The Brothers’ Guilty Conscience

 So Joseph’s brothers did not recognize him and were bowing before him. They were asking for food since there was a great famine across all the land. Joseph was in charge now, because God interpreted Pharaoh’s dream through Joseph. Joseph stored up a lot of food during the good years, because he knew that the famine was coming. He looked down on his brothers and remembered the dream that he had when he was just a little kid.


  "You say that you have come to Egypt to buy food?” Joseph said harshly as the brothers nodded yes. “I don’t believe you! I think that you are ten spies sent here to check out the land and scope out our wealth.”Joseph snarled.
  “No, no, really sir. We are just ten brothers wanting to buy food. Our father and little brother are still back in Canaan waiting for us. We had one more brother, but he is no longer with us.” They said humbly .
  “If you are telling the truth, then leave one of your brothers here in prison and bring back your little brother.” Joseph said. “You will leave with food for your family, but this one,” Joseph pointed at Simeon, “will be left behind until you return with your little brother.”
 “Please sir!” Rueben begged. “Our father did not send our little brother along with us because of what happened to our other brother (Joseph). It would kill him if anything happened to him.”


 Joseph remembered how his brothers threw him into a pit, and the sold him as a slave to passing merchants. His brothers figured that Joseph was probably dead by now. If they only knew that they were speaking to the one they treated so badly, I wonder what they would have done.
 “Go!” Joseph commanded. “Or you will all be locked up!”
 Simeon was bound in front of his brothers and led off. The brothers got their food and headed home.
 On the way back to Canaan, Judah stopped to get something out of his pack that was on his donkey. He was shocked when he saw that the silver that he had used to buy some of the food, was back in his pack!
“How could this be?” Judah shouted.

 “What?” His brothers responded.
 “ Look!” He held out the silver. “It’s all the silver that I paid for my food!”
 The brothers were all scared to death now. Through some kind of mistake, Judah ended up with the silver. When Pharaoh finds out about this...... they knew it wouldn’t be good. Pharaoh would accuse them of stealing and have them either killed or imprisoned. They thought that they were being punished for selling Joseph. They had no idea that Joseph had told his servants to put all the silver that the brothers had brought with them to buy food back into their traveling packs.


 When they got home and were unloading their stuff in front of their father, Jacob, they saw that all their packs were filled with silver!
 Jacob cried out in fear. “What have you done?” And he tore his clothes. (That was a sign of distress in those days. I think mom would get mad if we tore our clothes every time we got upset now. Don’t you?)
“We didn’t do it father!” The brothers answered.
In the back of their minds, the brothers were still thinking that God was punishing them for what they had done to Joseph.
 Then the brothers explained all that had happened in Egypt and how Pharaoh wanted them to bring their little brother, Benjamin  back to prove that they are not spies.

 “Never!” Said Jacob. “I lost Joseph thirteen years ago. Now I’ve lost Simeon! There is no way that Benjamin is going to Egypt! I’m not going to lose him too!”
 Judah said, “I will not return to you if anything happens to Him. You have my word and my life father”
After weeks and weeks of arguing, the family was out of food again. Finally Judah put his foot down. "We could have been there and back two times in the time it has taken us to resolve this. Let us go father. Benjamin with be safe with me!”
 Finally Jacob said alright, but he made them take double the silver and a few gifts with them. The brothers, with Benjamin, headed back to Egypt.... To face Joseph again.






 Did you ever do something wrong and then felt like God was punishing you.  That’s how Joseph’s brothers felt. God is in control of everything, that’s true, but a lot of times we are suffering the consequences of our own decision to do the wrong thing. When someone goes to jail for robbing a bank, that is not God punishing them. It is the consequence of a bad choice. We all make bad choices. Things that we know are wrong. Things we know that God doesn’t like. God doesn’t like us to make bad choices, because He knows that there are consequences. He wants the best for us. The less time we spend paying for our mistakes, the more time we have to love Him. That’s what He wants.

Isaac Gives His Blessing (GN 27)

You thought the story of Esau and Jacob and the soup was crazy... wait till you hear this one!

So Isaac,(Jacob and Esau's father) was getting very old. He couldn't even see anymore. He knew that he had better give his son his blessing before he died. The blessing put one son in charge of everything after the father died. The blessing was a big deal!

"Esau!" Isaac called.

"I'm here father."

"Take your bow and go into the fields. Bring back something and cook it up just the way I like it!" I'm getting old and I want to give you my blessing before I die." Isaac said.

