PART 2
Only eight people survived the Flood, but in time they increased to number many thousands. Then, 352 years after the Flood, Abraham was born. We learn how God kept his promise by giving Abraham a son named Isaac. Then, of Isaac’s two sons, Jacob was chosen by God.
Jacob had a big family of 12 sons and some daughters. Jacob’s 10 sons hated their younger brother Joseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt. Later, Joseph became an important ruler of Egypt. When a bad famine came, Joseph tested his brothers to see whether they had a change of heart. Finally, Jacob’s whole family, the Israelites, moved to Egypt. This happened 290 years after Abraham was born.
For the next 215 years the Israelites lived in Egypt. After Joseph died, they became slaves there. In time, Moses was born, and God used him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. In all, 857 years of history are covered in Part TWO.
STORY 11
Abraham
STORY 11
The First Rainbow
Do you think Jehovah was pleased with the gift? Yes, he was. And so he promised Noah that he would never destroy the world again by a flood.
Soon the land was all dried off, and Noah and his family began a new life outside the ark. God blessed them and told them: ‘You must have many children. You must increase in numbers until people live all over the earth.’
But later, when people would hear about the great flood, they might be afraid that a flood like that would happen again. So God gave something that would remind people of his promise never to flood the whole earth again. Do you know what he gave to remind them? It was a rainbow.
A rainbow is often seen in the sky when the sun shines after it has rained. Rainbows may have many beautiful colors. Have you ever seen one? Do you see the one in the picture?
This is what God said: ‘I promise that never again will all people and animals be destroyed by a flood. I am putting my rainbow in the clouds. And when the rainbow appears, I will see it and remember this promise of mine.’
So when you see a rainbow, what should it remind you of? Yes, God’s promise that he will never destroy the world again by a great flood.
STORY 12
Men Build a Big Tower
One of these persons was a great-grandson of Noah named Nimʹrod. He was a bad man who hunted and killed both animals and men. Nimʹrod also made himself a king to rule over other people. God did not like Nimʹrod.
All the people at that time spoke one language. Nimʹrod wanted to keep them all together so that he could rule them. So do you know what he did? He told the people to build a city and a big tower in it. See them in the picture making bricks.
Jehovah God was not pleased with this building. God wanted the people to move out and live all over the earth. But the people said: ‘Come on! Let’s build a city and a tower so high that its top will reach into the heavens. Then we will be famous!’ The people wanted honor for themselves, not for God.
So God made the people stop building the tower. Do you know how he did it? By suddenly causing people to speak different languages, instead of just one. No longer did the builders understand one another. This is why their city came to be called Baʹbel, or Babylon, meaning “Confusion.”
The people now began to move away from Baʹbel. Groups of persons who spoke the same language went to live together in other parts of the earth.
STORY 13
Abraham
Finally, 350 years after the flood, faithful Noah died. It was just two years later that the man you see in this picture was born. He was a very special person to God. His name was Abraham. He lived with his family in that city of Ur.
One day Jehovah told Abraham: ‘Leave Ur and your relatives, and go to a country I will show you.’ Did Abraham obey God and leave behind all the comforts of Ur? Yes, he did. And it was because Abraham always obeyed God that he came to be known as God’s friend.
Some of Abraham’s family went along with him when he left Ur. His father Teʹrah did. So did his nephew Lot. And, of course, Abraham’s wife Sarah went too. In time they all arrived at a place called Haʹran, where Teʹrah died. They were far away from Ur.
After a while Abraham and his household left Haʹran and came to the land called Caʹnaan. There Jehovah said: ‘This is the land that I will give to your children.’ Abraham stayed in Caʹnaan and lived in tents.
God began to help Abraham so that he came to have great flocks of sheep and other animals and hundreds of servants. But he and Sarah did not have any children of their own.
When Abraham was 99 years old, Jehovah said: ‘I promise that you will become father to many nations of people.’ But how could this happen, since Abraham and Sarah were now too old to have a child?
STORY 14
God Tests Abraham’s Faith
Remember, God promised them that they would have a son. But that seemed impossible, because Abraham and Sarah were so old. Abraham, however, believed that God could do what seemed impossible. So what happened?
