Granny's Story of the Old Testament

By Lenise Loudermilk

Opening my Bible at Genesis and reading the Word of God through the book of Malachi, my goal was to get to know the story of the people of Israel. Facts are taken directly from the Old Testament scriptures and presented in a way that makes the people in these familiar stories come alive. The story serves to give the basic message of God's plan f

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Sep 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647733674

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Granny’s Story of the Old Testament

Lenise Loudermilk

Trilogy Christian Publishers

TUSTIN, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

Scripture quotations from:

The King James Version Bible, copyright © 1973 by Regency Publishing House, New York, New York.

The Holman Christian Bible, copyright © 2004 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information, address Trilogy Christian Publishing

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, Ca 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/ TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-64773-366-7

ISBN 978-1-64773-367-4 (ebook)

Contents

Genesis 1

Exodus 41

Leviticus 61

Numbers 67

Deuteronomy 81

Joshua 85

Judges 93

Ruth 103

1 Samuel 105

2 Samuel 119

1 Kings 127

2 Kings 149

1 Chronicles 183

2 Chronicles 185

Ezra 187

Nehemiah 191

Esther 199

Job 209

Psalms 215

Proverbs 219

Ecclesiastes 221

Song of Solomon 223

Isaiah 225

Jeremiah 231

Lamentations 243

Ezekiel 247

Daniel 263

Hosea 279

Joel 281

Amos 285

Obadiah 289

Jonah 291

Micah 295

Nahum 299

Habbakuk 301

Zephaniah 305

Haggai 307

Zechariah 311

Malachi 319

About the Author 323

To my daughter, Terry, and her husband, Lanny;

my two sons Joel and his wife, Micky;

and Lewis and his wife, Connie,

with thanks for your love and support of my work.

May your lives be blessed with love, peace, and joy.

Genesis

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He made everything there is, and everything that He created was good. Seven times this statement is used:

God said, Let there be light separated from the darkness. There is day and night: the first day (1:3–4).

God said, Let there be firmament, the expanse of space, between the waters above and under the space. There is the sky: the second day (1:6–8).

God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear. There was earth and the sea. Then He said, Let the earth produce vegetation, seed bearing plants and fruit trees bearing fruit with seed in it. And it was so: the third day (1:9–13).

God said, Let there be light in the expanse. There is the sun, moon and stars: the fourth day (1:14–19).

God said, Let the waters swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth. There are sea creatures and winged birds: the fifth day (1:20–23).

God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures. There is livestock, creatures that crawl and wildlife. Then He created man in His own image, in the image of God, and set him apart by giving him supreme authority over everything having the breath of life in it. To sustain that breath of life, He has provided food in the form of every seed-bearing plant and every tree whose fruit contains seed. God saw all that He had made, and it was good. The heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day (1:24–31).

The sixth day was followed by a day of rest. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy (2:1–3).

No plants had yet sprouted, for the Creator had not made it rain on the land, and in order to prepare the soil for its task of growing all plants, water would come out of the ground and water the entire surface of the land (2:6).

Man was formed from dust of the earth and brought to life by God breathing into his nostrils, the breath of life (2:7). He was placed in a garden where God had planted trees and flowers that are pleasant to the sight and good for food.

In the midst of the garden, He planted the tree of life as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The man was given the responsibility of working the garden and he was given permission to eat the fruit of all the trees except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if he ate the fruit from that tree he would certainly die (2:15–17). God called this park the Garden of Eden, and He gave the first man the name of Adam (3:17).

Adam’s first duties were to work to care for the trees in the garden, for they furnished sustaining food. Then God brought to him all the animals that He had formed, and whatever he called a living creature, that was its name (2:19–20).

God took a rib from Adam’s side and made the rib into a woman. He brought her into the beautiful garden and gave her to Adam in marriage. Adam named his wife Eve (2:21–22).

The influence of evil came before Eve in the form of a serpent. He told her that if she ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she would be as wise as God. She believed his tempting words and convinced Adam to eat the fruit also.

Immediately, the eyes of both of them were opened. They knew they had been given the power of choice, and by disobeying God, they had committed a sin. They saw their nakedness, so they sewed fig leaves together and made aprons for themselves (3:1–7).

Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid themselves from His sight. So the Lord called out to Adam and said, Where are you? Adam’s reply was, I hid from You because I was naked. When God asked, Who told you that you were naked? They did not make a confession. They began to place blame onto another. Adam cast the blame on Eve, and Eve cast the blame on the serpent.

Punishment for their sins came at once. The Lord said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life (3:14). Where did this creature come from? The story does not explain.

He said to the woman, I will intensify your suffering in childbirth, and your husband shall rule over you (3:16). He said to Adam, Physical toil and labor will be required of you in order to enjoy its delicious fruits and plants of the field. Then He added, You were made of dust from the ground and back again into the dust shall your body go when you die (3:17–19). Since Adam and Eve had disobeyed the word of the Lord, He would not allow them to take from the tree of life. So He sent them away from the beautiful Garden of Eden to till the ground from which Adam was taken.

