unit 4: joseph ot4.3 joseph the interpreter of dreams lesson...ot4.3 joseph the interpreter of...

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OT4.3 Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams ©Beverly Wilson 2017

Unit 4: Joseph OT4.3 Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams Lesson

Scripture: Genesis 40, 41

Lesson Goal: Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. He became a slave and prisoner in

the foreign land of Egypt because his jealous brothers sold him to some Midianite traders. In this lesson we will see how Joseph never stopped trusting God and how God never forgot him.

Introduction: This is the third lesson in Unit 4: Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. He became a slave and prisoner in the foreign land of Egypt because his jealous brothers sold him to some Midianite traders. In this lesson we will see how Joseph never stopped trusting God and how God never forgot him. The lesson is found in the first book of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis is the first book of Law. The books of the Law are the first five books in the Old Testament. Let's say the books of Law together. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Attention Getter: "Dreams" Have you ever had a dream--that came true? Perhaps you had a dream of having a birthday party that was like a garden party. And then when your birthday came--your dream came true! Your girl friends came all dressed up and then everyone had a wonderful time at a tea party with flowers and even butterfly nets. Or perhaps you have dreamed of being on the winning baseball team. And then--amazingly, it happened! Your team won the tournament and you got a big trophy.

In the Old Testament God sometimes spoke to people through their dreams. God would tell his people what was going to happen in the future. It would occur just as He said because God always speaks the truth. God still speaks to us today but NOT through dreams. He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. That is why we love to read the Bible!

Whenever a person in the Old Testament had a dream they wanted to know what it meant. They would ask wise men to interpret the dream. The interpreters would act like a judge. They would explain what the things in the dream meant. Often these things were used to predict or make a forecast about the future. The men were sometimes called prophets because they could analyze these dreams.

Joseph was a man who had dreams about the future. God told him what these dreams meant. God also would use him to interpret the dreams of others.

Encourage children to share dreams and aspirations with the class. Reinforce the idea that God is the one who brings good out of bad and is always present with us.

Opening Prayer: "Father, we want to learn how to trust You like Joseph did. He never lost faith that You had his life in the palm of Your hand. Even when his brothers tried to kill him and he was sold into slavery, even when he was wrongly blamed for a terrible sin and thrown into prison, he kept on trusting You and loving You. Fill us now with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can be strong in our faith in You, just like Joseph. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen."

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Matthew 25:21 "You have been faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things."

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/wVdjwD8aGu8

When Joseph was a young boy he had two dreams. One was about ten sheaves of grain bowing

https://youtu.be/wVdjwD8aGu8

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down to his sheaf. Another dream was about the sun and moon and ten stars bowing down to him. These dreams were from God and told Joseph that someday his brothers and father would bow down to him. When Joseph told his brothers and father about the dream everyone was very upset. The brothers were especially angry and hated Joseph so much that they began to plot how they would kill him.

One day when Joseph's father had sent him to check on his jealous brothers, they saw him coming and decided to throw him into a pit. Then when some Midianite traders came by they sold Joseph to them as a slave. Joseph was taken to Egypt where he became the head slave of Potiphar the captain of Pharaoh's guard. Because he was so trustworthy his master soon put him in charge of all his household. The Lord was with Joseph even as a slave.

One day Potiphar's wife tried to get Joseph to do wrong. She kept tempting him every day. When Joseph would not disobey God, she falsely accused him of a terrible sin. She told her husband Potiphar a lie about Joseph. Because he no longer trusted Joseph, Potiphar sent him to prison. But even in prison, Joseph trusted God to take care of him and the Lord was with him! The prison warden was impressed with Joseph and soon he put him in charge of the other prisoners and the daily routine of the prison.

One day two new prisoners arrived-- the Pharaoh's baker and the Pharaoh's cupbearer. Each of them had done something to anger the Pharaoh. They were put in the same prison where Joseph served. After the men had been in prison for some time, Joseph saw the two prisoners looking worried.

"Why do you look so sad today?" he asked.

"We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them."

"Tell me your dreams," replied Joseph. "God can interpret them."

