This Mornings Meditation

Today's Bible Story
Thursday, March 6, 2008
A Puzzling Question, and How it was Answered
Acts 15:1-34



AFTER PAUL AND Barnabas had returned from their missionary trip, some visitors came to the church at Antioch from Jerusalem. These men were Jews, and they had never yet understood how Gentiles can be saved the same as Jews, without obeying the commands that Moses had given to the Israelites.
We remember that the law which God gave Moses to write in a book was intended for the Israelites, or Jews, only. The Gentiles had never kept the law, and many of them knew nothing about its teachings. This law had no power to save the people who obeyed it; the purpose of it was to separate people who worshiped God from those who worshiped idols. Without the law the Jews would have been as ignorant of the true God as were the Gentiles, while with it they could prepare themselves to receive the Messiah, whom God had promised to send into the world, for many passages in it spoke of him.

These visitors from Jerusalem looked unkindly upon the Gentile believers and said, Except you keep the law of Moses just as we do you can not be saved."

Paul and Barnabas had been among many Gentile Christians, and they had seen how these people received the Holy Spirit the same as did the Jews though they knew little of nothing about Moses' law. So these missionaries told the men from Jerusalem that they were mistaken, for Gentiles could be saved without keeping the law.

This question was a serious one with every person who had been a strict Jew. A vision on the housetop was necessary in order to show Peter that Gentiles might be saved as well as Jews. And there were many other strict Jews who had seen no housetop visions. These were the Jews who troubled the Gentile believers.

Finally it was decided by the church in Antioch that Paul and Barnabas should go, with certain other teachers, to visit the apostles in Jerusalem and talk with them about this matter. So the company started out, and as they went they visited other churches along the way and told about the success of the first missionary journey in far-off lands. And everywhere the disciples rejoiced to hear how God had blessed the Gentiles who believed in him.

In Jerusalem the brethren from Antioch were received kindly by the apostles and the other teachers in the church. And soon they told why they had come.

When their errand was made known, some of the teachers who, like Paul, had been strict Pharisees before they believed in Jesus, rose to talk. These men had not, like Paul, seen that believers in the true God and in his Son, Jesus, no longer needed to keep the law of Moses. They did not understand Jesus' teaching, that true religion shows itself in a pure life, and that people who know nothing about Moses' law can live pure and holy without keeping that law as did the Jews.

Peter listened with the other apostles and with the visitors from Antioch to the speech of these Pharisees who believed in Jesus. When they had finished, others talked, and finally Peter told about his experience at Cornelius' home, in Caesarea, where many Gentiles received the gospel and were baptized. Then Barnabas and Paul told of their long journey in Gentile countries, where many turned from idol-worship to believe in the true God and in his Son, Jesus.

James, the brother of Jesus, stood up as the last speaker, and every one listened quietly for they knew he had received wisdom from God to speak to them. He urged them to cease troubling the Gentile Christians about the keeping of Moses' law. He said, however, that they might write a letter to the Gentile believers, telling them to be careful not to do certain things which they had always done while they were worshiping idols.

James's advice pleased all the assembly, and the apostles and teachers in the church at Jerusalem decided to write such a letter and send it by Paul and Barnabas to the Gentile Christians in Antioch. This they did, and they also sent two of their own preachers, men named Judas and Silas, with the missionaries.

A large audience of eager-faced people greeted the company when it arrived from Jerusalem. And they listened carefully to the reading of the letter that the apostles had written and sent by these men. When they heard that they would not be demanded to live like the Jews in order to please God, they rejoiced greatly. And they continued to worship God with pure hearts, obeying the teachings of the gospel.

Judas and Silas, the men who came with Barnabas and Paul, spoke encouraging words to the believers, and urged them to cling to their faith in Jesus. Then, after certain days, Judas bade them good-by and returned again to Jerusalem. But Silas chose to remain with the church in Antioch.

The Second Missionary Journey
Acts 15:36 to Acts 16:15

ONE DAY PAUL said to Barnabas, "Let us go again to visit the brethren in the Gentile countries." Barnabas was willing, so they arranged to start at once.
Now, John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, had come to Antioch again and wished to go with them on their second journey. He had started with them on their first journey but had turned back; so Paul did not care to take him this time. Barnabas, however, thought it would be well to take the young man, even though he had turned back the first time. So he took Mark for his companion and Paul chose Silas, the preacher from Jerusalem, to go with him.

