Opening Activity

• Ask the child if they have ever woken up from a confusing dream. How did it make them feel?
• In this story, Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, had two dreams that he didn’t understand. He wanted to know what they meant! Who could help him?

Bible Story

• Pharaoh had dreamt very confusing dreams. He wanted to know what they meant. In his first dream he dreamt that seven fat cows came up out of the River Nile. Then seven thin cows came out. The thin cows ate the fat cows, but they were still as thin as before! Then he dreamt about seven good ears of corn and seven thin ears of corn. The thin ears swallowed up the good ears of corn. Pharaoh
  asked his magicians what they thought it meant but they didn’t know (Genesis 41: 1-8).

• Pharaoh heard that Joseph could explain dreams, so he sent for him. Joseph told Pharaoh that God would help him to explain the meaning of the dreams (Genesis 41: 14-24).

• God told Joseph what the dreams meant. Joseph told the meaning to Pharaoh. The seven fat cows and the seven good ears of corn meant that soon there would be seven years of good harvest. Everyone would have plenty to eat. However, the seven thin cows and ears of corn meant that after the seven years of plenty there would be seven years of famine. The famine would be so bad that everyone would forget about the seven years of plenty (Genesis 41: 25-32).

• Joseph suggested that Pharaoh should appoint men to gather up food during the years of plenty and store it for people to eat during the years of famine. This idea pleased Pharaoh. He could see that God was with Joseph and that he was a wise man. He put Joseph in charge of all the land of Egypt. Amazingly, in Egypt, only Pharaoh was greater than Joseph (Genesis 41: 33-45).

• During the years of plenty, Joseph went out through all the land of Egypt and stored up food for the years of famine. Every city had a storehouse of food for the famine that was yet to come. When the famine came, the people had enough food to eat (Genesis 41: 46- 49).

• Remind the child of Joseph’s life up to this point. Discuss how this had been God’s plan for Joseph all along. God had been faithful to him. That means that God never left Joseph but was always there working out His purposes in Joseph’s life. He used all the hard times in Joseph’s life to prepare him for this important role. God used Joseph to save many lives during the famine!

Questions

1. What happened to the cows in the first dream?
2. Who helped Joseph explain what the dreams meant?
3. What did the dreams mean?
4. What was Joseph’s special job during the years of plenty
5. How was God faithful to Joseph?