HEY, EGYPT! HERE WE COME! - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

HEY, EGYPT! HERE WE COME!
by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards and Jennifer Leigh Edwards

One not so beautiful afternoon, while David was sitting in
the middle of the floor playing with his toys, he noticed
Tommy's new toy ambulance. It was so cool, because it made
the noises of the sirens and the horn, and even spun the
tires!

Meanwhile, Tommy was finishing a block building that he
had been working on and didn't see David pick it up. David
pushed one button after another. "VROOM! VROOM! HONK! HONK!
WOO! WOO!" the noises continued. Just a few moments later,
Tommy heard an awful sound.

"CRASH! SCREECH! CRUNCH!" He looked over at David
immediately. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "YOU
BROKE MY FAVORITE TOY!!! Why would you do that? It was my
absolute favorite because it's brand new. How am I ever
going to get another one?"

David tried to explain, "It was only an accident. I
didn't mean to break it; I was just playing with it. I'm
sorry."

Tommy angrily replied, "Sorry is just not good enough!
Sorry doesn't get me a new ambulance with all the cool
buttons and noises, now, does it?"

David didn't know what to say. He certainly couldn't
replace it. He couldn't ask his mommy to go buy a toy for
his friend. David thought and thought, but he couldn't
decide on a good plan. He just wanted to make it right, but
Tommy simply would not listen.

When David received his allowance money a few days
later, he begged his mommy to take him to the store. After
she was finished shopping, he said, "Mommy, Mommy! I want
to go get a toy."

She replied, "You've been such a good boy this week. I
suppose we can look for a few short minutes."

"I know exactly what I want to get. This won't take
long at all," he stated positively. "I need to see the
cars."

His mother frowned and replied, "Don't you think you
have enough cars? Maybe you should consider a game you
could share with your brother."

David insisted, "I need a new ambulance! You know, the
one that makes all the noises and has all the buttons.
That's the one that I need."

His mother asked, "You don't want it only because Tommy
has it, do you?"

"NO!" David said emphatically. He quietly continued,
almost in a whisper, "I need to replace his."

"What happened?" Mommy asked.

David shyly began to relate the story. "I was playing
with it at his house a few days ago, and I . . .." He
stopped to clear his throat. He was so upset, he was now
whimpering, almost in tears.

"Go on, David," his mommy encouraged. "It's okay. Just
tell me what happened."

"Well, I. . . I . . . I started pushing all the buttons
just as fast as I could, and I . . . uh . . . I broke it! I
broke Tommy's toy! I broke his favorite ambulance."

"Did you say you were sorry?" Mommy asked.

"Yes, but...." He was so sad he couldn't continue.

"But what?" she questioned.

"But he was still mad, so I thought that if I bought
him a new one he would play with me again and would be my
friend," David replied.

"Well, that's a nice thought. You think that if you are
nice to Tommy, he will forgive you for breaking his toy,"
she stated.

"Is that what it is?" David asked, confused.

"Yes," Mommy stated. "When we do something wrong and we
say we're sorry, the other person should forgive us."

"Well, I sure hope Tommy forgives me!" David exclaimed.

The next day, when David gave Tommy the new ambulance,
Tommy grinned from ear to ear. Then he did a very
surprising thing. He handed it back to David and said, "You
keep it. I want to be friends even though you broke my toy.
I know it was only an accident and I forgive you." He
continued, "Will you forgive me for getting so upset
yesterday?"

"Yes. Of course, I forgive you! That's what we are
supposed to do when somebody does something wrong to us.
Even if we don't feel like it, we should always forgive
each other," David finished. They were both happy that
everything worked out so well.

Joseph's brothers chattered almost non-stop all the way
back to Canaan. They were so caught up in their excitement,
that they hardly noticed the hot, dry, barren, miserable
desert. They couldn't believe their good fortune.... They
couldn't believe that their little brother had become an
important ruler in the land of Egypt. For that matter, they
could hardly believe he was still alive.

"Are you sure it was really Joseph?" one of them asked
in disbelief.

"It had to have been him," Reuben replied. "How else
would he have known us from the oldest down to the
youngest?"

"Besides," said Dan, "who else would have given us so
much food and so many gifts to bring back home?"

"Remember, I'm the one that was in prison waiting
for-ev-er for you guys to come back for me!," Simeon piped
up. "His servants treated me very well . . . uhmmm . . .
very well for a prison, that is," he added.

As the conversation went on and on, there was no other
conclusion to be made other than that he had to have been
Joseph.

Nearing their home, their excitement grew even greater.
Their voices reached a fevered pitch as they argued about
who was to be the first to tell their father about the
feast, and about the silver cup, and . . . that their
brother Joseph was alive and well.

Jacob had been anxiously awaiting the return of his
sons. His hope that Simeon would be returned was mingled
with fear that something dreadful might have happened to
Benjamin.

Hearing what sounded like loud, angry voices, he moved
as fast as his elderly body would let him, his fear
escalating. He breathed a sigh of relief as he counted and
realized that his eleven sons had all returned to him. "At
least they are safe," he thought. "Whatever they are
arguing about is not important."

"DAD! DAD!," they shouted when they saw him coming
toward them. "WE HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL NEWS!" When Jacob
heard that, he relaxed a little more, but curiously
wondered what they could be talking about. All the brothers
were shouting and talking at the same time, and none of it
made any sense.

"Calm down . . . ALL OF YOU!" He had to shout to be
heard. The brothers were so excited they couldn't contain
it. When they had finally calmed down a little bit, Jacob
asked, "Now what is all this good news you are clammoring
about?"

The brothers all continued talking at the same time,
and Jacob heard something about a feast and something about
a silver cup, but the thing he heard that made him freeze
in his tracks, was the name of his dearly loved son,
Joseph. "FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE," he shouted. "What is this
you have to say about Joseph?"

