A Story of God and All of Us - By Roma Downey Page 0,18

form its scabbard. But instead of feeling its sharp tip press against his back, Joseph is stunned to feel the ropes being cut from his wrists. The flat of the sword then smacks against Joseph's legs, driving him down onto his knees.

The cupbearer whom Joseph knew in prison steps forth and offers the Pharaoh a drink. Pharaoh accepts, sipping slowly and thoughtfully from the gold goblet before clearing his throat to speak. "I've had strange dreams," he tells Joseph. "My magicians can't explain them. But I'm told that you can."

"No," Joseph says, his face pressed to the ground. "God can. Through me."

"Whose god?" Pharaoh asks, his voice dripping in scorn. "Your God?"

Joseph dares to look up. "What is your dream?" he asks boldly. The flat of the sword smacks him on the back of the neck, forcing him to gaze down once again. This is where he stays as he listens to the Pharaoh describe his dream.

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"I was by the Nile," begins the Pharaoh, "when out of the river came seven cows, fat and healthy. Then seven thin, ugly cows swallowed them whole.

Then I had a different dream. Seven full heads of wheat, glowing in the sun--

then quickly eaten by seven rotten ones, thin and scorched by the wind." He drinks thoughtfully. "Can your God explain that?"

Joseph is silent, lost in prayer. He waits patiently for the voice of God. Just as Pharaoh is about to lose all patience, Joseph speaks, his gaze still directed at the stone floor. "The cows and grain are all the same," he says.

"What do you mean?"

"There will be seven years of plenty. But then seven years of famine. You must store food in preparation for that day."

"There will be no famine," the Pharaoh says imperiously. "The Nile always feeds our crops. Every year, without fail."

"You don't understand: there will be famine." Joseph stops abruptly, almost choking. The tip of the sword is suddenly under his chin. It forces him to raise his face and gaze upward at a most furious Pharaoh.

"You contradict the Pharaoh?"

Joseph speaks carefully, knowing that his next words could be his last. "You contradict your dream."

"Go on."

"Store grain. Store a portion of the harvest when it is plentiful. Otherwise

your people will starve. This is the meaning of your dream."

Pharaoh rises and steps down from his throne. "I am impressed by your conviction. You are set free, but on one condition."

"What is that, Pharaoh?"

"You will be in charge of telling the people to store their harvest."

Joseph's prophecy is proven correct. Thanks to the supreme power given him by the Pharaoh, Joseph is able to force farmers throughout Egypt to store their crops. This averts a national famine when hard times come.

For Joseph, this dramatic change of fortune is divine providence. He 45

will forever remember it as a reminder that there is always hope, even in the darkest moments. Thanks to his success, he assimilates into Egyptian society. A signet ring is place upon his finger. Eyeliner decorates his eyes, preventing the sun's strong rays from burning them. He wears a black, straight-haired wig, and his chin is always smoothly shaved.

Joseph soon becomes one of the most powerful men in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh in prestige. He even takes the Egyptian name of Zaphenath-Paneah. Thanks to Joseph, Pharaoh's wealth increases massively--though at the expense of many Egyptians, who are forced to sell their land to survive the famine.

And it is not just Egypt that suffers through the seven-year drought. The people of neighboring nations feel the pain as their crops wither and die.

Thousands upon thousands of foreigners flood into Egypt, which has become legendary for its well-stocked granaries. Among them are Joseph's brothers, sent there by Jacob to purchase grain. To do anything less would mean the end of their lineage, for they would all starve in Israel.

So it is that Joseph sees his brothers in a crowd as he makes his way by chariot through a crowded city street one day. He immediately orders that they be sent to his palatial residence. Joseph has never talked about the painful method in which his brothers changed his life, but he has also never forgotten. Now he has the ability to change their lives--for better or worse--as they once changed his.

Joseph's brothers are led into a formal drawing room by armed guards. The flat of a sword strikes Simeon on the back of the legs as a reminder to kneel.

Joseph enters the room with all the regal grace he has learned during his