God's servants come and go, but His program never stops.
Les Feldick teaches that God buries His servants—great men of God come and they go—but His program just keeps moving on. Genesis ends with Joseph's death and a coffin in Egypt, yet God's purposes continue into Exodus and beyond. The death of a servant does not bury the work God has planned.
Genesis 50:24 — Joseph's dying promise that God would visit Israel and bring them to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shows the program continuing beyond his life.
Genesis 50:25 — Joseph makes Israel swear to carry his bones out of Egypt, showing his faith that God would fulfill His covenant promise after Joseph was gone.
Genesis 50:26 — This verse records Joseph's death and burial in a coffin in Egypt, the exact end-of-Genesis moment Les points to when he says God buries His servants but never His program.
The closing verses of Genesis record Joseph's final words and death. Joseph told his brethren, 'I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob' (Genesis 50:24). He then took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, 'God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence' (Genesis 50:25). The book ends with these words: 'So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt' (Genesis 50:26). Scripture thus closes the book of beginnings with a servant's death, while Joseph's own words look ahead to God's fulfilled promise to Israel.
Les teaches that the phrase 'God buries His servants, but never His program' is not original with him; he has read it from several different authors and does not know who first said it. He uses it to summarize what happens at the end of Genesis: Joseph dies and is placed in a coffin in Egypt, yet God's program simply keeps moving on. Les says, 'Great men of God come and they go, but God's program just keeps moving on.' He also repeats the same principle in another lesson, asking, 'And what did I say at the end of Genesis? God buries his servants, but he never gives them a program.'
Les does not claim to have invented the statement. He says he has read it from several different authors and does not know who originally said it. He repeats it because it captures how God's purposes continue even when His servants are buried.
Genesis closes with Joseph's death at 110 years old; he is embalmed and put in a coffin in Egypt (Genesis 50:26). Yet Joseph's final words promise that God will visit Israel and bring them out of that land to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 50:24). Les points to this exact moment as the illustration of God burying His servants but never His program.
According to Les, God buries His servants—'great men of God come and they go'—but 'God's program just keeps moving on.' The program does not stop with the death of the human leader; the account moves on into Exodus.
At the end of another lesson, Les asks, 'And what did I say at the end of Genesis?' and answers, 'God buries his servants, but he never gives them a program.' The same principle that applied at Joseph's death applies whenever God's servant passes from the scene.
Rahab's Shocking Faith — How a Harlot Ended Up in Jesus' Genealogy
Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Okay, now we like to welcome all our television viewers and as well as our people here in the studio.
The Principle Repeated
In his closing remarks, Les ties the phrase back to the end of Genesis and applies it to the servant he has been discussing, showing that the burial of a servant does not end God's work.
Why the Resurrection Happens in Order — 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
Not as yet revealing the secret of all of God's purposes in His going to the cross. That's going to come a little later. Now as I pointed out in our class just the other night here in Oklahoma, God is sovereign, and He has the prerogative of keeping things secret. And Deuteronomy 29 says that so clearly, that God keeps things secret until He reveals them.
The Mystery of the Church: Why It’s Not in the Old Testament
And the day of vengeance of our God, and to comfort, or to bring in the kingdom all that mourn. Now why did he stop where he stopped? Because Jesus knew that this Old Testament program was going to be interrupted at some point in time shortly after His ascension. And the day of vengeance would not come in, the kingdom would not come in until some later day.
God Buries His Servants, Not His Program
Les explicitly explains that great men of God come and go, but God's program keeps moving on—seen when Genesis ends with Joseph's coffin and Exodus picks up the account.
The Abrahamic Covenant: Why God Chose Israel & What It Means For Us
He's doing everything for their benefit, albeit there will be generations in here who passed in the scene and out of the scene, and they're lost. I mean, that's just something that we can't reconcile in human thinking, but God knows what He's doing.
8 Privileges God Gave Only to Israel — Romans 9:4 Explained
But the little nation of Israel has been great in so many other ways, and they still are, and they will be. In fact, I made mention at some point in time when their Prime Minister was assassinated here some time ago. What other little nation on earth of less than 5 million people within their borders, what other little nation on earth could have commanded all the big wheels of all the superpowers …
Why Israel Was Blinded — Romans 11 Explained Verse by Verse
That's not my job. My job, I feel, is to just simply open the Scriptures, and then let people search the Scriptures and decide for themselves. So much for announcements. Let's get back into the book then in chapter 11. In the last program we talked about the fact that God has not cast aside His people Israel. They are still in God's program.
Genesis 50:24: And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Joseph's final recorded words show that the covenant promise to the patriarchs would continue after his death.
Genesis 50:25: And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
Joseph's instruction to carry his bones to Canaan reveals his confidence that God would fulfill His program.
Genesis 50:26: So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
The book of Genesis ends with Joseph's burial, the precise illustration Les uses for God burying His servant while His program moves on.
It means the death of a servant of God, no matter how important, does not end God's purposes. Les uses Joseph's death at the end of Genesis to show that the servant is buried, but God's program keeps moving on.
Les says it is not original with him. He says he has read it from several different authors and does not know who first said it.
Genesis ends with Joseph dying at 110 years old and being placed in a coffin in Egypt, yet Joseph's earlier words promise that God will bring Israel to the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Les points to this as the classic example that God buries His servants but never His program.
Watch the Teaching: Rahab's Shocking Faith — How a Harlot Ended Up in Jesus' Genealogy