Creation
Day One
The earth and the sky were all dark.
They were one big shapeless mass.
God said, " Let there be light."
The light appeared!
He divided the light from the darkness.
He let it shine for a while then it became dark again.
He called the light daytime
He called the dark nighttime.
This was the first day.
God was pleased.
He called the dark nighttime.
This was the first day.
God was pleased.
Day Two
There was light but still water covered everything.
On the second day, God said, "Let the vapors separate to form the sky above and the oceans below.This made the sky above.
This made the air we breathe.
God looked at what He had done.
God was pleased.
Creation
Day 3
There was still water covering everything.
On the third day, God said, "Let the water beneath the sky be gathered into seas."
Then the water began to move.
There were all sorts of seas,
lakes,
and
rivers.
This formed dry land.
On the land,
there were tall mountains.
There were deep valleys.
God called the dry land earth
God said, "Let the earth give all grass, and plant, and every sort of fruit with seeds inside the fruit and plants so there will be more."
God was pleased.
Creation
Day 4
On the fourth day God said, "Let there be bright lights in the sky."He made the sun for daytime.
He made the moon for night
He made the stars.
He set them in the sky.
He made the different seasons of the year.
He made the summertime.
He made the winter time.
God was pleased.
Creation
Day 5On the fifth day,
God said, "Let there be fish in the seas and birds in the sky."
He made all the fish in the sea.Day 5On the fifth day,
God said, "Let there be fish in the seas and birds in the sky."
He made the big fish and the small fish.
He made all the birds in the sky.
He made the big birds.
He made the small birds.
He said, "Fill the earth."
God was pleased
Creation
Day 6
On the sixth day, God said, "Let there be all sorts of animals on the land."Day 6
There were all kinds of animals.
There were big animals.There were small animals.
Then God said, "Let us make man."
So God made the first man.
His name was Adam.
God brought all the animals to Adam so he could name them.
God was pleased.
Creation
Day 7
On the seventh day God looked at all He had done.Day 7
He was very pleased.
God rested on that day.
That day is known as the Sabbath.
On the Sabbath,we rest,
we pray,
we read God's word.
God is very pleased.
The Garden of Eden
The First People
Adam and Eve
God made a special place for Adam to live.The First People
Adam and Eve
Adam lived in Eden.
It was a beautiful garden.
It had cool water.
Lots of food.
Lots of animals roamed free.
Eden had beautiful flowers.
Eden had green grass.
God said, "It isn't right that Adam be alone with no helper."
So God made Eve.
Eve was the first woman.
They went swimming in the water.They played with the animals.
They tended to the flowers.
Their life was good.
Adam and Eve were very happy in the Garden of Eden.
The Garden of Eden
Adam and Eve
Part Two
God told Adam and Eve they could eat any thing they wanted in the Garden.Adam and Eve
Part Two
"Do not eat from the tree of knowledge", God warned.
One day, Eve saw a serpent in the tree of knowledge.
"Why don't you eat from this tree?" asked the serpent.
"We can't eat from it," Eve answered. "God told us not to."
"Nothing will happen to you," said the serpent. "If you eat from that tree, you will know as much as God knows."
The serpent lied to Eve.
Eve looked at the fruit on the tree and thought it would be nice to be a wise as God.
She took off the fruit and ate it.
She went to Adam and told him how good the fruit was from that tree and offered
him some.
He ate it also.
As soon as they ate from the tree, they became afraid of God and tried to hide from Him.
God asked them why they hid from Him.
God asked if they ate from the tree of knowledge.
"Yes," they answered.
This was the first sin.
God was sad.
Because they had eaten from that tree, they knew the difference between right and wrong.
They knew the difference between good and evil.
They knew what they had done was wrong.God told Adam and Eve, "Because you have disobeyed me, you must leave the garden."
Adam and Eve were sad too.
They cried as they left.
Cain and
Abel
Adam and Eve found that outside the garden, life was very different.Abel
It was not always sunny and warm.
They felt hunger.
Even though they had disobeyed God, God helped them.
God gave them clothes and taught them how to grow their own food.
God loved them.
Adam and Eve made a new home outside the garden and they worked hard but they had joy, too.
They asked for God's protection.
God continued to look out for them.
Adam and Eve had two babies.The first son was Cain.
The second son was Abel.
When they grew up, Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd.
The men always brought an offering to God.
Abel always gave God the best of what he had.
Cain didn't want to share with God.
He gave to Him because he had to.
God accepted the offering from Abel and was pleased.
God did not accept the offering from Cain.
This made Cain mad.
God saw that Cain was mad and explained to him that he had best change his attitude.
He told Cain that if the gift were given out of love, it would have been accepted.
He further told Cain to change his ways or he was headed for trouble.
Cain didn't listen to God.
Cain was mad at his brother because Abel's gift was accepted.
Cain did a very bad thing.
He attacked his brother.
Cain was happy now.
God asked Cain where Abel was.Cain lied to God.
God knew what happened.
Cain never admitted his bad thing.
He wasn't sorry.
God sent Cain away.
Adam and Eve had a third son.
His name was Seth.
Seth means "Granted"
Eve said that God granted her another son for the one that Cain hurt.
Noah and
the Ark
Soon there were many people on the earth.Noah and
the Ark
They had forgotten all about God.
They were very bad.
All the people were bad except for Noah.
Noah pleased God.
Noah tied to live his life in God's way.Noah taught his children to live according to God.
He taught them not to lie.
He taught them not to cheat.
He taught them not to steal.
One day God said to Noah, "A huge flood is coming. You must build a big boat, an ark, then bring two of every animal to the ark. Your family and the animals will be safe from the flood"
God told Noah how big to make the ark and then Noah and his three sons began working on the ark.
Noah built it exactly as God told him.
It took many years to build the ark.
It was finally finished.
Noah put a ramp up to the opened doors
He could see that the animals were coming from all over to get on the ark.
The elephants stomped up the ramp.The birds flew in the opened doors.
The cats quietly leapt.
Then the rains came.
Noah and his wife, their three children and their wives, got on the ark.
They were getting ready for the flood.
After the last of the animals had gotten on the ark, God closed the doors and they were safe and warm and dry from the flood.
Noah and
the Ark
Part 2
It rained for forty days and forty nights.the Ark
Part 2
The entire earth was flooded.Noah and his family were safe in the ark.
Then after the forty days, it stopped raining.
Water covered the earth for 150 days.
God didn't forget about Noah.
He sent a warm wind to blow and the water began disappearing.
The ark settled on top of the mountains of Ararat.
Three months later, other mountain tops appeared as the water continued going down.
Forty days later, Noah sent a dove to find dry land.
The bird came back.
There was no dry ground yet.
A week later, he sent the dove again.
This time the dove returned with an olive branch.
Noah knew there was some dry land out there.
Another week went by and he released another dove.
This time the dove didn't return.
Noah knew it wouldn't be long, now.
Twenty-nine days later, Noah opened the door and the water was gone.
Eight weeks later the earth was dry.
God told Noah to let the animals go and wander over the earth.
When Noah came out of the ark, one of the first things he did was build an altar on the mountain side.
He gave an offering to God.
When Noah looked up he saw a beautiful sight.
God had placed a rainbow of beautiful colors in the sky.
"I will never again send flood waters to cover the earth," God promised. "Whenever you look up and see a rainbow in the sky it will remind you of my promise."
Tower of
Babel
In those days everyone spoke the same language.Babel
Nimrod was a king
He was a mighty hunter.
He was blessed by God.
In his kingdom, there was huge plain.
Many people started talking about building a city and a huge tower.They were talking about building a tower that would reach to the skies ...a proud monument to themselves.
They began building the tower.
The people had great piles of brick and many containers of mortar.
When God saw this, he didn't like it.
He said, "If they are doing this now, when they all speak the same language, there will be nothing to stop them from doing as they wish later. Let's go down and confuse their language so no one will understand the other."
Suddenly, each of the men were speaking different languages.
They couldn't understand each other.
They couldn't tell each other what they wanted or needed.
They had to stop working on the tower.
The tower was called Babel ... meaning Confusion
Soon, each man found others that could understand them and those people went off to live together.
That's how God scattered the different languages throughout the world
The Coat of
Many Colors
A very long time ago in a place called Canaan there lived a man named Jacob.Many Colors
Jacob married Rachel.
Jacob had twelve sons.
Jacob loved all his sons but his favorite son was his eleventh son, Joseph.
Joseph had dreams that he would tell his father.
His dreams made his brothers mad at him.
He would dream that the stars in the sky would bow down before him.
His father gave him a gift.A rainbow colored coat made from the finest fabric.
The fabric was beautiful and soft.
Not at all like the rough fabric that his brothers wore.
The gift by their father to Joseph made the brothers jealous.
One day the brothers were tending the sheep.
Joseph went to check on them.
The brothers saw him walking toward them wearing the coat of many colors and that made them more and more angry.
When he approached his brothers, they grabbed him.
They tore off his beautiful coat.
They threw Joseph in a pit.
Later, a group of traders were coming.
The brothers took Joseph from the pit.
They gave him to the traders who were going to Egypt.
They had to tell their father something that wasn't true.
They couldn't let their father know what had happened.
They took Joseph's coat and smeared it with animal's blood.
They went to their father and showed him the coat.
Jacob cried when he saw the coat.
He thought his son was killed by an animal.
The brothers said nothing.
Joseph wasn't dead.He was living in Egypt
He was sold to a rich man as his slave.
Joseph worked very hard.
Joseph knew that God would take care of him.
The Coat of
Many Colors
Part Two
The Pharaoh, the King of Egypt had some dreams that he couldn't understand.Many Colors
Part Two
He told his smartest men the dreams.
Not one of them understood the dreams.
Someone told Pharaoh about Joseph and that he might be able to understand them.
Pharaoh sent for Joseph.
Joseph said, "It is not I who can do it but God. He will tell you what your dreams mean."
He told Joseph his dreams.
"A hard time comes for Egypt, Pharaoh. A time when there will be no food. Begin preparing now, " said Joseph.
Pharaoh was so happy with Joseph.
He made Joseph free.
Joseph was no longer a slave.
"You will work with me. Begin preparing for the hard times to come," said Pharaoh
Joseph worked hard.
He gathered the food.
