CHAPTER I
My story is a very unusual one, and I hope to show you some rather interesting things that happened to me and why those unusual events took place.
First of all, let me explain that I am a heavy box that is overlaid with gold. Inside of me are the bones of a truly wonderful man of God who lived thousands of years ago in the land of Egypt. My name is SARCOPHAGUS (sar-coff-a-gus). I know that is a real mouthful, but the name really fits me perfectly, because it means flesh-eater.
For nearly five hundred years, the Children of Israel kept me in Egypt. When Moses led them out of Egyptian slavery, I was carried into the wilderness where they wandered for forty years, and then I finally came to rest in the land of Canaan.
The bones that I carried were originally covered with the flesh of a great man by the name of Joseph. In the last eighty years of his life, Joseph was the Prime Minister of Egypt. He was the most powerful and influential man in the kingdom.... second only to the Pharaoh himself! I'd like to tell you how Joseph reached that position of authority, so let's take a closer look at the Word of God for the record.
If you are a Bible student, you have surely heard of Abraham. He was the father of the Jewish race, and God called him His friend. Abraham was Joseph's great- grandfather. He never knew Abraham, but he did learn many lessons that were passed down from Abraham, then to his son, Isaac, and finally to Jacob who was Joseph's father.
Jacob had twelve sons, and Joseph was the second youngest of them. Because Joseph was very stable and wise, his father promoted him above his older brothers and made him overseer of their many flocks. Jacob also gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors, and it was a badge of Joseph's authority.
Joseph was given the gift of interpreting dreams. Before the Bible was completed, God spoke to certain men through dreams, visions and direct conversations.
One night, Joseph had a dream and related it to his brothers. He said, "We were binding sheaves of corn in the field. My sheaf stood upright, and your sheaves bowed down to mine."
Joseph's brothers tried to ignore what he told them, but when he had a second dream that was similar to it, they complained to their father.
Joseph related the dream to his father and said, "I dreamed that the sun, the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me."
Jacob was very irritated when he heard that, and he said to Joseph, "What is this dream of yours? Shall I, and your mother and your eleven brothers all bow down to you?" (Jacob understood the meaning of the dream, and he thought about it many times after that)
Joseph's brothers resented his authority over them, and because of their hatred they kept trying to find a way to get rid of him.
CHAPTER 2
One day Jacob sent Joseph out to find his older brothers and report back how the boys were caring for the flocks. The brothers saw Joseph a long way off. They were laughing among themselves and said to one another, Look! Here comes the preacher! Let's kill him while we have the chance to be rid of him!"
The eldest brother Reuben said, "Let's not be so hasty about this! Wouldn't it be more wise if we threw him into a dry pit and left him to die rather than shed his blood? Look! I see a pit over there that we could use!" (Reuben secretly planned to return later in the day to release Joseph, but meanwhile he had a responsibility to his father's flocks so he left his brothers and went about his business.
Reuben's idea appealed to the others, so they took Joseph by force, tore his coat from him and threw him into the dry pit.
The pit was dark and very deep. Of course, Joseph complained bitterly and cried out to his brothers to let him go, but instead they decided to move away from the sound of his crying and sat down to eat their lunch.
Suddenly, one of them looked up and announced, "Here comes a large caravan of Ishmaelite traders. No doubt they are on their way to Egypt to sell their wares."
Another brother named Judah spoke up and offered his suggestion, "Why don't we sell Joseph to these Ishmaelites instead of leaving him to die in that pit? They could take Joseph far away from here, and we wouldn't have to look at him again or feel guilty about what happens to him."
The others agreed, and when the Ishmaelites came closer, they sold Joseph to them for thirty pieces of silver. Afterward, they killed a young goat, and dipped Joseph's beautiful coat in its blood. Then they took the coat to their father.
When Reuben returned to free Joseph, he was heartsick! Joseph was nowhere in sight, and the pit was empty! He hurried home to ask his brothers what they had done with Joseph.
Meanwhile, the brothers showed the bloody coat to their father and said to him; "Father, do you recognize this coat? It looks like the one you gave Joseph, but he is nowhere to be found!"
Jacob was grieved when he looked at the coat, and he replied, "It surely is Joseph's coat! Wild animals must have killed him! Jacob believed the lies his sons told him, and he mourned for his favorite son for many days.
The Ishmaelites who bought Joseph, bound him in irons and sold him as a slave to the Chief of Police in Egypt whose name was Potiphar. Joseph was a slave in Potiphar's house for the next nine years.
