While in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker. Two years later, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, revealing that there would be seven years of famine after seven years of plenty. Pharaoh made Joseph a ruler in Egypt and instructed him to prepare the country for famine. When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to obtain food, they did not recognize Joseph. Joseph accused them of being spies and sent them back to Canaan with a charge to return with their brother Benjamin.
Write the following question on the board, and invite students to respond: What are some significant events in the future that you think the Lord wants you to prepare for?
List students’ responses on the board. Then ask:
What are some ways the Lord helps us prepare for future events?
Invite students as they study Genesis 40–41 to look for how the Lord can help us prepare for future events.
Summarize Genesis 40 and Genesis 41:1–7 by explaining that Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker were fellow prisoners with Joseph and that both of these men had troubling dreams. The Lord gave Joseph the ability to interpret the dreams, and Joseph prophesied that the butler would be reinstated to his office but that the baker would be killed. Joseph asked the butler to remember him upon the butler’s return to Pharaoh’s court, but the butler forgot Joseph. Two years later, Pharaoh also had some troubling dreams.
Invite four volunteers to read aloud the events recorded in Genesis 41, and assign them the following parts: Narrator, Joseph, Butler, and Pharaoh. Write the following assignments on the board before class so students can refer back to them as each student reads his or her part.
As the four students read their assigned verses, ask the class to follow along, looking for what Pharaoh discovered about his dreams. (At the appropriate time, you may need to explain that the word kine is another word for cattle.)
After the four students have finished reading their assigned verses, ask the class to report what they found.
Summarize Genesis 41:42–52 by explaining that Pharaoh gave Joseph his ring, and he clothed him in “fine linen” (verse 42). Joseph became a ruler over all the land of Egypt and was married to Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On. For seven years Joseph went throughout all of Egypt gathering food until there was more grain in storage than could be measured. Point out that during this time, Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Ask a few students to take turns reading aloud from Genesis 41:53–57. Ask the class to follow along and look for the result of Pharaoh’s decision to follow Joseph’s counsel.
What was the result of Pharaoh’s decision to follow Joseph’s counsel?
What principle can we identify from this account?
As students respond, you may want to emphasize the following principle: If we follow the counsel of the prophets and inspired leaders, then we will be better prepared to face difficulties.
In what ways have prophets in our day asked us to prepare for future spiritual or temporal challenges?
How have you or someone you know been blessed for following prophetic counsel to prepare for spiritual or temporal challenges?
Encourage students to consider ways they can apply this principle in their efforts to be prepared for difficulties that may come in the future.
Summarize Genesis 42:1–5 by explaining that Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food so that they could survive the famine, which had spread to the land of Canaan. Jacob kept his youngest son, Benjamin, at home in order to keep Benjamin safe.
Invite a student to read Genesis 42:6–8 aloud. Ask the class to look for whom Jacob’s sons encountered in Egypt.
Whom did Jacob’s sons encounter? Why do you think they did not recognize him?
What had happened the last time Joseph was with his brothers?
What feelings might you have had if you were Joseph and you saw your brothers for the first time in over 20 years?
Summarize Genesis 42:9–18 by explaining that after Joseph saw his brothers bowing before him, he remembered the dreams God had given him (see Genesis 37:6–7, 9–10). He recognized that these prophetic dreams were being fulfilled. Joseph accused his brothers of being spies. His brothers responded that they had come to buy food and that their father and younger brother had remained in Canaan. Joseph put them in prison for three days. He kept Simeon as a prisoner and instructed the rest of his brothers to prove they were telling the truth by bringing Benjamin to Egypt.
Joseph sends his brothers home to retrieve Benjamin
Write the following questions on the board, and invite students to discuss these questions in pairs:
Do you think feeling guilty is good or bad? What is the purpose of guilt? When might feeling guilt be a blessing?
After students have had sufficient time to discuss these questions, invite a few of them to explain their responses to the class.
Invite a student to read Genesis 42:21–23 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for what Joseph’s brothers began to think about as they experienced this difficult situation in Egypt.
Who is the brother they were referring to in these verses? (Joseph.)
What evidence do you see in verses 21–23 that Joseph’s brothers were still suffering for what they had done more than 20 years previously when they sold Joseph into slavery and then lied to their father about it?
Why do you think Joseph’s brothers would have felt guilt about what they had done to Joseph so many years earlier? (They had not fully repented, so their guilt remained.)
Explain that the phrase “his blood is required” in verse 22 suggests that Joseph’s brother Reuben realized they would be held accountable for what they had done to Joseph.
Based on verses 21–22 and the ideas we have discussed, what truths can we identify about guilt? (Truths students identify may include the following: Guilt accompanies sin. Guilt can cause us to regret our sins. Consider writing these truths on the board.)
