The Flood to the Deliverance from Egypt
My Book of Bible Stories
THIS is a book of true stories. They are taken from the world’s greatest book, the Bible. The stories give you a history of the world from when God began to create until right up to our present day. They even tell about what God promises to do in the future.
This book gives you an idea of what the Bible is all about. It tells about people of the Bible and the things they did. It also shows the grand hope of everlasting life in a paradise earth that God has given to people.
There are 116 stories in the book. These are grouped in eight parts. A page at the beginning of each part tells briefly what is found in that part. The stories appear in the order that events occurred in history. This helps you to learn when, in relation to other events, things happened in history.
The stories are told in simple language. Many of you young children will be able to read them for yourselves. You parents will discover that your smaller children will delight to have these stories read to them over and over again. You will find that this book contains much of interest for young and old alike.
Bible citations are given at the end of each story. You are encouraged to read these portions of the Bible on which the stories are based.
Part 1
Creation to the Flood
From where did the heavens and earth come? How did the sun, moon and stars, as well as the many things on earth, come to be? The Bible gives the true answer when it says that they were created by God. So our book begins with Bible stories about creation.
The first creations of God, we learn, were spirit persons somewhat like himself. They were angels. But the earth was created for people like us. So God made the man and woman named Adam and Eve and put them in a beautiful garden. But they disobeyed God and lost the right to keep living.
In all, from Adam’s creation until the great Flood, there were 1,656 years. During this time many bad persons lived. In heaven, there were the unseen spirit persons, Satan and his bad angels. On earth, there were Cain and many other bad persons, including some unusually powerful men. But there were also good people on earth—Abel, Enoch and Noah. In Part ONE we will read about all these people and events.
Story 1
God Begins to Make Things
ALL the good things we have come from God. He made the sun to give us light by day, and the moon and stars so we can have some light at night. And God made the earth for us to live on.
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But the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth were not the first things God made. Do you know what was the first? God first made persons like himself. We can’t see these persons, just as we can’t see God. In the Bible these persons are called angels. God made the angels to live with himself in heaven.
The first angel God made was very special. He was God’s first Son, and he worked with his Father. He helped God to make all other things. He helped God to make the sun, the moon, the stars and also our earth.
What was the earth like then? In the beginning no one could live on earth. There was nothing but one big ocean of water all over the land. But God wanted people to live on earth. So he began to get things ready for us. What did he do?
Well, first the earth needed light. So God made the light from the sun to shine on the earth. He made it so there could be both nighttime and daytime. Afterward God caused land to come up above the water of the ocean.
At first there was nothing on the land. It looked like the picture you see here. There were no flowers or trees or animals. There were not even any fish in the oceans. God had a lot more work to do to make the earth really nice for animals and people to live on.
Jeremiah 10:12; Colossians 1:15-17; Genesis 1:1-10.
Story 2
A Beautiful Garden
LOOK at the earth here! How pretty everything is! Look at the grass and the trees, the flowers and all the animals. Can you pick out the elephant and the lions?
How did this beautiful garden come to be? Well, let’s see how God got the earth ready for us.
First, God made green grass to cover the land. And he made all kinds of small plants and bushes and trees. These growing things help to make the earth pretty. But they do more than that. Many of them also give us foods that taste very good.
God later made fish to swim in the water and birds to fly in the sky. He made dogs and cats and horses; big animals and small animals. What animals live near your home? Shouldn’t we be glad that God made all these things for us?
Finally, God made one part of the earth a very special place. He called this place the garden of Eden. It was just perfect. Everything about it was beautiful. And God wanted the whole earth to become just like this pretty garden he had made.
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But look at the picture of this garden again. Do you know what God saw that was missing? Let’s see.
Genesis 1:11-25; 2:8, 9.
Story 3
The First Man and Woman
WHAT is different in this picture? Yes, it is the people in it. They are the first man and woman. Who made them? It was God. Do you know his name? It is Jehovah. And the man and woman came to be called Adam and Eve.
This is how Jehovah God made Adam. He took some dust from the ground and with it he formed a perfect body, a man’s body. Then he blew into the man’s nose, and Adam came to life.
Jehovah God had a job for Adam. He told Adam to name all the different kinds of animals. Adam may have watched the animals for a long time so he could pick the best names for them all. While Adam was naming the animals he began to see something. Do you know what that was?
The animals all had mates. There were papa elephants and mama elephants, and there were papa lions and mama lions. But Adam had no one to be his mate. So Jehovah made Adam fall into a deep sleep, and he took a rib bone from his side. Using this rib, Jehovah made a woman for Adam, and she became his wife.
How happy Adam was now! And think how happy Eve must have been to be put in such a beautiful garden to live! Now they could have children and live together in happiness.
Jehovah wanted Adam and Eve to live forever. He wanted them to make the whole earth as pretty as the garden of Eden. How happy Adam and Eve must have been when they thought about doing this! Would you have liked to share in making the earth a pretty garden? But the happiness of Adam and Eve did not last. Let’s find out why.
Psalm 83:18; Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7-25.
Story 4
Why They Lost Their Home
SEE what’s happening now. Adam and Eve are being put out of the beautiful garden of Eden. Do you know why?
It is because they did something very bad. And so Jehovah is punishing them. Do you know the bad thing Adam and Eve did?
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They did something God told them not to do. God told them they could eat food from the trees of the garden. But from one tree God said not to eat, or else they would die. He kept that tree as his own. And we know it is wrong to take something that belongs to someone else, don’t we? Well, what happened?
One day when Eve was alone in the garden, a snake spoke to her. Think of that! It told Eve to eat fruit from the tree from which God told them not to eat. Now, when Jehovah made snakes he did not make them so they could talk. So this can only mean that someone else was making the snake speak. Who was that?
It wasn’t Adam. So it had to be one of the persons that Jehovah had made long before he made the earth. Those persons are angels, and we cannot see them. This one angel had become very proud. He began thinking that he should be a ruler like God. And he wanted people to obey him instead of obeying Jehovah. He was the angel that made the snake talk.
This angel was able to fool Eve. When he told her that she would become like God if she ate the fruit, she believed it. So she ate, and Adam did too. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and that is why they lost their beautiful garden home.
But someday God will see to it that the whole earth is made as pretty as the garden of Eden. Later we will learn how you may share in making it this way. But now, let’s find out what happened to Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:1-13, 24; Revelation 12:9.
Story 5
A Hard Life Begins
OUTSIDE the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had many troubles. They had to work hard for their food. Instead of beautiful fruit trees, they saw lots of thorns and thistles grow around them. This is what happened when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and stopped being His friends.
But worse than that, Adam and Eve started to die. Remember, God warned them that they would die if they ate fruit from a certain tree. Well, the very day that they ate they began to die. How foolish they were not to listen to God!
