God Had the Best Plan for Joseph

Genesis 42-45

Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning."

The Bible tells us of a young man named Joseph. Joseph lived with his father Jacob and his brothers in Canaan. God chose Joseph to do a very important job. But Joseph and his family did not know it.

When Joseph was seventeen years old, his brothers sold him to some Ishmaelites as a slave. They took Joseph down to Egypt.

Potiphar, an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh's officers, the captain of the guard, bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites.

God was with Joseph, so that he prospered for many years in the house of his master, the Egyptian.

But Joseph was accused of something he didn't do. Joseph was arrested and put into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were kept.

Later, Joseph was chosen by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 

Joseph had a very important job. He made sure that plenty of grain was stored and ready for the people in Egypt.

 Joseph knew a famine was coming. When the famine came, the crops would dry up and no one could get food. The people would need the grain that Joseph was storing.

Then the famine came to Egypt.

The famine also came to the Canaan. And Jacob learned there was grain stored in Egypt. Jacob sent Joseph’s brothers to Egypt to get some of the grain.

Joseph learned that his brothers had come to Egypt. Joseph called the brothers to his house.

The brothers did not know the man that called them was their brother Joseph, whom they had hurt and sent away.

But Joseph came to his brothers and cried.

“I am your brother,” Joseph said. “Don’t be worried. God sent me here to do an important job. When you sent me away, you did not know this would happen, but God did.”

The brothers were surprised. They thought Joseph would be angry with them.

“Now hurry home to our father Jacob and tell him this news. I want all of you to return and live nearby in Egypt. I will take care of you and your children,” Joseph said.

Then Joseph kissed his brothers and cried. Joseph loved his family and was kind to his brothers.

When all of his family was together again, Joseph looked around and saw that God’s plan was the best plan. He was glad he had trusted in God’s plan and did things God’s way.

God has big plans for us, too. If we, like Joseph, trust God, He will turn our story into a masterpiece!

Bible Paraphrase: “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever.” (“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Psalm 33:11 NIV)

Text Truth: God's plan is always best.

Family Devotional

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
— Genesis 45:4-7

Make a list of what you think the best plans are. After you review your list, consider this: As awesome as we think our plans are, God’s plans are even better. God’s plans are always the very best.


Remember that no matter how good we think our plans are, God's plans are always best. Ask God to help you trust in His plan and stick with it, even when it’s hard.

Activities You Can Do at Home

Say the Bible Memory Verse

Say the memory verse and do the following motions in front of your child.

The plans (hold up fingers 1, 2, 3)

of the LORD (both hands point up)

stand firm forever (stomp feet with hands on hips).

Psalm 33:11 (Hold out hands like a book.)

Say the verse again with the motions and invite your child to do it with you. Repeat several times.

Taste a Waffle

You'll Need: Bible, toaster, frozen whole-grain waffles, paper towels 

• Toast a waffle, and when it has cooled, offer it to your child. Thank God for providing food for us. 
• Mention the grain used to make the waffles. Comment that Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to get grain.
• Show your child the story pictures and summarize the Bible story.
• Remark: “God wants people to do what is right. Joseph chose to forgive his brothers rather than be unkind."

Weigh Grain

You'll Need: Bible, various grains (oats, barley, rice), scale, plastic bowls, spoons, parchment or waxed paper, paper and pencil 

• Lay a sheet of paper on the scale and guide your child to pour a spoon of grain on the paper. Mention how much the grain weighs. Write the number on a piece of paper. 
• Have your child weigh a different grain and record the results.
• Relate the grains to the Bible story. Tell your child about Joseph’s brothers going to get grain in Egypt. 
• Remark: “The Bible tells us to do what is right. Joseph did what was right when he was kind to his brothers and helped them.” 

Spell Bible Words

You'll Need: Bible, butcher paper, letter stamps, washable ink pad, washable markers, colored dot stickers

• On a large paper, write several words such as Bible, God, right, love, be kind. 
• Invite your child to use letter stamps to spell one or two of the words.
• While your child stamps letters and decorates their papers, open the Bible to Psalm 33:11 and read it aloud.
• Lead the children to repeat the verse. 
• Help your child find the Books of Genesis and Psalms. 
• Remark that at each place in the Bible, we learn that God wants people to do what is right. 

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence. 

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