Narrated Drama: 'God's Plans for Joseph' (Genesis 37-50)
"Petted Prince to Potiphar’s Palace to Prison to Prime Minister to save the world."
Characters
Narrator
Jacob: old man, hunched
Joseph: With multicoloured cloak.
Judah
Simeon
Reuben
Trader, in business shirt and tie with sunnies, a computer bag with a rope in it and mobile phone. $50 note/Jailer/Food Buyer.
Pharaoh, with crown.
Potiphar’s wife, with a veil over her face/Food buyer.
Props
Dress ups
Multicoloured coat for Joseph.
Rags looking like the coat.
Tomato sauce.
Lunch bag with a bag of lollies.
Business shirt and tie, pants, computer case, mobile phone, rope, $50 note.
Joseph’s slave/prison clothes, apron, calculator, pencil behind ear.
Two thrones.
Crown for Pharaoh
4 loaves of bread, pasta and tins…
Narration
[Action]
[Note: Place rag, sauce bottle, behind Service Reader’s lecturn. Have the two thrones in front of the Communion Table. ]
[NARRATOR ]
Previously in Genesis …
SCENE ONE
Last week we met Jacob.
[Jacob enters from the vestry, old man, walks to the middle of the stage and faces the audience.]
He was very productive.
He had 12 sons.
And these became the 12 tribes of Israel.
But before they were tribes, they were brothers.
Now Jacob had 10 grown up sons.
[Flash a picture of 10 brothers on the overhead]
But they were Leah’s sons, or the maidservants’ sons.
They weren’t his favorites.
His favorites were Rachel’s sons.
Jacob loved Joseph.
[Joseph walks on stage. Joseph high fives Jacob. They put an arm around each other’s shoulders. Two other brothers (Simeon, Judah) walk on, angry, arms crossed, looking at Joseph and Jacob]
Now Joseph was a bit of a dobber.
[Joseph whispers into Jacob’s ear.]
He would tell tales about his brothers.
[Joseph points at Simeon and Judah.]
And his father Jacob listened to Joseph.
[Jacob, shakes his head, wags finger at Simeon and Judah.]
So Joseph’s brothers hated him.
[Simeon and Judah punch their palms, looking angry at Joseph.]
Jacob loved Joseph.
So when Joseph was 17, Jacob gave him a special coat.
[Jacob puts the coat onto Joseph.]
It was a coat of many colours.
[Joseph brushes off the coat proudly.]
It was the sort of coat a prince would wear.
So the brothers were always reminded that Joseph was the favorite.
So they hated him even more.
[Brothers are furious with Joseph.]
And they couldn’t speak civily to him.
[Brother Says “You… You… You Dufus Dumb Head!” Other brother says, “Yeah, that showed him!”]
Joseph also dreamed dreams.
And he would tell his brothers his dreams.
[Joseph walks over to the brothers. Begin miming that you are speaking to the brothers.]
Now Joseph’s dreams were always about him.
[Joseph points to self, and stands up straight.]
How all his brothers would one day bow down to him.
[Joseph points to brothers, and bows down, and points back at them.]
How even his father would bow down to him.
So his brothers hated him even more.
[Brothers threateningly point to Joseph and grind their fists into their palms.]
Even his father rebuked him.
[Jacob wags finger at Joseph, but then returns to putting an arm around his shoulder.]
But Jacob kept the dreams in mind.
[Simeon and Judah exit into the vestry.]
SCENE TWO
Now Joseph’s brothers were looking after the sheep.
And one day Jacob said to Joseph.
“Go and see your brothers.
“See how they are doing.
“And then come and tell me.”
So Joseph went to see his brothers in the field.
[Jacob sends Joseph for a walk up and down the aisle with a lunch bag for his brothers. Then Jacob goes into the vestry.]
The brothers saw Joseph in his coat a long way off.
[Brothers Judah, Simeon and Reuben come out. They are mucking around with each other, pushing each other, and generally look like louts waiting to get into trouble.]
So they said:
“Here comes the dreamer!
[Simeon repeats.]
“Let’s kill him and throw him down a pit.
[Simeon repeats.]
“Then let’s see what happens to his dreams!