He became the second in command of Egypt
He became rich and powerful
When the bad years came, the people did not go hungry.
There was plenty of food because of Joseph.
The Coat of
Many Colors
Part Three
During the hard times, Jacob and his other sons didn't have enough food.He told Joseph his dreams.
"A hard time comes for Egypt, Pharaoh. A time when there will be no food. Begin preparing now, " said Joseph.
Pharaoh was so happy with Joseph.
He made Joseph free.
Joseph was no longer a slave.
"You will work with me. Begin preparing for the hard times to come," said Pharaoh
Joseph worked hard.He gathered the food.
He became the second in command of Egypt
He became rich and powerful
When the bad years came, the people did not go hungry.
There was plenty of food because of Joseph.
The Coat of
Many Colors
Part Three
Jacob told his sons to go to Egypt and get some food.He did not know why, but there was plenty of food there.
When they got to Egypt, the brothers went to the one in charge of selling food.
This man was Joseph.
They didn't recognize Joseph.
He was rich and wearing fine clothes.
Joseph knew who they were but didn't say anything to them.
He welcomed them and sold them the food they needed.
The brothers left.
Soon, they needed more food.
Jacob told them to return to Egypt.
This time when the brothers went to Joseph to buy more food, Joseph said,"I am Joseph."
The brothers were surprised.
The brothers were sorry for what they had done to Joseph.
"Don't be angry with yourselves that you sold me to traders, " said Joseph. "God did this. He sent me here to help people."
Joseph added, "Now please return to your homes. Bring all of your families here and we will all live here together."When Jacob saw Joseph for the first time in many years he said, "This is the day I dreamed of."
Joseph and all his family lived happily in Egypt.
David and
Goliath
David was a boy.Goliath
He lived in Bethlehem.
He was the youngest and the smallest of eight brothers.
David would tend his fathers sheep.
He would soothe them by making beautiful music on his lyre.
All the people of Bethlehem loved to him play.
One day a man came to David.
He said, " King Saul sent me. He is very sad and asks if you will play your sweet music for him."
"Of course, I will come", replied David.
David left that same day and rode a donkey to the king's house.
He played and sang his songs for the king.
Soon, King Saul was happy again and asked David to remain with him and cheer him with his wonderful music.
David agreed and stayed with the king for many months.
Soon King Saul got word that an army was marching toward Israel.
He had to leave and lead his soldiers in battle.
He sent David home.
One day, David went to find his brothers.
When he got there, he saw two armies standing across a field from each other.
In the middle of the field some men were talking to a huge man.
He was the biggest man David had ever seen.
He was a giant.
The giant roared, "Send out your best warrior and I, Goliath, will defeat him!"
David ran to the king and told him what he had seen and heard.
He said that he would fight the giant
The king said, "No one will fight Goliath. You are just a boy. You haven't a chance against the giant."
"When I was tending my sheep", ' David said, "the lions would come. God would protect me from them. He will protect me from this giant, too."
The king finally agreed to let David fight Goliath.
David left to meet Goliath.
On his way, he stopped to pick up some stones for his sling.
Goliath was still standing in the middle of the field.
He was dressed in his finest armor and ready for battle.
David was dressed in his simple clothes.
Goliath was ready to fight David.
David took out a stone and placed it in the sling.
He spun the sling round and round.
With all his might, he sent the stone sailing.
The stone hit Goliath.
The giant came crashing to the ground.
David knew that God had helped him.
He thanked God.
Jonah and the
Big Fish
God said to Jonah, "Go to Ninevah and tell the people there that I am not happy with them. Tell them to change their ways."Big Fish
Jonah heard God but he disobeyed God.
He was afraid to go to Ninevah.
Instead of doing as God had asked, Jonah chose to hide from God.
Jonah got on a big ship and sailed off.
The ship was going to a far away place.
In the middle of the ocean, there started a storm.
The waves were getting bigger and bigger.
The wind was blowing harder and harder.
The sailors were afraid and all of them began praying to God.
Jonah was in the bottom of the boat hiding from God.
The captain went to him and asked him to pray with the rest of the men.
Jonah told them the storm was his fault.
He told them that he hadn't done what God asked him to do.
He said to them, "Throw me in the sea. The seas will be quiet and it will save you."
The men didn't want to throw Jonah in the sea.Jonah insisted.
The storm was getting worse.
The waves were higher.
The wind blew fiercely.
Finally the men agreed and threw Jonah in the sea.
Suddenly the storm stopped.
Everything was quiet.
There were no waves,
no wind,
no storm.
The men were happy for this miracle and they thanked God.
God had a huge fish swallow Jonah to keep him from drowning.
Jonah stayed in the fish for three days and three nights.
He prayed to the Lord from inside the fish.
He asked God to forgive him.
He thanked God for His mercy
From the bottom of sea,
God heard every prayer.
God spoke to the huge fish and the fish put Jonah on the beach.
God reminded Jonah to go to Ninevah.
This time Jonah went.
He warned the people that God was not happy for the way they were acting.God would destroy the city if they did not change.
"You have forty days and Ninevah will be destroyed if you don't change", he said.
He walked the streets for three days telling the people.
The people understood the message from God.
They changed their ways.
For this God was happy.
He didn't destroy their city.
Everyone was pleased except Jonah.
Jonah went out sulking.
He sat alone in the sun.
God made a beautiful plant that grew up so tall and provided shade for Jonah.
Then God made the plant wither away.
"Why did you do that?" Jonah asked.
"You felt pity for a plant but you had none for a city full of people?" God answered. "That city was full of people that repented when they knew I was offended. That made me very happy."
Jonah finally understood.
God is wise and merciful and forgiving.
MosesHe sat alone in the sun.
God made a beautiful plant that grew up so tall and provided shade for Jonah.
Then God made the plant wither away.
"Why did you do that?" Jonah asked.
"You felt pity for a plant but you had none for a city full of people?" God answered. "That city was full of people that repented when they knew I was offended. That made me very happy."
Jonah finally understood.
God is wise and merciful and forgiving.
The people of Egypt had a new Pharaoh.
The Pharaoh was mean.
They didn't like the Hebrews living in Egypt.
The Hebrews believed in the 'One True God'.
The Egyptians believed in many false gods.
They felt that everything had its own god.
If they wanted rain, they prayed to the rain god.
If they wanted sun, they prayed to the sun god.The Pharaoh felt that the Hebrews might cause trouble.
The Pharaoh made all the Hebrews slaves.
The Hebrews had to do all the work.
They had to build the cities.
They had to gather the food.
They had to work too hard.
More and more children were born to the Hebrews.
They worked them harder.
Still more children were born to the Hebrews.
Finally the Pharaoh gave an order.
He ordered that all the male babies born to the Hebrews must be killed.
A Hebrew man and woman had three children.
Their third child was a boy.
His parents loved him.
What would happen if he were found?
They hid him for 3 months.
They couldn't hide him anymore.
They decided to put their son in God's Hands.
The mother placed her son in a basket.
She prayed that he be taken care of.
She floated the basket down the river Nile.
The mother told her daughter to follow along and see what happened to her brother.
The basket floated carefully and easily.
The Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket floating in the river Nile.
"Go see what that is," she ordered one of her attendants.
An attendant got the basket and brought it back.
Opening the basket, "Look, its a Hebrew baby!"
The baby began crying.
The sister, who had been following along, ran to her and offered to get a Hebrew nurse for the baby.
"Yes, go get a woman," she said.
She raced back to her mother.
The mother went to Pharaoh's daughter.
"Take this baby and feed him. I will pay you. When he is weaned, bring him back to me. I will raise him as my own," she said.
The mother had her baby back for a while.
She was able to hold him and love him with no fear.
She was able to teach him the Hebrew ways.
She was able to teach him of the One True God.
After he was older, she took him back to the Pharaoh's daughter.
There, he was named by his new mother.
She named him Moses.
Moses
Part TwoMoses was important in Egypt.
He was a strong military leader.
He was well educated.
He was respected.
He never forgot he was born a Hebrew.
The poor living conditions of the Hebrews bothered Moses.
One time, Moses saw a mean taskmaster treating a Hebrew unfairly.
Moses tried to stop the harsh treatment.
Moses hurt the Egyptian.
Pharaoh found out what Moses had done.
Any one taking the side of a Hebrew over an Egyptian was in trouble.
Moses had to leave Egypt
Moses went to Midian.
A man named Jethro lived in Midian
He was very important.
Jethro had seven daughter.
His daughters took their sheep to the well to give them water.
Moses was at the well.
While the daughters were trying to give water to the sheep, some other shepherds came.
They were mean to the daughters.
They scared away the sheep before they could drink.
Moses helped the young women.
He drove away the mean shepherds and helped the women water their father's sheep.
When the daughters got home, they immediately told their father what happened.
They told him that Moses helped them.
Jethro was so pleased, he asked that Moses stay.
He offered him a job tending the sheep.
Moses was so happy.
He accepted the kind offer.
Moses married Zipporah, one of Jethro's daughters.
They had a son, Gershem
They were very happy.
One day when Moses was out tending his sheep, he saw a burning bush.
The bush was on a mountain.
The bush burned and burned, but it never burned up.
Moses was surprised.
He was curious.
He decided that he would go see how this bush could do that.
When Moses reached the bush, he heard a voice.
The voice called, "Moses, Moses."
Moses was really surprised!
Moses answered, "Here I am."
God said, "You are on holy ground. Remove your sandals."
God told Moses that He was so sad.
He was sad because the Egyptians were being so mean to the Hebrews.
God asked Moses to get the Hebrews.
God Said, "Ask Pharaoh to release My people. Take Aaron, with you. I will be with you and Aaron all the time."
Moses and his family went to Egypt.
Moses and Aaron talked to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews go.
God told Moses that He would be with him.
Moses believed that.
Moses asked ten times before Pharaoh would let the Hebrews go.
Finally, Pharaoh said, "Get out of Egypt. Go away from my people, all of you!"
Moses left Pharaoh.
He told the people to get ready to leave.
God was taking them to "The Promised Land".
Moses Part Three
There were many Hebrews that left the city in Egypt.
Through Moses, God led them.
They traveled for many days.
Pharaoh was thinking of how he had surrendered to God.
He got mad.
