Part 1 of 9 - Joseph (11th son of Jacob)

Genesis 37

re-told by Debbie Dunn

Story highlights:

* Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph’s dreams where they bowed to him

* Jacob showed his love for Joseph by giving him a multi-colored robe

* Joseph's older brothers threw him into a pit & sold him into slavery

Bible role-play begins:

Narrator #1: Have you ever felt jealous of a brother, sister, cousin, friend, or acquaintance? I know I have!

Narrator #2: What does the Holy Bible have to say about why it is not a good idea to entertain feelings of jealousy?

Narrator #1: Proverbs 14:30 states: "A peaceful mind gives life to the body, but jealousy rots the bones."

Narrator #2: The 10th commandment orders us not to covet. Covet means to be jealous or to envy. In Exodus, 20:17, this commandment states:

Narrator #1: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

Narrator #2: So, let's get back to our story about Jacob, his 4 wives, his 12 sons, and 1 daughter. Sadly, there was a lot of jealousy going on.

Narrator #1: Leah was jealous of her younger sister Rachel because their husband Jacob loved her the best.

Narrator #2: Rachel, who had to wait 14 years to give birth to Joseph, was jealous of Leah, who had 6 sons and 1 daughter.

Narrator #1: Jacob's sons probably felt it was okay to feel jealous of Joseph because their father, Jacob, treated Joseph so much better than them.

Narrator #2: The Bible states in Genesis 37, verse 3, "Now Israel, meaning Jacob, loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age."

Narrator #1: Jacob decided to show this love by ONLY giving 17-year-old Joseph a robe made of many different colors.

Narrator #2: "But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him." [Genesis 37:4]

Narrator #1: One morning, Joseph woke up recalling a very odd dream.

Narrator #2: Joseph said, "Brothers, hear this dream that I have dreamed. In my dream, we were binding sheaves of grain in the field."

Narrator #1: "Behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And believe it or not, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf."

Narrator #2: "His brothers said to him, "Are you trying to tell us that we are supposed to treat you like you are our king? There is no way we would do that!”

Narrator #1: "So they hated Joseph even more for his dreams and for his words." [Genesis 37:8]

Narrator #2: Soon after, Joseph had a second odd dream. "Father, brothers, behold, I have dreamed another dream."

Narrator #1: "In my dream, the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me."

Narrator #2: His father rebuked him and said to him, "Joseph, what is this dream you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

Narrator #1: As a result, "his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." [Genesis 37:11]

Narrator #2: Soon after, his brothers went about 50 miles away to Shechem to pasture their large flock of sheep and goats.

Narrator #1: After they had been gone for a while, Jacob told Joseph to go and see how his brothers and flocks were doing.

Narrator #2: When Joseph arrived in Shechem, he looked this way and that for his brothers.

Narrator #1: A man told him, "Your brothers went to Dothan to continue pasturing the flock."

Narrator #2: Joseph traveled the 15 miles to reach them. His brothers saw him coming from afar and devised an evil plan to kill the dreamer.

Narrator #1: Changing their mind, they ganged up on him, tore off his robe of many colors, and threw him into a pit.

Narrator #2: Later, when they saw a caravan heading to Egypt to sell their goods, they sold Joseph to them as a slave for 20 shekels of silver.

Narrator #1: But how did they plan to cover up their crime? They thought and thought.

Narrator #2: They finally figured out they could kill a goat, dip the robe of many colors in the blood, and claim that a wild animal must have attacked and killed this person.

Narrator #1: When they got home, pretending to be sad and puzzled, they said, "Father, we have found this bloody robe. It looks like the robe you had made for Joseph. Could this be his robe?"

Narrator #2: Jacob cried out, "It is my son's robe. A fierce animal must have torn Joseph to pieces and eaten him!"

Narrator #1: His sons, their wives, and their sister tried their best to comfort their father.

Narrator #2: But for many weeks, Jacob wept and refused to be comforted.

Narrator #1: In the meantime, the Midianites had taken Joseph to Egypt and sold him as a slave to a man named Potiphar. He was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.