A Faith that is Founded on God

The last chapter is Genesis is in my opinion, a very fitting way to end the lives of the Biblical patriarchs. This chapter is the perfect summary of what Genesis has been about: the patriarchs of Judaism and Christianity that has had a faith in God and God alone. A faith that is not founded on prosperity (Isaac's obedience instead of going to Egypt), favor with others (Abraham's alliances and conquest of other nations), and oneself (Jacob's deceit). And we see what that faith looks like in Joseph. I'll come up with 3 demonstrations of faith through Joseph.

1. A faith in God is public and it can move even those who don't believe. We can see this in how Joseph carried out his father's promises. He was carrying out God's intention for the patriarchs, which was to be in the land of promise. He has not been shy with his faith even to the point that he asked pharaoh, in front of the whole Egyptian court, to take a break from his duty to return to his homeland and bury his father. Also, the fact that Egyptians (who probably had other gods/deities) were participating in the ceremony AND the Canaanites were seeing the Egyptians weep for Jacob speaks to how God moves even those that don't know Him and those that might not even want to know Him.

2. A faith in God moves a person to act in accordance with what God has done. Joseph forgives his brothers not because of what they have asked of him, even if they claim to say that it was Jacob's last will. Joseph brings his acts of forgiveness and kindness back to God. Verse 19-21 shows Jacob giving credit for his actions to God, in that he is in no place to condemn neither was he in a place to give false forgiveness because God has already offered true forgiveness. His brothers don't believe him when he said it was alright earlier, but a forgiveness that is of God is unchanging and unwavering, and it brings glory to God through whoever offered the forgiveness and the one forgiven.

3. A faith in God waits patiently for the fulfillment of His promise even if they don't see its fulfillment. In other words, a faith in God puts complete trust in God with all things. In the passage, Joseph had one request: to be taken up from Egypt and buried in the land of his fathers. But look at what happens (and how Genesis ends): he was placed in a coffin in Egypt, not even buried. After all that Joseph has done his last request was not fulfilled, neither by Egyptians nor the descendants of his own brothers that he has promised to take care of.

Spoiler Alert:
In Exodus, Joseph's request was fulfilled. It's safe to say that he lived out the rest of his days in Egypt because that was his calling. It would've been easy for Joseph to run to Canaan and wait for his death there to "fulfill his heart's desire".

I think it's important to reflect on these things because our faith could be founded on something that isn't God. A faith founded on prosperity and wealth falters when you lose all of your savings, or if you get sick. A faith founded on community falters when you move to another community, or if you are suddenly called to a mission to a place without Christians. A faith founded on yourself falters when you realize how much you really fall short of God's holiness and how much you don't deserve of his grace and mercy. But a faith in God is the type of faith that gets us to glorify Him and to persevere even if we're not in wealth/prosperity, even if we're not in a community of Christians, or even if we fall or stumble in life. And that's exactly the type of faith and obedience Jesus showed on the cross. Jesus lost the very clothes on his back, the support of his followers, and even the connection with the Father for that one instance and yet He carried out God's plan in obedience knowing that at the end of it all, God is glorified in that type of faith.