Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Thomas Hutchinson and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
[Illustration: THE FINDING OF MOSES--The daughter of Pharaoh comes
to the water's edge and finds the child. By chance the child's mother is
called as nurse, and it grew and was brought to Pharaoh's daughter and
became her son--(Exodus 2; 5-10.)]
THE WONDER BOOK
OF BIBLE STORIES
EDITED AND ARRANGED BY
LOGAN MARSHALL
[Illustration: The baby in the manger]
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO
TORONTO--THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, LIMITED
Copyright, 1925, by
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.
Copyright, 1925,
in the Philippine Islands.
Copyright, 1904, by
THE J.C.W. CO.
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
AT THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, PROPRIETORS, PHILADELPHIA
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE 3
THE STORY OF NOAH AND THE ARK 7
THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 16
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC 22
THE STORY OF JACOB 28
THE SALE OF A BIRTHRIGHT 29
THE STORY OF THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN 37
THE STORY OF JOSEPH
THE COAT OF MANY COLORS 42
THE DREAMS OF A KING 49
THE STORY OF THE MONEY IN THE SACKS 58
THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST BROTHER 65
THE STORY OF MOSES, THE CHILD WHO WAS FOUND IN THE RIVER 73
THE STORY OF THE GRAPES FROM CANAAN 82
THE STORY OF GIDEON AND HIS THREE HUNDRED SOLDIERS 88
THE STORY OF SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN 98
THE STORY OF RUTH, THE GLEANER 111
THE STORY OF DAVID
THE SHEPHERD BOY 117
THE STORY OF THE FIGHT WITH THE GIANT 125
THE STORY OF THE CAVE OF ADULLAM 131
THE STORY OF SOLOMON AND HIS TEMPLE 133
THE STORY OF ELIJAH, THE PROPHET 138
THE STORY OF JONAH AND THE WHALE 142
THE STORY OF THE FIERY FURNACE 147
THE STORY OF DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN 155
THE STORY OF THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR 160
THE STORY OF JESUS
THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM 167
THE STORY OF THE STAR AND THE WISE MEN 172
THE STORY OF THE CHILD IN THE TEMPLE 179
THE STORY OF THE WATER THAT WAS TURNED INTO WINE 184
THE STORY OF THE STRANGER AT THE WELL 189
THE STORY OF THE FISHERMEN 195
THE STORY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 199
THE STORY OF THE MIRACLE WORKER 206
THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN 215
THE STORY OF THE PALM BRANCHES 221
THE STORY OF THE BETRAYAL 228
THE STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB 235
THE STORY OF THE MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE 243
THE STORY OF STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR 249
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Finding of Moses i
Title Plate ii
They were driven forth by an angel 3
Cain and Abel 5
The water rose higher and higher 12
So Noah opened the door of the ark 14
In some way she lost the road 19
Learned to shoot with the bow and arrow 20
For two days they walked 24
"God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering" 25
"Sell me your birthright" 29
"Now, my son, do what I tell you" 32
"May nations bow down to you" 34
Angels were upon the stairs 38
Jacob went onward in his long journey 40
Back to the Land of Canaan 43
Walking northward over the mountains 45
For twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph 47
"The two dreams have the same meaning" 56
"What wicked thing is this that you have done?" 70
They made the Israelites work hard 75
She placed her baby in the ark 76
Moses became a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian 79
God fed them day by day with manna 81
A cluster of grapes so large that two men carried it 83
The angel touched the offering with his staff 89
The men blew their trumpets with a mighty noise 95
He carried off the gates of the city 105
He bowed forward with all his might and pulled
the pillars with him 109
Ruth went out into the fields to glean the grain 114
Then Samuel poured oil on David's head 122
The giant looked down on the youth and despised him 128
David drew out the giant's own sword 129
Solomon on his throne 136
Supposed form of Solomon's Temple 137
Ship in Solomon's time 137
Denounced Ahab and Jezebel 139
Made king when he was only seven years old 140
"This is the arrow of victory" 141
To shade Jonah from the sun 145
Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage 150
An angel befriended them 152
Thrown into the den of lions 157
Daniel's Answer to the King 158
"Do not be afraid, Zacharias" 162
They were filled with fear 169
The baby in the manger 170
The Shepherds in the Field 171
The wise men went their way 173
He took his wife and baby and went down to Egypt 176
Sitting in a company of the doctors of the law 181
"Fill the jars with water" 185
"Take these things away" 187
The net caught so many fishes they could not pull it up 196
"I came not to call those who think themselves to be good" 201
Then, on the mountain, he preached 203
"Speak the word and my servant shall be cured" 207
The children loved to gather around him 210
Then he lifted him up 219
Came to Bethany where his friends Martha and Mary lived 221
She wiped his feet with her hair 223
They threw their garments upon the ground for Jesus to ride upon 225
The great city was deaf to his pleadings 227
Peter Denies Christ 232
He heard their complaints 235
INTRODUCTION
The Bible is one of the two or three oldest books in the world, but
unlike most of the ancient books, it is found not only in great
libraries, but in almost every home of the civilized world; and it is
not only studied by learned scholars, but read by the common people; and
its many stories grasp and hold the attention of little children. Happy
is that child who has heard, over and over again, the Bible stories
until they have become fixed in his mind and memory, to become the
foundations of a noble life.
