Christian Bible Stories
for Children

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Christian Bible Stories for Children

Little Christian's Bible Stories Volume II

Welcome to Christianity Oasis Purity Publications. These Christian Bible Stories for Children are titled Little Christian's Bible Stories Volume II. Christianity Oasis in association with Purity Publications proudly presents you with this Little Christian's Bible Stories Volume II E-Book free of charge for your enjoyment.

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Table of Contents

David and Goliath
Solomon
Building the Temple
The Prophet Elijah
The Prophet Elisha
Job
The Prophet Daniel
The Prophet Jonah

David and Goliath

Have you ever heard of king David? Did you know that he was related to Jesus Christ? This is the story of David and many things that happened in his life. The people of Israel wanted a king, so even though God wasn't very happy about it, because God is the only REAL king, he allowed Israel to have one. The first king of Israel was named Saul, and Saul didn't obey all that God told him to do, so God took the kingdom away from him and sent the prophet Samuel to look for another king.

God sent Samuel to a man named Jesse, who lived in Bethlehem. God said, I have chosen me a king from Jesse's sons. Samuel was sure he knew which one of Jesse's many sons would be the next king when he first saw them, but Samuel was wrong, because God doesn't care what people look like, He cares what's in their heart. Seven of Jesse's sons met Samuel but none of them were the one God wanted to be the next king.

Samuel asked Jesse if these were all of his sons. Jesse said, No, there's also David, my youngest, out in the field. David was always out in the field, taking care of the sheep, playing his harp and singing to God. When Samuel met David, God told Samuel that this would be the next king of Israel, so, Samuel told David and the Spirit of God was with him from that day on. David wasn't old enough to rule Israel yet, so he stayed at home and sang to God and played his harp in the fields and took care of the sheep.

After a while, Saul was very sad all the time because he didn't have the Spirit of God anymore. His servants told him that he should find someone who could play the harp and that might make him feel better. One of Saul's servants knew that David played the harp so David was brought to Saul. Saul loved David and every time a bad spirit came to Saul and he was sad, David would play his harp for him, and Saul would feel better again.

One day the Philistines got their army together again and lined up on top of a mountain to fight against Israel. David's three oldest brothers were there with Saul, because they were soldiers. So, David's dad sent David to take food to his brothers and find out how they were doing.

When David got there, he saw a great big Philistine soldier shouting to the men of Israel from the top of the mountain. He had a brass helmet on and heavy metal clothes to protect him. He carried a big heavy spear in one hand and a shield in the other. His name was Goliath and he was almost 10 feet tall! The Philistines thought Goliath was a hero. Goliath shouted, Send a man to fight with me and if he kills me, the Philistines will be your slaves, but if I kill him, the people of Israel will be our slaves. Saul and the men of Israel were very much afraid, but David was not.

David said, I'll fight this Philistine for the army of God! Saul told David that he was just a boy and couldn't beat Goliath. But David told Saul that one time, when he was tending the sheep, he killed a lion and a bear that were after the sheep. David believed that God would keep him safe, just as He kept him safe from the lion.

Saul put a helmet and heavy metal clothes on David, but they were so big and clumsy that David took them off and said, I don't need these, God will protect me. So David took his staff, and chose five smooth stones out of the brook. He put the stones in his sack, and took his sling in his hand and headed for the top of the mountain where Goliath stood. Goliath made fun of David and asked, Am I a dog, that you are coming at me with sticks? Come closer and I'll feed you to the birds and the animals to eat. David said, You come at me with a sword, a spear and a shield, but I come to you in the name of God! Today, the Lord will help me take off your head and the rest of the Philistines will be eaten by the birds and the animals. Then everyone on earth will know that God is in Israel!

When Goliath came toward David, David took a stone out of his sack, put it in his sling and hurled it at the giant Goliath. The stone sank into Goliath's forehead and he fell to the ground on his face. Then David stepped up on top of Goliath and took Goliath's own sword and killed him with it and then cut off Goliath's head. When the other Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they were terrified. Many of them were killed and the rest of them ran for their lives.