Isaac's wife Rebekah was listening at the door.

Rebekah called to her other son Jacob. "I overheard your father tell Esau to hunt some food, cook it and bring it to him, and he will give him his blessing! Hurry Jacob! Run out to the barn, grab a nice fat goat, and I will cook it just the way your father likes it. Then you can bring him his favorite meal and he'll give YOU his blessing!"

The funny thing was that God had already told Rebekah that Jacob was going to be in charge of everything! She lied and cheated to make something happen that God was already planning to do! Do you think that was right? She didn't trust God. She trusted her own lies and tricks more.

The Bible says that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Have you ever put yourself first instead of waiting for God? The Bible says to give and you will receive. Have you ever kept something for yourself because you didn't trust God enough?

"It's not going to work mother!" Jacob said. "Esau is hairy! I am smooth skinned! For sure my father will want to hug me during the blessing and know that I tricked him! My father will curse me.... not bless me!"

"Just do as I say!" Replied Jacob's mother. "I'll take the curse if my plan doesn't work!" With that, Jacob ran out to the barn. He brought back a nice fat goat and Rebekah cooked it up just the way Isaac liked it!

Rebekah had already laid out Esau's clothes for Jacob to wear. After getting dressed, Jacob's mother took the goat's skin and wrapped it over Jacob's arms and hands so that he would feel hairy like Esau.

...........see if you can come up with something funny that Jacob is saying to his mother.............

Jacob took the meal to his father. "I'm back father and I've done just as you asked me. " Jacob handed his father the food.

"How did you hunt it and cook it so fast my son?" Isaac asked.

"With the Lord's help." Jacob quickly responded.

"Come closer so I can smell you and touch you my son." Isaac said. "You sound just like Jacob!

"Ah but you ARE Esau... you smell and feel like Esau." Isaac ate the food and gave his blessing to Jacob, who he thought was Esau! The blessing is in Genesis 27:28-29.

As soon as he got the blessing, Jacob took off. A few minutes later Esau showed up with some food. "Here is your favorite meal just as you had asked father." Easu said with a smile. He couldn't wait for the blessing and handed Isaac the bowl.

"What is going on? I just gave Esau the blessing. who are you?" Isaac asked

"I AM Esau, your oldest son, father."

Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. "Your brother tricked me into giving him my blessing!"

"Bless me too father." Esau begged. "There must be some blessing left over!"

"No, I'm sorry son. I made Jacob ruler over all, including you and your servants. There is nothing else." Isaac said.

"Please father! Anything! Something!" Esau was crying like a baby.

"There is nothing I can do, you will serve your brother." Isaac said as Esau lowered his head and left with tears in his eyes.

The twins- Jacob and Esau Genesis 25

When Isaac grew up, he married Rebekah. One day Rebekah told Isaac that she was going to have twins. She knew this because God told her so. God told her that her two sons would become two nations. He also told her that the older son would serve the younger..... which was not the usual way in Rebekah's time.

When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, she did have twins, just like God said. The first baby was very hairy and the second was not. The funny thing was that the second baby was holding the heel of the first baby when they were born!

Here is a coloring page for you. Click on picture and print.

God made us all different. You are not exactly the same as your brother or sister. How did God make you different? Why does God make us different? Because we all have a different purpose. We all have a special job that God has planned for us to help Him build His kingdom.(Eph.2:10)

Isaac and Rebekah named the twins Esau (which means hairy) and Jacob ( which means heel).

The twins grew up and Esau became a strong hunter. Jacob was a quiet stay at home kinda guy. He liked to cook with his mom.

One day Esau came back from a day of hunting. He smelled something delicious. Jacob was cooking up some of his famous Red Stew. " Give me some of that stew my brother!" Esau said

Jacob replied, "If you trade me your birth right, you can have all the stew."

Even though they were twins, Esau was born first, right before Jacob, so he got all the special favors, rights, blessings and inheritance. This is called the birth right.

Are you a twin? or the oldest in your family? or do you like to cook? do you love the outdoors?

Esau thought to himself, "I am starving to death, what good is the birthright if I'm dead!" So he traded his birthright to Jacob for a big bowl of red stew.

Have you ever done something without really thinking, and then regretted it later?

The Bible says that we should wait on the Lord.(Isaiah 30:18) Pray and ask God for guidance. (Psalm 27:11) We don't have to have everything we want right away. If we learn to be patient and persevere it builds our character.(Rom.5:3-4)