Essex County Council

RE MATTERS FOR EVERY CHILD

Support materials for Key Stage 1

JEWISH STORIES

Stories that could be used to help meet some of the requirements of the programme of study for Key Stage 1

JEWISH STORIES

I. Stories from the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament)- A story about how the world began- A sad day: the story of Adam and Eve- Noah’s wife and the great flood- How Abraham came to the Promised Land- The story of Joseph and his multicoloured coat- The story of Moses (told in three parts)

II. More stories from the Jewish Bible (the Old Testament)- The story of Ruth- Two stories about Samuel: servant of God in childhood and old age

1. Samuel and the voice in the night2. Samuel announces the man who is to be king

- Three stories about the early life of David1. David: shepherd boy, poet and musician2. David fights Goliath3. Best friends: the story of David and Jonathan

- Elijah and the ravens- Jonah and the big fish

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I. Stories from the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament)

A story about how the world began (Genesis 1.1 - 2.4)

The Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) starts with two creation stories, each originating in a separate tradition. Here is a retelling of the first of the two stories, about the six days of creation. One of the key messages of the story is that human beings, who were created last, have been given power over the world and all that it contains; but with that power goes responsibility. Human beings have a duty to care for the world and to ensure that its goodness and beauty are safeguarded for future generations. The story also explains why the seventh day (the Jewish Shabbat and the Christian Sunday) is a day of rest.

Long long ago, before the world was made, there was nothing; nothing at all. There were no people, no animals, no plants, no sky, no sea, no roads and no buildings: not one single thing anywhere. Everything was dark. Everything was silent. Can you imagine what it was like?

Then out of the stillness came a sound. It was God’s voice and it said, “Let there be light.” Suddenly the world lit up as bright as a million candles burning in the darkness. “That’s better,” said God.

The next day God spoke again. This time he said, “Let there be sky up high and water to flow underneath it.” And there it was: a clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds, and below it the sea splished and sploshed and splashed. God was pleased with what he had done.

On the third day God made the earth. He made dusty deserts, soggy swamps and mighty mountains reaching high into the clouds. God said, “Now we need some colours to make the earth look beautiful,” and flowers, grass and other plants burst up through the soil. There were plants that were pretty to look at: big yellow sunflowers, bright red poppies and cherry trees full of pink blossom. There were sweet-smelling plants, like roses and honeysuckle. There were plants bearing tasty things to eat, like crunchy apples and juicy blackberries. The plants made seeds, the seeds spread over the whole earth, and forests and meadows began to grow. The world was beginning to look very good and God was really pleased.

On the fourth day God made the sun and moon and twinkling stars to hang in the sky. And so time was invented: morning and night, months, seasons and years. The sun warmed the plants and helped them grow, and at night they closed their petals and went to sleep beneath the silver moon and the sparkling stars. As God watched the colours of the sunset at the end of the fourth day he said, “That looks really good.”

The world was indeed very wonderful to look at, but like a beautiful picture it was still and quiet. So God said, “Let the seas be filled with fish and other living creatures.” The oceans were instantly filled with creatures of all sizes and shapes: whales and turtles, sea-lions and sea-horses, dolphins and sharks, and shellfish, whose homes you find washed up on the beach when they have finished with them. In the rivers and streams there appeared newts and sticklebacks, otters and frogs, and waterboatmen.

Next God looked at the empty sky and said, “Let there be birds to fill the air.” Straightaway across the sky there flew sparrows and robins, eagles and owls, swallows and brightly coloured kingfishers. As the fifth day ended, the whole world was filled with the sound of birds cheeping and chirping. “That sounds really good,” said God.

On the sixth day God made animals. He made camels and snakes to live in the deserts. He made polar bears and arctic foxes to live in the arctic regions. He made crocodiles, monkeys and tigers to live in the rainforests. He made giraffes and lions to live in the grasslands. He made yaks and pumas and goats and llamas to live in the mountains.

Most of the animals stayed awake in the day, but others, like hedgehogs and badgers, came out at night. Some animals were big and some were small. Some animals were soft and furry, and some were rough and prickly. There were animals that walked, animals that crawled, animals that hopped, animals that slithered, animals that climbed, and some that could even swim. The whole earth was filled with strange new sounds as the animals explored their new home.

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The sixth day had been a very busy day, but God was not finished yet! He needed something to look after everything he had made: the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and the creatures and plants of the earth. He wanted someone to care for all these things as much as he cared for them. So can you guess what God made next? It was people!

God made Adam and Eve to take care of all the beautiful things he had made. He put Adam and Eve in charge of the world and they gave a name to every living thing they saw. God looked at everything that he had made and said, “This is just how the world should be.” And God blessed the earth and everything on it.

And do you know what God did on the seventh day? He had a good rest. I think he deserved it. Don’t you?

A sad day: the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 2 - 3)

The Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) starts with two creation stories, each originating in a separate tradition. Here is a retelling of the second of the two stories, about the first man and woman. The story vividly expresses a fundamental truth about the human condition: that we have the freedom to act as we choose and that we are conscious of that freedom. When we do wrong, however, we have to live with both the knowledge and the consequences of our wrongdoing.

Have you ever done something you knew you shouldn’t have and then, when it’s too late, wished you hadn’t? Well, that’s just what happened to me.

My name is Eve, and I once lived in a beautiful garden with a man called Adam. First God made the garden; then he made Adam; and then he made me. The garden was our home. It was called the Garden of Eden and it was perfect. It was filled with wonderfully-scented flowers, coloured with all the colours of the rainbow. Lush green trees offered us welcome shade from the heat of the sun, and to keep us company there were all sorts of animals. There was plenty to eat, too: juicy pears, soft plums and crunchy nuts from the almond trees. There was only one tree from which we were not allowed to eat, and that was the tree in the middle of the garden. God told us not to eat the fruit from this tree because it would be bad for us.

As you can imagine we were very happy living there, until one day something happened that spoilt everything. This is how it happened.

One sunny afternoon I was collecting food, enjoying the sunshine and minding my own business when a snake came slithering up to me. Snakes are thought to be sly creatures full of trickery, but I didn’t know that, so when it spoke to me I stopped to reply.

“Why don’t you eat the fruitsss of thisss tree, the one that growsss in the middle of the garden?” the sneaky snake hissed.

“Because,” I replied, “God has told us that the fruit from this tree is bad for us.”

“That’sss rubbish,” snorted the snake. “The fruit on thisss tree isss very tasssty. If you eat thisss fruit, it will make you very wissse. It will make you underssstand thingsss you don’t underssstand. If you don’t believe me, take a bite and sssee.” And with that the snake slithered away, before I could ask him how he knew this.

I thought about what the snake had said for a long time. It was true, the fruit did look delicious, and it would make a nice change to eat something different. But God had forbidden it. Then again it did look so juicy and so sweet; perhaps a tiny piece would not matter …

Cautiously I took the tiniest bite, hardly a mouthful. The snake was right! It was the tastiest thing I had ever eaten. Of course it would have been greedy to keep it all to myself, so I called to Adam and gave him some to eat too.

Then a very strange thing happened. Just as the snake had said, we began to understand things we had not understood before. We had never done anything wrong before, but now we realised that by eating the fruit we had done something that we should not have done. We had disobeyed God, and we felt really bad about that. We felt so guilty and ashamed that when we heard God coming we hid from him.

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God knew at once what we had done and he was very disappointed. I felt terrible, especially when Adam said that it was all my fault. That wasn’t true: it was the snake’s fault really. God said that because of what we had done we had to go away from the Garden of Eden and never come back. In the garden everything we needed was provided for us, but now we have to work very hard to grow our own food. I spend my days working in this dry, dusty field in the scorching sun, and there are no leafy trees to shade me. Out here, away from the garden, we have to build our own shelters.