Saul put David in charge of the army and all the people of Israel grew to love David. Saul's son Jonathan and David became best friends, and Jonathan loved David very much. They made a promise that they would be best friends forever.

But soon Saul became angry because he heard the people of Israel singing that Saul had killed thousands but David had killed tens of thousands! So Saul's bad spirit came back and he wanted to kill David! Jonathan begged Saul not to kill him, because he had done great things for Saul and for Israel, and Saul listened to Jonathan and changed his mind about killing David ... for a little while.

Soon after, there was war again with the Philistines, so David went out with the men of Israel and won again, killing many more of the Philistines, and many more ran away. Saul became angry once again. He was so jealous of David that his bad spirit came back again. David was playing his harp for Saul one day and Saul threw his spear at David because he wanted to kill him, but David got away. David told Jonathan all about it.

David was supposed to be at a special dinner at Saul's house the next night, so David and Jonathan came up with a plan. David said, I'll hide in the field and if your dad says good things about me, shoot an arrow a short way and I'll know to stay. But if he wants to kill me still, shoot the arrow very far, and I'll know to run for my life. They planned to meet in a secret place to say good-bye if they had to. When David saw Jonathan's arrow fly very far, he ran to the place to meet Jonathan. They were both very sad to say good-bye to each other because they swore they would be best friends forever.

David went from place to place, hiding from Saul. He took the sword with him that belonged to Goliath and many people who liked David, decided to help him fight against people who didn't believe in God, instead of helping Saul. Saul and his people searched for David over and over again, hoping they could find him and kill him. David and his people lived in a cave, hiding from Saul. Jonathan found David and warned him that Saul was still searching to kill him.

One day when Saul and his people were going home from another battle with the Philistines, they rested in the very same cave that David was in, but they didn't know David and his people were there. God told David that He would bring Saul to him and that David could do whatever he thought was best to Saul. David's people wanted him to kill Saul, but instead, David snuck up on Saul and cut off a piece of his coat. When Saul and his people left the cave, David called out. King Saul! David held up the piece of Saul's coat in his hand and said, I could've got you! But you are God's anointed king, so I cannot kill you.

Some time later, Saul and his men were searching for David once again. David took one of his people with him down to the camp where Saul and his army were sleeping on the ground. David snuck up on Saul again and this time he took the spear that was next to Saul's pillow, and his jar of water. They left and went to the top of a hill nearby and David called out. King Saul! Holding up the spear and the jar of water, David yelled, I could've got you! But you are God's anointed king, so I cannot kill you. Saul cried and said, You are a better man than I am. You have been good to me and I have been bad to you. Now I know that you will be a good king and Israel will be safe in your care.

David was the apple of God's eye. That means that God loved him very, very much. David always talked to God and God always told him what to do, and when to go to battle. Even though Saul was jealous of David, David always remembered that Saul was God's first anointed king of Israel. When Saul died, people thought David would be glad, but David's heart was very, very sad.

David took his army to Jerusalem and won over the city. He moved there and it became known as the City of David. David brought the ark (God's treasure box) to Jerusalem and he was so happy that he danced in the street, and all the people were happy with him. David's wife Michal, was embarrassed because David danced in front of the people. But David was dancing because he was happy for God, he wasn't dancing to show off for the people like Michal thought, so God never let Michal have children.

Solomon

David became the king of Israel when Saul died and he fought wars for the Lord for many years. He wrote many Psalms to God. Do you know what a psalm is? It's a song! There's even a book of Psalms in the Bible that David wrote. David had a son named Solomon, and when David died, Solomon became the king.

One night God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told Solomon to ask for anything he wanted. Solomon told God that he wanted wisdom to tell the difference between good and bad, so he could be a good leader for God's people. God was so happy that Solomon asked for such an unselfish thing instead of asking for a long life or money, that God made him the smartest man ever to live, and he gave him riches too! He told Solomon that if he would follow His Commandments, that he would also have a long life. Many people asked King Solomon what to do when they had problems.

