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- After Abraham’s wife Sarah died, what did Abraham do for his son Isaac to comfort him?
-Abraham found a wife for his son Isaac.
- What was the name of Isaac’s wife?
-Rebekah.
- How did God know everything about Rebekah’s twins before they were born?
-God knows everything about all people.
-There is nothing hidden from God.
- What were the names of the twin boys which Rebekah gave birth to?
-Esau and Jacob.
- Did Esau believe in God?
-No.
- Did Jacob believe in God?
-Yes.
- Why did God choose to send the Savior through the line of Jacob?
-Because Esau did not believe in God.
- What did Jacob see in the dream God gave him?
-Jacob saw a ladder.
- Where was the bottom end of the ladder touching?
-The bottom end of the ladder was touching the earth.
- To where was the top end of the ladder reaching?
-The top end of the ladder reached into heaven.
- What did it mean that the ladder was touching the earth and reaching into heaven?
-The ladder was bringing the earth and heaven together.
- Why did God give Jacob this dream?
-God was teaching Jacob about the Savior who would come.
- What was God teaching Jacob about the Savior?
-Just as the ladder was bringing earth and heaven together, God would send the Savior who would bring people on earth and God in heaven together.
- Why can God not forget His promise to send the Savior?
-Because God cannot forget.
-Because God cannot change.
-Because God always keeps His promises.
- After Jacob had lived many years in Haran, what did God tell him to do?
-God told Jacob to leave Haran and to return to the land of Canaan.
-Who protected Jacob and brought him safely back from the land of Haran to the land of Canaan?
-God.
Let’s read Genesis 37:1
1-Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
-What was the new name that God gave to Jacob?
-Israel.
Let’s read Genesis 37:3
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 a richly ornamented robe for him.
-How many sons did Jacob have?
-Twelve.
-Jacob had twelve sons, but he loved one of his sons more than the others.
-What was the name of the son that Jacob loved more than any of his other sons?
-Joseph.
-Because Jacob loved Joseph more, he made a richly ornamented robe for Joseph.
-Because Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons, what did Joseph’s brothers think of Joseph?
-They were jealous of Joseph, and hated him.
-Joseph’s brothers also hated Joseph because Joseph would tell his father when his brothers did something wrong.
Let’s read Genesis 37:2 & 4
2-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.
4-When his brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
-Why do people get angry with other people?
-Why do people hate other people?
-Because everyone has been born separated from God.
-Because everyone has been born with sin in their hearts.
-Because everyone has been born as children of Satan.
-Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph because they were born separated from God.
-Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph because they were born with sin in their hearts.
-Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph because they were born as children of Satan.
-Everyone has been born separated from God, and we cannot change ourselves.
-Everyone has been born with sin in their hearts, and we cannot change ourselves.
-Everyone has been born as children of Satan, and we cannot change ourselves.
-One day, God gave Joseph a dream.
Let’s read Genesis 37:5-8
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.
-What was the dream God gave to Joseph?
-In the dream, Joseph and his brothers were binding sheaves of grain in a field.
-Then, the sheaves of grain of the brothers bowed down to the sheaf of grain of Joseph.
-Because of the dream that God gave Joseph, Joseph’s brothers hated him even more.
-Sometime later, God gave Joseph a second dream.
Let’s read Genesis 37:9-11
9-Then Joseph 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.
-What was the second dream God gave to Joseph?
-In the dream, there were the sun, the moon, and the stars.
-Then, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph.
-In the dream, who was the sun?
-Joseph’s father.
-In the dream, who was the moon?
-Joseph’s mother.
-In the dream, who were the eleven stars?
-Joseph’s eleven brothers.
-What did both of the dreams mean?
-One day, God would make Joseph chief, and Joseph’s family would bow down to him.
-Who knew Joseph’s future, and showed him the future through his dreams?
-God.
-Just like God knew Joseph’s future, God knows our future.
-How much of our future does God know?
-God knows all of our future.
-Because of these dreams that God gave Joseph, Joseph’s brothers hated him even more.
-One day Joseph went to visit his brothers in the field.
Let’s read Genesis 37:17b-20
17-So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
18-But his brothers 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.”
-Joseph’s brothers hated him so much that they wanted to kill him.
-But Joseph’s oldest brother Reuben decided to save Joseph.
Let’s read Genesis 37:21-24
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 desert, 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 richly ornamented robe he was wearing–
24-and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
-What did Joseph’s brothers do with Joseph?
-They took off his robe, and threw him into a dry well.
-After Joseph’s brother Reuben left, what did the remaining brothers do with Joseph?
Let’s read Genesis 37:25-28
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 sold Joseph as a slave to slave traders.
-Where did the slave traders take Joseph?
-To Egypt.
-What did the brothers do when Reuben returned?
Let’s read Genesis 37:29-31
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.
-Joseph’s brothers took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe into the blood of the goat.
-Then Joseph’s brothers took Joseph’s robe which had been dipped into the blood of the goat to their father Jacob.
Let’s read Genesis 37:32-35
32-Joseph’s brothers took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
33-Jacob 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, “in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son.” So his father wept for him.
-Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph as a slave.
-Joseph’s brothers then deceived their father Jacob.
-Jacob thought that Joseph was dead.
-Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph.
-The hate of Joseph’s brothers led them to sell Joseph as a slave.
-The hate of Joseph’s brothers led them to deceive their father.
-Hate always leads to more sin.
-Was Joseph dead?
-No.
-Where was Joseph?
-Joseph was in Egypt.
Let’s read Genesis 39:1
1-Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
-To whom did the slave traders sell Joseph as a slave?
-To Potiphar.
-Did God abandon Joseph?
-No.
-God will never abandon someone who believes in Him.
-God was with Joseph all of the time.
-What happened to Joseph after Potiphar bought Joseph?
Let’s read Genesis 39:2-6a
2-The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
3-When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
4-Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
5-From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
6-So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
-Even though Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph, God did not abandon Joseph.
-Even though Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph as a slave, God did not abandon Joseph.
-Because Joseph believed in God, God blessed Joseph.
-One day, when Potiphar was gone, something happened to Joseph.
Let’s read Genesis 39:6b-15
6-Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,
7-and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
8-But Joseph refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.
9-No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
10-And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11-One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.
12-She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
13-When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,
14-she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.
15-When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
-Because Joseph believed in God, he refused to sleep with Potiphar’s wife.
-Because Joseph refused to sleep with her, Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph.
-What happened when Potiphar came home?
Let’s read Genesis 39:16-20a
16-She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.
17-Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.
18-But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
19-When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.
20-Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
-When Potiphar came home, he believed the lie of his wife, and put Joseph in prison.
-When Joseph was in prison, did God abandon him?
-No.
-God will never abandon someone who believes in Him.
-God was with Joseph all the time.
-Even while Joseph was in prison, God was with Joseph.
Let’s read Genesis 39:20b-23
20-But while Joseph was there in the prison,
21-the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
22-So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.
23-The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
-Even though Joseph’s brothers hated him, Joseph still believed in God.
-Even though Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave, Joseph still believed in God.
-Even though Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph, Joseph still believed in God.
-Even though Joseph was put in prison, Joseph still believed in God.
-Who protected Joseph in prison?
-God.
-Why did God protect Joseph?
-Because Joseph knew that he was born into sin.
-Because Joseph knew that his sin brings eternal death.
-Because Joseph knew that God alone was able to save him.
-Because Joseph believed that God would send the Savior to save him.
-Do you think that God will forget about Joseph in prison?
-No.
-In the next lesson, we will read about what God does for Joseph in prison.