YEA Lesson Library
Heavy Weights
About This Lesson
Using the story of Joseph and his brothers, this lesson teaches that there are consequences to sin. Getting rid of the heavy feeling of guilt happens with repentance.
Scriptures
Genesis 42:1-29
Genesis 44:1-34
Genesis 45:1-13
2 Chronicles 7:12-16
Psalm 55:22
Psalm 103:12
Luke 13:1-3
Romans 11:33
Words to Know
CONSENSUS - general agreement
APPREHENSIVE - viewing the future with anxiety
The Lesson
Have you ever been really hungry? Well, maybe by the time the sun sets on the Day of Atonement you really are hungry. But what if, at the end of the day, there was no food to eat - anywhere? What if there was a famine and you couldn't go to the grocery store to buy food? Would you be scared that you might soon starve to death?
Do you remember in last week's lesson, Pharaoh had some dreams and sent for Joseph to interpret them?Joseph interpreted them with God's help. "The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout all the land of Egypt; but afterwards there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and wiped out; famine will consume the land.” Those dreams came true! Pharaoh said Joseph was the wisest man in Egypt. Because God revealed this to Joseph, Pharaoh appointed him to be the administrator of his nationwide farm project to conserve and store grain.
Jacob, Joseph's father, heard that there was food available in Egypt. So he sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buy grain. Jacob wouldn't let Benjamin, his youngest, much loved son, and Joseph's only full brother, go with them because he was afraid something would happen to him.
Drought had caused widespread famine. People from many nations went to Egypt to buy grain. Since Joseph was now the administrator of the nationwide farm project, his ten brothers had to see him to get their grain. They greeted him and bowed before him, but didn't recognize him. Joseph knew who they were, but pretended he didn't. This was a very emotional moment for him. To cover his emotions he asked them questions roughly. A number of years had passed since his own brothers had sold him to be a slave. Joseph had made the most of his time in Egypt, but that didn't mean his brothers would get off scot-free. Joseph remembered the dream he had before his brothers sold him into Egypt? Do you remember it? "The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!" Joseph's brothers couldn't imagine that dream was from God because he was their brother.
Through an interpreter, Joseph continued with the hard questions. "You come to see how destitute the famine has made our land." They immediately denied that and explained there were 12 brothers, that their father was in the land of Canaan, and Benjamin was with him. They told Joseph that one brother was dead. Joseph must have found that interesting, as he was very much alive and right there with them. But he didn't say anything. He then accused them of being spies. He told them he'd test the truth of their story by putting all of them, but one in prison, and the one not in prison was to go get their youngest brother and bring him back. But three days later, Joseph became soft-hearted and changed his mind. One would remain chained in jail while the others went home with the grain, and with the requirement that they come back with Benjamin, their youngest brother.
Joseph understood everything his brothers were saying, but they didn't know it. He became so emotional that he had to leave the room to weep. When he returned, he selected Simeon to be chained and let the other brothers start home with their grain. Joseph ordered his servants to fill the men's sacks with grain, and he gave secret instructions to put each brother’s payment for the grain in his bag. He gave them food for their journey home.
The ten brothers headed home. When they stopped overnight, one opened his bag of grain to feed their donkeys. He couldn't believe what he saw. The payment he had given Joseph for the grain was right there on top of his bag. The apprehension among this group was so bad they were filled with terror and trembling! They thought God was out to get them for what they had done to Joseph. It was reflection time for the brothers who had sold Joseph to be a slave. They thought Joseph was dead and blamed each other. The consensus was they would all die because of what they had done. A little soul-searching was probably good for them, even though they didn't know Joseph was alive.
When they arrived home, they told Jacob, their father, the story. Terror gripped Jacob as it had his sons. He thought he’d lost Simeon and he wasn't about to let Benjamin go to Egypt. But the famine continued and he realized they would all starve if his boys didn't return to Egypt. After much conversation, Jacob let them
take Benjamin and go for more grain.
