

The Story of God

James McCreary

Copyright © 2012 by James McCreary

Smashwords Edition

All scripture quotations are taken from

the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission.

You are free to print as many hard copies of

this book as you wish provided that you make no changes to the book.

Footnotes are in brackets [ ] at the bottom of each lesson. It is not necessary to read any of these footnotes to understand the lesson. They just provide you with extra information.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OLD TESTAMENT (old contract)

[series1] THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING

1)Introduction to the Bible

2)The Creation

3)The Rebellion

4)The Flood

5)The Tower

6)Abram / Abraham

7)Human Sacrifice

8)Jacob Sees a Stairway to Heaven

REVIEW LESSON Series1

[series2] GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO ISRAEL

9)The Slave

10) Joseph in Egypt

11) The Pharaoh's Dream

12) Joseph's Evil Brothers

13) The Baby in the River

14) What Moses Saw in the Fire

15) The Three New Miracles

16) Death of the First Born Son

17) The Destruction of Pharaoh's Army

18) Moses meets God

19) God's Curse

REVIEW LESSON Series2

[series3] GREAT ISRAEL COLLAPSES

20) Forty years later

21) The Prostitute

22) The Last Great Judge

23) The First King

24) Fighting with a Giant

25) Saul's Death

26) God's Everlasting Promise

27) The Wisest Fool

28) The Divided Kingdom

REVIEW LESSON Series3

[series4] EXILE AND THE 4+1 KINGDOMS

29) The Coming Messiah

30) The Remnant

31) The Everlasting Kingdom

32) After the Seventy Years

33) Greece - The Third Kingdom

34) Rome - The Fourth Kingdom

Maps - The Four Kingdoms

REVIEW LESSON Series4

NEW TESTAMENT (new contract)

[series5] MIRACLES

35) The Messiah Comes Down

36) The Kingdom of God - The Rock From Heaven

37) Jesus Has the Power of God

38) The Roman Soldier

39) The Sinful Woman

40) Food that Appears from Nowhere

41) Jesus Walks Across the Lake

REVIEW LESSON Series5

[series6] PARABLES

42) The Lost

43) A Treasure and a Pearl

44) The Separation

45) All Things New!

46) How to be Saved and Join God's Kingdom

47) The Sinner that was Forgiven

REVIEW LESSON Series6

[series7] THE MURDER OF KING JESUS

48) God's Son will be Killed

49) Thirty Pieces of Silver

50) Jesus' Last Meal

51) The King is Betrayed

52) King Jesus Dies

53) The Third Day

REVIEW LESSON Series7

[series8] JESUS RETURNS TO HEAVEN

54) Three Meetings

55) Jesus Ascends Into Heaven

56) The Invitation

REVIEW LESSON Series8

THE STORY OF GOD

**Lesson #1**

INTRO TO THE BIBLE

The Bible is the Word of God to man. God used approximately 40 people over a period of about 1,600 years to write his story. **Most of God's story happened in the country of Israel which is located in Asia.**

Many of the people who wrote God's story didn't know each other, spoke different languages, lived at different times, and some of them lived in different lands. Each of them wrote different parts of God's story in books such as Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, Mark, etc. All of these books were collected and translated into our language so that we can understand who God is, where people came from, why we speak different languages, why there is evil in the world, and how we can know God. If you open your Bible, in the front you will see the Table of Contents. It shows you a list of all of the different books in God's story. There are 66 books in his story **. The first book is named, "Genesis"**. Open your Bible to the first page in the book of Genesis. **On this page you will see a BIG number. The big number is the number of the chapter. Next to some of the sentences you will see a very small number. The small number is the number of the verse.** On the first page of Genesis you will see something similar to this...

1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (NIV)

Or maybe your Bible says...

1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (NKJV)

If the words in your Bible are not exactly the same, remember that someone has translated the Bible from the original languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic into our language. What's important is that the translator has translated the meaning correctly. Let's practice finding another passage in the Bible. Go back to the Table of Contents and find the book of Romans. It's towards the end of the list. Now go to that page number. Look for the BIG number, chapter 3, and then find the little number verse 23. It should look something similar to this...

23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, 24 and are...

Did you find it? Let's try another. Go back to the beginning of the Bible and find the Table of Contents again. Look for (Romans 6:23) which means the book of Romans, chapter 6 (BIG number) and verse 23 (small number). It should say...

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Look for the book of John and read (John 3:16) which means chapter 3 verse 16. You should see something similar to this...

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not...

Review:

Where does most of God's story take place?

What is the BIG number?

What is the small number?

What does this mean? (Romans 3:23)

What is the name of the first book of the Bible?

Now you know how to find a passage in the Bible. The next lesson will teach us about the beginning of the universe.

**Lesson #2**

THE CREATION

The very first book in the Bible is named, "Genesis". **Genesis means, "The beginning"**. It was written by a man named Moses about 3,500 years ago. One day God explained to Moses how the universe began. Open your Bible to the very first book, Genesis chapter one and verse one (Genesis 1:1). Read (Genesis 1:1-26) chapter one, verses 1 through 26.

Day 1 – God created light.

Day 2 – God created the sky.

Day 3 – God created the dry ground and vegetation.

Day 4 – God created the sun, moon, and the stars.

Day 5 – God created the animals in the sea and the birds.

Day 6 – God created the land animals and man.

God is so powerful that he created the entire universe in six days just by speaking! He also created everything good. Everything was perfect **. God's most important creation was people.** He created the man like God and gave him authority over all of the things that God had created during those six days.

Read (Genesis 2:1-3) chapter two, verses one through three. On the seventh day God stopped working.

Day 7 – God stopped working

Read (Genesis 2:7-9) chapter two, verses seven through nine. God created the man from the dust of the ground and God gave him life. **He put the man in a garden to live.** The name of the garden was, "Eden". Inside this garden were beautiful fruit trees. There were two special trees in the middle of the garden. **One was called the, "tree of life" and the other was called the, "tree of the knowledge of good and evil".**

Read (Genesis 2:15-17) chapter two, verses fifteen through seventeen. God gave the garden to the man to live in and take care of. The man was allowed to eat from all of the trees in the garden including the tree of life. However, **God warned the man that if he ever ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die.**

Read (Gen. 2:18-25) the book of Genesis, chapter two, verse twenty-one through twenty-five. God created the first woman out of the body of Adam. God gave the woman to Adam as his wife. Both the man and the woman were naked **and they never had any feelings of guilt or shame because their hearts were pure.** All of God's creation was perfect and beautiful.

Review:

What does the name, "Genesis", mean?

How many days did God work to create the universe?

What was God's most important creation?

What did God do on the seventh day?

Where did the man live?

What were the names of the two special trees in the garden?

What would happen if the man rebelled against God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

Why were the man and his wife not ashamed of being naked?

In our next lesson we will learn what caused the world to become evil and why people wear clothes.

**Lesson #3**

THE REBELLION

**There is only one God.** He is all powerful, all knowing, and he is everywhere. No one is as powerful as God. He created the universe in six days and he also created very powerful holy messengers whom we call, "angels", to serve him in heaven. God's most powerful angel rebelled against him and became evil. Some of the other angels also joined him and became evil. Because they are evil we no longer call them angels, but demons. The most powerful angel who rebelled against God was named, **"Satan" or "Lucifer".** Satan hates God and wants to destroy everything that God loves. One day Satan entered into the garden of Eden where the man and woman lived. Satan used a snake to try to tempt them to eat from the forbidden tree and join him in rebellion against God.

Read (Genesis 3:1-10). Satan used the snake to tempt the woman into eating from the forbidden tree. Then the woman tempted her husband to rebel against God as well. After they had both eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they understood evil. Now they were evil too because they had rebelled against God like Satan. For the first time **they** **had feelings of guilt and shame and tried to make clothes** out of leaves to hide their naked bodies. So this is what God meant when he had warned them, "...for when you eat of it you will surely die". [1]

Read (Gen. 3:11-19). God punished Adam and his wife as well as the snake for their evil sins. This is the reason why women have painful childbirths, men rule over women, men must work very hard to find food for their families, and people die.

Read (Gen. 3:20-24). **Adam named his wife, "Eve".** Even though God punished Adam and Eve for their sin God still cared for them. He made clothes for them to wear. God would not allow Adam and Eve to live in the garden anymore. **If they ate from the special tree of life too, they would live forever in rebellion against God.** God sent one of his angels to guard the garden so that Adam and Eve could not return.

Review:

How many Gods are there?

What is the name of the powerful angel who rebelled against God and became evil?

What did Adam and Eve do to become evil?

Why did people start wearing clothes?

What was the name of Adam's wife?

Why did God expel Adam and Eve from the garden?

In our next lesson we will learn about a great flood that destroyed the world.

This is the first footnote below in brackets [1]. It is referring to the [1] note in the above lesson. It is not necessary to read any of these footnotes to understand the lesson. They just provide you with extra information.

[1] When you eat it you will die (Gen. 2:17).

**Lesson #4**

THE FLOOD

Adam and Eve lived a long time and had many children. Their children married each other and had many more children. Many people lived on the earth, but all of them had been affected by Adam and Eve's sin in the garden of Eden. **None of them were pure.**

Read (Genesis 6:5-8). God was sad that he had created people. He wanted to destroy everything that he had created **because sin had ruined it all.** But there was **one man, named, Noah** , who loved God.

Read (Gen. 6:9-22) God told Noah that he was going to destroy the earth with a **flood. He told Noah to build a very large boat** so that Noah and his family could survive the flood. God brought animals to Noah so that all of the animals would not die.

Read (Gen. 7:1) God said that Noah was righteous. **Noah was righteous because he believed God and trusted God to save him.** Noah understood that no one can save themselves. **Everyone must trust God to save them or they will die in their sins.**

Read (Gen. 7:2-24) Everything on the earth was destroyed. All of the people and animals also died. Only those in the boat with Noah survived the flood.

Read (Gen. 8:13-22) After the water receded and the ground was dry, God told Noah to come out of the boat with all of his family and the animals. Noah thanked God by sacrificing some of the animals on an altar that he had built. Sacrificing an animal was how people showed God that they were thankful to him or sorry for the sins that they had done.

Read (Gen. 9:8-17) God made a promise to Noah and his sons. God promised that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. **God created a sign in the sky, a rainbow,** to be a reminder that God will never again destroy the entire world with a flood.

Review:

How many of Adam and Eve's descendants had pure hearts?

Why was God sad?

What was the name of the righteous man?

How did God destroy the earth?

How did Noah, his family, and all of the animals survive the flood?

Why was Noah righteous?

What must everyone do for God to save them?

What if you don't trust God to save you?

What sign did God put in the sky to promise he'll never flood the world again?

In our next lesson we will learn why people speak different languages.

**Lesson #5**

THE TOWER

Read (Gen. 11:1-4). At this time **there was only one language in the world** so it was easy for everyone to understand each other and accomplish great tasks. Most of the people lived in a place called, Shinar. [2]

**God previously told the descendants of Noah to spread out over the whole earth,** [3] but the people did not want to obey God. They wanted to live in only one place together. They decided to build a very high tower that would reach into the **heavens to show how powerful they were.**

Read (Gen. 11:5-7). God did not want the people to unite their power in rebellion against him. **He decided to give them many different languages.** This caused the people to become confused. They were no longer able to talk to each other because they couldn't understand each other's new languages.

Notice that in (verse 7) God says, "Come, let US go down...". Who is God talking to? In lesson #3, "The Rebellion" we learned that **there is only one God.** However, within the one God there are **three members. (1)The Father, (2)Jesus, and the (3)Holy Spirit**. You can think of it like one family with three members inside the one family. [4]

Read (Gen. 11:8-9). **By confusing their languages, God forced the rebellious people to spread out over the earth and form different nations and races.**

Review:

Before people started building the tower, how many languages were there?

What had God told the descendants of Noah to do?

Why did the people decide to build a tower?

What did God do to cause the people to become confused?

How many Gods are there?

How many members are there in the one God?

What are the names of each of the members in the one God?

By confusing the people's languages what did God force them to do?

In our next lesson we will learn about a man named Abram and an amazing promise that God made to him.

[2] Later, this area became the city of Babylon and today is located inside the country of Iraq.

[3] Spread out over the earth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1).

[4] This is known as the Trinity

**Lesson #6**

ABRAM / ABRAHAM

There was a man named Abram who loved the Lord very much. One day, God made Abram a promise. Read (Genesis 12:1-7). God told Abram to leave his country, his relatives, and his homeland. Abram didn't know where to go but he trusted God and left along with his wife and nephew. God **promised** that he would bless Abram and, through him, bless the entire world! When he reached the land of Canaan the Lord appeared to him and **promised** to give Abram's descendants that land. But how could God give the land to Abram's descendants if Abram and his wife Sarai were already old and didn't have any children? Abram was already seventy-five years old! Abram believed God and made an offering of thanks to him.

Read (Genesis 15:1-6). The Lord told Abram again that he would have a child and that the Lord would give him so many descendants that no one would be able to count them. The Bible says that Abram believed the Lord and, **because he believed the Lord, God declared him righteous.** This is the same thing that God said about Noah in "The Flood" lesson #4. [5] Because Noah and Abram believed God and trusted him, God declared them to be righteous.

Read (Gen. 15:12-16). God caused Abram to have a dream, and in that dream the Lord told him that **his descendants would become slaves for four hundred years** but God would punish their slave owners and bring Abram's descendants back to this land.

Read (Gen. 17:1-5). The Lord reminded Abram of his promise to give him many descendants and be the father of many nations. God also changed Abram's name to, "Abraham", which means "father of many".

Read (Gen. 17:6-16). Although God told Abraham that he would make him the father of many nations and give his descendants this land, **Abraham and his descendants were required to circumcise every male.** [6] God also changed Abraham's wife's name from Sarai to "Sarah".

Read (Gen. 21:1-7). The Lord kept his promise and gave Abraham and Sarah a son. They named him, " **Isaac** ". Abraham did what God had commanded him and circumcised his son Isaac.

Review:

What two promises did God make to Abram?

Why did God say that Abram was righteous?

What did God say would happen to Abram's descendants for four hundred years?

What were Abraham and his descendants required to do to receive God's everlasting promise?

What was the name of Abraham and Sarah's son?

In our next lesson Abraham prepares to kill his son Isaac.

[5] Noah was righteous (Genesis 7:1).

[6] "Circumcise" means to cut off the extra skin from the penis.

**Lesson #7**

HUMAN SACRIFICE

In our last lesson we learned about Abraham who loved God. God told him to leave his country. God made a promise to Abraham that he would bless him and, through him, bless the entire world. God also promised to give Abraham's descendants the land of Canaan. Even though Abraham and his wife had no children and were already old, God performed a miracle and gave them a son whom they named Isaac.

Read (Genesis 22:1-3). God wanted to see how much Abraham trusted him. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mt. Moriah. [7]

Read (Gen. 22:3-5). Abraham didn't wait to obey God. He got up early the next morning to sacrifice his one and only son whom he loved. Notice in verse five that Abraham told his servants that both he and his son Isaac would return! How can Isaac return if he is to be killed? **Abraham had faith that God loved him and would provide for him.**

Read (Gen. 22:6-8). Isaac was not a little child. He had grown up and was strong enough to carry a lot of wood up a mountain with his father. Isaac wondered how his father was going to make a sacrifice **if there wasn't a lamb**. He didn't understand that he was going to die. Notice that his father, Abraham, told him, " **God will provide the lamb."**

Read (Gen. 22:9-12). Just before Abraham stabbed his son, **the angel of the Lord stopped him** and said, "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me [8] your son, your only son."

Read (Gen. 22:13-14). **God provided a ram** for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac. In (Gen 22:8) Abraham told Isaac that God would provide a lamb, not a ram. Was Abraham wrong? In a future lesson we will see that God does provide a special lamb.

Read (Gen. 22:15-18). Because Abraham loved God and had faith in him, God reminded Abraham that he would bless him and that all of the nations of the world would be blessed through one of Abraham's offspring. What descendant of Abraham will be so special that they will be a blessing to the entire world? We will learn about this in a future lesson too.

Read (Gen. 22:19). Abraham, Isaac, and all of their servants went to the city of Beersheba to live.

Review:

Why did Abraham tell his servants that both he and his son Isaac would return?

What kind of animal did people usually sacrifice to God?

What did Abraham tell his son that God would provide?

Who stopped Abraham from killing Isaac?

What kind of animal did God provide Abraham to perform the sacrifice?

In our next lesson we will learn about a stairway to heaven.

[7] Mount Moriah is located in Israel in the city of Jerusalem. It is the same mountain that King Solomon later built his temple on. (2 Chron. 3:1)

[8] Some people believe that "the angel of the Lord" is actually God because he said, "you have not withheld from ME your son..." also see (verses 15-16).

**Lesson #8**

JACOB SEES A STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

When **Abraham's son, Isaac, grew up he married a woman named Rebekah. He and his wife Rebekah had two sons. One of them was named Jacob.**

Read (Gen. 28:10-15). Jacob left the land of Beersheba where his grandfather, Abraham, had traveled to.[9] When Jacob slept, he had a dream that he saw angels ascending and descending on a stairway that led to heaven. In this dream the Lord promised him the same thing that he had promised his grandfather, Abraham. **God promised him that he would give Jacob and his descendants that land. All people on earth would be blessed through him and through one of his descendants. Lastly, God told him that he would bring him back to this land.** Why did God say in verse fifteen that he would bring Jacob back to this land when he was already in the land? Remember in lesson #6 [10] that while Abraham was sleeping God told him that before his descendants inherited this land that **they would be slaves in a different land for four hundred years.**

Read (Gen. 28:16-22). After hearing the promise of God, Jacob also believed the Lord and put his trust in him just like **his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac** , had done.

Although Jacob followed the Lord, he did not follow God's pattern for marriage. We already read that in (Gen. 2:20-25) **God gave the first man, Adam, one wife** , Eve. Together, Adam and Eve had many children. However, Jacob did not marry only one wife, **instead he married four.**

Read (Gen. **29** :16-25). Jacob loved Rachael and worked for her father seven years to be able to marry her. When the wedding came, Rachael's father tricked Jacob and gave him Leah instead! [11] Jacob was very angry that he had been tricked.

Read (Gen. 29:26-30). The girls' father, Laban, told Jacob that he would have to work another seven years to be able to marry Rachael too! Jacob loved her so much that he agreed to continue working if he could marry her. So Jacob had two wives. Leah, and her sister, Rachel. **This caused much jealousy** between Leah and Rachel. They were always trying to compete with each other to have more children.[12] Each of them gave their servant girl to Jacob to marry and have more children, too. They and their two servants bore Jacob **12 sons** and several daughters.[13]

Review:

Who was Jacob's father?

Who was Jacob's grandfather?

What did God promise Jacob?

What did God say would happen to Jacob's descendants before they inherited the land?

How many wives does God want us to have?

How many wives did Jacob have?

What caused Leah and Rachel to be jealous of each other?

How many sons did Jacob have?

[9] Abram lived in Beersheba (Genesis 22:19)

[10] Slaves for four hundred years (Genesis 15:12-14) – lesson #6 Abram / Abraham

[11] It was common for women to wear veils over their faces (Genesis 24:65).

[12] Jealousy between Jacob's wives (Genesis 30:1-13)

[13] Jacob's twelve sons and a daughter (Genesis 30:21 and 35:22 and 37:35)

**Review Series #1**

(Lessons 1-8)

So far we've learned that there is only one God and that he created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh. His most important creation was people. He created a man named Adam and a woman named Eve. He put them in a garden to live and take care of it. In the center of the garden were two trees. One was the tree of life and the other was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God allowed them to eat from any tree in the garden except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God said that if they ate from that tree they would die. A fallen angel named Satan tempted the woman to eat from the tree that God had forbidden. She ate from it and gave some of the fruit to her husband also. After they ate from the tree they realized that they were naked. For the first time they had feelings of guilt and shame. They tried to hide from God, but God judged them for rebelling against him and expelled them from the garden. Adam and Eve lived for a long time and had many children. Their children married each other and had even more children. All of the people on the earth had been affected by Adam and Eve's sin. The earth became full of evil people.

God decided to destroy everything that he had created because sin had ruined it all. There was one man named Noah who loved God. God saved Noah and his family from the flood by telling him to build a large boat. Noah was righteous because he believed God and trusted God to save him. Noah understood that no one can save themselves. Everyone must trust God to save them or they will die in their sins.

Many years after Noah and his family, the earth had been repopulated again. In the beginning people only spoke one language. The people decided to build a very high tower and did not want to spread out over the earth like God had commanded. God confused their languages so that they could not understand each other. They stopped building the tower and spread out over the earth.

