Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams Bible story for kids

It was dark in the prison.

So dark you could hardly see your own hand in front of your face. And in the corner of one of those cold, stone rooms... a young man was praying.

He had been there a long, long time. But before we open that heavy door — let's go back. Back to where his story began...

His name was Joseph. And the last time we saw him, his brothers had sent him far, far away from home. He had walked across hot, golden sand under a hot, golden sun. He had crossed rivers and deserts. And he had ended up in a country called Egypt — a place of tall stone temples, sparkling rivers, and the great, mighty Nile.

Things had not been easy for Joseph. Not at all. But here is the wonderful thing about Joseph... no matter where he went, no matter what happened to him, Joseph kept his eyes looking up. Because Joseph knew that God was with him. And when God is with you... well, even hard places can become holy places.

In Egypt, Joseph went to work for an important man named Potiphar. Potiphar was a captain in Pharaoh's army, and his house was big and bustling and full of important things to do. Joseph rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Joseph swept. Joseph cooked. Joseph counted the grain and watered the gardens. He worked hard and he worked honestly. And do you know what Potiphar noticed?

Everything Joseph touched seemed to go right.

The crops grew taller. The animals grew healthier. The whole house felt happier. Potiphar scratched his chin and said, "There is something different about this young man. The God of Joseph must be a very great God indeed."

So Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything. The whole house! Imagine that — a young man, far from home, trusted with all the keys.

And God was with him. God was with her. God is with you, too.

But then... through no fault of his own, Joseph ended up in prison.

Now... if that happened to you or me, we might cry. We might shake our fists. We might say, "Why, God? Why?" And maybe Joseph did, just a little bit, at first. But then he wiped his eyes, looked up at the tiny window high in the prison wall, and saw a single shaft of golden sunlight pouring through.

"God, You are still with me. So I will still trust You."

And do you know what? Even in prison, Joseph got to work. He helped the guards. He helped the other prisoners. He smiled. He served. And before long, the warden himself said, "There is something different about this young man." And the warden put Joseph in charge of everything in the prison. From the bottom of the dungeon, Joseph rose right back to the top.

Now, in that prison, Joseph met two very special men. One was Pharaoh's cupbearer — the man who served the king his drinks. The other was Pharaoh's baker — the man who made the king's bread. Both of them had been thrown into prison too.

And one morning, both men woke up looking very, very puzzled.

"Joseph," they said, "we each had a dream last night. Strange dreams. We don't know what they mean, and there's no one here to explain them to us."

Joseph's eyes lit up.

"Tell me your dreams," Joseph said gently. "I can't read dreams. But God can. God will."

So they told him. And Joseph listened with his whole heart. And then — like turning a key in a tiny lock — Joseph explained exactly what each dream meant.

And just as Joseph said, three days later, the cupbearer was set free and went back to serve the king. The baker's dream came true too. Everything happened just the way Joseph said.

But here's the sad part. The cupbearer went back to the palace... and the cupbearer forgot all about Joseph.

Not for a day. Not for a week. For two whole years. Two. Whole. Years.

And Joseph waited. And waited. And kept being kind. And kept trusting God.

Then one night, far away in the great palace of Egypt, Pharaoh — the most powerful king in the whole world — fell asleep on his golden bed.

And Pharaoh began to dream.

He dreamed he was standing by the river Nile. And out of the water came seven cows — fat, healthy, beautiful cows, glowing in the morning light. They munched happily on the green grass. But then... out of the river came seven more cows. Skinny cows. Bony cows. Cows so thin you could count their ribs. And those skinny cows... gobbled up the fat cows in one great gulp!

Pharaoh sat straight up in bed. "What... what was that?"

He fell back asleep. And he dreamed again. A whole new dream, the very same night. This time, he saw seven plump golden ears of grain, growing on a single stalk — full and ripe and beautiful. And then seven thin, dried-up ears of grain, scorched by the hot east wind, sprang up after them. And those thin ears swallowed up the plump ones, just the same!

Pharaoh jumped up. His heart was pounding. "Bring me every wise man in Egypt! Bring me every magician! Someone must tell me what these dreams mean!"

But no one could. Not one. The wisest men in all the land just shook their heads.

And then... the cupbearer remembered.

"Oh, Pharaoh," he said, bowing low. "Forgive me. I should have told you long ago. There is a young Hebrew man in your prison. He once explained a dream for me — and every word of it came true."

Pharaoh's eyes flashed. "Bring him to me. Now."

So the guards rushed down to the prison. They washed Joseph and shaved him and gave him fresh clean robes. And then... can you imagine?

Joseph was thirty years old the day he walked into Pharaoh's throne room. He had been seventeen when his brothers sent him away. Thirteen years had passed. Thirteen long years of waiting and trusting.

Joseph stood before Pharaoh himself.

Pharaoh leaned forward. "I have heard you can explain dreams."

And Joseph — humble, brave Joseph — looked up and said, "It is not in me, great Pharaoh. God will give Pharaoh the answer."

So Pharaoh told Joseph both of his dreams. And Joseph listened. And then, with a calm, sure voice, Joseph said, "Both dreams mean the same thing. God is showing you what is about to happen. For seven years, Egypt will have plenty. The fields will burst with grain. The cows will be fat. There will be more food than anyone has ever seen!

"But then... seven years of hunger will come. Hard, hungry years. And the years of plenty will be forgotten, because the hunger will be so great.

"So, Pharaoh — find a wise man. Store up grain in the good years. So that when the hungry years come... your people will not starve."

Pharaoh stared. His advisors stared. The whole throne room held its breath.

Then Pharaoh stood up and said to all his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?"

Pharaoh took the ring off his own finger and put it on Joseph's hand. He dressed Joseph in soft white linen. He hung a gold chain around his neck.

"From this day on," said Pharaoh, "you will be in charge of my whole kingdom. Only my throne will be greater than yours."

They sat Joseph in the second-best chariot in all of Egypt, and people ran ahead shouting, "Bow down! Bow down!"

From prisoner... to prince. In a single afternoon.

And do you remember, little one? Long ago, when Joseph was just a boy, he had his own dreams — dreams of sheaves bowing down, and stars bowing down. His brothers had laughed. But God hadn't forgotten. God had been weaving, all along.

And Joseph got right to work. For seven years, he traveled the land, gathering grain. Wagons and wagons full! Storehouses rose up like mountains, packed to the rooftops with wheat.

And then, just as Joseph said, the hungry years came. The fields dried up. The rivers shrank. People all over the world began to cry, "We have nothing to eat!"

But in Egypt? Egypt had food. Because of Joseph. Because of God.

People came from every country, knocking on Egypt's gates. And Joseph — kind, wise Joseph — opened the storehouses and fed them all.

And in those years, Joseph had two little boys of his own. He named his first son Manasseh — because Manasseh means, "God has made me forget all my sadness." And he named his second son Ephraim — because Ephraim means, "God has made me bloom even here, far from home."

The dreamy boy who had walked across the desert... had become the man who fed the world. And God was with him. God was with her. God is with you, too.

May the same God who never forgot Joseph never forget you either. Walk in peace, little one.