Titel

H. VAN DAM

Bible Stories

volume 1

Illustrated by Jaap Kramer

Den Hertog - Houten

© 2024 Den Hertog B.V., Houten

ISBN 978 90 331 8173 3

Alle rechten voorbehouden. Niets uit deze uitgave mag worden verveelvoudigd, opgeslagen in een geautomatiseerd gegevensbestand, of openbaar gemaakt, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, hetzij digitaal, elektronisch, mechanisch, door fotokopieën, opnamen, of op enige andere manier, zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever.

1. God made everything

People are often very clever. They can build big houses. Or tall buildings and large churches. In factories men make beautiful cars. And also nice toys for children.

Can people also make real flowers that smell so nice?

No, they can’t.

Can people make real birds that can fly?

No, they can’t do that either.

Who made the blue sky? Who made the sun and the stars? God did. He is the only One who can. All things come from God. God makes everything grow as well. The flowers and the trees. People cut the trees so they have wood. From the wood they make tables and chairs. And many more things.

Do you see that everything comes from God? Yes, the Lord made everything. Also human beings. Also you when you were still very small.

Do you know how God made every-thing? No? Well, listen to this story.

A long time ago God made Heaven and earth. God Himself lives in Heaven. All the angels did as well. Those are God’s servants.

At first, the earth wasn’t very beautiful at all. It was very cold and dark. But then God says: ‘Let there be light.’ And all of a sudden there is light. How beautiful!

Because whatever God says, always happens. The Lord is indeed almighty!

The Lord makes sure that it becomes dark at night. The next morning there is that lovely light again.

It is the second day. God says that there should be a great blue sky. With white and gray clouds. At once they are there.

Look at the clouds floating in the sky! Sometimes rain comes from those clouds. So the flowers, trees and animals can drink. How nice! Sometimes the sun will hide behind those clouds. How pretty!

The third day comes. God says everything should be dry. A lot of water has to go into the ocean, where it can make high waves. Look at the dry land! There are flowers, also grass, bushes and trees. O, how beautiful it is on earth already. When the red, yellow and blue flowers are thirsty, rain will come from the clouds. When they are cold, the sun will shine. It is as if they are saying how beautifully God has made them. Just like the high trees with their strong branches.

The flowers and the trees grow seeds. Tiny little seeds, you almost can’t see. Or large ones, like acorns and chestnuts. Later on new flowers and plants and trees can grow from those seeds. There will be more and more on earth. This is the Lord’s will.

As the night falls, it is as if the flowers are going to sleep. The branches of the trees are not moving anymore either. God looks after them when the night falls. And when the new day starts, it is even more beautiful on the earth.

On the fourth day God says that there should be the sun, moon and stars. And there they are. O, the sun seems to be made of pure gold. It makes everything more beautiful with its rays. It’s also nice and warm.

When it becomes night the sun goes down slowly. With red and yellow colours. How lovely! Still, it doesn’t get completely dark because what is shining there up in the sky? It is the moon. And look at all the stars. A hundred? Thousand? Even more. Only God can count them all. They are twinkling so high in the sky.

How much God has made already. Every time God makes sure to see if what He made was good. And every time it was very good. God said so Himself. And whatever God says is true. Always.

How almighty the Lord is that He can make everything. We can not under-stand it all. Therefore we should always be very reverent when we talk about God. Also when we pray to Him.

2. What else the Lord made

The fifth day comes. The sun is shining again. Look at the ponds. They are full of fish. Little fish and big fish. There are even bigger fish in the ocean. Dolphins and whales. Look at all the splashing in the water! Look up in the sky. There are birds flying everywhere. Big and small ones. How nicely they sing. A blackbird sounds different from a robin. They sing and fly as God has taught them. God also taught them how to make a nest. In the nest they lay their eggs. Young birds are born from those eggs. The father birds and mother birds take good care of their babies.

And what did God make on the sixth day? All the other animals. Over there the cows are eating grass. Sometimes they are lowing. That means: We think the grass tastes so good. Little flies and buzzing bees are flying around. There are tigers and huge hippopotamuses. And many more. God Makes sure all animals have food to eat. What a big miracle that is. God alone can do this.

Strong lions and mighty elephants are walking through the forests. Butterflies are fluttering amongst the flowers. In the trees, squirrels are jumping from branch to branch. Little lambs are dancing in the meadows.

How amazingly beautiful is all of this! How almighty and good is the Lord. Because He made everything. And it is as if the animals are telling us about God. As well as the trees and the flowers. Everything is praising the Lord.

God does even more on the sixth day. Listen.

God says: ‘I will make a man.’ This time God does it different from the way He made the animals. He takes some dust of the ground and makes a body of it. But that body is not yet alive. So what does God do? He breathes into the nose of that body. Then it is alive. It has become a man. A person with a soul. That means: he knows the Lord. He knows God made him. That God made everything. He is very obedient to his Maker. He loves the Lord. God calls the first man Adam.

