David's Bible Guide

This page is intended to give a rough outline of the Bible, showing where the various stories are located and giving a brief description of each. It could be useful to anyone just starting out learning about the Bible, or in locating something you just can't remember the reference of.

I'm building it up over time, and am currently working through the exile period. There is plenty which is still blank, including the whole ofthe prophecy books, poetry books and the New Testament. If you have any comments or suggestions, or spot any mistakes, please let me know.

Author: David Meiklejohn

Genesis

Genesis is the book of beginnings. In it we find many firsts, from the first man, to the first sin, to the first promise of redemption. It takes the story from the beginning of creation to the time when Jacob's family enter into Israel.

Creation

• Found: Genesis chapters 1 & 2

The opening two chapters of Genesis describe how God created everything, including man. It starts with an account of the seven days of creation, then goes on to describe the creation of the first man(Adam), a garden for him to live in and the first woman(Eve).

Seven Days of Creation (Genesis 1v1-2v6)

God took seven days to create everything and to take a rest afterwards. These days are sometimes taken as symbolic, each representing a period of time, but there is nothing in the Bible to indicate anything other than literal 24 hour days.

1. Heaven and Earth, light and darkness
2. Firmament (sky)
3. Dry land, plants
4. Sun, moon and stars
5. Sea life and birds
6. Land animals and man
7. Day of rest

The closing verses of this passage give us some indication of what the pre-flood weather was like. It appears there was no rain in those days, but a mist rose up over the Earth to dampen it and let the plants grow.

The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2v7-2v17)

God made man from dust, and gave him something He had given to no other creature - a soul. He then made a garden for the man to live in, with a river running through it. In the middle of the garden was the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was the only plant the man was not allowed to eat from.

The Creation of Woman (Genesis 2v18-25)

God then decided to give man (Adam) a companion. He brought all the animals to Adam, who named them, but none of them was good enough for a companion. God put him into a deep sleep, took out one of his ribs, and made a woman.

Adam and Eve

• Found: Genesis chapters 3 & 4

Genesis 3 and 4 tell us the story of Adam, Eve and their sons' lives. Chapter 3 is about the origin of sin in man's nature and how Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden of Eden. Chapter 4 tells the story of two of their sons: Cain and Abel.

Adam and Eve (Genesis 3v1-24)

Adam and Eve were living in the garden of Eden and were at peace with God. They had been commanded by God to avoid one thing: the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Satan approaches Eve in the form of a serpent and tempts her to eat from the tree. He tells her that she won't really die as God has said, but will become like a God herself. Eve ate the forbidden fruit and gave some to Adam as well.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they suddenly knew good and evil, right and wrong. They were no longer innocent; Death had entered the garden of Eden. Their bodies would die out and their souls were already made dead by their sin. They realised their nakedness and covered themselves with fig leaves, and they hid from God when they heard Him nearby.

God called out to Adam, and Adam admitted his sin. The Lord put a curse on both Adam and Eve: no longer would life be easy, living in a beautiful garden with no problems; now they would have to work hard and struggle for survival. God gave them animal skins to clothe themselves with, and put them out of the garden of Eden, leaving angels with a flaming sword to guard it.

Cain and Abel (Genesis 4v1-26)

Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve's first two sons. Cain was a crop farmer, while Abel looked after sheep. After a while, Cain brought the results of his labour to the Lord as a sacrifice, and Abel did likewise. God was in favour of Abel's sacrifice (the firstborn of his animals), but rejected Cain's sacrifice. Cain was very angry and killed his brother. When the Lord asked Cain where his brother was, he said "Am I my brother's keeper?" The Lord put a curse on Cain, but also put a mark on him so that no-one would kill him.

God gave Adam and Eve another son to replace Abel, who's name was Seth. Seth was the ancestor of Enoch, Methuselah and Noah.

Noah's Ark

• Found: Genesis chapters 6 - 9

The Evil World (Genesis 6)

After God made Adam and Eve, they had children, their children had children and so on until there was a great number of people on the Earth. However the people were wicked and turned away from God. God was sorry He had made man, so decided that He would wipe out every person on the planet with a great flood.

There was one man who was good in God's eyes, though, and his name was Noah. God told Noah to build a big boat out of gopher wood, and to put in it all the animals that God brought to him, because a great flood was coming.

The Flood Comes (Genesis 7)

Noah built his ark as the Lord had told him. It took him many years, but he kept on. When he was finished, God told him he had a week until the flood came. All kinds of animals came to the ark, in sevens and in twos, and God shut them in the ark with Noah, his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham and Japheth) and their wives.

The rains started. It rained for forty days and forty nights. The waters rose and lifted up the ark. They rose over all the hills so the Earth was completely covered. All the land animals and birds were killed, apart from those who were safe in the ark.

The Waters Go Down (Genesis 8)

After some months the waters started to go down again and eventually the tops of the mountains could be seen. The ark came to rest on mount Ararat and Noah opened the window on the ark to see the newly cleansed world. He sent out a raven, which didn't return, so he sent out a dove. The dove could find no place to rest, so came back again. Noah waited a week and again sent out the dove. This time it returned with an olive branch in its mouth. Another week later Noah sent the dove out again. This time it didn't return. It was nearly time to leave the ark.

One year after entering the ark, God told Noah it was time to leave. Noah and his family and all the animals came out of the ark and walked on the new land.

The Promise (Genesis 9)

When God brought Noah out of the ark he told him to go forth and multiply. His family and the animals they had saved would repopulate the Earth. He also made a promise to Noah. Never again would He destroy the Earth with a flood. He left a reminder of this promise in the sky: a rainbow, which appears whenever it rains.

Noah lived to be nine hundred and fifty years old before he died.

Tower of Babel

• Found: Genesis chapter 11

The Tower Built Toward Heaven (Genesis 11v1-9)

In the days after Noah, everyone spoke the same language, and they began to congregate together at a place called Shinar (Babylon). They decided to build a great city, and a tower which would reach toward heaven. God saw what they were doing and was worried that if all the people worked together, they could do anything they wanted to. He scattered them far and wide across the world and gave them different languages, and the tower was known as the Tower of Babel.

Abraham

• Found: Genesis chapter 12-21

Abram Sent Out (Genesis 12)

Abram was the son of Terah. God spoke to him and told him to go to a land the Lord would show him. There God promised He would make Abram into a great nation and would give him all the land in the area. Abram got up and followed the Lord, along with some of his family, including Lot, his nephew.

The Lord led Abram to the land of Canaan, where he lived for a while. There was a famine in Canaan and Abram was forced to go down to Egypt. There he was worried that his beautiful wife Sarai would attract men who would kill him for her, so they pretended to be brother and sister. Pharaoh liked Sarai, and took her into his house. He suffered plagues because of this, and when he found out that Abram and Sarai were married, he was angry and drove them out of Egypt.

Abram and Lot Split Up (Genesis 13)

Back in Canaan, Abram and his family did well. So well in fact that the land they stayed at wasn't enough to keep his and Lot's herds. They decided to split up. Lot looked over the plain of the Jordan, with the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and decided to move there. Abram stayed in Canaan, which the Lord promised he would one day own all of.

God's Promise to Abram (Genesis 15)

The Lord spoke to Abram in a vision. Again He told him that he would have a child, who would result in a great nation. Abram was to make a covenant with God to seal the promise. In these days a blood covenant involved the two parties walking between the bisected pieces of animals. While Abram slept, God walked between the pieces alone, signifying that the covenant depended on Him alone, and not on Abram's faith.

Abram Tries For a Son His Way (Genesis 16)

Abram and Sarai were getting quite old and there was no sign of a son. This worried Abram and he decided to take things into his own hands. He took Sarai's servant Hagar, and had a son by her, whom he called Ishmael. This was not God's plan and would result in no end of trouble in the future, but God promised that He would also bless Ishmael with a great number of descendents.

Abram Becomes Abraham (Genesis 17)

When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him again. Once more he assured Abram that he would have a son who would become a great nation. He renamed Abram Abraham, and Sarai became Sarah. Abraham laughed at the idea of a son to himself and Sarah (who was 90). God said the son should be called Isaac, which means laughter.

Strangers Come With news (Genesis 18)

One day three men appeared to Abraham. They told him Sarah would have a child. Sarah, hearing this from her tent, laughed at the idea. The men also had news that they were going down to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy them because of their wickedness. One of the men was the Lord, and He stayed with Abraham while the others went on down.

Abraham remembered that Lot was at Sodom, and argued with the Lord. He asked if there were 50 good men in Sodom, the Lord would not destroy it. The Lord agreed. Abraham said what if there were 45, and so on until he had bargained the Lord down to 10. The Lord agreed that if 10 righteous men were to be found in Sodom, it would not be destroyed.

Lot Escapes From Sodom (Genesis 19)

Apparently there weren't even 10 righteous men in Sodom. Two angels visited Lot that night. He asked them to stay, but the people of the city wanted the strangers to come out to them. Lot was in a fix, and even offered his own daughters to the townspeople, but they refused and crowded round to break into Lot's house. The two angels saved Lot from the crowd and made the people blind, so they couldn't find the door.

The angels warned Lot the city was about to be destroyed, and to get all his family out. His daughters' husbands laughed at him, but the next morning Lot, his wife and his two daughters escaped the city with the angels instructions to run and not look back. Unfortunately Lot's wife did look back and she was turned into a pillar of salt. The rest escaped to the town of Zoar.

Isaac is Born (Genesis 21)

God kept His promise to Abraham. When he was a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety, they had a child and they named him Isaac. Isaac grew up with his parents, but there was trouble between Sarah and Hagar. Hagar was thrown out with Ishmael and went away to live in the wilderness.

Isaac

• Found: Genesis chapter 22-24

God Demands a Sacrifice (Genesis 22)

Isaac grew up into a strong young boy and Abraham loved him. Then God tested Abraham. He asked him to take Isaac to a mountain and sacrifice him there. The next morning Abraham rose up, cut some wood, and took Isaac and two servants off on the journey.

It took three days to get to the foot of the mountain. There Abraham and Isaac went on alone. Isaac asked where the lamb was that they would sacrifice, and Abraham replied "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering". When they got to the place God wanted, Abraham made an altar, put the wood on it and tied his son to the altar. He had just raised the knife to take Isaac's life when the angel of the Lord called from heaven.

The angel said that Abraham had proved his love for God, and he wasn't to sacrifice his son. Looking up, Abraham saw that a ram was tangled in the bushes. God had provided.

Isaac Gets a Wife (Genesis 24)

Isaac grew up in Abraham's household. After some years, Abraham was worried. Isaac didn't have a wife to continue his family and Abraham didn't want him to marry anyone from the surrounding area. So Abraham got his servant, Eliezer, to go back to his homeland and find Isaac a wife.

Eliezer traveled to Nahor. There he stopped by a well and pondered what to do. He prayed to God that when a girl came out to fetch water and he asked her for a drink, she would offer his camels water if she was God's chosen one.

Sure enough, before he finished praying, a girl named Rebekah came to collect water from the well. Eliezer asked her for some water and she gave him a drink. Then she offered to draw water for his camels. Eliezer knew she was the one. Asking her who she was, he found out she was Abraham's grand-niece. He went in to talk with her family and they all agreed Rebekah would go back to be Isaac's wife

As they journeyed back home, Isaac was out in a field meditating. Rebekah saw him and asked Eliezer who he was. On finding out this was Isaac, she covered her face with a veil so he wouldn't see her face before they were married. They went to Isaac's mother's tent and were married there.

Jacob

• Found: Genesis chapter 25v20 - 35v29

Jacob and Esau Born (Genesis 25v20-26)

Isaac was forty when he married Rebekah. Twenty years later, they still had no children. Isaac prayed to God and God blessed them with twin boys. The first to be born was red and hairy, and was called Esau. The second came out grabbing his brother's heel. His parents called him Jacob, which means heel grabber or cheat.

Esau Gives Up His Birthright (Genesis 25v27-34)

The boys grew up. Esau grew to be a cunning hunter, while Jacob stayed around the tents. Isaac loved Esau more because he brought him his kills, but Rebekah loved Jacob more. One day Esau came from his hunting tired and hungry. Jacob was making some stew and Esau, liking the smell of it, asked for some. Jacob demanded Esau's birthright (he was the first born) in payment, and Esau cared so little for it that he gave it for a plate of stew.

Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing (Genesis 27)

When Isaac was old, he wanted to give his blessing to his elder son. He called Esau in and asked him to fetch some venison. Esau went out hunting. Meanwhile, Rebekah conspired with Jacob to trick Isaac. Jacob fetched some stew and Rebekah helped him put on Esau's clothing. He also wrapped goatskin around his arms to make them appear hairy.

When Jacob went in to Isaac, he thought he recognised the voice as Jacob, but asked him to come closer. Touching Jacob's arms, he decided it must be Esau and gave him his blessing.

Soon afterwards, Esau came back from his hunting and came to Isaac for his blessing. Isaac realised what had happened, and explained to Esau. Esau was very angry and threatened to kill Jacob. Rebekah sent Jacob away to her brother Laban, so he would be safe.

Jacob Gets Two Wives (Genesis 29v1-30)

Jacob lived with Laban for a while, and worked for him. He grew to love one of Laban's daughters, Rachel, and asked Laban if he could marry her. Laban agreed, as long as Jacob worked seven years for her.

After Jacob's seven years were up, the marriage took place. Jacob was happy to finally be marrying his sweetheart. However he was in for a shock in the morning. He found Laban had switched daughters and Jacob had married the elder daughter, Leah, by mistake. After much arguing, Laban agreed that Jacob could marry Rachel for another seven years work. A week later Jacob married again, and worked a further seven years for Laban.

