Joseph was sold as a slave to some Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt (see the last lesson). They then sold him to one of Pharaoh's officials, Potiphar. God was pleased with Joseph. He was put in charge of Potiphar’s house.
Potiphar's wife came on to Joseph, but Joseph refused her advances. (You can say, "Potiphar's wife accused Joseph of doing something wrong that he didn't do"). She became enraged and accused him of coming on to her. He was put into prison. But God was with Joseph while he was in prison too, and he was put in charge of all the prisoners.
Pharaoh became angry with his two officials, the chief wine taster and the chief baker. He put them in the same prison where Joseph was kept. They both had dreams while they were in prison and couldn't figure out what they meant. Joseph was able to interpret their dreams. Some time later the Pharaoh begins having dreams. He dreams that there are 7 fat cows and 7 skinny cows, and the skinny cows eat the fat cows. Then he dreams that there are 7 full heads of grain, and 7 thin heads of grain, and the full heads swallow the thin heads.
He does not understand what the dreams mean and no one could interpret them for him. Word had gotten around that Joseph was able to interpret dreams and is recommended to Pharaoh. He told Pharaoh that there was going to be 7 years of good rain and crops and then 7 years of drought and famine. Pharaoh is pleased that Joseph interpreted the dreams and puts him in charge of storing away crops for the first 7 years so that there will be enough to last Egypt through the 7 years of famine. Joseph becomes very important and is the second most important person in the kingdom after Pharaoh.
During the drought, there was not enough food in Canaan, where Joseph’s family still lived. People came from all over to buy food from the Egyptians. Jacob (Israel) sent his sons to Egypt to buy food. They met Joseph in Egypt, but did not recognize him, until Joseph revealed himself to them as his brother. He invited his family to move to Egypt, so they would have enough food. The brothers return home and then bring their families and their father back to Egypt to live, so they have enough food during the years of famine.
It is very important to begin to understand the fact that Jacob’s 12 sons become the 12 tribes of Israel (Jacob’s new name). Read the names of Joseph’s 11 brothers:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Manasseh and Ephraim
You will see those names over and over in the Old Testament.
Show stalks of wheat and pictures of a cow. Bonus points for actually bringing a cow into the classroom...
Ask the children if they had ever been really really hungry (be sensitive to this question based on your students). Help them understand that most of the time, we don't ever get truly hungry because our parents save up food during the week so we always have some available.
Today we are going to learn about how Joseph helped the Egyptians save food so they had plenty when it stopped raining and their crops stopped growing.
This is a very long story (8 chapters of Genesis), so make sure you have read it from start to finish from an actual Bible so you have a fresh understanding of it.
Read story from a Children's storybook Bible for younger children.
For older children, read the story from an age-appropriate Children's storybook Bible or tell the story yourself. You may need to fill in the details from the Story Summary above as necessary to communicate the full story to the children.
Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud: Genesis 39:1-4; Genesis 41:1-7
First, ask the children if they have any questions about the story. What to do if you don't know the answer?
Scripture So Jacob and his whole family went to Egypt. They took their livestock with them. And they took everything they had gotten in Canaan. Genesis 46:6
Supplies Suitcase, clothes, toys, etc
Heads up! Be aware of latex allergies
Scripture The ugly, skinny cows ate up the seven cows that looked healthy and fat. Then Pharaoh woke up. Genesis 41:4
Supplies Light-colored balloon for each child, sharpie markers, yarn, printed picture of a cow (see below for cow outline)
Heads up! Prepare bags of the same number and style of building blocks for each group of students.
Scripture During the seven years of plenty in Egypt the earth brought forth abundantly. Joseph went forth and gathered up all the food and stored it up in the cities of Egypt. Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea.
Supplies Lego or similar style building bricks, rice or other grains to fill constructions
Scripture So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain there. But Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them. He was afraid Benjamin might be harmed. Genesis 42:3-4
Supplies clothes hanger for each student, 12 people cutouts for each student, yarn, markers
Heads up! cut top off of water bottles prior to class.
Scripture During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. Genesis 41:47-49
Supplies water bottles, construction paper, rice, scissors, clear tape
Scripture So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain there. But Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them. He was afraid Benjamin might be harmed. Genesis 42:3-4
Scripture As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended to be a stranger. He spoke to them in a mean way. "Where do you come from?" he asked. Genesis 42:7
Scripture Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream. No one can tell me what it means. But I've heard that when you hear a dream you can explain it." Genesis 41:15