Lesson is found in Genesis 41.
Last week we learned about Joseph while he was in prison. His
brothers sold him to Midianite traders and they sold him to Potiphar in Egypt.
Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph and he was put in prison. But he stayed
faithful to God and God blessed him.
Joseph was put in charge of the prison even though he was a
prisoner. Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker were put in prison and Joseph
was taking care of them.
After some time, they each had a dream and were upset because
they wanted someone to tell them what the dreams meant. Joseph said only God
can interpret dreams; but, tell the dreams to him and he would explain them.
The chief butler’s dream was interpreted that he would go
back to being Pharaoh’s butler in three days. The chief baker’s dream was that
he would be hanged in three days. Everything happened just as Joseph said and
the chief butler forgot all about Joseph.
Now it is two years later and Pharaoh had a dream. Pharaoh
was standing by the river and all of a sudden seven fat cows came out of the
river. They went to the field to eat. Then seven other cows came out of the
river. They were ugly and skinny. They ate the seven fat cows.
Pharaoh woke up and had another dream when he fell back
asleep. In the second dream, seven heads of healthy grain grew on one stalk.
Then seven thin grain heads that were destroyed by the east wind grew up. The
seven thin grain heads ate the seven healthy grain heads.
When Pharaoh woke up, he realized he had been dreaming and it
upset him. He called for all the magicians and wise men in Egypt and told them
the dreams. But, none of them could explain the dreams to Pharaoh.
The chief butler finally remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh
about the dreams that he and the chief baker had and that a young Hebrew that
was in prison with them interpreted. He said that everything happened exactly
as Joseph explained.
Pharaoh sent for Joseph. He cleaned himself up and put on
clean clothes and went to see Pharaoh. He told Joseph that he had a dream that
no one can explain to him. Pharaoh has heard that Joseph can interpret dreams.
Joseph told Pharaoh that God is the one giving the answers to
the dreams. Pharaoh told Joseph about the seven fat cows and the seven skinny
cows. Pharaoh said they were the ugliest cows he had ever seen! They didn’t
look any better after eating the healthy cows!
Then he told Joseph about the healthy seven heads of grain on
one stalk and the thin, withered seven heads that had been destroyed by the
east wind that grew up and ate the seven healthy grain heads.
Joseph explained to Pharaoh that God is showing Pharaoh what
to do. The dreams are the same. The seven good (fat cows & healthy grain
heads) are the seven good years. The seven thin cows and seven withered grain
heads are the seven bad years. They are destroyed by the east wind which
represents famine.
This is what will happen: There will be seven years of great
food supply in Egypt. Then there will be seven years of famine. It will be so
severe that people will forget about the seven great years. The famine will
take away everything from the land. God sent the dream in two different ways
because He will make this happen soon.
Joseph told Pharaoh to choose a ‘discerning and wise man’ to
be over the land in Egypt. He should appoint officers to collect one-fifth of
everything the land grows during the first good seven years. They should stock
up the food under Pharaoh’s authority to be used during the seven years of
famine.
Next week we will discover who Pharaoh puts in charge of storing
the food and saving Egypt during the famine God said was coming.
This application pack contains the Q&A worksheet with the teacher's answer sheet. There is a crossword and a maze and a discussion starter worksheet. Click here to download.
Click here to print the lesson.
This is a variety pack for Genesis 39-46 since it covers so much!
There is a visual(s) for each event that is in these chapters.
Click here to download the pictures to color.
(These are the same as the visuals but are black & white.)
Click here to download the pictures to color.
(These are the same as the visuals but are black & white.)
Thank you for the lovely printables!
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