One day two women brought a baby boy to king Solomon. One of the women told king Solomon, I had a baby and three days later this woman had a baby too. Her baby died in the middle of the night, so she took my baby, and put her baby in my baby's crib so that I would think my baby died. The other woman said, No, my son is the one that is alive!

King Solomon said, Bring me a sword. We will cut this child in two and each of you can keep half. The woman who was telling the truth, spoke up and said, Oh please, No, don't kill the baby, give it to her! The other woman said, Yes let's divide it! King Solomon said, The real mother is the one who would rather give up her child than have it cut in half. All of Israel heard about how king Solomon decided who was the baby's real mother, and everyone saw that he had the wisdom of God inside of him.

Building the Temple

While David still alive, he wanted to build a house for God, but he couldn't because he was a man of war and God wanted his house built when there was peace in the land. Before David died, God told him that his son would build him a house. When Soloman was king, there was finally peace in the land of Israel, so Solomon built the house for God, called the Temple. There were thousands and thousands of people that worked on building the Temple. All of the wood and stone and other things that were used, were made ready before they were brought to where the Temple was being built, so that you couldn't hear the noise of a hammer or axe or any other tool, while they built it. Isn't that neat!

The Temple was made with all the best wood and stone and it was all covered in gold. The walls were carved with beautiful pictures of angels and palm trees and flowers, inside the house and outside. A special room was built to put the ark in. All of the lamps and candlesticks and bowls that were in the house, were made of pure gold too. It took Solomon seven years to build the Temple! God was happy with the Temple and He told Solomon that if he kept His Commandments that Solomon and his children and grandchildren would rule in Israel forever. But if he didn't keep the Lord's Commandments, the children of Israel would be sent out of the Promised Land and the Temple would be destroyed.

After the Temple was built, Solomon built palaces and many cities. Solomon had the finest clothes and food and everything he had was the very best. He didn't have slaves, but he had horsemen and sailors and captains and many people who wanted to serve him. There wasn't a man on earth who was smarter, or had more riches than king Solomon. He spoke 3000 proverbs (wise sayings) and wrote 1005 songs called Psalms. You can read what Solomon wrote in the Bible, in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

King Solomon had many wives, and a lot of them had different gods. Solomon's wives talked him into praying to their gods and the Lord was very upset with him because he didn't obey God like David did. God told Solomon that because he didn't keep His Commandments, that the kingdom would be taken from him and it would be given to one of his servants, but because his dad was David, who God loved so much, God wouldn't take the kingdom away until Solomon's son was king.

Remember Jacob, who's name was changed to Israel? Israel had twelve sons. And those twelve sons had families, and over hundreds of years, those families grew very large. Each family was called a tribe. When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and they went to the Promised Land, each tribe had a different part of the land where God wanted them to live. One of God's prophets Solomon's servant Jeroboam, that he would become king of ten out of the twelve tribes of Israel. This area was called Israel.

Solomon heard this and wanted to kill Jeroboam. When Jeroboam found out, he ran away to Egypt until Solomon died. Solomon's son Rehoboam became the king of the other two tribes. This area was called Judah. There were always problems between the two kings. When they died, there were many other kings in the land of Israel and the land of Judah after that, and most of them disobeyed God's Commandments. When God saw that the kings didn't obey, he sent some people to urge the people to be good, and they started to preach to God's people. These people who heard God's voice and preached to the people are called Prophets of God.

The Prophet Elijah

Once there was a king in Israel named Ahab. Ahab was a bad man, worse than any of the other kings before him. He married a woman named Jezebel and built a place where she could pray to her fake god. Then Ahab prayed to it, too. This made God very angry, so He sent his Prophet Elijah to Ahab. Elijah told Ahab that because he made God so mad, there wouldn't be any rain until Elijah said so. Then God sent Elijah to a brook where he could drink, and God told the birds to bring food to him there. When the brook dried up because there was no rain for so long, God told Elijah to go to a certain city and there was a woman there who would take care of him.