After God made his promise, a whole year passed. Then, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, they had a baby boy named Isaac. God had kept his promise!
But when Isaac had grown older, Jehovah tested Abraham’s faith. He called: ‘Abraham!’ And Abraham answered: ‘Here I am!’ Then God said: ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, and go to a mountain that I will show you. There kill your son and offer him up as a sacrifice.’
How sad those words made Abraham, because Abraham loved his son very much. And remember, God had promised that Abraham’s children would live in the land of Caʹnaan. But how could that happen if Isaac were dead? Abraham did not understand, but still he obeyed God.
When he got to the mountain, Abraham tied up Isaac and put him on the altar that he built. Then he took out the knife to kill his son. But just at that moment God’s angel called: ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And Abraham answered: ‘Here I am!’
‘Don’t hurt the boy or do anything to him,’ God said. ‘Now I know that you have faith in me, because you have not held back your son, your only one, from me.’
What great faith Abraham had in God! He believed that nothing was impossible for Jehovah, and that Jehovah could even raise Isaac from the dead. But it was not really God’s will for Abraham to kill Isaac. So God caused a sheep to get caught in some nearby bushes, and he told Abraham to sacrifice it instead of his son.
STORY 15
Lot’s Wife Looked Back
Lot looked over the land. He saw a very nice part of the country that had water and a lot of good grass for his animals. This was the District of the Jordan. So Lot moved his family and animals there. They finally made their home in the city of Sodʹom.
The people of Sodʹom were very bad. This upset Lot, because he was a good man. God was upset too. Finally, God sent two angels to warn Lot that he was going to destroy Sodʹom and the nearby city of Go·morʹrah because of their badness.
The angels told Lot: ‘Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters and get out of here!’ Lot and his family were a little slow in going, and so the angels took them by the hand and led them out of the city. Then one of the angels said: ‘Run for your lives! Don’t look back. Run to the hills, so that you won’t be killed.’
Lot and his daughters obeyed and ran away from Sodʹom. They didn’t stop for a moment, and they didn’t look back. But Lot’s wife disobeyed. After they had gone some distance from Sodʹom, she stopped and looked back. Then Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt. Can you see her in the picture?
We can learn a good lesson from this. It shows us that God saves those who obey him, but those who do not obey him will lose their lives.
STORY 16
Isaac Gets a Good Wife
Well, Isaac’s father Abraham wanted to get a good wife for his son. He didn’t want Isaac to marry one of the women in Caʹnaan, because these people worshiped false gods. So Abraham called his servant and said: ‘I want you to go back to where my relatives live in Haʹran and get a wife for my son Isaac.’
Right away Abraham’s servant took ten camels and made the long trip. When he got near the place where Abraham’s relatives lived, he stopped at a well. It was late in the afternoon, the time when the women of the city would come to get water from the well. So Abraham’s servant said a prayer to Jehovah: ‘May the woman that gets some water for me and the camels be the one that you choose to be the wife of Isaac.’
Soon Re·bekʹah came along to get some water. When the servant asked her for a drink, she gave him one. Then she went and got enough water for all the thirsty camels. That was hard work because camels drink lots and lots of water.
When Re·bekʹah finished doing this, Abraham’s servant asked her the name of her father. He also asked if he could stay overnight at their home. She said: ‘My father is Be·thuʹel, and there is room for you to stay with us.’ Abraham’s servant knew that Be·thuʹel was the son of Abraham’s brother Naʹhor. So he knelt down and thanked Jehovah for leading him to Abraham’s relatives.
That night Abraham’s servant told Be·thuʹel and Re·bekʹah’s brother Laʹban why he had come. They both agreed that Re·bekʹah could go with him and marry Isaac. What did Re·bekʹah say when she was asked? She said, ‘Yes,’ she wanted to go. So the very next day they got on the camels and began the long trip back to Caʹnaan.
When they arrived, it was evening time. Re·bekʹah saw a man walking in the field. It was Isaac. He was glad to see Re·bekʹah. His mother Sarah had died just three years before, and he was still sad about this. But now Isaac came to love Re·bekʹah very much, and he was happy again.