There was a man named Abram who loved the Lord very much. One day, God made Abraham a promise. God promised him that he would bless him and through him, bless the entire world! When Abraham went to the land of Canaan the Lord appeared to him and promised to give Abraham's descendants that land. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were already very old and didn't have any children. The Bible says that Abraham believed the Lord and because he believed the Lord, God declared him righteous. The Lord told him that his descendants would become slaves for four hundred years but God would punish their slave owners and bring Abraham's descendants back to this land. The Lord kept his promise and gave Abraham and Sarah a son. They named him, "Isaac".

God wanted to see how much Abraham trusted him. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on a mountain. Abraham had faith that God loved him and would provide for him. Isaac had grown up by now and wondered how his father was going to make a sacrifice if there wasn't a lamb. He didn't understand that he was going to be the sacrifice. Notice that his father, Abraham, told him, "God will provide the lamb." Just before Abraham stabbed his son, the angel of the Lord stopped him and provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac. Because Abraham loved God and had faith in him, God reminded Abraham that he would bless him and that all of nations of the world would be blessed through one of Abraham's offspring. What descendant of Abraham will be so special that they are a blessing to the entire world?

When Abraham's son, Isaac, grew up he married a woman named Rebekah. He and his wife Rebekah had two sons. One of them was named Jacob. When Jacob slept, he had a dream and in this dream the Lord promised him the same thing that he had promised his grandfather, Abraham. God promised him that he would give Jacob and his descendants that land. All people on earth would be blessed through him and through one of his special descendants. After hearing the promise of God Jacob also believed the Lord and put his trust in him just like his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, had done. God changed Jacob's name to "Israel" and blessed him with 12 sons.

**Lesson #9**

THE SLAVE

We learned in lesson #8 that Jacob had four wives named Rachel, Leah, and their two servant girls. Jacob loved Rachael more than Leah and this caused them to become jealous towards each other. We also learned that Jacob had twelve sons. One day God gave Jacob a new name just like he had Abram and Sarai. [14] **Jacob's new name was, "Israel".** [15] Israel's favorite son was from his wife Rachael. This son's name was **Joseph**. This caused Joseph's brothers to be jealous towards him too.

Read (Genesis 37:1-4). Israel lived in **the land of Canaan which today is called the state of Israel.** [16] Israel gave his favorite son Joseph a beautiful robe to wear. This caused his brothers to become more jealous when they saw that their father gave Joseph special gifts.

Read (Gen. 37:5-11). Joseph had a dream. **In this dream his family bowed down to him because he was their ruler.** This dream caused his brothers to hate him even more.

Read (Gen. 37:12-22). Joseph's father Israel sent him on a journey to find out where his older brothers were grazing the sheep. When they saw him coming they decided to kill him! The oldest brother, Reuben, was responsible for all of his younger brothers' safety so he tried to stop them from killing him.

Read (Gen. 37:23-28). After abusing their younger brother Joseph **, they threw him in an empty well. They decided not to kill him but to sell him** to the Ishmaelite[17] slave traders instead.

Read (Gen. 37:29-36). Joseph's brothers tricked their father into believing that Joseph had been killed by a wild beast. Meanwhile, **the Ishmaelites sold Joseph to someone in Egypt.**

Review:

What was Jacob's new name?

What was the name of Israel's favorite son?

What do we call the land of Canaan today?

What was Joseph's dream about?

What did Joseph's older brothers do to him when he came to visit them?

Where did the Ishmaelites sell Joseph?

In our next lesson we will learn about Joseph's life in Egypt as a slave.

[14] Abram and Sarai's new names - See lesson #6

[15] Jacob's new name (Genesis 32:28)

[16] See the map on lesson #1 to find the location of Israel.

[17] The Ishmaelites were descendants of Abraham too (Genesis 16:1-6,15) (Genesis 17:20-21)

**Lesson #10**

JOSEPH IN EGYPT

In our last lesson we learned that Jacob's name was changed to Israel. We also learned that his favorite son, Joseph, was sold as a slave by his jealous brothers. The slave traders took Joseph to Egypt and sold him again.

Read (Genesis 39:1-5). **Joseph was purchased by a man named Potiphar. Joseph served Potiphar** so well that Potiphar put Joseph in charge of all of his property.

Read (Gen. 39:6-18). Potiphar's wife continually tried to seduce Joseph but he always refused because he respected his master, Potiphar, and also because he loved God. Finally Potiphar's wife became angry with Joseph for rejecting her so **she lied to her husband and told him that Joseph actually tried to rape her!**

Read (Gen. 39:19-23). When her husband returned home and listened to his wife's story he was so angry at Joseph for betraying him that **he had Joseph put in prison**. However, while he was in prison the Lord took care of Joseph and caused the prison warden to pity him. The warden put Joseph in charge of the entire prison.

Read (Gen. 40:1-5). Two men where later thrown into prison with Joseph. They were the **king's cup bearer [18] and the king's cook**. One night each of these men had a dream.

Read (Gen. 40:6-19). The cup bearer was very happy when Joseph interpreted his dream. Joseph told him that the king, Pharaoh,[19] would give him his job back in three days. Joseph told the cup bearer. "When you return to the king remember me and ask the king to set me free because I didn't do anything wrong." When the cook heard Joseph's interpretation he was excited to hear what Joseph would tell him about his own dream. Joseph told the cook that he would be killed in three days.

Read (Gen. 40:20-23). Three days later the king, Pharaoh, had his **birthday. Pharaoh decided to have mercy on his cup bearer but execute his cook, just as Joseph told them would happen.**

Review:

When Joseph was brought to Egypt to be sold as a slave, who purchased him?

What did Potiphar's wife want Joseph to do?

When Joseph refused to listen to Potiphar's wife, what did she tell her husband?

Where did Potiphar put Joseph?

Who did the king put into prison?

Did Joseph interpret their dreams correctly?

What did the king do on his birthday?

In our next lesson we will learn about the Pharaoh's dream.

[18] The cup bearer's job was to serve the king drinks and make sure they were not poisoned.

[19] The Egyptians called their kings, "Pharaohs".

Lesson #11

THE PHARAOH'S DREAM

In our last lesson we learned that Israel's favorite son, Joseph, was sold as a slave in Egypt and then wrongfully thrown into prison by his master. While in prison he met two men, the king's cup bearer and the king's cook. They each had a dream and Joseph interpreted their dreams correctly. When the king released the cup bearer from prison and gave him his job back, the cup bearer forgot to tell the king about Joseph.

Read (Genesis 41:1-8). Pharaoh had two dreams. In his first dream were seven fat cows that were eaten by seven skinny cows. However, the skinny cows remained skinny. Then he dreamed that he saw seven heads of healthy grain that were eaten up by seven unhealthy heads of grain. When Pharaoh woke up, he knew that there must be a special meaning to the dreams but no one could interpret his dreams.

Read (Gen. 41:9-14). The chief cup bearer remembered that Joseph had asked him to talk to the king for him. However, the cup bearer had forgotten for two years! When the cup bearer told the king about **Joseph who could interpret dreams and was still in prison, the Pharaoh sent for him.**

Read (Gen. 41:15-27). When Pharaoh explained his dream to Joseph it was easy for Joseph to explain its meaning. God had given Joseph wisdom to interpret the dream. **Both dreams had the same meaning. There will be seven years of abundant food. Then there will be seven years of terrible famine.**

Read (Gen. 41:28-36). Joseph advised the Pharaoh to prepare for the coming famine by placing a wise man in charge of Egypt's food. This wise man should start storing up food now.

Read (Gen. 41:37-44). **The Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph's wisdom that he made Joseph second in command of Egypt.** No one had more authority or power in Egypt except the Pharaoh himself. In one day Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery. In one day Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison by his master and in one day Joseph was taken from the prison and made a leader of Egypt!

Read (Gen. 41:45-52). Joseph began storing up so much grain that it couldn't even be counted anymore. **He stored grain from all of the cities of Egypt for the seven years** of abundance. He and his new wife also had two sons.

Read (Gen. 41:53-57). **When the seven years of abundance were over, the seven years of famine began.** The whole world lacked food. **People came to Egypt from many countries because they heard about all of the grain that Joseph had stored up.** Joseph began selling them all of the food that he had collected for the past seven years.

Review:

Why did Pharaoh send for Joseph to be brought to him from prison?

What did Joseph tell the king that his dreams meant?

Who did Pharaoh put in charge of Egypt's food supply?

How many years did Joseph store up grain?

When the seven years of abundant food were over, what happened?

Why did people from other countries begin traveling to Egypt?

In our next lesson we will learn about Joseph's evil brothers.

**Lesson #12**

JOSEPH'S EVIL BROTHERS

In our last lesson we learned that Joseph was released from prison because he was able to explain the meaning of Pharaoh's dream. There would be an abundance of food for seven years and then a terrible famine for the next seven years. The Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph's wisdom that he placed Joseph in charge of all of Egypt's food and made him the second in command of Egypt. Joseph stored food for the first seven years to prepare for the famine. People from other countries came to Egypt to buy food from Joseph.

Read (Genesis 42:1-2). All of the years that Joseph was in Egypt his father Jacob who was also named, "Israel", thought that he was dead. In lesson #9 we learned that Joseph's evil brothers tricked their father into believing that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal when actually they had sold him as a slave. Joseph's father, Israel, told his brothers to go to Egypt and buy food so that they wouldn't starve from the famine.

Read (Gen. 42:3-13). When Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food, **Joseph recognized them but they didn't recognize him.** His brothers bowed down in front of him and Joseph remembered the dream that he had many years ago. **He had dreamed that his family would one day come and bow down to him because he would be a powerful ruler. [20]**

Read (Gen. **45** :1-3). Eventually Joseph could no longer control his emotions. He began crying so loudly that everyone heard him. Then he told his brothers, "I am Joseph!" **They were terrified** because they thought that Joseph would have them executed for selling him as a slave when he was a young boy.

Read (Gen. 45:4-8). Joseph did not kill his brothers. Instead **he forgave them** and explained to them that even though they had done an evil thing God had made something good come from it. Many people's lives were saved from starvation because Joseph was brought to Egypt.

Read (Gen. 45:9-20). **Joseph instructed his brothers to return to the land of Canaan and bring back both his younger brother, Benjamin, and his father, Israel, along with all of their family members.** When the Pharaoh heard that Joseph's family had arrived, he welcomed them and told them to return home to gather all of their family members. The Pharaoh invited them to come and live in the best land in Egypt.

Read (Gen. 45:25-46:4) Genesis chapter 45 verse 25 through chapter 46 verse 4. When Joseph's father Israel heard that his son Joseph was still alive he was amazed. All of these years **he thought Joseph had been killed by a wild animal**. [21] Jacob had a dream and in that dream God told him to go to Egypt and live with his son Joseph. God reminded Jacob again that he would become a great nation and that God would bring his descendants back to this land Canaan,[22] the land that God had promised to give to his descendants.

Read (Gen. **50** :22-26). Many years later Joseph died in his old age. God had greatly blessed his life because Joseph was faithful. Before he died he reminded his brothers of the promise that God had given to their great-grandfather Abraham,[23] their grandfather, Isaac,[24] and their father, Jacob.[25] **God promised to give them the land of Canaan** and to make them into a great nation. **Joseph made his brothers promise him that when they returned to the land of Canaan, they would bring Joseph's bones with them.**

Review:

When Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food, did they recognize him?

What was Joseph's dream concerning his family?

When Joseph told his brothers who he was how did his brothers feel?

Did Joseph kill his evil brothers?

What did Joseph command his brothers to do?

Why was Joseph's father amazed when they told him Joseph was in Egypt?

What was the name of the land that God had promised to give to Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob?

What did Joseph make his brothers promise him before he died?

In our next lesson we will learn about a baby that was found in a river.

[20] Joseph's dream (Genesis 37:5-11) lesson #9 The Slave

[21] Killed by an animal (Genesis 37:31-36)

[22] The land of Canaan is now called the state of Israel.

[23] Promise to Abraham (Genesis 17:5-8)

[24] Promise to Isaac (Genesis 26:2-6)

[25] Promise to Jacob/Israel (Genesis 28:13-15)

**Lesson #13**

THE BABY IN THE RIVER

In our last lesson we learned how Joseph was reunited with his brothers as well as his father Israel during the famine. Both Joseph and the Pharaoh invited all of Joseph's family members to leave Canaan and come to live in Egypt.

Read (Exodus 1:1-7). Many years after Joseph's family had died, their descendants were still living in Egypt. They were a very large group of people now.

Read (Exo. 1:8-14). Previously, God had changed the name of Joseph's father from **"Jacob" to "Israel". All of his descendants are known as, "Israelites". Sometimes people also call them, "Hebrews".** It had been many years since Joseph ruled over Egypt and the new Pharaoh did not know who Joseph was. He didn't know that Joseph had saved everyone from the famine. **Because there were so many Israelites living in Egypt, the Egyptians became afraid of them. They made them into slaves and mistreated them.**

Read (Exo. 1:15-22). The Pharaoh became so afraid of the Hebrews that he gave orders to have many of their male babies killed! **The king commanded them to throw all of the baby boys into the Nile River to be drowned.**

Read (Exo. 2:1-4). One of the Hebrew women had a baby boy.[26] She tried to hide him so that the king's men would not throw him into the Nile River and drown him. After three months, she realized that she would not be able to continue to hide him so **she put her son in a basket and set the basket in the river near the reeds**. The baby's older sister watched her little brother floating in the basket and wondered what would happen to him.

Read (Exo. 2:5-7). **When the princess came to bathe in the river she saw the basket floating in the water.** She opened it and saw the baby crying. She knew that this was one of the Hebrew babies that her father had ordered to be killed. However, she had pity and **wanted** **to adopt the baby as her own son**. When the baby's older sister saw the princess holding her little brother, she ran to the princess and asked her if she would like someone to take care of it for her. **The princess didn't know that the girl was actually the baby's sister.**

Read (Exo. 2:8-10). The princess told the young girl to go find someone to take care of the baby for her. **So, the clever young girl went and got her mother.** The princess told her mother, "Take care of this baby for me and I will pay you." Not only did the mother receive her baby boy back, but the princess was going to pay her to take care of her own son, too! The baby's mother took care of her own son and received payment from the princess until the baby was weaned. Then the princess took the baby to live with her. **She named her new son, "Moses".**

Review:

What do we call the descendants of Jacob / Israel?

Why were the Egyptians afraid of the Israelites / Hebrews?

What did the Egyptians do to the Israelites?

What did the Pharaoh tell the people to do with the Hebrew baby boys?

When the mother could no longer hide her son, what did she do with him?

Who found the baby in the river?

What did the princess want to do with the baby?

How was the little girl related to the baby?

Who did the girl find to take care of the baby?

What did the princess name her new son?

In our next lesson we will learn what Moses saw in the fire.

[26] Jacob/Israel had 12 sons. One of them was Joseph, but another one was named, "Levi" (Exodus 1:2). Two of Levi's descendants married each other and had this baby.

**Lesson #14**

WHAT MOSES SAW IN THE FIRE

In our last lesson we learned that the descendants of Israel/Jacob are known as, "Israelites". Some people also call them, "Hebrews". There were so many Hebrews living in Egypt that the Egyptians were afraid of them. So the Pharaoh made all of the Israelites into slaves. He tried to kill all of the baby boys, too. One Hebrew woman put her baby in a basket and set it afloat in the Nile River. That baby was discovered by the king's daughter who adopted him as her own son and took him to live in the palace. She named him, Moses.

Read (Exodus 2:11-15). Even though Moses grew up living with the king's family, he knew that he was a Hebrew. He hated the way the Egyptians treated his people. One day **he killed one of the Egyptians. When the king learned what Moses had done, he tried to kill Moses. So Moses ran away** to live in the desert.

Read (Exo. 2:21-25). Moses eventually married and became **a sheep herder** for his father-in-law.[27] He lived in the desert for many years. While Moses was living in the desert, God remembered the promise that he had made to Moses' ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God said that their descendants would be slaves for 400 years [28] but God promised that he would bring them back and give them the land of Canaan.[29]

Read (Exo. 3:1-3). One day, Moses led his flock to Mount Horeb. While he was there, **the angel of the Lord who had previously appeared to Abraham [30] also appeared to Moses from within the fire of the bush.**

Read (Exo. 3:4-8). God told Moses that **he would set the Hebrew slaves free and bring them back to the land of Canaan.** This is what God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob many years ago!

Read (Exo. 3:9-12). **God told Moses to return to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh to free the Hebrew slaves.** God told Moses that after the slaves were free, they would all come and worship God on the mountain that Moses was standing on, Mount Horeb. He commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to prepare to leave Egypt.[31]

Read (Exo. **4** :1-9). Moses was afraid that his people would not believe him when he told them that God had appeared to him. God gave Moses three miracles to show them. **First, turning his walking stick into a snake; second, causing his arm to become leprous; and third, turning water into blood.**

Review:

Why did Moses run away from Egypt?

When Moses was living in the desert, what was his job?

What did Moses see in the fire of the bush?

What did God tell Moses that God would do?

What did God instruct Moses to do?

What three miracles did God give Moses to show the Israelites so that they would believe that God had appeared to him?

In our next lesson Moses performs his three new miracles.

[27] Moses the sheep herder (Exodus 2:21)

[28] Slaves for four hundred years (Genesis 15:12-14) lesson #6

[29] Promise to Abraham (Genesis 17:8) to Isaac (Genesis 26:2-4) to Jacob/Israel (Genesis 28:1315)(Genesis 46:1-4) and to Joseph (Genesis 50:24-25).

[30] The angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham (Genesis 22:9-12) and to Jacob (Genesis 31:11).

[31] Moses tells the Israelite leaders to prepare to leave Egypt (Exodus 3:16-22).

**Lesson #15**

THE THREE NEW MIRACLES

(The Destruction of Egypt)

Previously, Moses killed an Egyptian. He ran away to live in the desert. While he was in the desert he became a sheep herder. One day he saw a bush on fire but it didn't burn up. When he went to look at the bush, the angel of the Lord appeared to him from inside it. God told Moses that he was going to fulfill his promise to bring the Israelite people back to the land of Canaan. God commanded Moses to return to Egypt and tell the king to set the slaves free. God gave Moses three miracles to perform so that the people would know that God had met with Moses.

Read (Exodus 4:27-31). God provided Moses with a helper who was also a Hebrew. **This helper's name was, Aaron**. Together they showed the three miracles to the Israelite people.

Read (Exo. **7** :10-13). At first the Pharaoh refused to let the slaves go but instead made the people's work more difficult, so Moses and Aaron began performing the three miracles for the Pharaoh. However, the Pharaoh's magicians used their secret tricks to do similar signs. **Because the magicians were able to convince the king that they had the same power as Moses' God, the Pharaoh refused to allow the Hebrew slaves to go free.**

Read (Exo. 7:14-21). The Egyptians worshipped their ancient heroes as gods. **The Egyptians worshipped many gods.** They believed that two of their gods controlled the Nile river.[32] This river provided the Egyptians with water for their crops. Moses and Aaron went to the Nile River. **Moses caused the river to turn into blood and everything in it died!** Now there was no more water for the Egyptians to water their crops.

Read (Exo. 7:22-24). The Pharaoh's magicians used their secret tricks again. They convinced the Pharaoh that they also had the same power. The king refused to let the slaves go.

Read (Exo. 8:1-8). The Egyptians worshipped a god that had the head of a frog[33]. **God caused millions of frogs to cover the land of Egypt!** The king's magicians tried to prove that they were powerful too. But instead of taking the frogs away, they added more too! The king and his people hated the frogs so much that the king asked for Moses to take them away.

The Pharaoh changed his mind and would not allow the slaves to be free so God sent many more plagues against the Egyptians. **He sent gnats, flies, locusts, death to their livestock, boils, hail, and darkness.** [34] Many, if not all, of the plagues were attacks against the Egyptians false gods.[35] Finally **God sent the worst plague of all, death to the first born son.**

Review:

What was the name of Moses' helper?

When Moses performed the three miracles for the king, why didn't the king let the slaves go free?

Did the Egyptians worship only one god?

What did Moses do to the Nile River?

What other kinds of plagues did God send on the Egyptians?

What was the worst plague of all?

In our next lesson we will learn about the death of the first born son.

[32] The name of the Nile gods were Khnemu and Hapi .

[33] The Egyptian frog god of child birth was Heket.

[34] The plagues of Egypt (Exodus 7:14-12:30)

[35] (Exodus 12:12) Plague against the livestock, god Apis. Plague of boils was possibly against the man/god Imhotep. Plague of hail against the sky god Nut. Plague of darkness against the sun gods Ra, Aten, Atum, and Horus.

Lesson #16

DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN SON

In our last lesson God sent Moses to tell the Pharaoh to free the slaves. Moses performed three miracles to show the Pharaoh that God had sent him. However, the Pharaoh refused to listen to God. So, God sent nine terrible plagues on the land and people of Egypt; but the king still refused to free the slaves.