The cupbearer went first. "In my dread I saw a vine with three branches. As soon as it budded it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and gave it to him."

Joseph listened very carefully until the butler had finished speaking. "God has shown me what your dream means," Joseph said. "In three days, King Pharaoh is going to take you out of prison and give you back your job. You will be his cupbearer again!"

The butler was overjoyed. Then Joseph said, "When you go in and out serving the king, please say a good word for me. I was unjustly put in prison, having done nothing wrong. Ask the Pharaoh to let me out of here." "I certainly will, Joseph," the butler promised.

When the baker heard that Joseph had given a good interpretation to the butler's dream, he began to tell about his dream to Joseph, too. "In my dream," the baker said, "I had three baskets on my head.

In the top basket I was carrying all sorts of bread and rolls for the Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them."

Joseph had dreadful news for the baker. "The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang your body on a pole. And the birds will peck away your flesh.

Three days later it was the Pharaoh's birthday and he gave a feast for his officials. Pharaoh ordered that his baker and cupbearer appear before him. The two men were immediately released from jail to face the Pharaoh and all those attending the birthday celebrations. The Pharaoh pardoned the cupbearer and gave him his job back. He then ordered the baker to be executed ---just as Joseph had said he would Things happened exactly as God had revealed them to Joseph.

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Month after month went by, but no word came. For two years, the butler waited on Pharaoh while Joseph was still locked up in prison. Joseph must have thought the butler had forgotten him! Then one night, the Pharaoh had two dreams. He had one very strange dream and then woke up. He went back to sleep and then he had another strange dream! The Pharaoh was very upset!

The next morning the Pharaoh called for all the wise men and magicians of Egypt. When he told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant! Finally the king's cupbearer spoke up. "When I was in prison the baker and I had strange dreams. A young Hebrew man in prison interpreted them for us and everything he said came true."

Pharaoh sent at once for Joseph. Joseph was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went and stood before the Pharaoh. "I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means," said the Pharaoh. "But I hear you can interpret dreams."

"I don't have the power to interpret dreams," Joseph explained but God does."

"In my first dream," Pharaoh explained, "I was standing on the bank of the Nile River. I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. But then I saw seven sick looking cows, scrawny and thin come up after them. These thin cows ate the seven fat cows but afterwards they still looked as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up!

Then I fell asleep again and I had another dream," Pharaoh continued. "I saw seven heads of grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. Then seven more heads of grain appeared but these were blighted, shriveled, and withered by the east wind. Then the shriveled heads of grain swallowed the seven healthy heads. I told the dreams to the magicians but no one could tell me what they meant."

God helped Joseph interpret Pharaoh's dreams. "Both dreams mean the same thing," he explained. "The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. You will have seven years with plenty of fruit, grain, and other food. The seven skinny cows that came up later and the seven thin and withered ears of corn show that afterward there will be seven years of famine when nothing will grow and people will get hungry and starve. God has given you these two dreams to show you that these things will happen very soon. The next seven years will be prosperous but after that will come such a severe famine that the good years will be forgotten! Every person and animal will be affected!"

Then Joseph advised Pharaoh what to do next. "You should find a wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Supervisors need to be appointed to collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years and store them in barns under guard. That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt."

Pharaoh and his officials liked Joseph's suggestions very much. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as wise as you are. you will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I will have a rank higher than yours."

Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. And so Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Joseph was no longer a slave. Now he was next to the king in rank and power! Pharaoh also gave Joseph the chariot of his second-in-command, and wherever he went the people bowed themselves before him, shouting, "Long live the ruler!"

Joseph who was now 30 years old was given a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. The Pharaoh also gave him a wife whose name was Asenath. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of

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Egypt.

As predicted for seven years the land produced bumper crops. During those years Joseph built places to store the surplus grain. He gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.

During this time two sons were born to Joseph and his wife Asenath. Joseph named his older son Manasseh which means to forget, saying, "God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father's family." He named his second son Ephraim which means fruitful, saying, "God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief."

When the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt came to an end, the seven years of famine began. The famine struck all the surrounding countries, including the land where Joseph's brothers lived, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food.