Jacob's Children (Genesis 29v31-35v20)

Because Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, God took pity on Leah, and gave her children. The two wives competed on this count, and used their maids to increase their children as well. Jacob eventually had twelve sons and a daughter, who were as follows:

• by Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah
• by Bilhah (Rachel's maid): Dan, Naphtali
• by Zilpah (Leah's maid): Gad, Asher
• by Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin

Jacob loved his sons by Rachel most; especially so since Rachel died in childbirth while giving birth to Benjamin.

Joseph

• Found: Genesis chapter 37 - 50

Joseph's Coat and Dreams (Genesis 37v1-11)

Joseph was Jacob's favourite son. He loved him more than his other children, and even made him a special multi-coloured coat. This made Joseph's brothers jealous and angry at him.

Joseph had some dreams, and he told them to his brothers and his parents. He had a dream where the brothers were binding up sheaves in a field. Joseph's sheaves stood up and the other brothers' sheaves bowed down to him. He had another dream where the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. The brothers thought this meant that Joseph would rule over them and they were angry. They plotted to do something nasty to Joseph.

Sold Into Slavery (Genesis 37v12-36)

Joseph was sent out to look for his brothers who were looking after the sheep. He was being sent to check up on them and report back to his father. When the brothers saw him coming, they made a plan. They would kill him and take his bloodstained coat back to their father saying a wild animal had done it. Reuben didn't want to kill Joseph, so they decided to just throw him in a pit instead. When they had done this, they saw a caravan of traders going by. Realising they could make some money as well as get rid of Joseph, they went back and took Joseph to the traders. They sold him, soaked his coat with goat's blood and took it back to their father. Jacob was very sad at his son's death. Now his only memory of his beloved wife Rachel was her other son, Benjamin.

Meanwhile, joseph was taken by the traders to Egypt. There he was sold as a slave to Potipher, captain of the guard.

Tempted and Imprisoned (Genesis 39)

Joseph did well in Potipher's household. God was with him and he rose in position until he was in charge of all Potipher's possessions. Potipher's wife liked the look of Joseph and tried to seduce him. Day after day she did this and Joseph steadfastly refused her advances. Eventually she grabbed him by his clothes, and demanded that he go with her. Joseph ran away, leaving his clothing in her hands. When Potipher came home he believed his wife's lies about what had happened and threw Joseph in jail.

In Jail (Genesis 39v20-40v23)

Again God was with Joseph. He became trusted in the jail and was put in charge of the other prisoners. The butler and baker of the Pharaoh were in the jail as well, and one day they came to Joseph with dreams they had had. The butler had dreamed of a vine with three branches, which he squeezed into Pharaoh's cup. Joseph told him this meant that after three days he would be restored to his former position. The baker had dreamed of three baskets on his head, with birds eating the bread out of the top one. In this case, Joseph said the baker would three days later be killed and hung on a tree for the birds to eat.

The dreams came true as Joseph had said. The baker was killed and the butler restored to his position. God had shown Joseph the meaning of the dreams. But the butler didn't remember Joseph once he was released, as he had promised.

Pharaoh's Dream (Genesis 41)

Two years later, Pharaoh had some strange dreams. He dreamed of seven fat cows, which were eaten up by seven thin cows which came out of the river. He then dreamed of seven fat ears of corn, which were eaten up by seven scrawny ears of corn. None of Pharaoh's wise men could interpret the dream, but his butler remembered joseph, who had interpreted his dream all that time ago. Pharaoh sent for Joseph.

Joseph came before Pharaoh and explained that God would interpret the dream for him. He then went on to say the dream represented two periods of seven years. The first period would be a time of plenty, when the crops would be bountiful. But after that there would be seven years of famine, when the people would go hungry Joseph advised that Pharaoh should appoint someone to be in charge of the crops, to store them up during the plentiful years and deal them out during the years of famine. Pharaoh appointed Joseph to this job, making him the second most powerful man in Egypt.

The Brothers Come to Egypt (Genesis 42-50)

The seven years of plenty came and went and the famine started. The famine spread to Canaan as well, and Jacob and his sons suffered. They had heard there was grain in Egypt, so Jacob sent his sons (except for Benjamin) to buy some. When they got to Egypt Joseph met them and recognised them. He enquired how their father and youngest brother were, but they didn't recognise him. He gave them grain, but said they should not come back without Benjamin.

The grain did for a while, but soon they needed more. The brothers were sent to Egypt and this time Benjamin went with them. Joseph was so happy to see his brother, but still didn't reveal himself to them. He gave them grain and ordered his men to put his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. When the brothers started back they were caught by the guards, who searched their sacks and found the silver cup. The brothers couldn't explain it, but went back to Joseph with heavy hearts. They knew this meant death for Benjamin.

When the brothers returned, Joseph could bear it no longer and revealed his identity to them. The brothers were afraid because of what they had done to him, but Joseph told them not to worry. What had happened had been God's plan.

The brothers went back to Canaan to fetch their father and the rest of their families. They lived in Egypt and brought their families up there. Jacob died in Egypt, and eventually Joseph died at 110 years old. The children of Israel grew in number in Egypt for a further 400 years.

Exodus

Exodus means the leaving, and this book looks at the time when the Jews left Egypt. We see how God raises up Moses, a great leader, and brings his people out of Egypt and on the journey to the promised land. They receive the Law of God, and instructions on how to worship Him.

Moses

• Found: Exodus chapter 1 - 4

Moses Born in Captivity (Exodus 1 - 2v9)

Jacob's family went into Egypt an stayed there. They married among themselves, not mixing with the Egyptians, and grew to be great in number. The Israelites became the slaves of the Egyptians and were in bondage for about 400 years. Pharaoh started to get worried about the Israelites. There were two million of them; enough to cause him problems if they rebelled; so Pharaoh attempted to keep the population down. He ordered that every baby Israelite boy was to be killed, and his soldiers carried out this command.

Two Israelites - Amram and Jochebed - had a son. They hid him from the soldiers for a few months, but eventually it became impossible. Miriam, the boy's sister, took him down to the Nile, laid him in a basket, and floated him off into the water. She waited to see what would happen.

After a while, Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe. She spied the basket and discovered the child. Not wanting any harm to come to it, she decided to keep it. Miriam appeared from hiding and offered the services of a Hebrew woman to look after the baby for a while. This meant that the boy, now named moses, was given back to his mother to be looked after.

Growing Up in the Palace (Exodus 2v10-25)

Moses grew for a few years in his parents' house and learned about his people and about the one true God. After a while, though, he was taken to the palace to be brought up as the princess's son. He grew and learned and became a mighty captain in Pharaoh's army, but was always troubled by the plight of his people. The Egyptians whipped them to keep them under control, and treated them very harshly

One day, Moses saw an Egyptian hitting a Hebrew man. Seeing that no one was watching, he struck the Egyptian such a blow that he killed him, and he buried him in the sand. The next day the Israelites confronted him. Moses grew afraid and ran away to the desert.

In the desert land, Moses helped out the daughters of a Midianite man. This man, Jethro, took Moses in and he married Jethro's daughter Zipporah. They had a son they called Gershom.

The Burning Bush (Exodus 3-4)

Moses looked after Jethro's sheep, which took him all over the desert. One time he was at Mount Horeb, and there he saw a strange sight. A bush was burning, but it wasn't consumed by the fire. Going closer to look, the Lord spoke to Moses from the bush and told him to take off his shoes, since he was standing on ground that was holy. Then God told Moses he was to go to Pharaoh and demand freedom for his people.

Moses had all sorts of excuses. He claimed weakness, but God said He would be his strength. Moses claimed the people would not believe the Lord had sent him, but God told him to say he came in the name of "I AM". Again Moses claimed the people would not believe God had sent him, and God gave him two signs. When he threw his staff down, it turned into a snake, and when he put his hand into his cloak, it came out leprous. If they didn't believe this, he was to take water from the river and it would turn into blood. Moses said he couldn't speak eloquently, but God said he would give him the words. Moses still wasn't happy, so God was angry at him and assigned his brother Aaron to be his spokesman.

Moses gathered his family and his belongings and returned to Egypt. There he spoke with the Israelites and they were convinced he came from God. Hearing that God cared for their plight, they worshiped the Lord.

The Ten Plagues

• Found: Exodus chapter 5 - 13

Moses Talks to Pharaoh (Exodus 5 - 7v13)

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh as God had asked them. They talked to Pharaoh and asked him to let their people go. Pharaoh's heart was hard and he refused them. He made the Hebrews make bricks without providing straw, causing them to work harder to do the same tasks.

Moses went to Pharaoh again. To prove he was sent from God, he threw down his rod and it turned into a snake. Pharaoh got his magicians in and they also turned their rods into snakes, but Moses' snake ate up the other snakes. Despite this, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go.

The Ten Plagues (Exodus 7v14 - 13v22)

After Pharaoh refused Moses, God ordered Moses to make a plague occur. Then he went again to Pharaoh, who again refused. This happened ten times, with the following plagues:

1. Plague of blood
2. Plague of frogs
3. Plague of lice
4. Plague of flies
5. Disease of cattle
6. Plague of boils
7. Plague of thunder, hail and fire
8. Plague of locusts
9. Plague of darkness
10. Plague of firstborn

For the first nine plagues, the destruction in Egypt was terrible, yet each time Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. The last plague was the worst of all. God was going to destroy the firstborn male of every family, human and animal. The Hebrews were given special instructions on how to avoid this plague. They were to keep a lamb in their houses for three days. When the day before the plague was upon them, they were to gather up all their possessions and be ready to leave. They were to sacrifice the lambs, spread the blood of the lambs on the doorposts and lintels of their doors and eat the lamb for dinner, along with unleavened bread.

The day came and the Jews followed the instructions given by God. That night the angel of death passed through Egypt, killing the firstborn of every household, including Pharaoh's oldest son. The angel passed over the houses with blood on the doors, leaving them untouched. In the morning Pharaoh was very upset, and promised the Israelites they could go. They quickly gathered together all their things and headed off into the desert. There were over two million Jews that came out from Egypt.

The Red Sea

• Found: Exodus chapter 14 - 15v21

Israel Faces the Red Sea (Exodus 14 - 15v21)

Moses led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and into the wilderness. They were guided by God, in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the pillar stopped, the people stopped; when the pillar moved, the people moved. Pharaoh had let them go, but he soon changed his mind, and sent his mighty army out after the Israelites. Meanwhile, the children of Israel came upon the Red Sea. There was no way out to the left or to the right, the Red Sea was before them and Pharaoh's army was behind them. The people didn't know what to do and started moaning at Moses.

Moses turned to the Lord in prayer and the Lord showed him what to do. The pillar of cloud moved behind them and confused the army chasing them. Moses stretched out his rod over the sea and a mighty wind blew, parting the sea and leaving a trail of dry land for the people to walk across. They hurried into the gap. It must have taken quite a while for 2 million people to cross the sea, but it wasn't until they were nearly across that Pharao's army came upon the sea and started along the path. They had problems though, with their chariot wheels becoming stuck in the sand.

When all the Israelites were across, Moses once more stretched his hand over the sea. The waters closed in and the whole of Pharaoh's army was drowned.

The Israelites were amazed at what God had done for them. They danced and sang praises to Him.

The Wilderness

• Found: Exodus chapter 15v22 - 18

The People Thirst (Exodus 15v22-27)

After crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel continued to follow the pillars of cloud and fire. It wasn't long before they began to run short of water. They came to a place called Marah (meaning bitter) where there was water but the water was too bitter to drink. The people moaned at Moses again.

God told Moses to do a strange thing. He asked him to cut down a tree and throw it into the water. As soon as Moses did this, the water became sweet and good to drink.

Soon after, they came to a place called Elim, with its twelve wells and seventy palm trees. There they rested for a while.

The People Hunger (Exodus 16)

The people continued, and came to a place called the wilderness of Sin. There they moaned at Moses again, because they didn't have anything left to eat. God told Moses that that night they would eat meat, and the next morning bread, so they would know He was God.

That night, a flock of quails came by and the Jews caught them to eat. The next morning there was a strange substance on the ground, like bread. They didn't know what it was but called it manna. The manna appeared every morning, enough for everyone in the camp. Except on the Sabbath, when the people were to rest. To compensate this, there was twice as much manna on the day before the Sabbath.If the manna was kept beyond its intended time, it rotted and produced worms.

Aaron took a pot, and put some manna in it, and kept it as a sign of God's provision to them. The manna kept the Hebrews in food for the whole time they dwelt in the wilderness.

The People Thirst Again (Exodus 17v1-7)

The people continued, and again grew thirsty. Again they moaned at Moses, and again Moses prayed to God. God gave him instruction to strike a rock with his rod. When he did this, water flowed from the rock and the people had water to drink.

Attack of the Amalekites (Exodus 17v8-16)

The Amalekites lived in the desert and saw the children of Israel as easy pickings. They came and attacked the Israelites. Moses sent Joshua out to fight the Amalekites, while he went to the top of a hill. While Moses held his rod up to God, the Israelites were winning the battle; when his strength failed the Amalekites started to win. His brother and friend helped him to hold up his arm and the Amalekites were defeated.

The Ten Commandments

• Found: Exodus chapter 19 - 34

Moses Called to the Mountain (Exodus 19)

The Israelites came to a place in the wilderness called Sinai. God called to Moses out of the mountain there and asked him to bring the people to the mountain. Three days later the Jews came to Mount Sinai. There was a cloud over the mountain and thunder and lightning coming from it. The people heard a very loud noise, like trumpets, and were afraid. The whole mountain trembled with the power of the Lord. The Lord called Moses up the mountain, and Moses went up to hear the Lord's commandments.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)

God gave Moses many commandments for the people, but most important were those known as the ten commandments. These were as follows:

1. Have no other Gods before God.
2. Do not worship idols.
3. Do not take the Lord's name in vain.
4. Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honour your parents so you may live long.
6. Do not kill.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not give false witness against your neighbour.
10. Do not covet your neighbour's property.