Read (Exodus 11:4-10). Moses and his helper Aaron went to the king and warned him that **God would kill all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians** if the slaves weren't freed. The king still would not obey God.

Read (Exo. 12:1-7). God told Moses that from now on at this time every year the Israelites were to **celebrate this day by killing a spotless lamb and smearing its blood above the door to their homes**. This holiday is called, "The Passover".

Read (Exo. 12:12-13). **The night of the Passover God would look for the blood of the lamb above the door of each house. If there was blood above the door then God would "pass over" that house,** but if there was no blood then God would kill the firstborn son.

In a future lesson we will read about the Lamb of God that was killed and whose blood protects our spirits from spiritual death.

Read (Exo. 12:21-23). Moses told the Israelites what God had commanded. If they obeyed then they would live; but if they refused to believe God, then they would die with the Egyptians, too.

Read (Exo. 12:29-42). When God killed all of the firstborn, **the Egyptians set the slaves free** and begged them to leave their country. They even gave them money, clothes, and anything else that they wanted! The slaves were set free and saved from death by the blood of the lamb! The Hebrew slaves left Egypt after **about 400 years** just like God told Abraham in lesson #6. [36]

Read (Exo. 13:19). In lesson #12 Joseph told his brothers that God would one day bring them out of Egypt and **take them to the land that he had promised to give to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [37] Joseph made his brothers promise him that when they left Egypt, they would take his bones with them**. [38] Moses had heard of the promise that Joseph's brothers had made to him long ago, so all of the Israelite slaves left Egypt along with Joseph's bones.

Review:

What did God tell the people he would do to the Egyptians?

What did God tell the Israelites to do with the lamb?

What protected the Israelite slaves from death?

Did the Pharaoh agree to free the slaves?

How long were the Hebrew slaves in Egypt?

Where did Joseph say that God would take them after they left Egypt?

Why did Moses take Joseph's bones when they left Egypt?

In our next lesson we will learn about the destruction of Pharaoh's army.

[36] God told Abraham they would be slaves for four hundred years (Genesis 15:12-14).

[37] Promise to Abraham (Genesis 17:5-8), Isaac (Genesis 26:2-6), and to Jacob/Israel (Genesis 28:13-15)

[38] Joseph's bones to be carried out of Egypt (Genesis 50:24-26).

**Lesson #17**

THE DESTRUCTION OF PHARAOH'S ARMY

In our last lesson God told the Hebrew slaves that he was going to kill all of the firstborn sons. He warned the Hebrews to kill a spotless lamb and smear its blood above the door of their home. When God saw the blood, he would not kill anyone in that home. The Egyptians rebelled against God and all of their firstborn sons died. They begged the slaves to leave their land. The slaves were set free and saved by the blood of the lamb!

Read (Exodus 14:1-9). After the Hebrews left Egypt, God told them to camp by the sea. When Pharaoh realized that the Egyptians would have no one to serve them, he changed his mind again and went after the Hebrews with his army.

Read (Exo. 14:10-14). When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army **they were very afraid** and became angry with Moses for freeing them from slavery! Moses told the people that they would never see this army again.

Read (Exo. 14:15-16). **God told Moses to raise his walking staff and divide the sea** so that the people could cross through it.

Read (Exo. 14:19-31 **). The angel of the Lord protected the Israelites by moving between them and the Egyptian army**. Moses raised his staff and divided the sea. When the Israelites saw what God had done they ran through the sea on dry ground! Then the angel of the Lord allowed the Egyptian army to pursue the Israelites into the sea; but after the Israelites reached the other side, **God caused the sea to flow back and all of the Pharaoh's army drowned.**

Read (Exo. 15:22-25). When the people had traveled for three days and didn't have any more water **they began to become angry with Moses** again. Moses prayed and God gave the people water in the desert.

Read (Exo. 16:1-4). Even though God had miraculously provided for the people by freeing them from slavery, leading them through the sea, and providing water for them in the desert, they were still not grateful! They said that they wished they were slaves in Egypt again! However, the Lord rained down small pieces of bread from the sky for them to eat.

Read (Exo. 16:11-16). The Lord caused birds to fall down around them so that they could eat meat too.

Read (Exo. 17:1-7). Once again the people became angry with Moses when they ran out of water. Instead of trusting God to provide for them or asking Moses to pray and ask God for water, **they wanted to kill Moses!**

Review:

When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army pursuing them why did they become angry at Moses?

What did the Lord tell Moses to do?

Who came between the Hebrews and Pharaoh's army?

When the Israelites reached the other side what did God do?

When the people ran out of water what did they do?

Did God provide water and food for the Israelites?

In our next lesson Moses meets God on top of a mountain.

**Lesson #18**

MOSES MEETS GOD

In our last lesson Pharaoh's army was destroyed by God. The sea split in half so that the Israelites could walk through on dry ground; but when the Egyptian army pursued them, the sea closed and killed all of the soldiers. Moses led the people into the desert but the people became angry with Moses because they were thirsty and hungry. They said that they wished they were slaves again!

Read (Exodus 19:1-9). While Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert **the Lord promised Moses that if the people would keep his commandments then he would make them his most treasured holy nation**. Moses told the people what God had said and the people promised to obey God.

Read (Exo. 19:16-19). Moses brought the people to the foot of Mount Sinai to meet with God and receive his commandments. God invited Moses to come up to the top of the mountain.

Read (Exo. 20:1-17). God gave the people his first list of commands.

1)Do not worship other gods.

2)Do not worship idols.

3)Do not disrespect God's name.

4)Everyone must rest on the Sabbath/Saturday.

5)Respect your parents.

6)Do not murder anyone.

7)Do not commit adultery.

8)Do not steal.

9)Do not lie.

10) Do not covet/desire other people's possessions.

God gave the people many more commandments that they were to obey too. He instructed them about slaves, laws for protecting people's property, holidays, etc.[39]

When Moses was on the mountain, **God also commanded him to build a special tent where the people could come to worship him**. God told Moses how to make the tent as well as what types of furniture to put inside it.[40]

Read (Exo. 32:1-8). **While Moses was on the mountain the people already began breaking their promise to God. They began worshipping false gods and making idols. They also began to act wickedly towards each other and getting drunk.**

Read (Exo. 32:19-21). When Moses came down from the mountain with the stone tablets that God had written his commands on, he saw the idol that the people were worshipping and he became angry with them for sinning against God. Later, the Lord struck the people with a plague because of this sin.[41]

Read (Exo. 33:1). **The Lord told Moses to lead the people back to the land of Canaan that he had promised to give to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob**.[42]

Review:

What did the Lord promise the people?

What were the first ten commands that God gave to the people?

What did God command Moses to build?

While Moses was on the mountain what did the people do?

Where did God tell Moses to lead the people?

In our next lesson we will learn about God's curse.

[39] God gave the Israelites many more commandments to follow (Exodus Chapters 21-23).

[40] The tent (Exodus Chapters 25-30)

[41] The plague (Exodus 32:35)

[42] Promise to Abraham (Genesis 17:5-8), Isaac (Genesis 26:2-6), and to Jacob/Israel (Genesis 28:13-15)

**Lesson #19**

GOD'S CURSE

This lesson is not for children.

In our last lesson God met with Moses on a mountain. The Lord promised Moses that if the Israelites would keep his commandments then he would make them his most treasured holy nation. God gave Moses his first ten commandments that the people must obey to receive his blessing. God also instructed the people to build a special tent where they could worship him. While Moses was on the mountain the Israelites began breaking their promise to God. They began worshipping false gods and making idols. They also began to act wickedly towards each other and getting drunk. The Lord struck the people with a plague to punish them. Later, the Lord told Moses to lead the Israelites back to the land of Canaan that he had promised to give to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

**The people who lived in the land of Canaan were very wicked**. The sons had sex with their own mothers, brothers and sisters had sex with each other, aunts and uncles had sex with their nieces and nephews, fathers had sex with their own son's wives and their brother's wives as well. Some men were having sex with both a woman as well as her daughter, too. Other men were marrying two sisters at the same time; they were committing adultery with their neighbors. They were sacrificing their babies by burning them alive to honor their false gods. Men were having sex with other men and some women were having sex with animals. These people taught their children to do the same wicked things that they did. God waited for these evil people to change, but they just became more evil; so God decided to completely destroy all of them and give the land to the Israelites/Hebrews instead.[43]

Read (Numbers 13:16-25). God had instructed Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan so that the Hebrews might prepare to attack these evil people and destroy them. God wanted to give this land to the Hebrews who had agreed to follow his commands.

Read (Num. 13:26-33). When the spies returned **they told Moses and the Israelites how good the land was. It was everything that God had promised to give them. However, all of the spies except two told the Israelites that the people who lived in Canaan were too strong for them to conquer and that they should not even try.** One of the spies, named Caleb, believed God and told the people that they could conquer those evil people.

Read (Num. 14:1- 4). The Hebrews lost hope. They did not believe that God was powerful enough to give them the land that he had promised to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead they complained and wanted to go back to Egypt to become slaves again!

Read (Num. 14:5-11). Both **Moses and Aaron, as well as, Caleb and Joshua** , who had also been spies, tried to convince the Hebrews to obey God and believe that he had the power to give the land that he had promised them; but the people would not obey. **God had destroyed the Egyptians so that the Hebrews could be free from slavery. He divided the sea in half so that the Hebrews could cross, but he drowned the entire Egyptian army. He miraculously provided both food and water for the Hebrews as they traveled through the desert** but after all of this the people still refused to believe in him.

Read (Num. 14:20-35). God told Moses that he would not give the land that he had promised to these wicked people. **All of them would wander in the desert for forty years until each one of them died.** Then **he would fulfill his promise by giving the land to their children instead.** Only the two spies who believed God, Joshua and Caleb, would be allowed to enter that new land. The Lord commanded Moses to take these wicked people back into the desert.

Review:

Why did God decide to destroy all of the people who lived in Canaan?

When the spies returned from exploring Canaan, what did they tell Moses?

What were the names of the four people who wanted to obey God?

How had God provided for the Hebrews in the past?

How did God punish these wicked people who never trusted him?

Who did God say that he would give the land to?

Do you believe that God would have given them the land that he promised?

In our next lesson we will learn what happened forty years later.

[43] Wickedness of the Canaanites (Leviticus 18:1-30)

**Review Series #2**

(Lessons 9-19)

In this last set of lessons we learned that Jacob's name was changed to Israel. We also learned that his favorite son, Joseph, was sold as a slave by his jealous brothers. The slave traders took Joseph to Egypt and sold him again. While a slave, he was falsely accused and then thrown into prison by his master. In prison he met two men, the king's cup bearer and the king's cook. They each had a dream and Joseph interpreted their dreams correctly. When the king released the cup bearer from prison and gave him his job back, the cup bearer forgot to tell the king about Joseph. Joseph was eventually released from prison because he was able to explain the meaning of Pharaoh's dream. There would be an abundance of food for seven years and then a terrible famine for the next seven years. The Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph's wisdom that he placed Joseph in charge of all of Egypt's food and made him the second in command of Egypt. Joseph stored food for the first seven years to prepare for the famine. People from other countries came to Egypt to buy food from Joseph. One day his own brothers came to buy food. Joseph forgave them for selling him as a slave and invited them, his father Jacob, and all of Joseph's family members to leave Canaan and come to live in Egypt with him.

We also learned that the descendants of Israel/Jacob are known as, "Israelites". Some people also call them, "Hebrews". There were so many Hebrews living in Egypt that the Egyptians were afraid of them. So the new Pharaoh made all of the Israelites into slaves. He tried to kill all of the baby boys, too. One Hebrew woman put her baby in a basket and set it afloat in the Nile River. That baby was discovered by the king's daughter who adopted him as her own son and took him to live in the palace. She named him Moses.

When Moses was older he killed an Egyptian for abusing one of the Hebrews. When the Pharaoh tried to kill him, he ran away to live in the desert. While he was in the desert, he became a sheep herder. One day he saw a bush on fire but it didn't burn up. When he went to look at the bush, the angel of the Lord appeared to him from inside it. God told Moses that he was going to fulfill his promise to bring the Israelite people back to the land of Canaan. God commanded Moses to return to Egypt and tell the king to set the slaves free. God gave Moses three miracles to perform so that the people would know that God had met with Moses. Moses performed three miracles to show the Pharaoh that God had sent him. However, the Pharaoh refused to listen to God. So, God sent nine terrible plagues on the land and people of Egypt but the king still refused to free the slaves. God told the Hebrew slaves that he was going to kill all of the firstborn sons. He warned the Hebrews to kill a spotless lamb and smear its blood above the door of their home. When God saw the blood, he would not kill anyone in that home. The Egyptians rebelled against God and all of their firstborn sons died. They begged the slaves to leave their land. The slaves were set free and saved by the blood of the lamb! Later the Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued the slaves with his army. The sea split in half so that the Israelites could walk through on dry ground, but when the Egyptian army pursued them the sea closed and killed all of the soldiers. Moses led the people into the desert but the people became angry with Moses because they were thirsty and hungry. They said that they wished they were slaves again! Then, God met with Moses on a mountain. The Lord promised Moses that if the Israelites would keep his commandments then he would make them his most treasured holy nation. God gave Moses his first ten commandments that the people must obey to receive his blessing. God also instructed the people to build a special tent where they could worship him. While Moses was on the mountain the Israelites began breaking their promise to God. They began worshipping false gods and making idols. They also began to act wickedly towards each other and getting drunk. The Lord struck the people with a plague to punish them.

Later, the Lord told Moses to lead the Israelites back to the land of Canaan that he had promised to give to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God instructed Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan so that the Hebrews might prepare to attack these evil people and destroy them. God wanted to give this land to the Hebrews who had agreed to follow his commands. When the spies returned, they said the people who lived in Canaan were too strong for them and could not be conquered. The Hebrews did not believe that God was powerful enough to give them the land that he had promised to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead they complained and wanted to go back to Egypt to become slaves again! God told Moses that he would not give the land that he had promised to these unbelieving wicked Hebrew people. Instead, all of them would wander in the desert for forty years until each one of them died. Then he would fulfill his promise by giving the land to their children instead.

**Lesson #20**

FORTY YEARS LATER

In our last lesson God had instructed Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan so that the Hebrews might prepare to attack these evil people and destroy them. God wanted to give this land to the Hebrews who had agreed to follow his commands. When the spies returned they said the people who lived in Canaan were too strong for them and could not be conquered. The Hebrews did not believe that God was powerful enough to give them the land that he had promised to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead they complained and wanted to go back to Egypt to become slaves again! God told Moses that he would not give the land that he had promised to these unbelieving wicked Hebrew people. Instead, all of them would wander in the desert for forty years until each one of them died. Then he would fulfill his promise by giving the land to their children instead.

Forty years later, after all of those wicked unbelieving Hebrews had died, God prepared to give the land to their descendants. Before he gave them the land, he told them that **in order to keep the land they must obey God's commands**. Read (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). If they rebelled against God like their forefathers, then God would destroy them too.

Read (Joshua 1:1-5). **After Moses died, God chose a new leader to take the Israelites into the land that he had promised them. Joshua** was one of the original spies forty years ago who believed the Lord. The Lord told Joshua to prepare the people to cross the Jordon River and attack the wicked Canaanites.

Read (Josh. 3:14-17). When the people crossed the river, the priests of God led the way. They carried a special piece of furniture from the tent that God had previously told them to build for him.[44] This piece of furniture was a chest called, "the ark of the covenant". **Inside this chest were the stone tables that God had written his ten laws upon, some food that God had rained down on the Israelites many years ago when they were wandering in the desert, and Aaron's staff**.[45] When the priests began to cross the Jordan River the water stopped flowing and allowed all of the people to cross on dry ground. This miracle was similar to the miracles that God had performed when he divided the sea so that the Israelites could flee from Pharaoh's army.[46]

Review:

What must the Israelites do to keep the land that God was giving them?

Who became Israel's new leader after Moses died?

What was inside the ark of the covenant that the priests carried?

In our next lesson a prostitute helps the Israelites enter the promised land and begin destroying the wicked Canaanites.

[44] The tent (Exo. Chapters 25-30).

[45] Inside the ark of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4).

[46] God divided the Red Sea (Exo. 14:21-28).

**Lesson #21**

THE PROSTITUTE

In our last lesson we read that the old generation of unbelieving Hebrews had died in the desert and their descendants were about to enter the land that God had promised. However, God required them to obey his commands, too, or he would destroy them for their wickedness as well. After Moses died, the Lord provided a new leader named Joshua. When the people crossed the Jordan River, the priests of God led the way. They carried a special piece of furniture from the tent that God had previously told them to build for him. This piece of furniture was a chest called, "the ark of the covenant". When the priests began to cross the Jordan River, the water stopped flowing and allowed all of the people to cross on dry ground. Joshua prepared to attack the first city in Canaan, Jericho.

Read (Joshua 2:1-20). Once again the Israelites sent spies into the land. The two spies entered a prostitute's house. Her name was Rahab. **When the King of the city came to arrest the spies, Rahab lied to the king so that she could protect the men**. She told them that she believed that the Lord would give them the land. She believed that the God of the Israelites was the true God of the world. She asked them to spare her family when they came back to destroy the city. They agreed that she and her family would be spared if they stayed inside her house. They also agreed upon a sign, a scarlet cord hanging from the window. When the Israelite soldiers came to destroy Jericho, they would not enter the house that had the scarlet cord hanging from the window.

Read (Joshua 6:1-5). God told Joshua to do something very strange. Instead of attacking the city, God told him to have the soldiers march around the city once every six days. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Have the priests blow their trumpets and tell the soldiers to shout. Then the protective walls of the city will fall down by themselves. The Israelites obeyed the Lord for seven days.

Read (Joshua 6:20-25). On the seventh day they did as God commanded and the protective walls of the city fell down. The Israelites ran into the city and killed all of the wicked people that lived there. **Only Rahab and her family were spared because she believed God.** After defeating the wicked city of Jericho, Joshua led the Israelites throughout the land of Canaan and destroyed many other cities as well.[47] **They left no survivors just as God had commanded them**.[48]

Read (Joshua 24:28-31). Joshua led the Israelites for many years. He destroyed many of the wicked people until the day of his death. The Israelites began to divide up the land of Canaan between themselves so that each of their twelve Israelite tribes[49] would have their own area.[50]

Review:

Who protected the spies when the king of Jericho came to arrest them?

Why were Rahab and her family saved?

Why didn't Joshua ever leave any survivors in the cities?

In our next lesson we will learn about a judge.

[47] Joshua led the army to destroy many more cities (Joshua 12:7-24).

[48] Let none of the wicked people of the land of Canaan survive (Deuteronomy 7:1-4).

[49] The twelve tribes of Israel are the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob (Gen. 35:23-26).

[50] Division of the land of Canaan (Joshua chapters 13-21)

**Lesson #22**

THE LAST GREAT JUDGE

In our last lesson Joshua and the Israelite army attacked the first city in Canaan, Jericho. A prostitute named Rahab, helped them because she believed that God would give them the land. Because of her faith in God, she and her family were saved from death. After defeating the wicked city of Jericho, Joshua led the Israelites throughout the land of Canaan and destroyed many other cities as well. Joshua led the Israelites for many years until the day of his death. The Israelites began to divide up the land of Canaan between themselves so that each of their twelve tribes would have their own area.

Read (Judges 2:8-15). **After Joshua and his generation died, the Israelites began to do evil again.** They worshipped many idols and false gods. Because of their wickedness, God allowed the evil people who still lived in Canaan to begin defeating them.

Read (Judges 2:16-19). **Sometimes God gave the Israelites a good leader. This leader was known as a "judge"**. The judges led the people of Israel for about 370 years until a great prophet arose. His name was Samuel. **Samuel was the last great judge of Israel.** [51]

Read the first book of Samuel (1 Samuel 3:19-21). Samuel grew up loving the Lord. He was a prophet of God which meant that sometimes God would talk to him and give him special messages for the people of Israel like God had previously talked to Moses.

At this time there was a group of Canaanites called the Philistines. These people lived along the sea coast. They had been attacking Israel for many years.

Read (1 Samuel 7:3-6). **Samuel told the people that if they wanted God to bless them then they must repent of their sins.** They had been worshipping false gods for many years now. So the Israelites repented and God began to help them once again.

Read (1 Sam. 7:7-17). After the Israelites repented of their sins, the Philistines could no longer conquer them because God was protecting them. God used Samuel to bring the Israelites back to repentance and restore peace.

Read (1 Sam. 8:1-8). When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons as the new judges of Israel. However, they were corrupt and the people didn't like them. **Instead of the people asking Samuel to talk to God and ask him for a good leader, the people asked for a king.**

Read (1 Sam. 8:19-22). Samuel tried to tell the people that it was not good to have a king but the people would not listen to him. **They wanted a king because all of the surrounding evil countries already had kings and the Israelites wanted to be like those other countries, too.**

Review:

What did the Israelites do after their leader Joshua died?

