The Story Of David

King David

David and King Saul

The fierce battles with the Philistines continues, and at last the Israelites and Philistine armies found themselves facing one another across the mountains with the Valley of Elah between  them.

One morning there came out from the Philistine camp two men.  The first was a soldier carrying a shield, but it was the man behind him who made the Israelites gasp with horror.  He was an enormous giant of a man, nearly 10 feet tall, and dressed in a bronze javelin. His great thick spear had a wicked looking head of iron on it.  The name of this giant was Goliath, and the Israelites trembled at the sight of him.

He stood and glared across at the ranks of the Israelites; then he roared across to them in a terrible voice, “What do you think you are all doing there lining up for battle?  I am a Philistine and you are Saul’s slaves.  Choose one of your numbers and send him to fight me!  If he can kill me, then we will be your slaves; but if I win, then you shall be our slaves and serve us.  I dare you to send somebody to do battle with me!”

The Israelites were terrified and did not dare send anybody.  They were pretty sure who would win when they looked at Goliath!  No one in their army could have a hoe of beating him; so nobody went out to see him.

Goliath continued to roar his challenge at them.  Every morning and every evening for the next forty days he bellowed across at the Israelites.  Saul and his arming were dismayed and felt more and more discouraged.

Now Jesse was too old to go and fight in Saul’s army, but his three eldest sons had gone---Eliab, Abinadab and third son whose name Shammah.  David was still taking care of his father’s sheep.

One day Jesse said to David, “Go to your brothers in the army and take them some food---some roasted grain and loaves of bread.  See how they are getting on, and bring back something to prove to me that they are well.  Take ten cheeses for their commanding officer also.”

Early next morning, David got up, ready for his journey.  He left someone else in charge of the sheep and set off with the food which his father had given him.

When he reached the camp, both armies were just preparing for battle.  David handled the food to the officer in charge of supplies, and ran in among the soldiers to find his brothers.  As he was chatting to them, Goliath came out for his twice-daily challenge to the Israelites, clanking his armor and roaring defiance.  The Israelite soldiers were becoming worn down by this performance, and they ran away, trembling.

David asked the soldiers near him what it was all about and they said, “King Saul has promised a big reward to anyone who kills this giant, and he will also give his daughter to marry and free him of taxes.”

“Who is this heathen Philistine to dare to defy the army of the living God?” David scornfully said.

Some of the soldiers told Saul what David had said, and the king sent for him.  “Your majesty,” said David.  “I’ll volunteer to go and fight  this giant. No one should feel afraid of him.”

“No, no,” said King Saul.  You are just a mere boy.  He’s been fighting soldier all his life.”

“But sir,” said David, “I look after my father’s sheep, and if a bear or a lion comes to seize a lamb, I rescue the lamb, and kill the bear or lion.  I’ve killed many such, and I’ll kill this Philistine.  The Lord has saved me from lions and bears, and He will save me from this Philistine.”

Saul was so impressed on what he witness.  “All right,” he said, “you can go and try.  You know, no one else has offered.  You may wear my helmet and my armor.  And God will be with you.”

When David was dressed in Saul’s armor, he found he could not walk in it; it was so heavy, and he was not used to wearing armor.  So he took it all off and went to meet Goliath with only his stick and his sling.  On the way picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in this shepherd’s bag.

As soon as Goliath saw who was coming to fight him, he laughed with scorn.  “What’s the stick for, boy?” he shouted.  Do you think that I am just a dog?”

David replied, “You are coming to me with might---your sword and spear and javelin.  But I come to you in the name of the living God, the God of Israel whom you have defied.  I will defeat you, and the whole world will know that Israel has a true God.”

With that, he ran towards Goliath, taking one of the stones from his bag.  He aimed it straight at Goliath’s forehead, and it struck the giant who fell on his face on the ground.  David ran over and, taking Goliath’s own sword from its sheath, he killed the giant.

When the Philistines saw what had happened to their champion, they turned and fled, hotly pursued by the Israelites who won a great victory.