If only I hadn’t listened to that sssnake. If I ever see him again, he’s in big trouble!

Noah’s wife and the great flood (Genesis 6 - 8)

Here is re-told, from the perspective of his wife, the well-known story of Noah and his ark. This re-telling emphasises the fact that Noah stuck to his convictions despite being ridiculed by all of his neighbours. The Biblical story of Noah’s ark has much in common with an ancient Babylonian flood myth which comprises part of the Epic of Gilgamesh. This epic originated in Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. There is plenty of evidence to confirm that in ancient times this region suffered from frequent and devastating floods.

Poor Noah’s wife. She didn’t know what to do. Everyone was laughing at old Noah. Sometimes even Noah’s wife wanted to laugh too. Do you know why they were laughing? No, Noah wasn’t telling funny jokes. Noah was building a boat.

Now what is so funny about that, you might ask. But the people who lived in Noah’s village thought that it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. And the reason they thought it so funny was that there was no water anywhere near the village.

There was not a sea or a lake or a river in sight big enough to float the enormous boat which Noah was building. “Look at silly old Noah!” they said. “And look at his silly old boat!”

Noah’s wife felt sad for Noah when she heard everyone laughing at him. She said to Noah, “All boats need water, but there is no water anywhere near here. Why are you building this boat?”

“Well,” replied her husband, “I am sure that this is what God wants me to do. I don’t know why, but I am sure it is the right thing to do, and I really don’t mind if people laugh at me.” And with that he carried on building.

At last the boat was finished. It was like a huge floating house with a roof on top and it smelled of new, fresh wood. Noah was very tired but very proud of his boat. He called it the ark.

But that wasn’t the end for Noah’s wife. No sooner was the boat finished, than Noah told her to pack as many clothes as she could and as much food as she could because they and their sons and their sons’ wives were going to live on the ark.

And that wasn’t all. They were also going to take all their animals with them, two of each kind: two cows, two sheep, two goats, two chickens and so on.

What a sight it must have been and what a squash and what a noise! With the clucking and the mooing and the bleating, poor Noah’s wife sometimes had to cover her ears. She hadn’t any idea why Noah wanted them to live on the ark, and the people of the village thought that Noah was funnier and sillier than ever.

That was until one day … Drip, drop, drip! Splish, splash, splosh! It started to rain. It rained and it rained and it rained. “Will it ever stop?” thought Noah’s wife. And finally, after forty days and forty nights, it did.

When Noah’s wife looked out of the window she could not believe her eyes. Outside everything was still and quiet. There was nothing to see but water. No land, no trees, no houses, just water. Now she knew why Noah had built his boat. He was not so silly after all. He had not minded that people laughed at him. He had done what he thought was right and now he and his family and the animals were all safe.

Then as Noah’s wife looked, she saw the most beautiful sight she had ever seen: an archway of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet stretching right across the sky. It was a rainbow, put there by Noah’s God to tell everyone that such a great flood would never cover the earth again.

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Gradually the water soaked away and the land dried up and Noah and his wife and their sons and their wives and their animals went back to live on the land again.

Noah’s wife was so relieved, and if anyone ever laughed at Noah again she quickly reminded them of the story of the ark.

How Abraham came to the Promised Land (Genesis 11 - 18)

Abraham is regarded as the first of the Patriarchs and the father of the Jewish people. He lived around 4,000 years ago, and the history of the Jews as a distinct people starts with him. He was a man of great faith: he was even prepared to sacrifice Isaac his son on God’s command. He and his family spent much of their lives as nomadic tent dwellers, but his steadfast faith in God eventually brought him to the promised land of Canaan (roughly corresponding to present-day Israel). In recognition of the faith that Abraham displayed, God entered into a pact or covenant with Abraham. His descendants, who were to become God’s special people, would thrive and grow into a great nation and the land of Canaan would be theirs for ever. In order to keep the story simple, the change in Abraham’s name from Abram to Abraham, and that of his wife Sarai to Sarah have been omitted.

Have you ever moved house? What a lot of work! All that packing and travelling and unpacking; and then getting sorted out and trying to find everything after the move!

Thousands of years ago (4,000 years ago in fact), a woman called Sarah lived in the city of Ur in a hot dry land a long way from England. Ur was a magnificent city, full of fine houses. Sarah was married to a man called Abraham, and they loved each other very much. There was only one thing they regretted: they didn’t have any children.

One day Abraham told Sarah that they were going to leave the city of Ur to go and live in a place called Haran. Abraham’s father and other members of their family were moving to Haran as well. This was a very sudden decision. It came like a bolt out of the blue.

Now in those days there were no cars or trains or planes, and there were no removal lorries either! This meant that when people moved house, they had to carry all their belongings with them. They lived in tents as they moved from place to place, taking all their sheep and goats and donkeys and cattle with them. And this is how Sarah and Abraham made the journey to Haran.

They lived in Haran for many years. Sarah thought they were going to stay there for the rest of their lives. But one day Abraham told her they were going to move again. Abraham trusted in God, and God had told Abraham that he wanted him to move to a new and beautiful land. God also told Abraham that one day he would have children. God was going to take Abraham to the land where his children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren would one day live.

When Abraham told Sarah this, she was very surprised. But Sarah trusted Abraham and Abraham trusted God, so she knew this must be the right thing to do.

They packed the clothes, they packed the bedding, they packed the tents, they organised the animals and off they went. Sarah remembered the long journey from Ur to Haran: days spent walking under the hot sun and cold nights spent sleeping under the stars. She remembered how tiring it had been, and how relieved she had felt when they reached Haran.

This time they journeyed and camped, and camped and journeyed until they reached a land that today is called Israel. “Maybe this is where we will stay,” Sarah thought; but no! At that time there was very little food in Israel, so they had to move on again.

They packed the clothes, they packed the bedding, they packed the tents, they organised the animals and off they went. “‘Oh dear,” Sarah thought. “I wonder when we will settle down.”

Well, settle they did in a new country called Egypt, but only for a while. Egypt was not the land that God had promised to give Abraham, so once again Sarah had to pack the clothes, pack the bedding, pack the tents and

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organise the animals. More journeying and camping, camping and journeying back to Israel and to a settlement called Hebron.

When Abraham told Sarah that they had reached the end of their journey, she breathed a sigh of relief. At last: no more packing, no more journeying, no more camping. Here they would stay.

The night after they arrived a full moon hung in the starry sky. Sarah had the feeling that she wanted to be alone for a little while, so she went for a walk. She climbed up a hillside and looked down at the campfires around which tales were being told and songs were being sung. In the silver moonlight she could see hills and valleys and more hills stretching into the distance. This was their home: the land that God had given them.

Sarah sat for a long time looking up at the stars and thinking her own quiet thoughts. “I have had a strange life, but it has been a good life,” she thought. “I wonder whether any more surprises lie ahead?”

And then she jumped. Someone was coming up the slope towards her. She was very relieved when the person spoke and she realised it was her husband Abraham.

Her relief turned to anxiety when he said, “Sarah, God has spoken to me again. I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh no!” thought Sarah. “Surely we are not going to have to move again.”

But Abraham’s next words astonished her, “Sarah, you are going to have a baby. We will have a son.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she laughed. “At our age? You must be joking!”

Abraham smiled and looked up. “Do you see the stars, Sarah? How many do you think there are? God has told me that we will have children, and our children will have children, and our children’s children will have children and we will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. This land will be theirs forever.”

“I find that hard to believe,” said Sarah.