Eventually the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. When the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, "Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you." So with severe famine everywhere Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians. People from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the whole region.

God teaches us many wonderful things through Joseph's life. Joseph’s brothers had sold him as a slave thinking to hurt and humble him. But now he was one of the most powerful men in the world. This is the way God works for those who love and trust Him, causing "all things to work together for good."

Joseph never stopped trusting God through all the years of being a slave and a prisoner. God had not forgotten him. Joseph had been faithful in the little things of life and now God was making him a ruler over many things.

Our memory verse is Matthew 25:21 "You have been faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things." God promises us that if we faithful to Him every day and trust Him in everything that we do that God will help us. As we continue to be faithful, He will give us more and more responsibilities in life. Let's say our verse again together. Matthew 25:21 "You have been faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things."

Do you think you could trust God, even if you were wrongly blamed? If you keep trusting in Him, God will help you to be brave and do the right things, too. We may suffer hardships, but God will make everything turn out right if we just trust Him and His will for our lives.

Let's be faithful to God in everything we do!

Review Questions: Giant Game Board (Grades K-5) Preparation: Print the following questions without the answers individually on note cards. Mix cards together so they are in random order. Assemble several sheets of construction paper and a number cube. Procedure: Divide the stack of cards into several stacks. Using sheets of construction paper as the path make a large game board on the floor of the classroom. Distribute the stacks of cards so that each group of 2 children has one stack of cards. Each pair of students chooses a place to start on the game path. Place the stacks of cards in different places along the path. Have the children go to their stack of

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cards on the game board. One at a time each pair of students takes a turn to play by rolling the number cube to see how many spaces they should move on the puzzle board. When a pair of students reaches the end of the path, the pair goes back to the beginning and continues along the path. When a pair lands next to a stack of cards, they choose a card, read the question and give the correct answer. Give an extra roll of the number dice for the team who gets the answer correctly. 1. Who was Joseph's family? (Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. His mother was Rachel

and his little brother was Benjamin. He had ten stepbrothers.)

2. What dreams did Joseph have a child that made his family dislike him? (He had a dream about 11 sheaves of wheat bowing to him and ten stars plus the sun and moon bowing down to him.)

3. What meaning or event was God telling to Joseph that would happen in the future? (That someday his family would bow down to him as a ruler.)

4. What did Joseph's ten stepbrothers do to him? (They threw him into a pit and then sold him as a slave to some Midianite traders who were on their way to Egypt.)

5. What happened when Joseph first arrived in Egypt? (He was sold as a slave to Potiphar.)

6. How did God bless Joseph in Potiphar's house? (Potiphar placed him in charge of all of his household and everything that Joseph managed God blessed and made to prosper.)

7. What terrible thing happened to Joseph while he was a slave in Potiphar's house? (Potiphar's wife kept wanting Joseph to go to bed with her. She continually tempted Joseph but he would not yield. She then told a lie about Joseph and had him thrown into prison.)

8. How did God bless Joseph in prison? (The prison warden put Joseph in charge of the prison and he managed the everyday activities of the prisoners.)

9. Who were the two men who the Pharaoh sent to the same prison where Joseph was serving? (The Pharaoh got angry at his baker and chief butler and sent them to prison.)

10. What happened to the baker and the chief butler in prison that caused them to talk to Joseph? (The butler and baker both had strange dreams that they could not understand and wanted interpreted.)

11. What did Joseph tell the baker and the butler about who could interpret dreams? (Joseph told them that God could tell him what their dreams meant.)

12. What was the chief butler’s dream? (He saw a grapevine in front of him. It had three branches. It was full of lovely clusters of ripe grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in his hand and he took the grapes and squeezed the juice into Pharaoh’s cup and gave it to him.)

13. What was the meaning of the chief butler’s dream? (In three days Pharaoh would release him from prison to serve the king again.)

14. What was the chief baker’s dream? (He saw three baskets resting on his head. The top basket was full of bread and cakes that he had baked for Pharaoh. But the birds were flying down and eating from the basket.)