When Elijah got to the city, he asked a woman to get him a little water in a jar, and while she was getting it, he asked for some bread, too. She said, I only have enough to make a tiny bit of bread for me and my son, and after that, we will starve. Elijah told her, Don't be afraid. Make a little bread for me and then make some for you and your son. The Lord told me that you will have enough until it rains again. And sure enough, as God told Elijah, the woman and her son had enough.

While Elijah was staying with the woman, her son got so sick that he wasn't breathing anymore. So Elijah took the boy upstairs and prayed to God. The boy started breathing again and Elijah took him back downstairs to his mother. The woman was so very happy and she said to Elijah, You are a true Prophet of God.

After three long years God told Elijah to go see Ahab, and soon He would send rain to the earth again. In the meantime, Jezebel had all of the Prophets of God killed and Ahab and Jezebel sent people all over Israel to find Elijah. When Ahab met Elijah he said, So you're the one who has caused all this trouble for Israel by keeping it from raining! Elijah said, It's not me who has caused the trouble, but you, because you don't obey God.

Now, Jezebel had 450 fake prophets of her fake god. So, Elijah told Jezebel and Ahab to get their prophets and all the people together at the top of the mountain, and they could decide who is the REAL God. In the morning, when they were all together, Elijah said, I am the only Prophet of God left, but you have 450 prophets. Let us each have a bull to give as a gift to our God and then each of us will call to our God. The one that answers with fire is the TRUE God! Everyone agreed.

The 450 prophets of the fake god called and danced and shouted for their god to answer, but nothing happened. At noon time, Elijah made fun of them saying, Hmmm, maybe your god is sleeping, or ... maybe he's on vacation! Maybe you should call louder! They called and danced and shouted until night time, and still nothing happened. Then it was the Lord God's turn.

Elijah told the people to come closer as he took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Israel and put them in a circle. He put wood inside of the circle and then he put the bull on top. After that, he dug a ditch around the stones and filled it up with lots of water. Then Elijah said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let the people know that you are God in Israel and that I am your Prophet, and I have done all these things because you told me to, and that you want their hearts to believe in you again. Just then a great fire from God came down from Heaven and burned up the bull and the wood and the water and the dust and even the stones! All the people fell on their faces and said, The Lord IS God, He is the REAL God! The people took all the prophets of Jezebel's fake gods and killed them, just as she had done to the Prophets of God.

Later, Elijah went to the top of the mountain and got down on his knees. He sent his servant to go look toward the sea, but the servant saw nothing. Elijah told him to go seven times, and at the seventh time, a cloud in the shape of a hand came up out of the sea, and there was a great rain! It was the hand of God. Elijah was in good hands!

Ahab went back and told Jezebel all that had happened and she was very angry. She wanted to kill Elijah. Elijah ran and hid in the wilderness. He was afraid because he was the only Prophet of God left and now they were trying to kill him, too. He was hungry and tired. He laid down to sleep and an angel of God woke him up and brought him bread and water which gave Elijah strength for forty days and forty nights.

While Elijah was hiding in the wilderness, Ahab was still up to no good. He wanted a vineyard that His neighbor Naboth owned, to use as a garden. Ahab told Naboth that he would give him a better vineyard, or buy it from him. But Naboth didn't want to trade or sell his vineyard because it once belonged to his dad. When Jezebel saw that Ahab was sad about it, she lied and told people that Naboth was saying bad things about God and the king.

The people believed Jezebel's lie and they stoned Naboth until he died. When Ahab was on his way to become owner of Naboth's vineyard, Elijah got a message from God, telling him to go meet Ahab. When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, My enemy has found me. Elijah said, I have found you because God told me that you have sinned. You will die in the place where Naboth was killed, and Jezebel will be eaten up by dogs, for all the bad things she has done. All of these things happened, just as God told the Prophet Elijah they would.

Remember when Elijah was in the wilderness, and he was afraid for his life because he was the only Prophet of God left? Well, God told Elijah that there was a man named Elisha that He had chosen to be the next Prophet of God. Elijah went and found Elisha and they worked together for God. Elisha followed Elijah everywhere he went. One day Elijah told Elisha to stay where he was because God wanted him to go to Jordan. But Elisha said, I will not leave you.