God says to Adam: ‘Adam, you will be the ruler of everything. Over all the birds, the fish and all the other animals. Adam, I made it all for you.’ How happy Adam is. He is thinking: God has made everything good. The Lord is so good to me that I am allowed to live here. That I am allowed to be king over everything. But God is my King and that is the best of all. Six days have passed.

God rests on the next day, the seventh day. No, He is not tired. But the Lord is done with His work. And everything is very good. Exactly as He wanted it.

All people, all fathers and mothers, also work for six days. But not when it is Sunday. Children don’t go to school on Sundays. Sunday is a rest day. People can go to church on that day. Children too. The Lord wants us to serve Him. In the church we should listen reverently, because we hear about the Lord. We also pray to God there. We ask if He will take care of us.

But you know what we should ask the Lord especially?

Lord, will Thou also be our King? Only then will we be truly happy.

3. In Paradise

Adam lives in a great beautiful garden. This garden is called the Garden of Eden, or Paradise. It is the most beautiful spot in the world.

The animals are his friends. They don’t harm him. Adam is king over everything, including the animals. Look, all the animals come to Adam. The Lord makes them go to Adam, because Adam has to give all of them a name. He knows exactly what he wants to call them.

The animals don’t come to him alone. They come two at a time. The two strong ones he calls lions. Those two little ones he calls mice. Two horses, two butterflies... all of them are getting a name. Why do they all come two by two? Because to every male belongs a female.

The animals don’t harm each other either. A small sheep is standing very closely to a wolf. A little mouse does not run away from a cat.

When all the animals have come and gone, Adam is left by himself. The Lord sees it. Each male animal has a female animal, but Adam is alone. The Lord says: ‘I will make Adam even happier. I will give him a woman. The woman will always be with him. She will help him.’

God makes Adam fall into a deep sleep. When he is asleep God takes a rib out of his body. From the rib He makes a person. Just like Adam. But just a little different: it is a woman.

When Adam wakes up, God gives her to him. Adam is so happy! He says: ‘She is called ‘woman’, because she is made from my rib. That is why she belongs to me and I to her. She is my wife. Afterwards she is named Eve.

Adam and Eve love each other very much. Together they live in this beautiful paradise. Together they can talk with God. Together they love the Lord. And the Lord loves both Adam and Eve.

Often the Lord visits them. They can hear it in the wind that blows through the trees. How happy they are. How obediently they listen to the Lord! They can tell Him everything. God is their friend!

Adam and Eve are never afraid. They never feel any pain. They are never sad. And they are never tired from working hard. Even though they are not wearing any clothes, they’re never cold. They also don’t think it is strange to be naked. God made them so beautiful and perfect.

Many trees grow in Paradise. They bear delicious fruits. Like apples, pears and plums. Adam and Eve can eat from those trees. As much as they want. But there is one tree from which they are not allowed to eat. God told them so. But that doesn’t matter, there are so many other trees.

Why does the Lord not want them to eat from that special tree? He wants to know if they will always obey Him. The Lord says: ‘If you are obedient you can live in Paradise forever. But if you eat from that one tree, you can not stay here. Then you will have to die.’

As long as they are not disobedient and as long as they continually love the Lord, they can stay in Paradise. Then they will be happy and live forever. Will they stand the test?

You know what their greatest happiness is? That they are children of God! That the Lord is their Father.

Can we be really happy? When we also become children of God. You can ask for that every day. ‘Please Lord, make me Thy child.’

4. Listening to the devil

Look, there is Eve. Walking alone. She is looking at all the beauty around her in Paradise. She is listening to the singing of the birds. She eats from the tasty fruit, growing from the trees.

All of a sudden she hears a voice. Who is talking? It isn’t Adam. It isn’t God either. It is a serpent! How is it that a serpent can talk? Do you know how? Somebody is hiding in the body of the serpent. It is the devil. And he is talking to Eve.

Who is the devil? The devil is the great enemy of God. He does not love God. He hates God. This is why he wants to destroy all of God’s beautiful work. He thought: I will try to make Adam and Eve disobedient. Then, they won’t be happy anymore. Then, they won’t love God anymore. Then, they won’t praise God anymore. Then, they will not be allowed to live forever anymore. Then they will have to die.’

Listen to what the devil says to Eve: ‘Is it true that you are not allowed to eat from the trees? Did God really say that?’

Eve says to the devil: ‘We are not allowed to eat fruit from this one tree. But we are allowed to eat from the other trees. If we eat from this tree, we are being bad, we sin and we will have to die.’

O, listen to what that nasty devil says next! He says: ‘God is lying, if you eat from this one tree, you will not die. You will be even happier. You will be like God Himself. Just as wise and almighty.’

