Part 1: The Favored Son and the Coat of Many Colors

Our story begins in the land of Canaan with Jacob, who had twelve sons. Joseph was the eleventh, born to Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. Because of this, Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons.

Jacob made his favoritism clear by giving Joseph a special, ornate robe—often called a "coat of many colors." This, along with Joseph's habit of bringing bad reports about his brothers to their father, fueled their hatred.

To make matters worse, Joseph began having profound dreams from God, which he naively shared with his family.

  • Dream 1: "We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine."

  • Dream 2: "The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

Even his father Jacob was perturbed by this, rebuking him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?" The brothers' hatred festered, seeing Joseph as an arrogant dreamer who wanted to rule over them.

Part 2: Betrayal and the Pit

One day, while the brothers were tending the flocks far from home, Jacob sent Joseph to check on them. When the brothers saw him approaching in his distinctive robe, they conspired to kill him.

Reuben, the eldest, intervened, suggesting they throw him into a dry cistern instead, intending to rescue him later. When Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his prized robe and threw him into the pit.

As they sat down to eat, a caravan of Ishmaelite traders passed by on their way to Egypt. Judah, another brother, saw an opportunity: "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites."

The brothers agreed. They sold Joseph for twenty shekels of silver. To cover their crime, they slaughtered a goat, dipped Joseph's robe in its blood, and presented it to their father. Jacob, recognizing the robe, concluded that a wild animal had devoured his son. He was plunged into inconsolable grief.

Part 3: Rise and Fall in Egypt

In Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. Despite being a slave, God was with Joseph. He proved to be so capable and trustworthy that Potiphar put him in charge of his entire household.

Potiphar's wife, however, took a liking to the handsome young man and repeatedly tried to seduce him. Joseph refused, out of loyalty to his master and, more importantly, out of reverence for God, saying, "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Spurned, she falsely accused him of attempted rape. Enraged, Potiphar had Joseph thrown into the royal prison.

Part 4: The Prisoner and the Interpreter

Even in prison, God's favor followed Joseph. The prison warden soon put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners.

Two of Pharaoh's highest officials—his chief cupbearer and chief baker—were imprisoned. One night, each had a disturbing dream.

  • The cupbearer dreamed of a vine with three branches that budded, blossomed, and produced grapes. He squeezed the grapes into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.

  • The baker dreamed he had three baskets of bread on his head, and the birds were eating from the top basket.

God gave Joseph the interpretation:

  • For the cupbearer: "In three days, Pharaoh will restore you to your position."

  • For the baker: "In three days, Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a tree."

Joseph's interpretations came true exactly. He had only one request for the cupbearer: "Remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house." But the cupbearer, restored to his post, forgot Joseph.

Part 5: The Dreams of Pharaoh and the Rise to Power

Two full years later, Pharaoh himself was troubled by two dreams no one could interpret.

  • Dream 1: Seven fat, healthy cows came out of the Nile, followed by seven ugly, thin cows that devoured the fat ones.

  • Dream 2: Seven plump, good heads of grain grew on a single stalk, followed by seven thin, blighted heads that swallowed up the plump ones.

The cupbearer's memory was jolted. He told Pharaoh about the young Hebrew slave who had accurately interpreted his dream in prison.

Joseph was hastily brought before Pharaoh. He immediately gave God the credit: "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."

He then interpreted the dreams: The two dreams were one. Seven years of great abundance were coming to Egypt, followed by seven years of severe famine that would consume all the surplus.

But Joseph didn't stop there. He offered a solution: appoint a wise and discerning man to store up one-fifth of the harvest during the seven years of plenty to serve as a reserve during the famine.

Pharaoh and all his officials were impressed. Pharaoh declared, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you." He elevated Joseph, the former slave and prisoner, to be the second-in-command over all of Egypt. He gave Joseph his signet ring, fine linen robes, a gold chain, and the Egyptian name Zaphenath-Paneah. Joseph was given Asenath, the daughter of a priest, as his wife.

Part 6: The Brothers' Journey and the Test

Just as Joseph had predicted, the famine was severe and widespread, reaching all the way to Canaan. Hearing there was grain in Egypt, Jacob sent his ten eldest sons to buy some, keeping his youngest, Benjamin (Joseph's full brother), at home.

When the brothers arrived, they bowed before the Egyptian governor, their faces to the ground, fulfilling Joseph's childhood dreams. Joseph recognized them immediately, but they did not recognize him.

Joseph, speaking through an interpreter, accused them of being spies. He put them through a series of tests, not out of vengeance, but to see if their character had changed.

  • First Test: He imprisoned them for three days, then demanded that one brother (Simeon) stay behind while the others returned with grain. To prove their story, they must return with their youngest brother, Benjamin.

  • The Return Trip: On their journey home, they discovered the money they had paid for the grain had been returned to their sacks. They were terrified, seeing this as a trap from God for their sin against Joseph years before.

When the grain ran out, a reluctant Jacob was forced to let Benjamin return with them to Egypt. Joseph was overcome with emotion upon seeing Benjamin. He prepared a feast for them, showing special favor to Benjamin.

Part 7: The Final Test and Reconciliation

For his final test, Joseph had his servants fill the brothers' sacks with grain and secretly place his own silver cup in Benjamin's sack. After they left, he sent his steward after them, accusing them of theft.

When the cup was found in Benjamin's sack, the brothers returned to Joseph in despair. Judah, the very brother who had suggested selling Joseph into slavery, stepped forward. He pleaded eloquently for Benjamin's freedom, offering to take his place as a slave. He explained that their father's life was bound up with the boy's, and if Benjamin did not return, it would kill Jacob.

This was the moment Joseph had waited for. He saw that his brothers were truly changed. They were protective of their father and their younger brother, not jealous and hateful as they had been with him.

Unable to control himself any longer, Joseph wept so loudly the Egyptians heard it. He cleared the room and revealed his identity: "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?"

His brothers were terrified, speechless with shock and fear of his revenge.

But Joseph showed them profound grace and a divine perspective:

"Come near to me, please. I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.... God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God."

Part 8: Reunion and Redemption

Joseph instructed his brothers to return to Canaan and bring their entire families and his father, Jacob, to Egypt. He would provide for them in the land of Goshen during the five remaining years of famine.

The family was reunited in a deeply emotional scene. The old Jacob, seeing the son he thought was dead, said, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive."

Pharaoh welcomed Joseph's family, and they settled in the fertile land of Goshen, where they prospered and multiplied.

Part 9: The Legacy of Faith

Before he died, Jacob blessed Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, adopting them as his own and placing the younger Ephraim ahead of the older Manasseh—a recurring theme in Genesis.

Joseph lived to see his great-grandchildren. On his deathbed, he left a final testament of his faith. He told his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." He made them promise to carry his bones out of Egypt when God led them back to the Promised Land.

His body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt, a tangible, generations-long reminder of the promise that their stay in Egypt was temporary. Centuries later, Moses would fulfill this promise, taking Joseph's bones during the Exodus.

The Moral of the Story

The story of Joseph is the ultimate biblical testimony of God's providence. It shows that even through human evil, betrayal, and seemingly random misfortune (pits, slavery, prison), God is sovereignly working behind the scenes to preserve life and fulfill His promises. What men intended for evil, God intended for good. It is a story that teaches the power of forgiveness, the importance of integrity, and the unwavering faithfulness of God to His people.