“Has God ever let us down before?” asked Abraham. “I’ll leave you to think about it.”

As her husband went back down to the camp, Sarah closed her eyes and thought back to the day, long, long ago, when Abraham had told her they were going to leave Ur. She thought of the time he told her they were going to leave Haran, and then Israel, and then Egypt. Abraham had always done what God had asked, and God had brought them safely to their journey’s end. Perhaps she should trust God too.

“I wonder,” thought Sarah, as she gazed at the stars. “Maybe God’s promise will come true. Perhaps our children and grandchildren and their children and grandchildren will one day live in this beautiful land to which God has brought us.”

And come true it did, for even though she was quite old, she really did have a baby son. She called him Isaac and he was very, very special indeed to Abraham and Sarah. Isaac grew up, married and had children. Isaac’s children grew up, married and had more children. Isaac’s grandchildren grew up and had more children, and so on. Eventually the land of Israel became filled with people who were descended from Abraham. Today Israel is still filled with the descendants of Abraham. They are called the Jews.

The story of Joseph and his multicoloured coat (Genesis 37 - 50)

The story of Joseph is one of the best loved tales in the Bible. It forms the basis of the popular musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’. The story tells of how a boastful, vain and arrogant young man was taught some hard lessons through his experiences, and how eventually he acquired qualities such as wisdom, responsibility, generosity and the capacity to forgive. The story also paves the way for the story of Moses by explaining how the Israelites came to settle in Egypt.

At night, when you are asleep, do you sometimes dream? Do you ever have dreams that are a bit strange? Here is a story about a man called Joseph. He used to have dreams, and what was more, he could understand what his dreams meant.

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Long ago, in the land that we now call Israel, there lived a man called Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. He had twelve sons, and of these twelve, he loved Joseph best. Jacob didn’t even try to hide how he felt and everyone knew that Joseph was his favourite. He was always spoiling Joseph and one day he gave him a special coat to wear. It was a very fine coat, made up of many different colours. Now that wasn’t very fair was it? You can just imagine how jealous the other brothers felt.

Joseph was really good at one thing. He had a very unusual talent. He always remembered his dreams, and what was more he could understand what his dreams meant. One day Joseph told his brothers about a strange dream he had had. “I dreamt that we had just finished cutting down the corn at harvest time. We were tying the corn into bundles. My bundle of corn got up from the ground and stood up straight. Your bundles of corn got up too, and then they all bowed down to mine.”

How do you think the brothers felt when they heard that? They were really angry with Joseph because he seemed to think that he was better than them.

Things got much worse when Joseph told them about his next dream. “Last night,” he reported, “I dreamt that the moon and the stars all bowed down to me.” This made the brothers hate Joseph even more. Even Jacob felt that Joseph was getting a bit too full of himself.

Jacob’s family kept flocks of sheep. One day, Joseph’s brothers were up in the hills looking after the sheep when Jacob asked Joseph to go to find them and check that all was well. Joseph set off, and at last, after a long and tiring walk, he found them.

But a dreadful thing was about to happen. The brothers had seen Joseph coming towards them in his beautiful coat and they felt so jealous and angry that they decided to take their revenge. If it wasn’t for Reuben, who was the oldest, Joseph would have been killed by his own brothers; but Reuben persuaded the others to throw Joseph down a dried up well instead, just to teach him a lesson. And that’s exactly what they did. Poor Joseph; it must have been very scary down in that deep dark hole, and there was no escape.

But worse was to come. While Reuben was away from the others, searching for a stray lamb, some merchants came along with their camels. They were on their way to Egypt to sell their goods. Judas, one of the brothers, had an idea. “Let’s sell Joseph as a slave,” he suggested. “Then not only will we be rid of him, but we will earn some money for ourselves as well.” (In those days people could be bought and sold as slaves.) The others thought this was a really good idea, so they pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him to the merchants for twenty pieces of silver. When Reuben returned, he was horrified by what had happened; but there was nothing he could do about it. The merchants and Joseph were already on their way to Egypt.

The brothers now had to decide what they were going to say to Jacob, their father. They stained Joseph’s special coat with goat’s blood so that it looked as if Joseph had been attacked and killed by a wild animal. Then they took the coat home and showed it to their father. When Jacob saw the blood stains, he thought that Joseph was dead. His heart filled with sadness and he wept bitterly.

Of course Joseph was not really dead. He was taken to Egypt where he worked as a slave. He worked hard; but then someone said that he had done a really bad thing. It wasn’t true, but he was still put into jail. Now do you remember that Joseph could understand the meaning of dreams? While he was in prison, he helped two of the other prisoners by telling them what their dreams meant. One of these two men was a servant of Pharaoh, who was the king of Egypt. When he was released from prison he went back to the palace to carry on working for Pharaoh.

It so happened that Pharaoh himself began to have strange dreams. In one of his dreams, seven thin cows came out of a river and gobbled up seven fat cows! Pharaoh thought this was a most peculiar dream and he wanted to know what it meant. He sent for the wisest men in the kingdom, but none of them was able to explain the meaning of his dream. Then his servant, the one who had been in prison with Joseph, remembered how good Joseph was at explaining dreams and told Pharaoh about him.

Joseph was sent for. He explained what Pharaoh’s dreams meant. For the next seven years there would be good harvests and lots of food for everyone to eat; but during the following seven years nothing would grow and there would be poor harvests. If nothing was done, there would be a terrible famine in Egypt and many people would starve. Joseph suggested that they should save some of their food during the next seven years. That way, there would be enough food to last during the seven years of poor harvests and no one would go

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hungry. When Pharaoh heard this, he was so pleased with Joseph that he made him governor, in charge of everything in Egypt.

Joseph made sure that enough food was stored up whilst the harvests were good. Then, when the famine came and people in Egypt couldn’t grow enough food, they were able to go to Joseph and buy what they needed. So everyone in Egypt had enough to eat.

But it wasn’t like that in Israel, where Jacob and Joseph’s brothers were still living. In Israel there was a terrible famine, and people were starving. Jacob heard that there was plenty of corn in Egypt, so he told Reuben and his other sons (Joseph’s brothers) to go to Egypt to buy corn.

The eleven brothers had no idea that the governor of Egypt was none other than Joseph. They didn’t even recognise their brother when they met him. Instead, they bowed down before Joseph and begged him to sell them some food. Does this remind you of Joseph’s dreams about the sheaves of corn and the moon and sun and stars?

The brothers might not have recognised Joseph, but he certainly recognised them. Now Joseph had a chance to take his revenge and to get his own back for the way that they had treated him all those years before. But Joseph still loved his brothers, and instead of being angry with them he forgave them for being so unkind to him.

You can imagine how surprised and delighted the brothers were when Joseph told them who he was. Joseph sent them home with sacks of food and with instructions to bring his father Jacob and their families back to Egypt. Jacob could hardly believe the news. How wonderful that his son Joseph was still alive! So Jacob and all the members of his family travelled to Egypt and there they settled. They had all that they needed and they all lived there happily for many, many years.

The story of Moses (Exodus, and Deuteronomy 34)

If anyone has a claim to be regarded as the founder of the Jewish religion, it is Moses, who lived about 1300 BCE. Many other prophets and priests influenced the development of the faith, but to Moses is attributed the Torah, the Law or Teaching (found in the first five books of the Old Testament) that underpins the entire Jewish faith. It was Moses who saved the Israelites from slavery and possible extinction at the hands of the Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, and it was to Moses that the Ten Commandments were revealed on Mount Sinai. Here the epic story of his life is related in three parts. Part 1 covers his birth and childhood; Part 2 tells of the events leading up to and including the escape from Egypt; and Part 3 deals with the crossing of the desert and the eventual arrival at the Promised Land. Many Jewish festivals, including Pesach (or Passover), Sukkot and Shavuot, are linked to the story of Moses.

