Joseph the Beloved Son

OBJECTIVE

The theme for the Old Testament module in 1st grade is learning about the Fathers of our church. The Fathers taught us what it means to obey and have ultimate faith in God. The story of Joseph represents Joseph's love and faith in God.

God's promise to Abraham is the storyline for the rest of the Old Testament. The book of Genesis tells how the promised family began to grow and how God preserved that family through trials.

This story presents God at work behind our suffering to bring about the best possible outcome. Even Joseph was the victim of his brother's sin, God was with him and blessed him. Be sure to emphasize that God was keeping his promise through saving Joseph and the promised family. The story of Joseph represents Joseph's love and faith in God.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

Our Bible Story is going to be about Joseph, his brothers and his father. We will learn a little about Joseph's family. I want you to think about some things that people in your family like to do. What does your mom like to do? What does your dad like to do? What does your sister or brother like to do? (Write these ideas on the white board)

We are going to play "Family Charades". You are going to act like people in your family doing different things and we are going to try to guess what you are doing. Who's ready to play?

How many brothers and sisters do you have? What is the proper way to treat our siblings?

What kinds of things do you do together?

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Memory Verse

"You meant evil against me, but God meant it for Good" (Genesis 50:20)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 10 Minutes

Joseph's Family: Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 37:2). He had 11 brothers and 1 sister. The brothers were all jealous of Joseph because their father loved Joseph the most out of all of them. His father loved him the most because he had Joseph when he was very old.

Joseph's brothers feared him because Joseph always had dreams in which he appeared greater than his brothers. In one dream he and his brothers were tying up bundles of grains (sheaves) and Joseph's sheave rose up and his brother's sheaves bowed down to Joseph's. In another dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph. Jacob (Joseph's father) did not like these dreams.

One day, the brothers decided to kill Joseph, but the oldest son, Reuben, convinced them not to do so. Instead, the brothers threw Joseph in a pit, took his coat, and sold him for twenty gold coins to merchants traveling to Egypt. The brothers killed a goat and smeared its blood on Joseph's coat. They took the coat back to Jacob and Jacob concluded that a wild animal must have killed Joseph.

Joseph sold as a slave: Joseph was sold to Potiphar in Egypt, a captain of the guards. Potiphar saw that Joseph was faithful to God, so he made him an overseer of his house. Potiphar's wife was trying to trick him into being unfaithful. Joseph refused and when he fled from her, she took Joseph's clothes. Potiphar's wife took the clothes to his husband and lied to him about Joseph. Potiphar sent Joseph to prison.

Joseph interpreting pharaoh's dreams: Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams.

Pharaoh's first dream: He dreamed of 7 fat cows followed by 7 skinny cows predicting seven years of plenty (crops) and seven years of famine (no crops). Joseph advised Pharaoh to store one-fifth of the crops each year to save for the years of famine. Pharaoh set Joseph free and he became the Lord of Egypt.

When famine came to his homeland in Canaan, ten of Joseph's brothers were sent to Egypt by Jacob to buy some grains. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Joseph put his brothers in prison for three days then sent them home and told them to have their youngest brother (Benjamin) come.

Later, Joseph told his brothers who he was and wept. He told his brothers to bring their father and his family to Egypt. Joseph's brothers were fearful that Joseph would repay them for all the harm they had done after their father's death. His brothers asked him for forgiveness and Joseph said, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for Good" (Genesis 50:20).

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 Minutes

• Who was the main character of the Bible story today? Joseph
• Who was Joseph's father? Jacob (Israel)
• Why did Joseph's brothers not like him? He was his father's favorite
• How did his brothers know that their father liked Joseph the best? He gave him a colorful robe
• What did the brothers do to show their distaste for Joseph? They threw him in a well -- then sold him
• Joseph forgave his brothers for all of the pain they caused. Therefore, we should learn to forgive others when they do wrong towards us (expand on this point).
• Joseph showed bravery against Potiphar's wife and did not fall into sin. How can we show bravery?
• Joseph stayed faithful to God and did not sin against his brother's or Potiphar's wife. How can we stay faithful?

LIFE APPLICATION - 5-10 Minutes

What are some things we can learn from Joseph the Beloved? How can we apply these things to our lives?

• There are many valuable lessons we can learn from Joseph. Joseph was faithful to God and kind to his brothers despite the hardships that they put him through. Let's try to remember these important lessons and apply them to our lives.

ACTIVITY - 15 Minutes

• Worksheet - Have students color and complete the attached worksheet.
• Craft Option 1: Pipe Cleaners
  • Use the template attached below to trace onto thick paper (such as construction paper) and add different colored pipe cleaners or tissue paper onto the coat.
  • Cut a piece of construction paper in the shape of a coat.
  • Have children glue different colored pipe cleaners on it.

• Craft Option 2: Tissue Paper

1. Use the attached coloring page and have children glue different color squares of tissue paper on the coat.
2. Have them color the rest of the picture.

SERVANT RESOURCES

• Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors (lesson and activity ideas)
• Additional visual aids and story illustrations: FreeBibleimages
• Refer to the Old Testament Timeline attached for major events and chronological order through the Bible.
• Little Flock Episode 9 - Joseph (starts at 7:20)
• Video (start 1 minute into the video): Joseph Coat of Many Colors

• Old Testament Books Song- Missing Deuterocanonical books (Tobit and Judith from history books, Wisdom and Sirach from poetic books, Baruch, 1&2 Maccabees from prophetic books, and the Prayer of Manasseh)

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Today we spoke about Joseph the Beloved. We discussed the relationship he had with his brothers. He stayed faithful to God despite how cruel they were to him. In the end, Joseph rewarded his brothers despite how they treated him. Talk with your children about the lessons they can learn from Joseph's story and how they can apply them to their lives.

LESSON ATTACHMENTS