STORY 17
Twins Who Were Different
Eʹsau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and Re·bekʹah. The father, Isaac, liked Eʹsau a lot, because he was a good hunter and would bring home food for the family to eat. But Re·bekʹah loved Jacob most, because he was a quiet, peaceful boy.
Grandfather Abraham was still alive, and we can just imagine how Jacob liked to listen to him talk about Jehovah. Abraham finally died at 175 years of age, when the twins were 15 years old.
When Eʹsau was 40 years old he married two women from the land of Caʹnaan. This made Isaac and Re·bekʹah very sad, because these women did not worship Jehovah.
Then one day something happened that made Eʹsau very angry with his brother Jacob. The time came when Isaac was to give a blessing to his older son. Since Eʹsau was older than Jacob, Eʹsau expected to receive this blessing. But Eʹsau had earlier sold the right to receive the blessing to Jacob. Also, when the two boys were born God had said that Jacob would receive the blessing. And this is what happened. Isaac gave the blessing to his son Jacob.
Later, when Eʹsau learned about this he became angry with Jacob. He was so angry that he said he was going to kill Jacob. When Re·bekʹah heard about this, she was very worried. So she told her husband Isaac: ‘It will be just terrible if Jacob also marries one of these women of Caʹnaan.’
At that Isaac called his son Jacob and told him: ‘Don’t marry a woman from Caʹnaan. Go instead to the house of your grandfather Be·thuʹel in Haʹran. Marry one of the daughters of his son Laʹban.’
Jacob listened to his father, and right away began his long trip to where his relatives lived in Haʹran.
STORY 18
Jacob Goes to Haran
‘Haʹran,’ they said.
‘Do you know Laʹban?’ Jacob asked.
‘Yes,’ they answered. ‘Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with his flock of sheep.’ Can you see Rachel there coming in the distance?
When Jacob saw Rachel with his uncle Laʹban’s sheep, he went and rolled the stone away from the well so the sheep could drink. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and told her who he was. She was very excited, and she went home and told her father Laʹban.
Laʹban was very happy to have Jacob stay with him. And when Jacob asked to marry Rachel, Laʹban was glad. However, he asked Jacob to work in his field seven years for Rachel. Because he loved Rachel so much Jacob did this. But when the time came for the marriage, do you know what happened?
Laʹban gave his older daughter Leʹah to Jacob instead of Rachel. When Jacob agreed to work for Laʹban seven more years, Laʹban also gave him Rachel as his wife. In those times God allowed men to have more than one wife. But now, as the Bible shows, a man should have only one wife.
STORY 19
Jacob Has a Big Family
Leʹah gave birth to Reuʹben, Simʹe·on, Leʹvi and Judah. When Rachel saw that she was not having any children, she was very sad. So she gave her maidservant Bilʹhah to Jacob, and Bilʹhah had two sons named Dan and Naphʹta·li. Then Leʹah also gave her maidservant Zilʹpah to Jacob, and Zilʹpah gave birth to Gad and Ashʹer. Leʹah finally had two more sons, Isʹsa·char and Zebʹu·lun.
At last Rachel was able to have a child. She named him Joseph. Later we will learn a lot more about Joseph, because he became a very important person. These were the 11 sons that were born to Jacob when he lived with Rachel’s father Laʹban.
Jacob also had some daughters, but the Bible gives the name of only one of them. Her name was Diʹnah.
The time came when Jacob decided to leave Laʹban and go back to Caʹnaan. So he gathered together his big family and his great flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and began the long trip.
After Jacob and his family had been back in Caʹnaan for a while, Rachel gave birth to another son. It happened when they were on a trip. Rachel had a hard time, and she finally died while giving birth. But the little baby boy was all right. Jacob named him Benjamin.
We want to remember the names of the 12 sons of Jacob because the whole nation of Israel came from them. In fact, the 12 tribes of Israel are named after 10 sons of Jacob and two sons of Joseph. Isaac lived for many years after all these boys were born, and it must have made him happy to have so many grandsons. But let’s see what happened to his granddaughter Diʹnah.