Part 1: Moses is found by an Egyptian princess

This story begins long, long ago in the land of Egypt. Today people from all over the world travel to Egypt to look at the wonderful things that were built there thousands of years ago: pyramids, temples and statues such as the sphinx.

Our story starts with a mother and her baby. She was a young Jewish woman and she had a little baby son. Her son was very precious and she loved him very much, but she was afraid that she would not be able to keep him safe. Pharaoh, who was the king of Egypt, didn’t like the Jewish people and he ordered his soldiers to throw all Jewish baby boys into the River Nile.

The boy’s mother managed to hide her baby for three whole months, but she knew that she would not be able to hide him from Pharaoh’s soldiers forever. Then she had an idea. If she left her baby in the reeds that grew at the side of the river, perhaps someone would find him and give him a nice, safe home to grow up in.

She got a basket made of reeds and lined the inside of it with clay and tar so that it would not leak. Then she carefully wrapped her baby in blankets, laid him in the basket and put it among the reeds growing along the bank of the river. She was very worried about what would happen and so she asked her daughter, a girl called Miriam, to wait and watch. Miriam, who was the baby’s sister, found a safe hiding place not too far away and settled down to see what would happen.

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Before long Miriam saw Pharaoh’s daughter and the ladies who were her servants walking towards the banks of the river. They were coming to bathe. As Pharaoh’s daughter got closer to the river, she heard a sound coming from the reeds. She bent down to see what it was. She picked up the basket and peered inside. “Oh look! It is a beautiful little baby boy,” she called to her servants. “The poor little thing is crying.” The servants all rushed forward to see the baby. “It is a little Jewish boy,” one of them said. “We can’t just leave it here crying,” said another.

At that moment Miriam came out of her hiding place and stepped forward. “I know a Jewish woman who could look after that baby for you. Would you like me to bring her here?” “Yes please,” said Pharaoh’s daughter, who had already decided that she would like to keep the baby and bring him up as her own son.

Who do you think Miriam went to get? That’s right! She brought back her mother, who was also the baby’s mother. Not realising who this woman really was, Pharaoh’s daughter asked the baby’s mother if she would look after the little boy until he was older. The baby’s mother was so happy that she was going to be able to bring up her own baby after all.

And that is how Pharaoh’s daughter came to adopt a little baby Jewish boy. She called him Moses, and he grew up safe and happy in Pharaoh’s magnificent palace. Not only that, he was looked after by his own mother.

Part 2: The escape from Egypt

Do you remember the story of the little Jewish baby, Moses? To stop him being killed, his mother left him in a basket on the banks of the River Nile. The king of Egypt was called Pharaoh, and Pharaoh’s daughter found him and decided to keep him as her own child. So it was that Moses grew up as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. As we have heard, his own mother looked after him, and she taught him that he was not really an Egyptian at all but a Jew. Now we are going to find out about what happened to Moses when he grew up. The story you are about to hear explains how Moses became a very important man.

Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s palace as an Egyptian prince. He was surrounded by gold and riches and could have whatever he wanted. He was hardly ever bored. He wore beautiful clothes and had lots of things to play with. But he never forgot that he was really a Jew. Pharaoh and his men were very cruel to the Jewish people. The Jews were slaves to the Egyptians and they were treated very badly. How do you think Moses felt when he saw how Pharaoh and his men were treating the Jews?

As he walked around the city one day, Moses saw an Egyptian soldier whipping one of the Jewish slaves. Moses was so angry that he killed the soldier. Pharaoh was furious and ordered the soldiers to arrest Moses. Moses knew that he would have to escape, so he ran away from Egypt and journeyed across the desert until he came to another land. The name of this land was Midian.

Moses lived in Midian for many years. He became a shepherd. In the time that he was away from Egypt, Pharaoh died. Unfortunately another Pharaoh took over, and he was even worse. How do you think the Jewish people felt when the new Pharaoh started to treat them even more cruelly than the last one?

One day Moses was in the hills looking after his sheep, when something very strange happened. He saw a bush that was on fire; but although the bush was on fire it was not burning up. Moses went up to the bush to get a closer look. To his astonishment a voice seemed to come out of the fire. It was the voice of God.

God told Moses that he understood how the Jewish people in Egypt were suffering. He explained to Moses that he wanted him to go back to Egypt and tell the wicked Pharaoh that he must give the Jewish people their freedom. God wanted Moses to lead the Jewish people to a new and special land where they could live safely. How do you think Moses felt when he realised that God was speaking to him and asking him to do something so important?

Moses hurried back to Egypt and went straight to Pharaoh’s palace. He told Pharaoh that God had said that he must let all the Jewish slaves go free. But Pharaoh took no notice. He simply said, “No”. Moses told Pharaoh that if he didn’t let the Jews go, God would do terrible things to the Egyptians. If Pharaoh wouldn’t release the slaves, there would be a series of disasters, one after another, called plagues. Pharaoh was a stubborn man. He didn’t believe Moses and he refused to let the slaves go free.

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The plagues came and terrible things started to happen. The water of River Nile turned red, like blood, and became poisonous. All the frogs that lived in the river, thousands and thousands of them, jumped out and hopped into the houses. There were frogs everywhere: even in people’s beds! The dust that covered the ground turned into lice and there were swarms of flies in the air. The animals that belonged to the Egyptians (cows, horses, donkeys, camels, oxen and sheep) all became diseased and the people found that their skin was covered in spots, blisters and boils. Hailstones fell from the sky and there were swarms of locusts. Locusts are like great big grasshoppers. They fly across the sky in dense black clouds, millions of them. They land on the crops and eat everything. They can destroy a whole year’s worth of corn in a few minutes. Then the light of the sun faded and darkness fell across the land of Egypt for three whole days.

Now you would have thought that with all these terrible things happening, Pharaoh would have been only too glad to get rid of the Jewish slaves and put an end to his people’s suffering. But it didn’t matter what horrible things happened to the Egyptian people, Pharaoh still would not let the Jewish people go free. Eventually Moses told Pharaoh that God was going to punish the Egyptians once more. This disaster would be far worse than any of the others. During the night, the oldest son in every Egyptian family was going to die. Pharaoh still refused to let the Jews leave.

Moses told each Jewish family to put a special sign on their doorposts. This kept them safe. But when the morning came, the Egyptians found that death had visited every home. Even Pharaoh’s eldest son had died. Pharaoh and the Egyptian people were very upset by what had happened, and finally Pharaoh commanded Moses and the Jewish people to leave Egypt forever. The Jewish people left as quickly as they could, taking all their possessions and animals with them. Moses led the way accompanied by a young boy called Joshua. Joshua must have felt very proud and important. Remember Joshua, for he will come into our story again. What do you think the rest of the Jewish people might have been thinking and feeling when they left the city with Moses and Joshua?

Unfortunately Pharaoh’s sadness turned to anger. He changed his mind and sent his soldiers to stop the Jewish people from leaving. The soldiers rode in chariots pulled by powerful horses, and they caught up with Moses and the Jewish people just as they reached the sea. In front of them stretched a vast expanse of water and behind them was Pharaoh’s army. They were trapped! Moses prayed to God, and a powerful wind started to blow. The wind pushed the sea back and made a pathway through the water. The Jewish people were able to walk safely to the other side. When the Egyptians tried to cross, the water came rushing back together and they were all drowned. No longer would the Jews be slaves to the Egyptians. How do you think the Jewish people felt now that they were safe and free?

