Genesis 47

Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭47:1-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Joseph was faithful in his obedience to God, and eventually this led to blessings for him and his entire family.  In Deuteronomy 28:13, Moses described to the people of Israel what would happen if they obeyed God and His laws: “If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.”  See Deuteronomy 28 for a list of the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience.

When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭47:29-31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Joseph swore an oath to Jacob that he would bury him in his homeland with his forefathers.  Verbal oaths in that day carried much more weight than they do today, where we have to get everything in writing.  As Christians, we should be sure that we mean what we say, and that we do what we say we are going to do.  Our promises should be so firm that we do not need to swear an oath or necessarily put something in writing.  In Matthew 5:37, Jesus said “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”