O, how mean that is. God isn’t lying, the devil is.

Eve, don’t listen to that snake. Quick, walk away!

But what does Eve do? She looks at the tree. She believes what that nasty devil says. Suddenly, she takes one of the fruits from the tree and starts eating!

How wicked!

All at once Eve is very scared. Now she is not happy at all, she is unhappy. Sin has come into her heart. What does she do? She is going to Adam. She lies to Adam, just like the devil did to her. ‘Come on, Adam’, she says, ‘eat from this. We will be even happier than we are now and we will be just like God Himself.’

And Adam also eats. O, now they are both disobedient to God. They are both unhappy. Their hearts are beating in fear. There is evil in their hearts. They are full of sin.

The serpent sneaks away. The devil is laughing wickedly. His nasty plan has worked.

And what are Adam and Eve doing? They look at each other. They see now that they are naked and they are ashamed of themselves. This comes also through sin.

They pick big leaves from the trees to make skirts to wear.

Listen! What is it? O, how frightened they are. The Lord is coming! They can hear it in the wind blowing through the trees. No, now they are not happy as they used to be. Now they are terrified. They run away and hide themselves.

Look at them, huddled close together in the bushes. Two people with sin in their hearts.

Later on Adam and Eve will have children. Their children will also have sinful hearts. More and more children will be born. All of them are like Adam and Eve. All people have sinful hearts. We too. That’s why we are disobedient sometimes. Just like Adam. That’s why we lie sometimes. Just like Eve. How terribly sad!

You can tell the Lord about your sinful heart. Ask the Lord every day to give you a new heart. Only a new heart is an obedient heart.

5. God is looking for Adam and Eve

Remember Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes?

There they are, still hiding. Can God find them? Does He know where they are? O yes, God sees everything. All we do or think cannot be hidden from God. We should remember that.

Listen, God is calling Adam. He says: ‘Where are you?’ Adam comes out of his hiding place. Eve as well. There they stand, trembling before God.

Adam says: ’I was afraid. That is why I was hiding.’

Then God asks: ‘Did you eat from this one tree?’ ‘Yes’, says Adam, ‘but Eve gave it to me.’

So Adam is blaming Eve. That is not really fair.

God looks at Eve. Eve also blames someone else. She says: ‘The serpent told me to do it.’

Yes, people often blame each other. But the Lord wants us to be honest. If you do something wrong, you should be honest and say you were the one who did it.

Now the Lord will talk to the serpent. From now on the serpent has to creep around on the ground as a cursed beast.

But the devil was inside the serpent. He thought his evil plan had worked. That Adam and Eve would be his friends from now on and for always. That they would be unhappy forever. Just like the devil himself. The devil thought: ‘I have won.’

But listen to what the Lord says: I will send Someone down to the earth. Someone, who is stronger than the devil. He will make Adam and Eve happy again. Through Him, they will be children of God again and will not listen to the devil anymore.’

Do you know who that is? The Lord Jesus. He is the Son of God. He lives up in Heaven as well. Because God is His Father.

But don’t Adam and Eve deserve punishment? Yes, they do. But when the Lord Jesus will come to earth, He will bear that punishment. Then, Adam and Eve can go to Heaven. And be with God. There, it will even be more beautiful than in Paradise. There is no evil devil in Heaven. Then, they will never be disobedient again. O, what a great miracle that is! And the devil had not thought of that at all!

Adam and Eve are not allowed to live in Paradise anymore. But the Lord will still take care of them. Corn will still grow as well as other food. But now there will also grow weeds. So Adam will have to work very hard from now on.

God gives them different clothes. He makes skirts from animal skins. They can wear those.

Then, Adam and Eve are leaving. Away from that lovely Paradise. An angel with a sword makes sure they can not get back in again. They are leaving, going out into the lonely world.

How sad everything has become! Now, people have to work hard to earn their food. They will be tired and cold and feel pain.

The animals have changed too. Now they harm each other. A lion wants to eat a little sheep. Sometimes animals will even want to harm people. All of this because of sin. How sad, don’t you think?

Because of sin there are a lot of people who are sick. Because of sin, all people have to die.

And yet, we can come to know true happiness, just like Adam and Eve came to know it. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Because He is stronger than the devil.

6. Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve are so happy! Do you know why? God gave them a baby. A little boy. They call him Cain.

After a while, another little boy is born. His name is Abel. Now Adam and Eve have two children. They are taking good care of them.

Look, after a little while they are crawling already. Then they learn to walk. They also start to say a few words. Their parents are teaching them.

Adam and Eve also tell them about God. And about Paradise. Also about sin. They are telling them: ‘God does not want us to do wrong. Because that is sin.’ They also talk to them about the Lord Jesus. He can forgive all sins, even little children’s sins. Cain and Abel learn how to pray reverently.

