Isaiah 49-56 Gods Plan for You and for All People (Merry Christmas!)

 Chapter 49 is amazing. God is telling Isaiah to speak to the people in the words of Jesus. (who wasn't even born for another 700 years) I know that sounds a bit confusing. So, let's just think of it as Jesus telling us what will happen. He said that before He was even born, God already had a plan in place for Him. In Psalm 139:13, God says the same thing about us. He says, "I knit you together in your mother's womb." God knew us even before we were in our mother's womb! He created us.... and get this.... He created us with a purpose! God has a plan for you, just as He had a plan for Jesus. God's ways are so unimaginable. He can have a plan for each individual person and, as he states in verse 3, He also has a plan for nations! Wow! I can't even wrap my brain around that! I'm glad that I cannot completely understand the ways of God. It tells me that His thoughts are way above mine. Since He is good, I must trust that His plan is not only good, but the best plan ever! We all have dreams and try to think about what our lives will be like. Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? God knows, and He has created you with special gifts and special desires to do that special something.

One of the plans that God has for Jesus, it to bring the message and hope of salvation to the whole world. During Isaiah's time, only the Jews were thought of as God's people, but with the coming of Jesus, the whole world will have an opportunity to live with God forever. Verse 6 says I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” In John 3:16 it says that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son. That whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life." As Christmas time approaches, it is good to reflect on the purpose of Jesus coming to earth. It was a fulfillment of the plan that God had ordained from the beginning of time. Genesis, the first book of the Bible says that Satan will bite, but Jesus will crush him.

The rest of chapter 49 tell of God's amazing promises to Israel and to us. One of the coolest promises is in verse 15b-16. I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; The God of the universe has your name engraved on his hand! First of all, He must have some really, really big hands. Second of all, He must think an awful lot of us to have our names permanently "tattooed" on His hands.

Chapter 50 begins with the Jews thinking that God has forsaken them because He has now reached out to the Gentiles. But God tells the Jews that He has not given up on them. This was all part of is plan. Then Jesus continues to tell the plan about how He, God's servant, will come and suffer. Luke 22 also talks about this. Then at the end of the chapter, Jesus pleads with us to trust in Him.

In Chapter 51 The Lord pleads with all people to listen to Him. Verse 1 begins with "listen" Verse 4 begins with "listen" and verse 7 begins with "listen." He says that He has been faithful in the past and promises the same for the future, and that His salvation is forever, and that they should fear Him, (God) and not man. Matthew 10:28 says the same thing. Verse 9 and verse 17 both begin with "Awake awake!" Awake to  how awesome God is, and awake to the fact that he is powerful and just. 

Chapter 52 also begins with "Awake, awake!" It is a call to Zion (Jerusalem). Listen to what He (God) is saying and listen to the good news (Gospel) that will be relayed through men. Verse 7 says How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” In other words, God loves when we share the good news of Jesus with others. Have you ever thought if God cares about whether or not I tell others about how Jesus changed my life? Well He does. He ends chapter 52 telling about how Jesus will suffer, but He will have the ultimate victory. Isn't it amazing how much Jesus is talked about in this book and it was written 700 years before He was even born. And many of the prophesies are so detailed that it would be a one in a gadzillion chance that it could ever happen by accident! 

Chapter 53 continues with Jesus' suffering and how His death atoned (paid a debt) for our sins. We are all sinners. The text says the we are like sheep and have all gone astray. But Jesus took our sins upon Himself and God accepted that payment for all our sins, past, present and future.  It is truly an amazing gift that God has offered to us. But we must accept it. In Romans 9:10 It says that  If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior? God is offering this wonderful gift to you. If you want to spend eternity with God and allow Jesus to be Lord of your life, God makes it available to everyone, from the rich to poor, the healthy to sick, the tall to short. Just do the ABCs. Admit that you are a sinner and you need Jesus. Believe in your heart that He died for your sins and rose from the dead. And Confess with your mouth that from now on, Jesus is in control of your life. If you did that just now, the angels are throwing a huge party in heaven!

Chapter 54 discusses how God will restore Israel, and His promise to them of peace, prosperity and protection. Then in Chapter 55 God call to all who can hear His voice, that they to can be restored just as Israel will be. God's invitation includes blessing, leadership and forgiveness. But we need to accept His invitation. He is all powerful and keeps His promises. Chapter 56 continues in asserting that His promises are for all the world, and restoration is possible for all nations and all people as individuals.

