LESSON 7: Joseph and his Dreams

We learned the story about how God changed Jacob’s heart and gave him a new name, Israel. Joseph was one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Jacob loved Joseph the most because he had him when he was old. This made Joseph’s brothers very jealous. Joseph would also tell his father when his brothers did bad things, which made them even angrier. Have you ever had a dream? Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a former president, said it’s good to dream and work hard to make those dreams come true. Let’s hear about Joseph’s dreams.

One day, Joseph had a dream. He told his brothers, and they got very angry. In the dream, Joseph and his brothers were tying up wheat in the field. Joseph’s bundle stood up tall, and his brothers’ bundles all bowed down to it. The brothers didn’t like hearing this. They asked, “Do you think you will be a king and rule over us?” They became even more jealous. Joseph had another dream. This time, he saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him. When he told his father and brothers, his father scolded him, saying, “Do you think your mother, brothers, and I will bow down to you?” But his father thought about it in his heart, while his brothers grew even more jealous.

One day, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers, who were watching their sheep. When the brothers saw Joseph from far away, they decided to hurt him. They said, “Here comes the dreamer! Let’s kill him and tell our father that a wild animal ate him. Then we’ll see what happens to his dreams.” The oldest brother, Reuben, didn’t want to hurt Joseph. He said, “Let’s throw him in this well instead. We won’t hurt him, and I’ll come back to save him later.” When Joseph reached his brothers, they took off his fancy coat and threw him into the dry well.

Joseph must have been scared and sad. He probably cried a lot. The brothers didn’t care. They sat down to eat. Suddenly, they saw a group of traders heading to Egypt. Judah, one of Joseph’s brothers, said, “What good will come from killing him? Let’s sell him to the traders instead. After all, he’s our brother.” The brothers agreed and sold Joseph to the traders for 20 pieces of silver. The traders took Joseph to Egypt.

When Reuben came back to the well and found Joseph was gone, he was upset. He tore his clothes and told the brothers, “Joseph is gone! What do we do now?” The brothers had an idea. They killed a goat, soaked Joseph’s coat in its blood, and showed it to their father. They said, “We found this. Is it your son’s coat?” Jacob recognized it and said, “Yes, it’s Joseph’s coat. A wild animal must have eaten him.” Jacob was so sad that he tore his clothes and refused to be comforted. He said, “I will mourn for Joseph forever.” Meanwhile, the traders who bought Joseph sold him to Potiphar, a captain in the Egyptian palace. This is how Joseph ended up in Egypt.