God wrote his commandments in two tablets of stone and Moses came down the mountain with them

The Golden Calf (Exodus 32-34)

While Moses was away, the people grew restless. They turned to Aaron, who asked them to donate all their jewellery. They gathered together all the gold they had and Aaron melted it and made a golden calf. The people worshipped this calf instead of the real God

Moses started down the mountain with the stone tablets. Joshua heard the noise from the camp and said there must be a war. Moses knew differently. This wasn't the noise of war but the noise of a party. The Israelites were singing and dancing and worshipping the calf. When Moses saw this, he cast down the stone tablets in anger and they broke. He took the calf, ground it up and made the Hebrews drink the gold dust in their water.

Moses again went up to the mountain. He received a new set of tablets and brought them down to the people. When he appeared in the camp, his face was shining from having talked with God and he had to put a veil over his face.

The Tabernacle

• Found: Exodus chapter 25-40

God Gives Moses Instructions (Exodus 25-40)

While Moses was receiving instructions from God, he was told what was right and what was wrong in God's eyes. He was also told what to do when the people did wrong. This centred around a structure God instructed Moses to build, called the tabernacle.

The Brazen Altar

The brazen altar was the place where the animals were brought to be sacrificed and burnt. This was to pay for Israel's sins.

The Laver

The laver was a big basin made of brass. The priests used it to wash themselves on their approach to the tabernacle.

The Candlestick

The candlestick was kept forever lit and was the only light provided in the tabernacle.

The Table of Shewbread

The table was the place where the sacrifices were prepared. It also the various implements used in the preparation.

The Altar of Incense

The priests offered up sweet smelling incense to God on the altar of incense.

Ark of the Covenant

The ark of the covenant was the central piece of the tabernacle. It was kept in the holy of holies, where once a year the high priest came before the Lord. The ark's top, the mercy seat, was sprinkled with blood on this occasion. It was covered with gold, with two golden angels spreading their wings over it. The ark contained three objects:

• The stone tablets with the law of God written on them.
• The pot of manna Moses kept from the days in the wilderness.
• Aaron's budding rod, which proved he was the rightful high priest when others objected.

The Israelites were given full instructions on what to sacrifice and when, the offerings to be made and how to go about them. The descendents of Levi were to be the priests in Israel, and the other tribes contributed to their upkeep.

When Moses came back to the people, they started to build the tabernacle and all its acoutrements. When they had built it, the pillar of cloud rested over the holy of holies. Whenever the Jews had to move, they packaged the various parts of the tabernacle up and carried them, in the order and the manner in which God had ordered.

The Israelites would use the tabernacle for many years, while travelling through the wilderness and when they got to the promised land. It was only when Solomon was made king that the tabernacle was replaced by a permanent temple.

Wandering in the Wilderness

The children of Israel expected to march from Egypt to the promised land in a few months or years. In the end it took them 40 years. In this section we'll look at why the long timescale came about, and what God was teaching them through their journey.

The Law

While the Jews were in the wilderness, God spoke to Moses and gave him much to tell the people. As well as the 10 commandments, there were many other laws the Jews had to keep, such as eating the right food, having healthy relationships and so on. There was also a lot of instruction for religious observances, with details on what to do, when to do it and what it signified. All these laws and observances can be found in Leviticus, and much of it is repeated again in Deuteronomy. Here we will look at the sacrifices and the feasts that he people were to observe.

Sacrifices (Leviticus 1-7)

There were five types of sacrifices, or offerings, the people could make to God. Three of these were voluntary and two were required of them. These were:

• Burnt offering - this was a voluntary offering of an animal made when someone wanted to say sorry for a sin they had committed.
• Meat offering - (or meal offering) was a voluntary offering of an amount of grain. This was brought to the priests and offered to God to show honour and respect towards Him.
• Peace offering - was a voluntary offering of an animal which was made when someone wanted to show gratitude to God.
• Sin offering - this was a required offering for the people, and covered unintentional sins which were minor. They could bring an animal, or some flour if they were poor, to give to the Lord to say sorry for the sin.
• Trespass offering - was for more serious sins. For these the person had to bring a ram to be sacrificed, and also pay reparation for the sin to the victim.

Feasts (Leviticus 16)

The Jews were given times when they were to stop working and dedicate the day to God. One of these occasions was the Sabbath, our Saturday. This day each week was to be set aside for time with God, and no work was to be done. There were another 7 feasts throughout the year when this was the case as well:

• The Passover - 14th day of 1st month - this special feast was to remember the time when the plagues were upon the land of Egypt. The Jews were spared the last plague, death of the firstborn, by putting blood of a lamb on their doorposts and lintel. At the Passover celebrations, parents were to teach their children about what God had done for them.
• Unleavened Bread - the 7 days after the passover were also a feast, remembering the time when God helped them escape from Egypt. At the time they didn't have time to make normal bread so had to make unleavened bread for their journey.
• Firstfruits - when the harvest came in each year, the people were to take the first of the crop to the priests, to be offered to God as a thanksgiving. The day after the Sabbath after the first harvest was the feast of the Firstfruits.
• Feast of Weeks - another thanksgiving celebration was to be held 50 days after the Firstfruits sabbath, to thank God for the bountiful harvest.
• Trumpets - On the first day of the 7th month, the people were to hold the Feast of Trumpets. Trumpets were to be blown, and the people celebrate with joy and thanksgiving.
• Day of Atonement - this was a special day, on the 10th day of the 7th month. On this day there was a special format to be observed, culminating in the high priest entering the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle to pour the blood of the sacrifice onto the mercy seat, symbolising the forgiveness of sin for the nation of Israel.
• Tabernacles - from the 15th day of the 7th month, for 7 days, the people celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, remembering how the Lord guided them through the wilderness when they dwelt in tents.

Events in the Wilderness

Some the events in the wilderness have already been recorded in the Exodus section, but there are some more important things which happened, recorded in the book of Numbers.

The 12 Spies (Numbers 13-14)

God had led the people using a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. He led them to a place called Kadesh, and told Moses to send 12 spies into the land of Canaan, to see what the land was like. A man was chosen from each tribe to be one of the spies.

The spies spent 40 days in Canaan. In one place they found great bunches of grapes, and brought some of these back with some other fruit. When they returned they reported that the land was very fruitful, but the people there were strong, and there were giants in the land. 10 of the spies advised against going into Canaan, but Joshua and Caleb said that God would give them the victory.

The people sided with the 10 spies, and murmurred against Moses. God spoke to Moses and said He would destroy the nation and begin again with Moses, but Moses persuaded the Lord to forgive the people. However, God said that none of the current adults would enter the promised land, except for Joshua and Caleb. The other 10 spies died of a plague.

When the Israelites realised their mistake, they decided to go and try to enter the land after all. Moses tried to dissuade them, as God wasn't with them, but they went anyway. They were defeated and sent packing. After this the children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years.

Moses' Mistake (Numbers 20 v 1-13)

37 years after the spies went out, the people once again came to Kadesh. There was no water for them there and they began to grumble and complain against Moses and Aaron. The Lord spoke to Moses and told him to speak to a rock which was before the people, and water would come out. Moses was annoyed at the people though, and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water did pour out of the rock, but God was angry with Moses, and told him that neither he nor Aaron would lead the people into the promised land.

The Brazen Serpent (Numbers 21 v 5-9)

As they travelled on, the people again complained about their lot, and about Moses' leadership. This time, to punish them, God sent poisonous snakes into the camp. Many were bitten by the snakes and died. This brought the people to their senses and they came to Moses to apologise and ask forgiveness. God told Moses to make a bronze statue of a snake and put it up in the middle of the camp. Anyone who was bitten should look up at the bronze serpent, and they would be healed.

Balaam's Donkey (Numbers 22-24)

The Israelites were now camped in the plains of Moab, and Balak, the king of Moab, was very worried. He had heard about the victories the Israelites had won, and was afraid they would overtake his land. He sent for a famous sorcerer named Balaam. Balaam seems to have been well known for effectively blessing and cursing people, and also seems to have known something about the true God.

Balaam refused to go to Balak at first, but Balak sent more people to fetch him, and God told him to go with them, but only say what God told him to. The next morning Balaam got up and went with Balak's men. He must have had the wrong atitude or motives though because God was angry with him. God sent the angel of the Lord to block Balaam's way. Balaam didn't see the angel, but his donkey did, and three times shied away, earning itself a beating. After the third time the donkey turned to Balaam and spoke in complaint. Balaam's eyes were opened and he saw the angel. The angel told him to go on to Balak but to only pass on the word of God.

Balaam made it to Balak, who showed him the Israelites from three different vantage points, asking him to curse them. But each time, Balaam pronounced a blessing on them. Balak was obviously angry about this but Balaam told him his country would be defeated along with other neighbours, by the Israelites. He then went off home.

This all seems to paint a good picture of Balaam, but we learn later on that he led the Israelites away from God, and towards the practises of worshipping other Gods.

Promised Land

The Jews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before God finally led them into the promised land. Moses time was over, and Joshua led them in, to take the land city by city, as God gave them the victories.

The Promised Land

• Found: Joshua 1-4

Joshua Crosses the Jordan (Joshua 1-4)

The children of Israel were on one side of the river Jordan. The promised land was on the other. Moses had died after seeing the land and been buried by God. The only men left alive from the time when the twelve spies had entered Canaan were the two good spies, Joshua and Caleb. Joshua had been appointed leader of the Israelites. God came and spoke with Joshua, promising to be with him as long as the people kept his commandments, and showed Joshua what he had to do to cross the river.

The people gathered together their belongings, got food ready and prepared their weapons. Joshua sent the priests ahead, carrying the ark of the covenant. They marched up to the river and kept walking. As soon as the first priest's foot touched the water, it drew back, revealing a path by which the people could cross. The priests walked to the middle of the river and stood there while the people crossed. After everyone was across, the priests went the rest of the way and the water started flowing again. They had crossed the mighty Jordan river by a miracle, and were now in the promised land.

When the people had crossed the Jordan, Joshua made one man of each tribe take up a stone from the river bed and carry it to the far side. After they crossed, Joshua set up a monument using the twelve stones. After that day, when anyone asked the reason for the monument they were to be told that Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry land.

Joshua Takes Jericho

• Found: Joshua 2, 6

Rahab Helps the Spies (Joshua 2)

Before attacking Jericho, Joshua sent in two spies to assess the city. The spies came to the house of a woman called Rahab, and asked her to stay there. She took them in, not knowing they were spies. Someone in the city had spotted them, though, and went to the king, telling him two spies were in the city. When Rahab learned they were spies, she took them and hid them on her roof, under some drying flax. When the king's guards came to Rahab's house, she said the spies had been there but had moved on. Bringing the spies down, she told them she believed their God was the true God, because of the things she had heard of him. She let them down a rope out of the city, her house being on the wall, and they told her if she wanted to be saved when they came to destroy the city she should hang a red cord out of her window. If she did this, she and everyone in her house would be saved.

Joshua Attacks the City (Joshua 6)

God had told Joshua how he was to attack Jericho, and it was a strange plan. The city was large and well protected with a great wall. The people were to go to the city and march round it, the priests with the ark led by priests holding trumpets at the front, the soldiers after and all the peole after that. They marched once round the city and retired to the camp. The next day they came and did the same thing. They did this for six days.

On the seventh day the Israelites came and marched round the city again; but they didn't stop this time. They went round and round, seven times. After the seventh time Joshua shouted that the Lord had given them the city. The people shouted, the priests blew their trumpets and the walls fell down. God had commanded that they destroy everyone in the city, and that all the spoils should go to him. Every person in the city was killed, with the exception of Rahab, who was saved along with her family. Rahab later married into the Israelites and was an ancestor of David, who was an ancestor of Jesus.

Achan

• Found: Joshua 7-8

Achan's Sin Affects Israel (Joshua 7)

The Israelites had taken Jericho. The Lord had commanded them to kill everyone in the city and give all the spoils to him. They had done this, killing everyone except for Rahab and her family and gathering all the riches together to give to the Lord. One of the Israelites was tempted to keep some of the spoils, though. His name was Achan. He had found, while going through the city, a precious robe, some silver coins and a wedge of gold. Hiding them in his clothing, he went back to his tent and buried them, thinking no one had seen him.

Israel was triumphant. They had destroyed Jericho and were now about to attack a smaller town, Ai. Joshua's spies had said this task would only take a few thousand men, so he had sent his army out to conquer. Amazingly, his men were defeated. They lost about 36 men and were chased away by the locals. Joshua couldn't understand it, and turned to the Lord to ask why he had deserted him. God told Joshua that someone had broken his commandment; that they had taken some of the spoil from Jericho for themselves and they must be killed for it.

The next morning, Joshua got the twelve tribes to march past him. The Lord pointed out the tribe of Judah. He made the families of Judah march before him and the Lord pointed out the family of the Zarhites. Then he narrowed it down to the family of Zabdi, and finally Achan himself. Achan confessed to his sin and the treasure was dug up from his tent. Achan, his family and all his possessions were taken away. The people were stoned to death and everything burned.

Ai Taken (Joshua 8)

Once Achan had been punished, God told Joshua that he would give him Ai, and this time they could take the spoil for themselves. Joshua sent his army out to attract out the people of Ai. All their men came out and chased Israel. But Joshua had set up an ambush. His men set fire to the city and burned it down. Both sets of men then attacked the Ai soldiers and killed them all.

12,000 people were killed that day in Ai, and the city was left in destruction.

Judges

The time of the judges was a roller-coaster time for the Israelites. When they took over the promised land, they didn't wipe out all the people God had told them to. The remnants of those they spared prospered and rose up against them. Whenever the Israelites turned from God, He would bring one of these people against them. They would cry out to Him, and He would send a judge to liberate them. For a while they would follow God again, but inevitably turn away from Him after a while.