After this great victory, David was taken into the presence of King Saul.  While he was at the court, he met Saul’s son, Jonathan, and came to like him very much.  A firm bond grew up between them and they swore eternal friendship.  Saul treated David almost like another son, and David did so well in all the missions that he was given that Saul made him a commander in the army, and everyone was delighted with the news as David was very popular.

When the army returned home after their victory over the Philistine, the people danced and sang for joy.  “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands,” they cried.  Now Saul did not like to hear this and he began to grow jealous of David.  He even began to be afraid of his success.  But the people all loved David because he was such a great leader.

In due time, David married Saul’s daughter, Michal; but Saul grew more and more moody and had many attacks of bitter jealousy against David for no reason at all.

One day Jonathan found out that Saul was actually plotting to kill David, so he warned David to go and hide.  “I will talk to my father, and I will find out anything, I will tell you,” he said to David.  They he went to his father, and reminded him of all the great things David had done.  Saul listened and understand, and decided that David should not be killed.  So David came out of hiding and served the king once more.

It was not for long, however; another time, Saul’s jealous mood returned, and he hurled a spear at David as he was playing the harp.  David managed to dodge it and so was not hurt.  That night Saul sent some men to David’s house to kill him; but David’s wife, Michal, heard of it, and let David down from a window so that he escaped.  Then she took the figure of an idol from the house and put it in the bed, so that when the soldiers came looking for David, they were tricked and David was able to make his escape in the midst of the confusion.

Naturally, David grew very worried about these attempts on his life, and he asked Jonathan one day, “What have I done”  What crime have I committed that makes your father want to kill me?  I have always been his loyal servant.

Jonathan wanted to do all he could to help his friend and thought that his father would tell him what he was about to do; but David thought that as Saul knew he and Jonathan were friends, he would not tell Jonathan anything about his plots against David.

The next day was the Feast of the New Moon, and David was supposed to dine with the king.  He decided not to go, but to hide in the fields instead.  He said to Jonathan, “If your father notices that I am not there, tell him that I have gone to Bethlehem to attend the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.  “If he says “All right”, then I’ll be safe.  If, however, he is angry, then you will know that he plans some evil against me.”

Jonathan agreed to let David know what happened.  Saul noticed David’s absence and asked Jonathan about it.  When Jonathan said David had gone to Bethlehem, Saul flew into a rage and said “Bring him here immediately, for he must die!”

“But why?” asked Jonathan reasonably. “What wrong has he done with you?”

For an answer Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, but did not hurt him.

Jonathan was upset and ashamed of his father’s evil mood, and the next day he went out into the fields and let David know that he must flee and escape Saul’s anger.  “God be with you,” said Jonathan to David.  “The Lord God will be with us and our descendants for ever.”

For a long time there was war between Saul and his men and David and his followers.  Yet on two occasions when he had a chance to kill Saul, David would not do so; no doubt he remembered that Saul had once treated him like a son, and moreover, had he not been anointed king by Samuel, acting one God’s instructions?

In the end, King Saul was killed in a battle against Philistine.  Three of his sons were killed in the same battle, and one of them was Jonathan, David’s beloved friend.

 

 

Joseph Interprets the King’s Dreams

Joseph The Dreams Interpreter

Joseph interprets the King's Dreams

When two full years had passed, the Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream.  He was standing by the Nile River, when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began to feed on the grass. After them, there were seven other cows, ugly and gaunt.  They came up out of the Nile River and stood on the bank.  And those ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. The king woke up after this dream.  He had another dream when the king fell asleep again.  There were seven heads of grain, good and healthy which were growing on a single stalk. After them were another seven other heads of grains sprouted which were thin and scorched by the east wind.  The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good and healthy full heads of grain. The king woke up again after this dream and he realized that he had only been dreaming.  He was worried, so he called up all the magicians and wise men of Egypt in that morning.  He has narrated his two dreams to the magicians and wise men, however no one could explain to him the meaning of his dreams.