It is with the desire of aiding parents and teachers in telling these
stories, and aiding children to understand them, also in the hope that
they may be read in many schools, that a few among the many interesting
stories in the Bible have been chosen, brought together and as far as
necessary simplified to meet the minds of the young.
[Signature: Jesse Lyman Hurlbut]
THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE
The first man's name was Adam and his wife he called Eve. They lived in
a beautiful Garden away in the East Country which was called Eden,
filled with beautiful trees and flowers of all kinds. But they did not
live in Eden long for they did not obey God's command, but ate the fruit
of a tree which had been forbidden them. They were driven forth by an
angel and had to give up their beautiful home.
[Illustration: _They were driven forth by an angel_]
So Adam and his wife went out into the world to live and to work. For a
time they were all alone, but after a while God gave them a little child
of their own, the first baby that ever came into the world. Eve named
him Cain; and after a time another baby came, whom she named Abel.
When the two boys grew up, they worked, as their father worked before
them. Cain, the older brother, chose to work in the fields, and to raise
grain and fruits. Abel, the younger brother, had a flock of sheep and
became a shepherd.
While Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden, they could talk
with God and hear God's voice speaking to them. But now that they were
out in the world, they could no longer talk with God freely, as before.
So when they came to God, they built an altar of stones heaped up, and
upon it, they laid something as a gift to God, and burned it, to show
that it was not their own, but was given to God, whom they could not
see. Then before the altar they made their prayer to God, and asked God
to forgive their sins, all that they had done was wrong; and prayed God
to bless them and do good to them.
Each of these brothers, Cain and Abel, offered upon the altar to God his
own gift. Cain brought the fruits and the grain which he had grown; and
Abel brought a sheep from his flock, and killed it and burned it upon
the altar. For some reason God was pleased with Abel and his offering,
but was not pleased with Cain and his offering. Perhaps God wished Cain
to offer something that had life, as Abel offered; perhaps Cain's heart
was not right when he came before God.
And God showed that He was not pleased with Cain; and Cain, instead of
being sorry for his sin, and asking God to forgive him, was very angry
with God, and angry also toward his brother Abel. When they were out in
the field together Cain struck his brother Abel and killed him. So the
first baby in the world grew up to be the murderer of his own brother.
And the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?"
[Illustration: _Cain and Abel_]
And Cain answered, "I do not know; why should I take care of my
brother?"
Then the Lord said to Cain, "What is this that you have done? Your
brother's blood is like a voice crying to me from the ground. Do you see
how the ground has opened, like a mouth, to drink your brother's blood?
As long as you live, you shall be under God's curse for the murder of
your brother. You shall wander over the earth, and shall never find a
home, because you have done this wicked deed."
And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Thou hast driven me out from among men; and thou hast hid thy face from
me. If any man finds me he will kill me, because I shall be alone, and
no one will be my friend."
And God said to Cain, "If any one harms Cain, he shall be punished for
it." And the Lord God placed a mark on Cain, so that whoever met him
should know him and should know also that God had forbidden any man to
harm him. Then Cain and his wife went away from Adam's home to live in a
place by themselves, and there they had children. And Cain's family
built a city in that land; and Cain named the city after his first
child, whom he had called Enoch.
THE STORY OF NOAH AND THE ARK
After Abel was slain, and his brother Cain had gone into another land,
again God gave a child to Adam and Eve. This child they named Seth; and
other sons and daughters were given to them; for Adam and Eve lived many
years. But at last they died, as God had said they must die, because
they had eaten of the tree that God had forbidden them to eat.
By the time that Adam died, there were many people on the earth; for the
children of Adam and Eve had many other children; and when these grew up
they had other children; and these had children also. These men and
women and children lived in tents. They owned sheep and cattle, and they
moved about with them, wherever they could find pasture. The children
played around the tent doors, and sat beside the camp-fires in the
evenings, where they all sang together, and the older people told them
stories. And after a time this land where Adam's sons lived began to be
full of people.
It is sad to tell that as time went on more and more of these people
became wicked, and fewer and fewer of them grew up to become good men
and women. All the people lived near together, and few went away to
other lands; so it came to pass that even the children of good men and
women learned to be bad, like the people around them, and no longer did
what was right and good.
And as God looked down on the world that he had made, he saw how wicked
the men in it had become, and that every thought and every act of man
was evil and only evil continually.
But while most of the people in the world were very wicked, there were
some good people also, though they were very few. The best of all the
men who lived at that time was a man whose name was Enoch. He was not
the son of Cain, but another Enoch, who came from the family of Seth,
the son of Adam, who was born after the death of Abel. While so many
around Enoch were doing evil, this man did only what was right. He
walked with God and God walked with him, and talked with him. And at
last, when Enoch was a very old man and weary with life, God took him
away from earth to heaven. He did not die, as all the people have since
Adam disobeyed God, but "he was not, for God took him." This means that
Enoch was taken up from earth without dying.
