"Joseph!" said the prison keeper. "The king wants to see you! News has reached him that you can tell the meanings of dreams."
Quickly, Joseph was taken from the jail. He shaved and changed his clothes. Then he was taken to see the king.
"I had a dream," the king said to Joseph. "But no one is able to tell me what it means. Then someone said that you are able to tell the meanings of dreams. I want you to tell me about my dream," the king urged.
Joseph said, "I am not the one who knows the meanings of dreams. It is God who will give me the answer to tell you."
So, the king told Joseph all about his dream. And God did give Joseph the answer!
"For the next seven years there will be plenty of food to eat in Egypt," Joseph said to the king. "But then there will be seven more years when none of the crops will grow." Joseph told the king to find a man who was very wise and give him charge over all of Egypt. This man would have the people of Egypt gather food during the first seven years. That food would be put into storage. Then there would be food for all the people of Egypt during the years when no crops would grow.
The king was pleased with Joseph's answer. He thought that was a very good idea. He said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all of this, you must be the wisest man in Egypt. I will appoint you to rule over my house and my people."
Joseph was a good ruler. He planned ahead for the seven hard years. When that time finally came, many people traveled to Egypt for food.
One day a group of men came to Joseph to ask for food. They were Joseph's brothers! They didn't know that he was the brother they had sold to be a slave many years before. They bowed down in front of him. Joseph knew this was his very own dreams coming true. This was just like the dreams he had dreamed as a boy.
He gave his brothers the food they asked for, but he didn't tell them he was their brother Joseph. He waited until they came to Egypt a second time and brought their younger brother with them. Then he told them who he really was. At first they were afraid he would punish them. But Joseph told them that it had been God's plan for him to be sent to Egypt. God did that so their lives would be saved. Joseph's father and all his family were invited to live in Egypt.
God's plan for Joseph had come to pass. Joseph, who had been sold as a slave and made a prisoner, was now ruler over Egypt! How wonderfully God's plan had worked out!
This lesson shows how God brought Joseph through his troubles. In our text, we find how his God-given ability to interpret dreams caused him to be released from prison and established as ruler in Egypt. In being reunited with his family, we can see the fulfillment of Joseph's dreams.
To represent Joseph's position, help your child make a crown. Measure his head and cut a strip of paper that length, plus an inch or two so it can be taped together. The crown can be cut from gold paper or it can be colored with crayons. Scraps of foil can be cut into ''jewels" and glued on. Sequins, beads, bits of lace, or other trim can be added. Help your child see that this end result in Joseph's life was also part of God's plan for him.
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