Not long after he bought Joseph, Potiphar saw how wise and dependable Joseph was, so he placed him in authority over his entire estate.
Potiphar's wife took an immediate fancy to young Joseph, and day after day during the nine years that Joseph was in Potiphar's house, the woman asked Joseph to lie with her. He consistently refused to comply with her request, so one day she arranged to have everyone out of the house so that she could be alone with Joseph. She grabbed him by his coat when he came into the house and she said, "Lie with me!" Joseph ran as fast as he could, left his coat in her hands and went to his own house.
When Potiphar came home, his wife showed Joseph's coat to him, and then she lied, saying, "Look at this coat! You brought a Hebrew slave into our house, and he attempted to assault me! I screamed for the servants! He became frightened and ran away, leaving his coat in my hands."
Potiphar was furious, but instead of calling for Joseph to get his side of the story, Potiphar believed his wife's lies and gave the order, "Find Joseph at once and arrest him!" Then he threw Joseph into the dungeon where the king's prisoners were held.
Joseph found himself in another testing situation, but he continued to trust in the Lord. He knew that the Lord had a definite purpose for his life and that this unfair treatment by Potiphar and his wife was part of God's plan for him
Shortly after being cast into the dungeon, the jailer saw that Joseph could be trusted, and he put him in charge of all the other prisoners in the dungeon.
CHAPTER 3
Two years went by, and Pharaoh was informed that one of his most trusted household servants was planning to assassinate him. The would-be assassin had to be either his chief cup-bearer or the servant who supervised all of the activities in the kitchen of the palace.
Of course, Pharaoh was extremely angry when he got that information, but, being a very wise man as well as a king, he sent for Potiphar and said to him, "Arrest my cup- bearer and the duke of the kitchen and put them both in the dungeon while we make a thorough investigation to see which of them is guilty of a plot to assassinate me!"
Potiphar personally took charge of the prisoners and ordered Joseph, "Here! These two men are the king's special prisoners! You are assigned as their personal body slave while they are here in the dungeon!"
One morning when Joseph went to take care of their needs, the two were very sad, and when Joseph asked why, they told him that they both had dreams that troubled them because they didn't understand what the dreams meant.
Joseph said, "Don't be sad. Interpretation of dreams belongs only to God. If you will tell me what you dreamed. He will give the interpretation of them to me."
The cup-bearer spoke first. His duty to the Pharaoh was to taste the wine and food before Pharaoh partook of them, and his dream was related to his duties. He said to Joseph, "In my dream, a vine with three branches budded and brought forth grapes. I squeezed the grapes into Pharaoh's cup, and then I woke up."
Joseph explained, "This is the interpretation of your dream.... The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift you out of this place and restore your position of serving him as you did before." Then, almost in the same breath, Joseph appealed to him and said, "When you are back in the palace again, remember me! I was put here unfairly and did nothing to deserve imprisonment!"
When the chief baker saw that his friend's dream was good, he said to Joseph, "In my dream there were three white baskets on my head. They were full of wonderful bakery goods for the king. Suddenly, birds came and ate the food in those baskets, and then I awoke!"
Joseph answered him and said, "Your three baskets also represent three days. At the end of those three days, Pharaoh will take you out of this place and hang you on tree! Then the birds of the air will come and eat your flesh!"
Everything happened just the way Joseph had interpreted the dreams. However when the chief cup-bearer stood before Pharaoh again, he did not remember to make plea for Joseph. In fact, he forgot about Joseph completely!"
Did you say, "POOR JOSEPH?" Don't feel sorry for Joseph! He was being disciplined by the Lord because he trusted in a man for deliverance, and because of that the Lord left him in prison for two more full years!
CHAPTER 4
After Joseph had been in prison for those two additional years, Pharaoh had two dreams that troubled him. He called for all of the magicians and wise men in Egypt, but they could not interpret his dreams.
Suddenly, the cup-bearer remembered how Joseph had interpreted his dream and also that of the chief baker. He told Pharaoh, "Your majesty, I remember that there was a man in prison who interpreted my dream and also your baker's dream, and everything he said did come to pass exactly the way the man said it would."
Pharaoh replied, "Send for that man at once.... what is his name?"
The chief cup-bearer answered, "His name is Joseph, and he is in charge of all of the prisoners in your dungeon."
Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph to appear before him right away.
When Pharaoh's servants took Joseph out of the dungeon, they explained that Pharaoh wanted an interpretation of his dreams.
