Famous People of the Bible Bedtime Bible Stories Scandinavia Publishing House Drejervej 15,3 DK-Copenhagen NV Denmark Tel. (+45) 3531 0330 www.scanpublishing.dk info@scanpublishing.dk Text by Joy Melissa Jensen Illustrations by Lu Simi Graphic Design by Gao Hanyu All rights reserved ISBN: 9788772471174 Printed in China
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BIBLE
O M U A S F
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E L P OF O T E P
Bedtime Bible Stories
Contents Noah and the Great Flood
8
Abraham Obeys God
24
Jacob Returns Home
40
Joseph Becomes a Ruler
56
Moses Leads His People
72
Joshua and the Walls of Jericho
88
Gideon and the Small Army
104
Ruth Takes Care of Naomi
120
Hannah Prays to God
136
Samuel Hears God’s Voice
152
David Fights Goliath
168
Solomon, The Wise King
184
Elijah and the Jar of Oil
200
Esther Saves Her People
216
Daniel in the Lion’s Den
232
Jonah and the Whale
248
Mary, Mother of a King
264
Jesus, The Son of God
280
John Prepares the Way for the Lord
296
Mary Magdalene , A Woman Who Loved Jesus
312
Zacchaeus Meets Jesus and Repents
328
Martha and Her Sister Mary
344
Peter Walks on Water
360
Paul Preaches God’s Word
376
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Noah was a good man. He loved God. But the rest of the world was wicked. So God told Noah, “I’m going to send a flood to destroy the world, but I have a special job for you.”
10
God told Noah to build a boat. “Make it big,� God said. So Noah got to work with his hammer and nails. After many years of hard work, the boat was finished.
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God told Noah, “Gather up a male and a female of each kind of animal.” Noah obeyed. Then he opened the big boat’s door. Two by two the animals marched inside.
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Pitter, patter, put-put! The rain began to fall. Soon the whole world was flooded with water. Noah’s boat floated safely on top of the wild waves.
16
After forty days and nights, the rain finally stopped. Noah sent out a white dove in search of land. The dove flew back to the boat with an olive branch in its beak!
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God told Noah, “The flood is over.” So Noah opened the great big door, and all the animals came out onto dry land. God’s rainbow was a promise never to flood the earth again. 19
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Genesis 6:5-21 The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. And he said, “I’ll destroy every living creature on earth! I’ll wipe out people, animals, birds, and reptiles. I’m sorry I ever made them.” But the LORD was pleased with Noah, and this is the story about him. Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God. God told Noah, “Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I’m going to destroy the whole earth and all its people. Get some good lumber and build a boat. I’m going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! But I solemnly promise that you, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law will be kept safe in the boat. Bring into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, as well as a male and a female of every reptile. I don’t want them to be destroyed. Store up enough food both for yourself and for them. Noah did everything the LORD told him to do. Genesis 7:11-24 The sky opened like windows, and rain poured down for forty days and nights. On that day Noah and his wife went into the boat with their three sons and their wives. Noah took a male and a female of every living creature with him, just as God had told him to do. And when they were all in the boat, God closed the door. The rain poured down without stopping. And the water became deeper and deeper. The LORD destroyed everything that breathed. Nothing was left alive except Noah and the others in the boat. A hundred fifty days later, the water started going down. Genesis 8:1-19 God stopped up the places where the water had been gushing out from under the earth. He also closed up the sky, and the rain stopped. The water kept going down, and the mountain tops could be seen.
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Noah wanted to find out if the water had gone down, and he sent out a dove. It returned in the evening, holding in its beak a green leaf from an olive tree. Noah knew that the water was finally going down. God said to Noah, “You, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-inlaw may now leave the boat. Let out the birds, animals, and reptiles, so they can live all over the earth.” After Noah and his family had gone out of the boat, the living creatures left in groups of their own kind. Genesis 9:9-14 God said, “I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood. The rainbow that I have put in the sky will be my sign to you and to every living creature on earth. It will remind you that I will keep this promise forever.
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Abram was a special servant of God. God told him, “Take everything you own, and go to the land I will show you.� So Abram packed his camels and left with his wife Sarah.
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They traveled through the desert and stopped to camp. God said, “Abram, look up at the sky! Can you count the stars? That’s how many children I will give you.”
28
One day three travelers came by Abram’s camp. One of them was God. He promised Abram a son. But Sarah giggled and thought, “I’m too old to give birth.”
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Does God keep his promises? Of course! Sarah and Abram had a son. He was a happy, giggling baby, and they named him Isaac. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means ‘father of many’.
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God decided to test Abraham’s faith. “Take your son up to Mount Moriah and kill him in honor of Me.” Abraham was heartbroken, but he obeyed the Lord’s words.
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As Abraham began to pull out his knife, a voice stopped him. “Abraham,” the angel said, “You have proved that you truly love God. Go home and be at peace.”
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Genesis 12:1-5 The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.” Abram was seventy-five years old when the LORD told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had. Genesis 15:1-6 The LORD told Abram, “You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” Then the LORD took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That’s how many descendants you will have.” 6Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD was pleased with him. Genesis 17:4-5, 18:1-14 God said to Abram, “I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That’s why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham. One hot summer afternoon Abraham was sitting by the entrance to his tent when the LORD appeared to him. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He quickly ran to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground. One of the guests was the LORD, and he said, “I’ll come back about this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will already have a son.” Sarah was behind Abraham, listening at the entrance to the tent. Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was well past the age for having children. So she laughed and said to herself, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?” Genesis 21:1-4 The LORD kept his promise. Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said. Abraham named his son Isaac.
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Genesis 22:1-19 Some years later God decided to test Abraham, so he spoke to him. The LORD said, “Go get Isaac, your only son. I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me.” So Abraham got up early the next morning and left with Isaac for the place where God had told him to go. The two of them walked on, and when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. But the LORD’s angel shouted from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham! Don’t hurt the boy or harm him in any way!” the angel said. “Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son. The Lord’s angel told Abraham, “You were willing to offer the LORD your only son, and so he makes you this solemn promise, ‘I will bless you and give you such a large family. You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth.’”
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