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                       A Coat and a Dream
                         by Linda Edwards



          Chelle was prancing around the room happily. She was excited
     about having a new pair of shoes and just couldn't sit still. She
     wanted to show them to everyone she knew.

          Her older sister, Chantay, wasn't happy at all. In fact, she
     was sitting in a corner, pouting and muttering to herself. "It
     just isn't fair," she was thinking. "She gets to play and I have
     to work. She gets new shoes, and I have to wear my old ones. I'm
     sure Mom and Dad love her more than they love me."

          Seeing Chantay sitting in the corner, looking so sad, made
     her mother sad, too. She quietly lifted her older daughter into
     her arms and gave her a big hug. She began to explain that things
     are not always as they appear. Chantay didn't even realize this
     was the very first pair of brand new shoes that Chelle had ever
     had. Since Chantay was the oldest and grew faster, she was the
     one that got new shoes, and when she outgrew them, they were
     passed down to Chelle.

          Her mother reminded her of the fun she had at a party, which
     Chelle was too young to attend. She assured Chantay that she
     loved her just as much as her younger sister, but that since she
     is older, that love is shown in different ways. Wiping the tears
     from her eyes, Chantay gave her mother a hug. With a big smile
     now replacing that sad frown, she took her little sister by the
     hand and began to prance around the room with her.

                                 * * *

          Joseph 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.

                                 * * *

     THINK!

          Why did the brothers hate Joseph?
          Why is jealousy such a bad thing?
          How do you know God was with Joseph when he was in the
          pit?
          How do you know God was with Joseph when he was in
          Egypt?

     REMEMBER:

          God ALWAYS knows and cares about what is happening to you.
     Even when bad things happen, God can make something good out of
     the situation.

     A VERSE TO LEARN

          "And we know that all things work together for good to them
     that love God..." (Romans 8:28a).

     LET'S PRAY

           ****************************************************
               Dear God, thank You for being with us in every
              situation. Help us to remember that You love us
            and You know exactly what is happening all the time.
              Help us not to get jealous or angry when others
                      have things that we do not have.
                           In Jesus' name. Amen.
           ****************************************************

     CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
          Genesis 37:1-36 and 39:1-6

                                 * * *

                               JUST FOR FUN

                     Color Joseph's coat of many colors
                              Story of Joseph
                                Color Joseph
                 Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors Crafts

                                 * * *

                            BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE
                http://misslink.org/children/bibstory2.html

                     Copyright © 2006 by Linda Edwards.

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