The children of Adam and Eve were all born after God put their parents out of the garden of Eden. This means that the children would also have to grow old and die.
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If only Adam and Eve had obeyed Jehovah, life would have been happy for them and their children. They could all have lived forever in happiness on earth. No one would have had to grow old, get sick and die.
God wants people to live forever in happiness, and He promises that someday they will. Not only will the whole earth be beautiful, but all the people will be healthy. And everyone on earth will be a good friend with everyone else and with God.
But Eve was no longer a friend of God. So when she gave birth to her children, it was not easy for her. She had pain. Being disobedient to Jehovah certainly brought her a lot of sorrow, don’t you agree?
Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters. When their first son was born, they named him Cain. They named their second son Abel. What happened to them? Do you know?
Genesis 3:16-23; 4:1, 2; Revelation 21:3, 4.
Story 6
A Good Son, and a Bad One
LOOK at Cain and Abel now. They have both grown up. Cain has become a farmer. He grows grains and fruits and vegetables.
Abel has become a keeper of sheep. He likes to take care of little lambs. They grow up into big sheep, and so Abel soon has a whole flock of sheep to watch over.
One day Cain and Abel bring a gift to God. Cain brings some food he has grown. And Abel brings the very best sheep he has. Jehovah is pleased with Abel and his gift. But he is not pleased with Cain and his gift. Do you know why?
It is not just that Abel’s gift is better than Cain’s. It is because Abel is a good man. He loves Jehovah and his brother. But Cain is bad; he does not love his brother.
So God tells Cain that he should change his ways. But Cain does not listen. He is very angry because God liked Abel better. So Cain says to Abel, ‘Let us go over into the field.’ There, when they are all alone, Cain hits his brother Abel. He hits him so hard that he kills him. Wasn’t that a terrible thing for Cain to do?
Even though Abel died, God still remembers him. Abel was good, and Jehovah never forgets a person like that. So one day Jehovah God will bring Abel back to life. At that time Abel will never have to die. He will be able to live here on earth forever. Won’t it be fine to get to know persons like Abel?
But God is not pleased with persons like Cain. So after Cain killed his brother, God punished him by sending him far away from the rest of his family. When Cain went away to live in another part of the earth, he took with him one of his sisters, and she became his wife.
In time Cain and his wife began to have children. Other sons and daughters of Adam and Eve got married, and they also had children. Soon there were many people on the earth. Let’s learn about some of them.
Genesis 4:2-26; 1 John 3:11, 12; John 11:25.
Story 7
A Brave Man
AS THE number of people began to increase on the earth, most of them did bad things like Cain. But one man was different. He is this man named E´noch. E´noch was a brave man. The people all around him were doing very bad things, but E´noch still kept on serving God.
Do you know why those people back then did so many bad things? Well, think, Who caused Adam and Eve to disobey God and to eat the fruit that God said they should not eat? Yes, it was a bad angel. The Bible calls him Satan. And he is trying to get everyone to be bad.
One day Jehovah God had E´noch tell the people something they did not want to hear. It was this: ‘God is someday going to destroy all the bad people.’ The people were probably very angry to hear this. They may even have tried to kill E´noch. So E´noch needed to be very brave to tell the people about what God was going to do.
God did not let E´noch live a long time among those bad people. E´noch lived to be only 365 years old. Why do we say “only 365 years”? Because men in those days were much stronger than now and lived much longer. Why, E´noch’s son Me·thu´se·lah lived to be 969 years old!
Well, after E´noch died, the people just got worse and worse. The Bible says that ‘everything they thought about was bad all the time,’ and that ‘the earth became filled with violence.’
Do you know one of the reasons why there was so much trouble on the earth in those days? It is because Satan had a new way of getting the people to do bad things. We will learn about this next.
Genesis 5:21-24, 27; 6:5; Hebrews 11:5; Jude 14, 15.
Story 8
Giants in the Earth
IF SOMEONE were walking toward you and he was as tall as the ceiling in your house, what would you think? That person would be a giant! At one time there really were giants on the earth. The Bible shows that their fathers were angels from heaven. But how could that be?
Remember, the bad angel Satan was busy making trouble. He was even trying to get God’s angels to be bad. In time, some of these angels started to listen to Satan. They stopped the work that God had for them to do in heaven. And they came down to earth and made human bodies for themselves. Do you know why?
The Bible says that it is because these sons of God saw the pretty women on earth and wanted to live with them. So they came to earth and married these women. The Bible says that this was wrong, because God made the angels to live in heaven.
When the angels and their wives had babies, these babies were different. At first they may not have looked very different. But they kept growing bigger and bigger, and getting stronger and stronger, until they became giants.
These giants were bad. And because they were so big and strong, they would hurt people. They tried to force everyone to be bad like themselves.
E´noch had died, but there was one man on earth now who was good. This man’s name was Noah. He always did what God wanted him to do.
One day God told Noah that the time had come for Him to destroy all the bad people. But God was going to save Noah, his family and many of the animals. Let’s see how God did this.
Genesis 6:1-8; Jude 6.
Story 9
Noah Builds an Ark
NOAH had a wife and three sons. His sons’ names were Shem, Ham and Ja´pheth. And each of these sons had a wife. So there were eight persons in Noah’s family.
God now had Noah do a strange thing. He told him to build a big ark. This ark was large like a ship, but it looked more like a big, long box. ‘Make it three floors high,’ God said, ‘and put rooms in it.’ The rooms were for Noah and his family, the animals, and the food all of them would need.
God also told Noah to fix up the ark so that no water could leak in. God said: ‘I am going to send a great flood of water and destroy the whole world. Everyone not in the ark will die.’
Noah and his sons obeyed Jehovah and started building. But the other people just laughed. They kept on being bad. Nobody believed Noah when he told them what God was going to do.
It took a long time to build the ark because it was so big. Finally, after many years, it was finished. Now God told Noah to bring the animals into the ark. God said to bring in two of some kinds of animals, both a male and a female. But of other kinds of animals, God told Noah to bring in seven. God also told Noah to bring in all the different kinds of birds. Noah did just what God said.
Afterward, Noah and his family also went into the ark. Then God shut the door. Inside, Noah and his family waited. Just imagine you are there in the ark with them, waiting. Would there really be a flood as God said?
Genesis 6:9-22; 7:1-9.
Story 10
The Great Flood
OUTSIDE the ark, the people went about their life the same as before. They still did not believe that the Flood would come. They must have laughed more than ever. But they soon stopped laughing.
All of a sudden water began to fall. It poured down from the sky as when you pour water from a bucket. Noah had been right! But it was too late now for anybody else to get into the ark. The door had been closed tight by Jehovah.