15. What was the meaning of the chief baker’s dream? (In three days Pharaoh would take him out of prison and put him to death.)

16. What was the last thing Joseph said to the chief butler when he was released from prison? (Remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.)

17. What were the two dreams that the Pharaoh had? (First, he dreamed about 7 fat cows and 7 skinny cows. The skinny cows ate up the fat cows. Secondly, he dreamed about 7 plump heads of grain on one stock and 7 thin heads of grain. The thin grains ate the plump grains.)

18. How did the Pharaoh learn about Joseph? (The chief butler finally remembered that Joseph had correctly interpreted his dream while he was in prison and he told the Pharaoh about Joseph.)

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19. What did Joseph tell the Pharaoh was the meaning of his dreams? ( Joseph said that God told him that there would be 7 years of great plenty that would come throughout Egypt; but after them would come 7 years of famine and all the years of plenty would be forgotten.)

20. What other good advice did Joseph give to Pharaoh? (To select a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.)

21. Who did Pharaoh appoint to govern the food storage plan? (Joseph became the highest authority in all of Egypt just under the king himself. No one was greater. He was one of the most powerful men in the world!)

22. Who was given to Joseph as a wife? (Joseph was give a wife named Asenath.)

23. Who was born to Joseph and his wife and what did their names mean? (Joseph had two sons. He named his older son Manasseh which means to forget, saying, "God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father's family." He named his second son Ephraim which means fruitful, saying, "God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.")

24. What lessons does the life of Joseph teach us in this story? (God works for those who love and trust Him, causing "all things to work together for good." God never leaves or forsakes us. Joseph had been faithful in the little things of life and now God was making him a ruler over many things. God wants us to be faithful to Him all the time.)

25. What does the memory verse in Matthew 25:21 say and mean? ("You have been faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things." God promises us that if we faithful to Him every day and trust Him in everything that we do that God will help us. As we continue to be faithful, He will give us more and more responsibilities in life.)

26. Do you think you could continue to trust God like Joseph did if you were wrongly blamed and thrown into prison? [Let the child respond.]

Bible Memory Verse Activity: Poster Board Puzzle (Grades K-5) Say: Our memory verse is Matthew 25:21 "You have been faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things." Have students look up verse in scripture and repeat together in unison several times. Say: "In this verse God promises us that if we faithful to Him every day and trust Him in everything that we do that God will help us. As we continue to be faithful, He will give us more and more responsibilities in life." Let's say our verse again together." Preparation: Print the verse on several different sheets of colored poster board. Use as many colors of poster board as you want to divide your class into teams. Cut each of the poster boards into puzzle pieces. Mix the different colored puzzle pieces into one basket. Procedure: Divide the group into as many teams as you have colored poster board puzzles. Assign a color of the poster board puzzle that each team is to complete. Have students sort the puzzle pieces according to the color and then assemble the puzzle. Have students refer to the scripture Matthew 25:21 as needed. Have team read the puzzle aloud as soon as they assemble it correctly.

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Group Learning Activity: Story Dramatization "Joseph in Jail" Preparation: Assemble the following props: Five colored T-shirts (Joseph wears colored T-shirt)l Potiphar wears dress shirt and medallion; Potiphar's wife wears a blouse and necklace; Jailer wears flannel shirt; Cupbearer wears white T-shirt. Baker wears a white T-shirt Procedure: As you tell or review the story of Joseph in Egypt, invite volunteers to put on shirts and other props as each character is mentioned. Guide the children to stand, walk, or sit as appropriate for story action. Have students act out the Pharaoh's dreams. If time allows repeat the story with different volunteers wearing shirts and props. After dramatization say, "In the Bible story Joseph was in jail even though he had not done anything wrong. God was with Joseph and helped him do what was right. Remember that we should never get tired of doing what is right. God is always with us and will make everything turn out right."

