"The Bible, in Story, from the Beginning"

"The Bible, in Story,

From the Beginning"

Ruth M. Fox

Copyright © 2012 Ruth M. Fox

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-7351-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7352-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012920773

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/26/2012

CONTENTS

Dedication

Old Testament

Creation-God Makes the World

The Garden of Eden

Cain and Abel

Noah and the Ark

The Parting of Abram and Lot

Abram and Isaac [The Sacrifice)

Jacob and Esau (The Twins)

Jacob’s Ladder (A Beautiful Dream)

Joseph the Dreamer, and a Coat of Many Colors

Joseph’s Brothers Travel to Egypt

The Birth of Moses-A Great Leader

God Speaks to Moses (The Plagues)

Free at Last (The Tenth Plague)

The Ten Commandments

Joshua Fights the Battle of Jericho

Samson, A Man of Power

Samson and Delilah

Naomi and Ruth

Eli, Samuel and Saul

Young David and Goliath

David’s Friend

King David and Bathsheba

Solomon, the Wise King

Elijah, the Prophet, and the Consuming Fire

The Prophet Elisha and Captain Naaman

Jonah and the Whale

The Fiery Furnace

Daniel in the Lions’ Den

Re-Building The New Temple

A Brave Queen, Esther

New Testament

God Speaks to the Virgin, Mary

In Search of the New King

Jesus is Baptized and the Temptations of Satan

Jesus Chooses His Disciples

The Prodigal Son, Miracles of Jesus

More About Jesus

The Last Supper

The Crucifixion

Jesus Rises from the Tomb

Peter, John, Stephen and Saul of Tarsus

More on Peter and Saul

Saul is Called Paul

Paul’s Last Trip

Dedication

When time passes slowly we often see our hopes and dreams fall by the wayside. My long wait on the Lord began in 1986 when our God instructed me to write the bible in story form for all His children. It took only three months during the summer of 1986 for The Bible, in Story, From the Beginning to be written. The long wait toward publication was made easier with the encouragement of many dear friends who understood my frustration while waiting and my own failure to realize our accomplishments are always completed within God’s own time line, not before.

I dedicate this book to the Glory of God and thank Him for His patience with me over the years. Many thanks to the Pastors of the Lighthouse Church of God, Sinepuxent Road, Berlin, Maryland for their assistance and cooperation with me during the times I was preparing this manuscript for publication.

All the color illustrations were provided by Chelsey May and Trevor Brooks, art students working under the guidance of Mr. Paul Flexner, Professor of the Art Department at Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland.

Thank you and God bless you all!

Ruth M. Fox

Old Testament

Creation-God Makes the World

Welcome to The Bible, in Story, From The Beginning! I have many interesting things to tell you about how the world began, but before we start, may I ask the young people a couple questions? Have you ever read stories, in comic books, about Superman, Spiderman or the Power Rangers, or watched on television all the powerful, amazing things they do-like pushing down a big high building or stopping an airplane in flight?

Well, we know they can’t do these things, don’t we? This is all make believe and is just for your fun and entertainment, but … there is someone who lived a long, long time ago and still lives today, who could really do all these things and much more if He wants to. His name is God. God travels everywhere, but His home is way up high above the blue skies, in a place He calls Heaven. One day, many, many years ago, in the beginning, when God was in His home, He looked far down below and saw nothing there but emptiness and stillness. It was very, very dark and very, very still. And, it was very scary. There was nothing moving, nothing alive down there. A big fog covered all this darkness and moved back and forth very slowly. When God saw all this He thought, What a waste! What shall I do with all this? After thinking a moment, He snapped His fingers and said, I know what I’ll do-I’ll make a beautiful earth down there for living things to enjoy.

God wanted the earth to be bright, so with just a few spoken words, Let there be light, part of the darkness below suddenly became very bright. He called this light the day, and the remaining darkness He called night. This is all God did the first day.

