Joseph in Prison By: Ebony Williams
Joseph’s Background Joseph was a strong man of God. He obeyed and did all that God commanded him to do. Before Benjamin was born, he was the youngest of his brothers and his parents were Jacob and Rachel. Joseph’s father, Jacob, loved him dearly, mostly because he was the son of his old age. However, Joseph’s brothers didn’t have the same love for their youngest brother as their father did.
Joseph’s Story One night, Joseph dreamed a dream, and as an excited seventeen year old, he ran and told his older brothers about it. However, they didn’t take to kindly to it, instead they hated him even more for his dream and his words. The dream he revealed to them was: They were all binding sheaves in the field, and Joseph’s sheaf arose and stood upright, and his brother’s sheaves stood around his and made obeisance to his sheaf.
Joseph’s Story His brothers began to understand this dream and asked if he was going to reign over them or if he was going to have dominion over them. Joseph wasn’t done yet. He dream yet another dream and told his brothers about that dream as well. This dream concerned the sun and the moon and the eleven stars that made obeisance to him. He also told his father about this dream as well and his father rebuked him and asked him if he, his mother, and his brothers were going to serve and bow down to him. His brothers continued to envy him but his father listened closely and observed what he said.
Joseph Is Sold By His Brothers Due to the envy and hatred Joseph’s brothers had for him, they devised a plan to kill him. However, after much deliberation and his older brothers, Reuben & Judah overhearing their plans, they decided to sale him instead into slavery They then dipped the many colored coat his father had given him into animal’s blood, and told their Father that a wild beast had attacked and killed their baby brother (their father’s most loved son). His brother Judah was actually the advocate for him and convinced the other brothers not to slay him but to simply sale him away.
Joseph Is Sold By His Brothers So they did just that. They sold Joseph into the slavery to the Ishmeelites him into slavery for twenty pieces of silver. But it didn’t stop there. The Ishmeelites journeyed to Egypt. They decided to sale Joseph into Egypt unto an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard named Potiphar.
Joseph in Potiphar’s House After Joseph was sold and brought down to Egypt, he became part of the house of Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh. Potiphar saw very clearly that the Lord was with Joseph so he found grace in his sight. Joseph served Potiphar and was made overseer of his house. All that Potiphar had, he placed in the hand of Joseph and Joseph became a very prosperous man.
Joseph in Potiphar’s House Due to Joseph being of the house of Potiphar and the Lord being with Joseph, Potiphar’s house was greatly blessed for Joseph’s sake as “The blessings of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.” Joseph did well by Potiphar.
Joseph in Potiphar’s House Now Joseph continued to do well by Potiphar. He didn’t betray him nor was he dishonest with him. However, Potiphar’s wife wasn’t as such. One day she looked upon Joseph and asked him to commit an adulterous act with her, but Joseph denied her and then lectured her by saying that his master, Potiphar, had left him in charge of his house. Potiphar had given everything in his household to Joseph with the exception of his wife. Therefore he refused to take part in this sinful act with Potiphar’s wife.
Joseph in Potiphar’s House Potiphar’s wife didn’t like what Joseph had to say to her. She continued to try and convince Joseph to commit this great sin with her. She was very persistent, she didn’t give up. Each day that she spoke to Joseph and saw him, she begged him to be with her. One particular day as Joseph went into the house to do his daily chores, there was no one there to witness the wicked deed that was about to occur due to the wicked mind of Potiphar’s wife.
Joseph in Potiphar’s House Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph by his garment and pleaded with him once again to lie with her. This time Joseph freed himself from her and ran, but she had his garment in her hand. She became enraged and called for the men of her house. She devised this wicked untruth about Joseph attempting to attack her. She told them that her husband had brought this Hebrew man into their house to mock them and that he attempted to lie with her, but when she screamed and cried out loud, Joseph became afraid and fled.
The Imprisonment of Joseph Once Potiphar got wind of this very deceitful story, he became very angry with Joseph and Joseph’s very own master took him and put him in prison.
Joseph Given Power in Prison The Lord was with Joseph in prison and he showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. So much so, that the keeper of the prison gave Joseph charge over all the prisoners that were in prison.