When they came to the river in Jordan, Elijah took off his cape and hit the water with it. There were fifty people who stood and watched as the water separated and Elijah and Elisha walked across on dry land. Elijah asked Elisha, What can I do for you before I am taken from you? And Elisha said, I pray, let twice as much of your spirit be with me. Elijah said, You have asked a hard thing, but if you see me when I am taken from you, you will have it. As they walked and talked, suddenly a chariot and horses of fire appeared and God took Elijah up by a whirlwind into Heaven as Elisha watched!

The Prophet Elisha

After Elijah was swept away by the whirlwind into Heaven, Elisha took Elijah's cape and hit the water of the river in Jordan again. The water separated and he crossed back over the river again on dry land. The people who watched Elijah be taken, greeted Elisha and knew that he had Elijah's spirit now. They greeted him, bowing to the ground. Then they said, Let us go and look for Elijah. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has taken him and thrown him on some mountain or into some valley. Elisha said, You shouldn't go. They kept asking until Elisha couldn't listen any more, so finally he said, Go! The people looked for three days but couldn't find Elijah. Elisha said, Didn't I tell you that you shouldn't go?

The people in Jericho came to Elisha for help because there was no clean water in the city and things didn't grow well. Elisha said, bring me a new jar with salt in it. They brought it to him and he sprinkled the salt into the water and said, The Lord says, I have healed the water. And from that day forward, the water was clean.

When Elisha left there, some children saw that he didn't have any hair, so they started making fun of him, saying, Baldy, Baldy! God didn't like anybody making fun of His Prophets. Just then two bears came out of the woods and clawed the forty two children! OH MY!

Elisha helped many people. Once a woman came to Elisha and said, Before my husband died, he borrowed some money. Now the man who he borrowed it from, wants me to pay it back or he will take my two sons for slaves. Elisha asked what she had in her house. She said, Nothing but a pot of oil. Elisha told her, Go and borrow some empty jars and when you come back home, close your door and pour from your pot of oil into the jars. There was enough oil to fill every jar and there was still more left. She went and told Elisha, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay the man who your husband borrowed from and you and your sons will live on the rest.

There was a man named Naaman who was the captain of the army in the country of Syria. He had sores all over his skin. Naaman's wife had a little maid who was from Israel, and she told Naaman's wife that Elisha could heal him. The king of Syria sent Naaman to the king of Israel with a letter and some money. The king of Israel thought that the king of Syria wanted him to heal Naaman. But, when Elisha heard about it, he said, Send the man to me and he will know that there is a Prophet of God in Israel. Elisha told Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan river seven times and his skin would be healed.

Naaman was angry and went away telling his servants, I thought he would just come out and call on the name of the Lord, then touch me and I would be cured. And aren't the rivers in Syria better than all the water in Israel? Naaman's servants said to him, if Elisha had told you to do something very hard, wouldn't you have done it in order to get rid of the sores? But this is very easy! So Naaman went and washed in the Jordan river seven times and his skin became like a little child's. Naaman went back and said to Elisha, Now I know there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel! Naaman wanted to give Elisha a gift, but Elisha wouldn't take it. Elisha sent him home and said, Go in peace.

Now, Elisha's servant named Gehazi, followed Naaman and said to himself, My master wouldn't take Naaman's gift so I will get it for myself! When Naaman saw Gehazi coming near, he hopped down from his chariot and said, Is everything okay? Gehazi said, Oh yes, but Elisha remembered after you left, that two men who are the son's of Prophets will be coming to stay with him, so he sent me after you to collect your gift. Gehazi hid the gift. When Elisha saw Gehazi, he asked, Where have you been? Nowhere, Gehazi answered. Elisha said to Gehazi, Did you think I didn't know what you were doing? It is never the right time to take a gift for miracles that come from God. Now the sores that Naaman had, will cover your skin and your family, forever. And when Gehazi left Elisha, he had sores all over him.