STORY 20
Dinah Gets Into Trouble
Did Abraham want his son Isaac to marry a girl from Caʹnaan? No, he did not. Did Isaac and Re·bekʹah want their son Jacob to marry a Caʹnaan·ite girl? No, they did not. Do you know why?
It was because these people in Caʹnaan worshiped false gods. They were not good people to have as husbands and wives, and they weren’t good people to have as close friends. So we can be sure that Jacob would not be pleased that his daughter was making friends with these Caʹnaan·ite girls.
Sure enough, Diʹnah got into trouble. Can you see that Caʹnaan·ite man in the picture who is looking at Diʹnah? His name is Sheʹchem. One day when Diʹnah came on a visit, Sheʹchem took Diʹnah and forced her to lie down with him. This was wrong, because only married men and women are supposed to lie down together. This bad thing that Sheʹchem did to Diʹnah led to a lot more trouble.
When Diʹnah’s brothers heard about what had happened, they were very angry. Two of them, Simʹe·on and Leʹvi, were so angry that they took swords and went into the city and caught the men by surprise. They and their brothers killed Sheʹchem and all the other men. Jacob was angry because his sons did this bad thing.
How did all this trouble get started? It was because Diʹnah made friends with people who did not obey God’s laws. We will not want to make such friends, will we?
STORY 21
Joseph’s Brothers Hate Him
Their father Jacob liked Joseph very, very much. He showed him favor by having a beautiful long coat made for him. When his 10 older brothers saw how much Jacob loved Joseph, they began to be jealous and to hate Joseph. But there was also another reason why they hated him.
Joseph had two dreams. In both of Joseph’s dreams his brothers bowed down to him. When Joseph told his brothers these dreams, their hatred grew even more.
Now one day when Joseph’s older brothers are taking care of their father’s sheep, Jacob asks Joseph to go and see how they are getting along. When Joseph’s brothers see him coming, some of them say: ‘Let’s kill him!’ But Reuʹben, the oldest brother, says: ‘No, don’t you do that!’ Instead they grab Joseph and throw him into a dried-up water hole. Then they sit down to decide what to do with him.
About this time some Ishʹma·el·ite men come along. Judah says to his half brothers: ‘Let’s sell him to the Ishʹma·el·ites.’ And that’s what they do. They sell Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. How mean and unkind that was!
What will the brothers tell their father? They kill a goat and again and again dip Joseph’s beautiful coat into the goat’s blood. Then they take the coat home to their father Jacob and say: ‘We found this. Look at it, and see if it is not Joseph’s coat.’
Jacob sees that it is. ‘A wild animal must have killed Joseph,’ he cries. And that is just what Joseph’s brothers want their father to think. Jacob is very, very sad. He weeps for many days. But Joseph is not dead. Let’s see what happens to him where he is taken.
STORY 22
Joseph Is Put Into Prison
Joseph works hard for his master, Potʹi·phar. So when Joseph grows older, Potʹi·phar puts him in charge of his whole house. Why, then, is Joseph here in prison? It is because of Potʹi·phar’s wife.
Joseph grows up to be a very good-looking man, and Potʹi·phar’s wife wants him to lie down with her. But Joseph knows this is wrong, and he won’t do it. Potʹi·phar’s wife is very angry. So when her husband comes home, she lies to him and says: ‘That bad Joseph tried to lie down with me!’ Potʹi·phar believes his wife, and he is very angry with Joseph. So he has him thrown into prison.
The man in charge of the prison soon sees that Joseph is a good man. So he puts him in charge of all the other prisoners. Later Pharʹaoh becomes angry with his cupbearer and his baker, and puts them into prison. One night they each have a special dream, but they do not know the meaning of their dreams. The next day Joseph says: ‘Tell me your dreams.’ And when they do, Joseph, with God’s help, explains the meaning of their dreams.
To the cupbearer, Joseph says: ‘In three days you will be let out of prison, and you will become Pharʹaoh’s cupbearer again.’ So Joseph adds: ‘When you get out, tell Pharʹaoh about me, and help me to get out of this place.’ But to the baker, Joseph says: ‘In just three days Pharʹaoh will have your head cut off.’