All the people in the time of Enoch were not shepherds. Some of them had
learned how to make rude bows and arrows and axes and plows. And after a
long time they melted iron, and they made knives and swords and dishes
to use in their homes. They sowed grain in the fields and reaped
harvests, and they planted vines and fruit trees. But God looked down on
the earth and said:
"I will take away all men from the earth that I have made; because the
men of the world are evil, and do evil continually."
But even in those bad times God saw one good man. His name was Noah.
Noah tried to do right in the sight of God. As Enoch had walked with
God, so Noah walked with God, and talked with him. And Noah had three
sons; their names were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth.
God said to Noah, "The time has come when all the men and women on the
earth are to be destroyed. Every one must die, because they are all
wicked. But you and your family shall be saved, because you alone are
trying to do right."
Then God told Noah how he might save his life and the lives of his sons.
He was to build a very large boat, as large as the largest ships that
are made in our time; very long, and very wide and very deep; with a
roof over it; and made like a long, wide house in three stories; but so
built that it would float on the water. Such a ship as this was called
"an ark." God told Noah to build this ark, and to have it ready for the
time when he would need it.
"For," said God to Noah, "I am going to bring a great flood of water on
the earth to cover all the land and to drown all the people on the
earth. And as the animals on the earth will be drowned with the people,
you must make the ark large enough to hold a pair of each kind of
animals and several pairs of some animals that are needed by men, like
sheep and goats and oxen; so that there will be animals as well as men
to live upon the earth after the flood has passed away. And you must
take in the ark food for yourself and your family, and for all the
animals with you; enough food to last for a year, while the flood shall
stay on the earth."
And Noah did what God told him to do, although it must have seemed very
strange to all the people around, to build this great ark where there
was no water for it to sail upon. And it was a long time, because this
ship was so big, that Noah and his sons were at work building the ark,
which God had told them to build, while the wicked people around
wondered, and no doubt laughed at Noah for building a great ship where
there was no sea.
At last the ark was finished, and stood like a great house on the land.
There was a door on one side, and a window on the roof, to let in the
light. Then God said to Noah:
"Come into the ark, you and your wife, and your three sons, and their
wives with them; for the flood of waters will come very soon. And take
with you animals of all kinds, and birds, and things that creep; seven
pairs of these that will be needed by men, and one pair of all the rest,
so that all kinds of animals may be kept alive upon the earth."
So Noah and his wife, and his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, with
their wives, went into the ark. And God brought to the door of the ark
the animals, and the birds, and the creeping things of all kinds; and
they went into the ark. And Noah and his sons put them in their places,
and brought in food enough to feed them all for many days. And then the
door of the ark was shut and no more people and no more animals could
come in.
In a few days the rain began to fall, as it had never rained before. It
seemed as though the heavens were opened to pour great floods upon the
earth. The streams filled, and the rivers rose higher and higher, and
the ark began to float on the water. The people left their houses and
ran up to the hills; but soon the hills were covered, and all the people
on them were drowned.
Some had climbed up to the tops of higher mountains, but the water rose
higher and higher, until even the mountains were covered and all the
people, wicked as they had been, were drowned in the great sea that now
rolled over all the earth where man had lived. And all the animals, the
tame animals, cattle, and sheep, and oxen, were drowned; and the wild
animals, lions, and tigers, and all the rest were drowned also. Even the
birds were drowned, for their nests in the trees were swept away, and
there was no place where they could fly from the terrible storm. For
forty days and nights the rain kept on, until there was no breath of
life remaining outside of the ark.
[Illustration: _The water rose higher and higher_]
After forty days the rain stopped, but the water stayed upon the earth
for more than six months, and the ark with all that were in it floated
over the great sea that covered the land. Then God sent a wind to blow
over the waters, and to dry them up; so by degrees the waters grew less
and less. First mountains rose above the waters, then the hills rose
up, and finally the ark ceased to float and lay aground on a mountain
which is called Mount Ararat.
But Noah could not see what had happened on the earth, because the door
was shut, and the only window was up in the roof. But he felt that the
ark was no longer moving, and he knew that the water must have gone
down. So, after waiting for a time, Noah opened a window, and let loose
a bird called a raven. Now the raven has strong wings; and this raven
flew round and round until the waters had gone down, and it could find a
place to rest, and it did not come back to the ark.
After Noah had waited for it awhile, he sent out a dove; but the dove
could not find any place to rest, so it flew back to the ark, and Noah
took it into the ark again. Then Noah waited a week longer, and
afterward he sent out the dove again. And at the evening, the dove came
back to the ark, which was its home; and in its bill was a fresh leaf
which it had picked off from an olive tree.
So Noah knew that the water had gone down enough to let the trees grow
again. He waited another week, and sent out the dove again; but this
time the dove flew away and never came back. And Noah knew that the
earth was becoming dry again. So he took off a part of the roof, and
looked out, and saw that there was dry land all around the ark, and the
waters were no longer everywhere.
Noah had now lived in the ark a little more than a year, and he was glad
to see the green land and the trees once more. And God said to Noah:
"Come out of the ark, with your wife, and your sons, and their wives,
and all the living things that are with you in the ark."
[Illustration: _So Noah opened the door of the Ark_]
So Noah opened the door of the ark, and with his family came out, and
stood once more on the ground. And the animals, and birds, and creeping
things in the ark, came out also, and began again to bring life to the
earth.
