Series
joseph
Reading order
Free previewJoseph's Coat and Dreams
Genesis 37:1-36
Joseph is the favorite son, and everyone knows it. His father Jacob gives him a special coat — long sleeves, bright colors — that his ten older brothers do not get. Joseph has two big dreams about sheaves and stars bowing down to him, and he can''t help telling everyone about them. The brothers hate him for it. One afternoon when Joseph comes out to the fields to check on them, they grab him, strip off the coat, and throw him into an empty cistern. They sell him to a passing caravan headed for Egypt. They dip the coat in goat''s blood and bring it home to Jacob, who weeps for the son he thinks is dead. This is the first part of one of the longest, most painful, and most redemptive family stories in the Bible.
Free previewJoseph in Egypt
Genesis 39:1-41:57
Sold as a slave, far from home, Joseph keeps doing the right thing. He works hard for his master Potiphar. He refuses to betray him. For that faithfulness he ends up in prison anyway. There, he interprets dreams for fellow prisoners and waits — two more years — before anyone remembers him. Then Pharaoh has a dream that no one can explain. Joseph is called from the dungeon, washed up, dressed, and brought before the throne. He interprets the dream, proposes a plan, and within an afternoon is made second-in-command over all of Egypt. Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine roll out exactly as the dream said. The story shows kids that God''s plans can take a long time to ripen — and that integrity in private becomes destiny in public.
Free previewJoseph’s Reunion
Genesis 42:1-45:28
The famine has reached Canaan. Jacob sends ten of his sons down to Egypt to buy grain — and they bow before the prime minister without knowing who he really is. Joseph recognizes them instantly. He tests them, hides his identity, and gently, slowly, brings them face to face with what they did. When his youngest brother Benjamin is brought, Joseph cannot keep the secret any longer. He sends every Egyptian out of the room and weeps so loudly the palace hears it. "I am Joseph your brother," he tells them. "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." The whole family is brought down to Egypt, fed, and saved. This is one of the great forgiveness stories in the Bible — a finale that makes everything before it worth it.