4. GOD WILL DO WHAT HE SAYS.
God keeps His promises! Genesis 50:24,25 records - "And Joseph said to his brethren, 'I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land of which He swore [or promised] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.' Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, 'God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.'"
Joseph believed with all his heart that the Israelites were going to their own land that had been promised initially to Abraham. That is why he gave the instructions to carry his bones with them when they left! "By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones" (Heb. 11:22). Joseph believed that God would keep His word! Do we believe God's word and the promises it contains? It was several generations before Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, but God did keep His word! Additionally, the children of Israel kept their word--they did carry Joseph's bones out of Egypt with them.
Dear listeners, may we learn to have strong faith like Joseph! May we trust God to keep His word! When you read the Bible, believe its message! There are things written in this book that have yet to take place (like the second coming of Christ and the final judgment), but these things will take place eventually! Perhaps it will be tomorrow or later this year. Perhaps it will be in twenty years. Perhaps it will be in two thousand years or longer, but rest assured, God's promises will be fulfilled! God always keeps His word.
In our next lesson, we will consider one more truth that we can learn from the bones of Joseph.