When the boys are bigger, they start to work. Just like father Adam. Cain is going to work on the land. He becomes a farmer. Look at how busy he is! He is going to sow corn. The sun will ripen the corn so Cain can reap it. From the corn he makes flour and from the flour he bakes tasty bread. It tastes so delicious!

Abel becomes a shepherd. He looks very well after the sheep. He makes sure they have enough grass to eat. Many lambs are born. Abel takes good care of them in case a wild animal comes to take one away. Sometimes he kills a sheep for its meat. The meat tastes so good!

Look, Abel makes a heap of stones. It is called an altar. He puts tree branches on top of it. On top of the branches he lays a dead sheep. This is his offering.

Cain also makes an altar. He puts some corn on top of it. That is his offering.

They are lighting the branches with fire. The wind blows up the flames. The sheep is burning. It is an offering to the Lord. The corn burns too. It is also an offering to the Lord.

Abel humbly kneels before his altar. He thanks God. He says: ‘Lord, Thou art so good to me. Thou givest me so many sheep. Thou makest the grass grow. I don’t deserve this. Because I have a sinful heart. Lord, I killed a sheep. But actually, I should die instead. Just like the sheep. Because I have done so many wrong things. Please, will Thou forgive me?’

This is how Abel prays, very humbly.

God in Heaven hears him. Abel not only prays with his mouth, but also with his heart. He loves the Lord.

Cain also prays in front of his altar. But he does not pray with his heart. He is not sorry for his sins. He does not love the Lord.

The Lord also sees how we pray. Do we only pray with our mouths? Or also with our hearts? Are we like Abel or like Cain?

Look! Watch Abel. Watch how happy he seems. God accepts his offering. God listened to his prayers. God forgave his sins. That is possible because the Lord Jesus will come and die. Just like the sheep. He will do this for the sins of Abel. And for the sins of all God’s children. That is why Abel is so happy! Cain doesn’t look very happy at all. God did not accept his offering. Because Cain does not love Him.

Cain can see how happy Abel is. Cain gets very angry. Angry with Abel and angry with God. The Lord sees it. He says: ‘Why are you so angry? Watch out, Cain, that you don’t do any bad things. If you will love Me, I will make you happy too. Just like Abel.’

But Cain doesn’t listen to God. He listens to the voice of the devil.

What is he doing now? O, how terrible! He is sneaking up on Abel very quietly. Then suddenly he hits him very hard. Abel is falling to the ground. He is bleeding. But Cain keeps on hitting. And then... Abel stops moving. He is dead.

Cain becomes frightened. He runs away. But God can still find him.

God asks him: ‘Where is Abel, your brother?’

Cain is rude, he says: ‘I don’t know where he is. Why should I have to look after him?’ Cain is lying. He does not ask the Lord for forgiveness either.

Cain gets a heavy punishment. He will never be able to find a place to live peacefully. He will never find rest. He will have to wander forever.

How afraid he is! He has to think of Abel all the time. He is now a murderer. And you know what the worst part is? He thinks a murderer cannot get a new heart. But that isn’t true. He can! Cain doesn’t believe it. He doesn’t want it. He does not pray and ask for it.

Adam and Eve are waiting at home for their boys. It takes such a long time. They are going to look for them. But o, what a shock! They see Abel, lying on the ground. Silent and pale. He is dead. They are so sad!

They are burying him. Abel’s body is now in the ground. But his soul is in Heaven. He will be there with God forever. There is no angry Cain there. In Heaven Abel is never sad anymore. There he is always happy. Abel is very favoured, don’t you think so?

7. Safely in the ark

Adam and Eve had many more children. And so had Cain. By now, there are many people living on the earth. But those people are even worse than Cain. They don’t want to listen to God. They are mocking God. They like doing bad things.

This makes God very sad. And angry. The Lord warns the people. But they are laughing at Him. Then God says: ‘I will punish all people for their sins.’

All people? No, there is still one person who loves the Lord. His name is Noah. Noah is God’s friend.

The Lord says to him: ‘Noah, I will punish all people. There will be a lot of water, so all people will drown. But you don’t have to die, Noah. You have to make a big boat! The boat is called an ark. And whoever is in the ark will stay alive.’

So Noah goes to work. He cuts trees. He has three sons who help him. They make planks from the trees. From the planks they will make the ark. How busy those four men are. You can hear them hammering every day. Knock, knock, knock, it goes.

It is becoming a very large ship. As large as a whole row of houses, and much higher than the houses.

A lot of people are coming to have a look. They think it is very strange. Doesn’t a boat have to float on the water? But there isn’t any water at all!

‘What even are you doing, Noah?’ they ask him.

Noah says: ‘There will be a lot of water. Everywhere. God will make it come. All people and animals will drown. Because you don’t want to listen to the Lord.’