The first thing that Noah did when he came out of the ark, was to give
thanks to God for saving all his family when the rest of the people on
the earth were destroyed. He built an altar, and laid upon it an
offering to the Lord, and gave himself and his family to God and
promised to do God's will.
And God was pleased with Noah's offering, and God said:
"I will not again destroy the earth on account of men, no matter how bad
they may be. From this time no flood shall again cover the earth; but
the seasons of spring and summer and fall and winter, shall remain
without change. I give to you the earth; you shall be the rulers of the
ground and of every living thing upon it."
Then God caused a rainbow to appear in the sky, and he told Noah and his
sons that whenever they or the people after them should see the rainbow,
they should remember that God had placed it in the sky and over the
clouds as a sign of his promise, that he would always remember the
earth, and the people upon it, and would never again send a flood to
destroy man from the earth.
So as often as we see the beautiful rainbow, we are to remember that it
is the sign of God's promise to the world.
THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL
After the great flood the family of Noah and those who came after him
grew in number, until, as the years went on, the earth began to be full
of people once more. But there was one great difference between the
people who had lived before the flood and those who lived after it.
Before the flood, all the people stayed close together, so that very
many lived in one land, and no one lived in other lands. After the flood
families began to move from one place to another, seeking for themselves
new homes. Some went one way, and some another, so that as the number of
people grew, they covered much more of the earth than those who had
lived before the flood.
Part of the people went up to the north and built a city called Nineveh,
which became the ruling city of a great land called Assyria, whose
people were called Assyrians.
Another company went away to the west and settled by the great river
Nile, and founded the land of Egypt, with its strange temples and
pyramids, its sphinx and its monuments.
Another company wandered northwest until they came to the shore of the
great sea which they called the Mediterranean Sea. There they founded
the cities of Sidon and Tyre, where the people were sailors, sailing to
countries far away, and bringing home many things from other lands to
sell to the people of Babylon, and Assyria, and Egypt, and other
countries.
Among the many cities which the people built were two called Sodom and
Gomorrah. The people in these cities were very wicked and were nearly
all destroyed. One good man named Lot and his family escaped. There was
another good man named Abraham who did not live in these cities. He
tried to do God's will and was promised a son to bring joy into his
family.
After Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Abraham moved his tent and his
camp away from that part of the land, and went to live near a place
called Gerar, in the southwest, not far from the Great Sea. And there at
last, the child whom God had promised to Abraham and Sarah, his wife,
was born, when Abraham, his father, was a very old man.
They named this child Isaac, as the angel had told them he should be
named. And Abraham and Sarah were so happy to have a little boy, that
after a time they gave a great feast and invited all the people to come
and rejoice with them, and all in honor of the little Isaac.
Now Sarah had a maid named Hagar, an Egyptian woman, who ran away from
her mistress, and saw an angel by a well, and afterward came back to
Sarah. She, too, had a child and his name was Ishmael. So now there were
two boys in Abraham's tent, the older boy, Ishmael, the son of Hagar,
and the younger boy, Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah.
Ishmael did not like the little Isaac, and did not treat him kindly.
This made his mother Sarah very angry, and she said to her husband:
"I do not wish to have this boy Ishmael growing up with my son Isaac.
Send away Hagar and her boy, for they are a trouble to me."
And Abraham felt very sorry to have trouble come between Sarah and
Hagar, and between Isaac and Ishmael; for Abraham was a kind and good
man, and he was friendly to them all.
But the Lord said to Abraham, "Do not be troubled about Ishmael and his
mother. Do as Sarah has asked you to do, and send them away. It is best
that Isaac should be left alone in your tent, for he is to receive
everything that is yours. I the Lord will take care of Ishmael, and will
make a great people of his descendants, those who shall come from him."
So the next morning Abraham sent Hagar and her boy away, expecting them
to go back to the land of Egypt, from which Hagar had come. He gave them
some food for the journey, and a bottle of water to drink by the way.
The bottles in that country are not like ours, made of glass. They are
made from the skin of a goat. One of these skin-bottles Abraham filled
with water and gave to Hagar.
And Hagar went away from Abraham's tent, leading her little boy. But in
some way she lost the road, and wandered over the desert, not knowing
where she was, until all the water in the bottle was used up; and her
poor boy in the hot sun and the burning sand had nothing to drink. She
thought that he would die of his terrible thirst; and she laid him down
under a little bush; and then she went away, for she said to herself:
[Illustration: _In some way she lost the road_]
"I cannot bear to look at my poor boy suffering and dying for want of
water."
And just at that moment, while Hagar was crying, and her boy was
moaning with thirst, she heard a voice saying to her:
"Hagar, what is your trouble? Do not be afraid. God has heard your cry
and the cry of your child. God will take care of you both, and will make
of your boy a great nation of people."
It was the voice of an angel from heaven; and then Hagar looked, and
there, close at hand, was a spring of water in the desert. How glad
Hagar was as she filled the bottle with water and took it to her
suffering boy under the bush!
[Illustration: _Learned to shoot with the bow and arrow_]
After this Hagar did not go down to Egypt. She found a place where she
lived and brought up her son in the wilderness, far from other people.