Joseph knew that the Egyptians were a clean-shaven and clothing-conscious people, so he shaved and changed his garments before leaving. When he stood before Pharaoh, the king said, "Joseph, I've been told that you can give the interpretation of my dreams to me."
Joseph responded, "Your majesty, it is not because of any ability in me that I am able to interpret your dreams, but there is a God in heaven who can do that. Tell me your dreams, and the Lord will reveal the meaning of them to me."
Pharaoh's dreams were similar, and he explained them to Joseph saying, "I stood upon the bank of the river and saw seven healthy cattle come up out of the water. Right after them were seven very scrawny and ill-fed cattle. The ill-fed cattle devoured the healthy cattle, and then I awoke. The following night in my dream I saw seven healthy ears of corn come up on one stalk. After them came seven thin, dried-up ears, and the thin ears devoured the good ears of corn. Again, I awoke! Can you tell me the meaning of these dreams?"
Joseph answered, "Yes, your majesty. Both dreams tell you the same thing. The seven good cattle and the seven ears of good corn reveal that there will be seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt. After those good years, there will be seven very bad years when there won't be enough food to take care of your people. The Lord is telling you before it comes to pass so that you may prepare for the lack of food during the seven years of famine."
Pharaoh looked around at his servants in amazement and said, "I know of no one more qualified in my kingdom than this man Joseph who stands here before you to take charge of the nation's food supplies!"
Then the king turned to Joseph and said, "Joseph, I am the Pharaoh of Egypt, and I'm promoting you to be second in command in my kingdom."
Pharaoh placed a gold chain about Joseph's neck and gave him a beautiful wife who later bore two sons for him.
Joseph was thirty years old when he became Prime Minister of Egypt, and he took charge of the gathering of grain during the seven good years of plenty.
The land brought forth an abundance of grain, and it was stored in huge warehouses in all the cities in preparation to feed the people during the famine that was to come.
CHAPTER 5
Meanwhile, back in the land of Canaan where Jacob and Joseph's eleven brothers lived with their families, there was also a lack of food at the end of the seven plentiful years.
Jacob looked at his grown sons as they walked around kicking the dirt and wondering what to do, and he said to them, "I've been told that there is plenty of corn in Egypt. Get over there and buy some for us so we don't all starve to death!"
Ten of the older brothers took some money in their sacks and went to Egypt to buy food, but they left Benjamin, the youngest, home with their father.
When they reached the grain storage area, Joseph happened to be there. He recognized his brothers right away, but they did not know him. After all, he was now a thirty-year old man, and it had been thirteen years since they sold him into slavery. Joseph looked like an Egyptian now. He was clean-shaven and wore Egyptian clothing.
As the brothers approached Joseph with their money in their hands, he spoke to them very sternly through an interpreter and said, "Who are you men, and why have you come here?"
When they tried to explain their mission, Joseph said to them, "I think you are spies and that you have come here to see the nakedness of the land of Egypt so that you can report back to your people!"
They denied the accusation saying, "Oh, no, your excellency! We are not spies! We are all the sons of one man who lives in Canaan! We also have a younger brother at home. He is with his father who loves him and wanted to keep him by his side to comfort him while we were away!"
Then Joseph said, "If what you tell me is true, leave one of your brothers here while the rest may go back to Canaan. When you return to me, bring your younger brother with you., and then I will know you are speaking the truth!"
After saying that, Joseph took Simeon and put him in prison where he was to remain until his brothers returned again.
While the grain was being loaded, the brothers argued among themselves and said, "All of this evil has come upon us because of what we did to Joseph! We showed no mercy to him when he cried to us from the pit, and we sold him without having any shame about it. Now, we'll have to tell our father that Simeon has been left behind in Egypt!"
Joseph overheard their conversation, but he didn't let them know he understood what they said. Instead, he went into a private room to control his emotions because he realized that they had finally learned to take responsibility for their bad decisions.
When the brothers stopped to spend the night at an inn along the way, one of then took some grain from his sack to feed the animals. He saw his money staring him in the face when he opened the sack! He was badly shaken, and told his brothers about it They became frightened out of their wits and said, "Why has God allowed this thing to ( happen to us?"
When the ten brothers got back to Canaan, they told Jacob what had taken place and when they opened their sacks, each man found his money in his own sack, and they were all-afraid of what might happen to them when the Egyptian Prime Minister found out.
Then they told Jacob why Simeon was left behind, and Jacob felt very sorry for himself. He complained, "Joseph is dead! Simeon is as good as dead! Now you want to take Benjamin from me? All these things are against me!"
