Read the following passage prayerfully considering the following questions:

• In what ways did Jacob fail as a father during these events?
• In what ways was Jacob a good example of a father?
• How do you see yourself in relation to Jacob, both the good and the bad?

So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner. This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”

His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”

This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.

Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.”

“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.

“Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.

When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”

“Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.

Genesis 37:1-17Genesis 37:1-17
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Joseph and His Brothers ^{37 1} Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac had lived, ² and this is the story of his family. When Jacob's son Joseph was seventeen years old, he took care of the sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. c Bilhah and Zilpah: See . But he was always telling his father all sorts of bad things about his brothers. ³ Jacob loved Joseph more than he did any of his other sons, because Joseph was born after Jacob was very old. Jacob had given Joseph a fancy coat d fancy coat: Or “a coat of many colors” or “a coat with long sleeves.” ⁴ to show that he was his favorite son, and so Joseph's brothers hated him and would not be friendly to him. ⁵ One day, Joseph told his brothers what he had dreamed, and they hated him even more. ⁶ Joseph said, “Let me tell you about my dream. ⁷ We were out in the field, tying up bundles of wheat. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles gathered around and bowed down to it.” ⁸ His brothers asked, “Do you really think you are going to be king and rule over us?” Now they hated Joseph more than ever because of what he had said about his dream. ⁹ Joseph later had another dream, and he told his brothers, “Listen to what else I dreamed. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.” ¹⁰ When he told his father about this dream, his father became angry and said, “What's that supposed to mean? Are your mother and I and your brothers all going to come and bow down in front of you?” ¹¹ . Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept wondering about the dream. Joseph Is Sold and Taken to Egypt ¹² One day when Joseph's brothers had taken the sheep to a pasture near Shechem, ¹³ his father Jacob said to him, “I want you to go to your brothers. They are with the sheep near Shechem.” “Yes, sir,” Joseph answered. ¹⁴ His father said, “Go and find out how your brothers and the sheep are doing. Then come back and let me know.” So he sent him from Hebron Valley. Joseph was near Shechem ¹⁵ and wandering through the fields, when a man asked, “What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ Joseph answered, “I'm looking for my brothers who are watching the sheep. Can you tell me where they are?” ¹⁷ “They're not here anymore,” the man replied. “I overheard them say they were going to Dothan.” Joseph left and found his brothers in Dothan.

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