For a long time, Rachel, Joseph's beautiful wife, was not able to have children although she wanted them very much. Her sister Leah had several children and Rachel was probably not very happy. She would have prayed to God asking Him to help her have a child and finally one day, God gave her a baby son.
Jacob and Rachel called his name Joseph and he grew up to be a lovely boy whom them were very proud of. Joseph's brothers could sense that he was the favourite son and they became very jealous of him.
How do you feel when you get a special present? How would you feel if your brother or sister were given one but not you? Would you say it wasn't fair and sulk? or would you be happy for them? Well, Jacob gave Joseph a special coat. It showed that Joseph was to be the most important son. His brothers were most unhappy about it
And when Joseph was about 17 years old he had two dreams about his family bowing down to him. They were special dreams, sent by God, to tell Joseph and his family what was soon to happen, but they only made his brothers even more angry and jealous.
Not long after this, all the brothers except Joseph went off with the sheep to look for good pasture. Joseph stayed home with his father but when they were gone a long time, Jacob sent Joseph off to find out if they were well. When Joseph came to the place where they should have been, they were not there. However, a man saw Joseph wandering around and was able to tell him where his brothers had moved to.
When Joseph's brothers looked up and saw Joseph in the distance coming toward them in his fine coat, they let themselves be carried away by the jealousy they felt and plotted to kill him! Reuben, the oldest brother however, did not want him killed. Instead he suggested they throw him into a nearby pit instead. They took his coat from him and threw him down into the pit and then sat down not far away to have a meal.
As they were eating, some men came by with their camels. They were on their way to Egypt to sell their goods. One of the brothers came up with the idea of selling Joseph and then they would be rid of him.
So Joseph was pulled up out of the pit and sold to the traders for twenty pieces of silver. He cried and pleaded with his brothers. But they didn't listen. When he was gone, they tore his coat and dipped it in blood and took it home to their father pretending that a wild animal had killed Joseph. Jacob was overcome with grief thinking that Joseph was dead.
Now the brothers had a horrible secret. They had done something terrible and then lied about it.
Things to Remember
Discussion
It is not always easy to be glad for someone else when they get something good and you don't. It's easy to become jealous. God wants us to learn to be unselfish and to be happy for other people. But we all do wrong things sometimes. When we do, God wants us to own up to them and ask for forgiveness.
Why did Joseph's brothers not like him?
What did they do to get rid of him?
How do you think they might have felt once Joseph was gone?
Activity Suggestions
Draw a picture of Joseph and his coat. Make it very colourful!
Take a big paper grocery bag and paint it all over in different colours. You may need to let each side dry before painting the next side. Make arm holes and a head hole. Now you have a coat of many colours!