Reuben said, 'Father, take my two sons and kill them if I don't bring Benjamin back from Egypt! The man strictly told us not to return for more grain unless we have Benjamin with us!"
Frantically, Jacob replied, "Benjamin shall NOT go with you! His brother is dead, and now Benjamin only is a comfort to me in my old age! If you take him from me, I'll die, and the nine of you will be responsible for my death!" (Joseph and Benjamin were the only sons of Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel. The other sons were born of three different women whom Jacob had married)
Some time later when they had eaten all of the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob said, "Go again and bring food for us from Egypt!"
They reminded their father that Joseph had warned them not to return without Benjamin.
Then Judah said, "Father, I will be personally responsible for Benjamin's safe return if you will permit him to go with us! If we had not waited this long, we would have been back by this time!"
Jacob said reluctantly, "Alright, take him then, and take twice the amount of money with you to pay for the grain."
The eleven brothers journeyed back to Egypt and stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw his brothers, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house and make them comfortable while we prepare a fine meal for them. They will all dine with me at noon today!"
The brothers were afraid when they were taken into Joseph's house, and thought he was trying to find something of which to accuse them and then take them all for slaves.
They approached the steward of Joseph's house very meekly and said, "0 Sir, when we came here the first time, we brought money to pay for the grain, but when we left, we found the money in our sacks. We don't know how that happened!"
The steward gave them water for their feet and fed their animals. Then he brought Simeon to them and told them that Joseph had ordered their money to be put into their sacks.
Joseph arrived at noon, and they bowed down to him and gave him twice the money that was owed for the grain. Joseph spoke to them through an interpreter and asked if they were well, and he greeted Benjamin. Then he went into his private chambers to hide his emotions at seeing his brother Benjamin. After that, he returned and said to his servants, "Bring the food for our guests!"
Joseph was seated at a table by himself. The Egyptians sat alone at another table, and the eleven brothers were seated by themselves at a third table. When the brothers saw that they were seated according to their respective ages, they were amazed and wondered how anyone could possibly have that information.
Joseph directed his steward to give the best portion of food to Benjamin. He was testing the jealousy of his older brothers, and they passed the test. They were not jealous of Benjamin, and they all drank and were merry with Joseph.
When they finished eating and were ready to leave, Joseph instructed his servants to put the money back in their sacks again, and he told his steward to put his personal silver drinking cup in the sack belonging to Benjamin.
After they returned to Canaan and told Jacob that Joseph was still alive and the wonderful things God had done for him, Jacob looked at them in utter disbelief, but when he saw the wagons filled with supplies for their trip back to Egypt, he said to his sons, "I will go to my son in Egypt!"
When Jacob stood before Pharaoh, he was one hundred thirty years old. He live" seventeen good years in Egypt before he died at age one hundred forty-seven. His son took his body back to Canaan and buried it near his forefathers, Isaac and Abraham, as he had requested.
During those seventeen years in Egypt, Jacob's faith grew stronger as he saw how God had blessed Joseph because he relied on the Lord. Jacob was finally able to wear the name that God had given him in his youth.... "Israel, prince with God". Also, Jacob' descendants are called, 'THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL".
CHAPTER 6
After the death of Jacob, Joseph continued to rule as Prime Minister of Egypt for many more years. He lived to enjoy his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren.
Joseph's brothers prospered, and their families increased because of Pharaoh's kindness to them.
When Joseph reached the age of one hundred ten, he knew he was about to die. He called the members of his family together and said to them, "I'm going to die. Don't bury me in Egypt, but take my body with you wherever the Lord leads you, and then bury my bones in the land that God promised to Abraham. Remember that the Lord told Abraham our people would be in bondage for four-hundred years and then He would deliver them from slavery and take them to a land of their own."
After giving those instructions to his family, Joseph died. His body was embalmed and placed in the gold box that bears my name, "SARCHOPHAGUS".
I had the honor of carrying Joseph's bones during the Jews' four hundred years of bondage in Egypt and also throughout their forty years of wandering in the desert with Moses.
I found no rest until Joshua and the people who were with him went into the land of Canaan where they buried me and the bones of Joseph in Shechem, according to the will of God.
The End
Written by Lois Delnay
Fallbrook Ranch Productions
loisdelnay@hotmail.com
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Copyright 2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007 Fallbrook Ranch Productions 522 Del Valle Drive Fallbrook, CA 92028 This Material may be copied for teaching purposes or for your own use. Not for commercial use without permission of the author. All rights reserved. Lois Delnay