Later in Elisha's life, he sent a man to find a captain of the army named Jehu. Elisha told the man to pour oil on Jehu's head and exactly what say to him. The man found Jehu and said, The Lord has said, I have made you king over Israel, and you will destroy all of Ahab's people to pay for the lives of all of God's Prophets that Jezebel had killed. The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the street and there won't be enough of her left to bury. When the man was done telling Jehu what Elisha had told him to, he left quickly.

When Jehu told the other captains, they told Jehu that the man must have been crazy. Then Jehu told them that the man said that the message was from the Lord. The captains hurried out and blew their trumpets telling everyone, Jehu is king!

Jehu went to the city of Jezreel where Jezebel lived, and both the king of Israel and the king of Judah were there. When Jehu got close to the city, the two kings came out to fight and Jehu killed them both in one day. Jezebel heard that Jehu was on his way so she painted her face and fixed her hair and leaned out of the window, making fun of Jehu. Jehu called up to Jezebel's servants, Whoever is on my side, throw her down. So, they threw her down and she was trampled under the hoofs of Jehu's horses. Dogs came and ate her flesh and there wasn't enough left of her to bury, just as the Lord had told Elijah.

Job

Once upon a time, there was a man who loved God very much and always turned away from doing bad. His name was Job. Job had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 ox, 500 donkeys, lots of servants and many other nice things. One day the angels stood in line, waiting to talk to God, and satan was with them. When it was satan's turn to talk, God asked him, Where have you been? And satan answered, I have been walking back and forth in the earth.

God said, Have you seen Job? There is nobody like him on all the earth, he loves God and turns away from bad. Then satan answered back, Why shouldn't he love God? You have always protected him and blessed him with everything, but if you took away all that he has, for sure he would say bad things about you. God said, We will see. You can take all that Job has, but do not touch him. So, satan left.

One day while Job's children were all eating dinner at their oldest brother's house, a messenger ran to Job and said, The ox were plowing and the donkeys were next to them and some bad people came and took them all and have killed the servants in the field. I am the only one who got away to tell you! Before he finished, another messenger ran up and said, Fire has come from the sky and has burned up all the sheep and the servants with them. I am the only one who got away to tell you! Before he finished, another messenger ran up and said, some bad people just took all the camels and the servants with them. I am the only one who got away to tell you! Before he finished, one more messenger ran up and cried, Your sons and daughters were eating dinner and a great wind came out of the wilderness and hit the house and it fell on your children and the servants, killing them all. I am the only one who got away to tell you!

Job was so sad. He tore his clothes and shaved his head and fell to the ground and prayed, The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. After all that had happened, Job didn't blame God.

Again there was a day the angels stood in line, waiting to talk to God, and satan was with them. When it was satan's turn to talk, God asked him, Where have you been? And satan answered, I have been walking back and forth in the earth. God said, Have you seen Job? There is nobody like him on all the earth, he loves God and turns away from bad. And satan said, Yes, a man will give everything he has to save his life, but if you take his health, for sure he would say bad things about you. And God said, he is in your hands, but you may not kill him.

Then satan went and put sores all over Job, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. Job's wife said to him, Do you still love God? Curse God, and die. But Job said to her. Should we only receive good from the hand of God? Job wouldn't blame God.

When three of Job's friends heard all that had happened, they came to see Job, but when they saw how much pain he was in, none of them spoke a word for seven days. Then Job began to talk, and he asked, Why does God let me live in such pain? I have no peace and terrible things keep happening.

Job's friends came to the conclusion that Job must have done something wrong to have such bad things happening to him, but Job never got mad at God, even though he didn't understand why such terribleness had struck his life.

Then God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind. God reminded Job of all the wonderful things He created and all the good things around him. He told Job to forget about his pain and remember his faith in the goodness of God, even though he couldn't understand everything that happens in life. Job told God that he knew that nothing was impossible for God, and that he was sorry if he ever doubted God's power. Job felt glad that he believed in God, who has such greatness that no man can understand everything He does.

