Pharoah's dreams of seven years of plenty and seven years of famine came true just as Joseph had explained them.  At that time there was a great famine in all the land of Egypt which spread to the land of Canaan, the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and to Jacob.

Can you imagine coming home from school and your mother telling you that there was no more food and you will just have to go hungry for the rest of the week!  What would you do and say? (Let the children respond).

Well, Joseph's father, Jacob, and his eleven brothers were running short of food because of the famine, and so Jacob sent ten of his sons all the way to Egypt to see if they could buy some food.  They had heard that although there also was famine in Egypt, the people had plenty of food for themselves and for others.  They did not know of course, that Joseph was the one who had safe guarded the food supplies of Egypt.

Because Joseph's father was sure that Joseph he was dead, he would not allow his last son, Benjamin to go to Egypt with the other brothers.  He was afraid that something would also happen to him, even as something had happened to Joseph all those years before.

When Jacob's sons arrived in Egypt and asked if they could buy grain and food, they were taken before their brother Joseph.  Of course they hadn't seen Joseph in many years and did not recognise him because they probably thought he was dead.  But, they had to see Joseph because he was the Ruler of Egypt, and was in charge of all the food supplies.

No one could buy food and take it out of Egypt unless Joseph was willing that they should do so.  When they explained that they had come from Canaan and that their father was very old and needed food, Joseph knew they were his own brothers.  He must have remembered his wonderful dreams that God had given him when he was a young man. Those dreams had shown that his brothers would one day bow down before him.  And sure enough, here they were bowing down before their brother Joseph and pleading for something to eat.

Of course they didn't know they were talking to their own brother whom they had sold to be a slave.  They probably thought it very strange that Joseph should ask them so many questions about their father and youngest brother, Benjamin, who had been kept at home for safety.  But, of course Joseph asked these questions because he loved his father and his brother.   He was anxious to find out all that had happened to them since they had sold him to be a slave.

Do you think Joseph was planning something bad for all those brothers who had sold him as a slave? (Let the children respond).  No, Joseph was longing to see Benjamin, his younger brother, so he worked out a plan to make his brothers bring Benjamin with them the next time they came for food.

He gave them a full sack of grain for each brother when they paid their money to Joseph for this grain.  But, after filling their sacks with grain, Joseph told his servant to put their money back in their sacks with the grain, as he didn't want to take money from his brothers for the food.

But Joseph made his brothers believe that he was sure they weren't telling him the truth.  He told them he thought they were spies and naturally they felt very badly about this, and insisted it was not true.  But Joseph replied that there was something they would have to do if they wanted him to believe them.

If they did not return with Benjamin, this would prove to Joseph that they were not telling the truth and didn't really have a brother called Benjamin.   The brothers thought that this was a hard thing, but there was nothing they could do.  So they went back to Canaan and told their father all the strange things which had happened to them.

But Jacob wouldn't allow Benjamin to be taken to Egypt.  He feared that harm would come to him and that he would never see Benjamin alive again.   He said that he had lost Joseph and he couldn't lose Benjamin as well!

But the famine continued, and again Jacob and his family were in need of food.  When people get hungry they will do things they wouldn't normally do, and so Jacob finally decided to let his sons take Benjamin and go back to Egypt for more food.

When they arrived in Egypt the second time they were again taken to Joseph.  Joseph knew right away who they were, and when he saw his young brother Benjamin with them he felt so happy, that he just had to weep!  Joseph didn't want his brothers to see how he felt, so he went off to a room by himself and had a really good cry.  After he had wiped the tears from his eyes and washed his face, he went back to his brothers.

He told his servants to get dinner ready so they could all eat together.   But the brothers thought Joseph was an Egyptian, and as it was against the law for an Egyptian to eat at the same table with people of other nations, especially with Hebrews.  And so Joseph arranged to have a table all by himself as he was still not ready to let his brothers know that he was their own brother whom they had sold as a slave.

Finally dinner was over and they all retired for the night.  The next morning another supply of grain was prepared for the brothers to take back to Canaan.  Again each one was given a sack full, but this time Joseph told a servant to take his own silver cup and put it in the top of Benjamin's sack.  So they started on their way back to Canaan, but before they travelled very far, Joseph's servants came hurrying after them.

They stopped the brothers and explained that Joseph's silver cup had been stolen.  Of course the brothers were sure that they had not taken the cup.  So they unloaded the bags of grain off the donkeys and opened them up to prove to Joseph's servants that they had not stolen the cup.  But when they came to Benjamin's sack, there was Joseph's silver cup!

How badly they felt!  They had faithfully promised their father that they would bring Benjamin back safely, and now they thought he would be kept in jail in Egypt.  What could they do?  Well, they went straight back to Joseph and tried to explain to him that they were not to blame for what had happened.  Joseph replied that the brother in whose sack the silver cup was found in would have to remain with him as a prisoner in Egypt.  All the others could leave to go back home!

But this was what they didn't want, because they had promised their father that they would surely bring Benjamin back to him.  They really were in trouble!  But then Judah explained to Joseph how terribly hard it would be for their poor old father if Benjamin should be kept in Egypt.  He told Joseph that if Benjamin was not with them when they arrived home, their father would die of a broken heart.  He then offered to remain in Egypt to take Benjamin's place.  This showed a great deal of love for his brother.

This pleased Joseph very much, so he sent all the Egyptians out of the room, and he was left alone with his brothers.  Then he broke down and wept before them and said, "I am Joseph, your brother!"  What a surprise that must have been to them and they were afraid, too, because this man was the ruler of all Egypt!  Would you have been scared? (Let the children respond).

Well, Joseph told them not to be afraid as he had forgiven them.  He said they should not blame themselves for having sold him into Egypt, because God had wanted him to come to Egypt to take charge of the food supply so that all his brothers and their families might have food to eat during the seven years of famine.

"You were jealous of me," he said, "But I don't want to punish you for what you did."  So he told them to go back to Canaan and bring their father, their families and all their flocks and herds down to Egypt.  He promised that he would give them a large section of land where they could live in the part of the Egypt called Goshen.

In this way Joseph's dreams finally came true.  He was now ruler over his father and over his brothers, and not only ruler, but he was their saviour.  Because he loved God and because God helped him, he had been able to provide food for the whole family.

In some ways Joseph was like Jesus.  Joseph was put in prison after he went into Egypt, and Jesus was put into a grave when He died.  But just as Joseph was freed from prison and made a ruler, so Jesus was freed from the prison-house of the grave.  When He arose to life again, He became our best Friend and Saviour.

He is the great King of kings who will rule over all the earth and just as Joseph provided food to keep his people alive, so Jesus will give us the Bread of Life.  And the people who eat it will live forever!

We are glad that God was so good to Joseph, but even more glad that God loves every boy and girl so much, that He sent Jesus to die for us and forgive our sins and bless us and give us eternal life.  And this is what God meant when He told Abraham that He planned to give blessings to all the families of the earth!

God bless.