This lesson is compatible with the "Joseph" Flash-A-Cards from Abeka Books.  

Scripture References: Genesis 40: 23; 41:1-37

Pharaoh, you should choose a very wise man to be in charge of the food and grains in Egypt.  He can store the collected food and keep some saved up in each city.  When the 7 bad years come, the stored food can be given out to those who need it, so no one will die.”

Pharaoh thought about it for a moment.  “This is a very good idea.”  He asked his servants what they thought about Joseph’s idea.  They all thought it was a great idea!  Pharaoh looked at his servants and asked “Where else can we find a man as wise as this Joseph?  He has the Spirit of God in him!  Joseph, since God has shown you all of this, I think you are the wisest man around, and you will be in charge of this.”  Wow!  Joseph was 30 years old now, and he had changed so much since he was a boy.  He used to be spoiled, prideful, and selfish.  He even lied to get his brothers in trouble with his dad!

But through the years he had allowed God to change his heart.  God taught him to be honest, kind, hardworking, and humble. He taught Joseph how to be in charge of others, also.  And the world around Joseph could see his love for God!  This is a great example of how God can use ANYONE!  If we are willing to let God change our hearts, He can make us more and more like our Savior, Jesus!

Pharaoh continued speaking to Joseph “You will have power over my house, and everyone in the kingdom will be under your rule.  I will be the only one in Egypt with more power than you.  Today I have set you over all of the land of Egypt.  “I am the king, but without your consent, no one in Egypt can even lift his foot to take one step.”

Pharaoh then took his most important ring off of his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger.  This was his signet ring.  A signet ring had a special symbol on it, and it showed that you had power.  Sometimes it was used to stamp or seal important papers, too.  Then, Pharaoh gave him nice clothes to wear, and put a gold chain around his neck.  He took him out to the chariots and put him in the second most special chariot.  The chariot rode around town and the servants of Pharaoh told everyone “Bow on your knee!”  Everyone bowed on their knee when Joseph passed by in the chariot. 

Just a few hours before, Joseph was a slave and a prisoner!  Now, he was the second most import person in the whole kingdom of Egypt!  He had nothing but the clothes on his back, and they were old and dirty.  Now, he had fancy clothes and expensive jewelry.  He had a ring that let him do anything he wanted in the whole kingdom!  Wow!  What a change in Joseph’s life.  And it happened lighting fast! 

If God hadn’t been preparing Joseph, and if Joseph hadn’t been trusting in God, all of that power would have gone to Joseph’s head.  He would have been prideful and selfish again, just like when he was a boy!  At the time of Joseph’s hardships, he didn’t understand what God was doing.  But God had a plan the whole time.  He was preparing him to be in charge of a WHOLE kingdom of about 2 million people!

Sometimes, things will happen in our lives that we just don’t understand.  We can’t see why God would allow something bad to happen to us.  You will be tempted to think God doesn’t love you, or God isn’t in control.  But when you begin to think that, just remember the life of Joseph.  We don’t always understand God’s plan, but God is always with us.  Ask God to help you trust Him in the hard times, as well as the good.

Joseph began his work in the kingdom.  Pharaoh changed Joseph’s name to “Zaphnath-Paaneah” The king also gave Joseph a wife, Asenath.  Asenath grew up learning about the false god Ra since her father was the priest of Ra.  She learned about other false gods in Egypt as well.  Now, she had a chance to learn about the True God, Jehovah!  I’m sure Joseph told Asenath all about how God created the world, and how He promised his great grandfather Abraham that He would bless the whole world through his family.  He must have told Asenath how one day, a Savior would come to die for the sins of the whole world.  I sure hope Asenath put her trust in Jesus.  The Bible doesn’t tell us if she does or not, but she certainly had the opportunity to watch Joseph live out his faith in God.  And God blessed them with two sons!  The first son was named Manasseh, which means “God has made me forget all my struggle and my father’s house.”  The second son was named Ephraim, which means “God has caused me to be successful in the land of my trouble.”  Joseph was showing his wife, and the world around him, that he owed everything to God.

Joseph worked hard every year for seven years.  He went through all the cities and towns in Egypt.  He gathered 1/5 of the crops from every farmer and stored them safely in each nearby city.  I’m sure he hired people to guard the food and keep the mice and insects from eating it.

At first, he kept count of how much grain each city had stored up.  But after a few years, he couldn’t count anymore, it was SO MUCH!  The crops grew so well during those seven years.  The rain fell just at the right time each year, and there was no flooding to destroy the crops. 

But then, when the seven years ended, so did the rain.  The crops dried up and withered away.  Not much grew on the farms.  There was no food for the people, let alone the animals!  And it wasn’t just in Egypt!  There was a horrible famine in the countries all around.  After the first bad year, people really ran out of all their food.  If the stores had any food, it would be too expensive for most people to buy. 

The people of Egypt began to suffer hunger.  They complained and asked Pharaoh to help them.  Pharaoh told them “Go to Joseph!  Do whatever he tells you to do.”

Joseph began to open up the doors of the storehouses.  He sold the food to the Egyptians, and he didn’t set the price too high for anyone.  The people of Egypt were safe from the famine!

Pretty soon, word got out to the other countries.  “Egypt has food!  They stored up so much food, that they have plenty for everyone!  We can go to Egypt to buy food!” 

People began to take the long journey to Egypt.  They bought sacks of food such as corn, wheat, lentils, rice, and cereal to take back home to their starving families.

Word got out in the land of Canaan, too.  Jacob probably heard a neighbor talk about going on a trip to buy food.  “Buy food?” he asked. “Where will you buy food?  There is no food for miles!  And if there IS any, it’s far too expensive!”  “I’m going to Egypt!  Word is that they have more than enough food there.  I think they saved some up from a couple of years ago.” Said the neighbor.

“Sons, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt.  God down to Egypt and buy us some, so we don’t starve to death here.  But don’t take Benjamin, my youngest son.  I don’t want anything to happen to him, like it did to Joseph, his brother.”

So, the 10 remaining sons of Jacob started off on their long trip to Egypt.  They took donkeys to ride on the way there, and they would load them up with the sacks of grain on the way back.

They finally arrived in Egypt and began asking around where they could buy food.  “You have to go to the capitol city, and buy it from Zaphnath-Paaneah, the governor of the kingdom.  So, they went to the capitol city, and stood in line to buy food.  When it was their turn, the walked into the room where Zaphnath-Paaneah was waiting.  The 10 brothers bowed down on their faces to him, just as they had seen others doing.  When they got up, Zaphnath-Paaneah, who was Joseph, saw their faces and immediately recognized them.  HIS BROTHERS!  He hadn’t seen them in around 20 years, but he knew exactly who they were.  They were older, more tired, and probably a lot sadder, but it was them.  The men who ripped off his special coat of many colors and threw him in the pit.  The same men who made fun of him as he cried and pleaded for help.  The same men who sold their own brother as a slave!

Now, Joseph had all the power, and they had none.  In fact, they had to bow down before him, just as he dreamed would happen so many years before.

How would he react?  Was Joseph going to throw them in prison for revenge?

Come back next week to find out!

Let’s pray and thank God that His plans are perfect, even when we don’t understand them.  Let’s thank Him that He will help us in bad times and good times.