1. Whose son was Jacob? 2. How many sons had Jacob? 3. What did he set them to do? 4. Which did he love best? 5. What did he give Joseph? 6. Where did he send Joseph? 7. What did the brothers want to do? 8. Who wished to save him? 9. So what did Reuben persuade them to do? 10. What did Reuben mean to do? 11. But who came by? 12. What did the brothers do with Joseph? 13. Who persuaded them to sell him? 14. What are people called who are bought and sold? 15. What was done with his coat? 16. What did Jacob think?
SECOND READING.
"The Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand."—Genesis 39:3.
SO we see Joseph a slave. A slave is a servant who belongs to his master, as his cows and horses do; he gets no wages, and cannot go away, but is bought and sold like cattle.
Think of poor Joseph. He was used to live as the son of a great rich prince, wearing a dress of many bright colors, with many servants, and no one to obey but his kind fond father; and living in a beautiful land, all hill and valley, where he used to feed his father's flocks. But now he was a slave in a strange land, with people speaking a language he did not know, and no one to care for him or say a good word to him, shut up in a house in a town, far away from his dear hills.
Still he had one comfort, and the best of all—God was with him. He could still pray to God, and do his duty. And he did his work well, for God helped him, and everything he did was made to prosper in his hand. Then he was trusted. His master knew that he always took care of everything, as if it was his own, and left all to him, quite sure that it would be safe.
But his wicked mistress made up a story that he had behaved ill, and he was put in prison for what he had not done. This sounds hard, but it was God's own way of bringing good to pass, and making Joseph come at last to honor. Very soon he was loved and trusted in his prison; and all he did the Lord made it to prosper.
Think about this. Try when you have anything to do—a lesson or a bit of work—to ask God to make it prosper. Then if you try your best He will help, and it will be sure to turn out well.