Part 3: Across the desert to the Promised Land

Do you remember the story about how God helped Moses to rescue the Jewish people from Egypt where Pharaoh was treating them very cruelly? When we left the story, the Jewish people had just crossed the sea to safety. A strong wind had blown the water apart so that the people were able to get across. In the next part of the story we are going to find out how God helped Moses to lead the people to a new land. A land where they could live safely and happily. A land where they would be free.

At last the Jewish people were safe from Pharaoh and his army, but now they were faced with new problems. Before them stretched a vast desert. They knew that they would have to cross this desert before reaching the land that God had promised to take them to. They also knew that there would be very little food or water in this desert. They had not been travelling long when the food that they had brought with them started to run out. They began to get very hungry.

One evening, after they made their camp for the night, the Jews saw an astonishing sight. Lots of little birds, called quails, flew down from the sky and landed on the ground around the camp. That night they were able to feast on these birds, just as we might eat chicken. The following day, when the Jewish people woke up, they found that the ground was covered with something white and sticky. It tasted of honey and was good to eat. Moses called it ‘manna’. The Jews believed that God had provided them both the quails and the manna, and with their tummies full they were able to continue their journey. They found that God carried on providing manna for as long as they needed it.

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It was very hot. The sun beat down on them and there was no water. Now the Jewish people started to argue with Moses. Can you imagine how they were feeling? They must have been very tired and thirsty. Eventually they got so fed up they started to shout at Moses and they told him that they wished they had stayed in Egypt. I wonder if they really meant this? What do you think?

God told Moses to hit a stone with his stick. The people watched in astonishment as clear cold water suddenly came gushing out of the stone. It was just like a fresh water spring, and they all had enough to drink.

After many months of travelling the Jews reached the foot of a large rocky mountain called Mount Sinai. One day there was a great storm at the top of the mountain, with rumbling thunder and flashes of lightning. Moses thought that God was summoning him to the top of the mountain and he began to climb up the steep slopes. When he reached the summit, God gave Moses a set of special rules called the ‘Ten Commandments’. They were written on two slabs made of stone. Here are some of the rules that God expected the Jews to obey:

“Do not kill”.“Do not steal”.“Do not tell lies”.“Show love and respect to the people who look after you”.

What do you think of these rules? Do you think these are good rules?

Moses stayed at the top of the mountain for a very long time. Down at the bottom the people were getting fed up with waiting. They got so impatient that they decided to worship another god, one that looked like a calf. They collected together all their gold and jewellery, melted it down and made a statue of a golden calf.

When Moses came down from the mountain, he found all the people worshipping the golden calf. He was absolutely furious. He was so angry he smashed the stone slabs with the Ten Commandments written on them. When the people saw this, they realised that they had acted very stupidly and they were sorry for what they had done. Fortunately, Moses was able to climb the mountain again in order get two new slabs with the Ten Commandments written on them.

Moses and the Jewish people travelled through the desert for many years. At last they were nearly at the end of their journey. By now Moses was an old man. Before he died, he managed to climb to the top of a hill. There in the distance he could see a hilly land where the sunlight shone on sparkling rivers flowing through green and fertile valleys. This was their destination: the beautiful land which God had promised to give them. Today we call this land Israel. This was where God wanted the Jewish people to live in freedom.

Sadly Moses died before he could lead the people into the Promised Land. He was buried in a peaceful valley. The people were very upset. They knew that without Moses they would have stayed slaves in Egypt. Then Joshua, who had only been a little boy when they had left Egypt, led the people into the wonderful new land that God had promised them. How do you think the Jewish people felt when Joshua led them into the beautiful land of Israel? Do you think their journey was worth it in the end?

II. More stories from the Jewish Bible (the Old Testament)

The story of Ruth (The book of Ruth)

This story tells of how a Moabite woman came to marry an Israelite. In doing so she became the great grandmother of King David, from whom, in Christian tradition, Jesus is descended. In her relationship with her mother-in-law Naomi, Ruth shows love, loyalty, kindness, unselfishness, dogged determination, and faith in the God of the Jews. In his acceptance of Ruth, who was a foreigner, Boaz shows open-mindedness and tolerance. The marriage of Ruth and Boaz shows how an outsider with the right qualities can join God’s special people. The story of Ruth, in which the harvest plays a significant part, is read out in synagogues during the festival of Shavuot which celebrates the summer wheat harvest.

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The story I am going to tell you is about a woman called Ruth. Do you know anyone called Ruth? Perhaps it is your own name, or maybe your sister’s?

Ruth was a young woman who lived a very long time ago in a far away land called Moab. Ruth had a friend called Orpah. I don’t suppose any of you have a friend called Orpah, do you? Orpah is an unusual name nowadays.

One day some strangers came to live in the land of Moab. There were four of them. A woman called Naomi, her husband Elimelech and their two grown-up sons (indicate with fingers). They had come to Moab from a place called Bethlehem, because there was not enough food in their country.

After a while the two grown-up sons got to know Ruth and Orpah. The brothers thought Ruth and Orpah were very beautiful and they liked them so much that they fell in love with them. Before long, one of the brothers had married Ruth and the other had married Orpah.

Now there were six in the family (indicate with fingers): Naomi who was married to Elimelech and their two sons who were married to Ruth and Orpah. But then they had some sad days. First Elimelech died, then the two brothers died (reduce fingers to three). Now the three men had died and only the women were left: Naomi, Ruth and Orpah.

After some time Naomi began to miss her old home in Bethlehem, where there was now plenty of food once again. “I would like to go back to Bethlehem”, she said to Ruth and Orpah. “We will come with you”, they replied. So off they went.

After a while Naomi stopped and said, “I am returning to my own country, but you should stay here in Moab. Go back to your homes. I will be fine.”

Ruth thought about it and Orpah thought about it. Then Ruth cried and Orpah cried and Naomi started crying too. Finally Orpah decided to stay in Moab, and Naomi and Ruth went on to Bethlehem.

Back in Bethlehem, Naomi’s friends were all pleased to see her again. They could hardly believe their eyes that she had come back again.

Now that Naomi and Ruth were in Bethlehem they needed to find a way to get some food. It was harvest time. At that time poor people like Naomi and Ruth could go to the fields after the crops had been cut down in order to gather up the bits that were left on the ground. These bits of corn were ground into flour and the flour was made into bread which they could eat.

Ruth went to the field of a rich farmer called Boaz. Does anyone here have friend called Boaz? No! That’s another unusual name, isn’t it?

One day Boaz saw Ruth in the field. He thought she was very beautiful. “Who is that woman?” he asked the man in charge.

“She is Ruth, who came with Naomi from the country called Moab”, the man in charge replied.

Boaz went as often as he could to see her in the field and to talk to her. “Make sure she has some extra corn”, he said to the man in charge.

Boaz thought that Ruth was so special that he fell in love with her. Ruth liked Boaz so much that she fell in love with him too. They loved each other so much they got married and had a baby son. This made Naomi very happy too.

Three stories about Samuel: servant of God in childhood and old ageSamuel is often referred to as the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He was also a priest, seer and kingmaker. He appeared at a critical time for the Israelites, upholding the true faith and uniting the twelve tribes against the growing threat of the Philistines. Two stories about Samuel follow. The first tells of his devotion to God even as a small boy, and the second of how, around 1030 BCE, he proclaimed Saul to be the first king of Israel.

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1. Samuel and the voice in the night (1 Samuel 3.1-18)

I’m sure that everyone here can think of someone who is really special. The story I’m going to tell you today is about a special child. He was a Jewish boy and his name was Samuel. Do any of you know someone called Samuel, or Sam? Well, they probably got their name from the person in this story.