Barnabas and Mark went to the Island of Cyprus, while Paul and Silas went farther on, to the churches in Asia Minor. When they came to Lystra, the town where Paul had been stoned, they found a young man named Timothy whose father was a Gentile, though his mother was a Jew. This young man was an earnest believer in Jesus, and Paul was pleased with him.

Timothy joined Paul and Silas, going from Lystra to other cities where the gospel had been preached. And he continued with Paul for a long time, loving him as a father. Years afterwards, when Paul was shut up in prison he wrote beautiful letters to Timothy, showing how great was his love for this faithful young man.

The missionaries did not stop at every place to preach, because the time had not yet come when the people were ready to receive the gospel. The Holy Spirit caused the missionaries to understand this, and they passed on to other places.

Finally they came to Troas, a city that was built on the seacoast where ships came from countries even farther away from Jerusalem. Those countries had never been visited by one who knew the gospel. One night while the missionaries were in Troas, Paul had a vision. He saw in his dream a man standing on the shore of the country across the water from Troas and calling. He was looking earnestly at Paul, and crying, "Come over to my country, and help us!"

Paul knew from the appearance of this man that he belonged to the country of Macedonia. When he awoke from his dream he told his companions about the vision, and they believed, as he did, that God wanted them to cross over to Macedonia and preach the gospel there. So they bought passage on the first ship that sailed from Troas to Macedonia, intending to preach the gospel to the heathen people who lived there.

Now another disciple, a doctor named Luke, joined Paul's company, and sailed with him to Macedonia. This Luke afterwards wrote the "Gospel According to Luke," and also the "Acts of the Apostles," both of which are found in the New Testament.

The first city of Macedonia which they visited was Philippi. Here they did not try to find the man whom Paul saw in his dream, calling for help. They knew the vision was meant to teach that many people were needing to know about Jesus, and they believed God had sent them to preach to all who would listen.

In this city there were only a few Jews. They had no synagog, but the missionaries found a place outside the city where people met together by the riverside on Sabbath-days to pray. So on the first Sabbath they went down to the riverside.

Only a few people were there and they were women. But Paul and his companions sat down and taught them more about the true God. Paul told them about the great gift that God had sent to men in his Son, Jesus. And while he talked, one woman, named Lydia, believed his words about Jesus and knew that her sins were forgiven. Then she was baptized in the name of Jesus. Her household also listened to the gospel and received it gladly.

Lydia, the first Christian convert in the far country, now invited Paul and his companions to lodge in her house. She was a rich woman and she showed her gratitude to the missionaries by caring for them while they stayed in her home city.

Paul Tells the Wise Men of Greece about the Unknown God
Acts 17:16 to Acts 18:23

WHILE PAUL WAITED in Athens for his companions, Silas and Timothy, he walked about the streets and saw many idols standing here and there. He saw that the people of this city worshiped many different gods. They had even built an altar to the Unknown God.

Paul then spoke to them about Jesus, whom God had raised from the dead to be the Savior. But when the wise men of Athens heard these words some laughed in scorn, while others shook their heads in doubt, saying, "Come again some other day to tell us more about this strange thing." They did not believe that the dead shall rise again. So Paul left mars Hill and went into the city.
Some who had listened to his sermon followed him and asked to know more about Christ. One of them who followed was a chief man of the city. He afterwards believed and was saved. A few others also turned from their idols and believed in the true God and in his Son, Jesus Christ.

Paul decided to return again to Jerusalem. Taking with him Aquila and Priscilla, he sailed from Greece to Asia Minor. Here he left his friends in the city of Ephesus and continued his journey to Jerusalem, to attend the Feast of the Passover. And from Jerusalem he went once more to visit the saints in Antioch.

How Ephesus Received the Gospel
Acts 18:24 to Acts 19:20

EPHESUS WAS A large city in Asia Minor, not far from the sea. In this city were many people who worshiped an idol, or goddess, called Diana. A great temple had been built in this city for the worship of this goddess, and many heathen people in other parts of the world had sent money to help build it. When the temple was finished it was called one of the seven wonders of the world, because of its rare beauty.