Group Learning Activity: "Pharaoh's Dream Picture" (Grades 3-5) Preparation: Large drawing sheets for each student; supply of colored drawing markers for each small group of children Procedure: Have students draw a simple picture of one of the two dreams. Discuss how the three branches (or baskets) stood for 3 days. Explain how symbols are images that stand for something else. Bring in a print-out from a web browser or an internet program. Discuss how the image of a letter stands for mail. The image of a speaker stands for volume, etc. etc. These are symbols that bring to mind something else. Say: "A lot of the Bible is written with symbolic images - that is, pictures that stand for something. Joseph always gave God the credit for explaining these images. It is God that chooses the images and God that reveals what they mean. We must be careful to read God's Word for our direction because it is His revelation to us. We do not have to depend on signs or dreams to know what God wants us to know or do. We should not use our own imagination to understand what the future holds. God has given us the truth of His Word!"

Group Learning Activity: "Finding God in our Suffering" (Grades 3-5) Preparation: Assemble a sheet of paper or pad for each child and assorted pencils Procedure: Say: "How do you think Joseph felt when he was in prison? Do you think he trusted that God was with him? What evidence do we have from the story that tells us Joseph’s faith in God never wavered?" Encourage the kids to think about a time they experienced something hard or walked through a season of suffering. Say: "Do you think God was with you during that time? How did you experience God’s presence in your difficult circumstances?" Pass out paper and pencils to the kids and have them spend a few minutes journaling their thoughts. When you come back together as a class allow time for kids to share what they wrote if they are comfortable. Spend a few minutes praying together as a class that God would reveal himself to us even through our suffering and difficulties.

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Group Learning Activity: "How Many Grains?" (Grades K-5) Preparation: Count out grains of oats or popcorn or wheat and place the grains in a clear plastic jar. Write the correct number on a slip of paper and then place it in another clear plastic jar. Close jars tightly with lids. Obtain a small prize for the child who guesses the number of grains to the closest number in the jar. Procedure: Say: "In this Bible lesson Joseph collected a lot of grain. He stored up the grain in many barns during the seven years of plenty. Then he used the grain to feed many people during the famine. Let's help Joseph keep His records. We are going to guess how many oats are in the jar." Help children write the number of grains they guess are in the jar on a slip of paper. Encourage children to cheer if someone guesses the number correctly. Tell the children that it was God who showed Joseph what was going to happen in the future by interpreting the Pharaoh's dream. God was directing Joseph's life and causing him to prosper.

Group Learning Activity: "Joseph's Life Time Line" (Grades 3-5) Preparation: Collect the following items: Bible, butcher paper, scissors, note cards, pencils or pens, colored markers, ruler, glue. Procedure: Attach a long strip of butcher paper to the wall. Draw a thick horizontal line in the middle of the paper. Review the events in this lesson inviting volunteers to add events to the time line. Students are to write the events on the note cards and attach them to the time line in the appropriate order. Students may draw objects or stick figures to show the story events. Save the time line to use again for each lesson in this unit. Events from Lesson 4.1 to record were the Birth, Gift of coat, Dream about the Sheaves of Wheat, Dream about the Sun, Moon, and Stars, Joseph traveling to field; Brothers throwing Joseph into pit; Joseph being sold to the Midianites, Joseph traveling to Egypt. Events from Lesson 4.2 include: Joseph sold to Potiphar; Potiphar's wife tempts Joseph; Joseph put in prison. Events from this lesson include: Joseph in charge of Prison, Joseph interpreting Chief Butler and Baker's Dream, Butler serving the Pharaoh, Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh's Dream; Joseph as the Ruler.

Group Learning Activity: "Fat Cow, Skinny Cow" Game (Grades K-2) Preparation: Assemble the following items: masking tape. Designate a corner of the room as the corral, and put masking tape across the corner to form the boundary of the corral. Procedure: Say: "In the king’s dream, skinny cows gobbled up the well-fed cows. Let’s play a game and pretend we’re cows. I’ll choose one person to be the Skinny Cow and one to be the Well-Fed Cow. The Skinny Cow will try to tag the rest of us and may move around the room only by taking slow, giant steps. The Well-Fed Cow will try to help the rest of us and may move around the room only by hopping. The rest of us will be a herd of cows that try to keep away from the Skinny Cow while tiptoeing. If the Skinny Cow tags you, you must go into the corral. The Well-Fed Cow will help us by sneaking into the corral and setting us free by tapping us. If the Well-Fed Cow gets caught by the Skinny Cow, the whole herd must go to the corral at once!" Play for a few minutes, and then choose a new Well-Fed Cow and Skinny Cow. Be sure to reinforce the main idea of the lesson: Joseph trusted God to give him a correct interpretation of Pharaoh's dream. God was directing Joseph's life and causing him to prosper. God never left Joseph. He was with him and blessed him and caused good things to come out of difficult situations. God used Joseph to help others during the famine.

