for some, the unimaginable! The loss of a loved one. For others, a job, marriage, dreams and yes … even hope.

One thing is for certain when faced with loss. It will surface the “Top Five Ws” in our hearts: “Who, What, When, Where & Why?”

Pulling some thoughts from Elisabeth Elliot’s book, “The Path of Loneliness,” Chapter 10 – “Death Is a New Beginning.”

“Loneliness is one kind of ‘dying’ most of us learn about sooner or later. Far from being ‘bad’ for us, a hindrance to spiritual growth, it may be the means of unfolding spiritual ‘blossoms’ hitherto enfolded. The full-blown beauty of the wild rose, its very ‘fulfillment’, depends on its continuously dying and living again. The death of the seed that falls into the ground produces a new cycle of life-the fresh little shoot, the full stalk, the bud the flower. The flower must die in order to produce the fruit. The fruit dies to allow the seed to fall once again into the ground. The seed dies & there is a ‘new beginning.’ Nothing is ever wasted. In God’s economy, whether He is making a flower or human soul, nothing ever comes to nothing. The losses are His way of accomplishing the gains.”

It’s important to remember God’s promises when we are faced with loss…He has not forgotten us…There is a purpose in all of it! Rest in God’s omniscience...

Isaiah 61:11 “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”

Life lessons learned at 8,700 feet...

Modified (benediction) lyrics to Edelweiss:

"May the Lord, mighty God,
Bless and keep you forever.
Grant you peace, perfect peace,
Courage in every endeavor.
Lift your eyes and see His face,
And His grace forever.
May the Lord, mighty God,
Bless and keep you forever."

The Edelweiss is an Alpine flower whose German name means "Noble White." The botanical name for this plant is Leontopodium, meaning “Lion’s Paw,” and that’s exactly what it looks like! Throughout history the iconic Edelweiss symbolized courage, truth & hope in a tumultuous world…

Its deep fibrous roots and felt-like leaves protect it in the most climatic extremes – drought, ravaging winds and intense UV sunrays. It prefers to grow in rocky limestone as high as 8,700 ft. in altitude. Basically, the most inaccessible place a flower can grow!

I can’t help but wonder how such a beautiful white flower not just blooms, but survives in the most extreme conditions???

It doesn’t make sense to me, but then again, God’s ways are higher. I’ve been reflecting on Isaiah 55:10- 12 whenever I think about this flower…

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

Whatever season you may find yourself in, I hope you find comfort when you think of Edelweiss…The color white itself represents purity, righteousness, joy, light, and a white horse symbolizes victory. Sound familiar???

“Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white,
clean and bright
You look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow
may you bloom and grow,
Bloom and grow forever.
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever.”