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A Spiritual Lesson In Toon Language: Lesson 38b

Topic: The Master Dream Prophet II: Feast And Famine

Series: Smurfs, Movie

Episode: Waste Not, Smurf Not (Smurfs), Joseph King Of Dreams Part II (Movie)

Lesson PDF link: 38b.pdf

Introduction

In this 2nd part on the study of Joseph, we compare and contrast Joseph with the Smurfs during a famine that threatened their respective civilizations. In the Smurfs episode "Waste Not Smurf Not", we see wisdom not being applied to a very bad situation and they learn what Joseph already knew. We will use the 2nd part of Joseph King Of Dreams to illustrate this point. When confronted with life-altering damage like a prolonged famine, wisdom and frugality have to be applied. This is a tough lesson.

Scriptures Used Include: Genesis: chapters 39-41, Luke 19: 11-27, Matthew 25: 14-30

What did we learn last time? Today, we are going to discuss days of plenty, but we are also going to discuss days of lack. How many of us have plenty to eat? Do we truly appreciate this abundance? If there are times when someone is in lack (not enough of anything), is help there whether sought or given? In the cartoon coming up, there is a time of feasting and a time of famine. We are seeing a Smurfs episode called "Waste Not, Smurf Not", we will have a Bible Study and discussion. This set of Bible scriptures is kinda lengthy due to the account being in a longer story.

Cartoon Show: Smurfs: "Waste Not, Smurf Not"

Smurfs: "Waste Not, Smurf Not": Direct link for video/webm

Our Bible Passage is found in Genesis 39 - 41.

Clip: Movie: "Joseph King Of Dreams II" (Note: Start The Movie And Go To Marker 26:47 - 56:44):

Movie: "Joseph King Of Dreams II": Direct link for video/webm

The Bible States In Genesis Chapters 39-41:

Ge 39:1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

Ge 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

Ge 39:3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,

Ge 39:4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

Ge 39:5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

Ge 39:6 So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

Ge 39:7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, 'Come to bed with me!'

Ge 39:8 But he refused. 'With me in charge,' he told her, 'my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.

Ge 39:9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?'

Ge 39:10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

Ge 39:11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.

Ge 39:12 She caught him by his cloak and said, 'Come to bed with me!' But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Ge 39:13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

Ge 39:14 she called her household servants. 'Look,' she said to them, 'this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.

Ge 39:15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.'

Ge 39:16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.

Ge 39:17 Then she told him this story: 'That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.

Ge 39:18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.'

Ge 39:19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, 'This is how your slave treated me,' he burned with anger.

Ge 39:20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,

Ge 39:21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

Ge 39:22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.

Ge 39:23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Ge 40:1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.

Ge 40:2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,

Ge 40:3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

Ge 40:4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time,

Ge 40:5 each of the two men'the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison'had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

Ge 40:6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.

Ge 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, 'Why are your faces so sad today?'

Ge 40:8 'We both had dreams,' they answered, 'but there is no one to interpret them.' Then Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.'

Ge 40:9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, 'In my dream I saw a vine in front of me,

Ge 40:10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Ge 40:11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand.'

Ge 40:12 'This is what it means,' Joseph said to him. 'The three branches are three days.

Ge 40:13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

Ge 40:14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

Ge 40:15 For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.'

Ge 40:16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, 'I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.

Ge 40:17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.'

Ge 40:18 'This is what it means,' Joseph said. 'The three baskets are three days.

Ge 40:19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh.'

Ge 40:20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials:

Ge 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand,

Ge 40:22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

Ge 40:23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Ge 41:1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile,

Ge 41:2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.

Ge 41:3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank.

Ge 41:4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

Ge 41:5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk.

Ge 41:6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted'thin and scorched by the east wind.

Ge 41:7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

Ge 41:8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Ge 41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, 'Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.

Ge 41:10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.

Ge 41:11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

Ge 41:12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.

Ge 41:13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.'

Ge 41:14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

Ge 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.'