In three days it happens just as Joseph said. Pharʹaoh has the baker’s head cut off. The cupbearer, though, is let out of prison and begins to serve the king again. But the cupbearer forgets all about Joseph! He does not tell Pharʹaoh about him, and Joseph has to stay in prison.
STORY 23
Pharaoh’s Dreams
Now the cupbearer at last remembers Joseph. He says to Pharʹaoh: ‘When I was in prison there was a man there who could tell the meaning of dreams.’ Pharʹaoh has Joseph brought out of prison right away.
Pharʹaoh tells Joseph his dreams: ‘I saw seven fat, beautiful cows. Then I saw seven very thin and bony cows. And the thin ones ate up the fat cows.
‘In my second dream I saw seven heads of full, ripe grain growing on one stalk. Then I saw seven thin, dried-out heads of grain. And the thin heads of grain began to swallow up the seven good heads of grain.’
So Joseph tells Pharʹaoh: ‘Choose a wise man and put him in charge of collecting food during the seven good years. Then the people will not starve during the following seven bad years when very little food will grow.’
Pharʹaoh likes the idea. And he chooses Joseph to collect the food, and to store it up. Next to Pharʹaoh, Joseph becomes the most important man in Egypt.
Eight years later, during the famine, Joseph sees some men coming. Do you know who they are? Why, they are his 10 older brothers! Their father Jacob has sent them to Egypt because they were running out of food back home in Caʹnaan. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him. Do you know why? It is because Joseph has grown older, and he is dressed in a different kind of clothes.
Joseph remembers that when he was a boy he dreamed about his brothers coming to bow down to him. Do you remember reading about that? So Joseph can see that it is God who has sent him down to Egypt, and for a good reason. What do you think Joseph does? Let’s see.
STORY 24
Joseph Tests His Brothers
‘No, we are not,’ they say. ‘We are honest men. We are all brothers. We were 12. But one brother is no more, and the youngest is home with our father.’
Joseph pretends not to believe them. He keeps the brother named Simʹe·on in prison, and lets the others take food and go home. But he tells them: ‘When you come back, you must bring your youngest brother with you.’
When they return home to Caʹnaan, the brothers tell their father Jacob everything that happened. Jacob is very sad. ‘Joseph is no more,’ he cries, ‘and now Simʹe·on is no more. I will not let you take my youngest son Benjamin.’ But when their food begins to run out, Jacob has to let them take Benjamin to Egypt so they can get more food.
Now Joseph sees his brothers coming. He is very happy to see his younger brother Benjamin. Of course, none of them know that this important man is Joseph. Joseph now does something to test his 10 half brothers.
He has his servants fill up all their bags with food. But without letting them know, he also has his special silver cup put into Benjamin’s bag. After they all leave and have gone a little distance on the road, Joseph sends his servants after them. When they catch up with them, the servants say: ‘Why have you stolen our master’s silver cup?’
‘We have not stolen his cup,’ the brothers all say. ‘If you find the cup with any one of us, let that person be killed.’
So the servants search through all the bags, and they find the cup in Benjamin’s bag, just as you see here. The servants say: ‘The rest of you can go, but Benjamin must come with us.’ What will the 10 half brothers do now?
They all return with Benjamin to Joseph’s house. Joseph tells his brothers: ‘You can all go home, but Benjamin must stay here as my slave.’
Judah now speaks up, and says: ‘If I go back home without the boy, my father will die because he loves him very much. So please, keep me here as your slave, but let the boy go home.’
Joseph can see that his brothers have changed. They are not mean and unkind anymore. Let’s find out what Joseph does now.
STORY 25
The Family Moves to Egypt
His brothers are so surprised that they can’t speak. They are afraid. But Joseph says: ‘Please come closer.’ When they do, he says: ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.’
Joseph continues to speak in a kind way: ‘Do not blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me to Egypt to save people’s lives. Pharʹaoh has made me the ruler of the whole country. So now hurry back to my father and tell him this. And tell him to come and live here.’
Then Joseph throws his arms around his brothers, and he hugs and kisses them all. When Pharʹaoh hears that Joseph’s brothers have come, he tells Joseph: ‘Let them take wagons and go get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best land in all Egypt.’
