John Calvin Commentary Exodus 13:19

"And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you." — Exodus 13:19 (ASV)

And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. From this it appears that even in their adversity, the memory of their promised deliverance had never departed from the people. For if Joseph's solemn oath had not been commonly discussed, Moses would never have thought of it. But he explicitly states that he acted in obedience to the holy patriarch in carrying away his bones.

It is, therefore, probable that the bones were placed in such a way that the people's hope might be kept alive by daily seeing the urn or coffer containing them. It was as if the holy man, even after death, raised a sign of their deliverance from his tomb. For although by this symbolic act he strengthened his own faith, desiring that, though dead, he might enter into possession of the promised land, there is no doubt that he had more concern for his kinsmen and the entire posterity of the holy race.¹⁴⁹

Knowing from experience their apathy and the weakness of their faith, he naturally feared that with the passage of time they would grow increasingly indifferent. He worried that they might eventually despise the promise and give themselves over completely to lethargy concerning it. Indeed, it must have been this mistrust of them that urged him not to be satisfied with a simple instruction, but to bind their consciences more firmly by an oath.

In Acts 7:16, Stephen seems to assert that the other eleven sons of Jacob were also buried in Shechem. It can be reasonably conjectured that they were piously led to follow the example of their brother Joseph. Certainly, the faith of the departed Joseph, even in his dry bones, preached powerfully to his descendants about the promised deliverance, so that they would not grow careless from the long delay. When at length the Israelites were led out, the bones or ashes of the twelve Patriarchs were like so many standard-bearers, going before their respective tribes to encourage their confidence.

Therefore, the cowardice of the people was all the more detestable, as they so often shamefully turned their backs on their journey, even when they had such a clear reason for confidence in sight.

The words of Joseph, which Moses reports, God will surely visit you, etc., confirm the Apostle's statement (Hebrews 11:22) that by faith—he gave commandment concerning his bones. He did this because he thus took upon himself the role of their guarantor, to urge his nation to embrace the promise.

How vastly the foolish superstition of the Papists in worshipping the relics of saints differs from Joseph's intention, we may easily gather from this: namely, that they eagerly seize every means by which they may be drawn further away from the Word of God.

¹⁴⁹ D’Abraham. — Fr..