Joseph In Egypt
GENESIS 39-46
Joseph
worked as the slave of Potiphar. Potiphar soon put Joseph in charge of
all that he owned. But Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph to her husband, so
Potiphar sent Joseph to prison.
Even in prison the Lord was with
Joseph. The warden saw that Joseph was special. He put Joseph on charge of
all the prisoners.
After Joseph had been in prison
for some time, the cupbearer and the baker of the Pharaoh were sent to
prison. One night each of then had a strange dream. They told Joseph about
their dreams, and the Lord gave Joseph the ability to explain the dreams.
Joseph told the cupbearer that he would soon be free again. "Please tell
Pharaoh about me," Joseph said, "and ask him to let me out of here."
The cupbearer forgot about Joseph
for two years, until Pharaoh had a strange dream. Joseph was brought to him.
"Can you interpret my dreams?"
Pharaoh asked.
"I can’t, but God can," Joseph
replied. "Your dreams are a warning. Seven years of terrible famine will
strike Egypt. Crops will not grow, and there won’t be enough food to eat."
"What can we do?" Pharaoh asked.
"During the seven good years
before the famine, store one-fifth of each year’s harvest. Then there will
be food in the land when the famine comes." Pharaoh did as Joseph said, and
put Joseph in charge.
When the famine came, people from
other countries traveled to Egypt to buy grain. Jacob sent his sons to Egypt
for food, because they had none. They went to Joseph, but did not recognize
him. They bowed down before him, just as he had dreamed they would years
before.
Joseph told his brothers who he
was. They were afraid, but Joseph said, "Don’t you see? If I had not been
brought here to Egypt, you all would have starved. You did not send me here;
the Lord did!" So his father, his brothers, and their children came to live
in Egypt with Joseph.
Return
to Bible Story Index
(From Classic Bible Stories, A
Family Treasury retold by Lise Caldwell (c) 1998 Standard Publishing.
Used by permission. This book may be purchased at your local Christian
Bookstore or from Standard Publishing (800-543-1301).
|