Joseph and the Coat of Many ColorsJoseph was out in the fields, helping his older brothers feed the animals. There were cows, sheep, goats, and just about every other kind of farm animal. There was a lot of work that needed to be done and everyone had to lend a hand.
After the chores were finished, they went home to eat a nice meal. They talked about the events of the day. Then Joseph's father called Joseph away from his other brothers and handed him a gift. Joseph was very surprised, because he had not expected this. Carefully, he unfolded the garment, put it on, and tied the belt around his waist. It was the most beautiful coat he had ever seen, made with lamb's wool which had been dyed with all the colors of the rainbow. Joseph's eyes were glowing with pleasure because of this beautiful gift his father had just given him. He rushed into the room where his brothers were talking. "LOOK!" he cried out excitedly. "SEE MY NEW COAT! ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL?" he exclaimed.
Joseph's brothers were not as happy about the coat as he was. In fact, they were ANGRY. They were jealous because they thought their father loved him more than them. They were so jealous that they hated Joseph and couldn't even say anything kind to him.
Joseph didn't let the attitude of his angry brothers upset him. He was happy and slept peacefully. The next morning, he gathered his brothers together. "I want you to listen to this dream I had last night," he said to them.
"We were all in the fields, bundling wheat into sheaves. My sheaf of wheat stood straight up. All of your sheaves of wheat bent over as if they were bowing down to mine."
The brothers listened impatiently as Joseph was telling his dream. "Do you actually think YOU are going to rule over us, and WE are going to bow down to you?" they asked with a smirk.
Imagine their surprise when Joseph said, "Wait! That's not all! I had another dream. In the second dream, the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me!"
This made the brothers even more angry than they had ever been. "How can you possibly think that your mother, your father, and all of us are going to bow down to you?" With that, they left Joseph standing there, and they went off to the fields to do the work for the day.
While they were working, they were discussing Joseph, his new coat, and his dreams. The more they talked, the more ANGRY they became. "We have got do something about that foolish, dreaming, young brother of ours. We already knew that our father loved him more than the rest of us. Then he received a new coat that he just wants to show off. Now he is telling us about these ridiculous dreams. We need to come up with a plan to get rid of him."
The brothers talked, argued, planned, and schemed, first one idea and then another. Finally one of them said, "Let's pick him up and throw him into that deep pit over there until we can decide on a better plan." So that is exactly what they did. They took Joseph's beautiful coat away from him, and then threw him into the pit. They all sat down to eat their lunch, happy that Joseph wasn't eating with them. Now they didn't have to listen to his foolish talk about all his dreams.
While they were eating, they saw a caravan of camels in the distance. As the camels came closer, they discovered that the men were merchants from the country of Midian. The brothers thought, "This is even better than we had hoped. We can sell Joseph as a slave to these merchants. Then we will divide the money among us." They went to the pit and helped Joseph out of it. They sold him to the Midianites. They were pleased with themselves until one of them thought, "Oh, no! What are we going to tell Father?"
Quickly they thought of another scheme. They killed an animal and put some of the blood on the beautiful coat. When they showed the coat to their father, he immediately thought that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. It was a very mean trick these brothers had played on their father. He was sad for a very, very long time, because he thought Joseph was dead.
The Midianite merchants found that they had made a good choice in buying Joseph from the brothers. He was a strong, healthy young man, and they were able to sell him quickly to a man named Potiphar, who was from Egypt. Potiphar was a captain in Egypt and knew King Pharaoh very well. He was a wealthy man with a very large house and many servants.
Even though Joseph was far away from home, he never forgot the teachings of his father. He never became angry with his brothers for treating him so badly. He was righteous and honest in all his dealings, and he loved the Lord very much. The Lord was with Joseph and helped him to become prosperous. Potiphar noticed what an outstanding man Joseph had become and honored him by making him the ruler of everything in his house. With Joseph in charge, Potiphar became even more wealthy, because the Lord was blessing HIM because of Joseph.
We also bought a little antique dresser from our friends Scot & Taylor last weekend. I love it! It has so much character and makes the guest room feel even more comfy cozy! Man, I don't have any pictures of that either!
At Dudley's farm for the 4th of July
Givin some major sass!
Best Cousins Forever!
I love this picture! Isn't she beautiful?!
