For the Family
Joseph Grows Up
Genesis 39:1-20
by Kathleen Orthwein
Thoughts for Parents
This lesson is a review of the early life of Joseph,
the beloved son of Jacob. Through the ups and downs of Joseph’s
life, children can see Divine Providence in action. It is vital for young
children to feel safe and secure. But everyone experiences times of sadness,
feeling hurt by others and feelings of being alone. Joseph’s story
shows how the Lord is continually with a person, bringing good out of
bad events, protecting and guiding in the happy as well as the sad times
of life.
Joseph Grows Up
Have you ever heard the story of Joseph and his brothers? His older
brothers were jealous of him because Joseph was their father Israel’s
favorite son. Joseph was good and kind as well as being the son of Rachel.
When Joseph was about seventeen years old, his father gave him a beautiful
coat made of many colors.
Then Joseph had two dreams that he told his family. In the first dream
the brothers’ eleven sheaves of grain stood in a circle and bowed
down to Joseph’s sheaf as if he were their master. In the second
dream the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph, as if his
father, mother and brothers were serving him. These dreams seemed to
say that Joseph would some day rule over or be in charge of his family.
His older brothers were very angry with him because he was younger than
they were and yet his dreams put Joseph as master of the family. You
remember that the oldest son of the family would usually become the head
and inherit all of his father’s possessions when the father died.
So you can see why the older brothers were so angry with Joseph.
Joseph Is Sold into Slavery
Joseph’s brothers were so angry with him that some of them wanted
to kill him. They had the chance one day when he came to see them out
in the field. However, one of his brothers convinced the others to sell
him as a slave to a group of Ishmaelites who were traveling to Egypt.
The brothers told Israel that Joseph was dead. They dipped his coat
of many colors in animal’s blood and tore it in pieces as if a
wild animal had killed the boy and showed it to Israel. Israel was so
deeply sad when he thought that his favorite son had been killed that
he could not be consoled. No one could make him feel better. He did not
know that Joseph was on his way to Egypt where he would be sold as a
slave to someone. Do you know what a slave is? (Someone who has to work
for another without any choice or any pay.) Read now and find out whose
slave Joseph was.
Read Genesis 39:1-6.
Discussion Questions:
1. What was the name of the man who bought Joseph for his slave? (Potiphar.)
2. What was Potiphar’s job? (Captain of the guard for Pharaoh.)
In Potiphar’s House
Pharaoh was the name for the king of Egypt, a great man who ruled over
a great country. Potiphar’s job was a very important one. As captain
of the guard, he was responsible for Pharaoh’s life. Potiphar probably
had a large house and land with many servants and possessions.
Joseph grew up serving in Potiphar’s house. It seemed as if everyone
had forgotten him. But the Lord remembered him, just as He remembers
and watches over everyone. The Lord helped Joseph succeed with everything.
When Potiphar noticed that the Lord was with Joseph and all that Joseph
did was done well, Potiphar naturally put Joseph in charge of all his
house. In our story it says that Potiphar made Joseph the overseer of
his house and put all that he had in Joseph’s care. Do you think
Potiphar trusted Joseph to give him so much responsibility? Yes, and
with good reason, because Joseph was a wise manager. But once again,
someone became jealous of Joseph and plotted against him. Read on to
find out what Potiphar’s wife did.
Read Genesis 39:7-20.
Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to do something that would hurt
her marriage, but Joseph refused. Potiphar trusted Joseph and Joseph
was loyal to him. But Potiphar’s wife was so jealous that she told
lies about Joseph to get him into trouble.
Discussion Questions:
1. How did Potiphar feel when he heard the lies about Joseph? (He believed
his wife and was angry so he put Joseph in prison.)
2. Do you know what a prison is? (It is strong building where people
who do bad things are locked up so that they can no longer hurt others.
However, sometimes mistakes are made and good people get locked away
in prison. This is what happened with Joseph.)
3. Do you think the Lord will forget Joseph in prison? (No, the Lord
always has a plan for us even when we cannot see it at the time. Even
when bad things happen, the Lord can bring good out of it, as we will
find out in the next story.)
Jealousy and Lies
Telling lies about someone means saying something that is not true about
a person, usually in order to hurt them or get them in trouble. We know
this is wrong because one of the Ten Commandments reminds us not to “bear
false witness” against our neighbor. Much harm and unhappiness
can come from a lie.
Jealousy means wanting something that someone else has. Everyone feels
jealous or envious of others at times. Sometimes you might feel that
another child looks nicer than you do or has more friends than you do.
You might feel that a brother or sister seems to get more attention in
the family. Sometimes people are jealous of another’s house or
clothes or car. Some people spend so much time feeling jealous of others
that they aren’t happy with the good things that they have!
It is natural to want the good things that we see around us. However,
it is important to remember that the Lord is always taking care of us,
giving us the things that we truly need. He knows what we need better
than we do. We can avoid suffering the unhappiness of being jealous of
others if we concentrate on enjoying the good things we have.
Discussion Questions
1. What is a lie and why is lying wrong? (A lie is telling something
that is not true about someone, usually in order to hurt them or get
them in trouble. Lying is against the Lord’s commandment not
to bear false witness.)
2. Who was the other person in our story that told lies about Joseph?
(Potiphar’s wife.)
3. Can you think of a time when you were jealous of someone? Describe
what you felt.
4. Tell about some of the blessings or good things in your life.
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