Tag: Joseph

Episode NT34 – Thomas’ Story

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on John chapter 20 verses 19 to 29

Episode NT34 – Thomas’ Story

‘I was there! I watched Him die! Me! Thomas! One of His so-called disciples!

‘You have no idea what it’s like, to watch all your dreams, all your ambitions, all your hopes being crucified on a rough cross, and then die – right before your eyes! All I wanted, all I ever hoped for – was in that man, Jesus. And now He’s dead!’

‘And what makes it worse is that I believed Him! I was there! I was right with Him when He asked us, His close followers, His disciples. He asked us who everyone was saying He was. And we told Him. Some were saying He was John the Baptist, others were saying He was a great Prophet. But then He asked us, ‘Who do you think I am?’ (P) And Peter told Him. He told Jesus what we all believed with all our hearts, that Jesus was the Messiah, the Saviour, the Son of the Living God.’

‘Why didn’t He tell us there and then that we were wrong? Why did He let us believe it if it wasn’t true? (P) All He told us was, ‘don’t tell anyone else’. But you see I did believe it, with all my heart – I believed that He was the One sent to save us, to rule the world in power. And I hoped that I might have a small role in His Kingdom, to play my part with Him as the eternal KING! But how can it be true? I watched Him die!’

‘I was standing there when the Roman soldiers came and broke the legs of the other two criminals so that they’d die more quickly. I saw them come to Jesus’ body, and seeing that He was already dead, one of them thrust his spear up into Jesus’ side. And when he pulled it out again I saw blood and water gush out.’

‘And I watched those two hypocrites, Joseph and Nicodemus, religious leaders who hadn’t said anything before! Oh, they were so brave now! Going to Pilate to ask for the body – why hadn’t they said something when He was alive? (P) But I guess it was a mercy because now I know He wasn’t who I thought He was. Because if He was, He’d still be alive.’

‘I couldn’t take it any longer as I watched them wrap His body up in a long piece of cloth, and so I ran away. All my dreams had gone to the grave with that man! I ran until I couldn’t run any more, and I wept until I had no more tears in my eyes.’ (PAUSE)

‘I couldn’t face being with anyone – it hurt too much. So I went away to be on my own. For two whole days, I kept away from the other disciples. (P) But then I thought that, as a follower of Jesus, I was a wanted man – and where else could I go?’

‘So I went back to where I knew the other disciples would be hiding. They’d be feeling as terrified as I was. Always hiding, constantly watching over your shoulder, hoping that those footsteps aren’t the footsteps of a Roman soldier coming to arrest and execute you!’

‘When I arrived at the house, it took me ages just to find the courage to give the secret knock. (P) I so didn’t want to be there, but where else could I go? Who else could understand the pain I felt inside?’

‘As I stood in the darkness, trying to build up my courage, I made a resolution. I wasn’t going to be fooled again! Not now, not ever! I’d believed He was everything, and then I’d watched Him die, and seen He was nothing. It wasn’t going to happen again! Jesus was dead, end of story!’

‘But as soon as I knocked, the door swung open and Peter grabbed my arms and pulled me inside. Something was wrong! Why didn’t he look sad? And then, he gave me a great big hug! I looked at his face in astonishment; he had the biggest smile I’d ever seen! I couldn’t believe my eyes! And then he said, ‘Isn’t God amazing Thomas?’’

‘Was he mad? How could Jesus’ death be amazing? When he saw the expression on my face, he looked closely at my swollen red eyes. ‘You haven’t heard, have you Thomas?’ he asked.’

‘‘Heard what?’ I replied angrily. ‘That you’ve lost your brain? I knew that years ago!’’

‘And then he laughed, he actually laughed. How could he laugh? ‘What?’ I shouted! ‘What haven’t I heard?’’

‘‘Thomas,’ he said. ‘He’s alive!’’

‘‘What’re you talking about?’ I asked, ‘Who’s alive?’’

‘‘Jesus, He’s alive Thomas, we’ve all seen Him!’’

‘‘You’re mad!’ I shouted, ‘I saw His body cold and lifeless on that cross. I saw them stick a spear in His side. I watched them take His dead body down from the cross.’ And then with tears streaming down my face. ‘What kind of cruel trick are you trying to play on me?’’