[Simeon repeats.]
But Reuben wanted to save Joseph.
So he said:
“Don’t kill him, just throw him in the pit”
[Reuben repeats.]
And the brothers agreed.
So they grabbed Joseph.
They stripped off Joseph’s colourful coat.
[Simeon and Judah roughly take the lunch bag and then they take off Joseph’s cloak and throw it to where the rag is, next to the Service Reader’s Lecturn.]
They threw their brother down a dry well.
[Joseph thrown behind the Service Readers lecturn.]
And then they sat down to eat lunch.
[The brothers share what’s in the lunch bag. Then Reuben gets up to leave. Once Reuben has left the stage…]
But then they saw some traders going past.
[In walks trader and crosses the stage talking on a mobile phone, saying ‘buy… buy… No, sell, sell… They won’t sign it… sack ‘em! Clicks phone closed.]
So Judah had an idea.
[Judah looks like the lights have gone on.]
“Hey, guys, let’s not kill Joseph.”
[Judah repeats.]
“There’s no “profit” in that!
[Judah repeats, with quotes around “profit”.]
“Let’s sell him!
[Judah repeats.]
“A lot less mess, and a bit more “profit”.
[Judah repeats and they all laugh together.]
And so they all agreed.
They took Joseph out of the pit.
[Then Judah and Simeon get Joseph out of the pit.]
And sold him to the traders.
[Judah calls to the Trader “hey you”. Makes a deal. Trader gives Joseph a fifty. Trader ties up Joseph and leads him into the vestry saying ‘c’mon’. Simeon and Judah remain congratulating each other and looking at the $50 note.]
Then Reuben came to the pit
[Reuben looks behind the Service Readers Lecturn.]
He was hoping to save Joseph.
But Joseph wasn’t there.
[Reuben says ‘He’s not here, he’s not here!’, oh no.]
So Reuben freaked out.
[Reuben says “No, No, very anxious.]
He said, “Now what will I tell my father”
[Reuben repeats.]
So the brothers decided,
[Judah repeats.]
“Let’s make it look like an animal has killed him”.
[Judah repeats. Reuben and Simeon eagerly agree, ‘Yeah, yeah!’]
So they all agreed!
So they tore up Joseph’s tunic.
[Rip up the rags as noisily as you can.]
And they dipped it in animal blood.
[Grab the sauce bottle and cover the rags in sauce (trying not to spill it on the carpet!)]
And they took it to their father Jacob, with their story.
[Reuben, Judah and Simeon take the saucy rags into the vestry.]
From the vestry, comes an anguished loud cry
[“NOOOOOOO….. My Son’s dead, NOOOO! A wild beast has torn him to pieces”.]
SCENE THREE
Joseph was sold as a slave in Egypt.
[Joseph with slave looking clothes, apron, enters with calculator and pencil behind his ear.]
But Yahweh was with Joseph.
And all his work as a slave prospered.
So that God blessed his master’s house.
And his master gave Joseph management of his whole household.
Now, Joseph was a real spunk.
Strong, masculine, and dreamy.
And his master’s wife took a fancy to him.
[Swinging feather boa, with veil over her face, Potiphar’s wife says, ‘Hey big boy, I like what I see!”]
But Joseph would have none of it.
He said: ‘No thanks, that’s a sin against God’.
[Joseph non plussed, doesn’t even look at here, and says, ‘no thanks – that’s a sin against God’, turns his back on her and gets on with his work’]
So she became bitter and twisted.
[Potiphar’s wife throws down feather boa and veil in a fit of rage and looks cunning.]
And made false charges against him.
She screamed:
[Potiphar’s wife does a high pitched scream!]
And she lied:
[Jailer comes running in.]
“He tried to randomly hook up with me!
[Potiphar’s wife repeats, doing best hysterical impersonation.]
So Joseph was taken from the house of his master.
[Jailer takes calculator and pencil off Joseph, throws them on the ground, ties up Joseph and leads him away. Potiphar’s wife follows, with evil laughing and rubbing her hands together.]
And he was thrown in jail.
[Joseph pretends to be thrown from the vestry onto the stage.]
SCENE FOUR
But even in jail, Yahweh was with Joseph.
