Religious

Education 8 3
CHAPTER

Christian J. Pascual
Cooperating Teacher
Merlita T. Gawiran
Pre-service Teacher
GOOD MORNING!
Objectives:
At the end of 60 minutes discussion, the
students must be able to:
a. Identify consept of God’s revelation,
salvation, faith, and mission:
b. Describe the dynamics of God’s call-
human response- mission as illustrated in
the story of each patriarch;
c. Be inspired by the kind of faith-life
each patriarch lived and adapt them in
d. Name the varied ways and
forms by which God speaks
and calls us today; and
e. Be aware of one’s present
relationship with God and
realize need for maturing in
faith.
Joseph Steadfast Faith in God
 The story of Joseph is among the finest
narratives in the Old Testament. It tells a
story of a broken family that was made
whole again. Joseph’s later generous
treatment of his brothers despite what
they had done to him illustrates this
narrative ‘s theme: “Even though you
meant harm to me, God meant it for
good, to achieve his present end, the
survival of many people. ( Gn 50: 20)
 Jacob, now called Israel,
settled in Canaan and had
twelve sons. Of this sons, Jacob
loved Joseph the most because
he was the son of Rachel, the
woman he truly loved. Joseph
was also his first child in his old
age.
1. Joseph is sold into slavery ( Gn 37:1-36)
Joseph’s brothers were jealous of and
angry at him because of the special
treatment he got from their father and
the way he would talk about his dreams
which depicted Joseph as ruling over
them or being in power . Jacob gave
Joseph a long, colorful coat, which for his
brothers was another sign of their
father’s favoritism and another thing for
Joseph to brag about.
 Given the situation, the brothers
plotted to kill Joseph and throw him
down a well, but Reuben stopped
them. Instead of killing him, they
just threw him into a cistern. Reuben
had planned to rescue Joseph later
on, but Judah convinced the other
brothers to sell Joseph as a slave to
passing merchants who were on their
way to Egypt.
2. Joseph is tempted ( Gn 39).
God , in His mysterious ways, created good
out of evil. Joseph was sold as a slave., but he
ended up as the manager of an Egyptian
courtier’s entire household and property. The
narrative shows that God was always with
Joseph. The statement, “ the Lord was with
him” appears more than seven times in this
chapter to indicate that it was God who was
working out His divine purpose behind all
events and people.
 However, not everything went
well for Joseph. Potiphar was the
name of his master. One day,
Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him.
Joseph refused her advances and
was imprisoned after Potiphar’s wife
had falsely accused him of taking
advantage of her. Even in prison,
Joseph continued to be strengthened
by God’s grace.
 He remained upright in the
midst of his difficult ordeal. God
blessed him even more. Joseph’s
talent for interpreting dreams did
not only save him from a longer
stay in prison, but it also
encouraged the pharaoh to make
him governor of all of Egypt.
3. Joseph is reunited with his family ( Gn 42-45)
When famine struck Canaan as
Joseph had predicted, his brothers
came to Egypt to buy grain. As
governor, Joseph was in charge of the
sale grain throughout the land.
Although his brothers did not recognize
him, Joseph recognize them. Just as he
had foreseen in his dream as a child, his
brothers knelt and bowed before him.
 Joseph subjected his brothers to
several tests to find out if they had
changed. He tried to take their
youngest brother, Benjamin, by
falsely accusing them of a crime.
When he saw their sincere concern
for Benjamin, Joseph was convinced
that they were no longer like the
brothers who had mistreated him.
 In this event in Joseph’s life, we realize
that reconciliation can only be achieved if the
guilty party admits that he or she has done
wrong and ask for forgiveness, Joseph’s
brother, admitted their sin (cf Gn 42:21) and
begged for his mercy (cf Gn 50:17). This
moved Joseph to tears . He embraced his
brother, Benjamin, and revealed all that had
happened to him. The narratives ends with
the reunion of Joseph and his father and the
coming of his entire family to Egypt.
 ‘“ Come closer to me’, he told his brothers.
When they had done so, he said: ‘ I am your
brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt.
But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach
yourselves for having sold me here. It was really
for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here
ahead of you…God, therefore, sent me on ahead of
you to ensure for you a remnant on earth and to
save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance. So
it was not really you but God who had me come
here, and he has made of me a father to Pharaoh,
lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole
land of Egypt.”’
 Joseph felt God’s hand in the events of his life.
There were many times when it seemed that he was
losing everything , particularly when he was sold
into slavery and unjustly imprisoned . However , he
never lost FAITH and HOPE in God . Both his
misfortunes and blessings were God ‘s ways of
preparing him for the great privilege of bringing
enormous blessing to Egypt and to his family.
Through Joseph, God’s promise to Abraham to
make of him a great nation came closer to
fulfillment ( Gn 50;24) “ By faith Joseph, near the
end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites “
( Heb 11:22)
 Our response to God’s self revelation is our
faith which shows itself through our actions.
We need to be OBEDIENT to God like
Abraham and PATIENT and SELF-
SACRIFICING like Isaac. We must STRIVE
to overcome our MORAL SHORTCOMINGS
each day like Jacob had done, and lived in
BROTHERLY FORGIVENESS and
SERVICE like how Joseph did. It had been
through our ancestors of faith that God was
able to accomplish His purpose.
 Thank you
for listening!!!