The wine steward told the king: “Today I have done wrong and I must confess.  Your highness, you were once angry with me your servant and the chief baker and you imprisoned both of us in the house of the captain of the guard.  Each of us had a dream in one same night, and each of our dreams has its own meaning. A young Hebrew, the slave of the captain of the guard was there with us that time.  We narrated to him our dreams, and then he interpreted our dreams for us.  All the things turned out exactly as what he said:  you have restored me to my position, but you have executed the baker.”

The Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the prison.  After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came into the king’s presence.  The king said to Joseph, “I have had two dreams, and no one could ever explain them to me.  I have been informed that you can interpret dream.”

“I cannot interpret that Your Majesty, but God will give a favorable interpretation.” Joseph answered to the king.

The Pharaoh said, “I dreamed that I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began feeding on the grass.  Then seven other cows came up which were ugly and gaunt.  They were the ugliest cows I have seen  in the entire land of Egypt.  The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the fat ones, but no one could have known it, because they looked just as bad as before. Then I woke up again after that dream. I also dreamed that I saw seven heads of grain, good and healthy, growing on one stalk.  Then seven heads of grains grain sprouted; thin and scorched by the east wind, and the thin heads of grain swallowed good and healthy full heads of grain.  I informed the magicians about these dreams, but none of them could explain them to me.”

Joseph said to the Pharaoh, “The two dreams mean the same thing; God has told you what he is going to do.  The seven fat cows represent the seven years, and the seven full heads of grain are also seven years; they all have same meaning.  The seven thin cows which came up later and the seven thin heads of grains scorched by the desert wind on the other hand represent the seven years of famine.  God has shown to you what he is going to do, just like what I have told you. There will be seven years of great abundance all over the land of Egypt.  There will be seven years of famine after that and all the good years will be forgotten, because the famine will ruin the country. The years of abundance will be totally forgotten, because the famine which follows will be so terrible.  The recurrence of your dream means that the matter has already been fixed by God and He will make things happen in the near future.

“And now the Pharaoh should choose some man with wisdom and insight and put him in charge of the country.  During the seven years of plenty harvest you must also appoint other officials and take a fifth of the crops.  During the good years that are coming, you have to order them to collect all the food and give them authority to store up grains in the cities but have them guarded.  The foods that were stored will be reserve supply for the country during the seven years of famine which are going to come on Egypt.  The people will not starve in this way.”

(Quoted from Genesis 41: 1-36, Today’s English Version & New International Version)

 

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments

Moses with the Ten Commandments

http://posts.fanbox.com/g4s14

Under God’s guidance, Moses led the people on, away from the Red Sea, and across a great stretch of desert called the Wilderness of Shur. The land was hot, dry and barren, full of sand dunes, scrubland and rocks, and with hardly any water.  When they had been traveling from three days, the Israelites became very thirsty and were delighted when they found water at a place called Marah.  When they drink it, however, they found it very bitter. “What are we going to drink?” they grumbled to Moses.

Moses prayed to God, and God showed him a tree whose bark and leaves are able to sweeten bitter water.  Moses threw some of this into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

From Marah, the Israelites moved on to Elim, where they found twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and here they were able to camp and rest for a while.  They could not stay long, however, for they had to continue their journey, and soon they were grumbling again.

“We’re hungry,” the people complained.  “At least we had food in Egypt, but now you have brought us here we shall all starve to death.”

God told Moses, “I shall send food for you.  Each day the people must go out and gather enough for one day.  On the sixth day of the week, they are to gather twice as much as usual.”

That evening a large flock of little brown birds called quail flew in the Israelites’ camp; and the people found that their flesh was good to eat.

In the morning, when the dew had gone, the ground was covered with a thin flaky substance, like small white seeds, and as delicate as hoar-frost.

“Manna?” asked the Israelites, which means, “What is it?” and so “manna” became its name.

Moses said, “This is the food which God has provided.  You are each to gather as much as you need for the day, but no extra.