God healed Job, and because he never blamed God for anything that happened to him and would never say anything bad about Him, God gave him seven more sons and three more daughters and twice as much of everything that he had before. Job lived to be a very old man being faithful to God. And satan, as always, was wrong.

The Prophet Daniel

There once was a king named Nebuchadnezzar, from Babylon, who took over Israel. That's a silly name, now isn't it? Nebuchadnezzar had a fake god, but the Lord let him take over Israel because the people there kept disobeying Him. The king gave orders to bring smart children from Israel to Babylon so they could be taught the king's customs and how to speak the king's language so that when the children got older, they could be servants in the king's palace. The king chose what they would eat and drink so that after three years they might be big and strong enough to serve the king. One of these children was named Daniel, and Daniel loved God.

Daniel had three friends named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and the man who was in charge of Daniel was named Melzar. Now, the food and drink that the king wanted the children to eat, was not what God had told Moses that the people of Israel should eat, so Daniel asked Melzar to let him and his three friends eat beans and drink water. After ten days, Daniel and his friends were healthier than all the children who were eating and drinking what the king wanted. God blessed them in their learning and gave Daniel a special way of understanding dreams. After the three years they were ten times smarter than all the magicians.

One night, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. It bothered him very much because he didn't know what it meant. So, he called all his magicians and wise men and they said, Tell us your dream and we will tell you what it means. Nebuchadnezzar answered, You tell me what my dream was, and what it means, and I will give you great gifts, but if you can't tell me, you will die. Nobody could tell the king his dream. Daniel and his friends prayed that God would show him what the kings dream was and what it meant so that they wouldn't die. God showed Daniel, and Daniel thanked God for showing him, then Daniel said to the kings servant, Don't kill the wise men. Take me to the king and I will show the king what his dream means.

Daniel began, No wise man can show you what your dream means, but there is a God in Heaven who knows mysteries and God has shown you what will happen someday. In your dream, you saw a big statue with a head made of gold. His chest and arms were made of silver. His belly and thighs were brass. His legs were iron and his feet were part iron and part clay. Then you saw a stone that hit the feet and broke them all to pieces, and after that, the rest of the statue crumbled all together and blew away in the wind. Then the stone turned into a great big mountain and filled the whole earth.

Now that Daniel had told the king exactly what his dream was, he went ahead and told him what the dream meant. You are like the head of gold, the strong king. After you, another kingdom will be built, not as strong, like the silver. And after that, there will be a third kingdom, and that is the brass. The fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron. The iron and clay will be a kingdom that will split up into other kingdoms. Then God will set up a kingdom that will never end. The king said to Daniel, Your God is the true God, because He told you what my dream was and what it meant. Then Nebuchadnezzar gave Daniel and his friends very special important jobs in Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar quickly forgot about the Lord being the true God and he made a huge gold statue in Babylon. Then he made a law that when the people in his kingdom heard the sound of music, they must bow down and pray to the statue or die in that same hour. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo would not pray to the statue, because it wasn't God.

Nebuchadnezzar was vary mad and said, I will throw you into a burning fiery furnace! The strongest men in the kings army tied Daniel's friends up and turned the fire up seven times hotter than it usually was. It was so hot, that the kings men were burned up when they threw Daniel's friends into the fire. When the king looked into the fire, he was surprised to see four people walking in the middle of the fire, with no burns at all!

Who do you think the fourth person was? God had sent an angel to save Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo from being burned. When the king told them to come out of the fire, they didn't even smell like smoke. Nebuchadnezzar made a law that if anyone said anything bad about God, that they would be cut into pieces and their house would be destroyed.

When Nebuchadnezzar died, his son, Belshazzar became the king and he had a great big party for his friends in his palace. He used the gold and silver cups and bowls from the Temple in Jerusalem, so that his friends could eat and drink out of them and pray to their fake gods. Of course, this made God very angry.