‘The others were all looking at me, all of them with that same … smile … or whatever, on their faces. And then they were all talking at once! ‘It’s true Thomas! We’ve seen Him Thomas. He came into this very room Thomas. Jesus stood here with US Thomas. God’s raised Him back to life Thomas.’’

‘‘Shut up! Shut up! Shut up all of you! He’s dead, don’t you understand. Dead bodies don’t come back to life. You’re all mad!’’

‘Somehow they really believed that God had raised Jesus back to life and that He’d appeared to them in that very room, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ And shown them His hands and His side!’

‘But I wasn’t going to be taken in, not again. That man had already shattered my heart. I’d thought He was the Saviour of the World, but then He’d died the death of a criminal. No, I wasn’t going to be taken in again! Not now, not by Him, not by anyone!’

‘And so I shouted back at them all. ‘Listen – Unless I see Him standing before me, with the nail marks in His hands, and the spear mark in His side. – And, I can put my own fingers where those nails went, and I can put my fist in that hold left by the spear – I WILL NOT BELIEVE IT!’ And then I ran out.’ (PAUSE)

‘One of the most uncomfortable weeks of my life followed that day. Jesus was dead and gone, my so-called friends had been taken over by some kind of madness, and I didn’t know what to do!’

‘I tried to keep away from them. But after a week, I had to go back for some reason or other, and there they were, just as full of it as before. (P) When they let me in, they locked the door behind me and started telling me all those lies again. But I wasn’t having any of it … until that is, I – I heard His voice.’

‘When I turned to look, there He was, just as I’d remembered Him. He wasn’t a ghost, He wasn’t a vision, He wasn’t some imagining of my mind. He was real. And the others were smiling so much I thought their faces would burst open! But He was looking at me – this … this … I – I couldn’t get the words out before He started talking to me.’

‘‘Thomas,’ He said again. And then He held out His hands so I could see the marks left by the nails. ‘Put your finger here Thomas.’ And He pointed to the holes in His hands. And – and then He pulled His robe to one side and I saw the hole where the Roman soldier had thrust his spear. ‘Thomas. Reach out your fist, and put it in my side.’ I didn’t move. I didn’t have to, because I knew it was true – He was alive. ‘Stop doubting Thomas,’ He said, ‘and believe.’’

‘But I didn’t doubt. Not when I saw Him, face to face, the same Jesus who I’d known and loved these past three years. And so I did the only thing I could, I fell to my knees and I worshipped Him and said, ‘My Lord and my God.’’ (PAUSE)

‘Then He spoke to me again, ‘You believe because you’ve seen me, Thomas. But there is a greater blessing for those who haven’t seen me and yet believe I’m alive.’’

Episode NT4 – Wise Men & Mortal Danger

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Matthew chapter 2

Wise Men & Mortal Danger

Many miles from Israel, in a land where people didn’t really know God properly, men gazed into the skies – trying to find meaning and guidance from the stars. In their ignorance of God they looked to the stars to find out His plans, and, even though God wouldn’t want us to do the same thing today, He was to have mercy of these ‘wise men’ of the eastern lands.

And as they turned their eyes to the heavens something new appeared in the night sky, a star they had never seen before. These men were men of learning and wisdom and spent many long hours trying to discover what this new star could mean. And as they tried to find out, so God Himself started to reveal to them what almost no one else knew. This star was a sign from God to guide these men, from a far away land, to find – a King! A newborn King. THE – newborn King of the Jews. Just how God revealed all this to them we don’t know, it was a miracle. God was leading men from far away, people who weren’t Jews and who some thought had no right to even know about the King of the Jews – to seek out and find Him!

Overjoyed with their discovery and certain that everyone in Israel must know about Him already, the wise men loaded their camels and set out to find the newborn King of the Jews. It was easy, all they had to do was follow the star. But as the men came to Israel, the star that had so clearly lead them this far – disappeared! What were they to do? Well, to them it was obvious, go and see the rulers in Jerusalem and ask them where He was and how they could find Him.

Meanwhile, without any knowledge of the newborn King, the present king of Israel, Herod, sat on his throne. Old and ill this evil man ruled with a rod of iron – no matter who came against him, even if it were his own sons, they were shown no mercy! His fear of losing his kingdom would make him fight to his last breath to hold on to what he’d taken – no matter how many lives it cost.

