Joseph’s father gave him a colorful robe. Robes are what men wore in Bible times. Joseph’s brothers were jealous. Even though Joseph’s brothers were mean, God took care of Joseph. One night Joseph had a dream. Stars and hay bowed down to him. Joseph was really good at knowing what dreams meant, so he told everyone about it. He told everyone that he would someday be in charge of all his brothers. Well, his brothers did not like the dream. They stole his robe, put him in a deep hole, and sold him. Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave. Even though Joseph became a slave, God took care of Joseph.Potiphar was a powerful man in Egypt. Potiphar bought Joseph and put him in charge of his house. Potiphar’s wife played a mean trick on Joseph, and Joseph was blamed for the mean trick. He was thrown into prison. Even though Joseph was in prison, God took care of Joseph.
The jailer liked Joseph. He put Joseph in charge of the prison. A baker and a drink-tester in prison had dreams. God showed Joseph what each dream meant. Joseph asked them to remember him, but they forgot about him. Even though people forgot about Joseph, God took care of Joseph.
One day Pharaoh had a dream. Pharaoh ruled all of Egypt. He heard Joseph was good at telling what dreams meant, so he sent for Joseph. Joseph told Pharaoh what his dream meant. It meant that Egypt would have years with plenty of food then years with only a little food. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all the food in Egypt so there would be plenty of food all the time. Pharaoh gave him nice clothes, good food, and a nice place to live. For seven years, Egypt had a lot of food. Joseph put extra food in a safe place. Then people started running out of food. People from all over the world came to buy food, even Joseph’s brothers. They were shocked to see Joseph, and they were sorry for selling him as a slave. Joseph forgave them. He told them that what they had meant for evil, God had used for good. This was God’s plan for Joseph’s life.
All of Joseph’s family moved to Egypt to live with him. God took care of Joseph. God took care of Joseph’s family.
Have you ever been betrayed by family member or close friend? How did you (or do you) feel toward that person?
In the story, Joseph was accused of something he didn’t do. Have you ever been treated unfairly for doing the right thing? What did you learn from it?
At one point in the story, Joseph says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” What does this tell you about God?
Has there ever been a difficult time in your life when you felt that God was with you? How did you know?
What are some ways that you sense that God is with you?
Part 4
God’s people lived in Egypt—but it wasn’t always a great life. They were slaves and had to work hard to serve the Egyptians. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, thought there were too many Israelites, so he gave an order to throw all the Israelite baby boys in the river. Uh-oh, watch out!
A baby boy was born to a family who trusted God. God was watching over this baby. His mother kept him safe for three months.
Here comes somebody! Uh-oh, watch out!
Read Exodus 2:5–9. God
was really watching over him. The baby’s name was Moses.
When Moses grew up, God spoke to him. “I have seen the way the Egyptians are beating down my people,” God said.
Read Exodus 3:9–10.
Uh-oh, watch out!
Moses was nervous about this big job from God! Pharaoh was a powerful king, and God’s people were a big group. How was Moses going to get everyone out of Egypt? What would happen when Pharaoh got angry? Uh-oh, watch out!
Moses talked to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh didn’t want to let the Israelites go. Who would do all the work if the slaves left? But God had a plan. He made a lot of scary, nasty things happen in Egypt. The river turned to blood. Icky bugs and frogs popped up everywhere. The animals all got sick. Hail pounded the whole country. It was dark even in the daytime. Pharaoh was stubborn through everything and wouldn’t let God’s people go. Finally, God decided to take away the oldest son from every Egyptian family. He told the Israelites to paint a special stripe over their doors so this awful plague wouldn’t happen to them. That did it for Pharaoh. He decided to let the Israelites go. Uh-oh, watch out!
Read Exodus 12:31–33.
So that night, all God’s people left Egypt. While they traveled, God was always with them. During the day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud. At night, he guided them with a pillar of fire. God never left his people.
• Why do you think that some people are kept safe while others are not?
• How are all the ways God watched over his people in this Bible story.
• What are some ways God watches over you.
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