YEA Lesson Library
Taste and See
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that God revealed His plans for Egypt to Pharaoh in a dream. Joseph was used by God to interpret the dream. The student is encouraged to seek God’s plan in the Bible and to develop a close relationship with God.
Scriptures
Genesis 40:1 - 41:36
Psalm 27:11-14
Psalm 34:8
Isaiah 40:3-5
Daniel 2:20-23
Matthew 6:31-34
Matthew 24
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
2 Timothy 3:1-5
1 Peter 1:3-5
2 Peter 3:8-10, 14
Words to Know
REVEAL - to make known
INTENTIONS - what you plan to do
WITHERED- dried up and wilted
STALK - the stem or main part of the plant
INTERPRET- to tell the meaning of
INTERPRETATION - the meaning of something
FAMINE - a severe lack of food
The Lesson
Josh and Lauren raced home from school, eager to share their report cards with their parents. "Mom!" they both called as they skidded to a surprised halt inside the front door. Their mouths opened in shock as they viewed the piles of camping equipment in the entryway: sleeping bags, the tent, the Coleman cooker, fishing poles, cooler, thermos, lantern, and Mom and Dad's suitcase and duffle bags.
"Hey! So that's why they were asking us which was our favorite campsite last week," Lauren told Josh. "And that's why Dad was working on the car-top-carrier last night," Josh observed. Suddenly the two children could think of dozens of clues they had overlooked. If they had been paying attention, it would not have been a surprise to them that Mom and Dad were planning this trip.
God didn't leave His plans for Egypt to be a surprise either. He revealed his intentions in a dream to Pharaoh, who was the ruler of Egypt. Pharaoh dreamed that seven fat cows came up out of the Nile River. Cows often submerged themselves up to their necks in the river to keep cool. The fat cows grazed among the reeds at the edge of the river. Then he dreamed that seven skinny, ugly cows came up out of the river. The seven fat cows were eaten up by the skinny, ugly cows. But the skinny cows stayed skinny. He couldn’t tell that they had eaten anything at all.
Then Pharaoh had another dream. He saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a stalk and seven other heads of grain sprouted. These were withered and thin and scorched by the east wind.The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads.
When Pharaoh told these dreams to his magicians, they couldn't explain them to him. Then the chief cupbearer remembered that Joseph had explained the dream he had to him. He had this dream while he was in prison. Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and baker were put into the same prison where Potiphar had earlier sent Joseph. Both the cupbearer and the baker had dreams. Joseph told them that the interpretations of dreams belong to God. Then Joseph told each one what their dream meant. The cupbearer was to be released from prison. The baker would be hung to death.
Now, when Pharaoh had his dream, the cupbearer suddenly remembered Joseph, and he told Pharaoh what had happened. Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph because he realized God's Spirit was in him. Pharaoh admitted that there was no one as wise as Joseph. Joseph told Pharaoh, "I cannot interpret your dream." Joseph was wise enough to ask God to give him the interpretation of the dream.
God gave Pharaoh the dreams to let him know that Egypt was going to have seven good years of harvest followed by seven years of famine. Long famines were rare in Egypt because the Nile River frequently overflowed. God gave a dream to the ruler of the country. God told them what would happen in the future.
Other rulers in the Bible had dreams and wanted them interpreted. King Nebuchadnezzar didn't want to tell his wise men what he’d dreamed. When he did tell them, none of them could interpret it for him, so he ordered them to be killed. Daniel knew he would be killed with the rest of them. So he prayed to God for the dream and the interpretation of it. When God did give it to Daniel, he praised God for it. Daniel went to the king and told him, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries" (Daniel 2:27). Then Daniel told the king the interpretation of the dream.
People like to know the future. They like to plan for the things that will happen. We, too, can plan for the future. But we don't have to be given a dream from God to plan for the future. God has given us the Bible to tell us what will happen. It describes some of the future for us. Jesus Christ will return and will rule upon the earth for a thousand years. The Bible gives us some signs to watch for. And Jesus told His disciples to watch.
Why do you think Jesus wants us to watch? Better yet, what are we supposed to watch? There are two things to watch. Watch the signs of the times. Paul describes to Timothy how people will act during the last days. Jesus Christ also describes the end times in Matthew 24. But it won't do you any good to watch the signs if you're not living your life the way God wants you to.