Not every one who lived in Ephesus worshiped the goddess Diana. Some Jews lived there, and they had built a synagog. Here they met on Sabbath-days to study the Old Testament scriptures.
One day a man came to Ephesus from Alexandria, a city of Egypt. This man, whose name was Apollos, was a Jew. He had heard about the preaching of John the Baptist; and believing that John was a prophet sent from God, he taught the Jews in Ephesus John's words. And some of these Jews also believed, so he baptized them with the baptism of John, to show they had repented of their sins. But neither Apollos nor these other Jews had ever known Jesus.
Aquila and Priscilla, the friends of Paul who stopped in Ephesus when he journeyed on to Jerusalem, heard Apollos preach. They saw how earnestly he taught the people and they believed he would become a great preacher of the gospel if only he knew all about Christ. So they invited him to their home and told him more fully about Jesus. And Apollos believed their words. Then he bade his new friends goodbye and sailed to Corinth, where he found the Christians who had believed through the teachings of Paul.
Shortly after Apollos went away from Ephesus, Paul arrived on his third missionary journey to heathen lands. He met the Jews who had believed the teachings of John the Baptist, and he preached more about Christ to them. They believed Paul, and were also baptized in the name of Jesus. Afterwards Paul told them about the Holy Spirit whom God sent to believers, and when Paul laid his hands on these men and prayed, they, too, received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For three months Paul taught in the synagog at Ephesus, proving by the Scriptures that Jesus in the Christ. But many who heard him were unwilling to believe in Jesus. They spoke unkindly about Paul and about the Christ whom he preached. Then Paul took his believing friends and departed from the synagog, going to a school near by. In this school he taught every day for two years, until his teaching was known all through the city and the country around. And many believed in Jesus and were baptized.
While Paul was teaching in this city he worked special miracles in the name of Jesus. He healed many who were sick, and cast out evil spirits from many who were possessed of them. When he could not visit each needy one who wished to be healed, their friends would carry handkerchiefs or aprons from him and lay these upon the bodies of the afflicted, and the sickness and evil spirits would depart.
Many people were filled with wonder when they saw the great power of God as shown by this man. But here were seven wicked Jews who were brothers. These brothers used to cast out demons by spells and charms. They had seen Paul cast out evil spirits in Jesus' name, and not knowing the power of God that was in Paul, they supposed they could cast out evil spirits in the name of Jesus just as Paul did.
So when they found a man in whom an evil spirit dwelt they said to the evil spirit, "We command you to come out, in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches."
But the evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?"
Then the spirit caused the man in whom he dwelt to leap on these wicked brothers and beat them terribly, until they fled from the house in shame.
Other people soon heard what had happened to these brothers, and they feared the great power of this mighty Jesus. They praised God by speaking respectfully and reverently of the name of Jesus. And many who believed were also afraid when they saw what had happened to these seven wicked Jews. Before Paul had preached to them they were superstitious, believing in signs and in dreams. Many had practiced works of magic, trying to perform great things by these works; but not they confessed their wrong-doing and forsook those evil practices.
Books in those days were very rare and expensive. A single book would cost a sum of money that poor people could not afford. But many people in Ephesus had books that taught how to work wonders by magic. When they saw the great power of God they no longer cared for these books, and they believed they should not keep them.
So they brought them together in the street and built a hug bonfire with them, even though the books had cost much money. A large crowd gathered round to watch these expensive books burn to ashes. They knew the people who owned these books now believed in Jesus, and would no longer try to practice the wicked works which magic books teach.