He decided that he would go after the Hebrews and bring them back.
He got his soldiers ready.
He got his fastest chariots.
He left to find Moses.
He was mad.
God led the people to the Red Sea.
They were waiting to see where they would go next.
There was mountains on either side of them.
There was the sea in front of them.
They noticed that Pharaohs men were fast approaching.
They were scared.
God told Moses, "Do not fear. Stretch your staff across the sea."
Moses did as he was told.
God went between Pharaohs army and the Hebrews.
He was a thick wall of darkness on the Pharaoh's side.
He was light on the Hebrew's side.
The Red Sea parted.
There was a huge wall of water on both sides.
There was a patch of earth down the center.
All night the wind blew across the path to dry it.
In the morning, the Hebrews started to cross on the dry path in the bottom of the sea.
After all were nearly through, God moved.
He allowed the army to see what was happening.
Pharaohs army started after them.
As soon as the last of the Hebrews was across the sea, God asked Moses to stretch his staff across the sea again.
Moses did as God told him and the Sea closed again.
The Hebrews were safe and dry and on their way to "The Promised Land".
The Hebrews had been traveling for a long time.
They were tired.
They were thirsty.
They were running out of food.
They were getting worried.
They came to an oasis.
The people rejoiced.
When they tasted the water, they found it was bitter.
They couldn't drink it.
Moses prayed to God.
God told Moses, "Throw that tree in the water."
Moses did what God asked.
The water became sweet and they all drank.
The people rejoiced.
They were concerned about food.
Moses asked God what they should do
God answered, "I will give the people meat every night and bread ever morning."
Sure enough that very night, quail came to their camp and the surrounding area.
The next morning, people could see flat little round flakes.They didn't know what it was.
They called it Manna.
That's the Hebrew word for "What is it"
God told Moses to have the people gather it and use it for bread.
The people rejoiced.
God promised to take care of them.
God did take care of them.
God loves us all.
God was leading Moses and all the people to Mt. Sinai.
On the way to Mt. Sinai, they made a camp at a place where there was no water.
The people grumbled to Moses.
They were behaving badly and blaming Moses for all their troubles.
By now, they should have known that God would provide.
They were irritated.
They said to Moses, "Why is there no water to drink? Give us water!"
Moses felt badly that the people weren't trusting God.
Moses asked God, "What am I to do?"
God answered him, "Strike the rock with your staff. I will stand with you and make the water come out so the people can drink."
There was plenty of water for everyone.
Moses named that place Messah which means quarreling.
That's what the people were doing.
Finally they reached Mt. Sanai.
The people camped at the bottom of the mountain.
God told Moses to prepare the people.
God said that He was going to tell them how to live.
When the people were ready, God spoke so everyone could hear:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of your fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me;
but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
Wow, Can you imagine that!
God spoke His laws so that all could hear!
That's incredible!
These are the 10 Commandments of God.
The first four Commandments tell us how to love God.
The next six tell us how to love each other.
God asked Moses to come up the mountain.
Moses did as God asked.
He was on the mountain with God for forty days.
At the end of the forty days, God gave Moses two stone tablets.
The tablets contained the Ten Commandments written by God's own hand.
At the bottom of the mountain, the people became impatient.
They were grumbling again.
They were left alone.
Moses wasn't there with them.
They felt he had abandoned them.
The people did an awful thing.
They broke one of God's commandments.
They made an idol to worship.
They made a golden calf.
After the calf was made, they made an altar.
Then they worshiped the idol.
The people said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt."
The next day, the people declared it a feast day.
There was drunkenness and immoral behavior.
There was singing and dancing.
On the mountain, God knew what was happening.
Moses didn't know.
God told Moses.
God told him that they were worshipping an idol.
"Hurry down to your people," God said.
Moses hurried down the mountain.
When he saw the dancing and the immoral behavior, he threw down the stone tablets he was carrying and they broke.
Moses ordered the people to stop dancing before the idol.
He ordered the altar burned.
He ordered the golden calf burned.
He had them ground into dust
The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin against God. I will go back up to God and perhaps I can persuade Him to forgive you.
Moses went back up the mountain
Moses said to God, "These people have sinned against You. They made idols out of gold! Please forgive their sins."
God said, " When the proper time comes I will punish these people. I have a covenant with these people. I will see them to the promised land."
Moses told the people what God said.
They were relieved.
They were sorry.
God asked Moses to come back to the mountain
He wanted the people to have the Ten Commandments.
Moses went to the mountain.
Moses was gone another 40 days.
When Moses came down with the stone tablets, the people were quite a bit different from the last time.
They had learned their lesson.
They trusted God.
God knew they would.
and the
Dream Daniel was a Jewish boy from Jerusalem.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon declared war and destroyed Jerusalem.
He brought all the captives back from Jerusalem to live in Babylon.
He gave the captives land and allowed them to build homes and worship as they pleased.
The people of Babylon believed in 4000 gods.
They worshiped idols.
King Nebuchadnezzar brought 4 young men to live in the palace.
They were Daniel, Meshach, Shadrack, and Abednego.
They studied well.
God gave them great ability to learn and soon they were the wisest men in all Babylon.
God also gave Daniel the ability to understand dreams.
One night, King Nebuchadnezzar had a horrible dream.
He awoke from his dream just terrified.
But no sooner had he awakened then he forgot what he dreamed.
He was still scared.
He quickly got dressed and then he called all the magicians, sorcerers and astrologers."I had a horrible dream," he said, "but I cant remember what it was. Tell me what it was that I dreamed!"
The sorcerers said, "Sir, please tell us the dream and then we can tell you what it means."
They said, "Sir, there is no one alive that can tell you what you dreamed."
The king was furious!
He immediately sent orders to round up all the wise men and get rid of them.
The king's men left immediately to gather up all wise men in Babylon.
They got Daniel because he was the wisest man.
Daniel asked, "Why is the king so angry?"
The kings men told him what happened.
Daniel asked to see the king.
"Please give me tonight. I will tell you what you dreamed tomorrow," he said.
The king agreed.Daniel went home.
He and three of his companions prayed to God for the answer.
While Daniel slept, God told Daniel what the king had dreamed.
The next day, Daniel went to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel told him that none of his astrologers or magicians or the false gods in Babylon could know the dream.
"There is one true God in heaven that knows everything. I asked Him what the dream was and He told me," Daniel said.
Daniel told him what he had dreamed and the meaning of the dream.
King Nebuchadnezzar was so happy.
"Truly Your God is the God of gods, Ruler of kings and the Revealer of mysteries," said the king.
He made Daniel the ruler over Babylon.
He made Daniel the chief of all the wise men.
Daniel praised God.
The Furnace
King Nebuchadnezzar knew that the One True God was miraculous.He knew that but was a long way from worshipping God.
He grew up believing in all the gods and idols of Babylon.
He made a huge statue of himself.
He was so proud of this statue.
It was ninety feet tall.
It was made of pure gold.
He had it put on the plain of Dura.
He sent messages to all the important people in his land to come and see it.
When the people were there, the herald shouted," This is the king's command: When the band strikes up you are to fall flat on the ground and worship King Nebuchadnezzar's statue. Anyone not doing this will be thrown immediately in the furnace."
The band stated playing and everyone fell down and worshipped the statue.
All worshipped the statue but three men.
Those three men were Meshach, Shadrack, and Abednego.
The king was furious.
He yelled at the three men, "I will restart the band. You will have one more chance to bow!"
"We will not worship your statue. We only worship God, " they said.
The king was in a rage.
He commanded that the furnace be heated up seven times hotter than normal.
The flames were so hot that some of the soldiers were hurt as they stood outside.
The soldiers tied their hands tightly.
The soldiers threw them into the roaring flames.
King Nebuchadnezzar, watching every minute, suddenly stood up in amazement.
"Didnt we through three men in there?" he asked.
Yes, Your Majesty, we did," they answered.
Look! " King Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men. They are all untied and walking around in the fire. They arent even hurt. The fourth man looks like a
god!"King Nebuchadnezzar walked as close as he could to the door and opened it.
He shouted, "Meshach, Shadrack, and Abednego come out here."
The three men walked out of the fire.
They were unhurt.
Not a scorched hair.
They didn't even smell like smoke.
King Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Meshach, Shadrack, and Abednego. Hear my law: No one shall speak badly of God."
Daniel
and the
Lion's Den
King Nebuchadnezzar died.and the
Lion's Den
The new king was King Darius.
King Darius made Daniel a supervisor over part of his kingdom.
There were three other supervisors.
Daniel was a wonderful supervisor.
He was so good, the king was thinking about placing him in charge of entire empire.
This made the other supervisors jealous.
They tried to find something wrong with Daniel's work so they could tell the king.
Daniel made no mistakes.
He was honest.
He was faithful.
The only thing they could think of was to get him on his religion.
The three supervisors went to the king one day.
They said," King Darius, make a law that says for the next thirty days, no one can ask a favor from God or man. Whoever does ask a favor from God or man will be thrown to the lions."
The king thought this was a pretty good idea so he made the law.
Daniel always prayed.Everyday he prayed.
He prayed three times every day.
That day, he went home and began his prayers.
The jealous men followed him.
They heard Daniel praying.
They ran back to the king.
They told the king what Daniel was doing.
"He is asking favors from God," they said.
King Darius was so mad at himself for signing that law.
He liked Daniel and didn't want him thrown to the lions.
He tried to think of a way out of it but couldn't.
He had just made the law and he couldn't break it.
Finally he gave the order to throw Daniel to the lions.
King Darius was so sad.
King Darius said, "May your God, whom you always serve, save you."
Then they threw him in the lion's den.
All night long the king worried that Daniel would be the lion's dinner.
Very early the next morning he ran to the Lion's den.
He yelled out, "Daniel, did your God save you?"
Daniel said, "Yes. He sent His angel to close the lion's mouth."
The king was so happy.
He ordered him removed from the lion's den.
He ordered the mean men that trapped Daniel to be thrown in there.
The king made a new law:
"Everyone will honor Daniel's God. He is mighty."
Daniel continued to help rule Babylon for the rest of his life.
He never forgot to pray.
God was with him always.
Elijah,
TheWidowand the Bread
Elijah lived in a place that had many false gods.
Elijah was a prophet that taught about The One True God.