Do you think the people are getting scared? No, they don’t believe anything of it. They make fun of Noah. ‘It won’t happen’, they say. This makes Noah very sad. He says to them: ‘But it will happen, God said so Himself. You should pray and ask if your sins will be forgiven. You must change your ways and turn to the Lord. That means: you should do as the Lord tells you. Then you can also come into the ark. So you don’t have to die.’

The people are laughing even more now. O, how terrible this is. They don’t want to believe it.

After a long time the ark is finished. The door is open. Look, who is coming? Who wants to come into the ark? There are two tigers, a male and a female. And two dogs. And two little mice. And many, many more. It is a long line of animals. They don’t harm each other at all. The are all going into the ark. Noah gives all of them a place to stay. There are birds also. They can come in too. God sends all those animals to the ark. What a great miracle it is! O, you wicked people, look here. The animals want to come but you don’t!

The four men are also going into the ark. As well as their wives. Eight people altogether.

Then God closes the door. Nobody can open it now. Nobody can enter into the ark. It is too late. How dark it is getting outside. That is because of all those black clouds. It is starting to rain and rain and rain! And it keeps on raining.

Some of the water also comes out of the ground. There is water everywhere. The water is rising, higher and higher. It is covering houses and trees. The people are escaping to the mountains. But water reaches them there too. O, how afraid the people are now. They are calling for help. But no one can help them anymore. And the ark is closed. All people have to drown in the water. God’s punishment has come.

It finally stops raining. The ark alone is floating on the large, large ocean. It is safe in the ark. God looks after the people and animals who are in there. How sad for all those other people, don’t you think? But it was their own fault. Noah had warned them many times. They should have listened!

Often, we also do bad things. Then, we don’t listen to the Lord. Just like those people. We are also warned. By our parents at home. Our teacher at school. The minister in church.

It is actually God Who is warning us. He says to us: ‘Don’t do bad things, please. Sin is so terrible. Listen to Me. Just like Noah. Then you will be happy. Just like Noah in the ark.

8. Out of the ark

For a long time the ark is floating on the quiet waters. But for how long still? Noah doesn’t know. But he thinks: ‘God will not forget us. God is looking after us and the animals, here in the ark.’

It has stopped raining. The water sinks into the ground very slowly. Then, all of a sudden: Boom! A big shock.The boat stops. Right on top of a big mountain. The ark is not floating anymore.

There is a window in the ark. When they look outside they can see the tops of other mountains. Good, the water is gradually disappearing.

After a while Noah is wondering: has all the water disappeared yet? He would like to know. So Noah takes a black bird, a raven. He lets it fly away. The bird flies happily back and forth. Then it does not come back again. It must have found some food on earth.

Later on Noah sends away a beautiful white dove. The dove is looking for little seeds. But it comes back. It can not find any seeds yet.

After a week, the dove flies away again through the window of the ark. It is gone for the whole day. The night falls: look, there it is again. Can you see what it has in its little beak? A leaf from a tree.

A week later, and the dove flies off again. It does not come back. The earth must surely be dry. Now God lets them leave the ark. All the people and all animals. Look at those animals running! The birds are singing as they fly into the sky. O, they are so happy!

On the earth everything becomes beautiful again. The flowers are blossoming again. The trees are growing leaves again. The birds can make their nests again.

But what will Noah do? He is looking for rocks. He heaps them in a pile. It becomes an altar. On top of it he puts some wood. Then he kills some birds and sheep to burn on the altar. It is an offering for the Lord.

Noah and all the other people kneel humbly down in front of the altar. They thank God. Noah says: ‘Lord, how good Thou art to us. We were able to be in the ark. We did not deserve it because we too have sinned against Thee.’

God hears this. He can see that Noah is truly thankful. His heart is truly thankful. The Lord says: ‘I will never let the earth be drowned again. There will never be another flood. And I will keep care of everything: the people, the animals and the plants.’ Then Noah looks up and sees a beautiful bow of colours in the sky. How lovely! It is a rainbow.

‘Look,’ God says, ‘this is a token that what I’ve said is surely true.’

Do you ever look up and see the rainbow? Isn’t it pretty? Think of the flood and the ark. God punishes all people for their sins. But the rainbow tells us that we can also receive forgiveness of our sins. Ask the Lord to teach you. It is still the day of grace.

9. A high tower

How high the tower is getting! Yes, and it has to get higher still. Look at those hard working men over there. They’re baking stones. Other men are carrying those stones to the tower. The stones are being piled onto each other. The tower is becoming still higher. The top has to reach heaven. The people look so happy. They are proud. They say: ‘Are we not clever?’

Who made these men so clever? God did. O, but they seem to be forgetting that!

Who gave us our brains to use and be clever? God did. Let’s not forget that!

Why are they building this tower? Because then they can’t get lost anymore. You can still see the tower even from far away. It is getting so high. You can always find it again. All people are living close to the tower. And they want to stay there forever.

