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Cause of Death
Unknown.
Last Words
His last recorded words were spoken to his brothers: "God
will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bons
up from this place" (Genesis 50:25, NIV).
Stone-Cold Fact
"Character is what you do in the dark."
-- Dwight L. Moody
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BOOK EXCERPT
The Mummy's Return
By Lynn Lusby Pratt
CBN.com – Here
Lies Joseph, the boy slave who ruled Egypt.
Joseph was wrapped from head to toe.
In integrity.
Integrity means having the rules of right and wrong clearly in your head
-- and living by them, no matter what. (On the vocab test, the synonym is
rectitude and the antonym is turpitude.)
People without integrity try to excuse their bad behavior by saying they've
had a rough life. Give me a break. Look what happened to Joseph.
When he was 17 his brothers sold him. Sold him!
He was taken to Egypt. That was a foreign country to him. Foreign language.
People worshipping foreign gods. His integrity got him a position of honor
in the house of the captain of Pharaoh's guard, Potiphar. His integrity made
him say no when Potiphar's wife came on to him.
She had him thrown in prison.
Joseph's integrity got him put in charge of the prison, second to the warden.
His integrity made him help another prisoner. "Hey," Joseph told
him, "when you get out, put in a good word for me too ..."
But he forgot.
Integrity caused Joseph to help Pharaoh by interpreting his dream. And he
gave God credit when he could have used his knowledge to bargain his way out
of prison.
That integrity gave Joseph freedom and command of Pharaoh's palace. And it
was Joseph who saved the whole land of Egypt when famine came.
Were the difficult times worth it? Absolutely.
Was Joseph's life easy? Absolutely not.
There was always a hole in Joseph's heart. He never really got over what
his brothers had done. How could he? And he missed his dad. How could he not?
Joseph was a normal guy.
When he finally met his brothers again, the pain came rushing back. Joseph
was over 40 by that time -- but he cried so loudly he could be heard all over
the place.
You can read the whole story in Genesis 37, 39-50.
I think the Lord had a soft spot for Joseph. He granted Joseph's last request.
Joseph wanted to go home. Oh, he knew he'd die in Egypt but he wanted to be
buried at home. That's another clue about his heartache, isn't it? He had
missed home all those years. But God had given Joseph a very special and exciting
life. Joseph died and was embalmed Egyptian style. Then ... 400 years later,
when all the people were led out of Egypt, headed for home, Moses "took
the bones of Joseph with him" (Exodus 13:19, NIV).
Joseph's integrity is what makes him memorable. If you read his story once,
you won't forget it. God didn't forget Joseph, even 400 years after he had
died.
Gotta have the newest CD?
Gotta have the latest style sweater?
You might manage without them.
But integrity? Now there's something you've really gotta have.
In Memory of Joseph
He told his brothers, "You meant to hurt me. But God turned your evil
into good ... to save the lives of many people." Genesis 50:20, ICB
Excerpted from Devotions
by Dead People © 2004 by Lynn Lusby Pratt, Standard Publishing.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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