Samuel’s mother prayed for a child, and when he was born, she knew that he was a gift from God. As soon as Samuel was old enough to walk and talk, she took him to the house of God. This was a special building, a bit like a church, where the people came to worship and pray. The person in charge of the house of God was a priest called Eli. Do you know anyone called Eli? I would be surprised if you do!

Samuel’s mother took her child to Eli, the priest. “This is Samuel,” she said. “I want him to be God’s servant. Can he come and work for you in the house of God?”

Eli was growing old, and he was very pleased to have someone young to help him. Samuel proved to be a good worker. He was very willing to use his nimble hands and quick feet to help Eli. There was always plenty to be done, whether it was polishing the gold and silver cups and plates used in the services, or sweeping the floor.

Samuel also had to remember to close the doors of the building every night and to open them up in the morning to let in the bright sunshine and the fresh air. For Samuel, this was God’s special house and everything he did he did for God.

Samuel’s favourite room was very small but very special. It contained a large golden box and a tall candlestick. The box was called the Ark of the Covenant, and if you were to open the lid you would find two slabs of stone inside. These were no ordinary pieces of stone. God had given them to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai and on them were written ten very important rules called the Ten Commandments.

Next to the box stood the candlestick. Seven branches spread out from the stem and at the top of each branch there was an oil lamp. When the day’s work was done, Samuel would spread his mattress out under the candlestick with the seven branches. Samuel loved to watch the lamps burning brightly in the darkness. He thought that the candlestick looked like a tree in springtime with stars for blossoms. Every night he fell asleep looking up at the wonderful lamps which were left to burn until the morning.

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night because you thought you heard a noise? Well, that is exactly what happened to Samuel. One night he was fast asleep as usual, when suddenly he heard someone calling his name: “Samuel! Samuel!”

Samuel jumped up from bed and ran into Eli’s room. “Here I am, master!” he said. “Why have you called me?”

“I haven’t called you,” said Eli. “Go back to bed.”

Samuel went back to bed, lay down and fell fast asleep. It wasn’t long before he was woken once more by the same voice: “Samuel! Samuel!”

Samuel jumped out of bed and rushed back to Eli. “You did call me this time, didn’t, you master?”

“No, Samuel, it wasn’t me,” replied Eli. “Go back to sleep.”

Once again Samuel did as he was told. He went back to his mattress, lay down and went straight to sleep.

Can you imagine how he must have felt when a little bit later he heard the same voice calling his name again?

For the third time that night Samuel went to Eli. This time he found Eli sitting up in bed. The old man had been doing some thinking. He had decided that the voice Samuel had heard was very important. He was sure that it must be God calling to Samuel.

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“Go and lie down again, Samuel,” said Eli. “If you hear the voice calling you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’ ”

Samuel may have been a little bit puzzled by the old priest’s words, but he trusted Eli.

He went back to bed and fell asleep. When he heard the voice calling his name again, he sat up in bed and repeated the words that Eli had told him to say: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

Then a wonderful thing happened. Samuel found he could truly hear God’s voice speaking to him. God gave Samuel a special message for Eli and the people.

In the morning Samuel opened the doors to let in the daylight. He then went to Eli and told him all the things that God had said to him. Eli felt very glad that Samuel had listened so carefully to what God had told him. Eli knew that God would carry on speaking to Samuel and that one day Samuel would become the priest instead of him. Samuel would then be able to do even more special work for God.

2. Samuel announces the man who is to be king (1 Samuel 8.4-22, 10.17-24)

“We want a king! We want a king!”

Samuel listened to the crowd that had gathered. He was a priest, a man of God. He had led the Jewish people for many years, but now he was an old man. The people knew that he would die soon, and then who would be their leader? That was why they kept chanting, “We want a king! We want a king!”

“You don’t need a king,” said Samuel. “God is your king!” But they wouldn’t listen.

God spoke to Samuel, “Do what they want. Give them a king.”

Samuel spoke to the people once more, “God has chosen someone to be your king.”

The people cheered.

Samuel continued, “He belongs to the tribe of Benjamin.”

That was a surprise. The tribe of Benjamin was the smallest and least important of all the Jewish tribes.

Samuel raised his voice, “The name of your king is …”

The crowd fell silent waiting to hear the name of their king.

“… Saul!”

Saul? Who was he? Hardly anyone had heard of him. And more important, where was he? He was nowhere to be seen!

How do you think you would feel if you were told that you were going to be the king or queen? Excited? Proud? Important? Saul felt none of these things. He was an ordinary man, and when he heard his name being announced he felt very anxious and worried. He didn’t think he was good enough to be the king. He just wanted to go and hide.

They found him of course, trying to conceal himself among the piles of baggage. Saul was a very tall man, so it wasn’t difficult to spot him. He was brought before the people and there he stood, feeling very nervous and uncomfortable.

When the people saw him towering above them, they thought he looked just like a king ought to look. Samuel announced, “Here is the man that God has chosen to be your king!”

“Long live the king! Long live the king!” they shouted.

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And that is how Saul became the first king of the Jewish people.

Three stories about the early life of DavidDavid, who lived three thousand years ago, is a legendary hero of the Jews and a highly significant figure for Christians. He came from Bethlehem and Joseph, husband of Mary the mother of Jesus, was descended from him. From humble origins as a shepherd boy, he rose to become the greatest of the kings of Israel. Not only was he a great soldier and leader, he was also a musician, poet and composer. Many of the Psalms are attributed to him and he usually (but not always) acted as a man of God. The emblem of the modern state of Israel is the star of David. The following three stories concentrate on David’s early life, focusing on his activities as a shepherd, poet and musician; his triumph over Goliath, the Philistine champion; and his friendship with Jonathan, the son of King Saul.

1. David: shepherd boy, poet and musician (1 Samuel 16.14-23, 17.34-35)

Have you ever heard of the town of Bethlehem? The Bible says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Today Bethlehem has modern buildings and roads full of cars, lorries and buses. At the time of Jesus the houses were square with flat roofs and there were no cars, lorries and buses, just animals like donkeys and camels. Now let’s go back even further in time. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, a shepherd boy called David lived in Bethlehem. Today I am going to tell you about David.

I have already told you that David was a shepherd. He used to look after his father’s sheep. Every day he would lead the sheep up into the hills around Bethlehem so that they could find fresh grass to eat. Once he had found a good spot, he would sit for many hours keeping watch over the flock. He was all alone with the sheep. He had the time to look at the world around him: at the beauty of the hillsides, the valleys and the flat plains. He would marvel at the night sky, at the stars and the moon. Sometimes he would just sit and think. Sometimes he would talk to the animals, and even sing and play his harp to them. A harp is a musical instrument with strings on it. It sounds a bit like a guitar played softly.

Up in the hills, where all was peaceful, he could practise playing his harp to his heart’s content. The animals did not complain; in fact they enjoyed listening and the music seemed to calm them down. David would make up songs and write poems and the animals would listen.

It wasn’t always peaceful. Sometimes wild animals would attack the sheep. David was very brave and he risked his life in order to protect the sheep. He used a sling (a bit like a catapult) to hurl stones at lions, bears and other fierce animals.

Now the king of Israel at that time was called Saul. Saul was not a happy man. Angry thoughts whirled round his head and he had lots of things to worry about. Most of all he was worried about the Philistines. They wanted to capture the land of Israel for themselves, and Saul was always having to lead his army against them.

King Saul sent messengers out to the villages to try to find someone who would be able to calm him down. At last a messenger arrived at Bethlehem. The people knew that David’s music helped to calm and soothe the sheep. Perhaps the music would help to calm and soothe the king. It was worth a try.