That very same hour, Belshazzar saw a hand writing on the wall in the palace. Belshazzar was scared, and called his smartest men in to tell him what the writing meant, but nobody could read it. So the king's wife told him, I have heard of a man named Daniel who can tell you what the writing means. So the king had Daniel brought to him and asked him what the writing meant.

Daniel said, You brought bowls and cups from the Temple of God, and you ate and drank from them and prayed to fake gods. But you didn't pray to God, who has given you life. The hand you saw was sent from God and this is what he wrote. Your kingdom will come to an end. You have not done good, and your kingdom will be given to the Medes and Persians (two other countries). That night, Belshazzar was killed and a Median named Darius took over the kingdom.

When Darius became king, he chose Daniel to be the most important of all of his princes. They all wanted to get rid of Daniel because he was the kings favorite. They knew that Daniel loved God, so they asked the king to make a new law saying that nobody could pray to anyone but the king for a month or else they should be thrown into the lion's den. Then they spied on Daniel and went to tell the king that Daniel prays to God, three times a day.

The king had no choice, so he told the princes to take Daniel and throw him into the lion's den. But because the king was fond of Daniel, he said to him, God will save you. The king worried all night about Daniel, and early the next morning he hurried to the lion's den and called Daniel's name. Daniel said, God has sent his angel to shut the lion's mouths and I am not hurt. God knows I have done nothing wrong. The king was very glad and had Daniel taken out of the lion's den. Then the king had all the princes that spied on Daniel, and their wives and children, thrown into the lion's den, and the lions gobbled them all up. Darius made a law that everyone in his kingdom, should pray only to God, because He saved Daniel from the lions and He works miracles and He alone, is the true God, forever.

The Prophet Jonah

Once there was a Prophet of God named Jonah. God told Jonah to go to a place called Nineveh, and tell the people there to stop doing bad things. Jonah didn't listen to God and he got on a ship, trying to run away from God. So God sent a strong wind into the sea. The wind tossed the ship around so much that it was almost broken to pieces. The people on the ship figured out that somehow, the reason for the stormy sea, had something to do with Jonah. He told them that he was trying to hide from God.

The people wondered what to do with Jonah. I know this is all my fault, Jonah said, Throw me into the sea, so the storm will stop. The people tried to row to land, but the wind and waves were too strong. They prayed that the Lord wouldn't be mad, and they threw Jonah into the sea. Suddenly the wind stopped and the sea was still. God sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights!

Jonah was very scared, and prayed, telling God he was sorry and that he would do what God told him to. So, God forgave Jonah and spoke to the fish. He told the fish to spit Jonah out onto dry land. God told Jonah again to go and tell the people of Nineveh that their country would be destroyed in forty days because they were so bad. The king of Nineveh told all the people to have faith in God and to do good. The people in Nineveh were sorry for being bad, so they did what the king said. God forgave them and decided not to destroy them.

Jonah was angry with the Lord. He knew that God would forgive the people of Nineveh and it made Jonah mad that he went through all of this trouble. That's why Jonah tried to run away from God in the first place. Jonah asked God to take his life, because he thought it would be better for him to die than to live. God asked Jonah if he thought it was right to be so angry, but God did not take his life.

Jonah built a little shack outside of the city where he could watch and see what would happen in Nineveh. It was very hot so God grew a big plant called a gourd, and it covered the shack and Jonah with shade. Jonah was very happy about the gourd.

But the next day, God sent a worm to eat up the gourd. Jonah felt sorry for the gourd, and he was angry again because he wished that it had lived. Then God sent a very hot dry wind. The sun was so hot that Jonah fainted and wished again that he would die. God told Jonah, You felt sorry for the gourd but you didn't give it life or help it grow. It grew in one day and died in one night. The people of Nineveh didn't know right from wrong. I gave them life and asked you to help them grow to be good. Shouldn't I feel sorry for them? Shouldn't I let them live?

Jonah had done wrong, not to listen to God and when Jonah was sorry, God forgave him and saved him from the big fish that swallowed him up. Nineveh had done wrong by doing bad things, and when they were sorry, God forgave them too and saved them from being destroyed.

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