To help students further understand some of the purposes of guilt, invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
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David A. Bednar
“All of us have experienced the pain associated with a physical injury or wound. When we are in pain, we typically seek relief and are grateful for the medication and treatments that help to alleviate our suffering. Consider sin as a spiritual wound that causes guilt. … Guilt is to our spirit what pain is to our body—a warning of danger and a protection from additional damage” (David A. Bednar, “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 44).
According to Elder Bednar, what are some purposes of guilt?
How does guilt protect us from additional damage?
Consider writing another truth on the board: Guilt can motivate us to repent, seek forgiveness, and avoid future sin.
Invite a student to read aloud another statement by Elder Bednar. Ask students to listen for what happens when we repent of our sins.
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David A. Bednar
“The Savior is often referred to as the Great Physician. … From the Atonement of the Savior flows the soothing salve that can heal our spiritual wounds and remove guilt. However, this salve can only be applied through the principles of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, and consistent obedience. The results of sincere repentance are peace of conscience, comfort, and spiritual healing and renewal” (David A. Bednar, “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 44).
What counsel did Elder Bednar give to those who are suffering guilt because of their sins?
What is the promise to all who sincerely repent?
You may want to testify of the principles the class has just identified.
Invite students to follow Elder Bednar’s counsel to seek peace and spiritual healing by exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repenting of their sins.
Invite a student to read Genesis 42:24 aloud. Ask the class to look for Joseph’s reaction to seeing and hearing his brothers’ expressions of guilt and regret. Ask students to report what they find.
Summarize Genesis 42:25–35 by explaining that after Joseph imprisoned Simeon, he sent the other brothers home with grain. But before they left, he commanded his servants to hide the money his brothers used to purchase the grain in the brothers’ sacks of grain. When his brothers later discovered the money in their sacks, they were afraid.
Invite a student to read Genesis 42:36–38 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for how Jacob initially responded to his sons’ request to take Benjamin back to Egypt with them.
Why do you think Jacob was reluctant to send Benjamin to Egypt? (You may want to point out that Benjamin was Jacob’s only remaining son from his beloved wife Rachel [see Genesis 44:27–29].)
Jacob’s sons return to Egypt with Benjamin and dine with Joseph
Summarize Genesis 43:1–25 by explaining that after Jacob’s family ran out of food again and after Judah promised to take care of Benjamin, Jacob agreed to let Benjamin go with Jacob’s other sons to Egypt to buy more food. When Joseph saw that his brothers had brought Benjamin with them, he instructed his servant to bring them to Joseph’s house. The brothers feared that Joseph would put them in bonds because of the money that had been returned to their sacks of grain during their previous visit.
Remind students that this was the first time Joseph had seen Benjamin in many years. Invite several students to take turns reading aloud from Genesis 43:26–34. Consider stopping periodically to ask students what they think Joseph and his brothers might have been feeling.
Explain that in the next lesson, students will learn how and when Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers.
“The spiritual greatness of Joseph is a remarkable thing. How many people have become bitter over some real or imagined slight, or blamed the Lord for some personal tragedy? In the very midst of being faithful and holding true to that which is right, Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison. How easy it would have been for him to give up, to say, ‘What’s the use of trying to serve God? All He does is punish me.’ But there was not a trace of bitterness, no blaming the Lord. Joseph just continued being righteous and faithful. Unselfishly he offered to interpret the dreams of his two fellow prisoners, telling them that the knowledge came from God (see Genesis 40:8). He still trusted in the Lord, although he must have felt doomed to spend his life in prison. If any person had cause for discouragement and bitterness, it was Joseph, but he never faltered in his faith. Truly, Joseph is a model to be emulated” (Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis–2 Samuel, 3rd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 95).
Elder L. Tom Perry (1922–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:
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L. Tom Perry
“You will notice in each situation in which Joseph found himself that the Lord was with him. It was easy to recognize the special spirit in him because of the way he lived and heeded the voice of the Lord to direct him.
“That same recognition will surely be with each of us as we are led and directed by His Holy Spirit” (L. Tom Perry, “Becoming Men in Whom the Spirit of God Is,” Ensign, May 2002, 41).
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught about the necessity of personal suffering in the repentance process:
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Dallin H. Oaks
“President Spencer W. Kimball, who gave such comprehensive teachings on repentance and forgiveness, said that personal suffering ‘is a very important part of repentance. One has not begun to repent until he has suffered intensely for his sins. … If a person hasn’t suffered, he hasn’t repented’ [The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball (1982), 88, 99.].
“… We must endure personal suffering in the process of repentance—and for serious transgressions, that suffering can be severe and prolonged” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Sin and Suffering,” Ensign, July 1992, 72, 73).
President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following about sin and suffering:
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M. Russell Ballard
“Sin will always, always, result in suffering. It may come sooner, or it may come later, but it will come” (M. Russell Ballard, “Purity Precedes Power,” Ensign, Nov. 1990, 36).