Manna from Heaven

The Israelites began gathering, and some gathered more and some less; but it made no difference. Those who had gather more found that they did not have too much; and those who had gathered little found that there was enough for their needs.  Any which was left on the ground melted in the heat of the sun by midday.  In spite of Moses’ order, some people tried to save some for the next day, but found that it rotted overnight.

Only on the sixth day of the week could they gather twice as much as usual and then it did not go bad; for the seventh day, the Sabbath day, was their day of rest, and they were not to gather food on that day.  Though some people did go out looking for the manna on the seventh day, there was none to be found.  God said to Moses, “How much longer will the people disobey My commands?  Remember that I gave you a day of rest, and that is why I will always provide twice the amount of food on the sixth day.  On the seventh day they must stay at home.”

God continued to provide manna for the Israelites for the whole of the next forty years until they reached the land of Canaan.

Food was one thing difficult to find in the dessert, but, as the Israelites had already discovered, water was another.  As they moved on, they again grumbled to Moses that they were thirsty.

“Why do you keep complaining like this?” asked Moses.

Once again the people said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to this miserable place?  Must we all die of thirst?” and they grew very angry.

“What can I do with them?” Moses asked God.

“Take some of the leaders and go on ahead of the people,” said God.  “Carry your rod.  I will stand before you on a rock on Mount Sinai.  Speak to the rock and water will flow out from it.”

Moses went as the Lord had said, but he was so angry with the people that instead of just speaking to the rock, as he had been told, he struck it with is stuff.  A stream of water flowed out, just the same, and the people and animals were able to quench their thirst.  But Moses had not obeyed God and so God told him that he would not be the one to lead the people into the promised land.

By now the Israelites had crossed much desert land and had come to the foot of Mount Sinai.  From the mountain God called Moses and said, “Tell the people that I have said these words, ‘You saw what happened to the Egyptians and how I have keep My covenant, you will be My chosen people, dedicated to Me alone.”

When the people heard this they replied, ”We will do all that the Lord has said.”

God then told Moses that the people were to make themselves ready for worship and were to put on clean clothes, for He Himself would come down on Mount Sinai. Moses was to put boundary round the mountain, and the people were not to cross it, or even go near it until they heard a trumpet sounding a long blast.

The people made themselves ready as instructed.  On the third day, there was thunder and lightning and thick cloud on the mountain, which indicated God’s power and presence, and a loud blast was heard on a trumpet.  All people trembled with fear.  Moses led them to the foot of the mountain, which was wrapped in fire and smoke and shook as if there was an earthquake.

Then God called to Moses alone to go to the top of the mountain; and Moses went up and was lost in view in the cloud.  He remained up there for forty days.

While Moses was on the mountain, God gave him the laws by which the Israelites were to live.  Among these laws were those which are known as the Ten Commandments, which were written on two tablets of stones by God Himself.

Mount Puting Bato

These are the Ten Commandments:

1.You shall have no other gods before me.

2.You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to it or serve it.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a day dedicated to the Lord your God; on it no one shall do any work.  For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore He blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not kill.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness (tell lies) against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet (long posses) your neighbor’s house or wife, or his manservant, of his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Moses as away for such a long time and the people grew tired of waiting.  They gathered around his brother Aaron and said, “We don’t know what has become of Moses, and we can’t wait any longer.  Let us make a god of our own.”

Aaron, on this occasion, was not firm, and he said to the people.  “Take off the gold earrings which you are wearing and give them to me.”

They did so, and Aaron took the huge pile of earrings, melted them down, and shaped the gold in a golden calf.  Forgetting all about the one true God, the people looked at the golden calf and said, “This is the god who led us out of Egypt.”

Aaron built an altar before it, and declared that the next day was to be a festival to the Lord.  Perhaps he, too, thought it represented the true God, though he should have known better.

Early on the next day, the people brought animals for offerings and they had a great feast.

High up on the mountain God said to Moses, “You must go down to the people, for they have already forgotten the way I commanded them, and they have made a calf of melted gold and are worshipping that.  I am very angry with them.”

