Joseph
Joseph’s parents were called Jacob and Rachel. They had a very large family but Joseph was their favourite child.
Joseph was given a really nice coat by his dad, but it made his brothers jealous! They tried to get rid of him and he ended up in another country. After a few adventures – including being thrown into prison for something he didn’t do! – he got a job working for the King (Pharaoh) because he was able to explain what some very strange dreams the King was having meant. Genesis 41:39 says “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are.”” (New Living Translation)
Joseph was wise and brave, he helped the whole country get ready for a time when there was very little food. God had put him in the right place, at the right time. He ended up helping his own brothers – even though they had not been very nice to him.
His brothers didn’t have any food in their own country either; so they came to see if Egypt, where Joseph was, had any food to share with them. Joseph had grown up so much that they didn’t recognise him...and they would never have imagined that he would be the Prime Minister! He could have had them thrown out of the country or sent to jail, but instead he invited the whole family to move to Egypt. This meant that they would never have to worry about not having enough food again.
Joseph had a strong faith in God. A number of people tried to harm him but God always turned it round and brought good out of it. Joseph trusted God even when nothing seemed to go right. And when he had the chance to hurt people who had hurt him – he did the right thing!
To find out more, read...Genesis chapter 37
Genesis chapter 41
and watch Friends and Heroes...
Series 1 Episode 11, “Horseplay”
Series 3 Episode 32, “Senators First”
We have a song about
Joseph too...
Joseph, Joseph - Click here to see the words
or click here to hear a sample of the song