Some people spend all of their time studying prophecy. Prophecy is important, but understanding all the prophecies in the Bible won't do us much good if our heart is not right. God says, "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word" Isaiah 66:2 (NIV). You must think about your relationship with God - now. Peter puts it this way: "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him" (2 Peter 3:14). Jesus also stresses the importance of seeking God first. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).
Think about it! What good will it do you to have figured out when Christ will return to this earth if you don't have a good relationship with Him? But, if you have a good relationship with Him, He will keep you safe - even if you have missed some of the clues about His return.
Remember, if you love God, try to live as Jesus Christ did, and seek God with all of your heart, He will give you what you need- both for today and in the future. Your Heavenly Father loves you! And you were born to win!
Student Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you that you love me and want the best for me. Help me to come to know you and to be at peace with you always.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday: 2 Peter 3:8-10
Monday: Matthew 6:31-34
Tuesday: Daniel 2:20-23
Wednesday: Psalm 27:11-14
Thursday: Isaiah 40:3-5
Friday: 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
Saturday: 1 Peter 1:3-5
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Relate Pharaoh's two dreams.
2. Explain that God gives the interpretation of dreams oftentimes in the Bible.
3. Explain what Pharaoh's dreams meant.
4. Differentiate between Pharaoh's and Nebuchadnezzar's dreams and their reactions.
5. Tell that God often used dreams in the Bible to reveal the future.
6. Explain that God doesn't have to give us a dream to show us the future, we have the Bible.
7. Tell that a good personal relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ is the most important thing for preparing for the future.
8. Explain how to have a closer relationship with someone, including God.
Topics & Themes
Bible/Bible Study
Daniel
Dream
Egypt
Famine
Joseph
Nebuchadnezzar
Pharaoh
Preparing for Jesus’ Return
Prophecy
Relationship with God
Materials Needed
Bibles, YEA students' and teacher's books, pencils, pens, attendance and memory verse chart, stars, songbook, cassette tape or CD, and music player, blackboard, strawberries, paper
Preparation
Make a list of everything you know about a famous person, so that you will have an example to share with the students when they do their lists.
Wash enough strawberries to allow each student to have one. Spend some time thinking about the difference between knowing about someone and really knowing someone.
How to Teach This Lesson
Do You Know? - Begin with the activity. Have the students break into groups of three and brainstorm what they know about a famous person of their choice (athlete, historical figure, political figure, etc.). Bring them back to the large group. Have them share what they came up with. Congratulate the group which has the most knowledge about their person.
Pharaoh's dreams - Tell the students you're going to digress a little, but that you'll come back to their lists in just a minute. It's important to do this so they stay with you while going through the lesson. Ask: What did Pharaoh dream? What did his dreams mean? How did he learn what they meant? Who did Joseph give credit for his dreams?
Nebuchadnezzar's dreams - Ask: What did Nebuchadnezzar do when he had his dream? Who was able to interpret that dream? To whom did Daniel give credit?
Telling the future - Ask: Why did God give the dreams to Pharaoh and to Nebuchadnezzar? How does God reveal the future to us today - at least as much as we need to know right now? What did Jesus tell His disciples to do? (Watch.) What two things should God's people watch? (World events and themselves.)
Watch yourself - What does it mean to watch yourself? Ask a student to read 2 Peter 3:14. Talk about its meaning.
A Personal Relationship - Go back to the lists the students made at the beginning of the lesson. Ask them if the group who knew the most about the person really knows the person. Ask: What would happen if you walked up to that person’s front door? Would the person you described know you when he or she opened the front door? So how do you get to really know someone, not just know about them? Ask the students to share their lists from their student activities.
A strawberry - Ask the students to brainstorm with you the characteristics of a strawberry. (Have a prop to show them!) After they've exhausted their list, ask: Do you really know that strawberry? Explain that all they know is what they see on the outside or what they know from previous experience. Then give each student a strawberry to eat. Ask them to expand their list of characteristics. Point out that each strawberry is different slightly - shape, size, taste. You can't really know a strawberry until you taste it. This is a good time to have each student recite the memory verse.
A personal relationship with God - How does this relate to a personal relationship with God? What are some ways to improve your relationship with God? Remind them that their relationship with God is all important.