But as the wise men arrived and started to ask their questions, at first they were shocked that no one in Jerusalem knew anything about the newborn King! Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel, why didn’t anyone know anything about this wonderful news? Why were they so ignorant? And so the wise men asked more and more people how they could find the newborn King. (P) Instantly Jerusalem was in uproar and it took no time at all for king Herod to hear of the strangers’ questions! And when he did, the evil old king was deeply troubled – who was this baby that would challenge him as king? (PAUSE) Could they be talking about the long-awaited Messiah? Quickly, he called his religious advisers and demanded that they tell him where the Messiah would be born.

‘Bethlehem,’ came the reply. ‘The prophet wrote many years ago; ‘O Bethlehem of Judah,

you aren’t just a lowly village, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ (PAUSE) So it was Bethlehem! Bethlehem, just a short journey south from Jerusalem would be where the baby King could be found.

With this information in hand, Herod hatched his plot. He called the wise men to a secret meeting and with all his evil cunning – he fixed a holy and sincere look on his face. ‘This is such wonderful news,’ he lied, ‘My people have been waiting so many years for the Messiah to be born, and I too wish to go and worship him. Tell me, how long ago did this star first appear in the sky?’ (P)

The wise men could never have known the pain that their answer was to bring. ‘The star first appeared 2 years ago,’ they replied.

Then Herod continued, ‘The birthplace of the Messiah is Bethlehem. Go there and make a careful search for the child. And when you’ve found Him, come back here and tell me where He is – so that I too can go and worship.’ His face and voice may have sounded sincere, but there was murder in Herod’s heart!

With this news, the wise men set off for Bethlehem – alone! All Jerusalem had been stirred by their enquires, and yet no one travelled to the next town to see the newborn Messiah. These wise men were truly wise, for they had travelled such a distance to seek the King of kings, and even though the star had disappeared, God had put it in their hearts to carry on looking – until they found Him. And as the wise men travelled, to their joy, the star that had led them before reappeared in the sky. Overjoyed at the return of the star, they followed it until it led them to the very house where the child was.

What must they have thought as they came to see the King of the Jews? The star had led them to the kind of house only poor people live in – this was no palace! But God makes no mistakes; He had sent the star to lead these men, men from a far off country – to find His Son. And even though He was found in a poor house, they knew God could be trusted. And so they entered the house where Mary and Jesus were and fell down and worshipped Him – worshipped the Messiah, the Saviour – the King of the Jews!

How God revealed so much to these men we’ll never know, for having worshipped the child, they opened their treasure chests and presented Him with three wonderful gifts. Gold – the gift for a King! Frankincense – burnt with a sweet smell to worship God. And Myrrh – used for burying the dead! For Jesus, God the Son – was the King who would one day die for us all. (P)

But by their very presence in Bethlehem, the wise men had put the child and His family in mortal danger! Herod had no intension of worshipping Jesus – he wanted Jesus dead! Herod had only one way of dealing with potential rivals – murder! And the wise men were due to return to Herod the very next day and tell him exactly where he could find the child! But that night as the wise men slept, God revealed to them in a dream that they mustn’t go back to Herod, but travel home by another road.

As soon as the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. ‘Hurry, get up and escape to Egypt with the child and His mother, for Herod is going to try and kill the child! Stay there until I tell you to return.’ So that very night they packed up what they could and hurried away to Egypt, staying there until Herod died!

When Herod realised he’d been outsmarted by the wise men he flew into a rage and ordered soldiers to go to Bethlehem at once and murder every baby boy aged 2 years and below – any child born since the time the star had first appeared! (P) What terrible pain his wicked cruelty caused. (PAUSE)

It wasn’t too long until the evil king Herod died, and when he had, the angel came once again to Joseph and said, ‘Go back to Israel with the child and His mother, the one who wanted to kill Him is now dead.’ So Joseph returned to Israel, but when he realised that Herod’s son Archelaus was now king he was badly frightened. And after another dream warning him to go to Galilee, the family settled in the small village of Nazareth.

Episode NT3 – The Shepherds & the Angels

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Luke chapter 2 verses 1 – 20

The Shepherds & the Angels

The last couple of days had been the most uncomfortable of Mary’s life. Not only was she heavily pregnant with the baby due any moment, but she’d also been forced to go on a long journey to Bethlehem with Joseph. The Emperor of Rome no less, had commanded that everyone return to their family home to be counted. Joseph was a descendent of the great king David, who originally came from Bethlehem, so, as the Roman Emperor had commanded – Mary and Joseph obeyed and travelled to Bethlehem!