The brothers tried to tell him Joseph was alive, and
that they had talked to him.

That was such startling news for the old man, he almost
lost his balance and had to be helped to a nearby boulder
to sit down. "WHY ARE YOU MAKING JOKES ABOUT THINGS LIKE
THIS?" he cried angrily. "YOU YOURSELVES TOLD ME MANY YEARS
AGO THAT JOSEPH WAS KILLED BY A WILD ANIMAL!"

The excitement subdued as the brothers were forced to
confess the terrible things they had done when they sold
Joseph to be a slave and all the lies they had told over
the years to cover it up. Jacob was stunned and numb. He
didn't know what to believe....

. . . But down the road, just a little way behind
the brothers, he saw something that made him lose all
doubt. "THE WAGONS ARE COMING!" he shouted. "AND LOOK AT
ALL THOSE DONKEYS LOADED WITH GOODS! IT IS JUST AS YOU
SAID! ONLY JOSEPH WOULD DO THIS AND SEND SO MANY GIFTS! HE
MUST BE ALIVE! I MUST GO, SEE HIM." It was all so
unbelievable. Jacob was beside himself with joy.

Jacob commanded his sons to gather all their herds and
flocks, and load the wagons with their wives, their
children, and their food for the trip. All together, 66
decendants of Jacob, not counting the wives, were going on
the l-o-n-g trip to Egypt. The brothers obediently did all
they were told and also made an especially comfortable
place in one of the wagons for their father.

They traveled the same hot, dry, dusty paths they had
taken on their two previous trips to Egypt. They stopped to
make camp overnight at a place called Beersheba, and Jacob
made sacrifices and worshipped Yahweh. During the night, Yahweh
spoke to Jacob.

"Here I am," Jacob replied to Yahweh.

"I am the Elohim of your father Isaac and of his father
Abraham. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will be with you
and I will make your children and grandchildren a great
nation. Joseph is alive and you shall be with him," Yahweh
said to Jacob.

Jacob was thankful that Yahweh had spoken to him and
reassured him that all was well, and he was doing the right
thing. He slept peacefully the rest of the night.

Jacob and all his sons and their families arose early
in the morning to continue their journey into Egypt. Jacob
had appointed Judah to go ahead of the group to see Joseph
and tell him they had arrived. Joseph prepared his chariot
and practically flew to see his father. After he had
introduced himself, he threw his arms around his father and
hugged him and wept for a good while. Jacob was convinced
that it truly was his son Joseph and he was now content and
free from fear.

Joseph told the group they were all going to go meet
King Pharaoh. He instructed them as to the proper
courtesies and what they should say to answer Pharaoh's
questions. Joseph led the group to the palace to introduce
them to the King, and the King was overjoyed to finally
meet Joseph's family. Pharaoh couldn't speak to them
directly because they spoke different languages, so he
communicated through Joseph.

"Tell your father that all of Egypt is open to them.
Make sure they settle in a place with good land and water."
Then Pharaoh turned to Jacob and, speaking through Joseph,
asked how old he was.

Jacob replied that he was 130 years old. Then Jacob
prayed a blessing upon Pharaoh, and they went out to settle
in the land of Goshen.

Jacob, who was also known as Israel, and his sons, who
were also known as the children of Israel, grew very
prosperous in Egypt. Jacob lived 17 more years and grew
older and weaker. He gathered all his sons around him and
prayed a blessing over them, naming each one individually.
He also prayed a blessing over Joseph's two sons, Manasseh
and Ephraim.

After all the blessings were prayed and instructions
were made, Jacob quietly went to sleep and died a peaceful
death. Joseph, his family, and even Pharaoh and the whole
land of Egypt mourned 40 days for Jacob.

After their father Jacob died, the brothers started
thinking of the past and became very worried. They were
afraid that Joseph had only been kind to them on account of
their father. They concocted a plan and made up a lie. Then
they hired a messenger to go ahead of them to speak to
Joseph.

"Your father had a command for you before he died," the
messenger said. "He wanted you to forgive your brothers for
the evil things they did to you." The brothers then bowed
on the floor before Joseph, begging his forgiveness.

Joseph looked at them sadly and deeply troubled. With
tears in his eyes, he asked, "Do you really think I want to
pay you back evil for evil? I have no grudge against you.
How can you even think such a thing? I have no desire to do
anything bad to any of you," he continued.

"You think you were bad to me and your conscience is
bothering you, but Yahweh had a plan. Yahweh wanted me here in
Egypt to save you, your families, and many, many other
people from starving, and he used you to get me here. There
is no need for you to fear me. What you meant for evil, Yahweh
meant it for good. I will take care of all of you and your
families," he spoke to them kindly.

Joseph and his brothers lived the rest of their lives
prosperously in the land of Egypt.

THINK!

* What good news did the brothers have for their
father?
* Why did their father have trouble believing them?
* What did Jacob do when they stopped at Beersheba?
* Why didn't King Pharaoh speak directly to Jacob?
* How many sons did Joseph have?
* Why did the brothers become fearful of Joseph?
* What was Joseph's attitude toward his brothers?

REMEMBER:

Yahweh can make even bad things turn out good.

A VERSE TO LEARN

"You thought evil against me; but Yahweh meant it unto
good" (Genesis 50:20).

LET'S PRAY

****************************************************
Dear Yahweh, thank You for always being in control
and knowing what is best for us. Help us remember
to be kind and to forgive others. In Yah'shua's Name, amen.
****************************************************

CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Genesis 44:24 - 50:22

You can view this Bible story in full color with pictures and resources
to go along with the story at
http://www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/joseph8.html

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