That is what they did. Here you can see Joseph meeting his father when he came to Egypt with his whole family.
Jacob’s family had become very big. Altogether there were 70 when they moved to Egypt, counting Jacob and his children and grandchildren. But there were also the wives, and probably many servants too. These all settled in Egypt. They were called Israelites, because God had changed the name of Jacob to Israel. The Israelites became a very special people to God, as we will see later.
STORY 26
Job Is Faithful to God
Job was a faithful man who obeyed Jehovah. He lived in the land of Uz, not far from Caʹnaan. Jehovah loved Job very much, but there was someone who hated him. Do you know who?
It was Satan the Devil. Remember, Satan is the bad angel who hates Jehovah. He was able to get Adam and Eve to disobey Jehovah, and he thought he could get everybody else to disobey Jehovah too. But was he able to? No. Just think of the many faithful men and women we have learned about. How many can you name?
After Jacob and Joseph died in Egypt, Job was the person most faithful to Jehovah in all the earth. Jehovah wanted to let Satan know that he could not get everyone to be bad, so he said: ‘Look at Job. See how faithful he is to me.’
‘He is faithful,’ Satan argued, ‘because you bless him and he has many good things. But if you take these away, he will curse you.’
So Jehovah said: ‘Go ahead. Take them away. Do all the bad things you want to Job. We will see if he curses me. Only be sure that you do not kill him.’
First, Satan had men steal Job’s cattle and camels, and his sheep were killed. Then he killed his 10 sons and daughters in a storm. Next, Satan struck Job with this terrible sickness. Job suffered very much. That is why Job’s wife told him: ‘Curse God and die.’ But Job would not do it. Also, three false friends came and told him he had lived a bad life. But Job kept faithful.
This made Jehovah very happy, and afterward he blessed Job, as you can see in the picture. He healed him from his sickness. Job had 10 more beautiful children, and twice as many cattle, sheep and camels as he had before.
Will you always be faithful to Jehovah like Job? If you are, God will bless you too. You will be able to live forever when the whole earth will be made just as pretty as the garden of Eden.
STORY 27
A Bad King Rules Egypt
For many years Jacob’s big family lived at peace in Egypt. Joseph, who was the most important man in Egypt next to Pharʹaoh the king, took care of them. But then Joseph died. And a new Pharʹaoh, who did not like the Israelites, became king in Egypt.
So this bad Pharʹaoh made the Israelites slaves. And he put men in charge of them who were mean and cruel. They forced the Israelites to work very hard building cities for Pharʹaoh. But still the Israelites kept growing in numbers. After a while the Egyptians became afraid that the Israelites would become too many and too strong.
Do you know what Pharʹaoh did? He spoke to the women who helped the Israelite mothers when they gave birth to their babies, and said: ‘You must kill every baby boy that is born.’ But these were good women, and they would not kill the babies.
So Pharʹaoh gave this command to all his people: ‘Take the baby Israelite boys and kill them. Only let the baby girls live.’ Wasn’t that a terrible thing to command? Let’s see how one of the baby boys was saved.
Exodus 1:6-22.
STORY 28
STORY 28
How Baby Moses Was Saved
Moses’ mother hid her baby until he was three months old, because she didn’t want him to be killed by the Egyptians. But she knew that Moses might be found, so this is what she did to save him.
She took a basket and fixed it so that no water would leak in. Then she put Moses into it, and placed the basket in the tall grass along the Nile River. Moses’ sister, Mirʹi·am, was told to stand nearby and see what would happen.
Soon Pharʹaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile River to bathe. Suddenly she saw the basket in the tall grass. She called to one of her servant girls: ‘Go get that basket for me.’ When the princess opened the basket, what a beautiful baby she saw! Little Moses was crying, and the princess felt sorry for him. She didn’t want to have him killed.
Then Mirʹi·am came up. You can see her in the picture. Mirʹi·am asked Pharʹaoh’s daughter: ‘Shall I go and call an Israelite woman to nurse the baby for you?’
‘Please do,’ the princess said.