It hadn’t helped that when they’d arrived at Bethlehem all the inns were full! Mercifully, one kind innkeeper let them stay in his stable out the back. It was a far from ideal place to have your first baby, but Mary wasn’t in any condition to argue!

Because no sooner had they arrived than the baby was born. Mary wrapped Him in strips of cloth, and laid Him down to sleep in the safest place she could think of – the animal’s feeding trough.

To be honest it was all pretty unremarkable. (P) But that all changed when later that night they had visitors with incredible stories of Angels! (PAUSE)

Out on the cold hills around Bethlehem the shepherds kept watch over their sheep. It wasn’t a very popular job being a shepherd. In fact most people looked down on shepherds these days, as they were about as low on the social scale as you could get! But they weren’t thinking about that as Zebedee told the other shepherds another one of his tall tales.

But just as Zebedee finished his story and lent forwards to throw another stick on the fire, suddenly an incredible and frightening light (if ever there was such a thing) shone all around them. The stick fell from Zebedee’s hand, and a look of sheer terror swept across his face.

The other shepherds saw his terror and turned to see what he was looking at. As they looked, they too froze in horror, for right before them stood a terrifying Angel. Frightening thoughts flashed through their minds and fear gripped at their hearts. But then the Angel spoke. ‘Don’t be afraid! For I bring wonderful and joyful news for you and for everyone. – The Saviour – yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born this very night in Bethlehem, the city of David!’

The Saviour? The Messiah? The people of Israel had been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of year, and now this Angel was telling them, mere shepherds, that the Messiah had come! But how were they going to find Him in Bethlehem? Before they could ask, the Angel spoke again. ‘And this is how you will know who He is.’ They lent forward, not wanting to miss a word. ‘You will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth… and lying in an animal’s feeding trough.’

WHAT! In an animal’s feeding trough? Was he serious? Kings slept in royal palaces with royal beds and the finest quality sheets – they didn’t live with animals, get wrapped up in strips of clothe like poor people wrap their babies up with – and have an animals feeding trough as their bed! But how could they argue with this angel? Who could hear him and not believe every word he said?

And before they’d had time to think any more about it, an incredible sight opened before their eyes as 10 000 times 10 000 Angels – the armies of Heaven – filled the skies. Unable to hold back their joy any longer, the Angels sang in their delight, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to all those the Lord God favours.

It was incredible, wonderful, frightening and … and even more incredible. (P) But all too soon the Angels returned to heaven. (PAUSE) No one wanted to break the wonder of the moment, but after a while Zebedee said, ‘Come on then. Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this child, this wonderful thing the Lord’s told us about.’

And then, it was almost like a race – as they charged down to Bethlehem to see if what the Angel had said was true. And sure enough, there was the baby exactly as the Angel had said.

After seeing the baby, the shepherds told everyone they met about the incredible things that had happened that night, and what the angel had said about the child. Everyone who heard their story was amazed at what the shepherds had said. And as for the shepherds, they returned to their flocks, praising God for what the angel had told them and because they’d seen the baby for themselves. (P) And Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart, thinking about them often.

Episode 20 – Joseph, From Prison to Palace

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 41 verses 1 to 43

Joseph – From Prison to Palace

One day, King Pharaoh had a troubling dream!

As Pharaoh slept he saw seven fat and healthy cows come up out of the river Nile. These cows were some of the finest he had even seen. But as he watched, seven more cows came up out of the river. These cows were thin and gaunt, the most ugly and starved cows in all Egypt. Then, the seven thin, ugly cows ate up the seven fat, healthy cows – and yet they remained as thin and ugly as they had been before!