Have you ever heard the statement "Be sure your sins will find you out”? The brothers knew it was wrong to put Joseph in that pit and to sell him into Egypt to be a slave. They knew they did this out of jealousy. Until this time, Joseph was out of sight and out of their thoughts. But their sin was haunting them. They knew they had done wrong and that God was going to make them pay for what they had done. But why were they still feeling so guilty? They had never repented of what they had done to Joseph. How do we know? Because they had never confessed to their father that an animal hadn't killed Joseph and that they had sold him to be a slave.
Have you ever committed a sin and had it haunt you? Did you worry that God was going to get you for it? The only way out of this is going to God, confessing your sins openly and honestly, and asking for forgiveness. Psalm 55:22 says, "Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall" (TLB). Psalm 103:12 says "He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west." Isn't that a great feeling?
Student Prayer
Gracious and loving God,
Thank you for giving me the history of the children of Israel. Because Abraham was obedient to you, you said his seed would be as the stars of the heavens. Jacob is one piece in this puzzle. His son Joseph was sold into Egypt for a purpose. It's all part of your wonderful plan. Grant me understanding as I study your Word.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Genesis 42:1-15
Monday - Genesis 42:16-29
Tuesday - Genesis 45:1-13
Wednesday - Psalm 55:22
Thursday - Psalm 103:12
Friday - Luke 13:1-3
Saturday - 2 Chronicles 7:12-16
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Tell that God has been working out His plan through Abraham and His children.
2. Explain that God chose to bless this family because of Abraham's obedience.
3. List the 12 sons of Israel and give each son's mother's name.
4. Talk about the fears and lessons the ten sons learned from selling Joseph into Egypt.
5. Discuss the benefits Joseph received while he was in Egypt and why he got them.
Topics & Themes
Confession
Consequences of Sin
Famine
God’s Plan
Joseph
Joseph’s Brothers
Obedience
Repentance
Sin
Materials Needed
Bible,YEA students' and teacher's books, attendance and memory verse charts, songbook, awards, pouch, rocks or sand, strips of paper, pencils, Scotch tape, newsprint pad
How to Teach This Lesson
After opening the class with prayer, give each student two pieces of paper and a pencil. Ask: What difference do you see in sin and things that might be "weights" in your life? Instruct students to write an example of a sin on one strip of paper and an example of a weight on the other strip of paper. Tape all the these strips of paper to the pouch. Ask for a volunteer to strap the pouch that has the strips of paper taped to it around his waist and run a couple of laps around the room.
After the volunteer has run the laps, ask: How does it feel to run with all of that extra weight? Then have him/her take the pouch off and run the laps again. Ask: How does it feel to run without that extra weight?
Debrief - Ask: How did you feel about this student running with that heavy weight strapped around his/her waist? How was this demonstration like or unlike some other aspects of your life? How do you feel this demonstration connects with the lesson we have for today? How do you feel this demonstration relates to Joseph's brothers immediately thinking God was out to get them because of what they had done to Joseph? How did this demonstration affect the way you will conduct your Christian life?
What are weights we carry around? - Ask: What things would you consider to be weights that we carry around with us daily? How are these weights connected to the sins we commit? What sin had Joseph's brothers committed? How long do you think it had been since they had sold Joseph into Egypt? What makes you think this sin had become like a heavy weight to those brothers? How did they create the problem?
Get rid of the weights - What did the brothers do to make this weight so heavy? (They covered up their sin and lied to their father about what had happened to Joseph.) How much heavier do you think this weight became as the years went on? What could they have done to get rid of this heavy weight of guilt they were carrying around? After confessing their sin and repenting of it, why should they not feel guilty about what they did? (It was all in God's plan that Joseph go to Egypt.)
Do you carry heavy weights? - What would you consider to be things that weigh teenagers down? How many of them do you think are related to sins? Why do you think these sins weigh them down? What kinds of weights are you carrying around personally? What happened to Joseph's brothers because they didn't repent? What will happen to you if you do not repent of your sins? Ask a student to read Luke 13:3 aloud.
