The Prophet
Joseph
After the
great prophet Abraham settled in Cannon with his son Isaac, he had a grandson,
Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons, but he was very fond of one—Joseph. Joseph’s
brothers were jealous of him; they thought that their father was unfair in
showing so much regard for him. Jacob saw in Joseph uncommonly sharp
intelligence, as well as an ability to quickly discern the underlying reality and
draw correct conclusions. These qualities made Joseph the apple of his father’s
eye.
(12-4-20)
One day
Joseph came running to his father in the morning. He said, “Father I have had a
dream. I saw eleven stars, the moon, and the sun bowing to me.” His father
replied, “Do not tell your brothers about your dream. They may start scheming against
you. Jealousy and envy can blind people into doing evil deeds. I interpret your
dream as a sign from God Almighty. I think God will choose you for a great
purpose; he will teach you how to discern the data and draw correct conclusions
from it, and through you will pour his blessings on my family, as he has done
in the past for our father and grandfather, Isaac and Abraham.”
Jacob had his
twelve sons by different wives. Joseph and his younger brother were from one
wife. Jacob’s excessive indulgence for Joseph was unbearable to his other sons.
They were so furious that they called a meeting to discuss the matter.
In the meeting, all the brothers got together,
and one of them said, “Our father loves Joseph more than all of us. Joseph is
only an individual, whereas we are greater in number. Our father is making a
grave mistake in neglecting all of us and bestowing his favor on a single one.”
“What
measures can we take to rectify the situation?” asked one of the brothers.
“Kill Joseph
or make arrangements to banish him in a very far off country. After his removal,
Jacob’s attention will remain focused on us without any discrimination.”
One brother
said, “Don’t kill Joseph. Throw him in a dark, deep well so that any caravan
may pick him up and carry him away. In this way we will get rid of him for
good.” All the brothers agreed with this plan.
In order to
execute this plan, the brothers went to their father and said, “Why don’t you
trust us about Joseph? You don’t allow him to go with us. Send him with us in
the morning to the meadow, so that he can eat, play, and enjoy in the open
atmosphere. We are his well-wishers, not his enemies.”
“It is not a
matter of distrust,” replied Jacob. “I fear that you may become careless about
his safety and some wolf may come and eat him.”
“What are you
saying? How can a wolf devour Joseph in the presence of a group of men like us?
Do you think we are completely worthless?” they all said in one voice. “Surely
we will take good care of him.”
Jacob used to keep Joseph with him for
educational purposes. His other sons looked after the sheep. This was one of
the causes of their jealousy. However, Joseph was not familiar with the wildlife
of a shepherd. Attacks on sheep by
wolves were routine occurrences in the life of a shepherd. Jacob was justified
in expressing his fears for Joseph, who was not accustomed to this type of
living. But the brothers of Joseph convinced their father and took Joseph away.
As they had planned before, they threw him in a deep, dark well. During that
period God sent a message to Joseph for his consolation: “Don’t be afraid. One
day you will remind your brothers about their actions and they will not have
any clue about your identity.”
In the
evening, the brothers came to their father weeping and wailing. “Oh, father we
left our belongings with Joseph and went to run a race. In our absence, a wolf
came and devoured Joseph. We know that you will not believe us, but we are
telling the truth.” They had brought a shirt of Joseph with false blood on it
to show to the father.
“What! Joseph
is killed?” cried Jacob. “This is a story which your desires have concocted for
you.” Jacob was sure that Joseph was alive, but he had no proof of it. So he
said, “I am going to bear this catastrophe with patience, and I am going to ask
God’s help to bear with your concocted story.”
A caravan was
passing near the well in which Joseph had been thrown. A man was sent to draw
water from the well. As he lowered his bucket into the well and peeped in, he
saw a boy in it. The man shouted with glee, “Look, there is a boy in the well!”
The folks in the caravan hid Joseph because they wanted to sell him in the
market. Human trafficking was very common in those days. They sold Joseph in
Egypt’s slave market for a few coins, without trying to get more money from
this bargain. They were afraid that someone might recognize Joseph and put them
in trouble.