At this point Pharaoh woke from his dream, but before long he fell asleep once more. And as he slept – again he started to dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain on one stalk. The grain was plump and healthy – but as he watched, out of the same stalk came seven withered and shrivelled heads of grain that ate up the seven plump and healthy heads of grain and yet remained as withered and shrivelled as they’d been before. (PAUSE)

The next morning Pharaoh called for all his wise men and magicians. ‘Come and tell me what this dream means,’ he told them. ‘Because I know that it is important.’ But none of his wise men or magicians could explain the dream to Pharaoh; they did not know what it meant. (P)

It was at this point that the royal cupbearer raised his shamed head to speak and told Pharaoh about me, Joseph. ‘Your majesty, today I have been reminded of my terrible failure,’ he said. ‘Two years ago, your majesty may remember that you became angry with the chief baker and myself and had us sent to prison. While we were there, we both had a dream that we knew had a meaning. There’s a young man named Joseph kept in the jail, and we both told him our dreams. This young man explained to us what our dreams meant. And just as he predicted, I was restored to my position as chief cupbearer, and the chief baker was executed.’

When Pharaoh heard this, he immediately sent for me. Guards raced to the jail to find me, they hurried me out of prison, gave me a quick shave, a change of clothes and before I knew what was happening I was standing before Pharaoh, the ruler of all Egypt! (PAUSE)

Looking me over he said, ‘Last night I had a dream and none of these men can explain its meaning to me. I have been told you can explain dreams, that is why I have sent for you.’

‘It is beyond my power to explain dreams your majesty,’ I answered him. ‘But God will tell you what you need to know.’

Then Pharaoh told me of his dream about the seven fat cows and the seven thin ones, about the seven plump heads of grain and the seven shrivelled heads of grain. – The Lord was good to me and helped me understand what the dreams meant.

‘Both of these dreams mean the same thing,’ I started. ‘The seven fat cows and the seven plump heads of grain both mean seven years of wonderful harvests, bumper crops and prosperity. But the seven thin cows and the seven withered heads of grain mean seven years of famine!’

‘God has shown you what He is about to do. For the next seven years there will be wonderful harvests throughout the land of Egypt – a time of great prosperity. But once those seven years are over, there will come seven years of terrible famine throughout the land. The famine will be so bad that it will not only wipe away all the prosperity of the good years, but will be so strong than even the memory of the good years will be forgotten.’

‘And the reason you have been shown this dream twice is to confirm that the matter has been decided by God and He will make these events happen soon.’

As well as being able to understand the dreams, and explain to Pharaoh all they meant, the Lord also helped me to know what should be done to save the people from the famine. So I continued speaking. ‘Your majesty, my suggestion is this. Put the wisest man in all Egypt in charge of a project that will be nationwide. Appoint officials across the land to collect one fifth of all the crops during the years of plenty. Have this extra food stored in royal grain houses so that there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come. If you do not do this, then disaster will strike and all the people will die!’

 Pharaoh and his officials, magicians and wise men welcomed my advice. And as they discussed who should be appointed to lead such a project, Pharaoh spoke up. ‘Who could do a better job than Joseph? He has shown himself to be a man filled with the Spirit of God.’ Then turning to me he said, ‘Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, you are the wisest man in all Egypt. I hereby appoint you to be in charge of this project. Only I, Pharaoh, will have a rank higher than yours.’

And that’s how I came to be in this place, with the power I have. Pharaoh put me in charge of the entire land of Egypt. He put his own signet ring on my finger as a sign of his authority and power. He dressed me in beautiful clothes and put the royal chain around me neck! He gave me a wife, and he gave me the chariot of the second-in-command of all Egypt so that wherever I go – people run before my chariot shouting, ‘kneel down’.

For the last seven years I have collected one fifth of the harvest from all the people, everywhere in the land. This food has been stored in royal storehouses ready for the time of famine that has now come. For just as I explained, this year, the eighth year, crops have failed all over the land and far beyond, for the famine has begun.

And that is my story, a story of how God used the anger and hatred of my brothers to bring me to Egypt. How he even let me be accused of trying to hurt Potiphar’s wife, and let me go to jail – because only then would I be ready to organise such a work as this, one that will save many lives.

Episode 19 – Joseph – A New Life in Egypt

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapters 39 & 40

Joseph – A New Life in Egypt

Hated by my brothers and sold by them to slave traders making their way down to Egypt, my life was never to be the same again. No longer was I the dearly loved son of my father Isaac, but the lowest slave in the household of Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s servants. But the Lord had not left me, and whatever I put my hand to, God blessed. In fact, His blessing was so great upon me that Potiphar realised the Lord was with me and put me in charge of more and more of his estate. Potiphar became fond of me, and after a while he put me in charge of his entire household. And from the day I was put in charge, the Lord blessed Potiphar in every way. He had no worries of any kind except to decide what food he would have put on the table.