And this is how one day the young shepherd boy found himself being led into a magnificent room in the king’s palace. Feeling very nervous, David bowed before the king who was sitting there looking very important in his rich robes and jewellery. Then David started to play. (At this point it would be helpful to play a recording of some quiet harp music and to continue reading with the music in the background.)

As the king listened to the soft and soothing music, the worry and the anger left him and he was filled with a sense of peace and calm. David carried on playing for a long time. When he had finished, the king smiled. “I would like you to come and play for me again”, he said. And so it was that now, as well as looking after his father’s sheep, David also spent time playing music for the king.

When David played for King Saul, little did he know that one day he would become king of Israel himself. He continued to write poems even when he was king. He set some of them to music and sang them. The songs that David wrote are called psalms. Many of them can be found in the book of Psalms in the Bible. In the

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psalms, David thanks God for all that he gives us; for the beauty and wonder of the world around us; and for caring for us.

Do you remember how, when David was a boy, he used to look after the sheep? David believed that God cares for us in the same way that a shepherd cares for his sheep. So God is like a good shepherd – giving us everything we need, guiding us and comforting us when we feel sad or frightened. Here is one of the psalms that David wrote. In this psalm, David tells us that God, whom he calls Lord, is a good shepherd.

Psalm 23 (verses 1 – 4): The Lord Our Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd;I have everything I need.He lets me rest in fields of green grassAnd leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.He gives me new strength.He guides me in the right paths,As he has promised.Even though I go through the deepest darkness,I will not be afraid, Lord,For you are with me.Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.

Another of the psalms reminds us of David’s love of music.

Psalm 150: Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his Temple!Praise his strength in heaven!Praise him for the mighty things he has done.Praise his supreme greatness.

Praise him with trumpets.Praise him with harps and lyres.Praise him with drums and dancing.Praise him with harps and flutes.Praise him with cymbals.Praise him with loud cymbals.Praise the Lord, all living creatures!

Praise the Lord!

You may like to try to compose some music for these words.

2. David fights Goliath (1 Samuel 17.1-52)

It was early in the morning and David the shepherd boy was already up. He watched the sheep as they made their way up a hillside to some fresh pasture, but his mind was far away. He was thinking about his brothers. They were soldiers in the Jewish army and they had gone to fight their enemies, the Philistines. He wished he could be with them, but they were all older than him and someone was needed to care for his father’s sheep. Jesse, his father, was now an old man. He was too old to look after the sheep himself.

Just then he heard his father calling him, “David, David, you must take this food to your brothers. The Philistines are threatening to attack. I’ll get someone else to look after the sheep.”

So David collected the food from his father and set out on his journey. It was hot and the sun was high in the sky. David had travelled this road many times before: sometimes to visit his brothers, and sometimes to visit Saul, the King of Israel. Although David was only a shepherd boy, King Saul had discovered that he could

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play the harp and sing. Sometimes, when the king felt worried or troubled, David would come and play for him. The music calmed him down and made him feel better.

David gazed at the scene before him. There were rows of tents with flags fluttering in the breeze. One tent stood apart from all the others. It was larger and more magnificent than the other tents. Can you guess whose tent it was? That’s right. It belonged to King Saul.

The soldiers were preparing for battle. David knew his brothers were among them and he knew he must find them. The trouble was there were hundreds of soldiers in the army. As he hurried through the camp, his eyes searched for his brothers. At last he saw them. He greeted them and gave them the food he had brought. Just then a great shout echoed around the hillsides. It came from the Philistine camp. David was shocked to see the reaction of the soldiers around him. They were absolutely terrified.

David turned towards the direction of the shouting. He could not believe his eyes. There on the opposite hillside, wearing full armour, was the biggest man he had ever seen. Words like ‘large’ or ‘tall’ do not describe this man. He was enormous! Standing on the hillside he looked liked a giant. David listened to the man, shouting and jeering at the Jewish soldiers, daring them to come and fight him. “Are you mice or men?” he roared. “Won’t one of you dare to come out and face me?”

David wanted to know what was going on and started to ask questions. He learned that the man was called Goliath, and that every day he would come out and challenge the Jewish soldiers to fight him in single combat. David’s brothers got cross with him for being so inquisitive. After all, he was only a shepherd boy.

“Why don’t you go back to your sheep and leave the fighting to us?” said his eldest brother. But David had already decided what he was going to do, and nothing was going to put him off. He trusted in God and he thought that with God’s help he could do something about Goliath. “I want to fight him,” he said.

Word soon spread around the camp that David the shepherd boy was offering to fight Goliath. When the soldiers heard this they started to laugh. What chance did such a small boy have against such a huge man? King Saul got to hear about it, but instead of laughing he sent for David. “You are only a shepherd boy,” he said to David. “Goliath has been fighting for years.”

But David wasn’t going to be put off. “Your majesty,” he said, “I know I am only a shepherd boy, but when a lion or a bear attacks the sheep I kill it with my sling. God has saved me from lions and bears and he will also save me from this man.”

“Very well,” said the king, “But I want you to wear my armour.”

So David put on King Saul’s armour and his fine, bronze helmet. He held the king’s great sword in his hand. David looked like a proper soldier, ready to go into battle. But he was not quite grown-up enough, and the armour was much too big and heavy for him to move about in. So David took all the armour off again and put down the king’s sword. Instead he got out his sling, which is a sort of catapult. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream. Then, with the soldiers of both armies watching, he went out to meet Goliath.

When Goliath saw David coming towards him he laughed and made fun of him. But David was not afraid. He believed God would help him. He took a stone, slipped it into his sling, swung it around and around, and flicked it. The stone sailed through the air, hitting Goliath right between the eyes. Goliath fell to the ground.

When the Philistines saw their hero fall, they could not believe their eyes. Now it was their turn to feel frightened. What could they do? They turned and ran for their lives!

David had conquered the giant with just a sling and a stone. He had become a great hero!

3. Best friends: the story of David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18 - 31)

Have you got a best friend? Best friends stick together; best friends look out for each other; best friends like to go places and do things together. They care about each other. Sometimes mums and dads do not like our best friends and even stop us seeing them, but best friends are best friends for as long as the friendship lasts.

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In the Bible there are many stories about people who are special friends. I would like to tell you about two of these friends. Their names were David and Jonathan.

David was a shepherd boy when he was young. He also played a musical instrument called a harp. When he was a little bit older, he fought against a man who was very big and very strong whose name was Goliath, and this made him very famous. When he grew older still he wanted to be a soldier, so he joined the king’s army.

The king, whose name was Saul, enjoyed listening to David playing his harp. He found that the music helped him to calm down when he was angry and upset. David used to go into the king’s tent to play for the king, and this is how he met Jonathan. Jonathan was the king’s son and he was a soldier too. David and Jonathan soon became good friends.

As they grew older their friendship grew stronger. Like all friends, there were times when they argued and fell out with each other. There was even a time when Jonathan’s father, King Saul, became jealous of David, because David was a skilful soldier and lots of people liked him. Saul ordered Jonathan not to meet or talk to David, but in spite of this they remained best friends.

David and Jonathan looked after each other as best as they could, but even close friends cannot be together all the time. One day, in a fierce battle, a terrible thing happened. Jonathan, his two brothers and the king were all killed. David was very sad. He had lost his very best friend.

But David never forgot Jonathan, and sometimes when he was feeling sad and lonely he would play his harp, just as he used to when he was a shepherd boy. The music comforted him and helped him to feel better.