Next up.... Moses

 I hope you enjoyed and learned something from the series on Joseph.
He is one of my all-time favorite Old Testament characters. There is so much to learn from his life. (Genesis 37:1-50:26)                                                                    

    Let’s review some of the lessons that we took away from studying Joseph’s life and other Bible passages that go along with what we learned.

 1: Jealousy is a sin. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him and it lead to other sins.

 Let us behave decently, not tearing each other down or with jealousy.   Romans 13:13 



2: We can choose the right thing (God’s way) or the wrong thing. Joseph chose to do the right thing.

Hate what is evil and cling the what is good. Romans 12:9



 3: Always do our best at everything we do. Joseph was the best slave EVER!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord.   Colossians 3:23



 4: Sometimes doing the right thing causes problems, but God has a plan. Joseph ended up in prison .
    
Blessed is the man, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil.   1 Peter 3:17
 

 5:Trust God and obey Him... He is working behind the scenes. Joseph became head of the prison.

Blessed is the person who hangs in there during hard times because God promises a crown of glory to those that love Him.   James 1:2



 6: Be patient. God’s time is not our time. Sometimes it takes a while. Joseph was in prison for 13 years.

“I have plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Says the Lord. Jeremiah 29:11


7: God does far more than we can imagine! Joseph became head of Egypt.

God is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or even imagine.   Ephesians 3:20



8: God can change a heart! Judah, (Joseph’s brother who sold Joseph into slavery) became loving and compassionate.

 I will remove from them, their heart of stone, and give them a soft heart of flesh.   Ezekiel 11:19



 9: God is in charge... so don’t take revenge. Joseph could have had his brother’s thrown in jail or killed.

 Don’t seek revenge for yourself, but let God do what He sees fit.   Romans 12:19



10: God forgives us and He wants us to forgive others. Joseph forgave his brothers.

Forgive us as we forgive others.   Matthew 6:12                                    

MOSES

 Next time we will be looking at Moses. Most everyone knows about Moses and the ten commandments and  that he was found in the Nile river as an infant,
 but there are a lot of things that I found out about him. We’ll be looking as some very interesting things in the life of Moses in the upcoming weeks!
God bless you!

The Brothers Return (GN 44 & 45)

So the brothers finally convinced their father Jacob, to let them take Benjamin with them to buy more food. Judah promised his life that Benjamin would be safe.  Jacob prayed for the brothers as they left, but he was very worried.  Why was Jacob so protective of Benjamin? It was because, out of all twelve brothers, Joseph and Benjamin were the only ones born to Rachel. (Rachel was the only woman that Jacob truly loved with all his heart) Rachel had died and Joseph was gone too. Benjamin was all that was left of Jacob’s true love.

  Joseph looked out the window of his castle and saw that the brothers were back. He was so happy when he saw Benjamin with them. He had never met Benjamin because Benjamin was born after he himself had been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers.
"Take those men to my home and prepare a great feast for them.” Joseph told his assistant as he pointed to his brothers.”I will be there at noon to eat lunch with them.”
 Joseph’s assistant did as he was told and brought the brothers to Joseph’s home. The brothers were terrified! This was a very unusual thing to do. Foreigners and shepherds were looked down upon in Egypt and would never be invited into an officials home unless he was planning to ambush them. That’s what they thought.
“If this is about the silver that was in our sacks when we got home,” one of the brothers spoke up. “We have no idea how it got there! We even brought it back plus more to buy more food and gifts for Pharaoh.”
 Joseph’s assistant smiled and said, “God had retuned your silver to you . Don’t worry."
 Just then, Joseph walked in the door. “So you have returned. And with your little brother I see, and how is your father? He asked.
 “Our father is fine.” Said Judah as all the brothers bowed before Joseph.
 Joseph looked at Benjamin. He looked a lot like their mother. Joseph’s eyes filled with tears and he quickly excused himself from the room and found a place to cry so that no one would hear him. He dried his eyes, washed his face and returned to the dining area where his brothers were being seated. Remember Simeon, the brother that was tied up and left behind as assurance that the brothers would return with Benjamin?  He was released and able to join the brothers for lunch. I’m sure he wanted to ask them what took so long. All twelve brothers were together for the first time ever!
 Joseph went and ate in the other room because he could not share a meal with foreigners  although I’m sure he wanted to. All this time, not one of the brothers recognized Joseph as the brother they had sold into slavery 14 years earlier.

Benjamin’s plate was piled twice as high as the others.