Review Questions
1. What did Pharaoh dream?
2. Who remembered that Joseph could interpret the dream? Why?
3. To whom did Joseph give credit for the interpretation?
4. When Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, what did he request of the wise men? Why?
5. How did God reveal future events to the people in the Bible?
6. How has God revealed what we need to know about the future?
7. What two things should we watch?
8. What is the most important thing to watch?
9. How do you develop a closer relationship with someone? With God?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Do You Know?
Have the students break into groups of three and brainstorm what they know about a famous person of their choice (athlete, historical figure, political figure, etc.). Bring them back to the large group. Have them share what they came up with. (Follow-up in How To Teach This Lesson.)
REACH Activity
Back to the Bible: The Future
People are very interested in what’s going to happen in the future. If you knew where there was going to be a tornado, you would make sure you weren’t there! God sometimes lets people know what is going to happen in dreams, visions, or prophesies. Your lesson lists several: the baker and cupbearer, Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh. 1 Kings 13:2 relates a prophecy against Jeroboam that happened 350 years after the prophecy. Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies made about Him.
Choose one prophecy or dream. Read about it. Talk about it with your family. God gives prophecies and dreams, not so much that we will know the future, but so that we will give God the glory for being sovereign. He knows what will happen. Our lives are in His hands and we can trust Him. Write about this whole topic in your Bible notebook.
Journal Jot: Taste and See
If I wanted to see if something was good, I’m not sure I would put it into my mouth and taste it first. I might look it over really well. I might smell it. I might, then, very cautiously taste a little bit - wholly prepared to spit it out! But King David, in his assertion that God is indeed good, exhorts us all in Psalm 34:8 to taste and see that God is good. To thoroughly enjoy a taste, you have to experience the food thoroughly. And that’s what David is telling us about God - we have to experience Him thoroughly. Take God into every part of your life. You can trust Him. He is good!
In your Bible journal, make a list of five things you really enjoy tasting. What about those things do you enjoy? For instance, I really like ripe strawberries straight out of the garden. I like the smell, the sweetness of a fully ripe berry, and the texture.
After making your list of five things you enjoy, write four sentences about what you very much appreciate about God and Who He is.
Word Study: châçâh
This word châçâh is the Hebrew word for “take refuge” - as in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” “Though it can mean to take shelter in a literal sense, it is used more often in a figurative sense of seeking spiritual refuge and putting trust” in God. (Source: Zodhiates’ Hebrew-Greek Key Word NAS Study Bible, 1990).
Write this word and its definition in your Bible notebook. Then find one other place where this word is used. Write that instance in your Bible notebook too.
Just Toolin’ Around: Famine
Using a Bible encyclopedia, find out when there have been major famines (in Biblical times). Who was affected? What archaeological evidence has been found to support the famine during Joseph’s life?
Write down what you find in your Bible notebook. Be prepared to share it with your class next Sabbath.
Did you Know? Famine
Having enough food to eat depends on several things: weather conditions (enough rain and enough sun at the right time), pests (numbers of bugs and wildlife eating your crops), blight and fungus (often as a result of weather and/or bugs), warfare (Enemies destroy crops.), and preservation methods.
Research where people are experiencing famine in our world today. Share what you find with your family and write the statistics in your Bible notebook.
Stretch It Out: Swallowed Up
Sometimes there are children’s books that have pull tabs you can tug on to move the picture around. Design a book or card with a pull tab that allows you to have seven fat cows swallowed up by seven skinny cows. (You may need some adult help.) Then do a similar one with seven plump heads of grain and seven withered heads of grain. Use these as props to retell the story of Pharaoh’s dream.
Music Notes: Farther Along
This hymn is on page 169 of the CEM Hymnal.
There is some question about who authored the words to this hymn in the early 1900s. Regardless, the thoughts expressed in the verses are felt by all of us. There is no person who gets through this life without heartache and pain. Whether we bring it on ourselves due to our poor choices and sinfulness or we experience it because we live in a world subjected to decay, each of us has trouble and sorrow. Joseph could have sung this song. David could have sung this song. The apostle Paul could have sung this song. Farther along we will know all about it; farther along we will understand why. So our job is to do the job God has set before us with joy and gladness - as a testimony to our hope and trust in Him.
After you sing this hymn, look it up on the internet. Look at how many people have recorded it. Choose one of them and listen to their rendition with your family.
Questions?
Write down any questions you have in your Bible notebook so that you can remember to ask your parents or your pastor.
Song
"His Banner Over Me Is Love" is on page 36 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Lead the students to ask God for His assistance in growing closer to Him.
Printable Pages
