Carry on These Bones

This is the last song of the Exodus: Act II demos. It was difficult trying to determine where to end the story. It just didn’t feel right to resolve it in any way because, well, the Israelites’ story is not one that really has resolution. They make it to the end of the desert, sure. But they never make it to the end of their struggle, their struggle with their own faithfulness and commitment, their struggle with remembering the God who “brought [them] out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

There is no lasting resolution in the Israelites’ story. Their story is a lot like ours, in that regard.

So, what is the way forward? This question plagued me as I attempted to draw to a close the narrative of the Israelites’ post-exodus journey. A quote came to mind as I wrestled with this issue. I cannot find who said it first, but it was a favorite of theologian Robert Webber and a common refrain during my years studying worship in graduate school:

“The road to the future leads through the past.”

One of the oddest details to me about the Israelites’ journey is that they carried with them the bones of Joseph. Remember Joseph? With the dreams and the coat? It was God’s faithfulness to His people through Joseph during a worldwide famine that brought them into Egypt in the first place.

We learn in Genesis 50 of Joseph’s death:

24 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.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.’

Embalmed and placed in a coffin, yes. But Egypt was never intended to be the final resting place for Joseph’s bones, or for Israel.

Fast-forward 430 years. As the Israelites packed up and headed out of Egypt, we’re told in Exodus 13:19 that “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites 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.”

So, along with the weight of everything they needed for survival in the desert, the Israelites carried with them Joseph’s remains. Mile after mile. For 40 years. During the battle with the Amalekites. During the encounter on Sinai. During the incident with the golden calf. As the baton of leadership was passed from Moses to Joshua. For 40 years, offering them no benefit in terms of surviving the harsh desert environment, they kept in tow Joseph’s bones. Why?

Well, to help them remember. Remember God’s promises made long before their cry for help in Exodus 2 that incited the call of Moses and every other event that follows in the story (vv.23-25). To remember God’s faithfulness long before their days of oppression began. To remember who they most truly are. Even before they are freed slaves, they are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are the heirs of God’s loving kindness.

See, one could be tricked into thinking that the past for Israel was all chains and bondage and bricks, but there is a deeper and truer reality that reaches back beyond their 400+ years in Egypt, a past that includes God’s covenant relationship with the Patriarchs. They were children of God long before their meeting with Him on Mount Sinai. It is who they have always been, whether they knew it or not. And having the remains of Joseph with them in the desert provides a tangible reminder of that deeper and truer reality every step of the way.

When Israel finally comes to rest in the Promised Land, Joseph’s bones can finally rest as well. Joshua 24:32 says, “And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.”

His bones made it home. And so too has Israel. May they never forget the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, the God who brought them out of famine and into Egypt and then out of Egypt and the land of slavery and into new life and a new covenant with Him. May they never forget, for the road to their future will lead always through their past.

Credits

Words & Music: Bill Wolf
Backing Vocals & Lead Guitar: Brad Campbell