And Ishmael grew up in the desert and learned to shoot with the bow and
arrow. He became a wild man, and his children after him grew up to be
wild men also. They were the Arabians of the desert, who even to this
day have never been ruled by any other people, but wander through the
desert, and live as they please. So Ishmael came to be the father of
many people, and his descendants, the wild Arabians of the desert, are
living unto this day in that land.
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC
You remember that in those times of which we are telling, when men
worshipped God, they built an altar of earth or of stone, and laid an
offering upon it as a gift to God. The offering was generally a sheep,
or a goat, or a young ox--some animal that was used for food. Such an
offering was called "a sacrifice."
But the people who worshipped idols often did what seems to us strange
and very terrible. They thought that it would please their gods if they
would offer as a sacrifice the most precious living things that were
their own; and they would take their own little children and kill them
upon their altars as offerings to the gods of wood and stone, that were
no real gods, but only images.
God wished to show Abraham and all his descendants, those who should
come after him, that he was not pleased with such offerings as those of
living people, killed on the altars. And God took a way to teach
Abraham, so that he and his children after him would never forget it.
Then at the same time he wished to see how faithful and obedient Abraham
would be to his commands; how fully Abraham would trust in God, or, as
we would say, how great was Abraham's faith in God.
So God gave to Abraham a command which he did not mean to have obeyed,
though this he did not tell to Abraham. He said:
"Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love so greatly, and
go to the land of Moriah, and there on a mountain that I will show you,
offer him for a burnt-offering to me."
Though this command filled Abraham's heart with pain, yet he would not
be as surprised to receive it as a father would in our day; for such
offerings were very common among all those people in the land where
Abraham lived. Abraham never for one moment doubted or disobeyed God's
word. He knew that Isaac was the child whom God had promised, and that
God had promised, too, that Isaac should have children, and that those
coming from Isaac should be a great nation. He did not see how God could
keep his promise with regard to Isaac, if Isaac should be killed as an
offering; unless indeed God should raise him up from the dead afterward.
But Abraham undertook at once to obey. God's command. He took two young
men with him and an ass laden with wood for the fire; and he went toward
the mountain in the north, Isaac, his son, walking by his side. For two
days they walked, sleeping under the trees at night in the open country.
And on the third day Abraham saw the mountain far away. And as they drew
near to the mountain Abraham said to the young men:
[Illustration: _For two days they walked_]
"Stay here with the ass, while I go up yonder mountain with Isaac to
worship; and when we have worshipped, we will come back to you." For
Abraham believed that in some way God would bring back Isaac to life. He
took the wood from the ass and placed it on Isaac, and they two walked
up the mountain together. As they were walking, Isaac said:
"Father, here is the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?"
And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide himself a Lamb for a burnt
offering."
And they came to the place on the top of the mountain. There Abraham
built an altar of stones and earth heaped up; and on it he placed the
wood. Then he tied the hands and the feet of Isaac, and laid him on the
altar, on the wood. And Abraham lifted up his hand, holding a knife to
kill his son. Another moment longer and Isaac would be slain by his own
father's hand.
[Illustration: _"God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
offering"_]
But just at that moment the angel of the Lord out of heaven called to
Abraham, and said:
"Abraham! Abraham!"
And Abraham answered, "Here I am, Lord." Then the angel of the Lord
said:
"Do not lay your hand upon your son. Do no harm to him. Now I know that
you love God more than you love your only son, and that you are obedient
to God, since you are ready to give up your son, your only son, to God."
What a relief and a joy these words from heaven brought to the heart of
Abraham! How glad he was to know that it was not God's will for him to
kill his son! Then Abraham looked around, and there in the thicket was a
ram caught by his horns. And Abraham took the ram and offered him up for
a burnt-offering in place of his son. So Abraham's words came true when
he said that God would provide for himself a lamb.
The place where this altar was built Abraham named Jehovah-jireh, words
in the language that Abraham spoke meaning, "The Lord will provide."
This offering, which seems so strange, did much good. It showed to
Abraham, and to Isaac also, that Isaac belonged to God, for to God he
had been offered; and in Isaac all those who should come from him, his
descendants, had been given to God. Then it showed to Abraham and to
all the people after him, that God did not wish children or men killed
as offerings for worship; and while all the people around offered such
sacrifices, the Israelites, who came from Abraham and from Isaac, never
offered them, but offered oxen and sheep and goats instead.
These gifts, which cost so much toil, they felt must be pleasing to God,
because they expressed their thankfulness to him. But they were glad to
be taught that God does not desire men's lives to be taken, but loves
our living gifts of love and kindness.
THE STORY OF JACOB
After Abraham died, his son Isaac lived in the land of Canaan. Like his
father, Isaac had his home in a tent; around him were the tents of his
people, and many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle feeding wherever
they could find grass to eat and water to drink.
Isaac and his wife Rebekah had two children. The older was named Esau
and the younger Jacob.
Esau was a man of the woods and very fond of hunting; and he was rough
and covered with hair.
Jacob was quiet and thoughtful, staying at home, dwelling in a tent, and
caring for the flocks of his father.
Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, because Esau brought to his father
that which he had killed in his hunting; but Rebekah liked Jacob,
because she saw that he was wise and careful in his work.