So Moses set off back down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments. As he was getting near the foot of the mountain, he could hear shouting and noise coming from the people.  When he came close enough he saw that they were dancing round the golden calf, and he was so furious that he threw down the tablets and thy broke.

He seized the golden calf, melted it and ground what remained to powder.  Then he scattered the powder upon the water and made the Israelites drink it as a symbol of their shame and regret.

The next day he went back to God and asked His forgiveness for the sin which the people had committed in worshipping the golden calf.  At God’s command, he also cut two more tablets of stones, and God gave him the laws again.  As a token that they were forgiven, God renewed His promise, or covenant, to the people.

 

 

Noah And The Great Flood

Noah During The Great Flood

The Dove returned to Noah with a olive leaf

Long after Adam’s time, when the world was full of people, God saw what a wicked and evil place it had become.  He was sad.  He felt sorry He had made such a beautiful world, filled with wonderful living creatures, if people were going to spoil it all by their wickedness.

However, there was one man with whom God was very pleased.  He was a good man and his thoughts and deeds were noble and right.  His name was Noah.

One day God said to Noah, “I have decided that this evil on earth cannot continue.  A new start must be made; therefore a great flood will come which will destroy the wicked.  Build yourself a boat---an ark---out of good timber; cover it with tar both inside and out, and make rooms inside it and a roof over it.  Make three decks and put a door in the side.  Then, when the flood comes, you and your wife and your sons and their wives will all be safe in the boat.”

Probably Noah found this news rather startling, but he knew that he must do a God had said.  He told his three sons; name Shem, Ham and Japheth, that they would have to help him with the building of his big boat so that it would be ready in time. 

God had told him to make it 146 yards long, 24 yards wide, and 42 feet high.  Moreover, as well as taking all the Noah family into the ark, God said that Noah was also to take of every kind of living creatures---birds, animals and creeping things---in order to keep them alive, and there was to be male and a female of each so that they would be able to reproduce again on the earth when the floods had gone, for there would be nothing else left alive.

Lastly God reminded Noah, “Take all kinds of foods with you in the ark, both of you and for all the living creatures, for in seven days’ time the rain will start, and it will rain for forty days and forty nights without stopping and you will not be able to leave the ark.”

Noah did everything exactly as God had told him.

With the building of the ark finished, Noah had a thoroughly waterproof new home.  Then he and his family began to round up all the animals and birds and insects and reptiles, as God had directed, and together they all went into the ark.  Lastly Noah and his wife, Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives went into the ark themselves, and the door was firmly closed behind them.  Then they settled down to watch the weather and wait for the promised rain.  No doubt their actions were viewed with great amusement by those who saw the building of the ark.  However, Noah’s faith in God was justified.

Seven days later, just as God had said, it began to rain; and it rained in torrents, never stopping, for forty whole days and forty whole nights.  The water rose higher and higher, and the floods covered the whole earth, drowning every living things.  There was nothing left alive in the whole world except Noah, his wife and the animals in his keeping.

Noah looked out upon the world he had known, and could see nothing but water, no matter which way he looked.  All the land and the trees and the places where people had lived were covered.  Everything was being swamped by the flood waters.  But God had promised Noah that he and his family would be saved, and Noah knew that God could be trusted.

The water was now deep enough for the ark to float, ad as it became even deeper, the ark began to drift about on the surface.

Noah could not tell where they were, for the floods had risen so high that they had covered every part of the land.  They went on rising so much that soon they were seven and half yards above the tops of the highest mountains.  There was nothing to be seen in any direction except water.

And they stayed like that for 150 days and nights.  It must have seemed a very long time.

Then a great wind began to blow, and at last the waters started to go down.  The rains stopped and gradually, for another 150 days the waters began to go lower and lower.  The ark stopped rocking to and fro, and at last it came to rest on a mountain called Ararat.

The waters continued to go down and one day, when Noah looked out he found that he could see tops of other mountains.

