Joseph finds his brothers
key words
biblical reference
Genesis 37:12-36
lesson objective
To help children know that family members must care for each other.
memory verse
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Joseph’s brothers had taken his father’s sheep near Shechem. This place was almost 100 km (see Bible story below) north of Jacob’s home. It was not strange for shepherds to take their sheep far from the home. The large herds grazed so much that they had to look for new places very often.
Jacob decided to send Joseph to find his brothers to bring back to him any news about the brothers. Joseph was an obedient son, so he went in search of his brothers as his father had asked. When he did not find them in Shechem, he continued his quest, showing great determination and responsibility. Finally, Joseph found them in the Dothan region (about 32 km further northwest).
When we belong to a family, we have responsibilities. For preschoolers, it is sometimes difficult to accept and carry them out. It is important that the children assume the role they have within their family, and begin to fulfill their duties with joy and responsibility. Encourage in them the joy of service and the satisfaction of being useful to the people they love.
This lesson gives you an opportunity to explain to your children the importance they have as members of a family and the responsibility that this entails. God wants families to love and care for each other.
During the class, talk to the children about their responsibilities at home and in the church. When they fulfill simple tasks and responsibilities, they are helpful and thus obey God. The Lord wants family members to help one another; this also includes our family in the faith.
introduce the lesson
Different types of families
Before class, get magazine clippings or photos of different types of families.Explain to your children that families are different from each other. Many families are made up of a dad, mom, and children. However, there are others made up of only the father and his children or the mother and her children, and even some where the children live with the grandparents or other extended family or guardians. There are also families where adults live alone because they do not have children.
God loves all families equally and wants them to help one another.
teach the lesson
Places where sheep graze
Before class, find information about what sheep require for grazing and the best places to find pastureland in your country. If there are no suitable places for sheep in your country, use another country as an example.
Ask, “Do any of you have a sheep at your house? How do you feed and water the sheep?” Show information you found about how and where sheep graze. Say, “In today’s story, Joseph’s brothers had to take the sheep far from home in order to find enough grass for the sheep to eat.”
Joseph looks for his brothers
Joseph had many older brothers who took care of the sheep. Sometimes they had to travel long distances to find food and water for their flocks. On this occasion, Joseph’s brothers took their sheep to a distant place called Shechem, which was about 100 km from his house. That is a long way!
Jacob needed someone to find out how the brothers and the sheep were doing, so he said to Joseph: “I need your help. Please go find your brothers and see if they are well, and then bring me news about them.”
Joseph loved his father very much and always obeyed him. So, Joseph said, “I will go immediately and find my brothers.” Then he went to prepare and packed for the trip. He also wore the special robe his father had given him.
Joseph walked for several days. At last he reached Shechem. He searched everywhere but found no trace of his brothers or the sheep. “Where can they be?” he thought.
“Who are you looking for?” asked a man standing nearby.
“My brothers,” replied Joseph. “Can you tell me if you have seen them? They’re tending a flock of sheep.”
The man told him that they had gone to Dothan, so Joseph continued his journey (another 32 km). After a few days journey, he found them.
Joseph’s brothers were not happy to see him. He was wearing the special coat Jacob had given to Joseph. The brothers grabbed Joseph and threw him into a deep well that was dry. A well usually has water in it, but in this one the water was dried up.
The brothers had planned to leave Joseph in the well to die. They saw some men going to Egypt to sell spices and perfumes. They decided to sell their brother to these men.
After this, the brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph’s coat in the animal’s blood. When Joseph’s father saw Joseph’s coat with blood on it, he thought that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob was very sad. He thought Joseph was dead.
The men took Joseph to Egypt where he became a worker in the house of a man named Potipher. Joseph was such a good worker, Potipher put him in charge of his whole house. God was watching over Joseph and helping him.
connect the lesson
Joseph finds his brothers
Before class, gather Student Activity Sheet #28-A and #28-B. You may need to cut out some of the figures of Joseph’s brothers from SAS #28-B.
Help those children who are able to cut out the figures of Joseph's brothers, and then let the children glue the figure to the top right of SAS #28-A. Then show the children how to draw a line from Joseph to his brothers. During this activity, briefly review the lesson. Ask the children to take the activity sheets home to share the lesson with with their families and friends.
practice the memory verse
This is a rhythm activity:
A new commandment (clap, clap, clap)
I give you (clap, clap, clap).
Love (clap) one (clap) another (clap).
John 13:34 (clap, clap, clap)
Repeat it several times.
wrap-up
Pray
Explain to the children that one way to help our families is to pray for them. Ask for prayer requests. Let any children who want to pray for their family to do that.
Encourage
Encourage the children to find ways to help at home. Remind them this is a good way to show love to all their family members.
Invite
Invite the children to return for the next session to learn more about Joseph and his brothers.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™