Lesson 18: Joseph's Coat of Many Colors - Dreams, Jealousy, and God's Hidden Plan

1. Key Bible Reading

Passage: Genesis 37:1 – 37:36 (also referencing Proverbs 14:30 and Genesis 50:20, World English Bible – WEB).
Teachers and parents: Read Genesis 37:1–11 and 37:18–28 aloud with the children. Ask them what their favourite colours are and imagine what Joseph’s coat looked like!

2. Memory Verse to Learn by Heart

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors.”
— Genesis 37:3 (WEB)

3. What We Will Learn Today

• How seventeen-year-old Joseph lived with his family in Canaan and was especially loved by his father Jacob (Israel).
• The special gift of the coat of many colours and why his brothers became angry and jealous: “they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him” (Genesis 37:4).
• Joseph’s two prophetic dreams given by God: the sheaves of wheat bowing down and the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down.
• How jealousy led the brothers to plot against him in Dothan, stripping his colourful coat and throwing him into a dry cistern pit.
• How God was with Joseph even when he was sold for twenty pieces of silver to an Ishmaelite caravan heading to Egypt, showing that God works all things for good!

4. The Complete Story of Joseph and His Coat of Many Colours

Part A: A Father’s Special Gift and Two Prophetic Dreams (Genesis 37:1–11)

After many years of travelling, Jacob lived in the land of Canaan with his large family. Among his twelve sons, one young boy stood out: Joseph, who was seventeen years old. Joseph helped tend his father’s sheep with his brothers. The Bible tells us something very special about Jacob and Joseph:

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors.” — Genesis 37:3 (WEB)

In biblical times, everyday working shepherds wore plain, short wool tunics. But this coat that Jacob gave Joseph was long, graceful, and woven with bright, beautiful colours! It showed that Jacob honoured Joseph with great favour. Sadly, when his older brothers saw this, jealousy took root in their hearts:

“His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him.” — Genesis 37:4 (WEB)

Then God gave Joseph two extraordinary dreams about the future. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers were out in the harvest fields binding bundles of golden wheat:

“‘Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.’” — Genesis 37:7 (WEB)

His brothers were furious and said, “Will you indeed reign over us?” (Genesis 37:8). Soon after, Joseph had a second dream:

“‘Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.’” — Genesis 37:9 (WEB)

Even Father Jacob gently rebuked him: “Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down ourselves to you to the earth?” (Genesis 37:10). His brothers envied him even more, but Jacob kept these mysterious words quietly in his heart.

Part B: Journey to Dothan and the Dry Cistern Pit (Genesis 37:12–24)

Some time later, the older brothers took the sheep north to graze near Shechem. Jacob was concerned for them and said to Joseph:

“‘Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.’” — Genesis 37:14 (WEB)

Joseph obeyed his father cheerfully. He walked over fifty miles from the valley of Hebron all the way to Shechem! A friendly stranger found him wandering in the open fields and told him: “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” (Genesis 37:17).

Joseph continued walking to Dothan. But when his older brothers saw him approaching in the distance wearing his colourful coat, their bitter jealousy turned into a cruel plot:

“They said to one another, ‘Behold, this dreamer comes. Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits... and we will see what will become of his dreams.’” — Genesis 37:19–20 (WEB)

The oldest brother, Reuben, knew this was wicked and stepped in to protect young Joseph:

“Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, ‘Let’s not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him’—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.” — Genesis 37:21–22 (WEB)

When Joseph finally reached them, breathless and happy to see them, the brothers grabbed him roughly! They stripped him of his magnificent coat of many colours and threw him down into a deep, empty stone cistern pit where there was no water (Genesis 37:23–24).

Part C: Sold to Egypt and Jacob’s Broken Heart (Genesis 37:25–36)

While Reuben was away attending to some sheep, the other brothers sat down callously to eat a meal. As they looked up, they saw a merchant caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying sweet spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.

Another brother, Judah, said to the rest:

“Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.’ His brothers listened to him.” — Genesis 37:26–27 (WEB)

The brothers pulled seventeen-year-old Joseph up out of the dark pit and sold him to the Ishmaelite traders for twenty pieces of silver (the price of a servant). The merchants took Joseph away across the desert toward Egypt.

When Reuben returned to the pit and found it empty, he tore his clothes in anguish, crying: “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?” (Genesis 37:30).

To cover up their terrible sin, the brothers took Joseph’s beautiful coat of many colours, killed a male goat, and dipped the coat into the goat’s blood. They brought it home to their elderly father Jacob and lied: “We found this. Examine it now, whether it is your son’s coat or not” (Genesis 37:32).

Jacob recognized it immediately and wept in bitter grief:

“He recognized it, and said, ‘It is my son’s coat. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.’” — Genesis 37:33 (WEB)

Jacob tore his garments, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his beloved son for many days, refusing to be comforted. But God had not forgotten Joseph! Down in Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the royal guard (Genesis 37:36). Even in a strange foreign land, the Lord God was with Joseph to prepare him to save many lives!

5. Quick Revision Table: Key Facts of Joseph and His Coat (WEB)

6. Class Discussion Questions

1. Why were Joseph’s brothers so angry and jealous of him (Genesis 37:3–4)? What does the Bible say about envy in Proverbs 14:30?
2. What did Joseph’s two dreams mean? Did Joseph make up those dreams himself, or did God give them to him?
3. What did Reuben and Judah each do when the other brothers wanted to kill Joseph (Genesis 37:21–27)? How can we stand up for others when someone is being treated unkindly?
4. Even though Joseph was thrown into a pit and taken far away from home, was God still with him? How does God turn bad situations into blessings (Genesis 50:20)?

7. Fun Children’s Activity

8. Closing Prayer

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You have a wonderful plan for each one of us, just as You had a plan for Joseph. Please protect our hearts from jealousy, envy, and bitterness, and fill us with kindness and brotherly love. Help us to trust You in difficult times, knowing that You are always with us and that You can turn anything meant for harm into a great blessing. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.”