But it was also at this time that the wife of Potiphar started to take notice of me. She would come to me when her husband was not around and ask me to embrace her and kiss her! But I would not do such an evil thing! ‘Look,’ I said to her. ‘My master has put me in charge of his entire estate; he has not held anything back from me except you, for you are his wife. So how could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a terrible sin against God!’ But she would not listen to me.

Day after day she pestered me, ‘Oh come on Joseph, just a little kiss and cuddle, no one will know.’ But I refused and as much as I could I avoided her.

However, the day came when I thought I was alone in the house doing my daily chores, when Potiphar’s wife sneaked up behind me and grabbed hold of me shirt. ‘Come on Joseph, kiss me now,’ she insisted. ‘I’m not going to let you go this time.’

She had trapped me, but as quickly as I could, I ducked out of my shirt, leaving it in her hands, and ran out of the house. But this was too much for Potiphar’s wife; she could not take being rejected by me time and time again. Seeing that she still had my shirt, she started to scream and scream until all the men came running to find out what had happened. When the men arrived, she sobbed out her lies. ‘Joseph tried to hurt me. But when I screamed he stopped and ran away. Look I have his shirt as proof!’

When her husband came home later that night, his wife told him the same lies she had told all the other men. Potiphar was furious and threw me into prison.

What had happened to me? The Lord had been blessing me, even though I had been sold by my brothers as a slave. But now, because of this woman’s evil lies I was thrown into prison – with no hope of ever being set free again. (PAUSE)

But even in prison, the Lord God had not left me. What ever I did, He blessed! Until the day came when the jailer put me in charge of the running of the whole prison. The chief jailer did not need to trouble himself about anything because the Lord blessed everything I did. (PAUSE)

Some time later, Pharaoh sent two new prisoners to the jail. One was the cupbearer to King Pharaoh, who tasted the wine before giving it to Pharaoh, to make sure it had not been poisoned. The other was the chief baker. (P) I was put in charge of these new prisoners. One morning when I went to see to their needs I noticed a worried look on their faces. ‘What’s the matter?’ I asked, ‘Why do you both look so anxious?’

‘We both had dreams last night,’ they said. ‘And we know they have meanings, but there isn’t anyone here to explain them to us.’

‘Explaining dreams is God’s business,’ I replied. ‘But even so, tell me what you dreamed.’

The chief cupbearer spoke first. ‘Last night I dreamed I saw a grape vine with three branches on it. And as I watched, the branches budded, then blossomed, and then bunches of grapes appeared. I was holding Pharaoh’s cup in my hand, and I walked over to the grapes and squeezed the juice from them into Pharaoh’s cup. Then I took the cup to Pharaoh and gave it to him.’

‘I know what that dream means,’ I told him. ‘The three branches means three days. In three days time Pharaoh will call you out of prison and restore you to your position as chief cupbearer. But please, when you are restored, mention me to Pharaoh, because I was kidnapped from my home land, and now I’m in jail and I haven’t done anything wrong!’

The chief baker had been listening to our conversation, and because I had given a good explanation of the cupbearer’s dream, he decided to tell me his dream. ‘In my dream,’ he started, ‘I was holding three baskets full of bakery products on my head. The top basket had all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but then the birds came along and started to eat them.’

When I heard his dream, my heart fell. But I could not hold back the explanation. ‘In your dream, the three baskets also mean three days. But in three days, Pharaoh will cut off you head and leave your body to be eaten by the birds.’ (PAUSE)

Three days later, Pharaoh had a birthday party. And during the celebrations, just as I had explained, he restored the cupbearer and had the chief baker killed. (P) However, the cupbearer completely forgot about me, not giving me a second thought.

And so, for the next two years I continued to wait in jail.

Episode 18 – A Coat for Joseph

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 37

A Coat for Joseph

My name is Joseph and in all Egypt, there is no man with more power than me, except King Pharaoh himself. Wherever I travel men run before my chariot telling the people to kneel before me. On my hand, I have the signet ring of King Pharaoh and the royal chain rests around my neck.