Soon all the low ground was covered. The water became like big rivers. It pushed over trees and rolled around big stones, and made a lot of noise. The people were afraid. They climbed up to higher ground. Oh, how they wished they had listened to Noah and gotten into the ark when the door was still open for them! But now it was too late.
The water kept getting higher and higher. For 40 days and 40 nights the water poured out of the sky. It rose up the sides of the mountains, and soon even the tallest mountains were covered. So just as God had said, all the people and animals outside the ark died. But everyone inside was safe.
Noah and his sons had done a good job building the ark. The water lifted it up, and it floated right on top of the water. Then one day, after the rain stopped falling, the sun began to shine. What a sight it was! There was just one big ocean everywhere. And the only thing that could be seen was the ark floating on top.
The giants were gone now. No more would they be around to hurt people. All of them had died, along with their mothers and the rest of the bad people. But what happened to their fathers?
The fathers of the giants were not really human people like us. They were angels that had come down to live as men on earth. So when the Flood came, they did not die with the rest of the people. They stopped using the human bodies they had made, and went back to heaven as angels. But they were no longer allowed to be part of the family of God’s angels. So they became the angels of Satan. In the Bible they are called demons.
God now made a wind blow, and the waters of the flood began to go down. Five months later the ark came to rest on the top of a mountain. Many more days passed, and those inside the ark could look out and see the tops of the mountains. The waters kept on going down and down.
Then Noah let a black bird called a raven out of the ark. It would fly away for a while and then it would come back, because it could not find a good place to land. It kept doing this and each time it returned, it would rest on the ark.
Noah wanted to see if the waters had run off the earth, so next he sent a dove out of the ark. But the dove came back too because it did not find a place to stay. Noah sent it out a second time, and it brought back an olive leaf in its beak. So Noah knew that the waters had gone down. Noah sent out the dove a third time, and finally it found a dry place to live.
God now spoke to Noah. He said: ‘Go out of the ark. Take your whole family and the animals with you.’ They had been inside the ark for more than a whole year. So we can just imagine how happy they all were to be outside again and to be alive!
Genesis 7:10-24; 8:1-17; 1 Peter 3:19, 20.
Part 2
The Flood to the Deliverance from Egypt
Only eight people survived the Flood, but in time they increased to number many thousands. Then, 352 years after the Flood, Abraham was born. We learn how God kept his promise by giving Abraham a son named Isaac. Then, of Isaac’s two sons, Jacob was chosen by God.
Jacob had a big family of 12 sons and some daughters. Jacob’s 10 sons hated their younger brother Joseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt. Later, Joseph became an important ruler of Egypt. When a bad famine came, Joseph tested his brothers to see whether they had a change of heart. Finally, Jacob’s whole family, the Israelites, moved to Egypt. This happened 290 years after Abraham was born.
For the next 215 years the Israelites lived in Egypt. After Joseph died, they became slaves there. In time, Moses was born, and God used him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. In all, 857 years of history are covered in Part TWO.
Story 11
The First Rainbow
DO YOU know the first thing Noah did when he and his family came out of the ark? He made an offering or a gift to God. You can see him doing this in the picture below. Noah offered this gift of animals to thank God for saving his family from the great flood.
Do you think Jehovah was pleased with the gift? Yes, he was. And so he promised Noah that he would never destroy the world again by a flood.
Soon the land was all dried off, and Noah and his family began a new life outside the ark. God blessed them and told them: ‘You must have many children. You must increase in numbers until people live all over the earth.’
But later, when people would hear about the great flood, they might be afraid that a flood like that would happen again. So God gave something that would remind people of his promise never to flood the whole earth again. Do you know what he gave to remind them? It was a rainbow.
A rainbow is often seen in the sky when the sun shines after it has rained. Rainbows may have many beautiful colors. Have you ever seen one? Do you see the one in the picture?
This is what God said: ‘I promise that never again will all people and animals be destroyed by a flood. I am putting my rainbow in the clouds. And when the rainbow appears, I will see it and remember this promise of mine.’
So when you see a rainbow, what should it remind you of? Yes, God’s promise that he will never destroy the world again by a great flood.
Genesis 8:18-22; 9:9-17.
Story 12
Men Build a Big Tower
MANY years passed. Noah’s sons had lots of children. And their children grew up and had more children. Soon there were many people on the earth.
One of these persons was a great-grandson of Noah named Nim´rod. He was a bad man who hunted and killed both animals and men. Nim´rod also made himself a king to rule over other people. God did not like Nim´rod.
All the people at that time spoke one language. Nim´rod wanted to keep them all together so that he could rule them. So do you know what he did? He told the people to build a city and a big tower in it. See them in the picture making bricks.
Jehovah God was not pleased with this building. God wanted the people to move out and live all over the earth. But the people said: ‘Come on! Let’s build a city and a tower so high that its top will reach into the heavens. Then we will be famous!’ The people wanted honor for themselves, not for God.
So God made the people stop building the tower. Do you know how he did it? By suddenly causing people to speak different languages, instead of just one. No longer did the builders understand one another. This is why their city came to be called Ba´bel, or Babylon, meaning “Confusion.”
The people now began to move away from Ba´bel. Groups of persons who spoke the same language went to live together in other parts of the earth.
Genesis 10:1, 8-10; 11:1-9.
Story 13
Abraham—A Friend of God
ONE of the places where people went to live after the Flood was called Ur. It became an important city with some nice homes in it. But the people there worshiped false gods. That was the way they did in Ba´bel too. The people in Ur and Ba´bel were not like Noah and his son Shem, who kept on serving Jehovah.
Finally, 350 years after the flood, faithful Noah died. It was just two years later that the man you see in this picture was born. He was a very special person to God. His name was Abraham. He lived with his family in that city of Ur.
One day Jehovah told Abraham: ‘Leave Ur and your relatives, and go to a country I will show you.’ Did Abraham obey God and leave behind all the comforts of Ur? Yes, he did. And it was because Abraham always obeyed God that he came to be known as God’s friend.
Some of Abraham’s family went along with him when he left Ur. His father Te´rah did. So did his nephew Lot. And, of course, Abraham’s wife Sarah went too. In time they all arrived at a place called Ha´ran, where Te´rah died. They were far away from Ur.
After a while Abraham and his household left Ha´ran and came to the land called Ca´naan. There Jehovah said: ‘This is the land that I will give to your children.’ Abraham stayed in Ca´naan and lived in tents.
God began to help Abraham so that he came to have great flocks of sheep and other animals and hundreds of servants. But he and Sarah did not have any children of their own.
When Abraham was 99 years old, Jehovah said: ‘I promise that you will become father to many nations of people.’ But how could this happen, since Abraham and Sarah were now too old to have a child?
Genesis 11:27-32; 12:1-7; 17:1-8, 15-17; 18:9-19.