 After lunch, Joseph talked with the brothers a while and then sent them on their way with the food that they came for. Before they left, Joseph told his assistant to take his silver cup and put it in Benjamin’s donkey pack.
  After the brothers had been on their way for a while, Joseph told his assistant to take some armed guards and find his silver cup that had been stolen and bring back the thieves. The brothers were startled as Joseph’s men rode up on them. “What’s going on?” They asked.
“Our master’s special silver cup has been stolen.” Replied one of the guards.
“Search us and our packs.” Said Judah confidently. “We would never repay your master’s goodness toward us with evil.”

  Just then one of Joseph’s men pulled the cup from Benjamin’s traveling pack. The brothers were so upset that they all tore their clothes. Benjamin was in shock! The guards escorted the brothers back into Joseph’s home. The brothers threw themselves on the ground, begging Joseph for mercy.
  Judah was the first to speak. “If one of us is guilty lord, then we are all guilty! Lock us all up!”
  “No, no, I would never do that.” Said Joseph. “You are all free to go except your little brother. My silver cup was in his possession!”
  Judah pleaded with Joseph. “Please, please lord! Let me take his place! It was so hard for my father to let Benjamin go with us. He was so afraid that something would happen to him. I promised my father on my life that Benjamin would return home safely. It would kill my father to lose another son! Please lord! Take me instead!”
  We’ll find out next time if Judah gets thrown into prison or not.


 Let’s take a look at Judah for a moment.  Judah was the brother who convinced the others to sell Joseph as a slave.  (GN 37:27) Then when they returned home after selling him, Judah lied to his father and told Jacob that Joseph had been eaten by a wild animal . He even gave his father Joseph’s blood-stained coat as proof.(GN 37:32) He was probably the one who came up with the idea to put animal blood on the coat to deceive his father. It is hard to believe that the Judah that is begging for Benjamin’s life, is the same Judah that sold Joseph and deceived his father. Joseph saw that God had changed Judah’s heart! Do you know someone who lies and cheats all the time? Don’t hate them. Pray for them. If God can change Judah’s heart, he can change someone you know. God doesn’t like the lies and the cheating, but he loves the person. He wants us to love them too.  It’s not easy, but God loves us... even when we make mistakes.

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.

Joseph is freed from prison (Genesis 41)

So, last time we left off, the cupbearer, who promised to put in a good word for Joseph to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, forgot all about Joseph. Joseph spent two more years in prison.

 One night, Pharaoh had two dreams. He called his wizards. He called his magicians. He even called his cupbearer to see if anyone could interpret his dreams, but no one could.  Finally the cupbearer remembered Joseph!

"Remember when you were displeased with me, oh king, and you had me thrown into prison for three days?” The cupbearer asked and the king nodded yes. “Well, I messed up big time. I should have told you about him sooner, but there is a man named Joseph that I met in prison. The baker and I both had dreams the same night and Joseph told us what they meant. He was right both times. I was restored as your cupbearer, and the baker.... well let’s just say that you made sure that he won’t be baking any more bread ever again, just like Joseph said!”

 "Bring him to me at once!” The king demanded.

 Joseph was given clean clothes and shaved before he was brought before Pharaoh. The king told Joseph about both of his dreams. “Can you tell me what they mean? The king asked.

 “No, I can’t” Replied Joseph, much to the dismay of the king.... and the cupbearer. “But God can!”

 “Your dreams are about a seven year abundance. During this time everyone will have more than enough food. Those seven years will be followed by a seven year famine. During this time your kingdom and surrounding countries will not have enough food. If you do not find a wise man that will store up five percent of the food for the first seven years so that you will have enough during the next seven, your kingdom with perish.” Joseph advised the king. 

 The king could see that God was with Joseph. He trusted Joseph’s words and his heart.  Can people see God at work in you? Do they trust you because they know that you are a Christian? We should always live our lives so that people will see God’s goodness and His love in us. That is living for God’s glory!

 The king not only freed Joseph from prison, but he put him in charge of his whole kingdom! The king put a royal robe on Joseph and a gold chain around his neck. He even put the governor’s ring on Joseph’s finger. Joseph had his own personal chariot! Would’t that be cool?  Nothing was done in the kingdom without Joseph’s approval. During the first seven years while Joseph was in charge, there was an abundance of food, just like God had said. Joseph saved some food in storehouses for the famine he knew that was coming. At this time, Joseph married one of the Egyptian official’s daughters and had 2 sons.