The second day, God made the beautiful blue skies and fluffy white clouds, and He put all the waters on the face of the earth. He made all these waters gather together into oceans, rivers and streams and He made the land very dry. God called the dry land Earth, and the large bodies of water were called seas.

On the third day, God decided to put all the green grass, trees and flowers on the earth. All the seeds that grow into food or fruit were planted.

Then God looked around and saw there should be something to keep the earth light by day and something to light the earth at night, so He made a sun and put it up in the blue skies to rule the earth by day and He made the moon and stars to rule at night. All these things God did on the fourth day.

On the fifth day God made all the birds that fly and all the fish that swim in the waters. He made beautifully colored fish, even a gold fish. God made tiny little fish and great big fish.

Now on the sixth day, God made all the living creatures and animals on earth. He made little animals and great big animals. When God looked down on His beautiful earth with all the rich green growth and sweet smelling flowers and sparkling waters-and saw all the beautiful animals and birds-He wanted someone to live on the earth to oversee all the things He had created. So-guess what God did-He reached down to the earth from His home in heaven and from the dust of the earth He made a man. When God blew His living breath into the man’s body, he began to breathe, then stood up. God wanted this man to be a good man. He named him Adam. God showed Adam his world and said, Adam, I am giving you all the seeds and trees that grow to bear fruit and food. I am giving you control over all the birds of the air, the animals of the earth and the fish that swim the seas. This was the end of the sixth day.

God may have been very tired from all His work, so He rested on the seventh day. So in just six days, God created this beautiful world and all that’s in it.

If we look around we can see the beautiful heavens above and earth created by Him. This is just the beginning. I have many interesting things to tell you about Adam and what happens to him.

Don’t forget to pray before you go to sleep tonight.

Let’s pray together.

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray Thee Lord, my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray Thee Lord, my soul to take.

God bless all those I love.

Amen

If you don’t know this little prayer from memory, please try to learn it.

CREATION-GOD MAKES THE WORLD

The Garden of Eden

Yesterday I told you about God and how He had created the world and put all the living creatures and plants on the earth and that God wanted someone to take care of the earth, so He made a man and called him, Adam.

After God had created Adam, He put him in a lovely garden, called the Garden of Eden, where he could live forever and ever. Everything was beautiful here-the flowers smelled so sweet and were of such bright colors, there were many trees, and carpets of soft green grass, plenty food to eat and water to drink. Even the birds were happy! All the animals were tame and under the control of Adam.

Adam had nothing to do but enjoy God’s creation. God didn’t want Adam to be a robot or not be able to think. He wanted him to be smart and able to make decisions for himself, so He gave him a free will to live as he wanted to live. In the middle of this beautiful garden, God placed a large tree with delicious fruit growing on it. He called this very special tree, a Tree of Knowledge, for from this very special tree, everything Adam would want to learn about God could be found. Because of this, God did not want Adam to eat the fruit of this tree. My child, I have given you everything you need to live, food to eat and plenty water. All the animals are under your control, but you are not to eat the fruit growing on the Tree of Knowledge. If you disobey me and eat of this fruit, you will surely die. Adam was satisfied with this arrangement and stayed away from this special tree.

One day, God brought all the different birds of the air, animals of the earth and fish of the seas before Adam to see what he would call them. He called a dog, dog-a robin, robin, a lion, lion, a whale, whale, and on and on until all the birds of the air, animals of the earth, and fish of the seas were named.

For several days, God watched Adam and then decided it was not good for him to be alone. He wanted him to have a wife. So guess what happened! God caused Adam to become very sleepy and while he was sleeping, God removed a bone from the rib of Adam and made a woman called Eve. When Adam awoke and saw his beautiful wife, he was very happy and praised God for His gift to him.

