Background Scripture (read 2-3 times during the week)
Story Summary
This lesson covers the first half of the Joseph story that is found in Genesis 37-50. The story of Joseph is one of the most dramatic and riches stories in the whole Bible. A favored son got sold by his brothers into slavery. He rose to prominence in Egypt only to be falsely accused and thrown into prison. God gave him a gift of interpreting dreams that allowed him to not only find his way out of prison and then all the way to second in command of Egypt, but more importantly, God used him to save his people and fulfill his covenant to children of Abraham.
Joseph the Dreamer: The Coat of Many Colors and Two Dreams
Joseph was the second youngest son of Jacob and his favorite. His father, Jacob, made him a richly ornamented robe (often called the “coat of many colors,” but the exact meaning of that phrase in Hebrew is uncertain). It is most likely related to the preference that a father would show to a firstborn (Reuben) but is instead being shown preferentially to his most favored son.
Joseph's brothers were jealous of Jacob's love for Joseph and offended by Joseph's dreams.
- First, Joseph dreamed that they were out binding sheaves of grain. His sheaf of grain rose and stood upright, while his brothers' sheaves bowed down to his. Of course, Joseph couldn't keep this dream to himself, so he told his brothers.
- Then, he had a dream that the sun and moon (his mother and father) and 11 stars (his brothers) were bowing to him. This one actually upset his father too.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
His brothers were so enraged and jealous of his brother that they began to plot to kill him. One day, Jacob sent Joseph to the fields to check on his brothers (notice he was the only one not working in the field - is this further evidence of Jacob's favoritism?) As they saw him approaching, they realized this was their chance to kill him. Reuben was the only one with a soft heart (mostly for his father), and convinced the other brothers to just leave him in a cistern and tell Jacob he was killed by a wild animal. Judah wanted to get something out of it though, and convinced them to sell Joseph into slavery for money. They waited for a caravan of Ishmaelites (also called Midianite traders in the text) to come by and sold him.
Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites while they were traveling to Egypt. The Ishmaelites were descendants of Abraham’s first son, Ishmael. You can remind your students that Abraham also had Isaac. So that means Isaac and Ishmael were half brothers. Isaac had Jacob, who had Joseph. This means Joseph was sold to his great uncle’s family. The Ishmaelites then sold him to Potiphar when they got to Egypt. Potiphar worked for the Pharaoh.
From Prison to Palace: How the Story Ends
Sitting at the bottom of a pit must have felt literally like the lowest Joseph could get. But there were many more twists and turns ahead. God not only saved Joseph, but he used Joseph to save his family and turned his family into the fulfillment of the covenant he made with Abraham. Next week, we will cover how Jacob's family (his 12 sons, including Joseph) would become the people we call the Israelites.
What Kids Should Learn from Joseph's Story
At this point in the story, keep the tension in place for the kids. At this point, all Joseph could do was trust the God would be with him, save him, and use him if he would just keep trusting God. Regardless of how the story ended, that's a great lesson for us all at any point in our lives.
My Notes
What You Will Need
Snack
gingerbread man-shaped cookies, colored icing or colored sprinkles to decorate Joseph's coat
Video Options
From Crossroads Kids Club
From Saddleback Kids Hey-O Series.
From Crossroads Kids Club
Resource Sheet
This coloring sheet depicts Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery.
1 Warm Up get your kids talking and engaged
What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had? Dreams are important in our Bible story today.
2 Teach the Story teach a holistic story
It is very important that you have an overall understanding of the story and can emphasize how Joseph got from the land of Canaan to Egypt. This will set up the story next week when we learn about how Joseph's family came to Egypt.
Read the story from a Children's storybook Bible for younger children.
For older children, read the story from an age-appropriate Children's storybook Bible or tell the story yourself.
3 Bible Mastery give them basic Bible skills
Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud Genesis 37:19-28
4 Comprehension Questions make sure they understand the story
First, ask the children if they have any questions about the story. What to do if you don't know the answer?
- Why were Joseph's brothers jealous of him?
- They were jealous of their father's deep love for Joseph and his dreams of them bowing down to him
- What was Joseph's first dream?
- That his brothers' sheaves of grain bowed down to his sheaf
- What was Joseph's second dream?
- That the sun and the moon and 11 stars were bowing down to him
- What was Joseph's brothers' first plan to harm him?
- To kill him
- What did Joseph's brothers end up doing to him?
- Sold him into slavery
- Who did they sell him to?
- Ishmaelites who were on their way to Egypt
- What did they tell Jacob happened to Joseph?
- A wild animal killed him
- How did they convince Jacob he was dead?
- They put animal blood on his many-colored coat
5 Faith Questions open up a conversation about faith and the gospel; close with prayer
- Have you ever felt like Joseph? Has someone done something wrong to you?
- Even though others might do mean things, God still loves you and God is still with you.
6 Memory Verse hide God's Word in their heart
Robe-shaped Book
- Fold paper in half.
- Cut slits near top of paper on each side.
- Fold sides in toward each other.
- Decorate front of book as Joseph's colorful robe.
- Glue coloring sheet to inside of book.
Colors Game
- Have students sit in chairs, in a circle.
- Choose a child to be Joseph to stand in the middle.
- Joseph calls out a color.
- Any student wearing that color must move to another chair.
- Joseph tries to get a chair from those moving.
Bow Down Freeze Tag
- Choose one person to be it - "Joseph".
- Joseph must tag other players.
- Once a player is tagged, they must bow down on the ground to Joseph.
- They cannot rejoin game, unless one of their teammates comes to untag them.
- Object of game is for Joseph to get all other players bowing down to him.
Fruit Loop Robe
- Glue fruit loops to robe.
Tissue paper Robe
- Bunch up pieces of tissue paper.
- Glue to robe outline.
Coffee Filter Robe
- Have students color the coffee filter with washable markers.
- Spritz filter with a fine mist of water.
- Allow to dry.
Jealousy lesson
- Give class small plain cookies while the teacher eats a large, fancy decorated cookie.
- Do not make a big deal about the difference.
- Wait for students to comment.
- Ask students how they felt when they were given the small plain ones and had to watch the teacher eat the large, decorated cookie.
- They may have been mad or upset or think it isn't fair.
- That feeling is jealousy. Joseph's brothers felt jealous that they were treated differently than Joseph.
- Ask the students if they have ever felt jealous about anything.
- Remember to focus this activity on Joseph and his brothers, rather than just the idea of jealousy.
Bible Verse Robe
- Place colored cards in balloons prior to class.
- Split class into two teams.
- Each team chooses someone to be Joseph and wears a robe.
- Each team must pop balloons to get out their verse cards.
- Once balloons are popped, each team must attach them in order on the back of Joseph's robe (use masking tape).
- First team to get verse correct wins.
Collect the Coats Game
- Play this fun and exciting variation of the Spoons card game to introduce a lesson about Joseph.
- The goal is to be the first to collect 4 of the same single-colored coat cards.
- And as soon as any player succeeds in doing this, don't be the last to grab a multi-colored coat card from the center of the table!
- (From biblegamescentral.com)
Step by Step Drawing Joseph
- Give each child a piece of paper and a marker
- Follow the step by step instructions at the video below to draw Joseph
Bible Verse Scavenger Hunt
- Scatter the words around the room (taped to the bottoms of tables or chairs, stuck in a door jamb or baseboard, taped to the teacher’s back, etc.).
- Once the kids have found all of the words, have them build the verse on a paper cut out of a bathrobe or have someone wear an actual bathrobe if available.
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