 During the famine, people from other countries would travel to Egypt to buy food. Egypt was the only place that had food. Because God was with Joseph, and Joseph obeyed God, Egypt was not only spared disaster from the famine, but it flourished, selling the extra food that they had stored up!

 Joseph’s father Jacob and his brothers were living in Canaan and struggling to eat. “Go to Egypt and buy us some food before we all starve to death.” Jacob told his sons. “But leave Benjamin here.” Benjamin was the youngest. Jacob thought that Joseph had died in the desert and he didn’t want the same thing to happen to Benjamin.

 The brothers left their father and Benjamin behind and went to Egypt and guess who they had to kneel before to ask for food?! Yep, Joseph! Their little brother that they had sold into slavery 13 years ago was now in charge of who gets food and who doesn’t. Joseph recognized them right away, but the brothers didn’t recognize Joseph.

 What do you think Joseph did? What would you have done? We will find out next time :o)

Joseph, from slave to official to prisoner (Genesis 39 &40)

 Hey guys! Joseph was such an interesting guy. Wasn’t he? Let’s do a quick recap of his life so far.
He was sold as a slave by his brothers who told their father that Joseph was dead. Joseph loved God and did was was right and became the best slave ever! Potipher, a big shot in Egypt, saw that God was with Joseph and made him head of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned. Potipher trusted Joseph.

  Potipher’s wife liked Joseph (a little too much) and tried to kiss him on several occasions. Joseph tried to keep his distance from her. When we left off last time, Potipher’s wife tried to make a move on Joseph again, but Joseph ran out of the house so quickly, that he left her holding his cloak. Potipher’s wife was mad! She called her servants and said, “ That slave boy snuck in here and tried to force himself on me! When I screamed, he left in such a hurry that he left his cloak. See!” and she held up Joseph’s cloak.Word got back to Potipher about what Joseph had (supposedly) done.

”How could he do this to me? After I trusted him with all I own?” Potipher asked himself.  He had Joseph thrown into prison!

 Joseph looked around his prison cell at the four gray walls that surrounded him.  Joseph did what was right by running from Potipher’s wife, but he still ended up in prison! That doesn’t seem fair, does it? It seems like God should have shown Potipher the truth. Then Joseph would have been rewarded and Potipher’s wife thrown in prison. But God’s thoughts and his plans are way higher than our own. (Isaiah 55:9) Joseph trusted that God knew what he was doing and he still loved God and became the best prisoner ever!

 Have you ever done the right thing and no one noticed? Or even worse something bad happened to you because you tried to do the right thing? I have. Once when I was in school, someone tried to give me the answers to a test. I didn’t take them and did poorly on the test while most of the class did great because they had the answer sheet. It is hard to do the right thing sometimes, but God wants us to.

Because Joseph was a model prisoner, he became head of the prison. (God is planning something) A short time later, the king threw two of his royal officials into prison with Joseph. One was the king’s personal baker and the other was his cupbearer. The cupbearer would taste the king’s food before the king to make sure that it wasn’t poisoned. I don’t think I would like to have that job!

One night, the baker and cupbearer both had dreams. They told Joseph that they were sad because there wasn’t anyone who could tell them what the dreams meant.
Joseph said that God could tell them what the dreams meant.”Tell me your dreams.” He said.
When the cupbearer finished telling of his dream, God revealed to Joseph what it meant.

“You will be given your job back.” Joseph told the happy cupbearer.
The baker was excited to tell Joseph his dream after hearing the cupbearer’s good news.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.” Joseph said to the baker. The baker’s smile turned to a frown. “Your dream means that the king is going to execute you.” Yikes! That is bad news! The sad baker turned and walked away. Then Joseph said to the cupbearer, “When you get your job back and you are speaking with the king, put in a good word for me.”

“Oh I surely will! Right away! When the king hears how you were wrongly imprisoned, he will have you released . I’m sure!" Said the cupbearer. But three days later the cupbearer got his job back and forgot all about Joseph. Joseph was left in prison for years and years but he continued to love God and obey Him.

 Sometimes being a Christian is not easy, but God has a plan and His plan is much bigger than us. As we go through Joseph’s life, we can see God’s plan working. It is a lot harder to see God’s plan in our own lives, especially when things are not going too well. Trust and obey God and leave the rest up to Him.

Joseph Becomes a Slave (GN 37 & 39)

Poor Joseph! Sold to the Egyptians as a slave! Could you imagine being free to do whatever you want one day and being a slave the next?