The way back into Eden was guarded at its gate by a cherub with a flaming, whirling sword, keeping the tree of life completely safe. The story of the tree of life does not end there. God did not forget His creation but made a way for everyone who believed in Him to have eternal life (John 3:16), and the curse on His creation will be lifted forever (Revelation 22:2–3).

Adam and Eve had two sons. Cain, the firstborn, grew up to be a farmer. Their second son, Abel, became a shepherd. In an act of worship, each man brought offerings of his product as a special gift to the Lord. Cain brought some of the land’s fruits and vegetables from his garden, and Abel presented an offering of the firstborn of his flock.

God had no regard for Cain and his offering, but He was pleased with Abel and his gift. It was not Abel’s gift but his faith that made his offering acceptable to the Lord (Hebrews 11:4). Cain’s uncontrolled anger was evident instantly. He was furious with God and angry also toward his brother. God spoke to him and assured him that if he would do the right thing, he and his offering would be accepted (4:1–7).

Cain could not master the sin crouching at his door. He attacked his brother, and Abel was killed (4:8). Where is your brother Abel? the Lord asked when He spoke to Cain. Of course, He knew what Cain had done and was hoping to bring forth a confession of guilt and perhaps remorse, for that could pave the way for mercy from a loving God. Cain’s response was, I know not, am I my brother’s keeper? (4:9). God’s pronounced curse on Cain was to send him away from his home to become a restless wanderer on the earth. He placed a mark on him to indicate that he belonged to the Lord God, and whoever found him would not harm him (4:11–15).

Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden (4:16).

With the passage of time, there had been an increase in population, and Cain had not only survived, but he had a wife, a son, and numerous descendants. Where did he get a wife? The book of Genesis does not solve that puzzle. But it does tell us that over the years, Adam and Eve became the parents of many other sons and daughters.

Adam was 130 years old when Eve gave birth to their son Seth. All the days that Adam lived was 930 years; then he died (5:3–5).

Enoch, a descendant from the line of Seth, was a man who walked in close fellowship with God for three hundred years. He did not die but was lifted from the earth into the presence of God (5:23).

Enoch had a son whose name was Methuselah. We do not know anything about him except that he was the grandfather of Noah and is the oldest man ever in the scriptures. He lived to be 969 years old (5:21–27).

Noah was the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who were born when he was 500 years old (5:32).

With an increase in population, wickedness was widespread. God said, My spirit will not remain with mankind forever because they are corrupt. He reduced the span of life to 120 years (6:3).

At that time, sons of God chose to take daughters of men as wives for themselves, and both in those days and afterward, there was a class of giants described as powerful men of old called Nephilim. Exactly who the sons of God were remains a mystery. The Nephilim were discovered again on earth when Moses sent men to scout out the land of Canaan. They were found in the Promised Land, and the scouts described them as giants that made them feel like grasshoppers (Numbers 13:33).

The human race brought destruction upon itself. Man was utterly corrupt, the earth was filled with violence, and God was forgotten and openly disobeyed. God regretted that He had ever made man on earth, and it grieved Him in His heart (6:5–6).

Of the multitude of people living on earth in those days, there was only one who found grace in the eyes of God. His name was Noah, for he was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his day, and Noah walked with God and talked with Him. Peter called him a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5).

God said to Noah, The time has come when the earth and everything on it are to be destroyed. But you and your family shall be saved. Then He told Noah to build an ark of gopher wood, 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet high, make a window approximately 18 inches in height that extends completely around the ark to bring light and air inside, and to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks (6:13–16).

This huge structure was not a ship. Its only purpose was a house built to float on the surface of the water above the earth; for God’s act of judgment on His creation, turned corrupt and violent, was to bring floodwaters enough to destroy all flesh under heaven with the breath of life in it (6:17).

Finally, the ark was finished. God told Noah to go into the ark and take with him his wife, his three sons, their wives, and a pair of every kind of animal and bird. He included seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals, those which were suitable for sacrifice and for food (Leviticus 11:1–4). Then he was told to bring every kind of food that is eaten, food for you and for them. Noah did everything that God had commanded him (6:22).

Noah was six hundred years old when the door to their shelter of safety was closed. Seven days later, the waters’ deluge came on the earth. This was not an ordinary flood: the floodgates of the sky were opened, and the rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights (7:6–12).

The rain continued until the waters lifted the ark so that it rose more than twenty feet above the highest mountain under the sky (7:17–20).

God’s will to destroy everything left on the earth was being accomplished, and what followed was a new beginning.

God remembered Noah and made a wind to pass over the earth so that the water began to recede (8:1). After 150 days, the ark ceased to float and came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat (8:1–4). Noah opened a window and sent out a raven that never came back. Later he released a dove, but when she could not find a place to rest, she returned to Noah, who reached out and brought her into the ark. He waited seven days and let the dove fly out again, and this time she returned with a fresh olive leaf in her beak. After another week, the dove was turned loose again, and she never returned (8:12). Noah knew the time had come to leave the ark. The time of the flood was over.

God told Noah to come out of the ark and bring his family out. Every living thing that was with him was to spread out over the earth, be fruitful, multiply, and bring life again to all the land (8:15–18).

