Lesson time!
Deconstruct:
Genesis 37:3-7
3 Jacob[a] loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.[b] 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.
5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said. 7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.
Genesis 42:6
6 Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground.
Who: Jacob, Joseph, brothers
What: A robe. Dreams. Fulfilment.
Where: No location mentioned
When: An earlier verse says that Joseph was 17
Why: His brothers hated him because their father loved him more...as a result of this hatred, they hated everything about him - including his dreams.
For 17 years these brothers had lived with their father loving a younger son more than them. In these days - the oldest son was typically the favored one. He was the one who would be in charge of his brothers. That was the custom of the day, but it wasn't the life Jacob had lived. Jacob was not the firstborn and yet he was the one living with the birthright and the blessing from his father. His father, Isaac, was also not his father's first born and yet enjoyed the rights of a firstborn. Perhaps that is partially why he didn't feel any special allegiance to his oldest son.
Below is an optional outside-of-class activity. Some of the older kids asked if they could attempt to deconstruct verses on their own. This portion of scripture will not be discussed tonight - however it will lead the way into the next couple of weeks when we discuss Moses. If they want to show me their work, they can. If they don't want to, that's also fine.
The Death of Joseph - Genesis 50:22-26
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years
23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[c]
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Class Schedule:
Limbo - Apx 10 minutes
To chairs for God's Story: Joseph - 5 minutes
Separate into groups: Total of group time apx 20 minutes
Team 1 will go to the tables to color
Team 2 will split between two lesson tables in order to deconstruct their verses.
Before we switch, we will all gather in chairs again to watch Joseph the Slave.
Switch. Team 1 to lesson table while Team 2 goes to color.
Snack - apx 15 minutes
During snack they can also finish coloring while watching the remaining three Joseph videos.
Time fillers: Limbo rematch or Musical Chairs