one little tike of a brother. Let me bag back into the corridors of the histories, and pull out a chronicle title: "The Life and Times of Joseph" and dig out of it some spiritual nuggets to deposit into your spiritual bank account.

Joseph, the 11th son of Jacob, was the Rachael first child and Jacob’s favorite son. This is most clearly shown by the special coat, which Jacob gave to him. This favoritism eventually brought severe trouble for the whole family. Joseph’s ten older brothers hated him because he was daddy’s favorite and because he had dreams which he interpreted t his brothers in a conceited way. It is no surprise that they hated him enough to kill him.

Joseph and his family were shepherds in the land of Canaan. One day, the Bible says that, Jacob sent Joseph to search for his brothers, who was tending the flocks in the fields. When Joseph found them, they seized the chance to kill him. The only opposing voice was Reuben’s, but they decided to sell him into slavery to passing merchants.

To hide the deed from their daddy, Joseph’s coat of many colors was dipped in animal blood. When Jacob saw it, he was convinced that a wild animal killed Joseph.
Joseph was taken to Egypt, where he was sold to Potiphar, an officer of the ruling pharaoh of the nation. His good manners soon earned him the highest position in the house. Potiphar’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and tempter him to commit adultery with her. When he refused, she accused him of the crime and Joseph was sent to prison.

While in prison, Joseph’s manners earned him a position of responsibility over the other prisoners. Among the prisoners Joseph met were the Pharaoh’s baker and butler. When each of them had dreams, he interpreted their dreams. When the butler left prison, he failed to intercede on Joseph’s behalf, and Joseph spent two more years in prison.

When the pharaoh had dreams that none of his counselors could interpret, the butler remembered Joseph and mentioned him to the Pharaoh. Then Joseph as called to appear before the Pharaoh. He interpreted the Pharaoh’s dreams, predicting seven years of famine. He also advised the Pharaoh to appoint a commissioner to store up supplies during the plentiful years.

To Joseph’s surprise, the Pharaoh appointed him as food commissioner. This was a position of great prestige. Under Joseph’s care, many supplies were stored and the land prospered. Joseph was given many comforts, including servants and a wife. He was called Zapenath-Paneah, which means the revealer of secrets. When the famine hit, Joseph was second only to the Pharaoh in power. People from all the surrounding areas cane to buy food from him.

Many years passed since Joseph’s arriving in Eygpt as a slave and his rise to power in the nation during famine. The famine struck Canaan and the other sons of Jacob eventually came to buy food. When they met Joseph, they did not recognize him. He recognized them, however, and decided to test them to see if they had changed. He accuse them of being spies. Then he sold them food only on the conditions that Simeon stay as a hostage until they ring Benjamin, the youngest brother to Egypt.

Upon returning to Canaan the brothers told their daddy of they experiences. He vowed not to send Benjamin, but the continuing famine forced him to change his mind. On the next trip Benjamin tagged along to Egypt.