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Group Learning Activity: "Jail Break" (Grades K-4) Preparation: Collect the following items: small foam balls or crumpled newspapers that have been formed into balls Procedure: Direct children to all stand along one wall of the classroom. This will be your jailhouse, and children will pretend to be Prisoners. Choose one child to be “It,” and have that child toss balls at the Prisoners. Any person a ball touches can break out of jail and run to help “It” toss the balls. Play the game until the last Prisoner makes his or her jailbreak. At the conclusion of the game, lead children in a discussion of the Bible lesson. Say: "What do you think it was like for Joseph when he was in jail?" (Even though the jail keeper liked Joseph and put him in charge of the prisoners, Joseph wanted to be free. He missed his family and would have wanted to go back home to them. He probably got tired of serving all the prisoners and they were probably difficult to manage because they did not want to be there either.) Why do you think that God allowed Joseph to be in prison? (God wanted him to be in the right place to meet the Pharaoh's chief butler and baker so he could interpret their dreams and eventually become known to the Pharaoh for his ability to interpret dreams. God was preparing Joseph to become the manager of the whole country of Egypt someday. Joseph was learning how to solve difficult problems in overseeing the prison.)

Group Learning Activity: "Lemons or Lemonade" Object Lesson (Grades K-5) Preparation: lemons, pitcher of water, sugar, paper cups, large stirring spoon, napkins Procedure: Say: "Have you ever heard the phrase “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? (Let the children each have a chance to tell you what they think it means.) Lemons are pretty sour, and if you bit into one it would make your lips pucker, wouldn’t it. Yuck! But, you can squeeze the juice out of it, add water and sugar – and what do you have then? Lemonade. Mmmmm. That’s pretty good, isn’t it. (Squeeze slices of lemon into the pitcher of water. Add sugar and stir. Pour fresh lemonade into paper cups for students and then discuss the Bible lesson.) Say" "Life is like lemons and lemonade. Sometimes things don’t go the way we planned them to. And sometimes bad things happen to us. It could make us bitter and angry. Those are the lemons! But, if we have the right attitude we can make the best of it. That is making the lemons into lemonade." Say: "Maybe you don’t like to clean your room, but instead of complaining and dawdling about it, you might put on your favorite music and dance while you clean. Kind of like Mary Poppins, right? You take some sugar to make the medicine go down! You can do that with almost anything you do. You can make lemonade out of your lemons! That is what Joseph did in Egypt. Joseph was treated unfairly by his brothers and Potiphar's wife but he made the best of his situation by trusting in God and becoming a model prisoner!"

Craft Learning Activity: Paper Plate Cow Craft (Grades K-2) Preparation: Collect the following items: Large paper plate, White and brown construction paper, 2 googly eyes, Brown felt, Crayons, Scissors, Glue, printed cow template below (one for each student) Procedure: Print the cow paper plate template below--one for each student-- and cut the pieces out. To save time, print the pieces onto white construction paper. The only piece that needs to be brown is the semi-circle that goes at the bottom of the cow's face. Trace that piece onto brown construction paper and cut it out. Glue the brown semi-circle to the bottom of the cow's head. Use a black crayon to draw on

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two nostrils and a smile. Use a pink crayon to color the center of the ears. Glue two googly eyes onto the head. Glue the head onto the paper plate so that it slightly hangs off to one side. Draw hooves onto the bottoms of the legs using a black crayon. Glue the legs onto the "bottom" of the paper plate. We glued two legs to the front of the plate and two to the back to give the legs some depth. Glue the tail to the paper plate. Cut some small slits in the end of the tail. Cut some spots out of brown felt and glue them to the cow. Use as many spots as you would like! Option: Use large paper plate to make a fat cow and a small paper plate to make a skinny cow! Construct both fat and skinny cows to represent the animals in Pharaoh's dream.