There was no more rain where he lived.There was little food where he lived.
God said to Elijah, "Go to Zerephath. There is a widow there who will feed you."
Elijah left to go Zerephath.
He found the widow and asked her for bread and water.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I have just enough flour and oil for bread for my son and me"
"Go ahead and bake the bread. God will see that we will have enough," Elijah said.
She did as Elijah said.
She baked a loaf a bread.
There was still flour and oil left.
The next day she baked another loaf of bread.
There was still flour and oil left.
She baked bread everyday and never ran out of flour or oil.
God took good care of them.
The people were worshipping Baal.
Baal is a false god.
Elijah said to the King Ahab, "Bring 450 prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel today.
I want to talk to them"
Ahab did as Elijah asked.
Elijah said to all the people there, " If the Lord is God follow him. If Baal is god then follow him. Today we will have a test. Let the prophets of Baal put some meat on your altar and I will put some meat on my altar. All of you call upon Baal, I alone will call upon the Lord. The god who answers by burning up the meat is the
One True God."They all agreed.
They liked the test.
All the people danced around the altar and shouted, "Baal, hear us!"
They shouted louder and louder and still there was no fire.
Elijah said, "Maybe your god is sleeping. Dance more and shout louder."
The people danced and danced.The people shouted and shouted.
They danced and shouted for the whole day.
There was no fire.
Now it was Elijah's turn.
He built an altar out of 12 big stones.
He put the meat on it.
He asked the people to fill four barrels of water and pour over it.
Then he asked them to pour four more barrels of water over it.
When they had finished the second time, he said, "Now once more."
There was so much water there.
It was all over.
It filled a trench beside the altar.
Everything was just soaked.
Elijah prayed, "Lord, let these people know you are God."Suddenly, fire flashed down from heaven.
It burned up the meat, the altar, and the 12 stones.
It even evaporated the water in the trench.
The people bowed down to the Lord and shouted," The Lord is the One True God!"
Joshua
Joshua was the leader of many thousands of Israelites.God led the Israelites, through Joshua, to the Jordan River.
The Jordan was a big river and the water was overflowing its bank.
"How do we cross the river?" asked Joshua.
God said. "Send twelve men, with the priests first, carrying my Ark. As soon as the priests set their feet in the river, it will stop flowing so all of you can cross in safety."
The next day, Joshua called all the people together and told them what the Lord had said to him
"Now select the twelve men and let's begin," said Joshua
A soon as the priests carrying the Ark of God set their feet in the river, it stopped flowing.
It stopped way up the river held by the Hand of God.
Down the river, it emptied into the sea.
The priest stood in the middle of the river bed holding the ark until all the people had passed safely.
The Lord said to Joshua, "Tell the twelve men that had been selected to each take a stone from the riverbed by where the priests are standing and carry them out and
pile them at your camp tonight."Joshua called the twelve men and told the what the Lord had said to him.
They each picked up a stone and carried it on their shoulders.
After everyone had passed safely, they watched as the priests carrying the Ark came up from the river.
Then the river began flowing as usual.
At their camp that night, Joshua constructed the monument from the twelve stones.
He said, "We will make a monument with these stones so that in the future when you are asked what the monument is, you can say, 'It is a reminder that the River Jordan stopped flowing when the Ark of God passed' Tell them how the Lord dried up the river so we could pass safely. That is like when he dried up the Red Sea many years ago. All the nations of earth will know our God is a mighty God and will worship him forever."
There were huge walls around the city.
The people of Jericho had heard what happen on the Jordan River and they became afraid of the Israelites.
They locked up thier gates tightly, not allowing anyone in or out of the city.
The Lord said to Joshua, "I will help you get into the city. Your army is to walk around the city once a day for six days followed by seven priests walking ahead of the Ark. On the seventh day, you are to walk around the city seven times with the priests blowing trumpets. All the people are to shout loudly. The walls will fall and then you can go in."
Joshua called the army together and told them what the Lord had said.
Every day at dawn, for six days, the army left the camp.They walked around the city followed by the priests walking ahead of the Ark.
On the seventh day, at dawn they left the camp as usual.
On this day, instead of walking around the city one time, they walked around seven times.
The army first, followed by the priests with their trumpets, walking ahead of the Ark.
After they had walked around the seventh time, the priest gave a loud blast on their trumpets.
Everyone shouted as loudly as they could, " The Lord has given us this city."
With that the walls began shaking, crumbling and tumbling down.
The people inside were so alarmed!
They didn't know what to do.
They began running.
They scattered everywhere.
The Israelites just walked into the city.
God was with them.
He did a bad thing.
He saw a lovely robe sitting there.
His clothes weren't made from that fine fabric.
So he took it.
He found some silver and gold.
He thought the money might come in handy.So he took it.
After he got to the camp, he didn't know what to do with it.
There was no place to spend the money.
There was nothing to buy.
He couldn't wear the robe.
His friends would know it wasn't his.
He wasn't sure what to do with it.
There was nothing he could do with it.
He buried it beneath his tent in a deep hole.
He was safe, no one knew he had stolen.
Ahhh! There was one that knew.
God knew.
He sees all and knows all.
You can't hide from God.
Esther
Part 1King Ahasuerus was king of Persia.
He didn't have his Queen Vashti any more.
She was very beautiful and he missed her so much.
He was sad and lonely.
His aides made a plan that said that every girl had to come to the palace for 1 year and get beauty treatments and then at the end of that year, the king would select a new queen from those girls.
King Ahasuerus thought this was a fine idea so he put the plan into effect.
Esther was a Jewish girl.
Her parents had died so she was living with her cousin Mordechai.
Esther was one of the girls that had to go to the palace.
Hegai was the one in charge of Esther.
He liked Esther and did what he could to make her stay there the best.
He gave her special food.
He gave her seven maids.
He gave her the best room in the palace.
Mordechai would come and see her every day.
He told her not to tell anyone that she was a Jew.
She was treated so well at the palace but she missed living with Mordechai.
Finally the year was up and it was Esther's turn to see the king.
She took Hagai's advice and dressed the way he had suggested.
When she was on her way to the king, all the other girls mentioned how beautiful she was.
There she was in the palace.
In the throne room.
There was the king sitting on his throne.
She walked up to the throne.
She bowed low to the king.
The king was so taken with her beauty, he put Queen Vashti's crown on her head immediately.
Esther was the new queen.
The king was so happy, he decided to throw a party to show everyone his new queen.
One day when Mordechai was at the palace, he heard two of the guards, Teresh and Bigthan, planing to assassinate the king.
He told Queen Esther as quickly as he could.
"Oh my," she said, "I must tell the king at once!"
She quickly hurried to the king to tell him the news."How do you know this, my queen?" he asked.
"Mordechai heard them talking and he told me as soon as he could, " Esther said
"Thank him for me, " said the king.
King Ahasuerus called over several guards and they were sent to find Teresh and Bigthan.
Esther still hadn't told anyone she was a Jew.
She had been told to keep the secret by Mordechai.
She always did as he asked.
Esther
Part 2Mordechai was by the palace gates when Haman passed.
Haman was appointed by the king to be prime minister.
He was the most powerful man beside the king himself.
Everyone bowed before Haman except for Mordechai.
Mordechai wasn't about to bow to this man.
This infuriated Haman.
He was plotting against Mordechai.
He thought that he would have him killed for not bowing to him.
Then he decided he would kill all the Jews.
He smiled to himself.
That thought pleased him.
Haman went to the king with his plan.
He told the King that there was a people in his land that did not respect him or his laws and would soon cause trouble for him and his kingdom.
"Who are these people?" King Ahasuerus asked.
Haman answered, "Oh King Ahasuerus, they are the Jews."
King Ahasuerus was so mad!
Haman quickly spoke up.
"Your majesty, I have a plan to get rid of them."
"What is your plan?" asked the King.
"If it pleases you, oh King, let there be a decree issued to destroy them and I will put the money in the royal treasury for the men that will do this," Haman said, pleased with his own plans.
The king agreed to this plan, "Keep your money. Do what you think best with these people."
Haman was so happy.
He had his revenge.
He smiled as he thought, "Now Mordechai would be sorry for not bowing to me."
As the King's decree spread over the land, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing.
Many wore sackcloth and ashes.
When Mordechai heard the news, he was just devastated.
He too, wore sackcloth and ashes.
Esther's maids came to her and told her that Mordechai was very upset.
She asked to see him but Mordechai refused.
She sent her friend, Hathach out to talk to him.
Mordechai told him the awful news about Haman's plan to kill the Jews.
He gave to Hathach a copy of the decree that doomed the Jews.
He asked that Queen Esther talk to the king and save her people.
Hathach went back immediately with the message.
Queen Esther listened intently.
She was so bothered by what she had heard.
She sent word back to Mordechai saying:
"I cant go to the king's inner court without being asked to. I will be killed unless he holds out his golden scepter. He hasn't asked for me in more than a month."
When Mordechai heard this, he sent word back to Queen Esther:
"No one knows you are a Jew. Perhaps God sent you to the palace, made you queen for this time; for when your people need you."
Oh my! Esther hadn't thought of this.
Was God really using her?
Did He make her queen for this reason?
She thought about it for a while.
"Hathach, give Mordechai this message. Tell Mordecai to get all the Jews together and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. When this is done, I will go before the King. If I perish, I perish."
Esther
Part 3Three days later, it was time.
Esther put on her finest clothes and her royal robes.
She began walking to the inner court.
She was nervous.
The king didn't allow anyone in the inner court except when he asked them to come.Would he pardon the intrusion?
Would he spare her life?
Would he hold out his gold scepter?
She had prayed and fasted with all the Jews for three days, did God hear her?
She entered the inner court.
She saw the king on his throne.
She gracefully walked to the throne.
King Ahasuerus held out the gold scepter.
She touched its tip.
She was relieved.
King Ahasuerus asked, "What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you even if it is half my kingdom."
"My lord, if it please the King, would you and Haman come to a banquet I have prepared for you both today?"
The King turned to his aides and said, "Tell Haman to hurry."
So the King and Haman went to Esther's banquet.
At the banquet, King Ahasuerus said to Esther, "Now tell me what you want. I will give it to you, even if it is half my kingdom."