Othniel

• Found: Judges 1, 3

Othniel (Judges 1 v 12-15)

Othniel was Caleb's nephew. Caleb offered the prize of his daughter Achsah to the man who took the city of Kirjath-sepher. Othniel was the man who did this deed and so he won Achsah as his wife. Achsah made Othniel ask Caleb for a field as well, and asked herself for springs of water.

(Judges 3 v 8-11)

The Israelites turned away from God and started to serve Baal. God was angry with them and let them be overtaken and taken into slavery by Chushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia. They were under his authority for eight years before the Lord brought Othniel to deliver them. He defeated Chushan-Rishathaim and was Israel's first judge for 40 years before he died.

Ehud

• Found: Judges 3

Ehud Kills Eglon (Judges 3 v 12-30)

After Othniel's death, the Israelites once again turned away from God. This time they were overtaken by the Moabite king, Eglon, who was quite a fat man. The Israelites served Eglon for 18 years before God raised up another judge. Ehud was a left-handed man and was sent to Eglon to deliver a present. Ehud hid a dagger at his right thigh, while the guards would probably check the other.

Ehud managed to get the king alone by telling him he had a secret message to deliver. When they were alone, Ehud stabbed the king, killing him. When he left, the guards thought the king must be answering the call of nature. Eventually, they were worried at the wait and went in to Eglon, to find him dead. By this time Ehud had made his escape.

When Ehud made it back to his people, he led them against the Moabites, and slew them all. Israel was free again, for 80 years.

Shamgar

• Found: Judges 3 v 31

Shamgar (Judges 3 v 31)

We only have one verse about Shamgar. He was a mighty man, since he killed 600 Philistines with a pointy stick used to guide cattle.

Deborah

• Found: Judges 4 and 5

Deborah and Barak Face Sisera (Judges 4 v 1-17)

Again Israel turned away from God and again God brought in an enemy to overtake them. This time it was The Canaanite king, Jabin, who oppressed the Israelites for 20 years with his mighty army and iron chariots.

Deborah was a prophetess and judge of Israel at the time. She went to Barak and told him it was God's plan for him to face the Canaanite army, captained by Sisera, and defeat them. Barak agreed, but only if Deborah went with him. Deborah agreed, but warned him this would mean the honour of killing Sisera would go to a woman.

Sisera heard about Barak and roused his mighty army to face the Israelites. The Israelites came down mount Tabor and attacked, defeating Sisera's army with all its iron chariots. Sisera fled and hid in the tent of a woman called Jael.

Jael Kills Sisera (Judges 4 v 18-24)

Jael invited Sisera into her tent to hide him. She gave him some milk and covered him to let him sleep. While he slept she took a tent peg and hammered it through Sisera's head, into the ground. She killed Sisera and claimed the honour as Deborah had foreseen.

The Israelites rose up and fought against Jabin, restoring their freedom again.

Deborah and Barak's Song (Judges 5)

Deborah and Barak composed and sang a song together, telling of their victory and praising God for delivering them.

Gideon

• Found: Judges 6 - 8

The People Turn Away Again (Judges 6 v 1-10)

Once more the Israelites turned away from God. This time God turned them over to the Midianites who ruled over them for 7 years. The Israelites were greatly oppressed and found it hard to survive.

Gideon Raised Up (Judges 6 v 10-40)

When we first come across Gideon he is hiding from the Midianites, threshing wheat by the winepress so they wouldn't stop him. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and called him a mighty man of valour. The Lord told Gideon that he will save Israel from the Midianites. Gideon couldn't believe that God would choose him, being the least of his family, and asked for a sign. He brought out an offering, which the angel touched with his staff. The offering was burnt up and Gideon was afraid. He thought he would die because he had seen an angel.

God assured Gideon he would not die, and asks him to cast down the altar to Baal and the grove put up by his father, and to erect an altar to the true God, sacrificing a bullock on it. Gideon and his servants did this by night because he was afraid of the men of the city. The next morning when they saw what had happened, these men came to Gideon's house, demanding his death. Joash, Gideon's father, said that they should let Baal himself take it out on Gideon, and renamed him Jerubbaal.

Gideon was still not sure of God's command, so asked him to assure him. He put a fleece out at night and in the morning the fleece was wet but the ground about it was dry. The next night he put the fleece out again. This time the fleece was dry and the ground wet, as Gideon had asked. Now he was sure that God was calling him

Gideon Defeats the Midianites (Judges 7)

Gideon raised up an army to fight against the Midianites. There were 32,000 of them, but God told Gideon this was too many. Those who were afraid were to go home. This left 10,000, still too many. This time the men were told to drink from a stream. Those who leaned over and lapped like dogs were sent home. This left just 300 men, few enough that they couldn't claim the victory for themselves.

Gideon was scared that they would lose the fight, so God told him to go down to the enemy camp to assure himself. There he heard a man tell his dream to another: a barley roll had rolled into the Midianite camp and squashed a tent. His friend said this was a sign that Gideon would be successful.

Gideon rushed back to his 300 men and told them the instructions he had been given by the Lord. Each man was to take a trumpet in one hand and a lamp, concealed inside a jug, in the other. They surrounded the enemy camp and, at Gideon's signal, broke the jugs to reveal the lamps, blew their trumpets and shouted "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon". The enemy rose up in confusion at this and started attacking each other. The people of Israel joined in to chase down the Midianites and the battle was won.

The Enemy Driven Out (Judges 8)

Gideon led his army and slew the Midianite kings. The people wanted him to be their king but he refused. Israel was quiet for another 40 years, and Gideon had seventy sons before he died at an old age. No sooner had he died than Israel again turned away from the Lord.

Tola

• Found: Judges 10v1-2

Tola (Judges 10 v 1-2)

Tola judged Israel for 23 years.

Jair

• Found: Judges 10v3-6

Jair (Judges 10 v 3-6)

Jair judged Israel for 22 years. He had thirty sons, each of whom had a city. After he died, the Israelites again turned away from God, worshipping false gods.

Jephthah

• Found: Judges 11-12v7

Jephthah Rejected (Judges 11 v 1-3)

Jephthah was the son of Gilead. He was born to a prostitute and was disliked by his half-brothers, the sons of Gilead by his wife. They threw him out of the household and Jephthah fled to the land of Tob. There he stayed for a while, gathering together a band of men who followed him as their leader.

Called to Lead (Judges 11 v 4-28)

As time went by, the Ammonites started a war against Israel. The people of the town of Gilead needed a leader, and turned to Jephthah, who expressed surprise, as they had rejected him earlier in life. The elders offered him the position of leadership over them, which Jephthah accepted, becoming their captain. He was a Godly man and made his vows in front of the Lord at Mizpeh.

Jephthah first tried the diplomatic approach. He enquired of the Ammonite king why he was warring with Israel. The king replied that Israel had taken his land long ago, and he was only claiming it back. Jephthah explained that the jews had only wanted to travel through the land, but the king's predecessor didn't trust them, and had started the battle. The Israelites had won and claimed the land as theirs.

The Ammonites refused to listen to Jephthah's reasoning, and continued the war.

An Unwise Vow (Judges 11 v 29-40)

Jephthah prepared for the battle against Ammon. The Lord was with him, but Jephthah wanted to be sure of victory. He vowed that if the Lord gave him the battle, he would sacrifice the first thing that came to meet him when he arrived back home. The Lord gave Jephthah a mighty victory over the Ammonites.

So Jephthah returned home, with his vow in mind. When he arrived home, his daughter, his only child, ran out to meet him. Jephthah was distraught, and ripped his clothes in grief. His daughter realised the seriousness of what he had done, and agreed that the vow must be carried through; but she asked for two months to go into the mountains and mourn the fact she would never marry and have children.

After that day, it became a custom for the Israelite girls to mourn for Jephthah's daughter 4 days out of every year.

Ephraim's Anger (Judges 12 v 1-7)

The people of the tribe of Ephraim were angry at Jephthah for not involving them in the battle against the Ammonites, so they gathered together an army to complain to Jephthah. Jephthah was outraged. He said the Ephraimites had refused to help when they had called; how dare they face him now? Jephthah slew the Ephraimites and took the passages of Jordan. When anyone tried to pass through the Passages, they had to say "Shibboleth". The Ephraimites couldn't pronounce the word properly, and any that were discovered were slain on the spot.

Jephthah judged Israel for 6 years, then died.

Ibzan

• Found: Judges 12v8-10

Ibzan (Judges 12 v 8-10)

Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel for 7 years. He had 30 sons and 30 daughters.

Elon

• Found: Judges 12v11-12

Elon (Judges 12 v 11-12)

Elon judged Israel for 10 years.

Abdon

• Found: Judges 12v13-15

Abdon (Judges 12 v 13-15)

Abdon judged Israel for 8 years. He had 40 sons and 30 nephews.

Samson

• Found: Judges 13-16

Samson Born (Judges 13)

Again the children of Israel turned against God. The Lord turned them over to the Philistines for 40 years. There was a man called Manoah at this time, and he and his wife had not had any children. An angel appeared to Manoah's wife to tell her she would have a child. She was not to touch drink or unclean food while she was pregnant, and the child was to be a Nazarite. There were three rules the Nazarites had to follow:

• Do not drink alcohol
• Do not touch dead bodies
• Do not cut your hair

Manoah's wife ran to tell her husband. He was excited, but wanted to know how they were to bring up the child. The angel appeared to his wife again and she brought him to the angel. Manoah offered a goat to the Lord and the flame went up towards heaven. He and his wife fell to the ground. Manoah was worried that the Lord would kill them, having seen them face to face, but his wife comforted him. After a while, Manoah's wife gave birth. They called the boy Samson, and the Spirit of the Lord was with him.

A Wife (Judges 14-15)

Samson saw a Philistine woman and wished to marry her, so he went and asked his parents. They weren't too happy at him marrying a Philistine girl, but agreed to go with him to Timnath. On the way, a lion attacked him. He tore it apart with his bare hands. The next time he went down, he went to see the dead lion. A swarm of bees had made their nest in it, and he took some honey from it and brought it to his parents. By touching the dead lion he had broken one of his Nazarite vows.

Samson held a feast in Timnath, and asked a riddle of his companions there. He said "out of the eater, something to eat, out of the strong, something sweet". They couldn't solve the riddle and asked his wife to entice the answer out of him. She did so and told them. When they came to Samson with the answer he was very angry. He owed them thirty sets of clothing, so he went to Ashkelon and killed thirty men there, taking their clothes as payment for his Philistine companions. He returned to his family home, leaving his wife behind.

After a while, Samson came to visit his wife. When he found that her father had given her away to one of his friends, he was very angry. He took three hundred foxes, tied their tails together and put burning brands between them. The foxes were let loose in the Philistines' corn fields, burning all their crop. When the Philistines found out what had happened, they came and burned Samson's wife and her father. Samson slew some of the Philistines and this made them rise up against the Israelites, the men of Judah in this area. The men of Judah came to Samson, to bind him and delivered him to the Philistines, but Samson broke his bonds, took the jawbone of an ass and killed a thousand of the Philistines with it.

Delilah (Judges 16)

Samson fell for another woman, Delilah. The Philistines persuaded her to ask him how he got his strength. Samson said if he was bound with 7 new cords, never dried, he would not be able to break free. Delilah did this when he slept, and woke him, saying the Philistines had come to attack. But Samson broke free from the cords. She asked him again, and he told her if he was bound with new rope he would not be able to break free. Again she bound him and again he broke free. Next he told her if his hair was woven together he could not break free. Again he broke free. Eventually, after much moaning, Samson was persuaded to tell Delilah that his strength came from his hair which had never been cut. She made him sleep on her lap and called a man in to cut off his hair. The Spirit of the Lord left him and he was as weak as any man, so they bound him, plucked out his eyes and made him a prisoner.

The Philistines brought Samson out to entertain them at their party. He was blind and asked a boy to lead him to the pillars of the house. Taking hold of both pillars, he prayed to God for strength and pushed the pillars over, killing himself and 3000 Phiistines in the process

When Samson died he had judged Israel for 20 years.

Kings

Israel was never supposed to have kings, but God allowed them when they persisted in asking Samuel. It was during this period that Israel was split in two. There were three kings of the united kingdom, then a period when the divided kingdom was ruled by separate kings, before each part was invaded and overtaken.

United Israel Saul David Solomon
Northern Kingdom (Israel) Jeroboam Nadab Baasha Elah Zimri Omri Ahab Ahaziah Joram Jehu Jehoahaz Joash Jeroboam Zachariah Shallum Menahem Pekahiah Pekah Hoshea	Southern Kingdom (Judah) Rehoboam Abijah Asa Jehoshaphat Jehoram Ahaziah Athaliah (Queen) Joash Amaziah Uzziah Jotham Ahaz Hezekiah Manasseh Amon Josiah Jehoahaz Jehoiakim Jehoiachin Zedekiah

Saul

• Found: 1 Samuel 8 - 31

Saul Made King (1 Samuel 8-10)

The children of Israel wanted a king. They saw the people round about had kings and they wanted one for themselves. God wanted them to be different, but they insisted, and God relented. Samuel explained to the people that a king would cost them dearly, would take their young men for soldiers and servants, and would tax them of their riches, but the people said they were willing to pay this price.

God led Samuel to a man called Saul, son of Kish, a benjamite. Saul was a strong young man, and a good man, one whom the people would take to. Kish had lost his donkeys and sent Saul out to find them. They can't find the donkeys, and decide to go see the man of God in a nearby town to ask his advice. God had spoken to Samuel the day before that He would bring the man who was to be king, and spoke again when Saul arrived - this was the man.