Noah waited for another forty days, then he opened the window in the ark and let a raven fly out.  It flew around for a while and then flew away and did not come back.

Next Noah sent out a dove to see if the flood waters had gone down, but the dove could not find anywhere to the land and, after a while, it flew back to the ark.  Noah reached out his hand and lifted it in through the window.

He waited for another week; then he sent the dove our again.

On the evening of that day it came back and, in its beak, held a fresh olive leaf.  Now, Noah knew that somewhere the water had gone down far enough for the trees to be appearing again.

He waited one more week before he sent out the dove again.  Out it flew, round and round, and out of sight.  This time it did not return, and Noah knew that it must have found somewhere to settle among trees.

A little time later, Noah was able to look out of the ark and to see that the ground was becoming drier.  In the time it became completely dry and the waters disappeared.

Then God said to Noah, “You may now leave the boat.  Take your wife with you, and your sons and their wives, and all the birds and animals, so that they can settle on the earth and start having families again to replace all those that were drowned in the great flood.”

So out came Noah and his family and all living creatures whom God had preserved during the great flood.  The first thing Noah did was to take some stones and build an altar to God, to offer a sacrifice upon it and thank Him for keeping them safe.

God was pleased and said, “Never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done this time.  As long as there is a world, summer and winter, day and night, and they shall not cease,” and as He promised, all these things have gone on ever since.

As a sign of His promised to Noah, God said, “I have out a rainbow in the cloud.  Whenever the sky is cloudy and a rainbow appear, I will remember my promised to you and to all living creatures, that a flood will never again destroy all that live on the earth.”

 

 

The Garden Of Eden

Adam And Eve At Eden

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Long, long ago, in the very beginning of time, there was God.

There was no shape to the earth then, and total darkness and raging waters covered everything.  Everywhere was waster and empty until God set about creating the world.  He said “Let there be light” and then the light came.  God divided the light from the dark, and He called the light “Day” and the darkness “Night”.  Evening and morning came, and that was the first day.

Then God made the sky, like a great dome.  Evening and morning came, and that was all done in the second day.

Next God made the earth.  He ordered the waters below the sky to come together, and so it happened.  He named the waters “Seas” and the dry land which was left He named “Earth”, and He was pleased with what He saw.  Then he ordered all kinds of plants to grow upon the earth---plants which bore grain and plants which bore fruits and plants with flowers.  Evening and morning came, and that was the end of the third day.

Then God ordered great shining lights to appear in the sky.  The two largest lights were he “Sun” and the “Moon”; the sun was to rule over the day; and the moon over the night.  The smaller lights were the stars, including planets, comets and meteors.  Evening and morning came, and so ended the fourth day.

However, there were as yet no living creatures in it.  So the next day, God made fish and birds.  He filled the waters with all kinds of fish, from enormous sea-monsters and whales down to the tiniest minnows and sticklebacks.

In the air, He put all kinds of birds, from great eagles to tiny wrens and linnets.  The sea and the skies were now full of beautiful creatures.  God was pleased with what He saw and He blessed all the living things He had made.  When evening and morning had passed, that was the fifth day.

Then God said, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animals.”  He made a wonderful variety of creatures to live in the world; there were enormous beasts, like elephants, giraffes and rhinoceros, and tiny moles and mice, shrews and spiders.

Then God said, “I will make human beings, who will be something like me.  They will take care of the fishes, the birds and the animals, and all creatures which move in the sea and the sky, and on the earth.”

So next He made a man, and breathed life-giving breath into him, and the man became a living soul.  God named the man as Adam.  God blessed him and placed him in the east of the world, in the beautiful Garden of Eden.

“You must have many children,” God said, “so that they will grow and live all over the earth and look after it.  You and they will be in charge of the fishes, the birds and the animals.

Out of the ground God made grass and trees grow, and leafy plants for animals and birds to eat; and He provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruits for people to eat---so that none would go hungry.