Among the people in those lands, when a man dies, his older son receives
twice as much as the younger of what the father has owned. This was
called his "birthright," for it was his right as the oldest born. So
Esau, as the older, had a "birthright" to more of Isaac's possessions
than Jacob. And besides this, there was the privilege of the promise of
God that the family of Isaac should receive great blessings.
THE SALE OF A BIRTHRIGHT
Now Esau, when he grew up, did not care for his birthright or the
blessing which God had promised. But Jacob, who was a wise man, wished
greatly to have the birthright which would come to Esau when his father
died. Once, when Esau came home, hungry and tired from hunting in the
fields, he saw that Jacob had a bowl of something that he had just
cooked for dinner. And Esau said:
"Give me some of that red stuff in the dish. Will you not give me some?
I am hungry."
[Illustration: _"Sell me your birthright"_]
And Jacob answered, "I will give it to you, if you will first of all
sell to me your birthright."
And Esau said, "What is the use of the birthright to me now, when I am
almost starving to death? You can have my birthright if you will give me
something to eat."
Then Esau made Jacob a solemn promise to give to Jacob his birthright,
all for a bowl of food. It was not right for Jacob to deal so selfishly
with his brother; but it was very wrong in Esau to care so little for
his birthright and God's blessing.
Some time after this, when Esau was forty years old, he married two
wives. Though this would be very wicked in our times, it was not
supposed to be wrong then; for even good men then had more than one
wife. But Esau's two wives were women from the people of Canaan, who
worshipped idols, and not the true God. And they taught their children
also to pray to idols; so that those who came from Esau, the people who
were his descendants, lost all knowledge of God, and became very wicked.
But this was long after that time.
Isaac and Rebekah were very sorry to have their son Esau marry women who
prayed to idols and not to God; but still Isaac loved his active son
Esau more than his quiet son Jacob. But Rebekah loved Jacob more than
Esau.
Isaac became at last very old and feeble, and so blind that he could
see scarcely anything. One day he said to Esau:
"My son, I am very old, and do not know how soon I must die. But before
I die, I wish to give to you, as my older son, God's blessing upon you,
and your children, and your descendants. Go out into the fields, and
with your bow and arrows shoot some animal that is good for food, and
make for me a dish of cooked meat such as you know I love; and after I
have eaten it I will give you the blessing."
Now Esau ought to have told his father that the blessing did not belong
to him, for he had sold it to his brother Jacob. But he did not tell his
father. He went out into the fields hunting, to find the kind of meat
which his father liked the most.
Now Rebekah was listening, and heard all that Isaac had said to Esau.
She knew that it would be better for Jacob to have the blessing than for
Esau; and she loved Jacob more than Esau. So she called to Jacob and
told him what Isaac had said to Esau, and she said:
"Now, my son, do what I tell you, and you will get the blessing instead
of your brother. Go to the flocks and bring to me two little kids from
the goats, and I will cook them just like the meat which Esau cooks for
your father. And you will bring it to your father, and he will think
that you are Esau, and will give you the blessing; and it really belongs
to you."
[Illustration: _"Now, my son, do what I tell you"_]
But Jacob said, "You know that Esau and I are not alike. His neck and
arms are covered with hairs, while mine are smooth. My father will feel
of me, and he will find that I am not Esau; and then, instead of giving
me a blessing, I am afraid that he will curse me."
But Rebekah answered her son, "Never mind; you do as I have told you,
and I will take care of you. If any harm comes it will come to me; so do
not be afraid, but go and bring the meat."
Then Jacob went and brought a pair of little kids from the flocks, and
from them his mother made a dish of food, so that it would be to the
taste just as Isaac liked it. Then Rebekah found some of Esau's clothes,
and dressed Jacob in them; and she placed on his neck and hands some of
the skins of the kids, so that his neck and his hands would feel rough
and hairy to the touch.
Then Jacob came into his father's tent, bringing the dinner, and
speaking as much like Esau as he could, he said:
"Here I am, my father."
And Isaac said, "Who are you, my son?"
And Jacob answered, "I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you bade
me; now sit up and eat the dinner that I have made, and then give me
your blessing as you promised me."
And Isaac said, "How is it that you found it so quickly?"
Jacob answered, "Because the Lord your God showed me where to go and
gave me good success."
Isaac did not feel certain that it was his son Esau, and he said, "Come
near and let me feel you, so that I may know that you are really my son
Esau."
And Jacob went up close to Isaac's bed, and Isaac felt of his face, and
his neck, and his hands, and he said:
[Illustration: _"May nations bow down to you."_]
"The voice sounds like Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Are
you really my son Esau?"
And Jacob told a lie to his father, and said, "I am."
Then the old man ate the food that Jacob had brought to him; and he
kissed Jacob, believing him to be Esau; and he gave him the blessing,
saying to him:
"May God give you the dew of heaven, and the richness of the earth, and
plenty of grain and wine. May nations bow down to you and peoples become
your servants. May you be the master over your brother, and may your
family and descendants that shall come from you rule over his family and
his descendants. Blessed be those that bless you, and cursed be those
that curse you."