Now the brothers had to go face Jacob, their father. What do you think they told him?

Here’s what the brothers did. They took Josephs colorful coat that his father gave him and sprinkled it with blood. Then they gave the bloody coat to their father.                                                                

“We found this on the way back home father.” one of the brothers said. “It looks like some kind of wild animal tore him to shreds!” They continued.

Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son so he was very upset. He screamed and tore his clothes. ( in those days when you tore your clothes on purpose, it was a sign of sadness and hurting). if we tore our clothes on purpose.... we’d get grounded!

Jacob’s sons all tried to comfort him, but he was too upset. “Leave me alone! My son favorite Joseph is dead!” Jacob cried.                                                                                                                                        

 Meanwhile Joseph was sold by the traders that bought him to a very important man named Potiphar.

Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s main guys and Pharaoh was the king. Even though Joseph was in a bad spot, he never stopped loving God or never stopped trusting Him. Sometimes when things go wrong, we start doubting God and His love. We should be like Joseph. He became the best slave ever! Potiphar saw that God was with Joseph in all he did. Potiphar trusted Joseph and made him head of his household and he put him in charge of everything he owned. Joseph even got to live in Potiphar’s very expensive home.

  Everything was going pretty good for Joseph for a couple years. As time went by, Joseph got older and more handsome. One day Potiphar’s wife was alone with Joseph. She tried to kiss Joseph, but Joseph backed away. “Potiphar has put me in charge of everything. He trusts me and I’m not going sin against him or God by kissing you!” Joseph told her and he left.                                                                                  

  As time passed, Joseph kept his distance from Potiphar’s wife. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened before. But Potiphar’s wife made sure that Joseph would be alone with her again. When she got him alone, Potiphar’s wife snuck up on Joseph and gave him a hug and tried to kiss him. Joseph took off so fast, that he left Potiphar’s wife holding his cloak!          

 In hard circumstances, we always have a choice. Most of the time it is easy to see what God would want us to choose. Joseph made Godly choices when he decided to be the best slave that he could be and when he didn’t kiss Potiphar’s wife (and the Bible says that she was very beautiful!)        

We have to remember that God has a plan. Sometimes our life gets a little harder for a while so that God’s plan could work. Hard times make us a better person, and the better person we are, the more God can use us. We should obey God and we have to trust God! Do you think God knows what he is doing? Me too!

Joseph, his coat and his brothers (Genesis37)

I hope you had a great Christmas and New years!

Remember last time we were talking about Isaac, his two sons, Jacob and Esau and how Jacob tricked Isaac into giving him the family blessing? After that happened, Jacob was so afraid of his brother that he left. Jacob and Esau only met one time after that.

Jacob had 12 sons. One of his sons was named Joseph. In the next few blogs, we will be talking about Joseph. he had a most amazing life!

Out of all Jacob’s sons, Joseph was his favorite. Jacob treated Joseph extra special. He even made him a very colorful robe. Joseph loved the robe. he wore it all the time.
But Joseph’s brother’s were jealous of him. They did not like that their father treated him extra special. One day, all the brothers, except Joseph, were tending the sheep just outside of town. Jacob called Joseph over. “Joseph, could you go check on your brother and see if they need any water?”

Joseph left right away. Of course he was wearing his favorite colorful robe that his father gave him. Joseph’s brother’s could see him a mile away wearing it! They got madder and more jealous the closer Joseph came. By the time Joseph reached the brothers, they had already planned on killing him.

Rueben was the oldest. he said, “No we don’t want Joseph’s blood on our hands. We’ll just throw him in this abandoned well. If he dies, he dies.... but we will not have shed his blood.
So they took off Joseph’s robe and tossed him into the dry well. I bet Joseph was scared and hurt. His brother’s were just about to leave, when they saw some rich merchants passing by. One of the brother’s came up with the idea to pull Joseph out of the well and sell him as a slave! So that’s what they did. The brothers traded their brother, Joseph, for 20 coins!
Joseph was probably glad to be out of the well, but I’m sure he was really hurt that his brother’s did that to him. His brother’s did some bad things to Joseph because they were jealous. Jealousy is a sin and it leads to other sins. Whenever I see something that someone has that I wish I had, I have to ask God to help me, because I can feel jealousy starting. God helps me to be happy for the other person. Have you ever felt jealous? It doesn’t feel good does it? Have you ever been happy for someone? It feels good doesn’t it? Next time you start getting jealous, ask God for help. He loves you!!