What can you do to get rid of weights? - Ask a student to read Psalm 55:22 aloud. Then what happens to the weight of sins that you're carrying around and have not been repented of? Ask a student to read Psalm 103:12 aloud. So what are you going to do about it when you sin?Write on the newsprint pad: "Totally and completely confess your sins, repent of them, and the weight is lifted."
Teacher-Directed Activity
Go over the Students' Activity and give an award to those who can name Jacob’s 12 sons and who their mothers were.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight: Romans 11:3
Look up the word “unsearchable.” You may have to look this verse up in another Bible translation before you go to the lexicon. Write down the Greek word and its meaning.
Then find three other Scriptures where this word is used.
This verse says God’s judgments are unsearchable. What other aspects of God would you consider unsearchable? Write these in your Bible notebook. Then write a prayer of praise to God that He is good, and trustworthy, and incredibly awesome!
Where in the World? Map It
Think again about how far it was from where Jacob was living with his sons to where Joseph was in charge of the grain storage in Egypt. Remember, we’re not talking about getting into a car and traveling quickly. They would have been moving at the speed of camels and donkeys - which is not very fast. Once you have calculated the miles, research the average speed of a camel or a donkey or of a man waking. How long would it have taken for Joseph’s brothers to walk between Jacob and Egypt? Write down what you find in your Bible notebook.
They Did What Back Then? Word of Mouth
Have you ever wondered about Genesis 41:57 and Genesis 42:1-2? How far-reaching was the famine? Was it really over all the earth? And if it was, how did people from the far reaches of the globe hear about Joseph having grain and how did they get to Egypt? How did Jacob hear about the grain in Egypt? There were no telephones or internet. And yet, the Bible says that people from all over came to Egypt for food.
There must have been a lot of trading (camel caravans) that we don’t think about. Every time you saw a group of traders coming you knew there was going to be a lot of news shared. That was almost as valuable to the people as the goods that were being carried across country. So travelers were always welcome to stay overnight! Think about this and write a reflection in your Bible notebook.
Making It Mine: Sin and Guilt
Your lesson points out the guilt that Joseph’s brothers carried for about twenty years. That’s a long time to be burdened because of an action you can’t undo. Do you have a burden like that? Is there something that you’ve done that you know you shouldn’t have and it won’t leave you alone? Read the last paragraph of your lesson again. Then spend some time in prayer, asking God for forgiveness. But think carefully. Are you truly sorry for the action or are you just afraid you’re going to get caught and be punished? If you are truly sorry and you never want to do that thing again, God will forgive. That doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences, but God will forgive you if you ask. Then your burden will be gone. And that feels pretty good.
Worldview Collisions: Judgment
A secular worldview says that the only judgment people receive is imposed by the authorities who catch them doing something wrong. If you don’t get caught, then there’s no penalty and no judgment. Can you see where that would be a problem? If a large number of citizens of a country think it’s okay to break the law as long as they don’t get caught, you have a serious problem! It becomes a very dangerous place to live.
A Biblical worldview says that God is the ultimate judge. There is nothing done in the dark that will not be revealed. And we will be judged by every idle word that we speak. Find those two verses - and three others that talk about judgment.
What do you think? Do you believe that there is a god - the God of the Universe - and that He cares what we do? Do you believe that there will be rewards and consequences based on our actions? Write about this in your Bible notebook.
Questions
As you’re working through the YEA lesson, Daily Devotionals, doing the activity, or reading the Bible, be sure to write down any questions you have. That way you’ll remember to ask someone. Also remember to share the really interesting things you’re learning with family and friends.
Song
"Amazing Grace" is on page 61 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have the students form a circle and hold hands. Go around the circle, beginning with yourself, and give one thing that you admired most about Joseph. Ask for a volunteer to lead in prayer.
Printable Pages
