Today~ 1-9-22
Your Name Shall Be Israel
Last week 1-2-22
Jacob whose name was changed to Israel Genesis 32:22-32
(Questions from the lesson)
Joseph Is Sold By His Brothers Genesis 37:3-36
Genesis 37:1Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied. 14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” 17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?” 31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.
MEMORY VERSE
MATTHEW 5:11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”
we are going to learn about Joseph who had to trust that the Lord was doing something good in his life even when it looked like things were pretty bad.
Does God work out everything good in our lives?
How do we know that?
LESSON TIME!
Sometimes, circumstances in our lives may seem unbearable.
At times we may wonder why we must suffer so greatly.
Although we may not understand why certain things happen to us, we can be confident that our heavenly Father loves us and is working out His good plan in our lives.
If anyone could question God about the circumstances he was facing, it would have been Joseph.
Things were looking pretty bad, and then things got worse.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
Israel favored Joseph. He made him a tunic a (coat) of many colors. In those days a coat with sleeves represented authority.
This favoritism created jealousy and resentment among Israel’s other children.
The Bible teaches that we should not show any favoritism towards others. As brothers and sisters in Jesus, we need to love one another the same.
Favoring one person over another will lead to hurt feelings.
Let’s be careful to love one another without partiality; for Jesus loves us all the same.
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
The Lord gave Joseph two dreams that revealed his future. Through these two dreams, God revealed that Joseph would one day rule over his family.
There would come a day that Joseph’s brothers would bow down to him.
Such a thought was too much for Joseph’s brothers who already resented the favoritism Joseph received.
While the dreams made Joseph’s brothers angry, Israel pondered these dreams with the understanding that God's ways were not as man's ways, for he too had been called to lead as the younger.
Joseph received assurance from God through the two dreams.
God had a plan for his life.
Later on, Joseph would have to keep his eyes on the Lord through some very difficult circumstances.
Trusting in God's Word, alone, gives us the strength, peace, and hope we need to hold fast in the midst of difficult times.
We can rest because we know He will work everything out for good in our lives (Romans 8:28).
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied. 14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” 17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
Joseph displayed a willing and obedient heart to his father; for he faithfully followed his father's command to go to his brothers, knowing he would be taunted, mocked, and hated.
Like Joseph, Jesus came as a willing and obedient servant to the Father, though he knew he would be rejected, mocked, and hated.
Joseph and Jesus are examples for us to be obedient in what we are asked to do, even when it is hard.
What are some hard things your parents ask you to do?
18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
Joseph’s brothers became so consumed with hatred and envy that they plotted together to kill Joseph.
The wickedness they had in their hearts finally came out in full.
Reuben planned to rescue Joseph; so he convinced them to not kill him, but rather to throw him into a pit.
Hatred is a very strong emotion.
As Christians, we are not to hate anyone.
Jesus compared the hatred that we can have in our hearts to murder (Matthew 5:21-22).
In Ephesians 4:31, we are told, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”
As we will see in our story these brothers let their anger get the better of them. They ended up causing great pain for Joseph, Israel, and themselves.
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers had grown so hardhearted they did not even respond to his cries from the pit but planned to let him die the slow, torturous death of starvation and dehydration.
However, God spared his life, and he instead was sold as a slave into a strange, foreign country.
Sometimes we only see the “back” of our lives, but God always sees the “front,” and it’s something beautiful that He is creating.
The Bible always tells us to move forward not to dwell on the past.
Through trials and difficult times, we can grow in spirit by faith in God; we know He will work all things out for our good if we love Him.
God knew Joseph needed to suffer for righteousness’ sake before becoming a leader just as God knows what is best in each of our lives.
We can trust in Him no matter what is going on because God is in control—
He sees our lives as a story that has been read.
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”
31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” 33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.
Joseph’s brothers lied to their father, showing him Joseph's coat soaked in goat's blood.
We see the same deceit Israel had used on his own father earlier in his life.
His sons’ hatred and deceit caused unbearable pain for Israel. Yet, through it all, even Israel's pain was among the things that would work together for good.
See, the trap of lies and deceit: once a lie is told, another lie is often necessary to keep from getting caught, then another lie to cover the additional tracks of deception.
Do you see the picture? What a mess! Eventually, our sin will be found out.
Often one sin leads to another. If and when we do sin, we need to pray, confessing it to the Lord immediately;
Then, in the case of sin like deception, we must make it right with the person we have hurt.
How do you make things right when you hurt someone?
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.
Joseph had been sold as a slave and would be starting a new phase in his life.
There were probably many times Joseph thought that things were not fair or right in his life.
Yet, through all the persecution, he would be blessed;
For he was in the Lord's will, placed perfectly in His eternal plan.
It is amazing that even when life seems out of control, God is still in control.
God’s promises remain true; everything will work for good according to His plan.
Being a Christian and embracing Jesus as Lord does not mean we will not encounter difficult times.
God has called each of His children to be "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29).
We will face trials in our lives just as Joseph did through which God will build character and work His eternal purposes.
Because we are Christians and Jesus is our Lord, however, we can be confident that no matter what may happen, the bible says
“All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
MEMORY VERSE
MATTHEW 5:11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”
PRAYER
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