Now Joseph wasn’t Jacob’s only son. In fact, the old man had a bunch of sons and even a daughter with his first wife Lea–and also four sons with two of his concubines. Hard to imagine today, but having multiple wives was common practice in those days. There’s one wife though we haven’t mentioned yet: Rachel. And she… she was Jacob’s great love and he favored her before the other wives and concubines. But Rachel, no matter how much Jacob loved her, could not have children of her own. Until... she got pregnant after all and became the mother of Joseph.

No wonder this boy was the favorite child of Jacob: the first born son of his favorite wife! Now, being the favorite isn’t always a good thing. Sure, you get a lot of praise and maybe some extra gifts from mum and dad, but what about the jealous eyes from the other kids? And to make matters worse, this annoying favourite also had some pretty weird thoughts and dreams. Dreams that would paint pictures about how Joseph would get to rule his older brothers and even their father some day. And on top of that the old man even confirmed and indulged this brat by giving him the most beautiful coat money could buy. Grrr! Love him or hate him: Joseph was a game changer either way!

This infuriated the brothers, and from then on they made their plans against that snooty Joseph. Long story short: somewhere in a remote field, the older boys grabbed Joseph, threw him into a dry well and sold him to slave traders passing by on their way to Egypt. They devised a plausible-sounding tale and told it in an air of feigned sadness to their elderly father. Jacob, of course, was devastated. His  beloved son supposedly was killed by a wild animal. The brothers, all fake tears and fabricated sympathy, had the torn up the coat to prove it, with one added color: blood.

This is where the stories of Jacob and Joseph for now divide. From here on the Bible zooms in on the whereabouts and dealings of Joseph in Egypt and we do not hear from Jacob and his sons for a long time. But, they will return. Under starkly different circumstances and with hugely different attitudes. Joseph will get to see certain nightmares and certain dreams come true as he ascends both into the darkness of imprisonment and into the light of royalty. All the while he changes from perhaps a bit of an arrogant boy into a man of God, who takes responsibility, is ready to serve and abides his time.

We invite you to experience this wonderful story of Joseph. A story of ups and downs, but mostly of redemption. A story that, in many ways, points to the story of Jesus.