Dreams of 2 Prisoners While Joseph was in prison there came a butler and a baker. They were cast into prison because they had offended the king of Egypt. Joseph was given charge over them as well. The two new prisoners (the butler and the baker) began to dream. One man dreamed on one night and the other on a different night. When Joseph saw them the following day he noticed that they were sad. He inquired about why they were so sad and they told him that they had both dreamed a dream in which neither could interpret.
Dreams of 2 Prisoners Joseph asked them to tell him the dream and that he would pray to God for an interpretation. This is the dream of the chief butler: There was a vine with three branches. The vine budded and the blossoms came forth and it brought forth ripe grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in his hand and he took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and gave the cup to Pharaoh. Joseph interpreted the dream as: The three branches being three days. Within those three days Pharaoh would restore the butler back into his place and that he would return to his position as Pharaoh’s butler again. Joseph then asked the butler to remember him when he was freed from prison and to speak kindly of him to Pharaoh so that he too would be released from prison.
Dreams of 2 Prisoners Once the baker heard the interpretation of the butler’s dream he too asked Joseph to interpret his dream. The baker’s dream is as follows: He had three white baskets on his head. In the uppermost basket was meat for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket that was on his head. Joseph’s interpreted the dream as the three baskets being three days. Within those three days Pharaoh would lift his head from him and hang him on a tree and the birds would eat his flesh from him.
Dreams of 2 Prisoners On the third day in which Joseph had spoke of during the interpretation of the dreams, it was Pharaoh’s birthday and he made a feast for all of his servants. He then brought forward the chief butler and the chief baker and he restored the chief butler his butlership but he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted. However, the butler did not remember Joseph and speak well of him in the sight of Pharaoh as Joseph had asked of him.
Pharaoh’s Dream #1 A span of two full years had passed and Pharaoh dreamed a dream. In his dream he stood by a river and seven very likeable and fatfleshed kine came up out of the river and ate from the meadow. Next, seven more kine came up out of the river, unlikeable and ill favored with lean flesh and stood by the other kine on the river’s brink. Then, the ill favored and leanfleshed kine ate up the seven well favored and fat kine and Pharaoh woke up.
Pharaoh’s Dream #2 Pharaoh then dreamed a second time. This time he dream of seven ears of corn that came upon one stalk which were very good healthy ears of corn. Next, seven thin ears of corn came from the east winds and sprung up after the seven ears of good corn. The seven thin ears devoured the seven full ears then Pharaoh woke up very troubled by this dream. He called for all the magicians of Egypt as well as all the wise men. He told them of his dream but no one could interpret the dream for him.
Joseph’s Release from Prison Pharaoh’s Chief Butler, began to speak and said that when he was in prison with the baker, they both dreamed dreams that they were unable to interpret. However, there was a young Hebrew man in prison with them and he was able to interpret their dreams for them, as he was restored back to his butlership and the baker was hanged. So, after hearing those things from the butler, Pharaoh sent for Joseph and they quickly brought him out of prison, & shaved him.
Joseph Faces Pharaoh When Joseph appeared before Pharaoh, Pharaoh told Joseph that he had dreamed a dream and no one has been able to interpret it. He also stated that he have heard of how Joseph had been interpreting dreams while in prison. Joseph’s reply was that it was not by him that dreams were interpreted but by God. Pharaoh went on to tell Joseph about his dreams.
Joseph Comes Before Pharaoh After hearing Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph told Pharaoh that what God was about to do he has shown to him (Pharaoh) in a dream. There will be seven years of abundance throughout the land of Egypt. Then shall there be seven years of famine throughout the land, where all of the abundance will be forgotten and the famine will consume the land. During the abundance season, no one will know about the upcoming famine and it will be a very grievous state. Joseph also informed Pharaoh that he dreamed this twice because it is from God and and he will bring it to pass shortly.
Joseph’s Advice to Pharaoh Joseph told Pharaoh that he should prepare wisely for this event and make him ruler of the land of Egypt as well as appoint officers over the land during the seven plenteous years. These officers should work diligently gathering all the food of the land during the good years and store them up for the bad years. The stored food will be to fight against the famine that will shortly come so that the land itself will not perish.
The End
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