Lesson Objective:
The children will see how God meant it for good by learning the final part of Joseph’s story.
Scripture:
Genesis 40-50
Arrival:
Greet the children and sing a few songs. Sing the Joseph song you learned the week prior.
Prayer:
Thank the Lord for trials that end up being good in the end.
Lesson:
Review with the children where you left Joseph in the last lesson (he had just interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and was made second-in-command of the entire nation of Egypt). Ask the children what the dream’s interpretation was (there would be seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine). Review what a famine is. Then resume the story.
As Joseph predicted (with God’s help), the next seven years brought great harvests, plenty of food, and a lot of wealth. In his role as second-in-command, Joseph kept a fifth of all of the harvest throughout the land. Any time a farmer brought in crops, he had to give a fifth of the crops to Joseph. Joseph stored that food for the seven years of famine.
Soon the rains stopped falling, the food stopped growing, and the people got hungry. When they used up their own reserves, they came to Joseph to buy food. He had plenty stored up and he sold it to the hungry people.
Eventually Joseph’s brothers came to buy grain from Joseph. Remember, they thought he had become a slave and they assumed by now he was dead. When they saw Joseph, they did not recognize him. You might be thinking that’s strange. After all, you would recognize your brother or sister, right? Remember, Joseph was just a teenager when he was sold into slavery, and now he was a grown up. Also, he was dressed like an Egyptian, not a Hebrew, so he looked different to them.
Joseph, however, recognized his brothers. How would you have felt if you saw these people who had sold you into slavery? (take responses) Joseph did not let on that he recognized them and spoke through an interpreter. He asked about his father, and was so happy when he learned that his elderly father was still alive. They did not have his brother Benjamin, the other son of Rachel and Joseph’s closest brother, with them, so he accused them of being spies and sent them back to get Benjamin. He knew they were not spies, but he was testing them to see how they responded. He kept the oldest, Simeon, in jail until they returned with Benjamin.
It took a while, because Jacob did not want to let Benjamin go, but eventually they ran out of food again and the brothers headed to Egypt with Benjamin. Joseph tested them to see if they were still as hateful as they were when he was a child, but when he saw that they had changed, he fed them a huge meal and told them who he was. They were scared at first, wondering what Joseph would do to them for selling him into slavery.
Joseph assured them “As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20 NKJV).
Remember when Joseph was a child and dreamed that his brothers were serving him? Well, now it had happened! Joseph told Pharaoh about his family, and Pharaoh gave them land in Egypt. Joseph got to see his father again, and his father got to see Joseph’s two sons before he died.
If Joseph had not been in Egypt and in that prison, he would not have been ready to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. He would not have been made second in command, and thousands would have died during the famine years. In the end, God had a perfect plan, even through all of the hardship Joseph went through in his life.
Memory Verse:
Genesis 50:20 – Play Balloon Bible Verse Review with the kids as you practice this verse again.
Craft/Game:
Play Battle of Knowledge using review questions from Joseph’s story (all of the lessons, not just this one).
Dismissal:
Remind the children to look for the good in bad situations in the upcoming week, just like Joseph.