But God said: ‘You shall not live close together. You have to move far away. To new countries. I will look after you wherever you live.’

But people are not listening. They say: ‘We are clever. We can look after ourselves. We want to rule. We want to stay together. Then we and our tower will be very strong. We will not need God anymore.’

Isn’t it terrible. Yes, our sinful hearts often think we don’t need God. But that is not true. Without the Lord we can do nothing.

The men keep on building. They pass each other stones. They are talking with each other. But all of a sudden, they don’t understand each other anymore. They are saying such strange words to one another. It sounds most peculiar. They are not able to talk with each other anymore. So now they can not build a tower together anymore either.

Some men walk away. Some others follow. Then some more. After a while nobody is left working on the tower! They don’t stay together anymore. They all travel away into the big world.

Who did that? You know the answer: God of course. People may think they are their own boss. But that is not true.

We also have such sinful hearts. We often want to have our own way. We want to rule. That isn’t good at all. We should ask God every day: ‘Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?’

10. Abraham, God’s friend

Do you see that long line of people and animals coming this way? Lots of cows, sheep and little lambs. Big camels too. With people sitting on top of them. Just as if they were horses. They are all travelling. Who is the head of the crowd? It is Abraham. Sarah, his wife is travelling with him. They don’t have any children. This makes them very sad.

There are also many servants. They are the shepherds who take care of the animals. They especially look after all the little lambs and calves.

Why are they travelling? Because God told them to go. Abraham used to live in a country where people worship idols. Where they bow down to statues. That is when the Lord called Abraham. He told him to leave the country of idols. He was to travel to another country. Abraham does what God tells him to do. He is obedient.

‘Where are you going, Abraham?’ ‘I don’t know’, he answers. ‘But it doesn’t matter because God knows.’

It will be a long, long journey. Many days and weeks. Sometimes the only thing they see all day is sand. That is called a desert. Often it is so very hot. And at night so very cold. They also have to watch out for dangerous, wild beasts. But Abraham is not afraid. He trusts God. God takes care of him, and all the people and animals.

You can tell Abraham is a child of God, can’t you?

After a long time they arrive at a place where there is water. It is a river. They have to look for a spot where the water isn’t too deep. Look at them wading through the water to the other side. They are carrying the smallest lambs. Now they are on the other side of the river.

Do you hear what God says to Abraham? ‘Abraham, this is the land where you will live. With all the animals and servants.’

It is a beautiful land. There is a lot of grass for the cattle and the sheep. Abra-ham will be rich.

God says something else to Abraham too: ‘Abraham, I will give you a child. Later on more and more children will be born. It will be a great nation. This will be your nation, Abraham. They shall all live in this beautiful country. I will take good care of all of them. I will bless them.’

But then comes the best part. God says: ‘One day the Lord Jesus, the Son of God will be born. From this great nation and in this beautiful country.’

How happy Abraham is! Because he knows that the Lord Jesus will also come for him. To make him happy. To save him. Abraham will also go to Heaven. That is a place where it is even more beautiful. That is a place where God lives! And Abraham loves God. He often thinks: When will the Lord Jesus come? How he longs for Him!

Do you remember that God called Abraham?

He calls us too. Like when we are listening to the Bible. He then says to us: ‘Are you listening to Me? If you do as I say, I will bless you. Just like Abraham.’

We are not able to do that ourselves. Therefore we should pray: ‘Lord give me a heart that will listen to Thee. Just like Abraham.’

Then we will also long for the Lord Jesus. Just like Abraham.

11. Abraham and Lot

Do you know who also went on the far journey? It is Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Abraham is his uncle. Lot also has many sheep and cows. He also has shepherds to look after them.

More and more lambs and calves are being born. Abraham’s flock is getting bigger all the time. Lot’s flock is growing too.

But now it is becoming difficult. There is not enough grass for all the animals of both Abraham and Lot. Look at what happens now! Abraham’s shepherds begin to quarrel with Lot’s shepherds.

One of Abraham’s shepherd says: ‘This is where our animals are supposed to graze.’

‘O no,’ says one of Lot’s shepherds, ‘this grass is for our sheep.’

They are getting angry with each other. They are quarrelling every day. Every day they want to chase the other ones away.

Abraham is not happy about this. He wants to keep the peace. You can understand why. To quarrel is sin.

How is this quarrelling to stop? Abraham decides that they had better part. This is why Abraham says to Lot: ‘Lot, which way do you want to go with your flock?’

Lot looks to the left, then he looks to the right. He points to the most beautiful spot. ‘That’s where I want to live’, he says.

‘That will be fine’, Abraham says, ‘then I will go the other direction.’

This was not very nice of Lot. He should have said:’ Uncle Abraham, you choose first, please.’

Lot is only thinking of himself. He does not think of Abraham.