One warm sunny day Eve was walking through the Garden of Eden, and as she passed by the special Tree of Knowledge someone spoke to her. It was a serpent sitting up in a nearby tree. Eve, Eve. Tell me why you cannot eat of the delicious fruit growing on the Tree of Knowledge? God told us we could eat anything else, but if we eat the fruit of this tree, we will surely die. No, no, you will not die. God doesn’t want you to eat this fruit, for if you do, you will know as much as He does. You would know good from evil … Aw! Come on Eve, take a bite and see how good it is. Eve didn’t want to make the serpent angry, so she reached up and took a piece of fruit from this special tree. After biting into it, Eve found that it

was indeed delicious, sweet fruit. She ran back to Adam, Adam, Adam, Look! Taste this delicious fruit I’ve found.

Adam took a bite of the fruit, and he, too, tasted the sweetness. But then-something very strange happened. Adam and Eve suddenly realized they stood there naked, with no clothes. They quickly ran into the thick bushes to hide and covered their bodies with fig leaves, but they couldn’t hide from God. God called to them, Adam! Eve! You have disobeyed me by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. This is a sin. (To disobey God is a sin). God covered the bodies of Adam and Eve with skins taken from animals and told them that from that moment on, they would always have to work hard. They would find rocks and weeds in their gardens and because they had disobeyed Him, all people forever more would live and die like all other creatures. They would never see and know the beautiful Garden of Eden again.

The tame animals became wild and Adam had to hunt and kill for food. God told Eve she would always have uncomfortable days when she was having a baby. The old serpent, who tempted Eve and caused the downfall of Adam, was severely punished. God made him crawl on his stomach and eat dust for the rest of his life. From this moment on, the serpent was called Satan. So my friends, it is because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God that we don’t live in a Garden of Eden today.

Let’s talk some more tomorrow. Remember to thank God for all the good things He has given you and continues to give you. God loves you, you know!

THE GARDEN OF EDEN

Cain and Abel

Yesterday, we learned that God punished Adam and Eve by taking them out of the beautiful Garden of Eden. That was too bad, wasn’t it? But that was their punishment for not obeying their God who had given them so much.

Adam and Eve had a son called Cain. Soon another son was born, they called Abel. When Cain grew up, he became a farmer. He grew fruit and grain. Abel was a shepherd and tended large flocks of sheep. Abel loved God and wanted to give Him a gift, so he chose the healthiest and fattest sheep from his flock and offered it up to God as a burnt sacrifice (offering).

Cain, not to be outdone by Abel, brought fruit for his offering. Of course, God who knows and sees everything, knew that Abel was a good person and he appreciated his offering; but God also knows Cain is very jealous of Abel and that his heart is full of hatred for his brother. God accepted Abel’s offering, but He did not like Cain’s. God spoke to him, Why are you so angry, Cain? Why are you not happy as your brother Abel? If you do well by me and love me, you, too, will be blessed and accepted by me. If you do not, you sin.

Cain became even more angry with Abel and was so jealous that one day when they were in the fields together, he killed Abel with a big rock. God called out Cain, where is your brother, Abel? I don’t know where he is. Am I my brother’s keeper? Of course, God knew what had happened, but He wanted to see how Cain would answer Him. Cain, your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. You are cursed from the earth. When you plant your fields they will not grow. You will be a wanderer, constantly running all your remaining days. Cain was frightened and sure he would be killed, but God put a mark on his forehead so that no matter how far he would run or where he might go, the mark would be seen and Cain would not be killed.

Cain traveled a long, long way to a place called Nod. Sometimes this land is called the Land of the Wandering. Many years have passed since God made the earth, since Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden because they had not obeyed God, but just as God had told them to do, they had multiplied. Adam and Eve had children, and their children’s children had children and on and on-until there were thousands of people and animals on earth, but these people constantly sinned against God. They worshipped and prayed to make-believe gods and to statues made with their own hands.

However, there was one man and his family, who remained true to God and loved Him. His name was Noah. Noah was a good man and prayed to God every day. When God looked down on His beautiful earth now filled with such sinning, evil people, He became very, very