Esther answered, "Please come with Haman to another banquet that I shall prepare for you tomorrow. Then I will tell you what it is that I want."
As Haman left the palace, there was Mordecai sitting there.
He refused to bow and honor him.
That made Haman furious!
He said nothing to him and went home.
When he got home, Haman called for his friends and family, and bragged to them about how wealthy he was.
"The King has promoted me. I am the most powerful man next to the king," he boasted.
"Queen Esther invited only the king and me to a banquet with her tonight and I am invited again tomorrow night to be with the queen and the king."
Haman went on and on about how Mordecai never bowed to him and refused to stand and give him the respect he thought he deserved.
"All Of this means nothing when Mordecai sits there in front of the gate refusing to bow to me," he said bitterly.
Then Zeresh, his wife, said, "Make a gallows seventy-five feet high and tomorrow ask the king for permission to hang the man! Then you can be happy at the queen's banquet."
Haman loved the idea.
He called the men together to begin building the gallows the very next day.
That same night, King Ahasuerus had trouble sleeping.
He called for the historical records from the library thinking it would help him sleep.
As he was looking through them, he ran across the item telling of the plot to kill him.
He remembered that Mordecai was the one that saved his life.
"What reward did we give him?" asked the king.
"Nothing," they replied
"Who is in the outer court?" the king asked
As it just so happened, Haman was there.
He wanted to talk to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he was building.
"Haman is here, Sire," they said to the king.
"Bring him in here to me," ordered the king.
Haman came in and the king asked him, "What should I do to honor a man that truly pleases me?"
Of course Haman thought the king was taking about him.
He was so proud when he answered, "Send the king's robe, the king's horse, and the king's crown, to one of the king's most noble princes, and let him dress the man in your robes, put your crown upon his head, and lead him throughout the city on
your horse, shouting to all the people, 'This is how the king honors those that truly please him!' "King Ahasuerus was so pleased.
"Excellent, Haman! Hurry now! Take these robes of mine and get my horse. Take my crown and do as you have said to Mordecai the Jew that sits at my gate. Do all the things that you have said!"
Since he had no other choice, Haman did as he had been told.
He reluctantly dressed Mordecai in the King's robe and crown, and led him through the city on the King's horse shouting to all the people, "This is how the king honors those that truly please him!"
How awful for Haman.
He hated Mordecai.
After he had finished, he took Mordecai back to his job.
Haman was completely humiliated.
He went home and told his wife and friends of what the king had ordered him to do.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
It was the king's messengers.
It was time for Queen Esther's banquet.
Haman met the king at the palace.
They attended the Queen's banquet.
The king so enjoyed himself.
Again he said to her, "What is it that you want, my Queen? What is your request?
Whatever it is, I will give it to you, even if you desire half of my kingdom."Queen Esther replied, "If the king is pleased with me, I request that the king save my life and the life of all Jews. We face death soon. I and all my people are to be killed."
King Ahasuerus became very angry.
"Who would dare touch you or any of your relatives?" he demanded.
Esther replied, "This wicked Haman is our enemy."
The king became so outraged he stormed out to the palace gardens.
Haman became pale with fright.
He knew the king would be so angry for what he intended to do to the Jews.
Haman jumped up and ran to Queen Esther who was sitting on the couch.
He begged her for his life.
He was desperate.
He was scared.He threw himself on her begging for his life.
Just then the king entered.
He was alarmed at what he saw.
"You would dare touch the Queen?" he yelled.
The servants came running and held him away from the queen.
Harbona, an aide to the king said, "Your Majesty, Haman was constructing a 75 foot gallows to use on Mordechai, the man who saved you from assassination. It stands in Haman's courtyard."
The king was furious.
He was seething with anger.
"Use it on Haman," he ordered.
And they did.
King Ahasuerus gave the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther.
The king appointed Mordechai prime minister.
Queen Esther put Mordechai in charge of Haman's estate.
King Ahasuerus reversed the decree against the Jews.
There was much gladness and celebration in the streets.
The Jews were honored everywhere.
Naaman
Naaman was a very important man.The king appointed Mordechai prime minister.
Queen Esther put Mordechai in charge of Haman's estate.
King Ahasuerus reversed the decree against the Jews.
There was much gladness and celebration in the streets.
The Jews were honored everywhere.
Naaman
He was in charge of the whole entire army in Syria.
The King of Syria really liked him.
Naaman won many battles for Syria.
He was a hero.
But!
Naaman was sick.
He had a horrible disease.
There was no cure for this disease.
He was going to die.
Oh My, how sad for the people of Syria.
How sad for Naaman's wife.
One day, their servant girl said to Naaman's wife, "I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him."
Naaman told his king what the servant girl had said.
The king said, Yes, go and see the prophet in Samaria. I will send a letter of introduction for you to give to the King of Israel. Take many gifts, too."
Naaman took his servants.
He took many gifts of silver and gold and ten suits of clothing and the letter.Naaman left for Samaria in his chariot.
When he arrived in Israel, he gave the letter to the king.
The letter said, "The man bringing this letter is my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him."
The king was so mad.
He tore his clothes in anger.
He shouted , "Am I GOD, that I can give life? I know what the King of Syria is really up to. He wants to fight."
Elisha, the prophet, heard what had happened.
He sent a message to the king saying, "Send Naaman to me. He will learn there is one true prophet of God in Israel"
Naaman got back in chariot and went to Elisha's house.
He knocked on the door.
Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman telling him to go wash in the River Jordan seven times, and he would then be healed.
This angered Naaman and he left the house in a rage.
"I cant believe that he wouldn't even talk to me," Naaman complained. "He could have at least come out of the house. He didn't have to send his servant. I thought he would call on the name of the Lord, his God, wave his hand over my body, and cure me! We have a lot of great rivers in Damascus. If its rivers he wants, I'll go home and wash!"
Naaman stormed off.
His servants tried to reason with him.
"If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey when he says simply go wash and be cured."
Naaman went to the River Jordan as Elisha had said.
He washed himself seven times as Elisha had said.
Then what happened?
He was cured!
Naaman was so happy!
He went back to Elisha's house.
This time Elisha talked to him.
Naaman said," I know at last that the God of Israel is the one true God! Please accept my gifts."
Elisha refused the gifts.
Naaman urged him to accept the gifts.
Elisha refused.
Naaman said, "I will no longer offer any sacrifices to any other god, only The Lord."
Gideon Part 1
A group of bad people from Midian had been bothering the people of Israel.
They were so mean that the Israelis tried to hide from them.
The Israelis ran to the mountains and hid in caves.
Gideon was one of these people that was hiding.
He was threshing some wheat at the bottom of a pit trying to hide from the mean people.
A stranger suddenly appeared.
"Mighty soldier, God is with you," said the stranger."Stranger," said Gideon. " If the Lord is with us, why is all this bad stuff happening to us. No, the Lord has thrown us away and let the Midianites completely ruin us."
The stranger said, "Go and save Israel. I will make you strong. I am sending you!"
"How can I save Israel?" asked Gideon. "I am the poorest of the poor and the least thought of in my whole family."
"I, your God, am sending you," said the stranger.
What was happening?
Oh my, was this really God?
Giddeon was shocked.
Then he thought that it couldn't be God.
No one could look at God's face and live.
This had to be a trick.
"Ok," Gideon said. "Let me go get a gift and then you must perform a miracle to prove that you are God."
"Ok, I will stay right here until you return," said the stranger.
Gideon left and got a present.
He quickly returned with his gift.
The stranger was still there just as he said he would be.
"Place your gift on that rock," said the stranger.
Giddeon did as he had been told.
The stranger touched his staff to the gift and immediately there was a fire that flamed up and the gift was gone...and so was the stranger.
When Gideon realized what had happened, he cried out, "Oh God, I have seen the face of the Lord!"
"Don't worry," said the Lord. "You shall not die."
He had a job to do for God.
He had seen God.
He had talked to God.
Gideon was SO happy.
He built an altar to the Lord right in that spot.
He named it, the Altar of Peace with God.
Gideon
Part 2
The Lord did not appear personally to Gideon again but spoke to him by direct conversation or in dreams.
The Lord told Gideon to destroy the altar to the false god and worship the Lord God only.
Gideon obeyed.
At night when he couldn't be seen by the townspeople, he destroyed the altar and the idol.
When the men of the city arose the next morning and saw that the altar was destroyed, they were furious.
They demanded to know who was responsible.
When they learned it was Gideon, they ordered his father to bring Gideon to them so they could punish him.
Gideon's father said, "Why do you want to punish my son and defend your god? If your idol is truly a god, let him defend himself."
The townspeople had nothing to say to that.
Gideon was to defend Israel against its enemies.
Gideon gathered a great army to fight.
Gideon still had doubts about himself.
He wasn't sure if he could lead the men to victory.
Gideon said, "Lord, if you will use me to save Israel, please prove it to me this way. I will put some wool on the doorstep outdoors tonight. In the morning, if the ground is dry and the wool is wet, I will know that you are going to help me."
The Lord agreed.
When Gideon got up the following morning, he checked the woolHe wrung a bowl full of water out of it, but the ground around it was dry.
Still Gideon wasn't satisfied.
Once more he put God to the test.
"Please don't be angry with me, Lord," he said, "but I have one more request to make. I wish to try the same experiment tonight. This time let the wool be dry and the ground wet."
The Lord agreed.
In the morning, the ground was wet and the wool was dry.
Gideon was happy
Early the next morning, Gideon took his army and positioned his men near the enemy lines.
The Lord told Gideon in a dream, "There are too many men with you. If they defeat the Midianites, they will be proud of their own achievement and say that they alone have done it. They will not give Me the glory. Therefore, go and tell your men that if any of them are afraid, they should go home."
Gideon made this offer to his men.
22,000 men decided to leave.
10,000 were left.
Then the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men here! Take all of the men to the river bank. Those who get down on their hands and knees to lap water like a dog will not go with you, but those who remain on their feet and take water in their hand to drink are the men who are to go into battle with you."
Only 300 men drank from their hands.
Then the Lord instructed Gideon and said, "By these 300 men will I deliver Israel. Send the rest of the men home."
Gideon told the 300 men, "Let's go! The Lord has delivered our enemies into our hands."
They were victorious that day, because the Lord fought for them.
