Our Legacy

The legacy we leave behind says a lot about the relationship we had with the Lord when we were still alive. Our actions, our words, and how we lived our lives will not only determine our future blessings in God’s kingdom, but they will also have a lasting impact on our descendants. When most people are worried about leaving their children with homes, money, stocks, bonds, and whatever else is important to them after they die, we need to keep in mind the greatest inheritance that we can pass on to our children and our grandchildren is the Lord.

Last time, we examined the life of Joseph to see how we can make the most of the trials that we can face in this life. During that study, we saw how our reactions in the face of our trials can have a lasting impact on our own lives as well as affect the lives of our families and descendants. Consider how ripples move outward on a pond; everything we do affects others for better or worse.

This time, we’ll look at the end of Joseph’s life and the end of his father Jacob’s life, to see what we can do to pass on the greatest inheritance of all: God.

Before we look at the end of either man’s life, let’s reexamine how seventeen-year-old Joseph reacted after he was sold into captivity. Though he cried and pleaded for his life, even at his young age, we can see that he had faith in the Lord. How? Because he didn’t complain, grumble, or try to kill his master or anyone else in an attempt to escape: He worked like he was working for the Lord. Through Joseph’s actions, we can see that his father, Jacob, shared his faith and knowledge of God with him while he was still young.

Genesis 22:18 tells us that God promised Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all nations. Had Jacob kept silent about the Lord and His promises, had Joseph not known God, as a worst case scenario, he could have reacted in ways that could have thwarted God’s plan for his life and the lives of his family, and future generations, all of which could have profoundly affected the lives of you and me. At the very least, God would have had to use someone else to channel His blessings. Joseph would have missed out on the blessings that God was waiting to bestow upon him and his family. Had Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or even Joseph not believed God’s promises and passed them on, we might not even know the Lord.

Moving to the end of Joseph’s father, Jacob’s life, we read all about what he left behind for his family, “Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers.” Genesis 48:21. (Emphasis and underlining mine.) Notice that Jacob didn’t leave gold, silver or any other riches behind? Don’t be mistaken, the small tribe of Israel was extremely prosperous in the land of Egypt. Jacob could have put plenty of emphasis on who was going to get all of his worldly possessions and left everything else out, but he didn’t.

Rather, Jacob passed on the best he had to his son and grandsons: The legacy of God. He reminded Joseph about the promise that God had made to him and gave him a small plot of land that two of his other sons had taken from the Amorites several years beforehand.

Could Joseph make use of the land at the time he received it or any other time during his life? No. Does the Bible say that Jacob ever did anything useful with the land? Nope! So why on earth would Jacob bother with it in the first place? Because Jacob believed God’s promises with all of his heart, he passed on the land as a down payment, an assurance that God would some day fulfill His promise to the children of Israel. That alone is a pretty powerful statement about his faith in the Lord.

Now as we move toward the end of Joseph’s life in verse 50:23 of Genesis, we can see that one of his son’s children was counted as his. Undoubtedly, he taught them about the Lord and repeatedly told them everything that God promised him and his ancestors in his old age. The children probably sat at his feet, fascinated, while he told them all about what God had done for him during his life and what He had done for his ancestors. Perhaps they even made up skits and performed them for everyone who would take the time to watch. The point is that the children were taught about the saving grace of God, which is the most important thing any of us can learn during our lives.

Reading the account of Joseph’s death in verses 50:24-25, we see that he passed his inheritance, the promises of the Lord, on to his brothers and children. “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.” (NIV) That’s all that he needed to say to ensure that the legacy of the Lord would be passed on.

After that, like Jacob and Joseph before them, whenever the children of Israel would face trials of their own, they too could draw on the promises of God for strength. Most importantly, the inheritance Joseph passed on to his children is the knowledge of God; the kingdom of heaven, so that after they die, they can be with the Lord forever.

We are called to do the same. The best way to ensure that the inheritance of God is passed from generation to generation is to give our lives to God and then share our beliefs in Him and our knowledge of Him with our children and grandchildren like Jacob and Joseph did.

Ephesians 1:11 tells us that our inheritance is God and His kingdom. Right now, I’m going to challenge you by asking you to make your decision now: Do you want to pass on the legacy of the Lord so that your children and grandchildren can live forever, or do you want to pass on earthly blessings, things of this world that are only temporary blessings that your children and grandchildren can’t take with them after they die?