Sometimes God gave the Israelites a good leader. What were they called?

Who was the last great judge of Israel?

What did Samuel tell the people they must do to receive God's blessings?

When Samuel was old, who did the Israelites want to be their new leader?

Why did the people want a king?

In our next lesson we will learn about the first king.

[51] Samuel was a judge of Israel (1 Sam. 7:15-17).

**Lesson #23**

THE FIRST KING

In our last lesson we learned that after Joshua died, God put leaders called "judges" over the Israelites. The judges led the people of Israel for about 370 years until a great prophet arose. His name was Samuel. Samuel was the last great judge of Israel and he loved the Lord. He taught the people to repent of their sins and turn their hearts back to God. When Samuel was old, the people asked for a king to rule over them. They wanted a king because all of the surrounding evil countries already had kings and the Israelites wanted to be like those other countries, too.

The Lord told Samuel to make Saul the new king of Israel.

Read (1 Samuel 9:25-10:1) first Samuel chapter nine verse twenty-five until chapter ten verse one. Samuel blessed Saul and declared him to be Israel's first king. Saul reined over Israel for forty-two years.[52] However, he was not a good king. Sometimes he didn't listen to God.

Read (1 Sam. 13:5-7). The Philistines began to attack Israel again. The Israelites were very afraid. God had told Saul to wait for Samuel to come and perform a sacrifice.

Read (1 Sam. 13:7-12). Even though God said that Samuel was to offer the sacrifice, Saul did not listen to God and performed the sacrifice without Samuel.

Read (1 Sam. 13:13-14). Samuel told Saul that God wanted to establish his kingdom forever. However, **because Saul would not listen to the Lord, the kingdom would be taken away from his family** and given to someone else instead.

God previously told the Israelites to completely destroy all of the wicked people living in the land of Canaan.[53] They did many evil things and also taught their children to do the same. There was a group of people called the Amalekites who also lived in Canaan.

Read (1 Sam. 15:1-3). God commanded Saul to completely destroy all of the Amalekites because of their wickedness. God even told Saul to destroy all of the animals as well.

Read (1 Sam. 15:4-9). Saul took his army and attacked them. However, Saul did not obey the Lord. He allowed the evil king to live and also took all of the good animals for himself.

Read (1 Sam. 15:10-15). God was sad that Saul was king. When Samuel went to King Saul, Saul began making excuses for his sin.

Read (1 Sam. 15:24-29). When Saul finally admitted that he had not obeyed the Lord, he was sorry. Even though Saul was sorry for his sin, he continued to rebel against God.

Review:

Who did God tell Samuel was to be the first king of Israel?

Why did God decide to take the kingdom away from Saul's family?

In our next lesson we will learn about a Giant.

[52] Saul reined for forty-two years (1 Sam. 13:1).

[53] Destroy all of the wicked Canaanites (Lev. 18:1-30) and (Deut. 18:9-13).

**Lesson #24**

FIGHTING WITH A GIANT

In our last lesson the Lord told Samuel to make Saul the new king of Israel. Sometimes Saul didn't listen to God. Samuel said that because Saul would not listen to the Lord, the kingdom would be taken away from his family and given to someone else instead.

Read (1 Samuel 17:1-7). The Philistine army and the Israelite army met in a valley. One of the Philistine heroes came out in front. He was a giant who was **over nine feet tall!**

Read (1 Sam. 17:8-11). The giant yelled to the Israelites and their king, Saul. Instead of both armies fighting, only two people would fight to the death. If the giant Goliath won, then the Israelites would become slaves of the Philistines. If the Israelites won, then the Philistines would become slaves of the Israelites. King Saul was afraid.

Read (1 Sam. 17:12-15). There was a young Jewish boy named **David who was a shepherd.** He went to meet his brothers who were soldiers.

Read (1 Sam. 17:22-27). When David was talking with his brothers, the giant began yelling and cursing the Israelite soldiers. David heard him and was told that the King would give gifts to the man who killed this giant.

Read (1 Sam. 17:32-37). David met King Saul and told him that he would kill the giant for the king. At first, Saul didn't want to let David fight the giant because he was still a child. Later, Saul changed his mind and allowed the boy to go fight Goliath. Saul was the king. He should have tried to defend his people but he was a coward. Instead, he sent **a young teenage boy** to fight.

Read (1 Sam. 17:40-47). David did not know how to use the weapons of a soldier. He only knew how to use his slingshot that he protected his sheep with. So David went to the field and met the giant holding his slingshot. Goliath was insulted that the Israelites' army was full of cowards and sent this boy to fight him. David had faith in God and was not afraid of this giant.

Read (1 Sam. 48-52). When Goliath prepared to attack David, David wasn't afraid. He didn't run away. Instead he ran towards the giant and began swinging **his slingshot.** He hit the giant in the forehead with a rock and the giant collapsed. Then David took the giant's sword and cut off his head for everyone to see. This gave the Israelite army such encouragement that they ran after the Philistine army and began killing these wicked people of Canaan.

Read (1 Sam. 18:6-9). Saul was a coward. **He was afraid of the boy David who was not a coward. Saul was afraid that people liked David more than him so Saul became very jealous of this boy and hated him.**

Review:

How tall was the giant?

What was David's job before he went to meet his brothers?

How old was David?

What weapon did David use to fight against the giant?

How did Saul feel about David?

In our next lesson we will learn about Saul's death.

**Lesson #25**

SAUL'S DEATH

In our last lesson, the Philistine army and the Israelite army met in a valley. One of the Philistine heroes came out in front. He was a giant who was over three meters tall!

The giant yelled to the Israelites and their king, Saul. Instead of both armies fighting, only two people would fight to the death. There was a young Jewish boy named David who was a shepherd. David met King Saul and told him that he would kill the giant for the king. So David went to the field and met the giant. David used his slingshot to fight the giant. He hit Goliath in the forehead with a rock and the giant collapsed. Then David took the giant's sword and cut off his head for everyone to see. Saul became very jealous of this boy, David, and hated him.

David was a very skilled poet and played the harp very beautifully. **David wrote many poems and songs in the book of Psalms.** Sometimes King Saul would invite David to come and play the harp for him.

Read (1 Samuel 19:1-7). Saul's jealousy of David grew. The more successful David was the more Saul wanted to kill him. Saul told his son and attendants to kill David. Saul's son, Jonathan, cared about David and protected him instead.

Read (1 Sam. 19:8-12). **After Saul tried to kill David in the palace, David ran away and spent many years living in the wilderness** leading several hundred soldiers that followed him and protected him from Saul.

Read (1 Sam. 31:1-10). **God no longer blessed Saul because Saul was rebellious and an evil king**. The Philistine army eventually killed Saul's three sons in battle and Saul committed suicide. There was no one left in Saul's family to become king. In lesson #23 **Samuel told Saul that because he had rebelled against God, the kingdom would be taken away from Saul's family and given to someone else**.[54]

Read the second book of Samuel (2 Sam. 5:1-5). **After Saul and his family died, all twelve tribes of Israel [55] went to David and anointed him as their new king.** David was the greatest king of Israel because he loved the Lord with all of his heart.

Review:

Where can you read some of David's poems and songs?

After Saul tried to kill David in the palace where did David go?

Why didn't God bless King Saul anymore?

What had Samuel told Saul would happen to his kingdom?

Who became the new king of Israel?

In our next lesson we will learn about God's everlasting promise.

[54] The kingdom would be taken away from Saul's family (1 Sam. 13:13-14).

[55] The twelve tribes of Israel are the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob (Gen. 35:23-26).

**Lesson #26**

GOD'S EVERLASTING PROMISE

In our last lesson the jealous King Saul and all of his sons were killed while fighting the Philistines. The Israelites chose David as their new king.

Read (2 Samuel 7:1-3). After David had become king he began to think about the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was the chest of God that was placed inside the tabernacle tent that Moses had built. We learned about this chest and tent in lesson #18. The tabernacle was not being used and David wanted to build a permanent temple for God.

Read (2 Sam. 7:11-17). David was faithful to the Lord and loved him with his whole heart. Because of this, **the Lord promised him that when he died God would raise up his offspring and establish his kingdom forever.** If David's son rebelled against God, then God would discipline that son; however, David would have one of his descendants on the throne forever. This is the same promise that God previously wanted to give to King Saul in lesson #23, but Saul rebelled against God and did not receive the promise.

**David wrote many poems about his love for God. They are found in the book of Psalms.** Read (Psalms 23:1-6). David was a shepherd before God made him king of Israel. David compares God to a shepherd and himself to a sheep that the Lord watches over. He teaches us that God watches over his sheep and provides for all of their needs. God protects and blesses his sheep. David trusted God as his shepherd to lead him through life. David also knew that when he died he would continue to dwell with God.

Read the first book of Kings (1 Kings 1:28-31). When David was old and ready to die he called in his wife Bathsheba. He promised her that **their son, Solomon, would rule Israel.**

Read (1 Kings 2:1-4). Before David died he reminded his son, Solomon, to follow the Lord and never forget what the Lord had done for them. He reminded Solomon of the promise that God had made to David.

Read (1 Kings 2:10-11). Then David died. He was the greatest king of Israel. He loved God with his whole heart and believed that God would save him.

Review:

What was God's everlasting promise to David?

Where can you find David's poems and songs?

Who became king after David?

In our next lesson we will learn about the wisest fool.

**Lesson #27**

THE WISEST FOOL

In our last lesson the Lord promised King David that when he died God would raise up his offspring and establish his kingdom forever. David loved the Lord and wrote many poems and songs about him that can be found in the book of Psalms. When David was old and ready to die he promised that his son Solomon would rule Israel.

Read (1 Kings 3:1-3). King Solomon married an Egyptian princess. He built a palace for himself and the temple of God that his father, David, wanted to build. People were only supposed to make sacrifices to God at the temple, but Solomon still made sacrifices to God on mountain tops and other places. Solomon loved God, but did not obey him perfectly.

Read (1 Kings 3:5-15). Solomon had a dream and in that dream God asked Solomon what he would like to have. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern God's people well. **The Lord was happy with his request and not only made him the wisest man that ever lived, but also made him the richest man that ever lived, too.**

Read (1 Kings 3:16-22). Two women claimed that one baby belonged to each of them. This was a great test of wisdom. How could anyone know the truth?

Read (1 Kings 3:23-28). At first Solomon seemed very cruel. He wanted to kill the baby. However, he used this trick to determine who the real mother was. The people of Israel were amazed that God had given him so much wisdom. Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs. **You can read some of his proverbs in the Bible. Find the book of Proverbs and you can read his wisdom.** Solomon also wrote over one thousand songs. He was a botanist and taught people about animals. People from all over the world came to listen to him.[56]

Read (1 Kings 11:1-6). Later in Solomon's life he married many evil women who were from the land of Canaan. God had told the Israelites that they must kill all of these people.57] God also told them that the king must not marry many wives.[58] Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.[59] **These evil Canaanites turned Solomon's heart away from God.** He began worshipping the gods of the Canaanites. We already learned about all of their wicked practices in [lesson #19.

Read (1 Kings 11:9-13). Because of Solomon's wickedness **the Lord said that he would take the kingdom away from his son.** Solomon's son would rule over only one of the twelve tribes of Israel.[60]

Solomon continued in his wickedness for many years; however, he was never happy. He tried many different things to make himself happy, but at the end of his life he said that it was all meaningless **. Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes to tell us about all of the things that he tried to do to bring back his happiness. He said that the only thing that will make people happy is to not waste their life like he did, but instead we should live our lives for God.** [61]

Review:

Who was the wisest fool?

What did God give Solomon?

Where can you read some of Solomon's proverbs?

Who turned Solomon's heart away from God?

What did God tell Solomon he would do with the kingdom?

What was the name of the book that Solomon wrote about finding happiness?

What will bring happiness to our lives?

In our next lesson we will learn about the divided kingdom.

[56] Solomon knew proverbs and songs. He also taught about plants and animals (1 Kings 4:32-34)

[57] Let none of the wicked people of the land of Canaan survive (Deuteronomy 7:1-4).

[58] The king must not have many wives (Deut. 17:16-17).

[59] A concubine was a wife of lower legal status. She didn't have the same rights as a regular wife.

[60] The twelve tribes of Israel are the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob (Gen. 35:23-26).

[61] Live your life for God (Ecclesiastes chapter 12).

**Lesson #28**

THE DIVIDED KINGDOM

In our last lesson we learned about David's son, Solomon. The Lord not only made him the wisest man that ever lived, but also made him the richest man that ever lived, too. You can read some of his proverbs in the Bible. Find the book of Proverbs and you can read his wisdom. Later in Solomon's life he married many evil women who were from the land of Canaan. These evil Canaanites turned Solomon's heart away from God. He began worshipping the gods of the Canaanites. Because of Solomon's wickedness the Lord said that he would take the kingdom away from his son. Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes to tell us about all of the things that he tried to do to bring back his happiness.

King Solomon's son was named Rehoboam. The people of Israel came to him and asked him to lower the requirements that his father, Solomon, had placed on them.[62]

Read (1 Kings 12:10-17). **Rehoboam's young and foolish friends convinced him to treat the people harshly and be disrespectful to them.** This made the people so angry that they rebelled against him and refused to listen to him anymore. Only the one tribe of Judah remained with Rehoboam.

From this point on, the nation of Israel was divided in two. The northern half was called, "Israel", and was ruled by a wicked man named Jeroboam. **Jeroboam established his capital in the city of Samaria.** The southern half was called, "Judah," and was ruled by King Solomon's son, Rehoboam. **Rehoboam ruled from the capital city of Jerusalem.** Neither of these men were good kings.

Read (1 Kings 12:26-30). Jeroboam was afraid that the people that he ruled over would travel to the southern area of Rehoboam to worship the Lord at the temple that King Solomon had built. So, Jeroboam made idols and told his people to worship these idols instead. The people rebelled against God and began worshipping Jeroboam's idols.

The northern kingdom of Israel became very wicked. God was patient with them for two hundred and twenty years. The Lord sent them great prophets who performed miracles and warned the people that God would destroy them if they didn't repent.[63] However, the people would not listen. They just became more wicked, even worse than the evil Canaanites.

Read (2 Kings 17:5-6). **Because of the northern kingdom's wickedness they were conquered by the Assyrian empire.** The Assyrians captured the capital city of Samaria and deported all of the people to different places within the Assyrian empire. The Assyrian king then took people from different lands and brought them to live in Samaria and replace the Israelites.[64]

During this time the southern kingdom of Rehoboam was also beginning to turn away from the Lord. Sometimes they had evil kings and worshipped false gods. Other times they would have a good king who would try to turn the people's hearts back towards the Lord. God was patient with them for about five hundred years; but eventually they, too, became more and more wicked until God destroyed them as well.

Read (2 Kings 25:8-12). Babylon had become the most powerful empire in the world. They even conquered the Assyrians as well. **The king of Babylon came and attacked the capital city of the southern kingdom. The city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed.** The Babylonians set fire to Solomon's temple and exiled the people back to the land of Babylon.

We read in lesson #20 that **God had warned the Israelites if they did not obey him then he would reject them and remove them from the land that he had promised to give to Abraham.** [65] The Lord also told them that if they did not obey then he would not protect Solomon's temple either.[66] **Because the Israelites refused to obey God, he destroyed them. Most of them were killed and the few survivors were taken to various places in Assyria and Babylon for seventy years.** [67]

Review:

Why did the people rebel against King Solomon's son Rehoboam?

What were the capital cities of the two kingdoms?

Who conquered the northern kingdom of Israel?

Who conquered the southern kingdom of Judah?

Why were these two kingdoms conquered?

What happened to the Israelites?

In our next lesson we will learn about the coming Messiah.

[62] Lower the requirements (1 Kings 12:1-9).

[63] The prophets Elijah (1 Kings chapters 17 to 2 Kings chapter 2) and Elisha (2 Kings

chapter 2 to 13:20)

[64] The Assyrian king brought other people from different lands to live in Samaria (2 Kings 17:24).

[65] God would destroy them and take the land (Deut. 4:25-27;8:18-20; 30:15-20)(Lev. 18:26-28) and (Gen. 18:19)

[66] God would not protect Solomon's temple (1 King s 9:6-9).

[67] Taken into exile for 70 years (2 Chronicles 36:17-21)(Jeremiah 25:11)

**Review Series #3**

(Lessons 20-28)

In this group of lessons we read that the old generation of unbelieving Hebrews had died in the desert and their descendants were about to enter the land that God had promised. However, God required them to obey his commands, too, or he would destroy them for their wickedness as well. After Moses died, the Lord provided a new leader named Joshua. When the people crossed the Jordan River, the priests of God led the way. They carried a special piece of furniture from the tent that God had previously told them to build for him. This piece of furniture was a chest called, "the ark of the covenant".

When the priests began to cross the Jordan River, the water stopped flowing and allowed all of the people to cross on dry ground. Then Joshua and the Israelite army attacked the first wicked city in Canaan, Jericho. A prostitute named Rahab helped them because she believed that God would give them the land. Because of her faith in God, she and her family were saved from death. After defeating the wicked city of Jericho, Joshua led the Israelites throughout the land of Canaan and destroyed many other cities as well. Joshua led the Israelites for many years until the day of his death. The Israelites began to divide up the land of Canaan between themselves so that each of their twelve tribes would have their own area.

After Joshua died, God put leaders called "judges" over the Israelites. The judges led the people of Israel for about 370 years until a great prophet arose. His name was Samuel. Samuel was the last great judge of Israel and he loved the Lord. He taught the people to repent of their sins and turn their hearts back to God. When Samuel was old the people asked for a king to rule over them. They wanted a king because all of the surrounding evil countries already had kings and the Israelites wanted to be like those other countries too.

The Lord told Samuel to make Saul the new king of Israel. Sometimes Saul didn't listen to God. Samuel said that because Saul would not listen to the Lord, the kingdom would be taken away from his family and given to someone else instead.

Later on, the Philistine army and the Israelite army met in a valley. One of the Philistine heroes came out in front. He was a giant who was over three meters tall!

The giant yelled to the Israelites and their king, Saul. Instead of both armies fighting, only two people would fight to the death. There was a young Jewish boy named David who was a shepherd. David met King Saul and told him that he would kill the giant for the king. So David went to the field and met the giant. David used his slingshot to fight the giant. He hit Goliath in the forehead with a rock and the giant collapsed. Then David took the giant's sword and cut off his head for everyone to see. Saul became very jealous of this boy, David, and hated him. In a later battle, the jealous King Saul and all of his sons were killed while fighting the Philistines. The Israelites chose David as their new king.

The Lord promised King David that when he died God would raise up his offspring and establish his kingdom forever. David loved the Lord and wrote many poems and songs about him that can be found in the book of Psalms. When David was old and ready to die, he said that his son Solomon would rule Israel.

The Lord not only made Solomon the wisest man that ever lived, but also made him the richest man that ever lived too. You can read some of his proverbs in the Bible. Find the book of Proverbs and you can read his wisdom. Later in Solomon's life he married many evil women who were from the land of Canaan. These evil Canaanites turned Solomon's heart away from God. He began worshipping the gods of the Canaanites. Because of Solomon's wickedness, the Lord said that he would take the kingdom away from Solomon's son. Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes to tell us about all of the things that he tried to do to bring back his happiness.

The people of Israel rebelled against his son, Rehoboam, because Rehoboam treated them harshly and disrespected them. Only the one tribe of Judah remained with him. The nation of Israel was divided in two. The northern half was called, "Israel", and the southern half was called, Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel became very wicked. God was patient with them for two hundred and twenty years. However, the people would not listen. Because of the northern kingdom's wickedness they were destroyed by the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians deported all of the people to different places within the Assyrian empire. During this time the southern kingdom was also beginning to turn away from the Lord. God was patient with them for about five hundred years but eventually they, too, became more and more wicked until God destroyed them by the hand of the Babylonians. Most of the Israelites were killed and the few survivors were taken to various places in Assyria and Babylon.

**Lesson #29**

THE COMING MESSIAH

In our last lesson King Solomon died and the people of Israel rebelled against his son, Rehoboam, because Rehoboam treated them harshly and disrespected them. Only the one tribe of Judah remained with him. The nation of Israel was divided in two. The northern half was called, "Israel", and the southern half was called, "Judah." The northern kingdom of Israel became very wicked. God was patient with them for two hundred and twenty years. However, the people would not listen. Because of the northern kingdom's wickedness, they were destroyed by the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians deported all of the people to different places within the Assyrian empire. During this time the southern kingdom was also beginning to turn away from the Lord. God was patient with them for about five hundred years but eventually, they, too became more and more wicked until God destroyed them by the hand of the Babylonians. Most of the Israelites were killed and the few survivors were taken to various places in Assyria and Babylon.