Another forty years of peace followed that great victory
Samson and Delilah
Part 1
Samson was a very strong man.Samson and Delilah
Part 1
He had the strength of several men put together.
Samson fought many battles against the Philistines and won all of them.
One time he removed the gigantic gates of the city and carried them away on his shoulders after ripping it off its hinges all by himself.
Another time, Samson set their fields on fire and ruined their crops.
Still another time, he fought 1000 of the Philistines all by himself using for a weapon the jawbone of a donkey that he found on the ground nearby.
He won.
After this victory, he was very thirsty,
He prayed to the Lord, "I have won a great victory for you and now must I die of thirst?"
From a hallow in the ground, the Lord caused cool clear water to come gushing forth.
Samson drank from the spring.
Samson fell in love with a beautiful Philistine woman named Delilah.
He would visit her night after night.
The heads of the Philistine became aware of this.Five important men went to her and offered to pay her $5000.00 find out what made Samson so strong.
Delilah wanted the money.
She agreed.
Delilah started begging Samson, "Please tell me why you are so strong."
Samson started telling her lies.
He told her, "If you tie me with seven bowstrings I will become as weak as anyone else."
Delilah had some Philistines hidden in the next room.
While Samson was sleeping she tied him with seven bowstrings.
After he was tied, Delilah shouted, "Samson! Wake up! The Philistines are here!"
Samson awoke, snapped the bowstrings like twigs and fought the Philistines.
He overcame them with his great strength.
Delilah begged again, "You are making fun of me. Please tell me the secret of your strength."
Again, Samson told her a lie, "If you tie me with brand new ropes, I shall lose my strength."
As Samson slept, Delilah tied him with new ropes.
The men were hidden in the next room as before.
Delilah shouted, "Samson, wake up! The Philistines are here."
Samson woke up and shook himself.
The ropes broke from him and he fought off the Philistines.
He beat them all.
Delilah whined, "You have lied to me again. You won't tell me your secret."
Samson then told her that if she wove a lock of his hair with a loom he would lose his strength.
Samson went to sleep.
The men were hidden in the next room as before.
Delilah wove a lock of his hair with a loom.
Delilah screamed, " The Philistines have come, Samson!"
Samson jumped up.
He yanked his hair away.
He broke the loom.
He beat the Philistines.
Delilah was exasperated with Samson.
He had lied and lied to her.
She wanted that money that the Philistines had promised her.
She cried and cried, begged and pleaded for him to tell her his secret.
"If you love me Samson, you will tell me your secret," she whined.
She nagged at him until he couldn't stand it.
He finally told her his secret.
"My Hair has never been cut. If my hair were cut, I would be as weak as any other man," Samson confided.
Delilah sent for the men again.
Samson fell asleep with his head in her lap.
They cut his hair.
Once again she shook him and shouted, "Samson! Wake up! The Philistines are here to capture you!"
Samson jumped up to fight the Philistines.
His hair was gone.
His strength was gone.
Samson was overcome.He was taken away in chains.
Delilah was paid her money.
Delilah had betrayed him.
Samson and Delilah
Part 2
The Philistines took Samson prisoner.
They hurt him.
They mistreated him.
They chained him to the huge stone wheel pulled along a trough to grind grain into flour.
Around and around, all day long, every day.
Samson was doing the job that an ox would do.
Around and around, all day, every day, never to rest.
Often, he was on display to allow the Philistines to mock him.
They scorned their once mighty enemy.
It was bad for Samson.
His strength was beginning to return.
He heard that there was going to be a huge festival to honor the false god Dagon.
They were honoring Dagon for the capture of Samson.
Samson knew there would be heads of state at the festival.
He knew there would be military leaders at the festival.
He knew there would be about 3,000 people there.
Samson waited.
After the celebration was going on for a while, the people got drunk.
They demanded that Samson be brought out so they could make fun of him.
He was brought from the prison.
He was made to stand between two huge pillars that supported the roof.
Samson said to the boy that brought him out, " Place my hands against the pillars. I want to rest them."
Samson stood between the pillars.
The people laughed at him.
They spit on him.
They mocked him.
He prayed to the Lord, " God, remember me? Please be with me one more time, the final time."
Then Samson pushed against the pillars with all his might.He prayed, "Let me die with the Philistines."
The temple crashed in around him.
Huge stones tumbled down.
Dust and noise.
Then it was quiet.
They were all gone.
God forgave Samson when he repented.
The good for Israel that Samson brought about at the moment of his death was greater than the good he had done in all of his life.
The Philistines lost their greatest leaders.
They became weak.
Eventually the Israelites were able to overcome the Philistines.
Eventually they removed the Philistines from the land that God had given them.
Ruth and Naomi
Naomi was married to Elimelech.They had two sons, Mahlon and Chilion.
They lived in Bethlehem.
There was a terrible famine in Bethlehem so they moved to Moab.
An awful thing happened.
Elimelech died.
Naomi was so sad.
She missed him so much.
Later, both her sons married.
They married Orpah and Ruth.
Then another awful thing happened.
They died.
All three ladies were so sad.
They lived together.
They loved each other.
Then Naomi said one day, "I want to go back to Israel. I hear the Lord has blessed His people with good crops."
All three women decided to go with Naomi to Israel.
They got ready and set off for Israel.
Right after they had begun their journey, Naomi changed her mind.
She told both women, "Return to your parents home. I thank you for everything you have done for me and may the Lord to bless you with another happy marriage."
Naomi kissed them good-bye.
They all cried.
"No," they both said. "We want to go with you to your people in Israel."
Naomi said, "I love you both but I am old. You are young and need to be married. Now go back to your parent's home."
And again they cried together.
Orpah kissed Naomi good-bye and tearfully went back to her parents home.
Ruth insisted on going with Naomi.
Naomi told her, "Orpah has returned to her parents home and to her gods. You should do the same."
"Don't make me leave you," said Ruth. "I want to go where you go and live where you live. I want your people to be my people and your God to be my God."
Naomi loved Ruth.
Ruth loved Naomi.
Naomi agreed that she could go with her.
They continued on their 120 mile journey to Israel.
Once they got there, they were poor and had little to eat.
Ruth worked in the fields to get food.
She would go behind the reapers and pick up the grain.
She worked continually with no breaks.
She worked hard to get food for she and her dear mother-in-law.
She was working in a man's field named Boaz.
Boaz, after a long time, introduced himself to her.
He was kind to her.
He thought her beautiful and kind.
They fell in love.
They got married.
They had a son.
They named him Obed.
Naomi took care of her grandson.
She loved him and cared for him the way Ruth loved and cared for her.
Abram to Abraham
Sarai to Sarah
Abram was a good man.Sarai to Sarah
He loved God very much.
Abram always pleased God.
Abram was married.
His wife's name was Sarai.
She was a good woman.
Sarai loved God.
God was very good to Sarai and Abram.
They had large flocks.
They had many riches.
They had no children.
He prayed to God for a child.
The years passed and Abraham and Sarai were old people.
God had heard his prayers.
One day, three strangers came to Abram's tent.
Abram welcomed them.
He gave them food.
He gave them drink.
One of the strangers said to Abram, "In a year, I will return here. By that time, Sarai will have a son."
Inside the tent, Sarai heard what the stranger had said.
She laughed to herself saying, "Am I to have a child when my husband and I are old?"
One of the strangers said to Abram, "Why did Sarai laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
At these words, Abram knew that the three strangers were God Himself and two angels.
Abram and Sarai were patient.
They trusted the Lord.
One day the Lord said to Abram, "From now on your name will be Abraham because you shall be the Father of many nations. From now on Sarai's name will be Sarah. She will be the mother of many nations. Moreover, I will bless her. She will have a son. You will name him Isaac."
God kept His promise to Abraham.
A son was born to Abraham and Sarah.
Abraham kept his promise to God.
He named him Isaac.
Abraham was old.
Sarah was old.
They loved their son.
They loved and worshipped an ever faithful God.
Samuel
Elkanah and Hannah were married.Hannah was so upset because she had no children.
She prayed hard to God to give her a child.
God answered her prayer.
When Hannah's baby was born, she named him Samuel.
Samuel means "Asked of the Lord."
When Samuel was about three years old, his parents took him to the temple.
They left him with the High Priest, Eli, who trained him in the service of the Lord.
When Samuel was about 12 years old, he was sleeping.
He heard a voice call, "Samuel, Samuel."
Thinking it was Eli who called him, he hurried to his room to see what he wanted.
Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed."
Samuel went back to bed when he heard a voice calling again.
He hurried to Eli saying, "Here I am for you called."
Eli told Samuel to go back to bed that he didn't call him.
Samuel heard the voice calling him a third time and hurried to Eli's room to see what he wanted.
Eli knew then it was God calling Samuel.
Eli said, "Go back to bed and if you hear the voice again say, 'Speak Lord, for your servant hears you.' "
Samuel went back to bed and the Lord again called him, "Samuel, Samuel."
Samuel answered, "Speak Lord for your servant hears."
God spoke to him.
God made Samuel a prophet
Samuel grew and God stayed with him always.
Samuel
Part 2Samuel had two sons, Joel which means Jehovah is God, and Abiah which means Jehovah is father.
Samuel raised his sons well.Samuel
Part 2Samuel had two sons, Joel which means Jehovah is God, and Abiah which means Jehovah is father.
He taught them about God.
He taught them how to live in God's light.
When Samuel became old, he asked his two sons to help him.
He asked them to help rule over Israel.
Samuel's sons did not do as they were taught.
They did bad things.
The people of Israel went to Samuel and asked for a king to rule them.
Samuel was unhappy with the people of Israel for asking for a king.
Samuel prayed to God about what the people had asked of him.
God answered Samuel's prayer.
God said, "The people are not rejecting you, they are rejecting me to rule over them. You will get them a king but tell them their king will do bad things to them. He will take their land and sheep and food from them."
Samuel told the people what God had said.
The people refused to listen to Samuel.
They wanted a king.
Kish was a wealthy man.
He had a son named Saul.
Some of Kish's animals were missing and he sent Saul and a servant to look for them.
They were gone for many days and couldn't find the missing animals.
Saul decided to return home because he didn't want his father to worry.