To see me now in my fine clothes and with such power and authority, maybe you would think that I was born for such a position – that I am the son of an Egyptian nobleman. But then you would look at the colour of my skin and listen to the accent in my voice and wonder – ‘Who is this man? For surely he is not Egyptian. How did he come to have so much power and authority in Egypt?’ (PAUSE)

I was born to my father Jacob in his old age, and my mother, Rachel, was the only one of his four wives that my father truly loved. As a young man, I would go with my older brothers as they went to look after the flocks and herds, and like a fool I loved to get them into trouble with my father. Whatever they did, no matter how small, I would tell my father all about it. And so my brothers learned to hate me.

But still I tormented them even further, telling them of my dreams. In one such dream I saw my brothers and I working in the fields tying up large bundles of grain. My bundle stood up in the middle of all the others, and their bundles bowed low before mine. If I had been a wiser youth I would have kept my dream to myself, but like the fool I was – I ran to tell them, only making their anger towards me worse. ‘What are you saying dreamer?’ they shouted. ‘That someday we’ll all bow down before you? Not in this life!’ And they hated me even more.

But my greatest folly was to show my brothers just how much more my father loved me than any of them. Perhaps my father was not wise when one day he gave me a coat so beautiful that it was fit for a prince! Never had our father given any of my older brothers such a gift, how it must have hurt them to know that he loved me so much more than he loved them! But again, if I had been wiser, I would have thanked my father and hidden the coat away to make sure that my brothers were not hurt even more deeply by the constant reminder of seeing me in that coat. But I was too proud, too proud and stupid to hide the coat away. Instead, I would wear it at every opportunity, constantly showing my brothers that our father loved me the most – and that he didn’t love them as he ought.

What a horrid boy I must have seemed to my brothers. Was it any wonder that they learned to hate me so much? That they couldn’t stand the sight of me and wanted nothing to do with me? But such hatred can never lead to good – except in the hands of God alone.

One day our father called me to see him. He told me that my brothers had been gone some time, looking after our flocks near a place called Shechem. ‘Go and see how your brothers are doing Joseph,’ he said. ‘And then come back and give me a report.’

‘Of course father,’ I replied. ‘I’m ready to go.’ So I put on my wonderful coat and set out to find my brothers. But when I got to Shechem, my brothers were nowhere to be seen. A man saw me wandering in a field looking for them and told me that he had heard them saying they would move on to Dothan – and so I followed them there.

With my coat on, my brothers could see me coming from a great distance, and their hearts fell! ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they spat out. ‘I can’t stand him anymore!’ said one of them. ‘Come on let’s kill him and be rid of him once and for all. We can tell our father that a wild animal got him!’ But Reuben, one of my brothers, did not want to see me dead, so instead he said. ‘Let’s not kill him. Why should we have his blood on our hands? Look, there’s that empty water storage pit over there. Why don’t we throw him in the pit and leave the rest to nature! That way, he’ll die without us having to touch him.’ Reuben, however, planned to come back later and rescue me from the pit and take me to our father.

But as I approached them I knew nothing of their evil plans, and instead of greeting me, they grabbed hold of me, stripped me of my coat and threw me into the pit. Happy to leave me to die!

My brothers then sat down to eat a meal, and, while they ate, they saw a caravan of traders making their way to Egypt. Then Judah, another one of my brothers said, ‘Why don’t we make some money out of Joseph instead of killing him? If we kill him, all we’ll get is a guilty conscience! Why don’t we sell him as a slave to those traders going down to Egypt?’ So when the traders came by, my brothers dragged me up from the pit. At first I hoped it was the end of a terrible joke, but as they mercilessly sold me to the traders – for twenty pieces of silver, I knew my life would never be the same again.

Reuben hadn’t been there when the others sold me to the traders, and later, when he came back to pull me out and take me back to my father, he found I was gone and tore his clothes in frustration and sadness. Then my brothers took my coat, tore it and dipped it in animal blood. They took it back to my father and asked him, ‘Is this the coat you gave Joseph? We found it like this in a field.’

My father recognised it at once and assumed a wild animal had killed me. He mourned deeply for my death. But even in his deep – deep sadness, not one of my brothers told him the truth. (PAUSE) To him, I was dead. (PAUSE)

Some time later I arrived in Egypt and was sold as a slave in the slave market. But God was still with me, and I was sold to Potiphar, the captain of the palace guard, an important official in the palace of Pharaoh. (PAUSE)