While the people were being conquered by the Babylonians, **God raised up prophets to tell the Israelites about the future.** God revealed to **the survivors that they would remain servants of the king of Babylon for seventy years. [68] After the seventy years were finished, the new ruler, the king of Persia, would allow them to go back to the land of Canaan.** [69] Sometime after they returned to the land of Canaan, **God would send someone from heaven to rule on King David's throne forever. This person would bring peace to the earth. We call him the "Messiah" or "Savior".**

Read these verses that describe the Messiah.

-He will be a descendant of King David (Jeremiah 23:5).

-He will be the Son of God (Psalm 2:7).

-He will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).

- **He will come from the town of Bethlehem** (Micah 5:2).

-His arrival will be preceded by a messenger (Isaiah 40:3-5).

-He will be a king coming to Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).

- **He will be rejected by people. He will take our sins on himself. They will pierce him. He will be like a lamb. [70] They will kill him. He will be given a grave with the rich. He will live again (Isaiah 53:12).**

Review:

Who did God raise up to tell the people about the future?

How long will the survivors be exiled in Bablyon?

What will happen after the seventy years?

Who will God send from heaven to rule on King David's throne?

Where will the Messiah come from?

What will the people do to God's Messiah?

What will happen after he dies?

In our next lesson we will learn about the remnant of believers and the everlasting kingdom.

[68] Taken into exile for 70 years (2 Chronicles 36:17-21)(Jeremiah 25:11)

[69] After seventy years the king of Persia allowed people to return (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

70] In [lesson #7 (Genesis 22:8) Abraham told Isaac that God would provide a lamb for the sacrifice.

**Lesson #30**

THE REMNANT

In our last lesson we learned that while the Israelites were in Babylon, the prophets of God told about the coming of the Messiah. This person would bring peace to the earth. The Messiah will be a descendant of King David. He will be the Son of God. He will be born of a virgin. He will come from the town of Bethlehem. His arrival will be preceded by a messenger. He will be a king coming to Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He will be rejected by people. He will take our sins on himself. The people will pierce him. He will be like a lamb. They will kill him. He will be given a grave with the rich. He will live again.

Among all of the Israelites that were taken captive to Babylon there were still a few **people who believed God. They were the remnant of true believers.** From the beginning of creation most people have rejected God. However God has always had a remnant that trusted him. When the world rejected God, Noah was part of the remnant who believed.[71] While the Canaanites were rebelling against the Lord, Abraham believed God.[72] When God led the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years because of their lack of faith, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb were part of the remnant that remained faithful to him.[73] Among the Canaanites, the prostitute, Rahab, was saved from destruction because she believed God.[74] Among the Moabites who were also enemies of Israel there was a woman named Ruth who believed God.[75] When the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel rebelled against God there were several prophets who remained faithful and tried to convince the people to put their faith in God.[76] The prophets Isaiah, Malachi and King David talked about the believers from all nations who will worship the Lord.

Read (Isaiah 56:3-8) **God will gather other believers with the believers in Israel too.**

Read (Malachi 1:11) **The Lord's name will be great among the nations.**

Read (Psalm 22:27) **All of the nations will gather and worship the Lord.**

Review:

Who is the remnant?

Were all of the Israelites part of the remnant of God?

Do people from other nations belong to God's remnant of true believers too?

Are you part of the remnant of God?

In our next lesson we will learn about the everlasting kingdom.

71] Noah - [lesson #4

72] Abraham - [lesson #6

73] Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb - [lesson #19

74] Rahab - [lesson #21

[75] The Moabite Ruth followed the Lord (Ruth 1:1-16).

[76] Prophets of the northern and southern kingdoms - lesson #28

**Lesson #31**

THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM

In our last lesson we learned that among all of the Israelites that were taken captive to Babylon, there were still a few people who believed God. From the beginning of creation most people have rejected God. However, God has always had a remnant that trusted him. They are the true believers. The prophets Isaiah, Malachi and King David talked about the believers from all nations who will worship the Lord.

Among those who were exiled to Babylon there were a few people who had not rebelled against God and remained faithful to him. One of these true believers who were taken to Babylon was **a great prophet named Daniel.**

God had given Daniel great wisdom and the ability to interpret dreams like Joseph had done for Pharaoh.[77] One night the king of Babylon had a dream. He dreamed that he saw a very tall statue. The head of the statue was made of gold, its chest and arms were made of silver, its belly and thighs were made of bronze, its legs and feet were of both iron and clay. Suddenly a rock struck the feet of the statue and turned the statue into dust which the wind blew away. Then the rock became a huge mountain and filled the entire earth.[78] Daniel went to the king and explained to him the meaning of his dream.

Read (Daniel 2:36-38). Daniel told the king of Babylon that he was the head of Gold.

Read (Daniel 2:39). After the kingdom of Babylon a second kingdom will come. We know from lesson #29 that after the Israelites were in Babylon for seventy years the new ruler, the king of Persia, would allow them to return to Canaan because he had conquered Babylon. Persia is the second kingdom.[79] The third kingdom of bronze will rule over the whole earth. We know from history that the kingdom of Persia was conquered by the king of Greece whose name was Alexander the Great. Greece is the third kingdom.

Read (Daniel 2:40-43). After the king of Greece died, there came the fourth kingdom of iron and clay which was the Roman Empire. The Romans were a mixture of many different people who had different customs.

Read (Daniel 2:44-45). After these four kingdoms, God's kingdom will come and destroy them. God's kingdom will start out small like a rock but it will eventually grow to the size of a mountain and continue to grow until it takes over the entire world. The kingdom of God will last forever and will never be destroyed.

#1 kingdom of Babylon

#2 kingdom of Persia

#3 kingdom of Greece

#4 Roman Empire

THE ROCK - The eternal kingdom of God.

In lesson #29 we learned that God would send the Messiah to sit on King David's throne and rule his kingdom forever. **The rock that became a mountain and eventually will take over the entire world represents the kingdom of the Messiah who will bring peace on earth.**

Review:

What was the name of the great prophet?

What were the four kingdoms in the dream?

Who does the kingdom of the rock belong to?

In our next lesson we will learn about what happened after the seventy years of exile in Babylon.

[77] Joseph interprets the Pharaoh's dreams lesson #11

[78] The king's dream (Daniel 2:1-35)

[79] Although the Persian Empire was destroyed long ago, the modern day Iranians are their descendants. They changed their name from Persia to Iran in the year 1935.

**Lesson #32**

AFTER THE SEVENTY YEARS

In our last lesson, while in Babylon, the great prophet Daniel interpreted the king of Babylon's dream. The king dreamed that he saw a very tall statue. The head of the statue was made of gold, its chest and arms were made of silver, its belly and thighs were made of bronze, its legs and feet were of both iron and clay. Suddenly a rock struck the feet of the statue and turned the statue into dust which the wind blew away. Then the rock became a huge mountain and filled the entire earth. The statue represented four kingdoms: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and finally the Romans. The rock that became a mountain and eventually will take over the entire world represents the kingdom of the Messiah who will bring peace on earth.

Read (Ezra 1:1-4). The Israelites were exiled to Babylon for seventy years. In lesson #31 Daniel the prophet told the Babylonians that after their kingdom would come the king of Persia. Cyrus, king of Persia is the second kingdom that Daniel told us would come. After the seventy years ended **, King Cyrus decided to allow the Israelites to return to the city of Jerusalem** and rebuild the temple of the Lord that the Babylonians had destroyed.

Read (Ezra 1:5-7). **Only some of the Israelites decided to return to their capital city of Jerusalem and rebuild the temple**.[80] People gave them offerings of gold, silver, and other valuable items to help rebuild. King Cyrus returned the temple furniture that had been stolen by the Babylonians seventy years ago.

Read (Ezra **4** :1-5). In lesson #28 we learned that when the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital of Samaria, they exiled the northern Israelites and sent new people to live in Samaria. These people were enemies of Israel. The Samaritan[81] enemies of Israel were not happy when they learned that the king of Persia had allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. At first the Samaritans pretended to want to help the Israelites rebuild; but when the Israelites refused, **the Samaritans tried to stop them from rebuilding.** After many years, the Samaritans eventually went and built their own temple.[82]

Read (Ezra **6** :13-16). After many years of difficulty, the Israelites finished building the new temple. It was not as great as the temple that King Solomon had built before, but the Jews were very happy to have a place to worship the Lord again.

Review:

Who allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem?

What did the Israelites go to Jerusalem to build?

Who opposed the rebuilding of the temple?

In our next lesson we will learn about Greece, the third kingdom.

[77] Joseph interprets the Pharaoh's dreams lesson #11

[78] The king's dream (Daniel 2:1-35)

[79] Although the Persian Empire was destroyed long ago, the modern day Iranians are their descendants. They changed their name from Persia to Iran in the year 1935.

**Lesson #33**

GREECE - THE THIRD KINGDOM

In our last lesson King Cyrus of Persia allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of God. When they returned they found that there were new people living in the city of Samaria. These people were enemies of Israel. The Samaritan enemies of Israel were not happy when they learned that the king of Persia had allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The Samaritans tried to stop them from rebuilding. After many years of difficulty, the Israelites finished building the new temple. They were very happy to have a place to worship the Lord again.

In lesson #31 the prophet Daniel said that after the Persian Empire (kingdom #2) the Greek empire (kingdom #3) would come. **The king of Greece was Alexander the Great.** As a child Alexander was tutored by the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Alexander's father, who was a king, decided to leave his capital city of Macedonia and put Alexander in charge while he was gone. Alexander was only sixteen years old when he became the leader of Macedonia. After Alexander's father died, Alexander became the new king at the age of twenty. He set out to conquer all of the Mediterranean area, and much of Asia. He was an amazing military leader who easily conquered other nations. He ruled over Egypt as their Pharaoh King. He conquered north western India. He conquered many cities including the city of Tyre were he crucified 2,000 people on the beach.[83] The Israelites in the city of Jerusalem who had returned from exile in Babylon opened their city gates and surrendered to Alexander immediately. When Alexander was twenty-six years old he conquered Darius king of Persia (2nd kingdom mentioned by Daniel in lesson #31) in 331 B.C. Alexander erected seventy cities and named many after himself as well as temples. He believed that he was a god. He spread the Greek language,[84] culture, religion,[85] and people all over the areas of Europe and Asia. In 323 B.C., when Alexander was thirty-two years old, he developed a fever and died. His body was placed in a gold casket. His kingdom split into different pieces and weakened until the Romans came and took over about 270 years later. The Roman leaders admired Alexander and saw him as a role model. Some of them even worshipped him as a god. Alexander was the most brilliant military leader that ever lived.

Review:

Alexander the Great was the king of which country?

In our next lesson we will learn about the fourth kingdom that Daniel told us about, the Romans.

[83] Crucifixion was the execution of someone by nailing them to a cross. It was invented by the Persians.

[84] This is why the New Testament was originally written in Greek.

[85] The Romans adopted the Greek gods as their own but changed their names.

**Lesson #34**

ROME- THE FORTH KINGDOM

In our last lesson we learned about the third kingdom mentioned by the prophet Daniel in lesson #31. The third kingdom was Greece. The king of Greece was Alexander the Great. He conquered many nations. Alexander conquered Persia, which was the second kingdom mentioned by the prophet Daniel. Alexander conquered Persia when he was only twenty-five years old. He spread the Greek language, culture, religion, and people all over the areas of Europe and Asia. When he was thirty-two years old he developed a strange fever and died. His kingdom split into different pieces and weakened until the Romans came and took it over. Alexander was the most brilliant military leader that ever lived.

The city of Rome is located in the modern day country of Italy. This city became more powerful, conquering all of its enemies, until the Roman Empire controlled most all of Europe. They also adopted much of Greece's religion.[86] **Rome ruled with an iron fist and crushed other people into submission.** The Roman Empire was a republic where people were elected into office rather than a king's son inheriting the kingdom. They built roads all over Europe, enabling their armies to move faster as well as trade and communication to be easier. **Western languages, as well as Vietnamese, use Roman letters in their alphabets today.** Rome was ruled by a series of powerful kings called Caesars. The greatest Caesars were called emperors. **Many of the emperors believed that they were gods and demanded that all people worship them. One of the most famous emperors was Caesar Augustus.**

Review:

How did the Romans rule?

What languages use Roman letters today?

What did the Roman Emperors demand people to do?

Who was the most famous Roman Emperor?

[86] The Romans adopted the Greek gods as their own but changed their names. Some of the names of our months (Janus, Mars, Maia, Juno, Julius, Augustus) as well as all of the planets of our solar system have been given the names of Roman gods. (Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, etc.)

**MAPS**

THE FOUR KINGDOMS

#1 Babylon #2 Persia

#3 Greece #4 Rome

**Review Series #4**

(Lessons 29-34)

We previously learned that while the Israelites were captives in Babylon, the prophets of God told about the coming of the Messiah. This person would bring peace to the earth. The Messiah will be a descendant of King David. He will be the Son of God. He will be born of a virgin. He will come from the town of Bethlehem. His arrival will be preceded by a messenger. He will be a king coming to Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He will be rejected by people. He will take our sins on himself. The people will pierce him. He will be like a lamb. They will kill him. He will be given a grave with the rich, and he will live again.

Among all of the Israelites that were taken captive to Babylon, there were still a few people who believed God. From the beginning of creation, most people have rejected God. However, God has always had a remnant that trusted him. They are the true believers. The prophets Isaiah, Malachi and King David talked about the believers from all nations who will worship the Lord and his Messiah.

While in Babylon, the great prophet Daniel interpreted the king of Babylon's dream. The king dreamed that he saw a very tall statue. The head of the statue was made of gold, its chest and arms were made of silver, its belly and thighs were made of bronze, its legs and feet were of both iron and clay. Suddenly a rock struck the feet of the statue and turned the statue into dust which the wind blew away. Then the rock became a huge mountain and filled the entire earth. The statue represented four kingdoms: (1) Babylon, (2) Persia, (3) Greece, and finally the (4) Romans. The rock that became a mountain and eventually will take over the entire world represents the kingdom of the Messiah who will bring peace on earth.

King Cyrus of Persia eventually allowed the captive Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of God. When they returned they found that there were new people living in the city of Samaria. These people were enemies of Israel. The Samaritan enemies of Israel were not happy when they learned that the king of Persia had allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The Samaritans tried to stop them from rebuilding. However, after many years of difficulty the Israelites finished building the new temple. They were very happy to have a place to worship the Lord again.

We learned about the third kingdom mentioned by the prophet Daniel in lesson #31. The third kingdom was Greece. The king of Greece was Alexander the Great. He conquered many nations. Alexander conquered Persia which was the second kingdom mentioned by the prophet Daniel. Alexander conquered Persia when he was only twenty-five years old. He spread the Greek language, culture, religion, and people all over the areas of Europe and Asia. When he was thirty-two years old he developed a strange fever and died. His kingdom split into different pieces and weakened until the Romans came and took it over. Alexander was the most brilliant military leader that ever lived.

We learned from the prophet Daniel that the fourth kingdom was the Roman Empire. The city of Rome is located in the modern day country of Italy. This city became more powerful, conquering all of its enemies until the Roman Empire controlled most all of Europe. Rome ruled with an iron fist and crushed other people into submission. They built roads all over Europe enabling their armies to move faster as well as trade and communication easier. Western languages as well as Vietnamese use Roman letters in their alphabets today. Rome was ruled by a series of powerful kings called Caesars. The greatest Caesars were called emperors. Many of the emperors believed that they were gods and demanded that all people worship them. One of the most famous emperors was Caesar Augustus.

**Lesson #35**

THE MESSIAH COMES DOWN

In our last lesson we learned about the fourth kingdom, the Roman Empire. The city of Rome is located in the modern day country of Italy. This city became more powerful, conquering all of its enemies until the Roman Empire controlled most all of Europe. Rome ruled with an iron fist and crushed other people into submission. They built roads all over Europe enabling their armies to move faster as well as trade and communication easier. Western languages, as well as Vietnamese, use Roman letters in their alphabets today. Rome was ruled by a series of powerful kings called Caesars. The greatest Caesars were called emperors. Many of the emperors believed that they were gods and demanded that all people worship them. One of the most famous emperors was Caesar Augustus.

Read (Luke 2:1-5). **The Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, said that everyone must return to their home town to register for the census.** Joseph took his fiancée Mary and returned to his hometown of Bethlehem.

Read (Matthew 1:18-24). Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph **who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David.** [87] Even though Mary was still a virgin, she was pregnant. When she told Joseph, **he did not believe that she was still a virgin and wanted to break off their engagement.** Joseph had a dream and in that dream **an angel of the Lord told him that the baby inside Mary was from the Holy Spirit.** Mary was its mother but the Spirit of God was its father. The angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus. So Jesus had two fathers. **His stepfather was named Joseph but his real father was the Spirit of God.** Jesus was both the son of man and the son of God. This is exactly what the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah said would happen seven hundred years before. **In** lesson #29 **the prophets said that the Messiah would be born of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem. He would be the Son of God and the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David.**

Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth.[88] Joseph was a carpenter,[89] so Jesus learned to be a carpenter ,too.[90] When Jesus was about thirty years old he went out to the desert to meet a man named John who was baptizing people.

Read (Matthew 3:1-3). John the Baptist lived in the desert and taught people that the kingdom of God was beginning and they must prepare for it by repenting of their sins. In lesson #29 the prophet Isaiah said a messenger would precede the coming of the Messiah who would rule on King David's throne forever.[91] The book of Matthew tells us that John is that messenger.

Read (John 1:29). When John saw Jesus he called Jesus, **"the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world"**. In lesson #7 Abraham told his son Isaac that God would provide a lamb to be sacrificed. Jesus is the Lamb of God that will be sacrificed.

Read (John 1:32-34). John the Baptist was a holy man and **he declared that Jesus was the Son of God.**

Read (John 1:35-49). When John said that Jesus was the Lamb of God, two of John's disciples left him and began following Jesus. These disciples went to tell others who also became students of Jesus. Although many people followed Jesus there were a few women [92] and **twelve** **men** who followed him regularly. Nathaniel even declared Jesus to be a king.

Read (John 1:49-51). Jesus responded to Nathaniel by saying that he would see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, Jesus! This is the dream that Jacob had in lesson #8. Jacob was dreaming about Jesus who would come.

Review:

Why did Joseph take Mary to Bethlehem?

Who was Joseph a descendant of?

Why did Joseph want to break off their engagement?

Why did Joseph change his mind?

Who were Jesus' two fathers?

Why is Jesus called the Son of Man and the Son of God?

What did the prophets say about the coming Messiah?

What did John call Jesus?

How many disciples did Jesus have?

In our next lesson we will learn about the Kingdom of God, the Rock from heaven.

[87] Joseph was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David (Matthew. 1:1-16). Many people believe that the genealogy in (Luke 3:23-37) is actually following Mary's line but through direct fathers and indirect father-in-laws as well because by Jewish custom women were not allowed to be listed in the genealogy line. Whenever a family happened to end with a daughter, instead of naming her in the genealogy, they inserted her husband, as the son of him who was, in reality, his father-in-law. This would also mean that Mary was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David through Nathan (Luke 3:31) whereas Joseph's line went through King Solomon (Matthew1:7).

[88] Jesus grew up in Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23)

[89] Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55)

[90] Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3)

[91] Preceded by a messenger (Isaiah 40:3-5).

[92] Jesus had twelve disciples as well as several women that followed him (Luke 8:1-3).

**Lesson #36**

THE KINGDOM OF GOD - THE ROCK FROM HEAVEN

In our last lesson the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, said that everyone must return to their hometown to register for the census. Joseph took his fiancée Mary and returned to his hometown of Bethlehem. Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David. Even though Mary was still a virgin, she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the baby Jesus like the angel had commanded him. Mary was the baby's mother but the Spirit of God was its father. Jesus was both the son of man and the son of God. This is exactly what the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah and King David said would happen several hundred years before. When Jesus was about thirty years old he went out to the desert to meet a man called, "John the Baptist." John the Baptist was the one that Isaiah said would come to announce the coming of the Messiah who would rule on King David's throne forever. When John saw Jesus he called Jesus, "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world". John declared that Jesus was the Son of God. Although many people followed Jesus, there were a few women and twelve men who followed him regularly.

Read (Mark 1:14-15). After John had been put into prison for telling the King to repent,[93] Jesus began preaching that the Kingdom of God was near and that **people must prepare for it by repenting of their sins and believing the good news that the Messiah had arrived.**

Read (Mrk. 1:21-26). On a Saturday Jesus went to the synagogue to teach. He was unlike any other teacher that they had ever heard because he taught as if he had the authority. Suddenly a man who had been possessed by **an evil spirit of Satan interrupted Jesus' teaching** and began yelling. In lesson #3 we learned about a powerful angel named Satan, who had rebelled against God long ago Some of God's other angels joined Satan in his rebellion. Satan and his demons hate God and want to destroy everything that he loves. They tempted Eve to eat from the tree that God had forbidden. They took control of the body of this man in the synagogue and interrupted Jesus' teaching.