Saul's servant said that maybe they could go to the city of Ramah and ask Samuel where the animals were.
Saul agreed and they went to Ramah.
The day before Saul arrived, God told Samuel that he was sending a man and for Samuel to anoint him king.
As soon as Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to Samuel , "This is the man."
They were getting ready for a religious festival in the city.
As soon as Saul and his servant entered the city, they saw Samuel.
Not knowing who he was, Saul asked Samuel for help.
"I am the one you are looking for", said Samuel. "Come with me and eat and stay with me tonight.
As for the animals that have been lost for three days, don't worry, they have been found."
Saul went with Samuel to the festival.
Samuel gave him the place of honor at the table and the best food to eat.
When that was over, they went to Samuel's house and talked.
Samuel told Saul that he was to be appointed king.
Early the next morning when Saul was leaving, Samuel walked with him to the edge of the city.
There he anointed Saul to be king of Israel.
Samuel
Part 3Saul was a bad king just like God said.
He wouldn't do what he was supposed to do.Part 3Saul was a bad king just like God said.
God told Samuel that Saul was to drive the Amalekites from Israel.
God told Samuel that Saul wasn't to take a single thing from them.
Samuel told Saul what God had commanded.
He told Saul that he was not to take anything from the Amalekites, not even their oxen.
Saul did drive the Amalekites from Israel.
Saul didn't obey God.
He took a man prisoner.
He took the best sheep, oxen and lambs and brought them back with him.
God was very unhappy with Saul.
God told Samuel that Saul had disobeyed him and he would remove him as king.
Samuel spent the whole night praying for Saul.
God told Samuel to go talk to Saul.
The next morning Samuel went to Saul to tell him what God had said.
When Saul saw Samuel, he said, "I have done as God asked of me."
Samuel said, "Then why do I hear oxen and sheep?"
Saul tried to blame everyone else.
Saul lied.
He told more lies.
Samuel could take no more lies.
Samuel told Saul what God had said to him
Samuel said, "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you from being king."
Saul was sad.
He can lie to people but he cant lie to God
Samuel was given another task by God.
Samuel was going to anoint another king.
God chose this king.
God chose David.
Samuel did as God asked.
He anointed David as the new king of Israel.
Samuel always did as God asked.
He never questioned God.
He never argued with God.
Samuel loved God.
God loved Samuel.
DeborahDeborah was a good woman.
God loved her very muchDeborah loved God very much
Deborah was a prophet.
She was a judge
She would judge the people of Israel sitting under her palm tree.
At that time, Jabin, a Caananite king, was trying to take Israel.
His general was Sisera.
The people of Israel asked God for help.
God heard them.
God talked to Deborah.
Deborah did as the God asked.
She asked that Barak come to see her.
Deborah told Barak, "The Lord said to go to Mount Tabor and take 10,000 men with you. I will lead Sisera and all his troops and their chariots to you."
Barak said to Deborah, "I will go if you go with me. I will not go if you don't go with me."
Upset with his lack of confidence, Deborah answered him, "Yes, I will go with you but you will not get the credit. The reward of the defeat of Sisera will go to a woman."
Barak did as the Lord had asked him.
He got his 10,000 men.
He left with his men and with Deborah.
They went to Mount Tabor.
Deborah said to Barak, ''This is the day. The Lord marches before you."
Off Barak went with his men to fight with Sisera and his men.
Sisera and his men were surprised.They saw the thousands of Baraks men heading toward them.
Ssiera and his men got into their chariots to run away.
There was Barak and his men chasing them.
Sisera got out of his chariot and ran as fast as he could.
Barak chased the other men.
He chased them a long way.
He caught up with them and defeated the entire army of Sisera.
Sisera ran as fast as he could.He was tired.
He was thirsty.
He came to the tent of Jael.
Jael invited him into the tent with her.
Sisera asked her for some water.
She gave him milk to drink.
"Stand at the entrance and if anyone asks if I am here, you tell them no," said Sisera.
She covered him with a blanket and told him to sleep.
While he was there, she defeated him.
Barak arrived after that.
He was looking for Sisera.
Jael went out to meet him.
"Please come in," she said. "I will show you the man you are looking for."
Deborah had told Barak earlier that the reward of the defeat of Sisera will go to a woman.
Deborah was right.
Esau
the
Jacob
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. Many years went by, and still they didn't have any children. Isaac prayed to God, “Oh Lord, please look with favor on my wife Rebekah, and bless us with children.”the
Jacob
God heard Isaac's prayer.
Soon, Rebekah was going to have a baby - but not one baby, she was going to have two!
Before her twins were even born, Rebekah could feel them kicking and fighting.
“Why is this happening?” she asked God.
God answered her saying,
“The two children inside you will become the fathers of two nations. Just like the two are fighting with each other now, the two nations will struggle with each other. One will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger.”
Soon it came time for the children to be born.
The first baby born was a boy. He was all red and covered with hair, and so Isaac and Rebekah named him Esau which means 'hairy'. The second baby was also a boy, and he was born grabbing onto Esau’s heel. Isaac and Rebekah named him Jacob which means 'theif'.Isaac was 60 years old when Esau and Jacob were born.
The boys grew up.
Esau became a strong and great hunter who loved the outdoors. Isaac preferred Esau because he loved the wild game he brought home from hunting
Jacob was a quiet man, who liked to stay inside. Rebekah preferred Jacob.
One day, Jacob was at home cooking. He had just made a great huge pot of stew.
Esau came home from hunting and was so hungry.“Give me some of that red stuff. I am so hungry!” Esau demanded.
Jacob answered him, “Sure! I’ll give you some stew if you will give me your birthright.”
The birthright was a very important thing. It went to Esau because he was born first. When Isaac, his father, died, Esau’s birthright would make him head of the household. He would get twice as much of his father's wealth as Jacob would.
"What good will a birthright do me if I starve to death? said Esau
Jacob insisted.
“Do you promise?” Jacob asked.
“I promise,” Esau said.
Jacob gave Esau some stew and bread. Esau ate, drank and when he was done, got up and left. He gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew.
When Isaac was so old he could no longer see. He called to Esau, his oldest son, and said, “My son..."
"Here I am, " said Esau
“My son, I am so old that I may die soon. Take your bow and arrows and go out hunting. When you come back, cook the meat you hunted and bring it to me to eat. Then I will bless you before I die.”
Rebekah heard everything that Isaac had said to Esau.
As soon as Esau left, Rebekah said Jacob, “Your father has sent Esau away to hunt. When Esau gets back, he is going to fix your father's favorite dinner, and your father is going to give him his blessing.
“Quick! Do what I say! Go out into the fields and bring me two young goats, and I will make your father's favorite dinner using them. Then, you take it to him, and your father will think you are Esau, and he will bless you.”
But Jacob said, “Esau is all hairy, and I am not! If my father feels me, he will know I am trying to trick him, and he will curse me instead of blessing me!”
“Let the curse be on me,” Jacob's mother said, “just do what I say.”
Jacob did as his mother asked and went out to get the goats.
Rebekah prepared a delicious meal from the goats that Jacob had brought her. Then
she took some of Esau’s clothes and had Jacob put them on. She took the skins from the goats and put them on Jacob's arms and the back of his neck so that he would be hairy like his brother.Carrying the meal, Jacob said, "Father."
"Yes, replied Isaac. "Which of my sons are you?"
“I am Esau, your first born, ” Jacob said. “I have done as you asked. Now eat so that you may give me your blessing”
“How did you do it so quickly?” his father asked.
“Your God was with me, ” Jacob answered.
Isaac said. “Come here. Let me touch you.”
Jacob went to him and Isaac felt the fur on Jacob's neck and arms.
Isaac said, “The voice is Jacob's, but the arms are Esau’s.”
Once more Isaac asked, “Are you really my son, Esau?”
“I am,” Jacob said.
And so Isaac ate the meal he thought Esau had brought him.
When he was finished he said, “Come here, my son, and kiss me, and then I will give you my blessing.”
So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. Isaac could smell the smell of Esau’s clothes, and so he said,
“The smell of my son is like the smell of open country the Lord has blessed. May God give you the dew of heaven, and the richness of the earth, corn and new wine in plenty!
Let nations and peoples serve you. May you rule over your brothers, and may they bow down to you. Let anyone who curses you be cursed, but blessed be anyone who blesses you!”
Jacob had barely left when his brother Esau came in from his hunting. He fixed his father's favorite meal, just as his father had asked him to. He brought it in to him, so that he could get his blessing.
“Who are you?” Isaac asked.
“I am your son, your firstborn, Esau,” he said.
“Then who was just here? Who brought my favorite meal, the one that I just ate? I gave him the blessing and I can't take it back!”
Esau cried out a great and bitter cry, “Bless me also, Father!"
“I can't,” Isaac said, “your brother has tricked me, and he has stolen your blessing.”
Esau cried out again, “You named him right when you named him Jacob. He has taken my place twice. First he took my birthright, and now he has stolen my blessing!”
“You must have saved a blessing for me,” Esau said to his father.
Isaac said, “I have already made you your brother's servant. I have given him the corn and new wine of our fields. What do I have left to give to you?”
Esau asked, “Have you only one blessing, my Father? Bless me also!"
Then his father said to him,
“Behold, you shall dwell in the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; By your sword shall you live, and serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you have the dominion, you shalt break his yoke from your neck. ”
From that day on Esau hated his brother, Jacob.
“One day, my father will die,” he said, “and then I will kill Jacob!”
Esau’s words got back to Rebekah.
Rebekah said to Jacob, “Your brother wants to kill you. Go to my brother Laban in Haban and stay there until Esau has settled down. I will send for you when things are more calm."
Rebekah then went to her husband, Isaac. She said to him, " I would be so disgusted if Jacob were to marry a woman that worships idols like live here. Please send him to my brother, Labon in Hebron and let him find a wife there."
Isaac agreed and called Jacob and gave him a blessing saying,
"You shall not marry a Cananite woman. Go to Padanaram, to the home of your mother's father Bethuel ; and chose a wife from the daughters of your uncle Laban.
And God Almighty bless you, and your marriage and give you many children.
May God bless you and your family as he blessed Abraham so you can possess the land he gave to Abraham."
Jacob left for his uncle's home.