He looked at everything He had made and was pleased.  Evening and morning came and that was the sixth day.

Now the universe was finished.  God had completed His wonderful and flawless work.

So He stopped creating, and on the seventh day He rested.  Then He blessed this seventh day and set it apart, and ever since then one day in seven has been a special day for people to rest from their work.

In the Garden of Eden, there grew all sorts of beautiful tress which bore good fruit.  A stream flowed through the garden to water it and, beyond Eden, this divided into four rivers; they were called Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris and the Euphrates.

There were also special trees in the middle of the garden.  It called was the Tree of Life and the other one was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

When God put Adam in the Garden of Eden, He wanted him to cultivate it and take care of it, and so be a fellow-worker with Him.  He said to Adam, “You may eat the fruits of any of the trees in the garden, except the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  That fruit you must not eat; if you do then you will surely die.”

Then God brought all the animals and birds in front of Adam, and Adam gave them all their names.

God has decided that it was not good for Adam to be all alone in the garden, so when Adam was asleep, He made a woman to share life in the garden with Adam.

Adam named her Eve, and they both began a happy life together looking after the beautiful garden and everything in it.

One of the creatures living in the garden was a snake, and he was very cunning.  One day he glided up to Eve and said, “Did God really says that you must not eat the fruit of any of the trees?”

“No”, Eve replied to the snake.  “We may eat the fruit of the trees, except from that tree in the middle---the tree which is called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God said that if we ate any of that fruit, then we would surely die.”

“That’s not true, you know,” he hissed.  “God said that because He knew that if you ate the fruit, then you would know all about good and evil, and so you would be like God Himself.”

Eve looked at the beautiful tree again and saw how delicious its fruit looked.  Perhaps as taste would not matter---and it would be wonderful to be as wise as God, she thought.  It would do no harm if she took a bite.  So she plucked one of the tempting fruits and ate it.  It taste nice, so she gave some to Adam and he ate too.

However, as soon as they had eaten, they suddenly realized what they had done and both felt very ashamed that they had disobeyed God.  They knew they had chosen their own way and not God’s, and that they had spoilt the beauty of that perfect garden by doing wrong.  For the first time they became aware that they were naked and in their embarrassment they rushed to make clothing for themselves out of leaves.

The same evening, they heard God walking in the garden, by they felt guilty and tried to hide from Him among the trees.

But God called out, “Adam, where are you?”

“I heard You coming,” answered Adam, “and I was afraid, so I hid myself from You.”

“Have you eaten any of the fruit that I commanded you not to eat?” asked God.

“Eve gave the fruit to me and I ate it,” said Adam, who was not feeling very brave and was ready to blame someone else.

God turned to Eve and said “Why did you do this?”

Eve, too, tried to put the blame on to another, and she said. “The snake tricked me into doing it.”

God was very sad at what happened, for he felt that Adam and Eve could no longer be trusted and so were not fit to stay in the lovely garden.  Their wrong-doing had to be punished.

Then He turned to the snake and said, “You, of all the animals, must bear the punishment for this.  From now on you will crawl along the earth and eat dust for as long as you live.  You and the woman will always be enemies.

To Eve God said, “You will have to suffer pain when your children are born.  And to Adam He said, “You listened to your wife and you ate the fruit which I have forbidden you to eat.  Because of this, you will work hard all your life to make the earth produce enough food for you.  There will always be weeds and thorns and you will have to toil all the time to make anything grow on the land at all.”

So where before Adam had been looking after a perfect and fertile garden, now he would have to struggle in a wilderness of weeds and thistles.

Then God said, “Now man has become like Me and has knowledge of good and evil.  He cannot be allowed to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life and thus live forever.

So God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, and Adam was set to work to cultivate the land outside it.

In order to keep either Adam and Eve, or anyone else, from coming near the Tree of Life, God placed winged creatures as a symbol of His majesty and presence at the east of the garden, and also angels, with flaming sword, to keep our intruders.

Winged Creature that guards the Garden of Eden from intruders