Joseph

Genesis 37, 39–47

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called Genesis. The word genesis means “the beginning.”

Our story is about a young man named Joseph.


Joseph’s dad gave him a very special coat.


And this made some of his brothers very mad!


They were so mad they sent Joseph far away . . .


. . . to work in a place called Egypt.


Do you think God was with Joseph in Egypt?


Yes! God was always with Joseph, and God had plans for Joseph.


While Joseph was working in Egypt, he was sent to jail for something he didn’t do!


Do you think God was with Joseph in jail?


Yes! God was always with Joseph, and God had plans for Joseph.


One day, the king of Egypt, named Pharaoh, had a dream, and he didn’t know what it meant.


He heard that Joseph was very good at understanding dreams . . .


. . . so Pharaoh had Joseph brought to the palace to talk to him. Do you think God was with Joseph when he talked to Pharaoh? Yes! God was always with Joseph, and God had plans for Joseph.


Joseph listened to Pharaoh . . .


. . . and God helped Joseph understand the dream.


The dream meant that lots of food would grow for seven years. But after that, there would be seven years where no food would grow.


Pharaoh was SO happy that Joseph helped him that he put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt. Do you think God was with Joseph when he was in charge? Yes! God was always with Joseph, and God had plans for Joseph.


There is more to our story. Joseph got to work saving food in Egypt for seven years.


Let’s count to seven together. One . . . 


. . . two . . . 


. . . three . . .


. . . four . . . 


. . . five . . .


. . . six . . .


. . . seven!


Joseph saved so much food! Which is good, because just like God said, after seven years the food stopped growing.


 Now, everyone needed food to eat . . .


. . . including all of Joseph’s family.


Yes, all of Joseph’s brothers, who had been so mean to Joseph, didn’t have any food, but . . . who saved up all the food in Egypt? Their brother, Joseph!


When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt for food, Joseph forgave them for being mean to him. Joseph gave them a big hug and made sure everyone in his family had food.


Wow! God did have plans for Joseph, and God was always with him. God is always with you too. So, when anyone asks you: “Who is always with you?” You can say, “God is always with me!”






Bible Verse: “God is with you wherever you go.” —Joshua 1:9, NLT

Text Truth: God has plans for me.



Family Devotional

“You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”
—Genesis 45:12-13

In our Bible Story, Joseph’s brothers sent him far away to a place called Egypt. Even though Joseph’s brothers did something mean to Joseph, God had plans to use Joseph in Egypt to help a lot of people. God was always with Joseph and God is always with you too! So, when anyone asks you: “Who is always with you?” You can say, “God is always with me!”

God is with you wherever you go. —Joshua 1:9, NLT

God used Joseph to help save food for so many people. So, with your family, take a piece of paper and make a list of some of your favorite foods. Have each member of your family write down a favorite food. And make sure they write their name next to their favorite food.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, thank You for giving us foods like (read the list your family made) to eat. You had plans to use Joseph to help save all of that food to help others. I pray (say each family member’s name) will trust that You have plans for them and You are always with them, just like You were with Joseph. We love You, God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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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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