[Joseph picks himself up, picks up the calculator and the pencil and keeps working.]
And God blessed everything Joseph did.
So that the Jailer put Joseph in charge of the whole prison.
Not only this, but God gave Joseph wisdom to understand dreams.
Now, a number of years passed by.
And Joseph continued to work in the prison, which was the best managed prison in Egypt.
And Pharaoh, the King of Egypt heard about Joseph.
Pharaoh heard that Joseph could understand dreams, and that God was with him.
And Pharaoh had had some disturbing dreams.
None of Pharaoh’s magicians could help him.
So Pharaoh summoned Joseph quick smart.
[From within the vestry Pharaoh calls in a noble, loud voice, “Joseph, Joseph, the King wants to see you.”]
So Joseph prepared to meet the King of Egypt.
[Joseph hears the call, drops the calculator and the pencil and runs into the vestry.]
Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph.
[Pharaoh the King marches proudly out and sits on one of the thrones.]
“Joseph, Come in.”
[Pharaoh repeats and Joseph comes in, standing side on so he can see both the audience and Pharaoh.]
“I have had some disturbing dreams.”
[Pharaoh repeats.]
“These useless magicians can’t tell me what they mean."
[Pharaoh repeats.]
“I hear you understand dreams."
[Pharaoh repeats.]
But Joseph said:
“I can’t do it, but God can, and he will tell you what it means!’
[Joseph repeats.]
Pharaoh said:
“I saw 7 thin cows gobble up 7 fat cows."
[Pharaoh repeats.]
“I saw 7 thin heads of grain gobble up 7 fat heads of grain."
[Pharaoh repeats.]
“Go figure!"
[Pharaoh repeats.]
So Joseph said:
"The world will have 7 years of good harvests."
[Joseph repeats.]
"Then 7 years of drought and famine."
[Joseph repeats.]
"So someone has to impose a 20% grain tax."
[Joseph repeats.]
"Then we’ll have food for the famine!"
[Joseph repeats.]
And Pharaoh said:
“You’ve got the job!"
[Pharaoh repeats.]
“You can be Prime Minister."
[Pharaoh repeats.]
Then Pharaoh dressed Joseph in fabulous fashion.
[Pharaoh puts a royal robe on Joseph.]
And Pharaoh gave Joseph some fabulous bling, which made him especially pleased, being from a bling happy family.
[Pharaoh puts on Joseph neckless and ring.]
And Pharaoh gave Joseph charge of all of Egypt.
[Pharaoh invites Joseph to sit on the throne next to him, and says ]
Now, Pharaoh didn’t have to worry about running the country.
[Pharaoh sits back, hand behind head, stretching out his legs. Then Joseph picks up the calculator and the pen and starts to do some sums, sitting in the throne next to Pharaoh.]
Then Pharaoh says, “Right, I’m going fishing, If you need me to sign anything, I’m down at the Nile.”
[Joseph still sitting down on the throne, doing the sums. Pharaoh exits]
For 7 years Joseph collected a 20% GST.
That’s the Grain Savings Tax.
And then the drought hit everywhere.
And all the world’s food ran out.
So people from every nation came to Joseph.
And Joseph sold them food.
[Potiphar’s wife and the Trader come in as non descript purchaser’s of food. Joseph gives them a loaf of bread each and they say thank you in other languages. Eg Dunker shen, Gratzi hafna.]
And one day, some familiar faces appeared.
10 brothers.
[Joseph stands up, Judah enters, bowing.]
His 10 brothers.
[Simeon enters, bowing.]
The ones that sold him as a slave.
[Reuben enters, bowing.]
Now it’s show time.
[THEN ALL ACTORS FREEZE.]
Tonight we won’t go into the fun and games Joseph had with his brothers.
Suffice it to say, by the end of it, his brothers became better men.
But from the story so far, there are three things we can observe.
First, God used tough times in Joseph’s life for good.
Because God was with Joseph through everything.
Second, Joseph’s brothers bowed down to him as their ruler, just like his dreams said.
God's word was true.
And third, through Joseph, all the world was blessed and saved.
Just like God said to Abraham, "All people in the world will be blessed through you."
Genesis Index