Just as soon as Jacob had received the blessing he rose up and hastened
away. He had scarcely gone out, when Esau came in from hunting, with the
dish of food that he had cooked. And he said:
"Let my father sit up and eat the food that I have brought, and give me
the blessing."
And Isaac said, "Why, who are you?"
Esau answered, "I am your son; your oldest son, Esau."
And Isaac trembled, and said, "Who then is the one that came in and
brought to me food? and I have eaten his food and have blessed him; yes,
and he shall be blessed."
When Esau heard this, he knew that he had been cheated; and he cried
aloud, with a bitter cry, "O, my father, my brother has taken away my
blessing, just as he took away my birthright! But cannot you give me
another blessing, too? Have you given everything to my brother?"
And Isaac told him all that he had said to Jacob, making him the ruler
over his brother.
But Esau begged for another blessing; and Isaac said:
"My son, your dwelling shall be of the riches of the earth and of the
dew of heaven. You shall live by your sword and your descendants shall
serve his descendants. But in time to come they shall break loose and
shall shake off the yoke of your brother's rule and shall be free."
All this came to pass many years afterward. The people who came from
Esau lived in a land called Edom, on the south of the land of Israel,
where Jacob's descendants lived. And after a time the Israelites became
rulers over the Edomites; and later still, the Edomites made themselves
free from the Israelites. But all this took place hundreds of years
afterward.
It was better that Jacob's descendants, those who came after him, should
have the blessing, than that Esau's people should have it; for Jacob's
people worshipped God, and Esau's people walked in the way of the idols
and became wicked.
THE STORY OF THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN
After Esau found that he had lost his birthright and his blessing, he
was very angry against his brother Jacob; and he said to himself, and
told others:
"My father Isaac is very old and cannot live long. As soon as he is
dead, then I shall kill Jacob for having robbed me of my right."
When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, "Before it is too late, do
you go away from home and get out of Esau's sight. Perhaps when Esau
sees you no longer, he will forget his anger, and then you can come home
again. Go and visit my brother Laban, your uncle, in Haran, and stay
with him for a little while."
We must remember that Rebekah came from the family of Nahor, Abraham's
younger brother, who lived in Haran, a long distance to the northeast of
Canaan, and that Laban was Rebekah's brother.
So Jacob went out of Beersheba, on the border of the desert, and walked
alone, carrying his staff in his hand. One evening, just about sunset,
he came to a place among the mountains, more than sixty miles distant
from his home. And as he had no bed to lie down upon, he took a stone
and rested his head upon it for a pillow, and lay down to sleep.
[Illustration: _Angels were upon the stairs_]
And on that night Jacob had a wonderful dream. In his dream he saw
stairs leading from the earth where he lay up to heaven; and angels were
going up and coming down upon the stairs. And above the stairs, he saw
the Lord God standing. And God said to Jacob:
"I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac your father;
and I will be your God, too. The land where you are lying all alone,
shall belong to you and to your children after you; and your children
shall spread abroad over the lands, east and west, and north and south,
like the dust of the earth; and in your family all the world shall
receive a blessing. And I am with you in your journey, and I will keep
you where you are going, and will bring you back to this land. I will
never leave you, and I will surely keep my promise to you."
And in the morning Jacob awakened from his sleep, and he said:
"Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it! I thought
that I was all alone, but God has been with me. This place is the house
of God; it is the gate of heaven!"
And Jacob took the stone on which his head had rested, and he set it up
as a pillar, and poured oil on it as an offering to God. And Jacob named
that place Bethel, which in the language that Jacob spoke means "The
House of God."
And Jacob made a promise to God at that time, and said:
"If God really will go with me and will keep me in the way that I go,
and will give me bread to eat and will bring me to my father's house in
peace, then the Lord shall be my God: and this stone shall be the house
of God, and of all that God gives me I will give back to God one-tenth
as an offering."
Then Jacob went onward in his long journey. He walked across the river
Jordan in a shallow place, feeling his way with his staff; he climbed
mountains and journeyed beside the great desert on the east, and at last
came to the city of Haran. Beside the city was the well, where Abraham's
servant had met Jacob's mother, Rebekah; and there, after Jacob had
waited for a time, he saw a young woman coming with her sheep to give
them water.
Then Jacob took off the flat stone that was over the mouth of the well,
and drew water and gave it to the sheep. And when he found that this
young woman was his own cousin Rachel, the daughter of Laban, he was so
glad that he wept for joy. And at that moment he began to love Rachel,
and longed to have her for his wife.
[Illustration: _Jacob went onward in his long journey_]
Rachel's father, Laban, who was Jacob's uncle, gave a welcome to Jacob,
and took him into his home.
And Jacob asked Laban if he would give his daughter, Rachel, to him as
his wife; and Jacob said, "If you give me Rachel, I will work for you
seven years."
And Laban said, "It is better that you should have her, than that a
stranger should marry her."
So Jacob lived seven years in Laban's house, caring for his sheep and
oxen and camels; but his love for Rachel made the time seem short.
At last the day came for the marriage; and they brought in the bride,
who, after the manner of that land, was covered with a thick veil, so
that her face could not be seen. And she was married to Jacob, and when
Jacob lifted up her veil he found that he had married, not Rachel, but
her older sister, Leah, who was not beautiful, and whom Jacob did not
love at all.