Samuel anointed Saul and sent him on his way. He went, and the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophecied. The people wondered at this and asked if Saul was also a prophet. Meanwhile, Samuel called the people together to choose their king at Mizpeh. He had each of the tribes walk before him, and Benjamin was chosen. He had the families of Benjamin walk before him and the family of Matri was chosen. He had this family walk before him and Saul was chosen. He couldn't be found, though because he had hidden himself. When they found him they brought him forth and the people all shouted "God save the king" Saul started off well as a king. He listened to God's leading, he won great battles, but then he made a mistake:

Saul's Big Mistake (1 Samuel 13 v 8-14)

The Philistines were ready to fight Isreal, and the Israelites were afraid. Many were hiding away, but Saul and his army waited at Gilgal. They were waiting for Samuel to come and make a burnt offering to the Lord to bless their battle, but they waited and waited. After seven days, Saul decided to take maters into his own hands and made the offering himself. Immediately Samuel was spotted approaching. Saul went out to meet him. Samuel accused him of making the offering and Saul began to make excuses. Samuel said he had done wrong, and as punishment the kingdom would be taken from him and given to a man after God's own heart.

He Spares Agag (1 Samuel 15)

In chapter 15 Saul makes another mistake. Samuel told him the people of Amalek were to be slain. Every last one of them, and all their livestock were to be killed. Saul went out and defeated the Amalekites, but let their king, Agag, live, along with some of the sheep, and cows. The next day, Samuel came to Saul and saw with anger that he had disobeyed the Lord. He said again that the kingdom would be taken out of Saul's hands and given to another. He had Agag brought before him, and Samuel slew Agag with a sword, cutting him into pieces.

A Troubled King (1 Samuel 31)

Saul's wrongdoings had turned God against him. From this time on, God left him and an evil spirit troubled him. Instead of his son taking over, he would be replaced by a young man called David when he died. Saul brought David into his house not knowing this, but David's fame grew until he had to flee from Saul, and Saul spent much of the rest of his reign hunting down David.

One day Saul was fighting against the Philistines. The battle had not gone well, and Saul's sons were killed. He was wounded by an arrow, and rather than be taken and killed by the Philistines, he fell on his own sword and died.

David

• Found: 1 Samuel 16 - 1 Kings 2

David was Jesse's son, and Ruth's great grandson.

Annointing of Samuel (1 Samuel 16)

God spoke to Samuel the prophet. Saul had been His chosen king, but Saul had turned away from obedience, and God had chosen another to succeed Saul. Samuel had to go to Bethlehem, to Jesse's house, to annoint the next king.

Samuel told Jesse this story, and the eldest son was brought in. He was big and strong, but not God's chosen one. One by one, the sons were brought before Samuel and each time God told Samuel this was not the one. "Are these all the sons you have?" asked Samuel. There was one more, but he was the youngest, out tending the sheep. When David was called in, God told Samuel he was the one. Samuel poured the oil on his head.

Meanwhile Saul was having a troubled time. An evil spirit was tormenting him. His attendents suggested that music would help, and one of them knew a son of Jesse who could play the harp. So David was brought into the house of Saul, and his music soothed Saul's troubled spirit.

Fighting Goliath (1 Samuel 17)

The Israelites were at war with the Philistines, and they met at the valley of Elah, the Israelites on one hill and the Philistines on another. Each day, the Philistine champion, a giant of a man called Goliath, came out and challenged the Israelites. If someone could beat him the Philistines would surrender; but if he beat the Israelite, the all had to surrender to the Philistines.

David came to the camp to bring some food to his three oldest brothers, who were in the King's army. He heard the Philistine's challenge, and couldn't believe that no one was responding. He went in to Saul and asked to fight, but Saul said he was only a boy. David told him of how he had defended his sheep against a lion and a bear, and God would defend him against Goliath.

Saul put his armour on David, but it was far too heavy. So David approached Goliath with no armour, five stones from the stream and his sling in his hand. Goiath looked down on him a cursed him, but David ran towards him, took out a stone and slung it at the giant. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead, and he fell to the ground. David took Goliath's sword and cut off his head. The Philistines fled, and the Isrealites chased them down, winning the victory.

Friendship of Jonathan (1 Samuel 18v1-5)

Saul took David in to stay in the palace, and was pleased with his progress. David became firm friends with Jonathan, Saul's son, and they vowed to look after each other. David did everything so well that he quickly gained rank in Saul's army, and he was liked by the officers and all the people.

Fleeing Saul (1 Samuel 18v6 - 20v42)

When they returned from defeating the Philistines, the women were singing and dancing. They sang "Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands". Saul was incensed at this, and hatred grew in his heart towards David. The next day, while David was playing his harp, Saul threw a javelin at him, but missed. He sent David out on campaigns, hoping he'd be killed, but the Lord was with David and he did very well. Saul married his daughter Michal off to David, hoping to trap him, but failed again.

Jonathan managed to make some peace between his father and David, but only for a short while. Soon after, Saul tried again to kill David, this time with a spear. He missed again. David fled to his house, and persuaded Michal to let him down out of the window. Michal put an idol in David's bed and told Saul's men he was ill. That delayed them enough for David to make his escape.

Jonathan couldn't believe his father wanted to kill David, so he arranged to find out, and let David know by a signal the next day while he was shooting arrows. Sure enough he found out his father did intend David harm, and he and David had to part company. They made a covenant, to look after each other's families, and David left.

Pretending to be Mad (1 Samuel 21)

David ran from Saul, and found his way to a place called Nob. He asked the priest there for bread, but the only bread he had was the shewbread offered to the Lord. David happily took it. The priest also had Goliath's sword, taken from his body when David killed him. David took the sword as well. He went to the land of Gath, but the king there recognised him. David pretended he was mad, foaming at the mouth, but the king didn't want anything to do with him and had him sent out.

Hiding in Caves (1 Samuel 22-24)

And so David came the the cave of Adullam. His family went to join him, and others who were in various types of trouble, until David had charge of 400 men. He took his parents to Moab, asking the king there to keep them safe. At one point Saul was searching for David, and went into a cave to rest for a while. It was the very cave that David was hiding in. David's men told him this was what he was waiting for - a chance to kill Saul. But David respected Saul as God's anointed and only cut the hem of Saul's robe. When Saul got up and left, David hailed him, and showed him the hem he had cut, asking why Saul sought to kill him. Saul was sorrowful, and went home with his army.

He Becomes King (2 Samuel 2 v1-6, 2 Samuel 5 v1-5)

Some time later Dvaid heard of Saul's death in battle, along with Jonathan, his son and David's friend. He was very sad, both for Janathan and for Saul. When David was 30, he went to Hebron, with his men, and there the people crowned him king over Judah. It was seven years later that the rest of Israel accepted him as king, and he moved to Jerusalem to reign over all Israel for 33 more years.

Return of the Ark (2 Samuel 6)

David wanted to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, so he took 30,000 men to go and collect it. They put the ark on a cart drawn by oxen, though God's way was for the Levites to carry it. When the oxen stumbled, a man named Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. God killed him on the spot for his irreverence. The rest were afraid, and left the ark at the house of a man called Obed-Edom. Three months later they came and tried again, this time carrying the ark. David danced before the Lord, and made sacrifices, and the people rejoiced. However, Michal, David's wife and Saul's daughter, was angry at David for making such a display of himself. She had no children from then on.

Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9)

David remembered his vow to Jonathan, to look after his family, and asked if any of Jonathan's family remained. There was one, called Mephibosheth, who was crippled from when his nurse had dropped him. David sent for him, gave him all of Saul's former possessions and land, and had him eat at the king's table for the rest of his days.

David's Great Sin (2 Samuel 11-12)

As king, David should have gone out with his armies to fight their battles with them. However, one spring he decided to stay home. While he was on the palace roof, he spotted a woman bathing, was pleased with her and sent for her. She was the wife of one of Dvaid's soldiers, Uriah, but David got Bathsheba pregnant. He sent for Uriah to return from the battlefield, hoping that he would spend time with his wife and that could explain the baby away, but Uriah insisted he wouldn't relax at home while his fellow-soldiers were out fighting. David sent Uriah back to the battle, with a note for the commander to put him in the fiercest part of the battle.

A message came back to David: some of the Israelites had been killed in battle, including Uriah. Once Bathsheba had mourned for her husband she was brought into the palace and had her child.

God sent the prophet Nathan to David. He told a story about a rich man who stole a poor man's lamb. David was angry at the story and said the rich man should be punished. Nathan pointed to him and said "You are the man". David was sorry for his sin, and the Lord forgave him, but he still had to face consequences. His son died, and David's family qould always have problems. Soon after though, Bathsheba had another child. They called him Solomon, and he was to take over after David as the king.

A Troubled Family (2 Samuel 15, 2 Samuel 18)

Absalom was David's son, yet wanted his father's power for himself. He set himself up at the city gates in Jerusalem, and gained the trust and support of many who came by. He then went to Hebron and claimed kingship there. David heard that the people were in favour of Absalom and not himself, so he gathered his supporters and left Israel to go into hiding.

David gathered his people together and sent them out to win back Israel. They were commanded by Joab, Abishai and Ittai. He wanted to go with them but they persuaded him not to, since the Israelites would be so keen to kill him. He asked them to be merciful to his son Absalom.

David's men fought against the Israelite army, and many died. Absalom's mule ran through the forest, and Absalom was caught in a tree, left hanging by his head. A soldier saw him and reported to Joab, who killed Absalom with his javelins. When the news got to David he was very sad that his son had been killed, and mourned for him.

He Desires to Build the Temple (1 Chronicles 17 v 1-12, 1 Chronicles 28)

When David sat in his palace one day, he looked around and realised how much he had, and yet the house of the Lord was still just a tent. Now that the Israelites were settled in one land, it seemed sensible to build a temple for the Lord. He enquired of Nathan the prophet, but God told him he would not build the temple, but his son would.

So David gathered all the people together and explained to them. He was a man of war, and so not fit to build the house of the Lord; but his son Solomon would be a peaceful king, and he would construct the temple. David prepared as much as he could, and donated much gold and silver, along with plans for the temple building. He encouraged his son to carry out the task, and trust in God to be with him.

David's Death (1 Kings 2 v10-12)

Finally, David's reign was over. He died after 40 years as the king over Judah, 33 of those over the whole of Israel. When he died, his son Solomon became king in his place.

Solomon

• Found: 1 Kings 1-11

Solomon Becomes King (1 Kings 1)

Solomon was David's son by Bathsheba. David loved this son, and promised he would be king after him. When David was old, though, Solomon's older son, Adonijah, decided he would set himself up as king. He gathered the people together and they partied and hailed him as king. David got to hear about this and sent Nathan the prophet out with Solomon to anoint him and declare him king. Adonijah heard, and was afraid, so he went to the altar and held on to the horns for safety. Solomon said he would let Adonijah live if he would be a worthy man, so Adonijah came and bowed before Solomon.

Enemies Removed (1 Kings 2)

King David died from his old age, but before he died he urged Solomon to keep on for the Lord. Adonijah approached Solomon and asked if he could marry Abishag, the girl who had been David's companion in his old age. Solomon realised he was trying to gain power again, and had him killed. He took Abiathar, who had supported Adonijah, out of the priesthood and replaced him with Zadok, and he had Joab, who had also supported Adonijah, killed. He told Shimei, who had cursed David, that if he stayed in the city he would be safe, but Shimei left the city to retrieve his slaves one day, so Solomon had him killed. He now had a firm grasp on the kingdom.

What to Choose (1 Kings 3)

Solomon started building. He built up the walls of Jerusalem, finished the royal palace and of course built the temple for the Lord. God appeared to him in a dream and asked him what he wanted. Solomon replied that he needed wisdom to rule the country, because he was still young. God was pleased with this, and gave Solomon wisdom, also promising him riches and long life, since he had been selfless in his request.

Two women came to Solomon with a problem: they lived together, both had babies, but one of the babies had died in the night. Both claimed the living one was their's. Solomon suggested they cut the living one in two so they could both have half. One woman cried out and said she would rather the baby went to the other woman than be killed, and Solomon said this was the mother, give her the child.

Building the Temple (1 Kings 5-8)

Solomon began to build the temple, as his father had prepared. He had the assistance of Hiram, the king of Tyre, who supplied him with a lot of wood, and the stone was cut at the quarry. No stone was cut at the temple site, so that a reverent silence was kept as the temple was built. It took seven years, but finally the house of God was built. Solomon also built himself a palace, which took 13 years to build.

When the temple was built, the various items of furniture were brought into it, and lastly the ark of the covenant. Solomon prayed before the temple and offered sacrifices as a dedication.

Horses, Money and Women (Deuteronomy 17 v 14-17, 1 Kings 10 v 23 - 11 v 13)

Back when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, the Lord had told them they would inevitably want to have a king, He specified three things the king should not do: he should not acquire a lot of horses, a lot of women or a lot of silver and gold.

Solomon did acquire riches though, more than any of the kings around him. And he accumulated horses, brought from Egypt as the Lord had warned against. And he married many women: 700, with 300 concubines, and these women turned Solomon's heart away from the Lord.

Because of this, the Lord spoke to Solomon and told him he would take the kingdom away from him, and pass it on to one of his people. Solomon's son would be left with just one tribe from all the land.

He Dies (1 Kings 11 v 41-43)

Solomon died after ruling for 40 years, like his father. Unlike his father, though, he had turned away from God in his later years, and after his death the kingdom of Israel would be divided in two.

Rehoboam

• Found: 1 Kings 12-14, 2 Chronicles 10-12

Losing a Kingdom (1Kings 12 v 1-24)

Rehoboam was Solomon's son. He took over the kingdom when Solomon died. Solomon's taxes had been hard on the people, and they came to him, led by Jeroboam, to ask that he give them a lighter burden. Rehoboam consulted with two groups of advisors. The older ones, his father's advisors said he should gain the people's confidence by agreeing with their demand. Be their servant today and they will be your servants forever. He asked his younger advisors as well, and they said he should be even harsher than his father.

Rehoboam listened to the young advisors, and placed a harsh tax burden on the people. They rebelled, and 10 tribes left him for Jeroboam. He fled back to Jerusalem, where the people were still loyal to him. He was going to fight against Jeroboam to try and win his kingdom back, but the prophet Shemaiah, prompted by God, persuaded him to hold back.