So Mirʹi·am ran quickly to tell her mother. When Moses’ mother came to the princess, the princess said: ‘Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’
So Moses’ mother took care of her own child. Later when Moses was old enough, she took him to Pharʹaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. That is how Moses came to grow up in the house of Pharʹaoh.
STORY 29
Why Moses Ran Away
Moses grew up in the house of Pharʹaoh, the ruler of Egypt. He became a very wise and great man. Moses knew that he was not an Egyptian, but that his real parents were Israelite slaves.
One day, when he was 40 years old, Moses decided to go to see how his people were getting along. It was terrible how they were being treated. He saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave. Moses looked around, and when he didn’t see anybody watching, he hit the Egyptian, and the Egyptian died. Then Moses hid his body in the sand.
The next day Moses went out to see his people again. He thought he could help them so they wouldn’t have to be slaves anymore. But he saw two Israelite men fighting, so Moses said to the one who was in the wrong: ‘Why are you beating up your brother?’
The man said: ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me just as you killed that Egyptian?’
Moses now became afraid. He knew that people had found out what he had done to the Egyptian. Even Pharʹaoh heard about it, and he sent men to kill Moses. That is why Moses had to run away from Egypt.
When Moses left Egypt, he went far away to the land of Midʹi·an. There he met the family of Jethʹro, and married one of his daughters named Zip·poʹrah. Moses became a shepherd and took care of Jethʹro’s sheep. For 40 years he lived in the land of Midʹi·an. He was now 80 years of age. Then one day, while Moses was taking care of Jethro’s sheep, an amazing thing happened that changed Moses’ whole life. Turn the page, and let’s see what this amazing thing is.
STORY 30
The Burning Bush
‘This is strange,’ Moses thought. ‘I will go closer and get a better look.’ When he did, a voice came from the bush, saying: ‘Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.’ It was God speaking by means of an angel, so Moses covered his face.
God then said: ‘I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt. So I am going to free them, and you are the one I am sending to lead my people out of Egypt.’ Jehovah was going to bring his people to the beautiful land of Caʹnaan.
But Moses said: ‘I am nobody. How can I do this? But suppose I do go. The Israelites will say to me, “Who sent you?” Then what shall I say?’
‘This is what you are to say,’ God answered. ‘“JEHOVAH the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.”’ And Jehovah added: ‘This is my name forever.’
‘But suppose they don’t believe me when I say that you sent me,’ Moses replied.
‘What is in your hand?’ God asked.
Moses answered: ‘A stick.’
‘Throw it on the ground,’ God said. And when Moses did, the stick became a snake. Jehovah then showed Moses another miracle. He said: ‘Put your hand inside your robe.’ Moses did, and when he took his hand out, it was white like snow! The hand looked as if it had the bad sickness called leprosy. Next Jehovah gave Moses power to do a third miracle. Finally he said: ‘When you do these miracles the Israelites will believe that I sent you.’
After that Moses went home and said to Jethʹro: ‘Please let me go back to my relatives in Egypt to see how they are.’ So Jethʹro said good-bye to Moses, and Moses began his trip back to Egypt.
STORY 31
Moses and Aaron See Pharaoh
Then Moses and Aaron went to see Pharʹaoh. They told him: ‘Jehovah the God of Israel says, “Let my people go for three days, so they can worship me in the wilderness.”’ But Pharʹaoh answered: ‘I don’t believe in Jehovah. And I’m not going to let Israel go.’
Pharʹaoh was angry, because the people wanted time off from work to worship Jehovah. So he forced them to work even harder. The Israelites blamed Moses for how badly they were treated, and Moses felt sad. But Jehovah told him not to worry. ‘I will make Pharʹaoh let my people go,’ Jehovah said.
Moses and Aaron went to see Pharʹaoh again. This time they did a miracle. Aaron threw down his stick, and it became a big snake. But Pharʹaoh’s wise men also threw down sticks, and snakes appeared. But, look! Aaron’s snake is eating up the snakes of the wise men. Still Pharʹaoh would not let the Israelites go.
So the time came for Jehovah to teach Pharʹaoh a lesson. Do you know how he did it? It was by bringing 10 plagues, or great troubles, on Egypt.