Jacob was very angry that he had been deceived,--though that was just
the way in which Jacob himself had deceived his father and cheated his
brother Esau. But his uncle Laban said:
"In our land we never allow the younger daughter to be married before
the older daughter. Keep Leah for your wife, and work for me seven years
longer, and you shall have Rachel also."
For in those times, as we have seen, men often had two wives, or even
more than two. So Jacob stayed seven years more, fourteen years in all,
before he received Rachel as his wife.
While Jacob was living at Haran, eleven sons were born to him. But only
one of these was the child of Rachel, whom Jacob loved. This son was
Joseph, who was dearer to Jacob than any other of his children, partly
because he was the youngest, and because he was the child of his beloved
Rachel.
THE STORY OF JOSEPH AND HIS COAT OF MANY COLORS
After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan with his eleven sons,
another son was born to him, the second child of his wife Rachel, whom
Jacob loved so well. But soon after the baby came, his mother Rachel
died, and Jacob was filled with sorrow. Even to this day you can see the
place where Rachel was buried, on the road between Jerusalem and
Bethlehem. Jacob named the child whom Rachel left, Benjamin; and now
Jacob had twelve sons. Most of them were grown-up men; but Joseph was a
boy seventeen years old, and his brother Benjamin was almost a baby.
[Illustration: _Back to the Land of Canaan_]
Of all his children, Jacob loved Joseph the best, because he was
Rachel's child; because he was so much younger than most of his
brothers; and because he was good, and faithful, and thoughtful. Jacob
gave to Joseph a robe or coat of bright colors, made somewhat like a
long cloak with wide sleeves. This was a special mark of Jacob's favor
to Joseph, and it made his older brothers envious of him.
Then, too, Joseph did what was right, while his older brothers often did
very wrong acts, of which Joseph sometimes told their father; and this
made them very angry at Joseph. But they hated him still more because of
two strange dreams he had, and of which he told them. He said one day:
"Listen to this dream that I have dreamed. I dreamed that we were out in
the field binding sheaves, when suddenly my sheaf stood up, and all your
sheaves came around it and bowed down to my sheaf!"
And they said scornfully, "Do you suppose that the dream means that you
will some time rule over us, and that we shall bow down to you?"
Then, a few days after, Joseph said, "I have dreamed again. This time, I
saw in my dream the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars, all come and
bow to me!"
And his father said to him, "I do not like you to dream such dreams.
Shall I, and your mother, and your brothers, come and bow down before
you as if you were a king?"
His brothers hated Joseph, and would not speak kindly to him; but his
father thought much of what Joseph had said.
At one time, Joseph's ten brothers were taking care of the flock in the
fields near Shechem, which was nearly fifty miles from Hebron, where
Jacob's tents were spread. And Jacob wished to send a message to his
sons, and he called Joseph, and said to him:
"Your brothers are near Shechem with the flock. I wish that you would go
to them, and take a message, and find if they are well, and if the
flocks are doing well; and bring me word from them."
That was quite an errand, for a boy to go alone over the country, and
find his way, for fifty miles, and then walk home again. But Joseph was
a boy who could take care of himself, and could be trusted; so he went
forth on his journey, walking northward over the mountains, past
Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and Bethel--though we are not sure those
cities were then built, except Jerusalem, which was already a strong
city.
When Joseph reached Shechem, he could not find his brothers, for they
had taken their flocks to another place. A man met Joseph wandering in
the field, and asked him, "Whom are you seeking?"
Joseph said, "I am looking for my brothers; the sons of Jacob. Can you
tell me where I will find them?"
And the man said, "They are at Dothan; for I heard them say that they
were going there."
Then Joseph walked over the hills to Dothan, which was fifteen miles
further. And his brothers saw him afar off coming toward them. They knew
him by his bright garment; and one said to another: "Look, that dreamer
is coming! Come, let us kill him, and throw his body into a pit, and
tell his father that some wild beast has eaten him; and then we will see
what becomes of his dreams."
[Illustration: _Walking northward over the mountains_]
One of his brothers, whose name was Reuben, felt more kindly toward
Joseph than the others. He said:
"Let us not kill him, but let us throw him into this pit, in the
wilderness, and leave him there to die."
But Reuben intended, after they had gone away, to lift Joseph out of the
pit, and take him home to his father. The brothers did as Reuben told
them; they threw Joseph into the pit, which was empty. He cried, and
begged them to save him; but they would not. They calmly sat down to eat
their dinner on the grass, while their brother was calling to them from
the pit.
After the dinner, Reuben chanced to go to another part of the field; so
that he was not at hand when a company of men passed by with their
camels, going from Gilead, on the east of the river Jordan, to Egypt, to
sell spices and fragrant gum from trees to the Egyptians.
Then Judah, another of Joseph's brothers, said, "What good will it do us
to kill our brother? Would it not be better for us to sell him to these
men, and let them carry him away? After all, he is our brother, and we
would better not kill him."
His brothers agreed with him; so they stopped the men who were passing,
and drew up Joseph from the pit, and for twenty pieces of silver they
sold Joseph to these men; and they took him away with them down to
Egypt.