And what about us? Most of the time we are also selfish. We often think: As long as I have the best of everything. This is not right. God would like us to be considerate to other people as well.

Abraham and Lot have now parted. The shepherds can not quarrel with each other anymore.

A lot of grass grows at the spot that Lot has chosen. Lot is very pleased with that. He thinks: ‘Now my flock will even grow bigger. I will become even richer.’

But you know what he doesn’t think about? There are a lot of strange people where he lives now. People who live sinful lives. They live in the city of Sodom. And now Lot lives in Sodom too. With all those sinful people.

But Lot is not happy in Sodom. Through all the wickedness in that city Lot is very unhappy. Because Lot fears the Lord. And when you fear the Lord, you will be sad about the sins of all people.

But it is Lot’s own fault. He wants to become even richer. This is all he thinks about.

Yes, even the Lord’s children do wrong things. But the Lord will always show them where they are wrong and then they will confess their sins.

Abraham is sad about Lot. But God says: ‘Abraham do not be sad. Remember what I have promised you? You will become a great nation. That nation will live in this land. This whole country will be for your people. I will make sure of it.’

‘Yes’, Abraham thinks, ‘that is true. God promised. But I can not understand it. I don’t even have one child. I am already old. Sarah too. And old people never have children.’

Then the Lord says to Abraham: ‘Come, look and see.’ It is night. ‘Abraham’, God says, ‘do you see all those stars up there in the sky? Can you count them?’

No, of course Abraham can’t. There are so many of them!

‘Well Abraham’, God says, ‘that is how big your nation will be. As many stars there are in the sky, so many children will be born.’

It will be a great miracle. But it will happen. Because God says so. Only he can do miracles.

And what about Abraham? Does he believe it? Yes, he believes everything the Lord says and this makes him happy, truly happy.

Abraham builds an altar. He kills a sheep. He burns it on the altar. It is an offering to the Lord. Abraham reverently thanks the Lord. The Lord is his God. That makes him so happy. And so rich. So very rich.

Would you like to be truly rich? Rich in the Lord? You can ask for it. Because without God you will be poor. So very poor.

12. Would the Lord forget?

It is taking a long time, such a long time! It is making Sarah very sad. Yes, but the Lord has promised it: Abraham and Sarah will have a baby. But it hasn’t happened yet. Sarah is wondering if God has forgotten her.

She says to Abraham: ‘I am old. I surely won’t have a baby anymore. You know what you should do, Abraham? You should marry Hagar. Then maybe a baby will be born. Because Hagar is young.’ Who is Hagar? She is Sarah’s maid. She helps Sarah.

Abraham listens to Sarah. He marries Hagar. This is not right of Abraham and Sarah. They should have waited patiently.

After a little while a boy is born. Abra-ham is the father and Hagar is the mother. His name is Ishmael.

Abraham is happy enough and yet... What did God Promise? That Sarah would have a baby. No, Ishmael is not the promised child.

One day Abraham is sitting outside the tent. He is resting in the shade of a tree. It is a hot day.

Then he sees three men coming. Who are they? He doesn’t know them. They are getting closer. Abraham gets up and starts to walk in their direction. He asks: ‘Would you like to rest here for a while? Underneath this tree. I will get some food for you.’ The men think that is a good idea.

Abraham goes quickly to Sarah. He says to her: ‘Quick, can you bake some tasty bread?’

Then he goes and gets a little calf. A servant will kill it and roast it for the men. Now the men will have a good meal. They must surely be hungry.

One of the men begins to talk. He asks: ‘Where is Sarah?’

Abraham answers: ‘She is in the tent.’ Then the man says: ‘Sarah will have a little son in a year.’

O, now Abraham knows who this man is! It is not a ordinary human being. It is the Lord! And those other men are not ordinary men either. They are two angels. Now Abraham is listening reverently.

Sarah hears them. She is standing in the tent, listening. Would she still have a baby? A little son? No, that can’t be, she is far too old. It is making her laugh out loud.

But God sees everything. And He hears everything. He says: ‘Why did Sarah laugh? Does she not believe the Lord can do miracles?’

Sarah is shocked. She quickly denies it: ‘I didn’t laugh.’

Now she is even lying. How wicked. But the Lord says: ‘You did laugh, Sarah.’

Do we ever lie? Yes, we do. All people and children do. This is very wrong. Because lying is a sin. A sin against the Lord.

Pray to the Lord to teach you to speak the truth. Ask Him to make you honest, not only to Him, but to all people.

13. God’s punishment over Sodom

Do you remember those three men? They had visited Abraham. One of them was the Lord. The other two were angels. The Lord went back to Heaven. But not those two angels. They went further. They went to Sodom. God told them to.

They arrive at Sodom. There is a big, high wall around the city. There is a gate in the wall. That is the way into the city.