Rehoboam was left with two tribes from the original 12, Judah and benjamin.

A Poor Reign (1 Kings 14 v 21-31, 2 Chronicles 11-12)

The people of the southern kingdom, now called Judah, didn't do well under Rehoboam's reign. They started off quite well. Jeroboam was putting an alternative religion in place, so many of the Levites and devout Israelites came and joined Rehoboam. For three years they followed God. But as the nation grew strong, Rehoboam and all the people turned from God, and God sent the Egyptian king Shishak against Judah. Shishak raided the temple and the palace, taking away all the precious things that were there. In all, Rehoboam reigned for 17 years.

Jeroboam

• Found: 1 Kings 11-15, 2 Chronicles 10-13

The Torn Cloak (1Kings 11 v 26-40)

Jeroboam was a mighty man, and Solomon made him ruler over the house of Joseph. One day the prophet Ahijah came to Jeroboam, and tore up his new cloak, into twelve pieces. He gave ten to Jeroboam, and told him that because of Solomon's sin, God was taking the kingdom out of his hands. Ten tribes would be given to Jeroboam, and Rehoboam would just be left with Judah and Benjamin. God promised Jeroboam a blessing if he followed the Lord. Solomon heard about this, and tried to kill Jeroboam, so he fled to Egypt.

Made a King (1Kings 12)

When Solomon died, the people sent for Jeroboam. He took their case to Rehoboam, asking for more lenient taxes, but Reheboam taxed them more heavily. The people rebelled, ten tribes broke away from Rehoboam's rule, and set up Jeroboam as their king. Jeroboam worried that if the people still went to worship at Jerusalem every year, they would return to their former ruler, so he made two golden calves, and set them up in Bethel and Dan, making a new religion for his people to follow.

A Bad Prophecy (1Kings 13 v 1-6)

A prophet appeared at the altar in Bethel, while Jeroboam was burning incense. He prophecied that a king called Josiah would come and restore worship of the true God, burning the false priests on this very altar. As a sign that his prophecy was true, the altar would crack. Jeroboam held out his hand and ordered the prophet arrested, but his hand froze in that position, the altar cracked and its ashes spilled out. Jeroboam begged the prophet to pray that God restore his hand. He did, and God restored the king's hand to what it had been. Jeroboam didn't turn from his sin, though, or his false religion.

His Family are Doomed (1Kings 14 v 1-20)

Jeroboam's son Abijah became sick. He wanted to know from Ahijah the prophet what would become of him, but didn't want Ahijah to know it was the king's child. So he made his wife go to Ahijah, disguised and with presents. Ahijah was almost blind, but the Lord told him who was coming. He gave the Lord's message to Jeroboam's wife: God had made Jeroboam king, but Jeroboam had not followed God, but made other gods. All of Jeroboam's family would be killed, and the minute his wife returned to their city, the child would die. Eventually, the whole nation of Israel would be taken away and scattered.

Sure enough, when Jeroboam's wife returned home, the child died. Jeroboam reigned for a total of 22 years, and when he died, his son Nadab took the throne. But it wasn't long before the prophecy came true and Jeroboam's family were wiped out by the next king, Baasha.

Minor Kings

Northern Kingdom

Jeroboam

Nadab (1 Kings 14 v 20, 15 v 25)

Nadab was the son of Jeroboam. He only reigned for 2 years before he was killed by Baasha

Baasha (1 Kings 15 v 16-22, 15v27-16v6)

Baasha was a warring person. He took over kingship of Israel by killing Nadab and all the family of Jeroboam, and spent all his time warring against Asa, king of Judah. He reigned for 24 years, during which the prophet Jehu spoke out against him. He died and was succeeded by his son Elah.

Elah (1 Kings 16 v 8-10)

The prophet had prophecied against Baashah's house, for their evil deeds, and it wasn't long into Elah's reign that he suffered the fate prophecied. He had been reigning for two years, and was drunk in the house of his steward, when his servant, Zimri, came in and killed him, taking over as king.

Zimri (1 Kings 16 v 9-20)

Zimri had conspired against his king, and murdered him. He immediately sought out the rest of the family of Baasha, and killed them as well. He didn't last long, though, in fact just 7 days. When the armies of Israel heard that Zimri had killed Elah, they went to Tirzah, where he was, and laid siege to the city. Zimri saw what was happening, got himself into the palace, and burnt it down, killing himself.

Omri (1 Kings 16 v 16-30)

Omri had been the captain of the Israelite army, and when the people heard Zimri has set himself up as king they voted Omri in as king. He then went to defeat Zimri. Omri reigned for 12 years, but was a worse king than all the previous ones.

Ahab (1 Kings 16 v 28 - 22 v 40)

Ahab took over from his father Omri, and was a worse king than any before him. He took a wife from a foreign tribe, named Jezebel, and took on her religion, worshipping Baal. He was so bad, that God sent a drought on the land, heralded by the prophet Elijah. The drought lasted for three and a half years, ending when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, and slaughtered them. Ahab told his wife what had happened, and she was enraged against Elijah.

The king of Syria, Benhadad, decided to bully Israel, and demand its treasures. Ahab agreed because he was outnumbered, but Benhadad wanted more. He wanted his people to come into the cities and take what they liked. Ahab denied him this, so Benhadad got 32 kings and their armies together to fight Israel. The Hebrew army was tiny, but a prophet of the Lord assured Ahab they would win, so he took them into battle and they had a great victory. Benhadad thought the Israelites gods must be gods of the hills, so came against them again, this time on the plains. Again, God gave the Israelites victory, and Benhadad came to Ahab, promising to restore all the cities he had taken. Later, a prophet came to Ahab, disguised. When he revealed himself he gave the Lord's message: because Ahab had let Benhadad live, his own life was forfeit.

Outside Ahab's palace was a vineyard, owned by a man named Naboth. Ahab took a fancy to the vineyard and offered to buy it from Naboth, which he refused. This made Ahab unhappy and he went back to the palace. On hearing his problem, Jezebel forged a proclamation from the king, ordering Naboth killed, and it was done. Ahab took over the vineyard, but Elijah came to him with the word of the Lord. Ahab would die, along with all his family. The dogs would lick his blood and eat the flesh of Jezebel. Ahab was very sorry for what he had done, and the Lord allowed him to live for now, but his family would still be cut off after his death.

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah asked Ahab to join him in winning back the city of Ramoth Gilead from the Syrians. Ahab enquired of his prophets, and 400 of them said he would be victorious. Jehshaphat asked if there were any more prophets, and Ahab said there was one, Micaiah, but he always prophecied bad things for Ahab. They called Micaiah. At first he said Ahab would return victorious, but then said he would be killed, and all the other prophets had been made to lie by God. Ahab sent him to prison and went to the battle.

Ahab hoped to avoid being targeted by disguising himself, while Jehoshaphat kept his kingly robes. The Syrians were after Ahab, though, and he was wounded by a spear. He died that evening, and was taken back to Samaria. His chariot was washed of his blood, and the dogs licked it up.

After Ahab's death, Ahaziah, his son, took over as king.

Ahaziah (1 Kings 22 v 51-53, 2 Kings 1)

Ahaziah took over when his father, Ahab, died. He reigned for two years, and didn't follow the Lord. During his reign he fell through a lattice, injuring himself badly. He sent his servants to enquire of the god Baalzebub whether or not he would live. They met Elijah on their way and he was angry that Ahaziah hadn't enquired of the Lord. He sent message that Ahaziah would die of his injuries. Ahaziah did die, and Joram (Jehoram) reigned afterwards, because Ahaziah didn't have a son.

Joram (2 Kings 3, 2 Kings 8 v 28 - 9 v 37)

Joram is sometimes called Jehoram, and likewise the king of Judah, Jehoram, is also called Joram, which makes things a bit confusing. Joram reigned in Israel after Ahaziah. He was Ahab's son, Ahaziah's brother, and reigned because Ahaziah had no son.

While Ahab was alive, the king of Moab had been friendly, but after Ahab's death he rebelled against Israel. Joram joined with Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, and the king of Edom to fight the Moabites. They were lacking in water, and looked to Elisha for advice: he wasn't going to give them any, except he respected Jehoshaphat. Elisha told them to dig ditches, and they would be filled even though it didn't rain. Sure enough, this happened. When the sun rose, the Moabites thought the valley was full of the blood of their enemies, who had quarrelled with each other. As they ran to get the spoils, they were surprised by the Israelites and heavily defeated.

Some time later, Joram joined Ahaziah, the king of Judah, in a battle against Hazael of Syria at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was wounded in the battle, and taken back to Jezreel. While he was there some soldiers approached. He sent out messengers to find out who it was, but they didn't come back. It looked like Jehu, his captain, was coming, so Joram went out with Ahaziah, who was visiting him, in their chariots. Jehu said he was here to kill Joram, who fled, but Jehu killed him with an arrow. Ahaziah also fled, but was injured, and died soon after. Joram's body was cast down on Naboth's vineyard, and his mother, Jezebel, was also killed.

Jehu (2 Kings 9 - 10)

Jehu was Joram's captain, and was fighting at Ramoth Gilead. While he was there, and the king was injured in Jezreel, a prophet came to visit him. He poured oil on Jehu's head and proclaimed him king of Israel, saying he was to destroy all of Ahab's family. The other captains readily took him on as their king, and he rode back to Jezreel. He slew Joram, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, and when he came into the city, Jezebel was thrown down from her window and killed, and the dogs ate her flesh, as prophecied.

Jehu waged a campaign of destruction against the house of Ahab. He had Ahab's sons, his relatives and his priests killed. He tricked the prophets of Baal into coming to him in Samaria and had them all killed, destroying the images of Baal as well. However he still worshipped the golden calves set up by Jeroboam, instead of the Lord. He reigned for 28 years, and his son, Jehoahaz, became king when he died.

Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13 v 1-9)

Jehoahaz took over as king when his father, Jehu, died. He continued to worship the false idols set up by Jeroboam, and God let the Syrians conquer Israel. He turned to the Lord for help, and the Lord freed them from the Syrians, but Jehoahaz continued in his evil ways. His son Joash took over when he died.

Joash (2 Kings 13 v 10 - 14 v 16)

Joash, also known as Jehoash, took over from his father Jehoahaz. He reigned for 16 years. When Elisha was dying, Joash visited him. Elisha told him to fire an arrow out of the window, and said that he would defeat the Syrians. He then told him to hit the rest of the arrows off the ground. Joash did this three times, but Elisha told him that was not enough. He would defeat the Syrians three times but not destroy them. After his battles with the Syrians, Joash also fought against Judah. He broke down the walls of Jerusalem, and raided the temple and the palace.

Jeroboam (2 Kings 14 v 23-29)

Joash's son Jeroboam reigned after he died, and reigned for 41 years. We don't read much about him, but Hosea and Amos were prophets during his reign.

Zachariah (2 Kings 15 v 8-11)

Zachariah was Jeroboam's son, and took over when he died. He only reigned for six months before Shallum conspired against him and killed him.

Shallum (2 Kings 15 v 13-15)

Shallum killed Zachariah to become king, but wasn't there for long. He reigned for a month before Menahem killed him and took over the throne.

Menahem (2 Kings 15 v 14-22)

Menahem, the son of Gadi, reigned for 10 years. He was not a pleasant character. He defeated some port towns, and killed the women who were pregnant. He was nearly overtaken by the Assyrians, but paid them in silver to leave his country alone. He made the rich men of the country pay him the silver back.

Pekahiah (2 Kings 15 v 23-26)

Pekahiah, Manahem's son, reigned after him for two years. One of his captains, Pekah, conspired against him, and killed him.

Pekah (2 Kings 15 v 25-31)

Pekah was Pekahiah's captain, but rebelled and killed his king, taking over his throne. He reigned for 20 years. He too was conspired against, and was killed by Hoshea.

Hoshea (2 Kings 17 v 1-6)

Hoshea killed Pekah and reigned in his stead. Like all the kings of the northern kingdom, he did evil in God's eyes. He gave gifts to the Assyrian king, Shalmaneser, when he threatened Israel, but changed his allegiance after some years by allying with So, the king of Egypt, so Shalmaneser had him taken captive. The Assyrians besieged Israel for three years, then set up their own king over the land and took the jews there into captivity. Hoshea had been king for nine years, and was the last king of Israel. God had finally let them be taken because they refused to follow Him.

Southern Kingdom

Rehoboam

Abijah (1 Kings 15 v 1-8, 2 Chronicles 13)

Also called Abijam, Abijah was Rehoboam's son, and took over when he died. He reigned over Judah for three years. He fought against Jeroboam, and even though he was ambushed, the Lord brought him the victory, subduing Israel for a time.

Asa (1 Kings 15 v 8-24, 2 Chronicles 14-16)

Asa took over from his father, Abijah, and he reigned for 41 years. He removed a lot of the idols in Judah, and even removed his mother from being queen because she worshipped an idol. There was peace in Judah for thirty five years, apart from a single battle with the Ethiopians, and Asa built protection around his cities. He had trouble from Baasha, the Israelite king at the time, so sent a tribute of gold and silver to the king of Syria, Benhadad, asking him to switch allegiance, which he did. The Lord chided him for relying on Syria instead of God. In his old age, Asa had problems with his feet, but didn't seek the Lord's help, trusting in his doctors instead.

Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22 v 41-50, 2 Chronicles 17-20)

Jehoshaphat became king when his father died, and reigned over Judah for twenty five years. He was a good king, and sent out teachers from the Levites to teach his people God's law. He made a mistake by teaming up with Ahab, and going to fight at Ramoth Gilead, but the Lord protected him there, while Ahab was killed. Jehu the prophet rebuked him when he returned for joining with the ungodly king.

