LESSON 8: Joseph Becomes a Governor

(Genesis Chapters 39, 40, 41)

Governor: A governor is a leader who is in charge of a place, like a state or a country. They make important decisions, help keep things fair, and make sure people follow the rules.

A long time ago, there were people called slaves. They had to do whatever their owners told them to do. They could only eat if their owners let them, they couldn’t speak up, or make their own choices. This is what happened to Joseph.

As we learned in lesson 7, Joseph was one of Jacob’s sons. Joseph was hated by all of his brothers because they were jealous of him. And so, they threw him into a deep well, then sold him to Midianites. These people took Joseph to Egypt, where he was bought by a man named Potiphar, an important officer of the king.

Potiphar liked Joseph because he was honest and hardworking. So, he put Joseph in charge of his house. But when Potiphar’s wife tried to tempt him, Joseph would not do anything against God’s will. Angry at this, Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of doing wrong. So, Potiphar sent Joseph to prison, even though he did nothing wrong. But God was with Joseph, and he stayed faithful to him.

While in prison, Joseph met two of the king’s servants: a wine steward and a chief baker. One day when they had strange dreams, Joseph explained what they meant. Joseph was able to do this because he was so faithful to God. He was an honest person who did no evil. Later, the king of Egypt, called Pharaoh, had dreams that no one could understand.

In Pharaoh’s first dream, he stood near the river Nile when seven healthy fat cows came out of the river followed by seven thin ugly cows. The seven thin ugly cows then proceeded to eat the seven healthy fat cows. Then in Pharaoh’s second dream, he dreamt of seven ripe and full ears of corn on one stock followed by seven other ears of corn, thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin scorched ears of corn then swallowed the ripe and full ears of corn. Confused by this, Pharaoh asked all the magicians and wise men of Egypt what these dreams meant. But, no one was able to do it. Until someone told him about Joseph. And so, Pharaoh sent for him.

Joseph told Pharaoh that these dreams meant that there would be seven good years with plenty of food. But after that, there will be seven years of hunger and no food. Because Joseph understood the dream, Pharaoh made him the most important leader in Egypt, second only to the king. Joseph made sure Egypt stored enough food during the good years so that everyone would have enough to eat during the bad years.

Even though Joseph went through many troubles and problems, God was always with him and helped him. With patience and faithfulness to God, Joseph started out as a slave and soon became one of the most powerful leaders in Egypt. Just like Joseph, we should put trust in God and always do what is right.