Lot is sitting at the gate. He lives in Sodom. Do you remember?

Lot sees the men coming. He does not yet know that those two men are angels.

He says to the angels: ‘You can come to my house if you wish. I will feed you. And you can also sleep there because it is almost dark.’ Lot is kind and hospitable.

But a little while later, listen! What is that yelling? What is happening?

The men of Sodom are knocking on the door. They are very angry! They are shouting: ‘Open the door. We want those two men.’

Lot is startled. O, they will harm the two men. Lot knows it for sure. Yet Lot is not afraid. He goes outside. He says: You are not allowed to hurt these men. They have done nothing to you. They are just staying at my home.’

Now the men are getting angrier. They yell: ‘We are the boss. You just wait, Lot, and we will hurt you too.’

They try to grasp Lot. But the two angels quickly pull Lot inside. They close the door.

The bad men are trying to break the door open. But now they are unable to find the door. They look and look. It is as if the door has disappeared!

This is a miracle of God.

The men of Sodom are going home. This is nice for Lot! He thinks: Now I know who those two men are. They must be two angels. They must have been sent by the Lord.

The angels say to Lot: ‘You know why we are here? We have come to punish the city. All the people in Sodom have to die. Everything will be burnt by fire. But you don’t have to die, Lot. Neither your wife nor your two daughters. We are here to save you. Come with us now.’

Lot is getting frightened. He has to leave? But what about his home? And his sheep? And his cows? No, he can’t take anything with him. O, but then he has nothing. All of a sudden he will be very poor. That is what Lot is thinking.

The angels are waiting. ‘Lot, hurry up. The fire will soon be here!’

But Lot is not hurrying at all. Then the angels take him by the hand. They pull him along with them. His wife and daughters too. Quickly, out of the gate. Out of the city.

Then the angels stop running. They say: ‘Run. Don’t you stop now. Don’t look back or you will have to die as well.’

O, it is terrifying. What will happen now? It starts to rain. No, not water from the clouds. Fire is raining from Heaven! All the houses of Sodom are on fire. All the people and the animals too.

There are big holes appearing in the ground. Everything falls into them. This is the punishment from God. It is a terrible punishment. But their sins are terrible too. The people deserved it.

Lot is running, running as fast as he can! He does not look back. The Lord commanded him by the angels not to do it.

But look, what happens? Lot’s wife looks back! She is thinking of her nice home. She is so sorry that everything is burning.

But now she has become disobedient. Therefore God has to punish her too. She dies. And straight way she turns into a stiff, straight pillar. A pillar of salt. How terrible!

We live in nice houses too. We cannot live there forever. We all have to die. Because we too have sinned against the Lord.

And yet... we can still be saved. Just like Lot. We can still be converted. If we are the Lord’s children, then we will not be afraid to die. But if we remain disobedient, then we will perish. Just like Lot’s wife.

14. Isaac and Ishmael

Listen! What are those little noises in Sarah’s tent? Who is making those noises? It is a baby! Yes, a baby has been born. Abraham and Sarah are so happy! God had promised it and now it has happened. They call him Isaac.

What a dear little boy he is! How cute when he moves his little hands. Or kicks with his little feet!

Isaac grows bigger. First he just crawls on the floor. When he is bigger he starts to walk and to say a few words.

One day there is a special feast. Because Isaac has become a toddler. Hagar and Ishmael are invited too. Do you remember that Hagar is Ishmael’s mother? Ishmael has become a big boy. He will surely play with Isaac at the party. But no, he does not want to play with Isaac. He teases him! That is mean of Ishmael.

Why does Ishmael do this? He is jealous. He thinks: Isaac is the promised son of Abraham and Sarah. In time Abraham will die and Isaac will get everything. All the cows and sheep, everything. And I will get nothing. That is why he is so angry. No, he won’t play with Isaac. He is making fun of him.

Mother Hagar sees it all. Will she punish Ishmael? No, she says nothing. She is jealous too.

Sarah sees it also. She is cross with Ishmael. She is also cross with Hagar. She goes to Abraham and says: ‘Abraham, please send them both away.’

But Abraham disagrees. He says: ‘Send them away? No, I won’t. Ishmael is my son too.’

Everything has become so sad. Yes, people can be hurtful to one another. That is because the hearts of people are sinful. That is why we should continually ask: ‘Please Lord, teach me to love other people.’

The feast is over. The night falls. The people are going to sleep.

All of a sudden Abraham hears a voice. It is the voice of God.

‘Abraham’, says the Lord, ‘Sarah is right. You have to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Don’t be sad. I will take good care of Ishmael also. But Isaac is the promised son. He will get everything later on.’

Abraham does as the Lord tells him to. He is not angry with Sarah anymore.

It is very early in the morning. The sun has just risen. There they go: Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham gives them some bread and a bottle of water.