A Coffin in Egypt
Joseph’s coffin is still preaching. In many ways Joseph was an Old Testament type of the Lord Jesus. He was a remarkable and admirable leader who refused to allow the past to impede his appointed task.
God repeatedly provided for Joseph to bring him to the place so he could carry out his task of giving life to his people through a famine. Joseph commanded his people to preserve his bones in a coffin and when “God’s visits you, take my bones out of Egypt and bury them in a promised land in Caanan.”
Joseph’s coffin is still preaching.
It Preaches a Message of Passing
Joseph’s coffin tells us today that we too are mere mortals and will transition either by death or by rapture. This life is a time of preparation to meet God in eternity.
Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement
It Preaches a Message of Promise
As Joseph lay dying, he impresses upon his hearers the truth that one day God Himself will visit the people of Israel and He will deliver them from Egypt and take them to Canaan. That coffin was a constant reminder that there is hope and promise for the future.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words
It Preaches a Message of Patience
Until He comes for us, let me encourage you to wait in patience. Let us wait patiently for the things He knows are best for us.
1 Corinthians 15:58
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.