Read (Mrk. 1:23-28). **This evil spirit recognized Jesus as the Holy One of God whom all of the angels used to worship before some of them rebelled against him.[** 94] The demon was afraid of Jesus and came out of the man. The people in the synagogue were so amazed that Jesus had the power to cast out demons.

Read (Mrk. 1:29-31). After Jesus finished his teaching at the synagogue he went to the home of one of his twelve disciples. Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a fever and Jesus miraculously healed her. Others heard about Jesus' miraculous power and the whole town came to the house for Jesus to heal those who were sick and filled with demons **. Jesus healed the people of all kinds of diseases and cast out all of the demons.** However, he would not allow the demons to speak **because they knew who he really was, the Holy One of God.**

Review:

What must people do to prepare for the kingdom of God?

Who interrupted Jesus' teaching?

How did the demons recognize Jesus?

Who did Jesus heal?

Why would Jesus not allow the demons to speak?

In our next lesson we will learn about Jesus' power.

[93] John put in prison (Mark 6:17-18)

94] See [lesson #5 three members within the one God. Jesus was with God the Father before the world began (John 17:5). Jesus is the creator of all things (Colossians 1:15-17).

**Lesson #37**

JESUS HAS THE POWER OF GOD

In our last lesson Jesus began preaching that the Kingdom of God was near and that people must prepare for it by repenting of their sins and believing the good news that the Messiah had arrived. On a Saturday, Jesus went to the synagogue to teach. He was unlike any other teacher that they had ever heard because he taught as if he had the authority. Suddenly a man who had been possessed by an evil spirit of Satan interrupted Jesus' teaching. This evil spirit recognized Jesus as the Holy One of God whom all of the angels used to worship before some of them had rebelled against him. Jesus cast the demon out of the man. After Jesus finished his teaching at the synagogue he went to the home of one of his twelve disciples. Many sick people came and he healed them of all kinds of diseases and cast out all of the demons. However, he would not allow the demons to speak because they knew who he really was, the Holy One of God.

At this time there were two political groups that made religious laws for the Jews to follow. **These groups were called the Pharisees and the Sadducees.** The Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, allowed these two groups to make laws for the Jews. They were like the religious police. They were very prideful and demanded that everyone show them great respect. They thought that they were more holy than anyone else.

Read (Luke 5:17-19). Jesus was inside a house teaching people about the Kingdom of God. Some men had brought their lame friend so that they could ask Jesus to heal him. When they arrived they saw that they could not enter because there were so many people. They did not give up. They knew that Jesus had power to heal their friend. So, **these men climbed up on the roof and began taking the tiles off. They lowered their handicapped friend down right in front of Jesus!**

Read (Lk 5:20-21). Even though these men had interrupted Jesus lesson, he was not angry. Jesus was very glad to see the faith that these men had. **Because of their faith, Jesus forgave the lame man's sins.** However, when the Pharisees heard Jesus tell the man that his sins were forgiven they became angry. **They said that no one can forgive sins but God!** The Pharisees were correct. Only God can forgive sins. However they still didn't understand who Jesus really is. **Jesus is God!** We learned that Jesus is God in lesson #5. We can also see that Jesus can do things that only God can do. He has the power to drive out demons and heal people of terrible diseases simply by speaking!

Read (Lk 5:22-26). Jesus showed the people that he had the power of God by healing the man. Jesus did not try to heal him with medicine, or magic charms, or tools. **Jesus had the power to heal simply by speaking. In** lesson #2 **we learned that God created the entire universe simply by speaking it into existence.**

Review:

Who were the two religious political groups?

When the lame man's friends could not enter the house, what did they do?

Why did Jesus forgive the lame man's sins?

Why were the Pharisees angry?

Who is Jesus?

How did Jesus heal people and create the universe?

In our next lesson we will learn about the Roman soldier.

**Lesson #38**

THE ROMAN SOLDIER

In our last lesson we learned that there were two political groups that made religious laws for the Jews to follow. These groups were called the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were like the religious police. They were very prideful and demanded that everyone show them great respect. They thought that they were more holy than anyone else.

While Jesus was inside a house teaching about the Kingdom of God, some men climbed up on the roof and began taking the tiles off. They lowered their handicapped friend down right in front of Jesus! Because of their faith, Jesus forgave the lame man's sins. However, when the Pharisees heard Jesus tell the man that his sins were forgiven they became angry. They said that no one can forgive sins but God! Jesus showed the people that he had the power of God by healing the man. Jesus had the power to heal simply by speaking.

Read (Luke 7:1-2). Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. In that city there was a Roman soldier. This Roman soldier was the commander of 100 soldiers. He was called a centurion. This centurion **soldier had a servant who was very sick and about to die.**

Read (Lk. 7:3-5) The soldier knew that Jesus was a Jew so he asked some of the Jewish leaders if they would talk to Jesus and ask him to help. The leaders told Jesus that the centurion was a good man because he had built a church/school for them.

Read (Lk. 7:6-8). When Jesus was on the way to the soldier's house some of the soldier's servants met him and gave him a message. **The soldier said that it wasn't necessary for Jesus to come to his house because he was unworthy. He knew that Jesus had the authority and power to perform miracles just by speaking.**

Read (Lk. 7:9-10). When Jesus received this message from the soldier he was very happy. Even Jesus' own people and disciples did not have as much faith as this soldier. The servant returned to the house and found that the sick man was healed. **Just like the lame man who was healed in our previous lesson, this man was also healed because of faith in Jesus.**

Review:

Who was sick and about to die?

What did the soldier send his servants to tell Jesus?

Why did Jesus heal the lame man and also this soldier's servant?

In our next lesson we will learn about a sinful woman.

**Lesson #39**

THE SINFUL WOMAN

In our last lesson there was a Roman soldier who had a servant who was very sick and about to die. When Jesus was on the way to the soldier's house to heal his servant, some of the soldier's other servants met him and gave him a message. The soldier said that it wasn't necessary for Jesus to come to his house because he was unworthy. He knew that Jesus had the authority and power to perform miracles just by speaking. The servants returned to the house and found that the sick man was healed. Just like the lame man who was healed in our previous lesson, this man was also healed because of faith in Jesus.

Read (Luke 7:36). In lesson #37 we learned about the Pharisees. One of these Pharisees named Simon invited Jesus to have dinner at his home.

Read (Lk. 7:36-38). A sinful woman heard that Jesus was going to have dinner at this home so she went to meet Jesus. When she met him she began crying. It was the Jewish custom to receive guests with a kiss on the cheek, and to give them water to wash their feet. **This woman wiped the dirt off of Jesus' feet with her own hair. Then, instead of greeting him with a kiss on the cheek she kissed his feet and poured perfume on them.**

Read (Lk. 7:39). The prideful Pharisee thought that he was righteous man **because he had done many good deeds.** He looked down on Jesus because Jesus took pity on the sinful woman and allowed her to touch him.

Read (Lk. 7:40-43). Jesus knew the Pharisee's heart. He began to teach him a lesson by telling him a parable. **A parable is a story that, although not real, is meant to teach a truth.** Jesus told a story about two people who had been forgiven. One man was forgiven a small debt and the other was forgiven a very large debt. Both the Pharisee and Jesus agreed that the one who had been forgiven the greater debt would be more grateful and love more. What was Jesus trying to say by telling this story?

Read (Lk. 7:44-47). Jesus explained to Simon the Pharisee that **because this woman had been forgiven of her many sins, she was exceedingly grateful and full of love. However, prideful people who think that they don't need forgiveness are not grateful even if they are forgiven.**

Read (Lk. 7:48-50). Jesus then spoke to the woman and forgave her sins. The other dinner guests wondered who Jesus was. He even forgave people's sins! **Jesus told the woman, "Your faith has saved you...".** The lame man who Jesus healed in lesson #37, the centurion who had a sick servant who was healed in lesson #38, and now this sinful woman were healed and forgiven because they placed their faith in Jesus.

Review:

When the sinful woman met Jesus how did she greet him?

Why did the Pharisee think that he was a righteous man?

What is a parable?

Why was the woman so grateful to Jesus?

Why was the prideful Pharisee not grateful to Jesus?

Why did Jesus forgive the woman for all of her sins and save her?

In our next lesson we will read about food that appears from nowhere.

Lesson #40

FOOD THAT APPEARS FROM NOWHERE

In our last lesson a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to have dinner at his home. While Jesus was at his house, a sinful woman came and greeted Jesus by wiping the dirt off of his feet with her hair. Then, instead of greeting him with a kiss on the cheek like was their custom, she kissed his feet and poured perfume on them. The prideful Pharisee thought that he was a righteous man because he had done many good deeds. He looked down on Jesus because Jesus took pity on the sinful woman and allowed her to touch him. Jesus told a parable and explained to Simon the Pharisee that because this woman had been forgiven of her many sins, she was exceedingly grateful and full of love. However, prideful people who think that they don't need forgiveness are not grateful even if they are forgiven. Jesus then spoke to the woman and forgave her sins.

Read (Mark 6:30-34). When Jesus tried to go to a quiet place to rest, the crowds followed him because they wanted to know more about God. No one had ever taught them like Jesus had.

Read (Mk. 6:35-38). When Jesus had finished teaching the crowds more about God, the disciples came to him and told him that **he should dismiss the crowd so that they would have enough time to go buy food for dinner.** Jesus, however, told the disciples to feed them! The disciples wondered how Jesus could be serious. It would take so much money to be able to feed all of them and where would they get the money? There weren't even any places to buy food around there because it was a remote place. **The only food that the disciples were able to find was five loaves of bread and two fish!**

Read (Mk. 6:39-44). Even though they didn't have food for the crowd, Jesus told the people to sit down and prepare to eat. After they had organized into various groups, Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish and prayed. He thanked God for providing them with this little food. Suddenly **, Jesus began miraculously dividing the two fish and five loaves of bread into many more fish and many more loaves!** He created so much fish and bread that **five thousand people were not able to eat all of it!** They even had extra food after all five thousand people finished eating.

Review:

Why did the disciples tell Jesus to dismiss the crowds?

How much food were the disciples able to find on their own?

After praying, what did Jesus do with the five loaves and two fish?

How many people ate that day?

In our next lesson we will read about Jesus walking across a lake.

**Lesson #41**

JESUS WALKS ACROSS THE LAKE

In our last lesson Jesus had just finished teaching the crowds when his disciples came to him and told him that he should dismiss the crowd so that they would have enough time to go buy food for dinner. Jesus, however, told the disciples to feed them! The only food that the disciples were able to find was five loaves of bread and two fish!

Even though they didn't have food for the crowd, Jesus told the people to sit down and prepare to eat. Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish and prayed. Suddenly, Jesus began miraculously dividing the two fish and five loaves of bread into many more fish and many more loaves! He created so much fish and bread that five thousand people were not able to eat all of it!

Read (Mark 6:45-46). After Jesus had finished feeding the five thousand people, he put his disciples into a boat and told them to go on ahead of him. **He dismissed the crowed and then went up on a mountain by himself to pray.**

Read (Mk. 6:47-50). Later on that evening when Jesus had finished praying, he saw the disciples still trying to make their way across the lake, straining at the oars. Then **Jesus began walking on the water!** He walked out on the lake towards the disciples' boat. When they saw him they were very afraid. **They didn't believe that what they saw was a real person. They thought that it must be a spirit.** Jesus spoke to them, "It's me. Don't be afraid."

Read (Mk. 6:51-52). When the disciples realized that it really was Jesus walking on the water, they received him into the boat with them. They were amazed that he had the power to do this. When Jesus had previously performed the miracle of multiplying the bread and the fish, **he was showing them that he was God, capable of anything.** He could provide food for them and take care of them. However, the disciples hadn't understood. They still didn't have faith.

Read (Mk. 6:53-56). When the boat arrived at the shore **many people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout the area telling everyone that Jesus had come. People from all over brought their sick. Anyone who touched him was instantly healed!**

Review:

After the disciples started across the lake in a boat, what did Jesus do?

When Jesus saw that the disciples still trying to cross the lake, what did he do?

Why were the disciples afraid of Jesus?

What did the disciples not understand when Jesus had multiplied the food?

What happened when Jesus and his disciples arrived at the shore?

In our next lesson we will learn about things that are lost.

**Review Series #5**

(Lessons 35-41)

The last group of lessons taught us that the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, said that everyone must return to their home town to register for the census. Joseph took his fiancée Mary and returned to his hometown of Bethlehem. Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David. Even though Mary was still a virgin she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the baby, "Jesus", like the angel had commanded him. Mary was the baby's mother but the Spirit of God was its true father. Jesus was both the son of man and the son of God. This is exactly what the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah and King David said would happen several hundred years before. When Jesus was about thirty years old he went out to the desert to meet a man called, "John the Baptist". John the Baptist was the one that Isaiah said would come to announce the coming of the Messiah who would rule on King David's throne forever. When John saw Jesus he called Jesus, "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world". John declared that Jesus was the Son of God. Although many people followed Jesus, there were a few women and twelve men who followed him regularly.

Jesus began preaching that the Kingdom of God was near and that people must prepare for it by repenting of their sins and believing the good news that the Messiah had arrived. On a Saturday, Jesus went to the synagogue to teach. He was unlike any other teacher that they had ever heard because he taught as if he had authority. Suddenly a man who had been possessed by an evil spirit of Satan interrupted Jesus' teaching. This evil spirit recognized Jesus as the Holy One of God whom all of the angels used to worship before some of them rebelled against him. Jesus cast the demon out of the man. After Jesus finished his teaching at the synagogue he went to the home of one of his twelve disciples. Many sick people came and he healed them of all kinds of diseases and cast out all of the demons. However, he would not allow the demons to speak because they knew who he really was, the Holy One of God.

At this time, there were two political groups that made religious laws for the Jews to follow. These groups were called the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were like the religious police. They were very prideful and demanded that everyone show them great respect. They thought that they were more holy than anyone else.

While Jesus was inside a house teaching about the Kingdom of God, some men climbed up on the roof and began taking the tiles off. They lowered their handicapped friend down right in front of Jesus! Because of their faith, Jesus forgave the lame man's sins. However, when the Pharisees heard Jesus tell the man that his sins were forgiven they became angry. They said that no one can forgive sins but God! Jesus showed the people that he had the power of God by healing the man. Jesus had the power to heal simply by speaking.

At another time, there was a Roman soldier who had a servant who was very sick and about to die. When Jesus was on the way to the soldier's house to heal his servant, some of the soldier's other servants met him and gave him a message. The soldier said that it wasn't necessary for Jesus to come to his house because he was unworthy. He knew that Jesus had the authority and power to perform miracles just by speaking. The servants returned to the house and found that the sick man was healed. Just like the lame man who was healed in our previous lesson, this man was also healed because of faith in Jesus.

A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to have dinner at his home. While Jesus was at his house, a sinful woman came and greeted Jesus by wiping the dirt off of his feet with her hair. Then, instead of greeting him with a kiss on the cheek like was their custom, she kissed his feet and poured perfume on them. The prideful Pharisee thought that he was a righteous man because he had done many good deeds. He looked down on Jesus because Jesus took pity on the sinful woman and allowed her to touch him. Jesus told a parable and explained to Simon the Pharisee that because this woman had been forgiven of her many sins, she was exceedingly grateful and full of love. However, prideful people who think that they don't need forgiveness are not grateful even if they are forgiven. Jesus then spoke to the woman and forgave her sins.

Jesus was in a remote place and had just finished teaching the crowds when his disciples came to him and told him that he should dismiss the crowd so that they would have enough time to go buy food for dinner. Jesus, however, told the disciples to feed them! The only food that the disciples were able to find was five loaves of bread and two fish! Even though they didn't have food for the crowd, Jesus told the people to sit down and prepare to eat. Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish and prayed. Suddenly, Jesus began miraculously dividing the two fish and five loaves of bread into many more fish and many more loaves! He created so much fish and bread that five thousand people were not able to eat all of it!

When Jesus had finished feeding the five thousand people, he put his disciples into a boat and told them to go on ahead of him. When the disciples were in the middle of the lake, Jesus began walking on the water towards them! When they saw him, they were very afraid. Jesus spoke to them, "It's me. Don't be afraid." When the disciples realized that it really was Jesus walking on the water they received him into the boat with them. They were amazed that he had the power to do this. Jesus was showing them that he was God, capable of anything. He could provide food for them and take care of them.

**Lesson #42**

THE LOST

In our last lesson Jesus had finished feeding the five thousand people and put his disciples into a boat. He told them to go on ahead of him. When the disciples were in the middle of the lake, Jesus began walking on the water towards them! When they saw him they were very afraid. Jesus spoke to them, "It's me. Don't be afraid." When the disciples realized that it really was Jesus walking on the water, they received him into the boat with them. They were amazed that he had the power to do this. Jesus was showing them that he was God, capable of anything. He could provide food for them and take care of them.

In the book of Luke, Jesus told his disciples several parables. If you remember from lesson #39, **a parable is a story that, although not real, is meant to teach a truth.** Jesus began his first story about a lost sheep.

Read (Luke 15:1-2). Many Jewish people hated the Jewish tax collectors because they helped collect taxes for the Roman Emperor. The tax collectors were looked down on as traitors. These tax collectors and other people were all gathering around Jesus because they liked him and wanted to listen to him teach about righteousness and the kingdom of God. However, the prideful, religious, Pharisees who thought that they were the most righteous people of all looked down on everyone. They were not interested in learning from Jesus because **he was friends with common people.**

Read (Lk. 15:3-7). Many people in that area raised sheep so Jesus told them about a shepherd who had lost one of his sheep. Instead of abandoning that one sheep because he already had ninety-nine, he went looking for that one sheep. He cared about it so much that he was not satisfied until he found it. In the same way, **God loves all people. He doesn't want any of us to be lost. He wants to have a relationship with everyone,** even tax collectors and common people.

Read (Lk. 15:8-10). Jesus told them another parable about a woman who had lost a valuable coin. She was not satisfied until she found that coin. When she found it she was overjoyed! Jesus said that God is the same way when one sinner repents. When they repent they begin a new relationship with God. They are no longer lost like the sheep or the coin.

Jesus used these two parables to teach us a lesson. Just like the sheep and the coin, we are all sinners and lost. God is looking for us. He wants to have a relationship with us. However, **we must humble ourselves and admit that we are sinners in need of God's forgiveness.** If we will turn away from our sins, then the Spirit of God will enter our hearts and give us a new life in him. However, **if we are like the prideful Pharisees who did not believe that they needed to repent, then we will remain forever lost and without God.**

Review:

What is a parable?

Who was Jesus friends with?

What does the parable of the lost sheep mean?

What must we do for God to find us?

What will happen if we do not believe?

In our next lesson we will learn about a treasure and a pearl.

**Lesson #43**

TREASURE AND A PEARL

In our last lesson the tax collectors and other people were all gathering around Jesus because they liked him and wanted to listen to him teach about righteousness and the kingdom of God. However, the prideful Pharisees were not interested in learning from Jesus because he was friends with common people. Jesus used two parables, one about a lost sheep and another one about a lost coin, to teach us a lesson. Just like the sheep that was found and the coin that was found, we are all sinners and lost. God is looking for us. He wants to have a relationship with us. However, we must humble ourselves and admit that we are sinners in need of God's forgiveness. If we will turn away from our sins, then the Spirit of God will enter our hearts and give us a new life in him. However, if we are like the prideful Pharisees who did not believe that they needed to repent, then we will remain forever lost and without God.

Read (Matthew 13:44-46). The kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything else. It is more valuable than all of the possessions that you could ever own. It's more valuable than all of your money, and even your family! **A wise person would be willing to give up everything that they have to be able to be a part of the kingdom of heaven.** People who are members of the kingdom of heaven commit their entire life to it.

Read (Mark. 4:30-32). Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven like a very small seed. This small seed appeared to be very insignificant, but over time it will grow very large. The kingdom of God is also like this. **It starts out very small, but over time it will become very large and overtake the whole world.**

Read (Luke 17:20-21). Jesus explained that the Kingdom of God is not like a normal kingdom that you can see. There is no physical land, palace, or army that can be seen with your eyes. Instead, **the Kingdom of God is within the hearts of the people who love God and follow him.**

Review:

How valuable is the Kingdom of God?

How is the Kingdom of God like a small seed?

Where is the Kingdom of God?

In our next lesson we will learn about the separation.

**Lesson #44**

THE SEPERATION

In our last lesson we learned that the Kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure or a very expensive pearl that was found. The Kingdom of Heaven is more valuable than anything else. It is more valuable than all of the possessions that you could ever own. It's more valuable than all of your money, and even your family! A wise person would be willing to give up everything that they have to be able to be a part of the kingdom of heaven. It starts out very small but will grow and become very large. There is no physical land, palace, or army that can be seen with your eyes. Instead, the Kingdom of God is within the hearts of the people who love God and follow him.