Ge 41:16 'I cannot do it,' Joseph replied to Pharaoh, 'but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.'

Ge 41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,

Ge 41:18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.

Ge 41:19 After them, seven other cows came up 'scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt.

Ge 41:20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first.

Ge 41:21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

Ge 41:22 'In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk.

Ge 41:23 After them, seven other heads sprouted 'withered and thin and scorched by the east wind.

Ge 41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me.'

Ge 41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, 'The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Ge 41:26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream.

Ge 41:27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

Ge 41:28 'It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Ge 41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,

Ge 41:30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.

Ge 41:31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe.

Ge 41:32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

Ge 41:33 'And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.

Ge 41:34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

Ge 41:35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food.

Ge 41:36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.'

Ge 41:37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.

Ge 41:38 So Pharaoh asked them, 'Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God ?'

Ge 41:39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.

Ge 41:40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.'

Ge 41:41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.'

Ge 41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Ge 41:43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, 'Make way !' Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Ge 41:44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.'

Ge 41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

Ge 41:46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt.

Ge 41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully.

Ge 41:48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it.

Ge 41:49 Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

Ge 41:50 Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

Ge 41:51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, 'It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household.'

Ge 41:52 The second son he named Ephraim and said, 'It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.'

Ge 41:53 The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end,

Ge 41:54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.

Ge 41:55 When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, 'Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.'

Ge 41:56 When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt.

Ge 41:57 And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.

Based on the movie Joseph King Of Dreams and the scriptures above, what do you think of Joseph's actions? In the Smurfs episode, "Waste Not, Smurf Not", we see something similar and contrasting at the same time, what was it? What do you think about the regular Smurfs? Papa Smurf?

In the movie, we find that Joseph proves himself responsible and trustworthy. Joseph is also shown to have God firmly in control of his life and everyone saw it. In the cartoon, we see that the Smurfs are wasteful in the time of plenty and Papa and Handy were the only real responsible ones. Papa and Handy symbolize who Joseph is in our lesson. Why do you think that the Smurfs were wasteful with their abundance?

As we have seen, God is rich in resources and because of His generosity, He expects us to be responsible with them. This means using wisdom in using them for God's good (not our fun out of selfishness). It is OK to have fun, but wastefulness is plain foolishness. This is what can happen'The Bible States in Matthew 25: 14-30 and Luke 19: 11-27:

Lk 19:11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

Lk 19:12 He said: 'A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.

Lk 19:13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'

Lk 19:14 'But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

Lk 19:15 'He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

Lk 19:16 'The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'

Lk 19:17 ' 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'

Lk 19:18 'The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'

Lk 19:19 'His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'

Lk 19:20 'Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.

Lk 19:21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'

Lk 19:22 'His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?

Lk 19:23 Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'

Lk 19:24 'Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'

Lk 19:25 ' 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'

Lk 19:26 'He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.

Lk 19:27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them'bring them here and kill them in front of me.' '

Mt 25:14 'Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.

Mt 25:15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

Mt 25:16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.

Mt 25:17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.

Mt 25:18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

Mt 25:19 'After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.

Mt 25:20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

Mt 25:21 'His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Mt 25:22 'The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

Mt 25:23 'His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Mt 25:24 'Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

Mt 25:25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

Mt 25:26 'His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?

Mt 25:27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

Mt 25:28 ' 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.

Mt 25:29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

Mt 25:30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Have you ever been wasteful with God's resources; what happened? Let's assume one hasn't, and it's unlikely, what can happen?

According to the scriptures above, God has the authority to take away as well as give. The resources that we think are ours are actually God's resources and should and must be used as such because if not, God's kingdom won't profit and will be given to those who showed themselves as good servants and stewards. We must repent of our wasteful use of God's things and use them in the right way. We will be judged someday on this issue and we want to be useful servants. How will you be responsible with what you are entrusted with in the future and apply this lesson to our lives? The famine has started on Joseph, Egypt and on Joseph's homeland. We will see how Joseph acts next time.