News came to Jehoshaphat that the Moabites and Ammonites were marching upon Judah, and he was afraid. He declared a fast, and sought the Lord, and the whole nation did likewise. A Levite named Jahaziel stood up and spoke for the Lord. They were to go to the battle the next day, but wouldn't have to fight. The battle would be the Lord's. The next day they went out, and singers went before the army praising God. God turned their enemies against one another, and when Jehoshaphat got to the battlefield there were only bodies. They returned to Jerusalem praising God, and God gave the nation peace.

Near the end of his reign, Jehoshaphat again joined with the Israelite king, Ahaziah this time. They built ships to go and collect gold. However, the ships were destroyed, because Jehoshaphat had worked together with an ungodly king.

Jehoram (2 Kings 8 v 16-24, 2 Chronicles 21)

Jehoram was Jehoshaphat's son, and became king when Jehoshaphat died. He didn't seem to learn much from his father though. He married Ahab's daughter, and followed the wicked ways of the kings of Israel. He even murdered his own brothers, and some of the princes of Israel. Elijah the prophet spoke out against him, and told him he would contract a terrible disease. Sure enough Jehoram got this disease of the bowels, and it was the cause of his death. He reigned for eight years, during which several of the neighbouring countries revolted against Judah, and then he died.

Ahaziah (2 Kings 8 v 24 - 9 v 29, 2 Chronicles 22 v 1-10)

Ahaziah was also known as Jehoahaz, and was Jehoram's youngest son. All the other princes were taken away by Judah's enemies, along with Jehoram's wife and all his treasures. He became viceroy when his father fell ill, and a year later became king when his father died. He only reigned for a year but still managed to be an evil king. He got caught up with Joram of Israel in his battle against Jehu, and was slain by Jehu because of it.

Athaliah (2 Kings 11 v 1-20, 2 Chronicles 22 v 10 - 23 v 21)

Athaliah was Ahaziah's mother, and when he died she took over. She sought out all of Ahaziah's sons, her grandsons, and had them killed. But the one-year old Joash was hidden away by his aunt, Jehosheba. They stayed hidden in the house of the Lord for six years. Then the priest Jehoiada arranged for the royal guard to protect him as they revealed him to the queen. He was crowned, and when the queen discovered she shouted "Treason". However she was taken out of the house of the Lord and was killed.

Joash (2 Kings 11 v 2 - 12 v 21, 2 Chronicles 22 v 11 - 24 v 27)

Joash, also known as Jehoash, had to be hidden from his grandmother Athaliah, as she sought to kill all her son's children. His aunt, Jehosheba, hid him for six years in the house of the Lord, before he was brough out in public and hailed as king, while Athaliah was killed.

He reigned in Judah for 40 years, and was generally a good king. He got rid of some, though not all, of the places of idol worship, and restored the temple. The priests put in charge of this weren't very good at managing the money they were given, so Jehoiada instituted an offering box, and all the money given to the temple was put in the box, and given to the workmen restoring the temple.

The king of Syria, Hazael, marched towards Jerusalem with the intention of taking the city. Instead of trusting in God to help him, Joash gave Hazael all the riches of the temple and the palace to persuade him to leave them alone.

Joash died when his own servants conspired against him. They killed him, and his son Amaziah was made king after him.

Amaziah (2 Kings 14 v 1-20, 2 Chronicles 25 v 1-28)

Amaziah was 25 when his father was killed, and he was made king. The first thing he did was to put to death his father's servants who had killed him. He was a good king, but didn't abolish idolatry as he should have. He organised the people of Judah into a great army, with 300,000 men. He also hired some of the Israelites to join his army, but was warned by a prophet this wasn't a good idea, and so sent them home angry. He went to fight and defeat the land of Edom, but while he did this, the Israelites he had sent home were sacking his own towns. He also brought back idols from Edom, and worshipped them, which angered the Lord.

The king of Israel, Joash, fought against Amaziah, and defeated him. He broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and took the precious vessels from the temple.

Amaziah reigned for 29 years in Judah. After he turned away from God, his people conspired against him. He ran away, but was found and killed, and his son made king in his stead.

Uzziah (2 Kings 15 v 1-17, 2 Chronicles 26 v 1-23)

Uzziah, or Azariah, was Amaziah's son, and became king when he was 16, when his father was killed by his own people. He was a good king, and had a long reign, for 52 years. The Lord was with him in battle and he won many victories, also strengthening Jerusalem with great machines for firing arrows and throwing stones. He became proud though, and was discovered in the temple, burning incense at the altar. Because of this sin he was smitten with leprosy, and had to go and live in isolation. His son Jotham took over his affairs until he died

Jotham (2 Kings 15 v 32-38, 2 Chronicles 27 v 1-9)

When his father died, Jotham took over as king. He was 25, and reigned for 16 years, building up the cities in Judah and defeating the Ammonites. He followed his father's early example and was a good king, but still didn't remove the high places where the people practised idolatry. When he died, his son Ahaz took over.

Ahaz (2 Kings 16 v 1-20, 2 Chronicles 28 v 1-27)

Ahaz took over as king when his father Jotham died, but he was a far worse king. He worshipped idols, and even sacrificed his own children in the valley of Hinnom. The Lord left him to be defeated by both the Syrians and Israel. When Israel defeated Judah they took many of the children of Judah captive, but a prophet persuaded them to let them go. When Edom invaded, Ahaz sent to Assyria for help, giving him gold from the palace and from the temple. But the Assyrian king didn't come to his aid. Ahaz desecrated the temple and worshipped the Gods of other countries. He died after 16 years of reign, and his son Hezekiah took over.

Hezekiah (2 Kings 16 v 20, 18 v 1 - 20 v 21, 2 Chronicles 29 v 1 - 32 v 33)

Hezekiah became king at the age of 25, and reigned for 29 years. From the start he reversed the trends of his father. He had the idols and pagan altars taken down, and removed the bronze serpent put up by Moses, which had become a focus of idol worship. He set the priests and Levites to cleaning out the temple, and reinstated the forms of worship prescribed by God. They had a special passover feast, a month later than usual because it took time to get the priests sanctified. He also reintroduced tithes, so the priests could focus on their duties before the Lord. He followed God and tried to obey Him, and the Lord made him prosper. He also stopped paying tribute to the king of Assyria.

In Hezekiah's fourth year, the king of Assyria rose up against the northern kingdom of Israel. It took 3 years to take Samaria, but Shalmanessar conquered and took all the people captive to his own land.

In his 14th year, another king of Assyria, Sennacherib decided to take over Judah. He took the cities of Judah, and his army camped outside Jerusalem. Hezekiah offered him a tribute of silver and gold taken from his palace and from the temple, but Sennacherib wasn't interested. His envoys came to Jerusalem and told the people they had no chance against Assyria, that their God wouldn't help them just as all the other countries' gods hadn't helped them. Isaiah told Hezekiah not to worry. The Assyrians would not set foot in Jerusalem. Sure enough, one night the angel of the Lord swept through the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 of their people. They fled, and when Sennacherib returned to his capital of Nineveh, he was killed by his own sons.

Around his time, Hezekiah fell ill. He sent for Isaiah, who told him that he would soon die. Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed to God. Before Isaiah had left the palace grounds, the Lord told him to turn back and speak to Hezekiah. He would live for 15 more years. As a sign of this, the shadow on the sundial turned back 10 degrees.

Having heard Hezekiah was sick and recovered, the prince of Babylon visited him. Hezekiah was prideful, and showed this prince all the treasures he had in the palace and in the temple of the Lord. When Isaiah heard this he prophecied that all these treasures would one day be taken away to Babylon, along with Hezekiah's descendents.

Manasseh (2 Kings 21 v 1-18, 2 Chronicles 33 v 1-20)

Manasseh was only 12 when he became king, and he reigned for 55 years in Judah. He rebuilt the altars and idols that Hezekiah had removed, and even sacrificed one of his own sons. He was involved in black magic and fortune telling, and had so many people killed that the country seemed strewn with bodies. A prophet of God prophecied that, because of all this evil, Judah would be punished.

God sent the Assyrian army to punish Manasseh. They captured him with hooks and chains and took him to Babylon. There he came to his senses. He realised he had done evil, and prayed to the Lord for rescue. He was released and taken back to Jerusalem. After this he was a changed man, taking down the altars again, and commanded the people to worship the true God.

Amon (2 Kings 21 v 18-26, 2 Chronicles 33 v 20-25)

Amon took over from his father when he was 22 years old, and reigned for only two years. He followed in the evil things his father had done, but didn't have the same change of heart. After he had ruled for two years, his aides conspired against him and killed him. A posse was put together to bring these assassins to justice. They were killed, and the people put Amon's son, Josiah, on the throne, at just 8 years old.

Josiah (2 Kings 21 v 26 - 23 v 30, 2 Chronicles 33 v 25 - 35 v 27)

Josiah was only 8 years old when he was made king, after his father was killed. But though he was young he was determined to do good. In his eighth year as king he started trying to seek the Lord God of David. In his 12th year he started a campaign of destruction of the altars, idols, high places and worship of false gods. This was to take a long time, but he was exhaustive in removing idolatry from Judah, and even removed altars from the cities of Samaria as well.

In his 18th year, Josiah ordered that the house of he Lord be repaired. They used the money collected at the gates of the temple by the priests. As they were cleaning out the temple, the priests made a discovery: the book of the law, which hadn't been read for generations. They took it to Josiah and read it to him.

When Josiah heard what was written in the book of the law, he was shocked at how much his people were in disobedience. He tore his clothes, and humbled himself before God. He sent to the prophetess, Huldah, to ask what the Lord would do. Huldah told him that God would judge the kingdom for their disobedience, but because of Josiah's humility, He wouldn't do it in Josiah's lifetime.

The king gathered the people together in Jerusalem, where he read them the book of the law that had been found. He urged them to join him in a covenant with the Lord to turn from their sins and follow His commandments. They all stood in agreement. Josiah continued his campaign of destruction and desecration of altars to false gods. He burned the bones of the priests on the altar set up by Jeroboam, just as had been prophecied.

In his 31st year, Josiah decided to go and fight against Necho, Pharaoh of Egypt. Necho warned him that he shouldn't come out and fight, but Josiah did anyway, and was slain by an arrow. He was takn back to Jerusalem in his chariot, and buried there.

Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23 v 30-34, 2 Chronicles 36 v 1-4)

When his father was slain, Jehoahaz became king, at 23 years old. However, he was only king for 3 months. King Necho of Egypt captured him and took him to Egypt where he died. He put Jehoahaz's brother, Eliakim, in his place, renaming him Jehoiakim.

Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23 v 34 - 24 v 6, 2 Chronicles 36 v 5-8)

Jehoiakim was made king of Judah at 25 by Necho of Egypt, and paid him tribute which he extracted as a tax from the people. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took over Egypt, and hence Judah, and Jehoiakim served him for 3 years, before rebelling against him. The Lord sent all the Jews' enemies against Judah, and Nebuchadnezzar came to capture Jehoiakim and take him away to Babylon, but he died. Jehoiakim had reigned for 11 years in all.

Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24 v 6-15, 25 v 27-30, 2 Chronicles 36 v 8-10)

Jehoiachin took over when his father died. He was 18 when he became king, and only lasted 3 months. Also called Jeconiah, he was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, who took him, all the treasures of the palace and temple, and many of the people off to Babylon. We hear about him 37 years later, when a new king of Babylon takes pity on him, and takes him out of jail, treating him a bit more like a king.

Zedekiah (2 Kings 24 v 17 - 25 v 21, 2 Chronicles 36 v 10-21)

Zedekiah was Jehoiachin' uncle. Nebuchadnezzar put him in charge after he removed Jehoiachin, changing his name from Mattaniah. He was 21, and reigned for 11 years in the depleted Judah. He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, who besieged Jerusalem in his 9th year. After 3 years of siege, the city was suffering from famine, the soldiers fled, and Zedekiah was captured. His sons were killed in front of him, he was blinded and bound and taken to Babylon. His 11 year reign was the last of the kings of Judah. After Nebuchadnezzar had removed him, he destroyed Jerusalem, burning the buildings and knocking down the walls.

Exile

After the time of the kings of Israel and Judah, the people were taken away by conquering nations. First, the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive by Assyria, not to be heard of again. Then the Babylonians took the southern kingdom of Judah. Many of the Jews in Judah were taken away to Babylon for a period known as the Exile, or the Captivity, roughly 70 years.

Dates

The Babylonians held the Jews captive for most of this time. There were three times where the Babylonians came into Judah and took people away: in 605, 597 and 586 BC. The first of these was in the third year of King Jehoiakim's reign. In 539 BC the Medo-Persians conquered Babylon, and many of the Jews were allowed home after that, though some stayed in Babylon, or in the Persian capital Shushan, for a while afterwards. The main dates for the return are 538 BC, when Zerubbabel took many back to Jerusalem, 458 BC, when Ezra returned and 445 BC, when Nehemiah returned to build the walls of the city.

Rulers

When Babylon took Judah, it was Nebuchadnezzar who reigned. He was king for 43 years, after which Evil-Merodech took over. By the time the Medes and Persians invaded, Belshazzar had been co-reigning with his father for 14 years. Darius the Mede was put in charge of Babylon for a couple of years before the King of Persia, Cyrus, took over. Around 50 years later, Xerxes (Ahasuerus) was King of Persia, during the time of Esther.

Books

There are four historical books set in the time of the exile and return, and these are as follows:

• Daniel
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther

Daniel

Daniel is a book of two parts. The first six chapters we will deal with here tell the story of Daniel and his three friends as they are taken into captivity in Babylon. The next six chapters tell of Daniel's visions and the prophecies taken from them. These are dealt with in the prophecy section.

Captives (Daniel 1)

During the reign of King Jehoiakim, The Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar, invaded Judah, and took a number of the people back to Babylon. Daniel and his three friends were among those taken captive. They were young men at the time, taken from the royal household. When they got to Babylon, the king ordered them trained up in the local language and teachings. He also gave them Babylonian style names. Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach and Azariah became Abednego.