Read (Matthew 13:47-50). **Not everyone will get to be a part of the Kingdom of God.** Jesus used an illustration of a fisherman catching fish in a net. He said that just like the net of fish, the angels of God will separate those righteous people who know God and love him from those unrighteous people who do not know God. Those who do not know God will be thrown into the fire.

Read (Galatians 5:19-21). Have you ever done any of these evil things? Have you ever committed adultery or had sex with someone that you're not married to? Have you ever worshipped an idol? Have you ever hated anyone or been jealous? Have you ever been selfish or drunk? **If you said, "yes", to any of these questions then you cannot be a part of the Kingdom of God. The angels will throw you into the fire because you have sinned against God.**

Read (Matthew 7:13-14). Jesus said that the gate that leads to destruction is very wide and most people will be destroyed by God because of their sin. However, there is a narrow gate that only a few people find. This gate leads to life with God.

Review:

Will everyone get to be a part of the Kingdom of God?

Have you ever sinned before? What will the angels of God do with you?

In our next lesson we will learn about a new earth.

**Lesson #45**

ALL THINGS NEW!

In our last lesson we learned that not everyone will get to be a part of the Kingdom of God. Jesus used an illustration of a fisherman catching fish in a net. He said that just like the net of fish, the angels of God will separate those righteous people who know God and love him from those unrighteous people who do not know God. Those who do not know God will be thrown into the fire. Have you ever had sex with someone that you're not married to? Have you ever worshipped an idol? Have you ever hated anyone or been jealous? Have you ever been selfish or drunk? If you said, "yes" to any of these questions, then you cannot be a part of the Kingdom of God. The angels will throw you into the fire because you have sinned against God.

In lesson #43 we learned that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a physical place here on earth. **The Kingdom of Heaven is inside the hearts of those who love God and know him.** However, **the Kingdom of Heaven is also a real place in Heaven** and God will take us there. That's what this lesson is about.

Read (Revelation 21:1-4). One day **our earth and sky will be destroyed.** But God will create a new sky and a new earth. **This new sky and new earth will be similar to the garden of Eden** that God had created for Adam and Eve in lesson #2. **It will be perfect and beautiful.** God will live with us and he will take away all of our sadness and pain. He will wipe all of our tears away. **There won't be any more sadness, crying, pain, or death.** Those things will all be gone. We will live with God in his Kingdom forever!

Read (Rev. 21:5-8). God invites everyone to become his child and live in his Kingdom. However, God will not allow anyone who is a coward, an unbeliever, vile, a murderer, sexually immoral, practicer of magic spells, an idol worshipper, a liar, to ever enter his Kingdom. All of those people will be thrown into the lake of fire. We learned this same thing in lesson #44. **Anyone who has ever sinned will not be allowed to live with God.** They will be destroyed in the lake of fire forever and ever. Have you ever sinned? If you have sinned then you need someone to save you from the fire. Who will save you?

Review:

Where is the Kingdom of Heaven?

What will happen to our earth and sky?

What will the new earth and sky be like?

What will not be in God's Kingdom?

Who will God not allow to join his Kingdom of Heaven?

What will happen to the people that have sinned?

Have you ever sinned?

In our next lesson we will learn how to be saved and join the Kingdom of God.

**Lesson #46**

HOW TO BE SAVED AND JOIN GOD'S KINGDOM

In our last lesson we learned that one day our earth and sky will be destroyed. But God will create a new sky and a new earth. This new sky and new earth will be similar to the garden of Eden that God had created for Adam and Eve in lesson #2. It will be perfect and beautiful. God will live with us and he will take away all of our sadness and pain. He will wipe all of our tears away. We will live with God in his Kingdom forever!

God invites everyone to become his child and live in his Kingdom. However, God will not allow anyone who has ever sinned to live with him. All sinners will be destroyed in the lake of fire forever and ever. Have you ever sinned? If you have sinned then you need someone to save you from the fire. Who will save you?

If you can remember from lesson #42, the tax collectors were hated by everyone. The Jews felt that the tax collectors were traitors because they collected taxes from the Jews and gave it to the Romans. We also learned about the Pharisees in lesson #37. The Pharisees were like the religious police. They were very prideful and demanded that everyone show them great respect. They thought that they were more holy than anyone else.

Read (Luke 18:9-12). Jesus told this parable about **a Pharisee and a tax collector who went to worship God at the temple.** The Pharisee was very prideful and looked down on the tax collector. **The Pharisee thought that he had made himself righteous because of his good deeds.**

Read (Lk. 18:13). **The tax collector was so sad and ashamed because he knew that he was a sinner. He knew that sinners cannot go to heaven and be a part of the Kingdom of God. Sinners go to hell.** The tax collector humbled himself in front of God and showed great respect. He was sorry for his sins and asked God to be merciful to him.

Read (Lk. 18:14). **Jesus said that the tax collector went home forgiven because he humbled himself before God and repented. The Pharisee however was not forgiven. He went home still a prideful sinner who did not receive God's forgiveness because he didn't repent.**

Are you a sinner? Do you want God to forgive you for your sins like he did the tax collector?

Review:

Who went to the temple to worship God?

What did the Pharisee think about himself?

Why was the tax collector sad and ashamed?

Why did Jesus say that the tax collector was forgiven for his sins?

Why was the Pharisee not forgiven?

Are you a sinner?

In our next lesson we will learn about another sinner whom God forgave.

**Lesson #47**

THE SINNER THAT WAS FORGIVEN

In our last lesson we learned about a Pharisee and a tax collector who went to worship God at the temple. The Pharisee was very prideful and looked down on the tax collector. The Pharisee thought that he had made himself righteous. The tax collector was so sad and ashamed because he knew that he was a sinner. He knew that sinners cannot go to heaven and be a part of the Kingdom of God. Sinners go to hell. The tax collector humbled himself in front of God and showed great respect. He was sorry for his sins and asked God to be merciful to him. Jesus said that the tax collector went home forgiven because he humbled himself before God and repented. The Pharisee, however, was not forgiven. He went home still a prideful sinner who did not receive God's forgiveness.

Today we will read another story about a different tax collector who was very rich. His name was Zacchaeus.

Read (Luke 19:1-7). Zacchaeus was excited to see Jesus so he climbed a tree. When Jesus arrived, he called Zacchaeus and wanted to be friends with him. Zacchaeus was overjoyed, but the other people looked down on Jesus. They knew that Zacchaeus was a sinner but they thought that they themselves were not sinners.

Read (Lk. 19:7-10). As **soon as he came down from the tree, Zacchaeus repented.** He believed that it was more important to have a relationship with Jesus than to have lots of dishonest money. Jesus told the people that salvation had come to Zacchaeus because he was a true son of Abraham. Why did Jesus forgive his sins and give him salvation? **Because Zacchaeus believed on Jesus and repented.** What did Jesus mean when he said that Zacchaeus was a "son of Abraham"? In lesson #7 we learned that Abraham had so much faith in God that he was willing to sacrifice his only son, Issac, when God asked him to. Jesus meant that although all of the Jewish people were physical descendants of Abraham, only those who believed and had the faith of Abraham were REAL sons of Abraham. You can be a REAL son of Abraham if you place your faith in Jesus like Zacchaeus did. It doesn't matter what nationality or race you belong to. All you need to do is humble yourself, repent, and follow Jesus.

Read (Romans 3:21-24). **Everyone is a sinner.** We all have varying degrees of evil in our hearts. **All of us will go to hell.** However, God has provided a way to save us! **God will forgive us of all our sins and allow us to be a part of his Kingdom if we will put our faith in his son, Jesus Christ.** This is what Zacchaeus did. He repented of his sins and believed that Jesus could save him from hell. Will you repent and trust Jesus with your life? Will you follow him?

Review:

What did Zacchaeus do when he met Jesus?

Why did Jesus forgive his sins and give him salvation?

Is everyone a sinner or are only some people sinners?

Where will all of us sinners go?

Will God forgive us of all our sins and allow us to be a part of his Kingdom?

What must we do?

Will you repent and trust Jesus with your life? Will you follow him?

**Review Series #6**

(Lessons 42-47)

In our last group of lessons the tax collectors and other people were all gathering around Jesus because they liked him and wanted to listen to him teach about righteousness and the kingdom of God. However, the prideful Pharisees were not interested in learning from Jesus because he was friends with common people. Jesus used two parables, one about a lost sheep and another one about a lost coin, to teach us a lesson. Just like the sheep that was found and the coin that was found, we are all sinners and lost. God is looking for us. He wants to have a relationship with us. However, we must humble ourselves and admit that we are sinners in need of God's forgiveness. If we will turn away from our sins then the Spirit of God will enter our hearts and give us a new life in him. However, if we are like the prideful Pharisees who did not believe that they needed to repent, then we will remain forever lost and without God.

We also learned that the Kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure or a very expensive pearl that was found. The Kingdom of Heaven is more valuable than anything else. It is more valuable than all of the possessions that you could ever own. It's more valuable than all of your money, and even your family! A wise person would be willing to give up everything that they have to be able to be a part of the kingdom of heaven. It starts out very small but will grow and become very large. There is no physical land, palace, or army that can be seen with your eyes. Instead, the Kingdom of God is within the hearts of the people who love God and follow him.

Not everyone will get to be a part of the Kingdom of God. Jesus used an illustration of a fisherman catching fish in a net. He said that just like the net of fish, the angels of God will separate those righteous people who know God and love him from those unrighteous people who do not know God. Those who do not know God will be thrown into the fire. Have you ever had sex with someone that you're not married to? Have you ever worshipped an idol? Have you ever hated anyone or been jealous? Have you ever been selfish or drunk? If you said, "yes", to any of these questions then you can not be a part of the Kingdom of God. The angels will throw you into the fire because you have sinned against God.

One day our earth and sky will be destroyed. But God will create a new sky and a new earth. This new sky and new earth will be similar to the garden of Eden that God had created for Adam and Eve in lesson #2. It will be perfect and beautiful. God will live with us and he will take away all of our sadness and pain. He will wipe all of our tears away. We will live with God in his Kingdom forever! God invites everyone to become his child and live in his Kingdom. However, God will not allow anyone who has ever sinned to live with him. All sinners will be destroyed in the lake of fire forever and ever. Have you ever sinned? If you have sinned then you need someone to save you from the fire. Who will save you?

One of our previous lessons taught us about a Pharisee and a tax collector who went to worship God at the temple. The Pharisee was very prideful and looked down on the tax collector. The Pharisee thought that he had made himself righteous. The tax collector was so sad and ashamed because he knew that he was a sinner. He knew that sinners cannot go to heaven and be a part of the Kingdom of God. Sinners go to hell. The tax collector humbled himself in front of God and showed great respect. He was sorry for his sins and asked God to be merciful to him. Jesus said that the tax collector went home forgiven because he humbled himself before God and repented. The Pharisee however was not forgiven. He went home still a prideful sinner who did not receive God's forgiveness.

There was another tax collector that the people hated. This man's name was, "Zacchaeus". He was excited to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was short and could not see Jesus over the crowd so he climbed a tree to see better. When Jesus arrived, he called Zacchaeus and wanted to be friends with him. As soon as he came down from the tree Zacchaeus repented. Jesus told the people that salvation had come to Zacchaeus because he was a true son of Abraham. Why did Jesus forgive his sins and give him salvation? Because Zacchaeus believed on Jesus and repented. Everyone is a sinner. We all have varying degrees of evil in our hearts. All of us will go to hell. However, God has provided a way to save us! God will forgive us of all our sins and allow us to be a part of his Kingdom if we will repent and put our faith in his son, Jesus Christ.

**Lesson #48**

GOD'S SON WILL BE KILLED

In our last lesson we read about a man names Zacchaeus who was excited to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was short and could not see Jesus over the crowd, so he climbed a tree to see better. When Jesus arrived, he called Zacchaeus and wanted to be friends with him. As soon as he came down from the tree, Zacchaeus repented. Jesus told the people that salvation had come to Zacchaeus because he was a true son of Abraham. Why did Jesus forgive his sins and give him salvation? Because Zacchaeus believed on Jesus and repented. Everyone is a sinner. We all have varying degrees of evil in our hearts. All of us will go to hell. However, God has provided a way to save us! God will forgive us of all our sins and allow us to be a part of his Kingdom if we will repent and put our faith in his son, Jesus Christ.

Read (Matthew 16:21-23). Jesus explained to his disciples that **he would be betrayed in Jerusalem and killed.** On **the third day he would rise from the dead.** His disciple, Peter, told him that this would never happen. He would not allow Jesus to be killed. However, Jesus told Peter that he was acting like Satan. We learned about the wicked angel named Satan in lesson #3. Satan was using Peter to try to discourage Jesus from dying. Why would Jesus want to die? Why would Satan try to tempt him not to die? We will learn the answer to these questions in the next lesson.

Read (Matt. 16:24-26). Jesus taught his disciples that if they want to follow him, they must be willing to give up everything, even their lives. **By following Jesus, they will find salvation for their souls.**

Read (Matt. 16:27). This is a very important verse! Jesus said that he would return from heaven with great glory and with all of his Father's angels. At that time **he will give rewards to each person according to what they have done.**

Review:

What did Jesus say would happen to him when he went to Jerusalem?

What will happen three days after Jesus is murdered?

By giving our lives to follow Jesus, what will we find?

Jesus promised that he would return to the earth in great glory and with all of the angels. What will Jesus give?

In our next lesson we will learn that Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver.

**Lesson #49**

THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER

In our last lesson Jesus explained to his disciples that he would be betrayed in Jerusalem and killed. On the third day he would rise from the dead. He taught his disciples that if they wanted to follow him, they must be willing to give up everything, even their lives. By following Jesus they would find salvation for their souls. Jesus also said that he would return from heaven with great glory and with all of his Father's angels. At that time he will give rewards to each person according to what they have done.

Read (Matthew 26:1-2). **Crucifixion was a very painful type of execution.95] They would nail a person's hands and feet to an upright wooden cross and leave them hanging there to die.** Sometimes people died quickly, others took days to die. Jesus said that he would be crucified during the Passover feast. We previously learned about the Passover feast in [lesson #16. In that lesson, God was about to destroy all of the wicked Egyptians and their king Pharaoh who refused to listen to him. God told the Hebrews that **to protect themselves from God's judgment they must kill a lamb and smear its blood above the door of their home. When God saw the blood of the lamb on their door, he would not judge them.** He would "passover" them instead.

Read (Matt. 26:3-5). **The religious police, who believed that they had no sin and were more holy than anyone else, decided to murder Jesus. They were jealous of him and hated him** because he could do great miracles and many people followed him.

Read (Matt. 26:14-16). At this time, one of Jesus' own disciples, Judas, decided to betray him. Judas went to the religious police and agreed to help them arrest Jesus in a quiet place if they would give him money. So, **they paid Judas thirty pieces of silver.**

In lesson #35 John the Baptist called Jesus, "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world". **This is why Jesus must die. Jesus is the Passover lamb that must be killed so that his blood will save us from God's judgment. We need the blood of Jesus to save us from our sins or we cannot be part of the Kingdom of God.** We also learned this from the prophet Isaiah in lesson #29.

Review:

What is crucifixion?

The Passover feast was in memory of the time that God saved the Hebrew slaves from the wicked Egyptians. What did God tell the people to do to protect themselves from his judgment?

Were the religious police good people?

Which one of Jesus disciples betrayed him to the religious police?

How much money did Judas receive?

Why must Jesus die?

In our next lesson we will read about Jesus' last meal.

[95] Crucifixion was invented by the Persians. Later, the Romans used it to execute people as well.

**Lesson #50**

JESUS' LAST MEAL

In our last lesson Jesus said that he would be crucified during the time of the Passover feast. The religious police, who believed that they had no sin and were more holy than anyone else, decided to murder Jesus. At this time, one of Jesus' own disciples, Judas, decided to betray him. Judas went to the religious police and agreed to help them arrest Jesus in a quiet place if they would give him money. So, they paid Judas thirty pieces of silver. John the Baptist had called Jesus, "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world". This is why Jesus must die. Jesus is the Passover lamb that must be killed so that his blood will save us from God's judgment. We need the blood of Jesus to save us from our sins or we cannot be part of the Kingdom of God.

Read (Mark 14:12-16). The disciples asked Jesus were he would like to celebrate the Passover feast. Not only did he tell them where he wanted to celebrate, but he performed another miracle by telling them what would happen in the future.

Read (Mrk. 14:17-21). While they were eating, Jesus told them that he knew one of them was going to betray him. It was difficult for his disciples to believe this. Who could it be? Each one of them appeared to love Jesus. However, we already know from our last lesson that Judas was not a true believer. He was the betrayer. He had received thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus.

Read (Mrk. 14:22-26). Jesus took a piece of bread and thanked God for it. T **hen he broke the piece of bread and gave it to his disciples telling them that it was his body.** Then he took a cup of wine and thanked God for it. **He also gave the wine to his disciples to drink and he told them that it was his blood** which would be poured out. **He was telling them how he would die.** His body would be broken and his blood poured out. Jesus said that this was the new covenant. A covenant is a contract between God and man.

We previously learned about **the old covenant in** lesson #18 **. God gave Moses a list of many rules that the people must keep in order for God to accept them. They also had to perform animal sacrifices whenever they sinned. They could not speak to God directly. They had to ask a priest to talk to God for them.** The problem concerning the old contract was that **the people could never be good enough for God to accept them. They always sinned because they had evil hearts.**

Jesus is the Son of God. **He is the only person who never sinned. Jesus completed all of the rules that God required.** He is the only one whom God will accept because he is holy. Jesus is the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." [96] **He is preparing to allow himself to be killed as a sacrifice so that God will forgive our sins and accept us.** This is the new contract. Jesus will receive our punishment (death and rejection by God) and we will receive Jesus' righteousness. **Jesus is preparing to save us so that we can be a part of the Kingdom of God and live with him eternally.**

Review:

What does the bread and wine represent?

What was Jesus telling his disciples when he gave them the broken bread and the wine?

What was the old contract between God and man?

Under the old contract could people be good enough for God to accept them?

Who is the only person who never sinned and completed all of God's requirements?

Why is Jesus going to allow himself to be sacrificed?

Why does Jesus want to save us from our sins?

In our next lesson King Jesus will be betrayed.

[96] Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29).

**Lesson #51**

THE KING IS BETRAYED

In our last lesson Jesus ate his last meal with his disciples. He told his disciples how he would die. His body would be broken and his blood poured out. Jesus said that this was the new covenant. A covenant is a contract between God and man.

We previously learned about the old covenant in lesson #18. God gave Moses a list of many rules that the people had to keep in order for God to accept them. They also had to perform sacrifices whenever they sinned. They could not speak to God directly. They had to ask a priest to talk to God for them. The problem concerning the old contract was that the people could never be good enough for God to accept them. They always sinned because they had evil hearts.

Jesus is the Son of God. He is the only person who never sinned. Jesus completed all of the rules that God required. He is the only one whom God will accept because he is holy. Jesus is the "lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." He is preparing to allow himself to be killed as a sacrifice so that God will forgive our sins and accept us. This is the new contract. Jesus will receive our punishment (death and rejection by God) and we will receive Jesus' righteousness. Jesus is preparing to save us so that we can be a part of the Kingdom of God and live with him eternally.

Read (Luke 22:39-46). Jesus and his disciples went to a nearby mountain to pray. While they were there Jesus became so distressed about his coming death that he began sweating drops of blood.

Read (Lk. 22:47-48). We already read in lesson #49 that Judas agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. It was the Jewish custom to greet friends with a kiss on the cheek. **Judas, pretending to be Jesus' friend, kissed Jesus' cheek so that the guards would know which person to arrest.**

Read (Lk. 22:63-71). **After they arrested Jesus, the guards began to beat him, mock him, and spit on him.** Then they brought him to their wicked high priest. They asked Jesus if he was the Son of God, the Savior of the world. When he told them that he was the Son of God, they hated him even more and took him to the Roman Governor named Pilate. If you remember from lessons #31 and 34, the Romans were the fourth kingdom that Daniel taught us about. The Romans ruled over the Jews very harshly.

Read (Lk. 23:13-25). **When Jesus was brought to Pilate to be judged, Pilate found him to be innocent.** However, the evil religious police and high priest demanded that Pilate have Jesus killed! **They hated him because they were jealous of his power over nature and his power to heal people. They hated him because he claimed to be God's Son making himself equal with God.** [97] Pilate finally gave in to their demands and handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.[98] **This is what Jesus formerly told his disciples would happen in** lesson #48 **. He would be betrayed and murdered. On the third day he would rise from the dead.**

Review:

What was the sign that Judas used to betray Jesus?

What did the guards do to Jesus after they arrested him?

When Jesus was brought to the Roman governor, Pilate, did Pilate find him innocent or guilty?

Why did the people hate Jesus?

What did Jesus formerly tell his disciples would happen?

In our next lesson King Jesus will die.

[97] Jesus is God's Son and equal with God (John 5:18).

[98] Crucifixion was a very painful type of execution. They would nail a person's hands and feet to an upright wooden cross and leave them hanging there to die. Sometimes people died quickly, others took days to die.

**Lesson #52**

KING JESUS DIES

In our last lesson Judas, pretending to be Jesus' friend, kissed Jesus' cheek so that the guards would know which person to arrest. After they arrested Jesus, the guards began to beat him, mock him, and spit on him. Then they brought him to their wicked high priest. They asked Jesus if he was the Son of God, the Savior of the world. When he told them that he was the Son of God, they hated him even more and took him to the Roman Governor named Pilate. If you remember from lessons #31 and 34, the Romans were the fourth kingdom that Daniel taught us about. When Jesus was brought to Pilate to be judged, Pilate found him to be innocent. However, the evil religious police and high priest demanded that Pilate have Jesus killed! They hated him because he claimed to be God's Son, making himself equal with God.[99] Pilate finally gave in to their demands and handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.[100] This is what Jesus formerly told his disciples would happen in lesson #48. He would be betrayed and murdered. On the third day he would rise from the dead.

Read (Luke 23:32-38). The Roman soldiers also crucified two thieves with Jesus. **While they were killing him, Jesus prayed and asked his Father to forgive them for what they were doing to him.** While he was praying for them they gambled for his clothes, cursed him and ridiculed him.

Read (Lk. 23:44-49). When Jesus was hanging on the cross and about to die, the sun stopped shining. Everything became dark. At this time there was a special curtain in the temple that separated the people from God. When Jesus took our sins upon himself this curtain ripped open. Now there was no more barrier between people and God. **Jesus shouted out to God, "Father, into your hands I give my spirit." Then he died.** Now **Jesus is dead and we can be forgiven for our sins. We can join the Kingdom of Heaven.** "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus, that whoever believes in him will not be destroyed but will have everlasting life."[101]

We can look back at previous lessons and see that it has always been God's plan to sacrifice his Son for us. In lesson #7 God asked Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac. Abraham told Isaac not to worry because God himself would provide a lamb for the sacrifice. Now we can see that **Jesus is the lamb that God provided for us. He took our punishment upon himself.**

Do you remember in lesson #8 that Jacob had a dream? He dreamed that he saw angels ascending and descending on a special ladder that connected the earth with Heaven. Now we can see that the ladder represents Jesus.[102] Jesus is the one **who brought peace between us sinners and the God of Heaven**. Now we can have a relationship with God.

Review:

While they were killing him, what was Jesus doing?

Where did Jesus go when he died?

Why did Jesus allow himself to be murdered for us?

Who was the lamb that God provided to be sacrificed for your sins?

Who brought peace between sinners and God?

In our next lesson we will learn about the third day.

[99] Jesus is God's Son and equal with God (John 5:18).

[100] Crucifixion was a very painful type of execution. They would nail a person's hands and feet to an upright wooden cross and leave them hanging there to die. Sometimes people died quickly, others took days to die.

[101] (John 3:16)

[102] Jacob's ladder represents Jesus (John 1:51).

**Lesson #53**

THE THIRD DAY

In our last lesson the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus between two thieves. While they were killing him, Jesus prayed and asked his Father to forgive them for what they were doing to him. When Jesus was hanging on the cross and about to die, the sun stopped shining. Everything became dark. At this time there was a special curtain in the temple that separated the people from God. When Jesus took our sins upon himself this curtain ripped open. Now there was no more barrier between people and God. Now that Jesus is dead we can be forgiven for our sins. We can join the Kingdom of Heaven. "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus, that whoever believes in him will not be destroyed but will have everlasting life."103] We can look back at previous lessons and see that it has always been God's plan to sacrifice his Son for us. In [lesson #7 we see that Jesus is the lamb that God provided for us. He took our punishment upon himself. We can also see in lesson #8 that the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream represented Jesus.[104] Jesus is the one who brought peace between us sinners and the God of Heaven. Now we can have a relationship with God.

Read (Matthew 27:57-61). There was **a rich man named Joseph who asked Pilate if he could have Jesus' body so that he might bury it**. Joseph took Jesus' body and placed it in a new rock tomb and then rolled a very large stone in front of it.

Read (Matt. 27:65-66). Pilate gave orders that soldiers guard the tomb for three days. The soldiers sealed the tomb shut and guarded its entrance.

Read (Matt. 28:1-4). Three days after Jesus' death, an angel who had the appearance of lightning came down from heaven and opened the tomb. The guards were so terrified of him that they began to shake uncontrollably and fell down as if they were dead.

Read (Matt. 28:5-10). When the women saw the angel they were very afraid of him, too. **The angel told them that Jesus had already risen and gone.** The tomb was empty. The angel reminded the women that Jesus had told everyone that he would be crucified and rise from the dead on the third day. The angel gave the women instructions to tell his disciples that they would meet Jesus in Galilee. **As the women ran to find his disciples, suddenly Jesus met them! The women fell down and worshipped him.** They had no doubt that he is the true Son of God.

Review:

Who buried Jesus' body?

Where did Joseph place Jesus' body?

What did the angel tell the women?

When the women saw Jesus, what did they do?

In our next lesson Jesus has three meetings with his disciples.

[103] (John 3:16)

[104] Jacob's ladder (John 1:51)

**Review Series #7**

(Lessons 48-53)

Jesus explained to his disciples that he would be betrayed in Jerusalem and killed. On the third day he would rise from the dead. He taught his disciples that if they want to follow him, they must be willing to give up everything, even their lives. By following Jesus they would find salvation for their souls. Jesus also said that he would return from heaven with great glory and with all of his Father's angels. At that time he will give rewards to each person according to what they have done.

Jesus said that he would be crucified during the time of the Passover feast. The religious police, who believed that they had no sin and were more holy than anyone else, decided to murder Jesus. At this time, one of Jesus' own disciples, Judas, decided to betray him. Judas went to the religious police and agreed to help them arrest Jesus in a quiet place if they would give him money. So, they paid Judas thirty pieces of silver. John the Baptist had called Jesus, "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world". This is why Jesus must die. Jesus is the Passover lamb that must be killed so that his blood will save us from God's judgment. We need the blood of Jesus to save us from our sins or we cannot be part of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus ate his last meal with his disciples. He told his disciples how he would die. His body would be broken and his blood poured out. He said that this was the new covenant. A covenant is a contract between God and man.

In our last lesson Judas, pretending to be Jesus' friend, kissed Jesus' cheek so that the guards would know which person to arrest. After they arrested Jesus, the guards began to beat Jesus, mock him, and spit on him. Then they brought him to their wicked high priest. They asked Jesus if he was the Son of God, the Savior of the world. When he told them that he was the Son of God, they hated him even more and took him to the Roman Governor named Pilate. If you remember from lessons #31 and 34, the Romans were the fourth kingdom that Daniel taught us about. When Jesus was brought to Pilate to be judged, Pilate found him to be innocent. However, the evil religious police and high priest demanded that Pilate have Jesus killed! They hated him because he claimed to be God's Son making himself equal with God. Pilate finally gave in to their demands and handed Jesus over to them to be crucified. This is what Jesus formerly told his disciples would happen in lesson #48. He would be betrayed and murdered. On the third day he would rise from the dead.

The Roman soldiers crucified Jesus between two thieves. While they were killing him, Jesus prayed and asked his Father to forgive them for what they were doing to him. When Jesus was hanging on the cross and about to die, the sun stopped shining and everything became dark. At this time there was a special curtain in the temple that separated the people from God. When Jesus took our sins upon himself this curtain ripped open. Now there was no more barrier between people and God. Now that Jesus is dead we can be forgiven for our sins. We can join the Kingdom of Heaven. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus, that whoever believes in him will not be destroyed but will have everlasting life. We can look back at previous lessons and see that it has always been God's plan to sacrifice his Son for us. In lesson #7 we see that Jesus is the lamb that God provided for us. He took our punishment upon himself. We can also see in lesson #8 that the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream represented Jesus. Jesus is the one who brought peace between us sinners and the God of Heaven. Now we can have a relationship with God.

After Jesus, there was a rich man named Joseph who asked Pilate if he could have Jesus' body so that he might bury it. Joseph took Jesus' body and placed it in a new rock tomb and then rolled a very large stone in front of it. Pilate gave orders that soldiers guard the tomb for three days. The soldiers sealed the tomb shut and guarded its entrance. Three days after Jesus' death, an angel who had the appearance of lightning came down from heaven and opened the tomb. The guards were so terrified of him that they began to shake uncontrollably and fell down as if they were dead. When the women saw the angel, the angel told them that Jesus had already risen and gone. The tomb was empty. The angel reminded the women that Jesus had told everyone that he would be crucified and rise from the dead on the third day. The angel gave the women instructions to tell his disciples that they would meet Jesus in Galilee. As the women ran to find his disciples, suddenly Jesus met them! The women fell down and worshipped him. They had no doubt that he is the true Son of God.

**Lesson #54**

THREE MEETINGS

In our last lesson Jesus had just died. There was a rich man named Joseph who asked Pilate if he could have Jesus' body so that he might bury it. Joseph took Jesus' body and placed it in a new rock tomb and then rolled a very large stone in front of it. Pilate gave orders that soldiers guard the tomb for three days. The soldiers sealed the tomb shut and guarded its entrance. Three days after Jesus' death, an angel who had the appearance of lightning came down from heaven and opened the tomb. The guards were so terrified of him that they began to shake uncontrollably and fell down as if they were dead. When the women saw the angel, the angel told them that Jesus had already risen and gone. The tomb was empty. The angel reminded the women that Jesus had told everyone that he would be crucified and rise from the dead on the third day. The angel gave the women instructions to tell his disciples that they would meet Jesus in Galilee. As the women ran to find his disciples, suddenly Jesus met them! The women fell down and worshipped him. They had no doubt that he is the true Son of God.

Read (John 20:19-22). **While the disciples were in a locked room hiding from the Jews who had killed Jesus, suddenly Jesus appeared!** He showed them the holes in his hands where they had nailed him to the cross and the wound in his side where the soldiers had stabbed him with a spear.[105] Then Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit by breathing on them. If you remember from lesson #35, Mary's husband Joseph was Jesus' step-father, but the Holy Spirit was Jesus' true father. After giving them the Holy Spirit, Jesus gave them a command. Just as the Father had sent Jesus to invite people to join the Kingdom of God, so Jesus was sending his disciples to call people to join God's Kingdom. He also gave them authority to forgive people.

Read (John 20:24-29). When Jesus had appeared to his disciples the last time, one of his disciples named Thomas was missing. The disciples told Thomas that Jesus had appeared but he would not believe it. He could not believe that Jesus rose from the dead. One week later while they were all together, suddenly **Jesus appeared again! He invited Thomas to examine the holes in Jesus' hands and side.** When Thomas saw Jesus, he was amazed. He said, "My Lord and my God!". Jesus performed many miraculous signs to show that he was the Son of God whom had risen from the dead. **He did so many miracles that they could not write all of them down.**

Read (John 21:1-6). Later on, Jesus appeared to the disciples a third time. While they were in a boat fishing, he stood on the shore and called out to them. He asked them if they had caught any fish. When they replied, "No", he told them to drop their nets on the right side of the boat. Suddenly the nets filled with so many fish that they couldn't haul in the net!

Read (John 21:7-14). **As soon as the net was filled with fish, the disciple whom Jesus loved recognized that it was Jesus on the shore. Jesus had previously performed this same miracle when he first called them to follow him**.[106] When they met Jesus, he invited them to eat with him. They all watched him, they talked to him, and he ate with them. He was not a ghost nor a figment of their imagination. He was real.

Review:

Where were the disciples when Jesus appeared to them the first time?

What did Jesus show Thomas to prove that he was real and had risen from the

dead?

Why were not all of Jesus' miracles written down for us to read?

When Jesus called out to them from the shore, how did they know it was him?

In our next lesson Jesus ascends into Heaven.

[105] The wounds in Jesus' hands and side (John 19:33-34)

[106] Jesus' previous miracle (Luke 5:5-11)

**Lesson #55**

JESUS ASCENDS INTO HEAVEN

In our last lesson the disciples were in a locked room hiding from the Jews who had killed Jesus when Jesus suddenly appeared! He showed them the holes in his hands where they had nailed him to the cross and the wound in his side where the soldiers had stabbed him with a spear.[107] Then Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit by breathing on them. If you remember from lesson #35, the Holy Spirit was Jesus' true father. After giving them the Holy Spirit, Jesus gave them a command. Just as the Father had sent Jesus to invite people to join the Kingdom of God, so Jesus was sending his disciples to call people to join God's Kingdom. He also gave them authority to forgive people. He appeared to them one week later and showed himself to Thomas as well. He performed so many miracles that they could not write all of them down. Later on, Jesus appeared to the disciples a third time while they were in a boat fishing. When they met Jesus, he invited them to eat with him. They all watched him, they talked to him, and he ate with them. He was not a ghost or a figment of their imagination. He was real.

Read (Matthew 28:16-20). The disciples met Jesus on the mountain that the angel at the tomb had told them to go to.[108] When they arrived, they worshipped him. With all of the authority of Heaven and earth given to Jesus, **he commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations and races. These new disciples are to be baptized in the name [109] of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to be taught to obey all of Jesus' commands.**

Read (Luke 24:50-53). While Jesus was on the mountain top, he lifted up his hands and blessed his disciples. While he was blessing them, he rose up into the air and went back to Heaven.

Read (Acts 1:9-11). While the disciples were watching Jesus ascend into Heaven, two angels appeared and spoke to them. **They explained that in the same way Jesus ascended into Heaven, one day he would return to the earth again!**

Review:

What three things did Jesus command his disciples to do?

What did the two angels tell the disciples?

In our next lesson Jesus gives an invitation for you to join him.

**Lesson #56**

THE INVITATION

In our last lesson the disciples met Jesus on a mountain. With all of the authority of Heaven and earth given to Jesus, he commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations and races. These new disciples are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to be taught to obey all of Jesus' commands. While Jesus was on the mountain top, he lifted up his hands and blessed his disciples. While he was blessing them, he rose up into the air and went back to Heaven. While the disciples were watching Jesus ascend into Heaven, two angels appeared and spoke to them. They explained that in the same way Jesus ascended into Heaven, one day he would return to the earth again!

Read (Revelation 20:11-15). **Jesus has not returned yet, but when he does, he will cause all of the people that have ever lived to rise up out of their graves and be judged.** Anyone whose name has not been written in the Book of Life will be thrown into a lake of fire. The wicked angel, Satan, and all of his demons will also be thrown into the lake of fire where they will be tormented forever.[110] **Today, many people refuse to repent of their sins and follow Jesus. They will not be able to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven because their names are not written in the Book of Life.** For those who repent of their sins and follow the Son of God, he will write our names in his book and receive us into his Kingdom.

Read (Revelation 21:1-8). Jesus has prepared an amazing Kingdom and has invited each of us to join him.

Read (Revelation 22:12-17). Jesus said, "I am coming soon and my reward is with me." **Those who believe will have the right to eat from the tree of life that Adam and Eve rejected in the garden of Eden.[111] They will be able to live with God in the city of Heaven, the new Jerusalem.**

**There is good news! Jesus has prepared an amazing Kingdom and has invited each of us to join him. He sacrificed himself on the cross so that we could have all of our sins washed away and be acceptable to God. If you would like to join his Kingdom, then all you have to do is to dedicate your life to following Jesus and turn away from your sins.** The word, "repent", means "to change your heart and mind. To walk a different path".

We must share this good news with everyone that we know. We must make disciples of all nations and races. We must baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and we need to teach them to obey all of Jesus' commands.

Jesus is coming soon!!!

Review:

What will Jesus do when he returns?

What will happen to those who refuse to repent and believe?

What will Jesus give to those who believe?

What is the good news?

What must you do to join God's Kingdom?

What must believers do with this good news?

[107] The wounds in his hands and his side (John 19:33-34).

[108] The mountain (Matthew 28:7).

109] Notice that it says the "name"(singular) of the (1)Father, (2)Son, and (3)Holy Spirit. The three are one. This is referring to the trinity that we learned about in [lesson #5.

[110] Satan and his demons will be tormented (Revelation 20:10).

111] The Tree of Life - [lesson #3 and (Genesis 2:9)

**Review Series #8**

(Lessons 54-56)

In this last group of lessons the disciples were in a locked room hiding from the Jews who had killed Jesus when Jesus suddenly appeared! He showed them the holes in his hands were they had nailed him to the cross and the wound in his side where the soldiers had stabbed him with a spear. Then Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit by breathing on them. If you remember from lesson #35, the Holy Spirit was Jesus' true father. After giving them the Holy Spirit, Jesus gave them a command. Just as the Father had sent Jesus to invite people to join the Kingdom of God, so Jesus was sending his disciples to call people to join God's Kingdom too. He also gave them authority to forgive people. He appeared to them one week later and showed himself to Thomas as well. He performed so many miracles that they could not write all of them down. Later on, Jesus appeared to the disciples a third time while they were in a boat fishing. When they met Jesus he invited them to eat with him. They all watched him. They talked to him and he ate with them. He was not a ghost or a figment of their imagination. He was real.

Later, the disciples met Jesus on a mountain. With all of the authority of Heaven and earth given to Jesus, he commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations and races. These new disciples are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to be taught to obey all of Jesus' commands. While Jesus was on the mountain top, he lifted up his hands and blessed his disciples. While he was blessing them, he rose up into the air and went back to Heaven. While the disciples were watching Jesus ascend into Heaven, two angels appeared and spoke to them. They explained that in the same way Jesus ascended into Heaven, one day he would return to the earth again!

**THE STORY OF GOD**

Now we can understand what Abraham meant in lesson #7 when he told his son, Isaac, that God would provide a lamb for the sacrifice. He was referring to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.[112]

God reminded the people again about the special Lamb of God to come when he told the Israelites to sacrifice a Passover lamb to save their oldest child from death[113].

Do you remember the promise that God made to Abraham in lesson #7 ? God said, "Through your offspring all nations will be blessed." Jesus is the offspring of Abraham. Jesus has brought salvation to the world.

When God promised Abraham that he would bless him and make him the father of many nations[114], God didn't mean only the one nation of Israel, but the many nations of the world! Even though the Israelites were physical descendants of Abraham, the Bible says that only a few of them were part of the true remnant of believers. Most of them died in their sins because they did not have the faith of Abraham.[115] Anyone who joins the Kingdom of God is a child of Abraham because they have the same faith that Abraham had. It doesn't matter what nation or race you are from. If you place your faith in Jesus Christ, then you are part of the true remnant of believers that we learned about in lesson #30. In lesson #55 Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations, not only the nation of Israel. You can be a child of Abraham, too! We believers are all one family in Jesus Christ no matter what our nation or race.[116]

In lesson #29 we learned that the coming Savior of the world would be rejected by people. He would be like a lamb. They would pierce his body. He would take our sins on himself and they would kill him. He would be given a grave with the rich but he would live again. Jesus was the one who came and gave himself to be sacrificed on the cross for our sins. Then he was buried in a rich man's tomb, but three days later he rose from the dead and appeared to many people.[117]

We previously learned about the old covenant in lesson #18. God gave Moses a list of many rules that the people must keep in order for God to accept them. It was called, "the old covenant". They also had to perform animal sacrifices whenever they sinned. They could not speak to God directly. They had to ask a priest to talk to God for them. The problem concerning the old contract was that the people could never be good enough for God to accept them. They always sinned because they had evil hearts. Jesus fulfilled all of God's requirements for us. He is our high priest who has given us a new covenant. Now we can know God and have a relationship with him.

In lesson #26 God promised King David that David will always have someone from his own family to sit on his throne forever. [118] Jesus is a descendant of King David [119] and Jesus is the King of Heaven who will rule forever and ever. In lesson #31 the prophet Daniel said that the Kingdom of Jesus would be like a rock that turned into a huge mountain and rules over the entire world.

Now we believers are waiting for Jesus to return to the earth and bring us to heaven to live with him forever and ever.

"But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through

all of the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then,

and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing

may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you - even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets."

(Acts 3:18-21) (NIV)

Are you prepared for Jesus to come? Have you repented and given your life to him? Are you a part of the Kingdom of God?

112] The Lamb of God [lessons #7, 35, 50, 51, and 52

113] The Passover Lamb [lesson #6 and 49

[114] Father of many nations (Genesis 17:1-6)

[115] Not all Israelites are part of the true remnant of believers (Romans 9:25-33).

[116] All believers are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:26-29)

[117] Jesus was seen by many people after he rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

[118] King David will always have a descendant on his throne (Psalm 89:35-37)

[119] Jesus is a descendant of King David. lesson #35

THE END