Story 14
God Tests Abraham’s Faith
CAN you see what Abraham is doing here? He has a knife, and it looks as if he is going to kill his son. Why would he ever do that? First, let’s see how Abraham and Sarah got their son.
Remember, God promised them that they would have a son. But that seemed impossible, because Abraham and Sarah were so old. Abraham, however, believed that God could do what seemed impossible. So what happened?
After God made his promise, a whole year passed. Then, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, they had a baby boy named Isaac. God had kept his promise!
But when Isaac had grown older, Jehovah tested Abraham’s faith. He called: ‘Abraham!’ And Abraham answered: ‘Here I am!’ Then God said: ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, and go to a mountain that I will show you. There kill your son and offer him up as a sacrifice.’
How sad those words made Abraham, because Abraham loved his son very much. And remember, God had promised that Abraham’s children would live in the land of Ca´naan. But how could that happen if Isaac were dead? Abraham did not understand, but still he obeyed God.
When he got to the mountain, Abraham tied up Isaac and put him on the altar that he built. Then he took out the knife to kill his son. But just at that moment God’s angel called: ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And Abraham answered: ‘Here I am!’
‘Don’t hurt the boy or do anything to him,’ God said. ‘Now I know that you have faith in me, because you have not held back your son, your only one, from me.’
What great faith Abraham had in God! He believed that nothing was impossible for Jehovah, and that Jehovah could even raise Isaac from the dead. But it was not really God’s will for Abraham to kill Isaac. So God caused a sheep to get caught in some nearby bushes, and he told Abraham to sacrifice it instead of his son.
Genesis 21:1-7; 22:1-18.
Story 15
Lot’s Wife Looked Back
LOT and his family lived together with Abraham in the land of Ca´naan. One day Abraham said to Lot: ‘There isn’t land enough here for all our animals. Please, let us separate. If you go one way, then I will go the other.’
Lot looked over the land. He saw a very nice part of the country that had water and a lot of good grass for his animals. This was the District of the Jordan. So Lot moved his family and animals there. They finally made their home in the city of Sod´om.
The people of Sod´om were very bad. This upset Lot, because he was a good man. God was upset too. Finally, God sent two angels to warn Lot that he was going to destroy Sod´om and the nearby city of Go·mor´rah because of their badness.
The angels told Lot: ‘Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters and get out of here!’ Lot and his family were a little slow in going, and so the angels took them by the hand and led them out of the city. Then one of the angels said: ‘Run for your lives! Don’t look back. Run to the hills, so that you won’t be killed.’
Lot and his daughters obeyed and ran away from Sod´om. They didn’t stop for a moment, and they didn’t look back. But Lot’s wife disobeyed. After they had gone some distance from Sod´om, she stopped and looked back. Then Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt. Can you see her in the picture?
We can learn a good lesson from this. It shows us that God saves those who obey him, but those who do not obey him will lose their lives.
Genesis 13:5-13; 18:20-33; 19:1-29; Luke 17:28-32; 2 Peter 2:6-8.
Story 16
Isaac Gets a Good Wife
DO YOU know who the woman is in this picture? Her name is Re·bek´ah. And the man she is coming to meet is Isaac. She is going to become his wife. How did this happen?
Well, Isaac’s father Abraham wanted to get a good wife for his son. He didn’t want Isaac to marry one of the women in Ca´naan, because these people worshiped false gods. So Abraham called his servant and said: ‘I want you to go back to where my relatives live in Ha´ran and get a wife for my son Isaac.’
Right away Abraham’s servant took ten camels and made the long trip. When he got near the place where Abraham’s relatives lived, he stopped at a well. It was late in the afternoon, the time when the women of the city would come to get water from the well. So Abraham’s servant said a prayer to Jehovah: ‘May the woman that gets some water for me and the camels be the one that you choose to be the wife of Isaac.’
Soon Re·bek´ah came along to get some water. When the servant asked her for a drink, she gave him one. Then she went and got enough water for all the thirsty camels. That was hard work because camels drink lots and lots of water.
When Re·bek´ah finished doing this, Abraham’s servant asked her the name of her father. He also asked if he could stay overnight at their home. She said: ‘My father is Be·thu´el, and there is room for you to stay with us.’ Abraham’s servant knew that Be·thu´el was the son of Abraham’s brother Na´hor. So he knelt down and thanked Jehovah for leading him to Abraham’s relatives.
That night Abraham’s servant told Be·thu´el and Re·bek´ah’s brother La´ban why he had come. They both agreed that Re·bek´ah could go with him and marry Isaac. What did Re·bek´ah say when she was asked? She said, ‘Yes,’ she wanted to go. So the very next day they got on the camels and began the long trip back to Ca´naan.
When they arrived, it was evening time. Re·bek´ah saw a man walking in the field. It was Isaac. He was glad to see Re·bek´ah. His mother Sarah had died just three years before, and he was still sad about this. But now Isaac came to love Re·bek´ah very much, and he was happy again.
Genesis 24:1-67.
Story 17
Twins Who Were Different
THE two boys here are very different, aren’t they? Do you know their names? The hunter is E´sau, and the boy taking care of the sheep is Jacob.
E´sau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and Re·bek´ah. The father, Isaac, liked E´sau a lot, because he was a good hunter and would bring home food for the family to eat. But Re·bek´ah loved Jacob most, because he was a quiet, peaceful boy.
Grandfather Abraham was still alive, and we can just imagine how Jacob liked to listen to him talk about Jehovah. Abraham finally died at 175 years of age, when the twins were 15 years old.
When E´sau was 40 years old he married two women from the land of Ca´naan. This made Isaac and Re·bek´ah very sad, because these women did not worship Jehovah.
Then one day something happened that made E´sau very angry with his brother Jacob. The time came when Isaac was to give a blessing to his older son. Since E´sau was older than Jacob, E´sau expected to receive this blessing. But E´sau had earlier sold the right to receive the blessing to Jacob. Also, when the two boys were born God had said that Jacob would receive the blessing. And this is what happened. Isaac gave the blessing to his son Jacob.
Later, when E´sau learned about this he became angry with Jacob. He was so angry that he said he was going to kill Jacob. When Re·bek´ah heard about this, she was very worried. So she told her husband Isaac: ‘It will be just terrible if Jacob also marries one of these women of Ca´naan.’
At that Isaac called his son Jacob and told him: ‘Don’t marry a woman from Ca´naan. Go instead to the house of your grandfather Be·thu´el in Ha´ran. Marry one of the daughters of his son La´ban.’
Jacob listened to his father, and right away began his long trip to where his relatives lived in Ha´ran.
Genesis 25:5-11, 20-34; 26:34, 35; 27:1-46; 28:1-5; Hebrews 12:16, 17.
Story 18
Jacob Goes to Haran
DO YOU know who these men are Jacob is talking to? After traveling many days, Jacob met them by a well. They were taking care of their sheep. Jacob asked: ‘Where are you from?’
‘Ha´ran,’ they said.
‘Do you know La´ban?’ Jacob asked.
‘Yes,’ they answered. ‘Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with his flock of sheep.’ Can you see Rachel there coming in the distance?
When Jacob saw Rachel with his uncle La´ban’s sheep, he went and rolled the stone away from the well so the sheep could drink. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and told her who he was. She was very excited, and she went home and told her father La´ban.
La´ban was very happy to have Jacob stay with him. And when Jacob asked to marry Rachel, La´ban was glad. However, he asked Jacob to work in his field seven years for Rachel. Because he loved Rachel so much Jacob did this. But when the time came for the marriage, do you know what happened?
La´ban gave his older daughter Le´ah to Jacob instead of Rachel. When Jacob agreed to work for La´ban seven more years, La´ban also gave him Rachel as his wife. In those times God allowed men to have more than one wife. But now, as the Bible shows, a man should have only one wife.
Genesis 29:1-30.
Story 19
Jacob Has a Big Family
JUST look at this big family. These are Jacob’s 12 sons. And he had daughters too. Do you know the names of any of the children? Let’s learn some of them.
Le´ah gave birth to Reu´ben, Sim´e·on, Le´vi and Judah. When Rachel saw that she was not having any children, she was very sad. So she gave her maidservant Bil´hah to Jacob, and Bil´hah had two sons named Dan and Naph´ta·li. Then Le´ah also gave her maidservant Zil´pah to Jacob, and Zil´pah gave birth to Gad and Ash´er. Le´ah finally had two more sons, Is´sa·char and Zeb´u·lun.
At last Rachel was able to have a child. She named him Joseph. Later we will learn a lot more about Joseph, because he became a very important person. These were the 11 sons that were born to Jacob when he lived with Rachel’s father La´ban.
Jacob also had some daughters, but the Bible gives the name of only one of them. Her name was Di´nah.
The time came when Jacob decided to leave La´ban and go back to Ca´naan. So he gathered together his big family and his great flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and began the long trip.
After Jacob and his family had been back in Ca´naan for a while, Rachel gave birth to another son. It happened when they were on a trip. Rachel had a hard time, and she finally died while giving birth. But the little baby boy was all right. Jacob named him Benjamin.
We want to remember the names of the 12 sons of Jacob because the whole nation of Israel came from them. In fact, the 12 tribes of Israel are named after 10 sons of Jacob and two sons of Joseph. Isaac lived for many years after all these boys were born, and it must have made him happy to have so many grandsons. But let’s see what happened to his granddaughter Di´nah.
Genesis 29:32-35; 30:1-26; 35:16-19; 37:35.
Story 20
Dinah Gets into Trouble
DO YOU see who Di´nah is going to visit? She is going to see some of the girls who live in the land of Ca´naan. Would her father Jacob be happy about this? To help answer this question, try to remember what Abraham and Isaac thought about the women in Ca´naan.
Did Abraham want his son Isaac to marry a girl from Ca´naan? No, he did not. Did Isaac and Re·bek´ah want their son Jacob to marry a Ca´naan·ite girl? No, they did not. Do you know why?
It was because these people in Ca´naan worshiped false gods. They were not good people to have as husbands and wives, and they weren’t good people to have as close friends. So we can be sure that Jacob would not be pleased that his daughter was making friends with these Ca´naan·ite girls.
Sure enough, Di´nah got into trouble. Can you see that Ca´naan·ite man in the picture who is looking at Di´nah? His name is She´chem. One day when Di´nah came on a visit, She´chem took Di´nah and forced her to lie down with him. This was wrong, because only married men and women are supposed to lie down together. This bad thing that She´chem did to Di´nah led to a lot more trouble.
When Di´nah’s brothers heard about what had happened, they were very angry. Two of them, Sim´e·on and Le´vi, were so angry that they took swords and went into the city and caught the men by surprise. They and their brothers killed She´chem and all the other men. Jacob was angry because his sons did this bad thing.
How did all this trouble get started? It was because Di´nah made friends with people who did not obey God’s laws. We will not want to make such friends, will we?
Genesis 34:1-31.
Story 21
Joseph’s Brothers Hate Him
SEE how sad and hopeless the boy is. This is Joseph. His brothers have just sold him to these men who are on their way to Egypt. There Joseph will be made a slave. Why have his half brothers done this bad thing? It is because they are jealous of Joseph.
Their father Jacob liked Joseph very, very much. He showed him favor by having a beautiful long coat made for him. When his 10 older brothers saw how much Jacob loved Joseph, they began to be jealous and to hate Joseph. But there was also another reason why they hated him.
Joseph had two dreams. In both of Joseph’s dreams his brothers bowed down to him. When Joseph told his brothers these dreams, their hatred grew even more.
Now one day when Joseph’s older brothers are taking care of their father’s sheep, Jacob asks Joseph to go and see how they are getting along. When Joseph’s brothers see him coming, some of them say: ‘Let’s kill him!’ But Reu´ben, the oldest brother, says: ‘No, don’t you do that!’ Instead they grab Joseph and throw him into a dried-up water hole. Then they sit down to decide what to do with him.
About this time some Ish´ma·el·ite men come along. Judah says to his half brothers: ‘Let’s sell him to the Ish´ma·el·ites.’ And that’s what they do. They sell Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. How mean and unkind that was!
What will the brothers tell their father? They kill a goat and again and again dip Joseph’s beautiful coat into the goat’s blood. Then they take the coat home to their father Jacob and say: ‘We found this. Look at it, and see if it is not Joseph’s coat.’
Jacob sees that it is. ‘A wild animal must have killed Joseph,’ he cries. And that is just what Joseph’s brothers want their father to think. Jacob is very, very sad. He weeps for many days. But Joseph is not dead. Let’s see what happens to him where he is taken.
Genesis 37:1-35.
Story 22
Joseph Is Put into Prison
JOSEPH is only 17 years old when he is taken down to Egypt. There he is sold to a man named Pot´i·phar. Pot´i·phar works for the king of Egypt, who is called Phar´aoh.
Joseph works hard for his master, Pot´i·phar. So when Joseph grows older, Pot´i·phar puts him in charge of his whole house. Why, then, is Joseph here in prison? It is because of Pot´i·phar’s wife.
Joseph grows up to be a very good-looking man, and Pot´i·phar’s wife wants him to lie down with her. But Joseph knows this is wrong, and he won’t do it. Pot´i·phar’s wife is very angry. So when her husband comes home, she lies to him and says: ‘That bad Joseph tried to lie down with me!’ Pot´i·phar believes his wife, and he is very angry with Joseph. So he has him thrown into prison.
The man in charge of the prison soon sees that Joseph is a good man. So he puts him in charge of all the other prisoners. Later Phar´aoh becomes angry with his cupbearer and his baker, and puts them into prison. One night they each have a special dream, but they do not know the meaning of their dreams. The next day Joseph says: ‘Tell me your dreams.’ And when they do, Joseph, with God’s help, explains the meaning of their dreams.
To the cupbearer, Joseph says: ‘In three days you will be let out of prison, and you will become Phar´aoh’s cupbearer again.’ So Joseph adds: ‘When you get out, tell Phar´aoh about me, and help me to get out of this place.’ But to the baker, Joseph says: ‘In just three days Phar´aoh will have your head cut off.’
In three days it happens just as Joseph said. Phar´aoh has the baker’s head cut off. The cupbearer, though, is let out of prison and begins to serve the king again. But the cupbearer forgets all about Joseph! He does not tell Phar´aoh about him, and Joseph has to stay in prison.
Genesis 39:1-23; 40:1-23.
Story 23
Pharaoh’s Dreams
TWO years pass, and Joseph is still in prison. The cupbearer has not remembered him. Then one night Phar´aoh has two very special dreams, and he wonders what they mean. Do you see him sleeping there? The next morning Phar´aoh calls his wise men and tells them the things that he has dreamed. But they are not able to tell him the meaning of his dreams.
Now the cupbearer at last remembers Joseph. He says to Phar´aoh: ‘When I was in prison there was a man there who could tell the meaning of dreams.’ Phar´aoh has Joseph brought out of prison right away.
Phar´aoh tells Joseph his dreams: ‘I saw seven fat, beautiful cows. Then I saw seven very thin and bony cows. And the thin ones ate up the fat cows.
‘In my second dream I saw seven heads of full, ripe grain growing on one stalk. Then I saw seven thin, dried-out heads of grain. And the thin heads of grain began to swallow up the seven good heads of grain.’
Joseph says to Phar´aoh: ‘The two dreams mean the same thing. The seven fat cows and the seven full heads of grain mean seven years, and the seven thin cows and the seven thin heads of grain mean seven more years. There will be seven years when a lot of food will grow in Egypt. Then there will be seven years when very little food will grow.’
So Joseph tells Phar´aoh: ‘Choose a wise man and put him in charge of collecting food during the seven good years. Then the people will not starve during the following seven bad years when very little food will grow.’
Phar´aoh likes the idea. And he chooses Joseph to collect the food, and to store it up. Next to Phar´aoh, Joseph becomes the most important man in Egypt.
Eight years later, during the famine, Joseph sees some men coming. Do you know who they are? Why, they are his 10 older brothers! Their father Jacob has sent them to Egypt because they were running out of food back home in Ca´naan. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him. Do you know why? It is because Joseph has grown older, and he is dressed in a different kind of clothes.
Joseph remembers that when he was a boy he dreamed about his brothers coming to bow down to him. Do you remember reading about that? So Joseph can see that it is God who has sent him down to Egypt, and for a good reason. What do you think Joseph does? Let’s see.
Genesis 41:1-57; 42:1-8; 50:20.
Story 24
Joseph Tests His Brothers
JOSEPH wants to know if his 10 older brothers are still mean and unkind. So he says: ‘You are spies. You have come to find where our country is weak.’
‘No, we are not,’ they say. ‘We are honest men. We are all brothers. We were 12. But one brother is no more, and the youngest is home with our father.’
Joseph pretends not to believe them. He keeps the brother named Sim´e·on in prison, and lets the others take food and go home. But he tells them: ‘When you come back, you must bring your youngest brother with you.’
When they return home to Ca´naan, the brothers tell their father Jacob everything that happened. Jacob is very sad. ‘Joseph is no more,’ he cries, ‘and now Sim´e·on is no more. I will not let you take my youngest son Benjamin.’ But when their food begins to run out, Jacob has to let them take Benjamin to Egypt so they can get more food.
Now Joseph sees his brothers coming. He is very happy to see his younger brother Benjamin. Of course, none of them know that this important man is Joseph. Joseph now does something to test his 10 half brothers.
He has his servants fill up all their bags with food. But without letting them know, he also has his special silver cup put into Benjamin’s bag. After they all leave and have gone a little distance on the road, Joseph sends his servants after them. When they catch up with them, the servants say: ‘Why have you stolen our master’s silver cup?’
‘We have not stolen his cup,’ the brothers all say. ‘If you find the cup with any one of us, let that person be killed.’
So the servants search through all the bags, and they find the cup in Benjamin’s bag, just as you see here. The servants say: ‘The rest of you can go, but Benjamin must come with us.’ What will the 10 half brothers do now?
They all return with Benjamin to Joseph’s house. Joseph tells his brothers: ‘You can all go home, but Benjamin must stay here as my slave.’
Judah now speaks up, and says: ‘If I go back home without the boy, my father will die because he loves him very much. So please, keep me here as your slave, but let the boy go home.’
Joseph can see that his brothers have changed. They are not mean and unkind anymore. Let’s find out what Joseph does now.
Genesis 42:9-38; 43:1-34; 44:1-34.
Story 25
The Family Moves to Egypt
JOSEPH cannot control his feelings any longer. He tells all his servants to leave the room. When he is alone with his brothers, Joseph begins to cry. We can imagine how surprised his brothers are, because they do not know why he is crying. Finally he says: ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’
His brothers are so surprised that they can’t speak. They are afraid. But Joseph says: ‘Please come closer.’ When they do, he says: ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.’
Joseph continues to speak in a kind way: ‘Do not blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me to Egypt to save people’s lives. Phar´aoh has made me the ruler of the whole country. So now hurry back to my father and tell him this. And tell him to come and live here.’
Then Joseph throws his arms around his brothers, and he hugs and kisses them all. When Phar´aoh hears that Joseph’s brothers have come, he tells Joseph: ‘Let them take wagons and go get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best land in all Egypt.’
That is what they did. Here you can see Joseph meeting his father when he came to Egypt with his whole family.
Jacob’s family had become very big. Altogether there were 70 when they moved to Egypt, counting Jacob and his children and grandchildren. But there were also the wives, and probably many servants too. These all settled in Egypt. They were called Israelites, because God had changed the name of Jacob to Israel. The Israelites became a very special people to God, as we will see later.
Genesis 45:1-28; 46:1-27.
Story 26
Job Is Faithful to God
DO YOU feel sorry for this sick man? His name is Job, and the woman is his wife. Do you know what she is saying to Job? ‘Curse God and die.’ Let’s see why she would ever say a thing like that, and why Job suffered so much.
Job was a faithful man who obeyed Jehovah. He lived in the land of Uz, not far from Ca´naan. Jehovah loved Job very much, but there was someone who hated him. Do you know who?
It was Satan the Devil. Remember, Satan is the bad angel who hates Jehovah. He was able to get Adam and Eve to disobey Jehovah, and he thought he could get everybody else to disobey Jehovah too. But was he able to? No. Just think of the many faithful men and women we have learned about. How many can you name?
After Jacob and Joseph died in Egypt, Job was the person most faithful to Jehovah in all the earth. Jehovah wanted to let Satan know that he could not get everyone to be bad, so he said: ‘Look at Job. See how faithful he is to me.’
‘He is faithful,’ Satan argued, ‘because you bless him and he has many good things. But if you take these away, he will curse you.’
So Jehovah said: ‘Go ahead. Take them away. Do all the bad things you want to Job. We will see if he curses me. Only be sure that you do not kill him.’
First, Satan had men steal Job’s cattle and camels, and his sheep were killed. Then he killed his 10 sons and daughters in a storm. Next, Satan struck Job with this terrible sickness. Job suffered very much. That is why Job’s wife told him: ‘Curse God and die.’ But Job would not do it. Also, three false friends came and told him he had lived a bad life. But Job kept faithful.
This made Jehovah very happy, and afterward he blessed Job, as you can see in the picture. He healed him from his sickness. Job had 10 more beautiful children, and twice as many cattle, sheep and camels as he had before.
Will you always be faithful to Jehovah like Job? If you are, God will bless you too. You will be able to live forever when the whole earth will be made just as pretty as the garden of Eden.
Job 1:1-22; 2:1-13; 42:10-17.
Story 27
A Bad King Rules Egypt
THE men here are forcing the people to work. Look at the man who is hitting one of the workers with a whip! The workers are of the family of Jacob, and are called Israelites. And the men forcing them to work are Egyptians. The Israelites have become slaves of the Egyptians. How did this happen?
For many years Jacob’s big family lived at peace in Egypt. Joseph, who was the most important man in Egypt next to Phar´aoh the king, took care of them. But then Joseph died. And a new Phar´aoh, who did not like the Israelites, became king in Egypt.
So this bad Phar´aoh made the Israelites slaves. And he put men in charge of them who were mean and cruel. They forced the Israelites to work very hard building cities for Phar´aoh. But still the Israelites kept growing in numbers. After a while the Egyptians became afraid that the Israelites would become too many and too strong.
Do you know what Phar´aoh did? He spoke to the women who helped the Israelite mothers when they gave birth to their babies, and said: ‘You must kill every baby boy that is born.’ But these were good women, and they would not kill the babies.
So Phar´aoh gave this command to all his people: ‘Take the baby Israelite boys and kill them. Only let the baby girls live.’ Wasn’t that a terrible thing to command? Let’s see how one of the baby boys was saved.
Exodus 1:6-22.
Story 28
How Baby Moses Was Saved
SEE the little baby crying, and holding onto the lady’s finger. This is Moses. Do you know who the pretty lady is? She is an Egyptian princess, Phar´aoh’s own daughter.
Moses’ mother hid her baby until he was three months old, because she didn’t want him to be killed by the Egyptians. But she knew that Moses might be found, so this is what she did to save him.
She took a basket and fixed it so that no water would leak in. Then she put Moses into it, and placed the basket in the tall grass along the Nile River. Moses’ sister, Mir´i·am, was told to stand nearby and see what would happen.
Soon Phar´aoh’s daughter came down to the Nile River to bathe. Suddenly she saw the basket in the tall grass. She called to one of her servant girls: ‘Go get that basket for me.’ When the princess opened the basket, what a beautiful baby she saw! Little Moses was crying, and the princess felt sorry for him. She didn’t want to have him killed.
Then Mir´i·am came up. You can see her in the picture. Mir´i·am asked Phar´aoh’s daughter: ‘Shall I go and call an Israelite woman to nurse the baby for you?’
‘Please do,’ the princess said.
So Mir´i·am ran quickly to tell her mother. When Moses’ mother came to the princess, the princess said: ‘Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’
So Moses’ mother took care of her own child. Later when Moses was old enough, she took him to Phar´aoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. That is how Moses came to grow up in the house of Phar´aoh.
Exodus 2:1-10.
Story 29
Why Moses Ran Away
LOOK at Moses running away from Egypt. Can you see the men chasing him? Do you know why they want to kill Moses? Let’s see if we can find out.
Moses grew up in the house of Phar´aoh, the ruler of Egypt. He became a very wise and great man. Moses knew that he was not an Egyptian, but that his real parents were Israelite slaves.
One day, when he was 40 years old, Moses decided to go to see how his people were getting along. It was terrible how they were being treated. He saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave. Moses looked around, and when he didn’t see anybody watching, he hit the Egyptian, and the Egyptian died. Then Moses hid his body in the sand.
The next day Moses went out to see his people again. He thought he could help them so they wouldn’t have to be slaves anymore. But he saw two Israelite men fighting, so Moses said to the one who was in the wrong: ‘Why are you beating up your brother?’
The man said: ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me just as you killed that Egyptian?’
Moses now became afraid. He knew that people had found out what he had done to the Egyptian. Even Phar´aoh heard about it, and he sent men to kill Moses. That is why Moses had to run away from Egypt.
When Moses left Egypt, he went far away to the land of Mid´i·an. There he met the family of Jeth´ro, and married one of his daughters named Zip·po´rah. Moses became a shepherd and took care of Jeth´ro’s sheep. For 40 years he lived in the land of Mid´i·an. He was now 80 years of age. Then one day, while Moses was taking care of Jethro’s sheep, an amazing thing happened that changed Moses’ whole life. Turn the page, and let’s see what this amazing thing is.
Exodus 2:11-25; Acts 7:22-29.
Story 30
The Burning Bush
MOSES had come all the way to the mountain of Ho´reb to find grass for his sheep. Here he saw a bush on fire, but it wasn’t burning up!
‘This is strange,’ Moses thought. ‘I will go closer and get a better look.’ When he did, a voice came from the bush, saying: ‘Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.’ It was God speaking by means of an angel, so Moses covered his face.
God then said: ‘I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt. So I am going to free them, and you are the one I am sending to lead my people out of Egypt.’ Jehovah was going to bring his people to the beautiful land of Ca´naan.
But Moses said: ‘I am nobody. How can I do this? But suppose I do go. The Israelites will say to me, “Who sent you?” Then what shall I say?’
‘This is what you are to say,’ God answered. ‘“JEHOVAH the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.”’ And Jehovah added: ‘This is my name forever.’
‘But suppose they don’t believe me when I say that you sent me,’ Moses replied.
‘What is in your hand?’ God asked.
Moses answered: ‘A stick.’
‘Throw it on the ground,’ God said. And when Moses did, the stick became a snake. Jehovah then showed Moses another miracle. He said: ‘Put your hand inside your robe.’ Moses did, and when he took his hand out, it was white like snow! The hand looked as if it had the bad sickness called leprosy. Next Jehovah gave Moses power to do a third miracle. Finally he said: ‘When you do these miracles the Israelites will believe that I sent you.’
After that Moses went home and said to Jeth´ro: ‘Please let me go back to my relatives in Egypt to see how they are.’ So Jeth´ro said good-bye to Moses, and Moses began his trip back to Egypt.
Exodus 3:1-22; 4:1-20.
Story 31
Moses and Aaron See Pharaoh
WHEN Moses returned to Egypt, he told his brother Aaron all about the miracles. And when Moses and Aaron showed the Israelites these miracles, the people all believed that Jehovah was with them.
Then Moses and Aaron went to see Phar´aoh. They told him: ‘Jehovah the God of Israel says, “Let my people go for three days, so they can worship me in the wilderness.”’ But Phar´aoh answered: ‘I don’t believe in Jehovah. And I’m not going to let Israel go.’
Phar´aoh was angry, because the people wanted time off from work to worship Jehovah. So he forced them to work even harder. The Israelites blamed Moses for how badly they were treated, and Moses felt sad. But Jehovah told him not to worry. ‘I will make Phar´aoh let my people go,’ Jehovah said.
Moses and Aaron went to see Phar´aoh again. This time they did a miracle. Aaron threw down his stick, and it became a big snake. But Phar´aoh’s wise men also threw down sticks, and snakes appeared. But, look! Aaron’s snake is eating up the snakes of the wise men. Still Phar´aoh would not let the Israelites go.
So the time came for Jehovah to teach Phar´aoh a lesson. Do you know how he did it? It was by bringing 10 plagues, or great troubles, on Egypt.
After many of the plagues, Phar´aoh sent for Moses, and said: ‘Stop the plague, and I will let Israel go.’ But when the plague would stop, Phar´aoh would change his mind. He would not let the people go. But, finally, after the 10th plague, Phar´aoh sent the Israelites away.
Do you know each of the 10 plagues? Turn the page and let’s learn about them.
Exodus 4:27-31; 5:1-23; 6:1-13, 26-30; 7:1-13.
Story 32
The 10 Plagues
LOOK at the pictures. Each one shows a plague that Jehovah brought on Egypt. In the first picture you can see Aaron hitting the Nile River with his stick. When he did, the water in the river turned to blood. The fish died, and the river began to stink.
Next, Jehovah caused frogs to come up out of the Nile River. They were everywhere—in the ovens, the baking pans, in people’s beds—everywhere. When the frogs died the Egyptians piled them up in great heaps, and the land stank with them.
Then Aaron hit the ground with his stick, and the dust turned into gnats. These are small flying bugs that bite. The gnats were the third plague on the land of Egypt.
The rest of the plagues hurt only the Egyptians, not the Israelites. The fourth was a plague of big flies that swarmed into the houses of all the Egyptians. The fifth plague was on the animals. Many of the cattle and sheep and goats of the Egyptians died.
Next, Moses and Aaron took some ashes and threw them into the air. They caused bad sores on the people and the animals. This was the sixth plague.
After that Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and Jehovah sent thunder and hail. It was the worst hailstorm that Egypt ever had.
The eighth plague was a large swarm of locusts. Never before that time or since have there been so many locusts. They ate everything that the hail had not destroyed.
The ninth plague was of darkness. For three days thick darkness covered the land, but the Israelites had light where they were living.
Finally, God told his people to sprinkle the blood of a young goat or a young sheep on their doorposts. Then God’s angel passed over Egypt. When the angel saw the blood, he did not kill anyone in that house. But in all the houses where there was no blood on the doorposts, God’s angel killed the firstborn ones of both man and animals. This was the 10th plague.
After this last plague, Phar´aoh told the Israelites to leave. God’s people were all ready to go, and that very night they started their march out of Egypt.
Exodus chapters 7 to 12.
Story 33
Crossing the Red Sea
LOOK at what is happening! That is Moses with his stick stretched out over the Red Sea. Those with him safely on the other side are the Israelites. But Phar´aoh and all his army are being drowned in the sea. Let’s see how this came about.
As we learned, Phar´aoh told the Israelites to leave Egypt after God brought the 10th plague on the Egyptians. About 600,000 Israelite men left, as well as many women and children. Also, a large number of other people, who had become believers in Jehovah, left with the Israelites. They all took their sheep and goats and cattle with them.
Before they left, the Israelites asked the Egyptians for clothes and for things made of gold and silver. The Egyptians were very much afraid, because of that last plague upon them. So they gave the Israelites everything they asked for.
After a few days the Israelites came to the Red Sea. There they rested. In the meantime, Phar´aoh and his men began to feel sorry that they had sent the Israelites away. ‘We have let our slaves go!’ they said.
So Phar´aoh changed his mind once more. He quickly got his war chariot and his army ready. Then he began to chase after the Israelites with 600 special chariots, as well as all the other chariots of Egypt.
When the Israelites saw Phar´aoh and his army coming after them, they were very much afraid. There was no way to flee. The Red Sea was on one side of them, and here the Egyptians were coming from the other direction. But Jehovah put a cloud between his people and the Egyptians. So the Egyptians were not able to see the Israelites to attack them.
Jehovah then told Moses to stretch his stick out over the Red Sea. When he did, Jehovah caused a strong east wind to blow. The waters of the sea were parted, and the waters were held up on both sides.
Then the Israelites began to march through the sea on dry ground. It took hours for the millions of people with all their animals to get safely through the sea to the other side. Finally the Egyptians were able to see the Israelites again. Their slaves were getting away! So they rushed into the sea after them.
When they did, God caused the wheels of their chariots to fall off. The Egyptians became very much afraid and began to cry out: ‘Jehovah is fighting for the Israelites against us. Let’s get out of here!’ But it was too late.
This is when Jehovah told Moses to stretch his stick out over the Red Sea, as you saw in the picture. And when Moses did, the walls of water began to come back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots. The whole army had followed the Israelites into the sea. And not one of the Egyptians got out alive!
How happy all God’s people were to be saved! The men sang a song of thanks to Jehovah, saying: ‘Jehovah has won a glorious victory. He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.’ Moses’ sister Mir´i·am took her tambourine, and all the women followed her with their tambourines. And as they danced with joy, they sang the same song as the men were singing: ‘Jehovah has won a glorious victory. He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.’
Exodus chapters 12 to 15.
Part 3
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