Elijah and the ravens (1 Kings 16.29 - 17.5, 18.41-45)

The prophet Elijah emerged in the ninth century BCE, at a time when both the king and the people of Israel were turning away from the true faith and turning to the gods of Baal. Elijah was uncompromising in the stand that he took, warning the Israelites of the dire consequences of their actions. The prophet is portrayed as a stern, lonely figure, a man of the desert clothed, like John the Baptist, in haircloth. Jewish tradition holds that one day Elijah will return to the world to herald the coming of the true Messiah, and a place is always kept for Elijah at the Passover table.

Once long ago in the land of Israel there lived a man called Elijah. He lived at the time when Ahab ruled as king. Now, the special thing about Elijah was that he could sometimes hear God’s voice, and he could tell people about what was going to happen. Elijah was a prophet.

“There’s going to be trouble,” said Elijah one day. God had spoken to him telling him to go to King Ahab with an important message. “The king isn’t going to like this. There is sure to be trouble. Still, I know that God will look after me.”

Elijah went straight to the king and told him God’s message. “You and the people of Israel have turned against your true God. You are worshipping a false god called Baal. If this doesn’t stop, there’s going to be trouble.”

The king wouldn’t listen. He wanted to carry on worshipping Baal, and besides he had just spent a lot of money building a magnificent temple in honour of Baal. He took no notice of Elijah.

“Yes, there’s going to be trouble”, thought Elijah, “But I must do my job, even if there is trouble. God will look after me.”

So Elijah tried again. “King Ahab, you must listen to me. You must stop praying to this other god; you have to do what I tell you.”

The king began to look angry; he didn’t want anyone telling him what to do. After all, he was the king!”

“Uh oh,” thought Elijah, “There’s going to be trouble. I must try again. God will protect me.”

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Then Elijah took a deep breath and said, “Well, I warned you that God would be angry. Now he is going to punish you and all the people. There will be no rain in this country for the next two or three years. So stop praying to this other god.”

King Ahab wasn’t a very nice man. He thought that as he was the king, he must always be right. So when there was no rain for a long time and everything started to dry up and all the crops began to die, he wasn’t sorry. Not at first anyway. But when it continued to stay dry and people began to get hungry and thirsty, King Ahab became rather cross. Then he got really angry. Then he became absolutely furious. And he still didn’t think it was his fault. Oh no! He blamed Elijah.

“Here comes trouble!” thought Elijah.

In fact, the king got so angry with Elijah that God told him he had better go and hide in the desert near the River Jordan. He was able to drink from a stream, but there was nothing at all for him to eat.

“This is a bit of a problem,” thought Elijah. “Still, I know that God will look after me.”

Elijah sat down and waited. After a while he saw a tiny speck in the sky. “Hmmm,” said Elijah, “I wonder what that is. It’s coming this way. I hope it’s not bringing trouble!”

The speck grew larger and larger, until finally Elijah could see that is was a big, black bird. As the bird flew closer, Elijah could see that it was a raven. As the bird came even closer, Elijah could see that it was carrying something in its beak.

“I wonder what it’s going to do?” thought Elijah. “I hope it’s not bringing trouble!”

The raven landed beside Elijah and put down what it was carrying in its beak. It was bread.

“Food!” said Elijah. “Food! Now I know how God is going to look after me.”

Before long, another raven flew down. This one had some meat in its beak for Elijah. This was becoming a real feast! It wasn’t long before more ravens arrived, each one carrying bread or meat in its beak so that each day Elijah had plenty of food to eat. God had indeed looked after his prophet, just as he had promised.

Later, Elijah got the chance to prove to the people of Israel that the true God of Israel was far more powerful than a false god like Baal. Thanks to Elijah, the people of Israel turned against Baal and started to worship their true God once more. When this happened, Elijah went up a mountain with his servant.

The mountain was very high and from the top they could see as far as the sea. Elijah bowed down on the ground and started to pray to God. He told his servant to look towards the sea. At first the servant of Elijah couldn’t see anything unusual, but then he noticed a tiny cloud, no bigger than a person’s hand, rising up from the sea.

This was what Elijah had been waiting for! That one tiny cloud was joined by lots of others until the whole sky became dark. The wind started to blow, and for the first time in years heavy rain started to fall. The people had returned to their true God, and now the rivers would be filled with water and the crops would start to grow again.

Jonah and the big fish (The book of Jonah)

The story of Jonah was first told around 2500 years ago to counteract the tendency amongst some Israelites to be inward looking in their religious views. Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the river Tigris, and the storyteller wanted to demonstrate that God’s love and care extends beyond the people of Israel. The story has been interpreted in many different ways: as myth, allegory, parable and as history. Most would agree as to its purpose however; the book is about God’s generous forgiveness which stands in contrast to Jonah’s lack of compassion. The story is read in the synagogue at Yom Kippur, as this is a time for Jewish people to reflect on God’s willingness to forgive those who truly repent. Incidentally, although the ‘big fish’ is often thought to be a whale, the Bible does not actually say what type of a fish it was.

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Jonah opened his eyes and looked around. It was gooey, slippery and slimy and smelt of seaweed. As his eyes became accustomed to the gloom, he could see that there were fish bones, shells of all shapes and sizes and even bits of old shipwrecks. Suddenly he sat up. He must be inside the belly of the fish! And he could still breathe!

You may be wondering how it was that Jonah came to be inside a fish. Well, this is how it happened.

One day long ago in a country called Israel, God spoke to a man called Jonah. “Go to Nineveh,” God said. “You must tell the people there to change their bad ways and be good. If they don’t do this I will punish them.”

Now the people of Nineveh were the enemies of Jonah’s people. Jonah didn’t like them and he wanted them to be punished. “It will serve them right”, he thought. So can you guess what he did?

He ran away to sea! He paid to go on a ship which was sailing far away from Nineveh. But God was not going to let Jonah get away that easily. He knew that Jonah was running away because he did not want to go to Nineveh.

When the boat was right out at sea, a huge storm blew up. The wind howled and the lightning flashed and the waves crashed. The ship was tossed this way and that.

Lazy Jonah did not feel the waves rocking and tossing the ship and he did not hear the wind blowing. He was fast asleep.

“Wake up! Wake up!” shouted the captain. “Say your prayers before we all drown.”

At once Jonah guessed that the storm must be his fault for not doing as God told him.

“You must throw me into the sea,” he shouted above the noise of the howling wind and the roaring waves and the frightened shouts of the sailors. “If you throw me overboard, all your troubles will be over.”

The sailors did not want to throw Jonah into the sea but they really had no choice. SPLASH! As soon as Jonah fell into the water the sea became calm once more.

Jonah sank deep, deep down into the ocean. Suddenly he saw an enormous fish swimming towards him. It opened its huge mouth. GULP! It swallowed Jonah whole.

Now that Jonah was trapped inside the tummy of the fish he had plenty of time to think and to talk to God. “I am sorry, God. I shouldn’t have run away. From now on I promise I will do as you say.”

After Jonah had been inside the fish for three days it gave the most enormous BURP! you have ever heard. And out popped Jonah onto a nice soft sandy beach.

“Pardon me,” said the fish as it swam away.

“That's quite alright,” replied Jonah, who was just pleased to be on dry land.

It was good to feel the warm sun on his face and the soft sand between his toes, but Jonah had no time to lose. He set off straight away to keep his promise.

“It is time you changed your nasty ways,” he said to the people of Nineveh. “God knows all about the horrid things you have been doing and unless you stop being bad you will all be punished.”

The people of Nineveh listened to what Jonah had to say. They really were very sorry. From then on they changed their behaviour and tried their hardest to be good and kind to each other. And do you know what? God never needed to punish them.

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