Jacob had traveled the whole day. The sun had already set. Jacob stopped for the night. He found a stone to put under his head and laid down to sleep.
He had the most amazing dream.
In his dream, Jacob saw a stairway that reached all the way to heaven, and the angels of God were going, up and down on it.
There stood the Lord God right beside him!
God said to Jacob,
“I am the One Who Is, the God of your grandfather Abraham and of your father Isaac! I am here to make this promise to you. I will give you and your family the land where you are now resting. You will have many children. Your children will have children, until one day, they will be as many as the dust of the earth. In you and your descendants, all nations of the earth will be blessed. Know that I am with you and will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you safely back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I have promised.”
Jacob woke up.
He exclaimed, “How awesome is this place! This is the house of God, and the very gate to heaven”
The next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had under his head and set it up as a marker for what had happened there. He poured oil on top of it.He called that site Bethel, which means "House of God."
Then he made this promise to God. “If you watch over me as I go, and bring me safely back, then you shall be my God. I will worship you here in this place, and I will return to you one-tenth of everything you give me.”
Jacob continued on his journey and God was with him.
Samson and the Philistines
The people of Israel had disobeyed God.God sent the Philistines to rule over them.
For 40 years, the Philistines had ruled over Israel.
There was a man called Manoah. He had no children.
An angel appeared to his wife and told her that she was to have a son.
The angel said to her, "You must not drink any wine, or strong drink," the Angel continued, "and when your son is born, you must never cut his hair. He is going to be a Nazarite, a person set apart for God. He is going to save your people from the power of the Philistines."
Just as the angel had said, Manoah and his wife did have a child. His name was Samson.An angel appeared to his wife and told her that she was to have a son.
The angel said to her, "You must not drink any wine, or strong drink," the Angel continued, "and when your son is born, you must never cut his hair. He is going to be a Nazarite, a person set apart for God. He is going to save your people from the power of the Philistines."
Samson was picked by God to free Israel from the Philistines. The Philistines were the enemies of the Israelites. Samson, just as the angel had said, was a Nazarite. There are three rules which a Nazarite must follow:
1. No Strong drink or wine.
2. Not allowed to ever cut the hair.
3. No contact with the dead.
Samson grew up tall and strong
When he was about 18, he went to Timnath. It was a town just a few miles from his home. A lot of Philistines lived there.
There, he fell in love with a Philistine woman and wanted to marry her. At first, his parents said no. They wanted him to marry one of his own people but when Samson insisted, they finally agreed.
Samson traveled with his parents to Timnath. As he came to the vineyards, a young lion tried to attack him. Samson killed it with his bare hands. Samson did not tell his father and mother what had happened.
Some time later, Samson passed by the body of the lion, and there he found a swarm of bees had made a home inside the lion So Samson reached in, and took out a handful of honey. He gave some to his parents, too but he didn't tell them where it came from.
Later on, the marriage was arranged and there was a big wedding feast. Thirty young Philistine men were there. Samson said to them, "Here is a riddle for you, and if you can solve it within seven days, I shall give you thirty sheets and thirty suits of clothes, but if you fail to find the answer, you must give me thirty sheets and thirty changes of clothing."When he was about 18, he went to Timnath. It was a town just a few miles from his home. A lot of Philistines lived there.
There, he fell in love with a Philistine woman and wanted to marry her. At first, his parents said no. They wanted him to marry one of his own people but when Samson insisted, they finally agreed.
Samson traveled with his parents to Timnath. As he came to the vineyards, a young lion tried to attack him. Samson killed it with his bare hands. Samson did not tell his father and mother what had happened.
Some time later, Samson passed by the body of the lion, and there he found a swarm of bees had made a home inside the lion So Samson reached in, and took out a handful of honey. He gave some to his parents, too but he didn't tell them where it came from.
The men said, "Tell us your riddle."
Samson said, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness."
The Philistine men could not answer to the riddle. They thought and thought and still did not know the answer.
They went to Samson's wife to see if she could find out the answer. They threatened to burn her father's house if she did not find out the answer. Samson's wife begged him so much, Samson finally told her the answer to the riddle ... she told the Philistine men the answer.
Before sunset on the very last day, the Philistine men gave Samson the answer to the riddle. They said, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?"
Samson knew what had happened and said to them, "You would never have found the answer to my riddle if you had not threatened my wife." Samson was angry. He felt cheated. He now owed the men their winnings for answering the riddle correctly when they cheated. He went to Ashkelon. That was where the Philistine's fort was. There, he forcibly took the thirty suits, hurting the men who owned them. He brought the suits back to Timnath and gave them to the men who had cheated him.
He was angry with his wife. He felt she betrayed him. Samson went to his parents house without her. Her father allowed her to marry another. After a period of time, Samson returned to her father's house with a gift. He wanted to talk to her. Her father told him she had married another. Samson was angry. Samson decided to burn the farm lands of the Philistines. He went into the forest and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together, placed firebrands upon them and turned them lose. Frightened by the torches, the foxes streaked through the fields and vineyards setting fire to the grain and setting fire to the vineyards.
The Philistines wanted this stopped. Samson was just too much for them. They were afraid to try and stop him alone. Samson was so strong. He was so powerful. The Philistines sent an army to Judah to force the people to give Samson to them. Three thousand men of Judah went to meet the Philistine army. Not to fight with them but to surrender. They agreed to give Samson to them.
Three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at Etam where Samson was living. They said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines rule us? Why did you do that to them and make them mad at us?"
Samson said to them, "What they did to me, I did to them."
Then the men of Judah said, "We have come to take you back to the Philistines."
Samson said, "Do you promise not to attack me?"
"We promise," said the men. "We will tie you and turn you over to the Philistines."
They tied him with two very strong ropes and brought him down from the cave.
Three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at Etam where Samson was living. They said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines rule us? Why did you do that to them and make them mad at us?"
Samson said to them, "What they did to me, I did to them."
Then the men of Judah said, "We have come to take you back to the Philistines."
Samson said, "Do you promise not to attack me?"
"We promise," said the men. "We will tie you and turn you over to the Philistines."
They tied him with two very strong ropes and brought him down from the cave.
They brought Samson to Lehi where the Philistines were waiting. When they saw Samson coming, they shouted with a terrific howl of scorn and triumph. At that very moment, the Spirit of the Lord descended on Samson making the strong ropes on his arms as if they were a weak stem from a small plant, the ties on his hands fell away.
"The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him"
Samson saw a clean jawbone from a donkey laying at his side. He picked it up and began using it against the entire Philistine army. He lashed into them, swinging the jawbone, lunging at this one and lunging at that one. The Philistine army was surprised by this sudden power. They were unable to fight in their confusion and they ran in fear. After the Philistines had run away, Samson threw down the jawbone and named the place, Remathlehi, in memory of his victory.
"The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him"
Samson saw a clean jawbone from a donkey laying at his side. He picked it up and began using it against the entire Philistine army. He lashed into them, swinging the jawbone, lunging at this one and lunging at that one. The Philistine army was surprised by this sudden power. They were unable to fight in their confusion and they ran in fear. After the Philistines had run away, Samson threw down the jawbone and named the place, Remathlehi, in memory of his victory.
Story of
Job
Job and his wife Lived in Uz.Job
Job had seven sons and 3 daughter all grown with families of their own.
Job had much land and livestock and men to help him work.
Job loved God and worshipped God everyday.
One day, the devil said to God, "You have blessed Job and given him everything is the only reason Job worships you. If you would take away your blessings, Job would no longer praise you."
God said to the devil, " Do what you want to all that Job has but do not touch him."
The devil left God and began his evil work.
Suddenly a messenger came to Job saying, "All your oxen and donkeys are gone. All of the men that helped you are gone."
While the messenger was still speaking, a second messenger came and said, " A huge fire has killed all the sheep."
And still a third messenger arrived saying, "Some thieves came and stole all your camels."
And still a fourth messenger arrived saying, "All of your sons and daughter were eating together when suddenly there came a huge wind and the house fell on them."
Job was so sad.
In a single day, he had lost everything.
He lost his land,
He lost his livestock.
He lost his sons and daughters.
Job fell to his knees and began worshipping God saying, "..the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away, blessed be the name of the LORD."
After all those bad things happened to Job, He still praised God.
The devil was upset because Job was still praising God.
So he went to God and said, "If Job were hurting in his body, he would not praise you.
God answered the devil saying, "Do what you want but do not kill him."
The devil delighted in giving Job very painful sores all over his body from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Job had nothing
He lost his land,
He lost his livestock.
He lost his Sons and daughters.
Now he was in more pain with the sores all over his body.
Job suffered greatly.
Job's wife said to him, "Let it go. Curse God and die"
Job answered her, "You talk like a foolish woman. Do we only take the good and not the bad?"
Still he praised God.
Jobs friends had heard about what had happened to Job.They decided they would go and be with him.
His friends sat with Job for one week.
His friends told Job that he had sinned and that is why all these horrible things had happened.
Job insisted that he loved God and he never sinned against him.
They would not believe him.
All of them told Job he had sinned and he must confess his sin to make things right.
Job still insisted that he had not sinned against God.
Finally his friends were quiet. They had nothing to say to him because they felt that Job was wrong. They thought Job felt was better than everyone else. They knew Job had sinned and wouldn't admit it.
Finally, God spoke.
God said "Who is this that gives advice without knowledge, where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Answer if you have understanding!"
God spoke to Job of all the things he created.
God created the heavens, the earth and all that is on the earth.
Job said "I know that you can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from you. Therefore, I have spoken things that I did not understand. But now I have heard you and now I understand. "
God said to Job's friends, "You have not spoken the truth of me as Job has. Take seven bulls and seven rams and go to Job and offer them up for yourselves. Job will pray for you and I will accept his prayer for you. "
Fearing the wrath of God, the men did as God had told them.
God accepted Job's prayer and was very pleased with Job.
As Job prayed for his friends, God returned his fortune that had been taken away by the devil.
God gave Job twice as much as he had in the beginning.
God gave him twice as many sheep.
God gave him twice as many donkeys.
God gave him twice as many camels.
God gave him twice as many yoke of oxen.
God gave him 7 sons and 3 daughters.
His daughters were the most beautiful in the land.
After all of this, Job lived 140 years and he loved God and praised him every day.
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