Story 12 · Ages 6–12
Joseph's Dreams - God's Plan Unfolds
Joseph has dreams that anger his brothers, leading them to sell him into slavery.
Jacob had twelve sons, but he loved Joseph most of all. Joseph was born when Jacob was old, and Jacob gave Joseph a special gift - a beautiful coat of many colors!
The story
Joseph's older brothers were jealous. "Why does Joseph get a special coat? Father doesn't love us like that!" They began to hate Joseph.
Then Joseph had two dreams. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers were tying up bundles of grain. Joseph's bundle stood up tall, and his brothers' bundles all bowed down to his!
Joseph told his brothers about the dream. They were furious! "Do you think you'll rule over US?" they shouted.
Then Joseph had another dream. The sun, moon, and eleven stars were all bowing down to him! When Joseph told his family, even his father was upset. "Will your mother and I and your brothers really bow down to you?"
The brothers' hatred grew worse. One day, Joseph's father sent him to check on his brothers who were watching the sheep far away. When the brothers saw Joseph coming in his colorful coat, they plotted against him.
"Here comes that dreamer!" they sneered. "Let's kill him and throw him in a pit! We'll say a wild animal ate him. Then we'll see what becomes of his dreams!"
But Reuben, the oldest brother, said, "Don't kill him! Just throw him in this pit." Reuben secretly planned to rescue Joseph later.
When Joseph arrived, the brothers grabbed him, tore off his beautiful coat, and threw him into a deep, empty pit! Joseph cried for help, but they ignored him and sat down to eat lunch!
Then they saw traders passing by on their way to Egypt. Judah had an idea: "Let's sell Joseph as a slave! We'll make money and get rid of him!" So they pulled Joseph out and sold him for twenty pieces of silver. The traders took Joseph far away to Egypt.
The brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's coat in its blood. They brought the bloody coat to their father. "We found this. Isn't it Joseph's coat?"
Jacob was heartbroken! "A wild animal has killed my son!" He cried and cried.
Remember this
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
What did we learn?
But God had a plan! Even though Joseph's brothers meant to hurt him, God was going to use these terrible events for something good. Joseph's dreams would come true, but not in the way anyone expected! Sometimes God allows hard things to happen because He has an amazing plan we can't see yet!
Big idea: God is always with us and loves us very much!