The first thing Noah and his family wanted to do was to give thanks to God for providing safety for them, so Noah built an alter to the Lord. He took one of each kind of clean animal and bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar (8:20).

The Lord made a promise, one that we can remember every time we see a rainbow in the sky. He promised never again to bring floodwaters to destroy the earth (9:11). Noah was told the bow is a sign of the covenant between God and all living creatures on earth. With this new covenant, man was assured that as long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease. On the sixth day when God created heaven and earth, His original purpose was for everything having the breath of life in it to be a vegetarian. Here, Noah was told that every beast, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea shall be food for him (9:1–4). The only stipulation being that you shall not eat flesh with life in it (9:4).

One significant provision of God’s covenant with Noah is whatever takes the life of a human must be punished by death, whether the murderer is man or beast, for God made man in His image (9:5–6).

Many Bible stories reveal the weakness of its most righteous men. Noah’s own story ends with him falling down naked in a drunken stupor after drinking wine made from the fruits of his vineyard. No moral evil was done by Noah. However, his son Ham dishonored his father by exposing the nakedness of his body to his two brothers. As a result, Noah (not God) placed a curse on the descendants of Ham, sentencing them to serve as slaves to the descendants of his two brothers, Shem and Japheth (9:20–27).

Noah lived 350 years after the flood, and all the days of Noah were 950 years (9:28–29).

As the family of Noah’s three sons increased in number, they began to move about from one place to another and built for themselves new homes. God was pleased, for His plan was that one day people would claim all parts of the earth their home.

When one group of migrants found a valley called Shinar, they made plans to build for themselves a city where everyone could stay together. In this city, they could construct a gigantic tower whose top, they believed, could reach to heaven (11:1–4).

The Lord knew their goal was to establish their own importance. As a group, they would be much more powerful, so He scattered them from there over the face of the earth. Then He confused their language so that they could not understand one another’s speech. The great tower remains forever unfinished, and the place called Shinar was now called Babylon (11:1–9).

Noah’s son Shem and his descendants (the Semites) were chosen by God to carry forward the true service and worship of God throughout their generation.

Shem’s descendant Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran died in Ur, home of the Chaldeans, leaving a son, Lot. Terah, Abram, Abram’s wife, Sarai, and Lot immigrated to a place called Haran. Their plan was to continue from Haran into Canaan, but Terah died there. He was 205 years old (11:10–32).

God’s choice to carry out His will and to become the direct ancestor of His chosen people was Terah’s son Abram. He made a covenant with Abram, promising his family would become a great nation, and through him all families on earth would be blessed (12:1–3). He told Abram to leave Haran and go to a land that He would show him. He did not name the land to which He was sending Abram, so by faith he obeyed God’s word. With his wife, Sarai, and his nephew Lot, they began the journey to another land.

When they came to the site of Shechem, Abram pitched his tent beneath the tree of Moreh in the midst of Canaanite country. Here he received a special message from God, the revelation that this was the land to be inherited by Abram’s descendants (12:5–7).

Abram’s journey continued into the hill country between Bethel and Ai, and from there to the south. No specific time is given for how long they were settled in any one place. Abram built an altar to the Lord and worshiped Him at every place they called home, bearing witness to his faith in the powers of God (12:8–9).

A severe famine in the land drove Abram, his family, and followers to travel to Egypt for a temporary stay. Before entering Egypt, he asked Sarai to identify herself as his sister instead of his wife, for she was a beautiful woman, and he believed the Egyptian pharaoh would have him killed and take Sarai for himself.

Sarai was, as Abram had feared, taken into the royal harem; and because Abram was believed to be Sarai’s brother, his life was spared. God intervened to save Sarai by striking the pharaoh and his house with severe plagues. When the deception was discovered, Pharaoh sent for Abram and, with much indignation, said to him, Here’s your wife. Take her and go (12:10–20).

They left Egypt with all their possessions and returned to Abram’s former home in the south. From there, they traveled by stages to the place between Bethel and Ai to the site where Abram had built the altar where he worshiped the Lord (13:1–4).

Abram was rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. His nephew Lot, who was traveling with him, also had numerous flocks, herds, and tents. In the area where they lived, there was no longer enough water and grass for grazing to take care of so many cattle and sheep. Abram made the suggestion that each move to separate areas. Lot was allowed to choose any section of land he preferred. He chose the well-watered and fertile valley of the Jordan while Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan. The extremely corrupt cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were included in the region chosen by Lot. He set up his tent near the evil city of Sodom (13:6–12).

From the top of the hill country near Bethel, God spoke to Abram. Look from the place where you are. Look north, south, east and west, for all the land that you see, I will give you, and it will belong to your many descendants forever (13:14–16). Abram had no children, but he did trust God. God’s gift to Abram and his descendants was the land of Canaan. Abram pitched his tent beside the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Lot found himself in the middle of a war when a coalition of kings invaded his city of Sodom and the neighboring cities in the valley of Siddim. When Lot became a prisoner of war, Abram, with 318 of his trained men, went to rescue him. They returned with Lot and his possessions, along with other prisoners and the goods that had been stolen from Sodom and the neighboring cities (14:1–16).

After Abram’s return from battle, the king of Sodom went out to meet him. His