The Uproar Demetrius Caused in Ephesus
Acts 19:21 to Acts 20:4

NOT ALL PEOPLE in Ephesus believed in Jesus when they heard Paul's preaching and when they saw the miracles he performed in Jesus' name. Many still went to the great temple of Diana to worship the image of that heathen goddess, which they believed that had fallen from the sky.
Those who could not go to the temple of Diana everyday wished to have an image of the idol in their homes. And heathen worshipers who came from other lands wished also to carry away with them a likeness of the huge idol which stood in the beautiful temple of Ephesus. Not because this idol was pretty, for Diana was not at all pleasing to look upon, but because they worshiped her they wished to have her likeness in their home.
There were men in that city who knew how to make small idols like Diana with silver. These men were called silversmiths, and they grew rich selling idols to those who wished to buy. One of these silversmiths was named Demetrius. When he heard about the preaching of Paul and about the great miracles Paul performed in the name of Jesus, he became uneasy. Every day he listened to hear more news about this new teaching. And every day he grew more restless; for he feared that soon all the worshipers of Diana would begin to worship Jesus.
Demetrius was not so greatly disturbed in his mind because he loved the goddess Diana--not that! But he loved the money he received from those who bought images of the goddess. He feared that soon the people would no longer care to buy the images he made, and then he would receive no more money from them. He could not make images of Jesus to sell, for Paul taught that his God was not to be worshiped as an idol, of silver and gold, or other material.
After Demetrius heard that many people had burned their expensive magic-books because they believed in the Jesus whom Paul taught, he became much excited. Calling together his friends who also were silversmiths, he told them about his fears. He warned them about the danger their work was in Paul's preaching.
"Not only here in our city," said Demetrius, "but in almost all Asia Minor this Paul has been turning away people from the worship of the goddess, by declaring they are no gods which are made with hands. Not only is our work in danger of falling to nothingness," he continued, "but the beautiful temple of our goddess will soon be no longer visited and admired by people from other lands."
Now all the silversmiths became excited, and they began to cry out, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" Through the streets they ran, crying these words, and other people followed.
Soon the whole city was stirred by the excitement, and some caught two of Paul's companions, and dragged them into the theater. Paul heard what had happened, and he wished to go to the rescue of these faithful companions, but his friends refused to let him do this. They feared the people might tear him in piece if they found him.
For two hours the excitement raged; many people did not even know what it was all about, and yet they joined in the cry, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"
Finally the clerk of the city stepped up before the people and motioned for them to be quiet. He then reproved them for their foolish conduct, and told them they were in danger of being punished for the uproar they had made. He said that Demetrius and his fellow workmen should not use this means to bring charges against Paul and his friends, for they should handle such matters according to the law of the land.
Concerning Paul's two companions who had been dragged before the mob, he said, "These two men had not robbed churches, nor spoken evil of our goddess." He then dismissed the assembly, and sent them all home.
Paul had been intending to leave Ephesus even before the uproar was made, as he wished to visit the churches in Macedonia and Greece and then return again to Jerusalem. Now he bade the Christians good-by and sailed for Macedonia.
Here he visited the saints in Philippi, where he and Silas had been treated so shamefully and imprisoned, and where God had caused an earthquake to open the prison doors and loosen their bands, setting them free. No doubt the jailer and his household were glad to see this brave preacher of Jesus Christ once more.
Passing though Thessalonica and Berea, where he had preached the gospel before, he went on to Greece. For three months he stayed with the Christians in this country, then he prepared to return for the last time to Jerusalem.
Before starting he learned that his enemies, the Jews, were planning to catch him and take his life so instead of taking ship and sailing directly to Syria he returned by the way he had come. And thus he escaped once more from the hatred of his foes.

Paul, The Faithful Missionary and His Last Farewell
Acts 20:5 to Acts 21:17

FROM MACEDONIA, PAUL sailed across the sea to Troas, the city where he had seen a vision of a man of Macedonia calling for help. In this city he stayed for some days, then he made ready to start again toward Jerusalem.

Paul's next farewell-meeting was with the men who had come from Ephesus to the seacoast to meet him. These men were the one who had taken the leadership in the church at Ephesus when Paul left them. They were men whom he loved, and whom he counted faithful. They were called the "elders" of the church.
Paul talked earnestly to these Ephesian brethren, reminding them of his work among them, and of his desire to teach them the whole word of God. He told them that now he was journeying toward Jerusalem and that they should never see his face again.

Not many days afterwards Paul and his companions went over the mountains to the great city of the Jews. Other Christians from Caesarea joined their company, and when they came to Jerusalem the elders in the church there welcomed them with joy.

Paul is Seized by the Mob, then Arrested
Acts 21:18 to Acts 23:10

YEARS HAD PASSED since the wicked Herod had tried to kill Peter, and during those years the church in Jerusalem had grown into a multitude. Some of the enemies who had killed Jesus were yet alive, and they hated the Christians. But they had ceased persecuting them as bitterly as in the first days of the early church.
Paul had met with multitudes of believers in the churches of other lands. But these in Jerusalem were all Jews, and many of them looked with displeasure upon the people of other nations.
They had not yet learned how God's love reaches out to all men. And because they had heard much about Paul's missionary labors among the Gentiles they felt unwilling to approved of his work.
The leaders in the church at Jerusalem understood how God had chosen Paul to be a missionary to the Gentiles. They rejoiced to know that even the Gentiles might be saved by faith in Jesus. But they understood also the feelings of many who worshiped in their services, so they warned Paul about these Jewish believers.
They said, "These men have heard that you do not keep the law of Moses, but that you teach the Gentiles to forsake the law." And they urged Paul to show these believers that he did not despise Moses' teachings, as they supposed.
To please these men Paul visited the temple and performed the ceremony of cleansing, according to Moses' law. Almost a week passed by, then one day while he was in the temple some Jews from Asia Minor came to worship there.
Seeing Paul, they recognized him at once, for he had taught in their synagog concerning Christ. And they had not accepted his teaching. They hated him because he taught that Gentiles as well as Jews might become the people of God. They became excited when they saw him worshiping in the Jewish temple, and they cried out against him.
Soon the old enemies of Jesus heard about the excitement, and they rushed in to seize Paul. A crowd quickly gathered, and they pulled Paul out of the temple and shut the doors. Not waiting to drag him outside the city, they began beating him at once, and would have killed him had not the Roman captain arrived with soldiers to investigate the trouble.
Supposing Paul must be a desperate fellow, the captain commanded that he should be bound with two heavy chains. Then he asked what Paul had done. But some cried one thing and some another, and he could not hear in the noise of the angry mob what offenses Paul was guilty of committing. So he led Paul away to the castle where prisoners were kept.
The mob followed, crying, "Away with him!" And the soldiers, fearing the people would tear Paul in pieces, picked him up and carried him on their shoulders to the castle stairs. As they went Paul asked to speak to the captain. At this, the Roman captain was surprised, for he did not know Paul could speak his language. He gave Paul permission to speak to the mob when they reached the stairs.
Then, standing on the stairs above the heads of the excited followers, Paul beckoned to them with his hand, and they grew quiet. He began at once to talk to them in the Hebrew language, which the Romans could not understand. This language the Jews love, and they listened attentively to him while he told them about his early life and training.
He reminded them of his student-life in their city, where he became a Pharisee. He reminded them also of his former hatred toward the believers in Jesus, and of his bitter persecutions against them. Many who stood in the crowd below had not forgotten the Saul who tried to break up the early church in Jerusalem.
Paul then told about his journey to Damascus, where he intended to persecute the Christians. He told about the vision that came to him on the way, and about the voice that spoke to him from heaven. He even told how he had been baptized in the name of Jesus, and how when he had come to Jerusalem to worship God showed him in a vision in the temple that he must go to Gentile countries and there preach the gospel.
But when Paul began speaking about preaching to the Gentiles, then no longer would the people listen to his speech. Their hatred of Gentiles stirred their hearts to cry out once more against Paul, and now they even cast off their cloaks and threw dust into the air, shouting aloud, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He is not fit to live!"
The Roman captain and his soldiers did not understand what Paul had spoken to the angry people, and they supposed he must be a dangerous fellow. They therefore brought him into the castle and determined to learn the nature of his crime.
Bringing out cruel instruments of torture, they began to bind Paul. But Paul knew the law of the Romans, that it did not permit a Roman citizen to be punished in this manner, so he spoke to a soldier who stood near by and told him he was a Roman.
This soldier hurried away to tell the chief captain, who came quickly and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman?"
Paul answered, "I am."
This frightened the men who were preparing to torture Paul. Even the chief captain was frightened, for he had given the command that Paul should be bound and punished.
Still the Romans were puzzled about their prisoner. They could not understand what terrible thing he had done. On the next day they called the chief rulers of the Jews to assemble together, and brought Paul before them. While Paul spoke the chief captain saw that even these Jewish rulers were not agreed what to do with him. Some wished to set him free, while others insisted on putting him to death.
Then the captain sent his soldiers to take Paul away from their midst, fearing they might kill him.

Paul is Shipwrecked
Acts 27

A SHIP WAS leaving port of Caesarea, and among the passengers on board was Paul, the prisoner. As the shore faded away in the distance, Paul saw his last glimpse of the land that is dear to the heart of every Jew, for never again would he return to this country.

No time was lost, and every one, wishing to save his life, struggled through the water toward the sandy beach. And not one of all the two hundred and seventy-six on board the sinking vessel was drowned.

Paul on the Island of Melita, and Bitten by a Viper
Acts 28:1-10
ON THE WOODED shore of the island where Paul's ship was stranded stood a group of excited men anxiously watching those who were escaping from the wrecked vessel near by. These men were natives of the island, and they felt sorry for the strangers who had suffered shipwreck. They hurried out to meet them and to help them reach the land. Then they built a fire, for it was still raining, and it was cold.

For three months Paul and his companions stayed on this island; then when the spring days returned they took another ship and continued their journey to Rome.

Things We Learn from the Epistles
The Epistles
NOT ALL THE letters, or epistles, that we find in the New Testament were written by Paul. Two were written by Peter, three by John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, one by James, and one by Jude.

It is God the Holy Spirit who comes into the Christian's heart to dwell. And when we pray, whether we call on the name of the Father or on the name of his Son or on the name of the Holy Spirit, we are praying to the same God, and the same God will hear and answer our prayers.

Cain and Abel - The First Children
Genesis 4

AFTER SIN CAUSED God to shut Adam and Eve out of the beautiful home that he had made for them, they built a home for themselves somewhere outside the garden gate. Here they began to feel more and more the punishment which their sin had brought upon them. Adam had to toil hard and long to secure food for himself and for Eve. No doubt his hands and feet were sometimes bruised and torn by thistles and thorns. Eve too learned the sad meaning of pain and sorrow. Her home was not so happy as it had been before she listened to the tempter's voice, and chose to disobey God.

We are sure that Adam and Eve must have felt lonely, with no friends in all the big, wide world. But God planned that there should be more people, and so one day he gave Adam and Eve a little child-a baby boy. This baby they named Cain. How they must have loved him! After a while God gave them another little boy, and they named him Abel.

When Cain and his little brother Abel grew old enough to understand, Adam and Eve told them about the great God, and how they themselves had disobeyed him before Cain and Abel were born. They wanted their sons to love this God and try to please him. But alas! sin, like a tiny seed, was already buried in the hearts of these little boys, causing them to think naughty thoughts, or say unkind words, or do wrong deeds, just as little boys and girls are tempted to do today. Abel wanted to please God and he was sorry because he sinned; but Cain allowed the tiny sin-seed to grow and grow until his heart became very wicked.

Adam and Eve lived a long time, and God gave them other children besides Cain and Abel. Then the time came at last when their bodies grew feeble with age and they died, as God had said they should when they ate the forbidden fruit.

Noah's Ark - And Why It Was Built
Genesis 5:1 - Genesis 9:17

THE CHILDREN OF Adam and Eve lived to be very old. Their children also lived for several hundreds of years. And so it was that grandsons became grandfathers before their own grandfathers died. Thus several generations lived and worked together. After a while there were many people living in the world.
We do not know very much about those people of long ago except the fact that many of them were very wicked. Among them was one man, however, who, like Abel, tried to please God. This man's name was Enoch. The Bible tells us that Enoch walked with God. We understand that he loved God better than he loved anything else, and talked to God and listened when God talked to him. Finally Enoch became an old man. At last, when he was three hundred and sixty-five years old, one day God took him away from earth to heaven, and he did not die. Enoch had a son whom he named Methuselah. This man lived for nine hundred and sixty-nine years, until he was older than any other man had ever been. Then he died, like all other people had done except his father Enoch.
By this time there were many, many people living in the world. And their hearts were so full of sin that their thoughts and words and deeds were all very wicked. They did not try to please God at all. They did not love him. They did not thank him for the blessings of food and shelter and sunshine which he gave to them. They did not teach their children to love good, pure things, but allowed them to grow up and become evil men and women like themselves. What a sad world this was! for sin was everywhere.
Finally God planned to destroy all the people because they were no longer fit to live. He felt sorry that he ever had made man. He thought he would destroy everything-people, animals, and every other creature that lived on the earth. He would cause a great flood of water to cover the earth.
Then God remembered Noah. Here was a man who had tried to do right regardless of all his wicked surroundings. And he had taught his sons to do right also. God was pleased with Noah and with his sons. Sometimes he talked to Noah. Now he told him about his plan to destroy the world. But because Noah and his family had been trying to do right and trust in the Lord, God promised that they should not be destroyed with the wicked people.
"Get ready to build an ark," God told Noah, "and then when it is finished you and your wife, your sons and their wives may go into this ark and live there until the flood is ended."
Now that God decided to save a few people he also arranged to save a pair of each kind of animal and of bird and of every living thing on the earth that breathed. These creatures were to be housed in the ark, too, while the flood should last.
Noah believed God and made ready to build the ark. God had told him how it should be built. For a long time, while others went their wicked way, he and his sons worked, sawing boards and hammering nails, and making every part of the ark just exactly as God had said it should be made. Then by and by every nail was driven securely into its place, the inside walls were finished, and every part was ready for the purpose it should serve. What a queer-looking building now stood before them-a very large boat-like house three stories high, away out on dry land! Doubtless the people laughed much at faithful old Noah and his three sons. Perhaps they thought that only feeble-minded folk could believe that there ever would be such a thing as a flood. Still Noah continued to warn them that they should repent of their sins lest God destroy them.
One day, when the ark was completed and everything else was in readiness, God called Noah and told him to bring his wife, his three sons and their wives, and come into the ark. And the animals and birds and creeping things God caused to come also, two and two of every kind; and of those animals which man should need after the flood, and birds, seven pairs of each kind came. When they were all inside the ark God himself shut the door.
After a few days the rain began to fall. And such a rain! Great sheets of water poured down from the clouds as if windows in the sky had been opened and water was flowing through them. Soon the tiny streamlets were raging torrents and the rivers were overflowing their banks. People began to forsake their homes and rush to the hills for safety. Animals, too, ran pell-mell everywhere, trying to find a place of refuge and shelter from the storm. But still it rained, and higher and higher the waters rose until every one believed at last that Noah had told the truth. But now it was too late to repent and seek refuge in the ark, for God had shut the door. And so when the waters crept up to the tops of the hills and mountains and finally buried them out of sight, every living creature on the face of the earth was drowned. Those in the ark were the only ones left alive.
For forty days and nights the downpour of rain continued; but Noah and his family were safe. When the waters rose high enough they lifted the ark off the ground, and it began to float about like a great ship on the top of the flood. For six months and more it floated high above the water-covered earth. Then one day it came to a standstill. God had caused a wind to blow over the waters to dry them up, and as the flood-tide became gradually lower, the ark had found a lodging-place on the top of a mountain. Here it rested for two months, and all the while the water-mark continued to drop lower down the mountainsides.
After waiting for some time, Noah opened a window, which must have been very high up, near the roof. He allowed a bird called a raven to fly out of the window. Now, the raven has strong wings, and this bird flew to and fro until the waters had gone down. After some days, Noah sent out a dove; but this bird could not find a place to build her nest, so she soon returned again to the ark. Another week of waiting passed, and Noah sent the dove out once more. She stayed longer this time; and when evening came she flew back to Noah, bringing a green olive-leaf in her mouth. At this Noah and his family knew that the waters were returning to the rivers and the seas, and that the land again was becoming green and beautiful. One more week they waited, and now when Noah sent out the dove she flew away and never returned.
Now Noah believed that the time had come when he might uncover the roof and look out upon the earth. How glad he must have been to see dry land again; for more than a year had passed since God had shut them inside the ark. And God said to him, "Come out of the ark, with your wife and your sons and their wives, and every living thing that is with you in the ark." So Noah opened the great door, and he and his family stepped out upon the dry ground. All the animals and the birds and the creeping things came out also, and began to live upon the earth as they had done before the flood.
Noah was thankful to God because his life and the lives of his family had been saved when all other people had perished from off the earth. He built an altar as soon as he came out of the ark, and brought his offering to God. Because Noah had been obedient, God accepted his offering and was pleased with his household.
God then promised that never again would he send another flood to destroy every living creature, and that as long as the earth should remain there would be summer and winter, springtime and autumn, and day and night. And because God wanted mankind to remember always the promise that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood, he placed in the sky a sign of his promise. That sign was a beautiful rainbow. Have you ever seen that rainbow-sign? It is God's promise to all mankind-to you and to me as well as to Noah and his children.

The Tower of Babel - And Why It Was Never Finished
Genesis 9:18 - Genesis 11:9

A CLEAN, NEW world lay before Noah and his three sons when they stepped out of the ark. Now there were no wicked neighbors to mock at them when they built altars to worship God. Even the wicked works of those wicked people had been swept away out of sight. Everything was ready for a new beginning.

Soon the people of one language gathered together their possessions and moved away from Babel. Others did the same. Across the plains they journeyed and over the mountains into strange lands where men's feet had never walked before. They built cities and planted fields and vineyards, and their number grew until they became strong nations.

Abraham - A Man Who Heard And Obeyed God's Call
Genesis 11:27 - Genesis 12:20

THE PEOPLE WHO moved away from Babel into different parts of the world did not pray to God. Their hearts were sinful, and they shrank away from the purity of God, as Adam and Eve did when they tried to hide from God's presence in the Garden of Eden. But we find that the people prayed to something. In every country where they went they had some kind of worship. Many of them worshiped things that God had made, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars. Afterward they also worshiped rivers and mountains and hills. They made images of wood and of stone to these things which they worshiped, and called the images gods.

Then there came a famine in the land. The grass failed and the waters of the brooks dried up. Nowhere could Abram find pasture, go he moved away from Canaan into the country called Egypt. Here he saw the great River Nile, and possibly even the pyramids and the sphinx. But he did not remain long in Egypt, because God did not want him to dwell there. When the famine ended in Canaan, he returned again to that country.

Abraham Gets Strange Visitors
Genesis 18

IT WAS NOONDAY, and everywhere the sun shone hot upon the plains. But Abraham sat in the cool shade of his tent door, beneath a tree. Presently three strange men drew near. They did not look like other men, and Abraham knew they were from a far country. He hurried to meet them, and, bowing low toward the ground just as he always when greeting a friend or a visitor, he urged them to rest for a while in the cool shade. This they were quite ready to do.

"What," thought poor, distressed Abraham, "if there should not be even forty righteous persons found in Sodom?" And once more he spoke. "0 Lord, be not angry with me," he said, "but if there are only thirty righteous persons, will you spare the city for their sakes. And the Lord promised to spare the entire city if only thirty people could be found in it. Abraham continued to plead until he had asked the Lord if he would spare the city if only ten righteous persons were found, and the Lord promised to spare Sodom if he could find only ten. Then the Lord passed on, and Abraham returned to his tent.

Sodom And Gomorrah, And What Happened to Them
Genesis 19

THE LONG SHADOWS of evening-time were stealing over the through the valleys, and everywhere people were hurrying home. Soon the city gates would be closed, and the wise men who sat there during the daytime to judge the people would be turning homeward, too.

Just as the sun rose, Lot and his daughters entered the gate of. Zoar, and at that time God sent a great rain of fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah and all the neighboring cities. So terrible was the fire that it completely destroyed the cities and all the wicked people near by. Lot and his daughters feared that their lives were not safe in Zoar, so they hurried to the mountains, where God had first told them to go. There they lived in a cave-home, far away from other people. After this time we hear no more about Lot, the man whose home and riches were destroyed because he chose to live among wicked people who hated God.

How Abraham Gave Isaac Back to God
Genesis 22:1-20

IT IS GOD'S will that people show their love for him by what they do. You remember how God wished to have the first man and woman show their love for him. He planted in their garden-home a test-tree, the fruit of which he commanded them not to eat. And you remember also how they failed to obey his command, and so failed to show their love.

No doubt it was a happy father and son who walked down the mountain-side together; for now Abraham knew that he had surely pleased God, and Isaac knew that his life was precious in God's sight. Abraham called the name of the place where he built the altar, Jehovah Jireh, which means in his language, "The Lord will provide." Then they returned to the young men servants who were wait-ing by the roadside, and then journeyed on to their home at Beersheba., where Abraham had planted trees and digged a well some time before this story. Here Abraham lived for many years.

How Abraham Found a Wife For Isaac
Genesis 23:1 - Genesis 25:18

WHEN SARAH, ISAAC'S mother, was one hundred and twenty-seven years old, she died. Abraham had no place to bury her, so he bought a field containing a cave,, and Abraham buried Sarah in this cave. The field and the cave were called by the name of Machpelah.

The time passed on, and finally Abraham died, too. He had reached the age of one hundred and seventy-five. Ishmael heard of his death and came to help Isaac bury his father. They placed his body in the cave where Sarah had been buried.

Jacob and Rachel
Genesis 29:1-30

JACOB CONTINUED ON his way, getting ever farther away from his brother Esau's wrath. At last he reached Haran, the place where his uncle Laban dwelt. He saw a green field, and in the field a well. Three flocks of sheep were lying there, resting, and waiting to be watered.

Finally, after seven more years had passed, Jacob also married Rachel, and now he was happy at last.

Jacob and Esau
Genesis 32 to Genesis 33

JACOB REMAINED TWENTY years with Laban, whose daughter Rachel he had married.

Then Esau returned to his own country, and Jacob, in time, came back to the land of Canaan, as God had promised that he should do.

Pharaoh's Dream
Genesis 39 to Genesis 41

THE MERCHANTS WHO bought Joseph sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who treated him very favorably, and put all his affairs under Joseph's care. But after he had served his master faithfully for some time, Joseph was falsely accused of some wrong doing; and his master, without inquiring into the matter, shut him up in prison.

Pharaoh thought the advice was good, and that no one was so fit as Joseph to do all this; so he made him ruler. And Joseph stored up the corn, so that, when the famine came, other countries sent to Egypt to buy food.

Pharaoh's Overthrow
Exodus 7 to Exodus 14

AFTER THIS, BY God's command, Moses and Aaron went many times to Pharaoh to bid him let the people go. But Pharaoh would not, though God sent strange and terrible plagues upon him and his people to punish them for their wickedness, and make them obey Him.

So God delivered the children of Israel, as He had said.