Craft Learning Activity: "Egyptian Collar Craft" (Grades K-5) Preparation: Assemble the following: one white paper plate for each student; felt base for the collar or heavy poster board; sequins; strips of colored cardboard or strips of shiny fabric. Procedure: Say: "In this Bible lesson we learned that Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream and he became an important leader in Egypt. Joseph was dressed by the Pharaoh in Egyptian clothing for his new job as the ruler of the land. God had looked after Joseph and brought him through hard times to something really good. One of the things that Joseph probably wore in his new role was an Egyptian collar. Today you are going to make an Egyptian collar to wear. Egyptian collars were worn by the rulers to show that they were special and should be respected by all the people. To make our collars we are going to use lots of shiny things to decorate the collars. We want to make something special to represent how special Joseph was to God." Using a round large paper plate as a pattern, cut out a felt base or heavy cardboard base circle. Place a used CD slightly off center and use it as a pattern to draw a round neck space in the felt or cardboard base. Cut this circle out. See photos below: Decorate the collars with sequins and strips of colored poster board or strips of shiny fabrics.

Craft Learning Activity: "Binoculars" (Grades K-4) Preparation: empty paper towel roll or two empty toilet paper rolls for each student; duct tape; string or yard Say: "God was watching Joseph everywhere that he went. He saw Joseph proudly wear his colorful, handsome coat. He saw Joseph when his brothers stole his coat, threw him in a pit, and sold him as a slave. He saw Joseph take good care of the captain's house, and he saw him get thrown into prison when he didn't deserve it. He saw him become the ruler of Egypt, and forgive his brothers. God was always watching Joseph. Joseph kept a happy heart, and kept believing and trusting God. God took care of Joseph. He made the bad things in his life turn out to be good things. In this craft we are going to make a pair of binoculars to remind us that God is always watching and taking care of us too!" Procedure: Cut a section of your paper towel roll off and then cut another section the exact same length. You can cut the roll in half to make longer binoculars. Using two toilet paper rolls is another option. Use a glue stick to secure the two rolls together, side by side. Then wrap duct tape around them to form the binoculars. Use the hole punch to make a hole on each side of the binoculars (the outside of each roll) and tie the end of an 18-20 inch strand of yarn through each hole. The yarn should be long enough to hang loosely around the neck of the students.

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Option: Use a printed colored sheet of paper or black construction paper to cover the duct tape.

Life Application Challenge: "God is with Us" (Grades K-5) Preparation: Assemble Bibles, large sheet of chart poster paper, markers Procedure: Gather children in a discussion group. Print student responses to the following questions on the chart poster paper chart. Say: "In our lesson Joseph faced many difficult situations in life. He trusted God to give him strength to overcome these difficulties. What are some times that a family might feel unhappy or discouraged? (Father or mother has lost their jobs; family member is seriously ill or disabled; family member is having trouble at school or work with others; a neighbor or someone in the community is accusing the family of being Christians or not participating in events because of their beliefs, etc.) Write these events in a list and draw a cloud around the list. What does God say that He will do to encourage us? What things can we do to show our faith in God? How can God help us when we feel discouraged? (God says He will never leave or forsake us. God promises to take the bad things in life and make them into something good. God only wants what is best for us. God promises to encourage and strengthen those who trust in Him. We can show our faith in God by trusting Him to help and guide us, praying and asking Him for help, reading His Word, not worrying, telling others about God's love, etc.) Write these ways in a second cloud on the poster board. Encourage children to give specific examples of how families need God's help. Conclude the discussion by praying for one another.

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Matthew 25:21

"You have been faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things."

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Paper Plate Cow

unit 4: joseph ot4.3 joseph the interpreter of dreams lesson...ot4.3 joseph the interpreter of...

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