After many of the plagues, Pharʹaoh sent for Moses, and said: ‘Stop the plague, and I will let Israel go.’ But when the plague would stop, Pharʹaoh would change his mind. He would not let the people go. But, finally, after the 10th plague, Pharʹaoh sent the Israelites away.
Do you know each of the 10 plagues? Turn the page and let’s learn about them.
STORY 32
The 10 Plagues
Next, Jehovah caused frogs to come up out of the Nile River. They were everywhere—in the ovens, the baking pans, in people’s beds—everywhere. When the frogs died the Egyptians piled them up in great heaps, and the land stank with them.
Then Aaron hit the ground with his stick, and the dust turned into gnats. These are small flying bugs that bite. The gnats were the third plague on the land of Egypt.
The rest of the plagues hurt only the Egyptians, not the Israelites. The fourth was a plague of big flies that swarmed into the houses of all the Egyptians. The fifth plague was on the animals. Many of the cattle and sheep and goats of the Egyptians died.
Next, Moses and Aaron took some ashes and threw them into the air. They caused bad sores on the people and the animals. This was the sixth plague.
After that Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and Jehovah sent thunder and hail. It was the worst hailstorm that Egypt ever had.
The eighth plague was a large swarm of locusts. Never before that time or since have there been so many locusts. They ate everything that the hail had not destroyed.
The ninth plague was of darkness. For three days thick darkness covered the land, but the Israelites had light where they were living.
Finally, God told his people to sprinkle the blood of a young goat or a young sheep on their doorposts. Then God’s angel passed over Egypt. When the angel saw the blood, he did not kill anyone in that house. But in all the houses where there was no blood on the doorposts, God’s angel killed the firstborn ones of both man and animals. This was the 10th plague.
After this last plague, Pharʹaoh told the Israelites to leave. God’s people were all ready to go, and that very night they started their march out of Egypt.
STORY 33
Crossing the Red Sea
As we learned, Pharʹaoh told the Israelites to leave Egypt after God brought the 10th plague on the Egyptians. About 600,000 Israelite men left, as well as many women and children. Also, a large number of other people, who had become believers in Jehovah, left with the Israelites. They all took their sheep and goats and cattle with them.
Before they left, the Israelites asked the Egyptians for clothes and for things made of gold and silver. The Egyptians were very much afraid, because of that last plague upon them. So they gave the Israelites everything they asked for.
After a few days the Israelites came to the Red Sea. There they rested. In the meantime, Pharʹaoh and his men began to feel sorry that they had sent the Israelites away. ‘We have let our slaves go!’ they said.
So Pharʹaoh changed his mind once more. He quickly got his war chariot and his army ready. Then he began to chase after the Israelites with 600 special chariots, as well as all the other chariots of Egypt.
When the Israelites saw Pharʹaoh and his army coming after them, they were very much afraid. There was no way to flee. The Red Sea was on one side of them, and here the Egyptians were coming from the other direction. But Jehovah put a cloud between his people and the Egyptians. So the Egyptians were not able to see the Israelites to attack them.
Jehovah then told Moses to stretch his stick out over the Red Sea. When he did, Jehovah caused a strong east wind to blow. The waters of the sea were parted, and the waters were held up on both sides.
Then the Israelites began to march through the sea on dry ground. It took hours for the millions of people with all their animals to get safely through the sea to the other side. Finally the Egyptians were able to see the Israelites again. Their slaves were getting away! So they rushed into the sea after them.
When they did, God caused the wheels of their chariots to fall off. The Egyptians became very much afraid and began to cry out: ‘Jehovah is fighting for the Israelites against us. Let’s get out of here!’ But it was too late.
This is when Jehovah told Moses to stretch his stick out over the Red Sea, as you saw in the picture. And when Moses did, the walls of water began to come back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots. The whole army had followed the Israelites into the sea. And not one of the Egyptians got out alive!
How happy all God’s people were to be saved! The men sang a song of thanks to Jehovah, saying: ‘Jehovah has won a glorious victory. He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.’ Moses’ sister Mirʹi·am took her tambourine, and all the women followed her with their tambourines. And as they danced with joy, they sang the same song as the men were singing: ‘Jehovah has won a glorious victory. He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.’
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