The boys who were being trained were to go through a three year programme, at the end of which they would be assessed by the king. They were given food and drink from the king's table. Daniel didn't think that was right and asked if he could avoid the king's food. His supervisor was worried that Daniel and his friends would grow weak on a different diet, and he would get the blame. So Daniel suggested a trial. For ten days, he and his friends would take only vegetables and water. If at the end they looked weaker than the other boys they would eat the king's food. To the supervisor's surprise, at the end of the ten days Daniel and his friends looked stronger and healthier than the others. He agreed they could stick to their diet.

The boys learned their lessons diligently, and at the end of he three years, King Nebuchadnezzar talked with each of them and was impressed by how well they'd done. He appointed them advisors, and found hat they were ten times as good as his Babylonian magicians and astrologers.

The Statue Dream (Daniel 2)

One night King Nebuchadnezzar had a strange and frightening dream, and it woke him in a fear. He called his magicians and astrologers to him and demanded they explain the dream to him. They asked him what it was he dreamed, but he said he had forgotten the dream. If they were truly wise men they could tell him the dream and the interpretation. They said no man could do that, only the gods. Nebuchadnezzar got angry, and ordered the execution of all he wise men.

When the executioner called on Daniel, he asked what was wrong with the king. When he had it explained, he went to the king and said he would reveal the dream to him the next day. Daniel then went back and asked his three friends to pray for him. That night God revealed the dream to Daniel in a vision. He went to the king in the morning and explained that God had shown him the dream.

The king had dreamed of a great and fearful statue. The head of the statue was made of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze and its legs of iron. Its toes were made of iron and clay. A rock was carved from the earth and crushed the statue. Daniel explained that the statue represented different periods of history, with succeeding empires being less noble, until an empire would exist made up of strong and weak components. These would all be dashed by the great empire of the promised Messiah. We can see the following matches from history:

• Gold - Babylon
• Silver - Medo-Persia
• Bronze - Greece
• Iron and Clay - Roman

The king was very impressed. He made Daniel head of all his advisors and put him over all his kingdom. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were made Daniel's assistants.

The Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3)

King Nebuchadnezzar decided to have a huge statue of himself built on the plain where everyone could see it. When it was built, he ordered all the important people of the country to gather around it. When the music started they were instructed to bow down to the statue, and so they did. Except for a few Jewish men, who were reported to and brought before the king. It was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king was angry with them and gave them one more chance to bow to the statue or they would be thrown in the fiery furnace. The three men still refused to bow, saying their God was greater and they would bow to none other.

Nebuchadnezzar ordered the three thrown into the fiery furnace, but first it should be heated up to seven times its usual ferocity. The men were thrown in, and the furnace was so hot, the guards who put them in were killed by the heat. When the king looked into the furnace he was amazed. The three men were in the midst of the fire, walking about, and there appeared to be another man there, who the king said was like a god. He called for them to come out, and when they came out there wasn't a mark on them, only the ropes binding them had been burned away.

The king declared that the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was greater than other gods, and he promoted them to higher positions.

Dream of a Tree (Daniel 4)

One night King Nebuchadnezzar had another dream. He called his advisors to him the next day but none of them could interpret it. Them he called on Daniel, who he realised had power from somewhere to interpret dreams. He told Daniel the dream.

Nebuchadnezzar had dreamt of a great tree, reaching to the sky, sheltering animals, and growing fruit. But an angel appeared and announced that the tree was to be cut down to a stump. He said that someone should be given the mind of an animal and be cast out into the fields.

Daniel was disheartened by the dream, and took a while before telling Nebuchadnezzar. The tree was himself, as the ruler of a great kingdom. Many people benefitted under his rule. But he would lose his sanity. He would become as an animal, and eat grass in the fields for seven years, until he realised that God was sovereign over all. Daniel wished that the dream would happen to someone else, and urged the king to repent from his sins and do good, that God may change His mind.

A year later, Nebuchadnezzar was walking on his palace walls, telling himself that he was responsible for this great city and this great kingdom. An angel appeared and condemned him. The king's mind became like that of an animal, and he was put out of the palace. He ate grass in the fields and slept in the open. His hair and nails grew long. After seven years, he came to his senses. He declared that all the earth is in the hand of Almighty God, that He is sovereign over everything. His sanity was restored and he returned to the palace.

Writing on the Wall (Daniel 5)

After Daniel and his friends had been in captivity for about 65 years, Belshazzar was the king, and he decided to hold a great banquet. He ordered that the goblets taken from the temple be brought in and used to drink from, and he and his guests praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron and wood. Suddenly a hand appeared and wrote some words on the wall. The king was so scared that his knees knocked together. He sent for his best advisors, but not one could interpret the meaning of the writing.

The Queen Mother heard the noise and came into the banquet hall. She told the king not to fret, that there was a man who was advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar, who could interpret dreams and give wise counsel. So Daniel was sent for. The king offered him a purple robe, a chain of gold and third place in the kingdom if he interpreted the writing. Daniel told the king to keep his gifts, but here was what the writing meant:

The writing read "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin". Daniel explained that these meant weighed, found wanting and divided. The king had been weighed in the balance. He had scorned the true God by using His holy implements as drinking mugs, and he had not humbled himself as Nebuchadnezzar had. He had therefore been found wanting. His kingdom would be taken from him and given to others.

That very night, King Belshazzar was slain, and the Medes and Persians took over the Babylonian empire. Darius the Mede was put in charge of Babylon.

Den of Lions (Daniel 6)

When Darius took over, he set up 120 men to run the country with 3 administrators over them. One of these administrators was Daniel. As time went on, Daniel impressed Darius, and he wanted to promote him to be in charge of the country. The other men got envious of Daniel, and hatched a plot. They went to the king and suggested a new law. If anyone prayed to a god other than the king over the next 30 days he should be thrown into the lions' den. The king was flattered by the proposal and agreed.

Daniel heard about the new law, but knew that he couldn't stop praying to God. He continued to pray to God three times a day. The rulers spotted him and brought him before the king. Realising he had been tricked, Darius tried to change the law, but the laws of the Medes and the Persians could not be repealed. Daniel was thrown into the lions' den.

After the den was sealed up, the king couldn't eat or sleep. He paced about all night and at dawn came to the den. He shouted in to see if Daniel was still alive. Daniel answered back. He was alive because God had sent an angel to shut the lions' mouths. The king was overjoyed, and decided that those who had plotted against Daniel must be punished. They and their families were thrown into the lions' den, and there was no angelic protection for them.

After this, Daniel was kept in good favour of the king, and of Cyrus, his successor.

Ezra

The Jews from Judah spent 70 years in captivity in Babylon. At the end of this period, the Medes and Persians overtook Babylon, and King Cyrus took the throne. He was much more agreeble to the Jews' return home.

The First Group Return (Ezra 1-6)

In the first year of King Cyrus, he declared that the Jews could return to Jerusalem, and rebuild the temple there. They would receive funds from the treasury, gained from taxes on the surrounding area, and he even handed back the sacred items stolen from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

Around 50,000 people returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, and settled in to the towns they originated from. They all put their wealth together in a fund to start the rebuilding effort.

First of all the altar was built. This meant that the Jews could restart their offerings and sacrifices to God, along with the various feasts held throughout the year. 1 year and 1 month after the return, they started to build the foundations of the temple. The people praised God, while some of the older ones, who remembered the previous temple, wept. The joy and weeping joined together to make a great noise.

The people who had moved in to the local area around Jerusalem when the Jews were captured weren't happy at the temple being built. They offered to help in the hope of getting men on the inside, but the Jewish leader, Zerubbabel, said only the Jews should do the job. The locals put together a letter of complaint to the current king, Xerxes, who said that the building work should stop.

The Jews stopped building for a number of years, but Haggai and Zechariah prophecied and exncouraged the people back to work. Again the locals sent a letter of complaint to the king, who was now Darius.

Darius received the letter, and had his men check back in the records. They descovered the decree from Cyrus that the temple should be built and funds provided from the royal treasury, and so approved the Jews' efforts. The temple was finished and a special dedication ceremony was held. When the 14th day of the first month came round next, the Jews were able to celebrate their most important feast, the Passover.

Ezra Returns (Ezra 7-10)

Nearly 60 years pass between Ezra 6 and Ezra 7. Then we hear about the second group of people who journey back to Jerusalem. This is a smaller group of about 2,000 and they're led by Ezra: a priest who is very learned in God's laws. Ezra is sent with King Artaxerxes' permission, along with whoever else wants to go, and is given a letter wishing the king's blessing, along with gold and silver, and a command for all to obey and give gifts to Ezra.

Ezra and his band of Levites, scribes, singers, temple servants and so on, travel from Babylon to Jerusalem in 4 months.

When they arrive, the leaders there approach Ezra with worrying news. The Jews who returned before have started mixing with the peoples round about, marrying their daughters and getting involved in their ungodly practices. Ezra is ashamed of his people and goes before the Lord in a prayer of confession.

As Ezra prays and weeps, other around him follow his example. They decide that something has to be done and that the solution is to be rid of all foreign wives and children. All the people of Israel are gathered together to discuss this, as it rains down on them. The family heads are given the task of hearing the cases of each husband, and sending the foreign wives and children away. This is done and the nation purified again.

Nehemiah

Nehemiah is the last historical book of the Old Testament. It tells of Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem to build the walls of the city, and his attempts to restore the people to the God-fearing people they were before.

Rebuilding the Walls (Nehemiah 1-7)

The story starts 13 years after Ezra's trip to Jerusalem. Nehemiah is a Jew who was born away from his homeland. He has an important job, as the king's cupbearer in the city of Susa. He receives a report from a friend was tells him that although the temple has been rebuilt in Jerusalem, the walls still lie in ruin. Nehemiah is upset at the news, and prays that he may be able to help.

The king sees Nehemiah's sad face and asks him what is wrong. He explains his desire to go to Jerusalem and help rebuild the walls, The king agrees and sends him with a letter of authority. When he gets to Jerusalem, some of the surrounding people, led by Sanballat and Tobiah, aren't happy that the walls are to be rebuilt. Nehemiah surveys the walls at night, and then encourages the people to get to work. They start building but Sanballat, Tobiah and another man called Geshen appear and mock their efforts. Nehemiah tells them that God will give them success.

The people get on with the task. Each one is assigned an area of the wall which is close to their house, and all sorts of people join in the work.

Sanballat and friends are angry at the progress, and mock the builders again. They shout that if a fox walked on the wall it would fall down. Nehemih is worried about an attack, so prays, sets a guard on the wall and makes sure all the workers are armed. A trumpeter goes about with him to sound the alarm if trouble arrives.

As the work progressed, some of the poorer Jews complained to Nehemiah that they were being taken advantage of by the richer ones, even resorting to selling their children to pay off debt. Nehemiah demanded that any siezed land is returned to its original owners, and they weren't to treat each other this way. They agreed. From this point on and for the next 12 years, Nehemiah didn't burden the people with the taxes due to him as governor. He worked hard on the wall, and fed others at his table.

Sanballat and friends are not at all happy. They try to lure Nehemiah out of the city to a meeting 4 times, but Nehemiah sensibly stays where he is. Then then start a rumour that Nehemiah wants to be king. Nehemiah prays to God for strength, and carries on working. The wall is completed in a total of 52 days, with the Israelites' foes still trying to intimidate them.

Nehemiah posts guards around the newly restored wall to keep the city secure.

Reforming the People (Nehemiah 8-13)

All the people were invited to Jerusalem, and Ezra read out the books of the law of God. The people weep but Nehemiah tells them this is a sacred day, and they should be rejoicing and feasting instead. The next day the heads of the families listen to the law being read and pass it on to their families. They hear about the feast of booths and realise they should be celebrating it, so they set up tents throughout the city, and live in them for the rest of the week.

On the 24th of the month, the people got together to confess their sins before God. The Levites praised God, and the people put an agreement together to follow the law. They then signed it.

The agreement was a promise from the people. They promised to obey God and His law, and to give to Him and to the work in the temple.

All the leaders and around a tenth of the rest of the peopl settled in Jerusalem. The rest went out to live in the surrounding towns of Judah.

They then had a special dedication ceremony for the new walls. The group went to the top of the wall and split in two. Each half marched in opposite directions around the wall, meeting at the far side of the city, praising God and then making their way to the temple.

Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem after a while away, and he finds that Tobiah has been given a room in the temple building. He throws him out. He tells the people off for buying on the Sabbath, and rebukes them fo marrying their children off to non-Jews. He encourages them to return to following the Lord's law.

Prophets

A prophet is someone who brings God's message to the people. There are many prophets throughout the old and new testaments, some named and some not. Here we will look at a few of the prophets most mentioned during the time of the kings, then the major and minor prophets who wrote books of their prophecies. The minor prophets are so called because of the length of their writings, not because of a lesser importance.

Early Prophets	Major Prophets	Minor Prophets
Samuel	Isaiah	Hosea
Elijah	Jeremiah	Joel
Elisha	Ezekiel	Amos
	Daniel	Obadiah
		Jonah
		Micah
		Nahum
		Habakkuk
		Zephaniah
		Haggai
		Zechariah
		Malachi

Daniel

Daniel is made up of two parts, half history and half prophecy. Here we will deal with the prophetic part of Daniel. The historic part is dealt with elsewhere.

Jesus Christ

The whole of the Bible is centered around one person. The Old Testament shows our need for Him, prophecies His coming and paints many pictures of Him in its history and poetry. The New Testament tells His story, His teachings, His purpose and how we can know Him and follow Him. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The story of Jesus is told in four different accounts, known as the Gospels (gospel meaning good news). Each gospel takes a different view of events and was written for a different purpose, but they work together in harmony to tell us the good news about Jesus Christ.

In this section we have:

• The Life of Jesus
• The 4 Gospels
• The Miracles Jesus Performed
• The Parables Jesus Told
• The Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled