Chapter One
THE OLD
TESTAMENT
HOLD ON!!!
You're
about to
begin the
ride of
your life!
Read about the
start of it all!
A furious flood. Frogs.
Lions. Evil kings.
Waters that part, and
men who see visions.
Walls that fall down, and
giants that do too!
The Book of Beginnings
Look for hidden messages in Genesis!
Genesis is all about beginnings. There's too much to tell here,
so you'll just have to read the book yourself. IT'S AWESOME!
Starting From Scratch
In a shocking move, God created the whole universe by
just speaking. God said, "Let there be light." And there
was light. It was the same way with the land, the
animals-everything! All God had to
say was "Let there be ."-and
there was.
Not bad! In fact, according to
God, it was all good. For details, see
Genesis 1:1-2:3.
Trouble in
Paradise
Adam and Eve, the first
people God created, got
busted. After eating the
forbidden fruit, God questioned
them, and the
finger-pointing began.
"She made me do it,"
said Adam.
"The snake made me doit,"
said Eve.
The snake could not be
reached for comment. Read
Genesis 3:14-24 to see God's
reply.
Weather News
Rain, rain, and more rain
Noah's weather report from God was rain-and plenty of it. Forty days of
rain, in fact. Enough rain to flood the whole earth. But God had a plan.Read all about it in Genesis 6-8.
The Birth of Israel
God told Abraham to leave his home and go to a new land
far away. He obeyed God (unlike some other people in
Genesis). God promised to give Abraham many children.
God gave Abraham a son (Isaac). Isaac had kids, who had
their own kids, who had kids-you get the picture. That's
why Abraham is called the father of God's people. Read the
family history in Genesis 12-15.
Real Estate News
Abraham and
Lot split land .
Abraham and his nephew
Lot were involved in a
real estate deal that made
history. When God told
Abraham to leave his
home and travel, Abraham obeyed. He took all his
stuff and family, including his nephew named Lot.
Finally, they settled down, and that's when the
trouble started. See Genesis 13 for details.
Dear Blabby
Tricky situation .
Q: My brother Jacob pulled a mean trick on me.
Here's what happened. It all started one day
when I was really hungry. A: Find the answer in
Genesis 25:19-34.
The Jesus
Connection
God wanted to be with Adam and Eve, but their sin broke the relationship.
But even back then, God had a way planned to take away people's
sin. That way is Jesus.
God gave a hint about Jesus in Genesis 3:15. "You will strike his heel"
means that Satan tried to make Jesus sin during his time on earth.
(It didn't work.) "He will strike your head" means that Jesus defeated
Satan. (It did work!) Check out 1 John 3:8 for proof.
CHAPTER 1
The Account of Creation
In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was
formless and empty, and darkness covered the
deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering
over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there
was light. 4 And God saw that the light was
good. Then he separated the light from the
darkness. 5 God called the light "day" and
the darkness "night."
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be a space between
the waters, to separate the waters of the
heavens from the waters of the earth." 7 And
that is what happened. God made this space
to separate the waters of the earth from the
waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space
"sky."
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky
flow together into one place, so dry ground
may appear." And that is what happened.
10 God called the dry ground "land" and the
waters "seas." And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land sprout with
vegetation-every sort of seed-bearing plant,
and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These
seeds will then produce the kinds of plants
and trees from which they came." And that
is what happened. 12 The land produced
vegetation-all sorts of seed-bearing plants,
and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their
seeds produced plants and trees of the same
kind. And God saw that it was good.
13 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the third day.
14 Then God said, "Let great lights appear in
the sky to separate the day from the night.
Let them mark off the seasons, days, and
years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine
down on the earth." And that is what
happened. 16 God made two great lights, the
sun and the moon-the larger one to govern
the day, and the smaller one to govern the
night. He also made the stars. 17 God set
these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to
govern the day and night, and to separate
the light from the darkness. And God saw
that it was good.
19 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the fourth day.
20 Then God said, "Let the waters swarm with
fish and other life. Let the skies be filled
with birds of every kind." 21 So God created
great sea creatures and every living thing
that scurries and swarms in the water, and
every sort of bird-each producing offspring
of the same kind. And God saw that it was
good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying,
"Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the
seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth."
23 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the fifth day.
24 Then God said, "Let the earth produce every
sort of animal, each producing offspring of
the same kind-livestock, small animals that
scurry along the ground, and wild animals."
And that is what happened. 25 God made all
sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small
animals, each able to produce offspring of
the same kind. And God saw that it was
good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make human
beings in our image, to be like ourselves.
4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the
woman. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be
opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like
God, knowing both good and evil."
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the
tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious,
and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So
she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she
gave some to her husband, who was with her, and
he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were
opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their
nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to
cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing,
the man and his wife heard the Lord God
walking about in the garden. So they hid from
the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord
God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He replied, "I heard you walking in the garden,
so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked."
11 "Who told you that you were naked?" the
Lord God asked. "Have you eaten from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?"
12 The man replied, "It was the woman you gave
me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it."
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What
have you done?"
"The serpent deceived me," she replied.
"That's why I ate it."
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15 And I will cause hostility between you and
the woman,
and between your offspring and her
offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel."
16 Then he said to the woman,
"I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you."
17 And to the man he said,
"Since you listened to your wife and ate from
the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch
a living from it.
18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.
19 By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return."
Paradise Lost: God's Judgment
20 Then the man-Adam-named his wife Eve,
because she would be the mother of all who live.
21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal
skins for Adam and his wife.
22 Then the Lord God said, "Look, the human
beings have become like us, knowing both good
and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from
the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!"
23 So the Lord God banished them from the
Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate
the ground from which he had been made.
24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed
mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of
Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed
back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
CHAPTER 9
God Confirms His Covenant
Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told
them, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 All
the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all
the small animals that scurry along the ground,
and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear
and terror. I have placed them in your power. 3 I
have given them to you for food, just as I have
given you grain and vegetables. 4 But you must
never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.
5 "And I will require the blood of anyone who
takes another person's life. If a wild animal kills
a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a
fellow human must die. 6 If anyone takes a human
life, that person's life will also be taken by
human hands. For God made human beings in
his own image. 7 Now be fruitful and multiply,
and repopulate the earth."
8 Then God told Noah and his sons, 9 "I hereby
confirm my covenant with you and your descendants,
10 and with all the animals that were
on the boat with you-the birds, the livestock,
and all the wild animals-every living creature
on earth. 11 Yes, I am confirming my covenant
with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living
creatures; never again will a flood destroy
the earth."
12 Then God said, "I am giving you a sign of my
covenant with you and with all living creatures,
for all generations to come. 13 I have placed my
rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant
with you and with all the earth. 14 When I
send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear
in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant
with you and with all living creatures. Never
again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When
I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember
the eternal covenant between God and every living
creature on earth." 17 Then God said to Noah,
"Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am
confirming with all the creatures on earth."
Noah's Sons
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the boat
with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
(Ham is the Father of Canaan.) 19 From these
three sons of Noah came all the people who now
populate the earth.
20 After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the
ground, and he planted a vineyard. 21 One day
he drank some wine he had made, and he became
drunk and lay naked inside his tent.
22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father
was naked and went outside and told his brothers.
23 Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held
it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent
to cover their father. As they did this, they
looked the other way so they would not see him
naked.
24 When Noah woke up from his stupor, he
learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done.
25 Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham:
"May Canaan be cursed!
May he be the lowest of servants to his
relatives."
26 Then Noah said,
"May the Lord, the God of Shem, be blessed,
and may Canaan be his servant!
27 May God expand the territory of Japheth!
May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem,
and may Canaan be his servant."
28 Noah lived another 350 years after the great
flood. 29 He lived 950 years, and then he died.
CHAPTER 10
This is the account of the families of Shem, Ham,
and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children
were born to them after the great flood.
Descendants of Japheth
2 The descendants of Japheth were Gomer,
Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
Tiras.
3 The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz,
Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 The descendants of Javan were Elishah,
Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. 5Their
descendants became the seafaring peoples
that spread out to various lands, each
identified by its own language, clan, and
national identity.
Descendants of Ham
6 The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim,
Put, and Canaan.
7 The descendants of Cush were Seba,
Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.
The descendants of Raamah were Sheba
and Dedan.
8 Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod,
who was the first heroic warrior on earth.
9 Since he was the greatest hunter in the
world, his name became proverbial. People
would say, "This man is like Nimrod, the
greatest hunter in the world." 10 He built his
kingdom in the land of Babylonia, with the
cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh.
11 From there he expanded his territory to
Assyria, building the cities of Nineveh,
Rehoboth-ir, Calah, 12and Resen (the great
city located between Nineveh and Calah).
13 Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites,
Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites,
Casluhites, and the Caphtorites, from
whom the Philistines came.
15 Canaan's oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of
the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor
of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,
17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites,
Zemarites, and Hamathites.
Continues.
