God Was with Joseph in Egypt
Genesis 39-40
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. 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 in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
When his master saw that God was with Joseph and made everything succeed that he undertook, he trusted Joseph and made him his own servant.
Potiphar also made Joseph overseer of his household and placed all that he had in his care. From the time that Potiphar made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, God blessed the Egyptian's household for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of God was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. Potiphar left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and he knew nothing about his affairs except about the food which he ate.
But one day, 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.
So Joseph was left there in prison. But God was with Joseph and showed kindness to him and helped him to win the friendship of the keeper of the prison, so that he placed all the prisoners in Joseph's charge and made him responsible for whatever they did there.
Later, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their master the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh was so angry with these two officers that he put them in the same prison where Joseph was. And the captain of the guard appointed Joseph to wait on them; and they stayed in prison for some time.
Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine before me, and on the vine were three branches, and the buds put out blossoms, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into his cup and gave the cup to Pharaoh."
Then Joseph said to him, "This is what it means: the three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will let you out of prison and restore you to your office, and you will give Pharaoh's cup into his hand as you used to do when you were his butler.
But when all goes well with you, remember me, show kindness to me and speak for me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison; for I was unjustly stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon."
When the chief baker saw that the meaning of the butler's dream was good, he said to Joseph, "I also saw something in my dream."
The baker said, "There were three baskets of white bread on my head, and in the upper basket there were all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."
Joseph answered, "This is what it means: the three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds shall eat your flesh."
Now on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants.
Then Pharaoh set free the chief butler and the chief baker. He restored the chief butler to his office, so that he again gave the cup to Pharaoh; but the chief baker he hanged, as Joseph had told them.
Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
But no matter where Joseph was, he trusted that God was with him and God had a plan for him. Joseph knew God wasn't finished yet. Just like Joseph, we can trust that God is with us and God has a plan for us. Even when it's hard, we can know that God isn't finished with us yet.
God has plans for us. But we don't know what they are. We must walk the road of faith one step at a time and wait for His plans to be revealed.
Since we cannot see God's entire masterpiece, we must have confidence that He knows what is best for us.
God loves and cares for us. While it is not always easy, we can be thankful that He is not finished with us yet!
Say the memory verse and do the following motions with your child.
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. 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 in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
When his master saw that God was with Joseph and made everything succeed that he undertook, he trusted Joseph and made him his own servant.
Potiphar also made Joseph overseer of his household and placed all that he had in his care. From the time that Potiphar made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, God blessed the Egyptian's household for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of God was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. Potiphar left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and he knew nothing about his affairs except about the food which he ate.
But one day, 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.
So Joseph was left there in prison. But God was with Joseph and showed kindness to him and helped him to win the friendship of the keeper of the prison, so that he placed all the prisoners in Joseph's charge and made him responsible for whatever they did there.
Later, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their master the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh was so angry with these two officers that he put them in the same prison where Joseph was. And the captain of the guard appointed Joseph to wait on them; and they stayed in prison for some time.
And the butler and the baker both had dreams the same night, each with a different meaning. When Joseph came in to them in the morning, he saw plainly that they were sad. So he asked them, "Why do you look so sad to-day?" They answered, "We have had a dream, and there is no one who can tell what it means." Then Joseph said to them, "Is not God the one who knows what dreams mean? Tell them to me, if you will."
Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine before me, and on the vine were three branches, and the buds put out blossoms, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into his cup and gave the cup to Pharaoh."
Then Joseph said to him, "This is what it means: the three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will let you out of prison and restore you to your office, and you will give Pharaoh's cup into his hand as you used to do when you were his butler.
But when all goes well with you, remember me, show kindness to me and speak for me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison; for I was unjustly stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon."
When the chief baker saw that the meaning of the butler's dream was good, he said to Joseph, "I also saw something in my dream."
The baker said, "There were three baskets of white bread on my head, and in the upper basket there were all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."
Joseph answered, "This is what it means: the three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds shall eat your flesh."
Now on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants.
Then Pharaoh set free the chief butler and the chief baker. He restored the chief butler to his office, so that he again gave the cup to Pharaoh; but the chief baker he hanged, as Joseph had told them.
Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
But no matter where Joseph was, he trusted that God was with him and God had a plan for him. Joseph knew God wasn't finished yet. Just like Joseph, we can trust that God is with us and God has a plan for us. Even when it's hard, we can know that God isn't finished with us yet.
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: I can trust God's plan even when it's hard.
Family Devotional
Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. – Genesis 40:20-21
The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. – Genesis 40:22
Since we cannot see God's entire masterpiece, we must have confidence that He knows what is best for us.
God loves and cares for us. While it is not always easy, we can be thankful that He is not finished with us yet!
Activities You Can Do at Home
Teach the Memory Verse
Say the memory verse and do the following motions with 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, NIV (Hold out hands like a book.)
God is Here!
As you run errands, ask your child who is with you in each of the places you go--at the post office, at the store, etc. Say together, "God is here!"
As I Travel, God Goes With Me
As you travel this summer, your child may be sleeping in unfamiliar locations and it may be scary. Remind your child as she goes to bed that God is with us wherever we go, so God is with you as you travel.
God Goes With Me Everywhere
Sing this song to the tune of "Mulberry Bush" to remind your child that God is with us wherever we go.
God goes with me everywhere,
Everywhere, everywhere.
God goes with me everywhere,
Everywhere I go.
Thank God for His Presence
As you travel this week, pray with your child at each place you go as well as on your way there. Not only is God with us wherever we go, we can also pray to Him wherever we go.
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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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