Joseph is Sold
After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, his youngest son Benjamin was born. Now Jacob had twelve sons. Of all Jacob’s children, Joseph was his favorite. He loved Joseph because he was Rachel’s child, and because he was the son of his old age. Joseph was also a good boy, faithful and thoughtful. Jacob made Joseph a special coat, a mark of his favor to Joseph. It made his older brothers very jealous.
One day Joseph said, “Listen to this dream. I dreamed we were out in the field binding sheaves when suddenly my sheaf stood up, and all your sheaves bowed down to my sheaf.”
His brothers answered scornfully, “Do you think that you will rule over us, and we will bow down to you?”
A few days later Joseph said, “I have dreamed again. This time I saw the sun and the moon and eleven stars all come and bow down to me.”
Now Joseph’s brothers hated him more than ever. They would not speak kindly to him. But his father gave much thought to what Joseph had said.
One time Joseph’s brothers were taking care of their flocks far away from home. Jacob asked Joseph to go see whether all was well with them.
When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they said, “Look, here comes the dreamer. Let’s kill him.” But Reuben pitied Joseph and persuaded the others to put him into a nearby pit instead. He planned to later return Joseph to his father.
While they sat down to eat their dinner, a group of Midianite merchants came down the road. The brothers decided to sell Joseph, their own brother, for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants took Joseph to Egypt. He was very sad.
Then the brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph’s special coat into the blood. When their father Jacob saw the bloody coat, he thought Joseph had been killed by a wild beast. He mourned for Joseph.
Genesis 37
Joseph is sold for twenty pieces of silver.
Parents:
Where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. (James 3:16)
Children:
1. Who had a coat of many colors?
2. Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him?
3. What did they do with Joseph?