THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
The example of Joseph is an example of faith alone. Joseph had heard that God had announced and promised Abraham, "All the land I will give to you and to your descendants forever" (Gen 13:15, 17).
Therefore, while he was in a foreign land and still did not see the fulfillment of the promise, he did not lose heart. He believed so firmly that he reminded them of the exodus and gave instructions concerning his bones.
Thus he not only believed himself, but also led others up to faith. He gave this instruction so that they would always remember the exodus.
He would not have given instructions concerning his bones if he had not been certain that there would be an exodus.
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If after this someone says, "See, even the righteous cared about graves," we answer him this way: they cared for precisely this reason, and for no other.
They knew that "the earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness" (Ps 23:1). This was not unknown to Joseph, who lived with such philosophy and spent his whole life in Egypt.
He could certainly have returned from there if he had wished, instead of lamenting and grieving.
If, after summoning his father there, he ordered that his bones be carried out from there, is it not evident that this was the reason?
And tell me, do not the bones of Moses himself lie in a foreign land? We do not know where the bones of Aaron, Daniel, Jeremiah, and many apostles lie.
The tombs of Peter, Paul, John, and Thomas are known, while those of very many others are entirely unknown.
But we must not be crushed by this or become fainthearted, wherever we may be buried. "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness."
What must happen necessarily happens. But to shed tears, be crushed, and lament the dead belongs to faintheartedness.