Making God Part of Your Family: The Family Bible Study Book Volume 3

By Michael Grady

Making God Part of Your Family Volume 3 strives to bring God’s plan to life for individuals and their families as He chose to reveal these truths through the stories in the Old Testament.

Most would agree that the Old Testament stories can be difficult to relate to and understand. Veteran Bible teacher Michael Grady retells the Old Testament stories in concise, thought-provoking doses that are easy to understand and intended to stimulate family discussions. He demonstrates that the Old Testament stories are much more than just a history of the Israelites (God’s chosen family); they are parables detailing God’s guide to living and his eternal plan for redemption and salvation for all who choose to believe.  

The stories in Making God Part of Your Family Volume 3 provide a unique combination—they are both simple enough for children to understand and deep enough for parents to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God’s Word. This vibrant, yet carefully researched volume brings families closer together and helps them clearly establish their identity as children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morgan James Faith
• Release date: Mar 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781631959851

Michael Grady

Michael Grady has taught Children’s Church, Sunday School, and Bible study groups of all ages for well over 30 years. Formerly, a certified public accountant and now an investment banker by trade, he is also a certified United Methodist lay speaker, evangelistic association leader, experienced educator, and professional speaker. He has previously authored two Bible study books as well as numerous published articles on religious topics and appeared on TV/Radio shows across the country.  Originally from Opelika, Alabama, he currently lives with his wife, Nan, in Florence, South Carolina. 

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Making God Part of Your Family, Volume 3, continues retelling the stories of the Old Testament, beginning where we left off in Volume 2 with the stories of David. The primary purpose of this series is to bring God’s plan for you and your family to life as he revealed it through his people in the Old Testament. Hopefully the insights I share will help you understand that these stories are much more than just the history of the Israelites (God’s Chosen Family). These stories are parables that provide us with God’s handbook to living our lives on this earth and his eternal plan for redemption and salvation for all who choose to repent and believe in him. God has a message that will be truly life changing if we take the time to read, listen to, and develop an understanding of his Word.

In today’s world, the family is confronted with an onslaught of conflicting and unhealthy messages, much like the families in the Old Testament encountered. Over the last few decades, our culture has experienced a drastic shift in morals and beliefs, making it more important than ever to understand the benefits of having a loving God and the support of a close-knit family to lean on. Even if you are not fortunate enough to be surrounded by blood family, you can accept God’s invitation to join him and his people, becoming part of a family known as the body of Christ (the church universal).

In contrast to the world’s standards that concentrate on our personal wants and desires, the stories presented in Volume 3 will teach the importance of being kind and putting the needs of others ahead of our own. These stories also highlight the strength that comes through unity and working together. It’s important to acknowledge that modern families can be very broken; in turn, your earthly family may not offer the love, wisdom, and rich relationships God intends to provide for us through the family unit. These stories demonstrate how we, as Christians, need to be understanding and offer support to those around us in need of love, compassion, and guidance.

When we accept God’s invitation to join his family, Jesus and all his followers become our family, too (including Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham, and the Chosen Family of Israel). In spite of any missing elements in our earthly family, we can experience how God, our Father, loves us perfectly and will always guide us in perfect wisdom as a member of his family. Jesus is not only our Savior and God but also our brother. He sacrificed himself so we can fully become part of his family and share his inheritance.

I pray that these stories will help each of us strengthen our earthly families as we examine the successes and failures of our biblical patriarchs. It’s my hope that this theme, being part of God’s family, will provide you with the resources you need to become an effective and valuable member of God’s family and have a lasting impact on your earthly family.

For over thirty-five years, I’ve taught Sunday school and Bible studies for adults, teenagers, and eight- to twelve-year-olds. Most Christians admit the need to have a stronger knowledge of the Bible. However, when asked why they spend very little time reading God’s Word, the answers are consistently the same:

The Bible is too hard to understand.

Too much of the Bible is boring.

The Old Testament is not relevant.

I hope to change these misconceptions by retelling the Old Testament stories, making them more engaging and easier to understand, often tying the Old and New Testament together. You will soon see how relevant these stories really are, both to our daily lives and to our eternal relationship with God and Jesus Christ. Jesus used parables to teach us principles of life, and in the same way, the stories in the Old Testament guide and assist us through the trials, tribulations, and joys of this life while also preparing us for eternity. Although these stories may not call him by name, they do paint beautiful portraits of Jesus, the source of our salvation and redemption.

A Family Bible Study Book: Not Just a Storybook

If you’ve been looking for a way to read the Bible to your children or with your family while providing interest across a variety of age groups, this book may be your answer. Most Bible storybooks are oriented toward young children, making them too simplistic for adults and teenagers to enjoy. On the other hand, those written as Bible study books are often too difficult for children and most teenagers to understand.

These stories are a unique combination; this book is written on an adult level and yet structured so that it can be read and discussed together with elementary age children. The stories are written in a conversational tone to facilitate discussion. Children who are eight to twelve years old are unlikely to fully understand the messages if they read the stories on their own, but if the stories are read together with a parent, grandparent, or Sunday school teacher, the young reader is quite capable of understanding the primary message.

This concept epitomizes my main purpose for writing this series: to have your family spend time together reading and understanding the Bible. I have been pleased that teenagers and young adults have found the messages particularly relevant. They have said, Finally, I understand what the Old Testament is about and why it is so important, and I am intrigued with how much depth you provided in each story, but at the same time, you made it so much easier to understand.

Even though this book retells stories from the Bible, it’s not just a Bible storybook. It’s a study book in small, thought-provoking doses. In that vein, my experience in reading these stories to and with elementary-age children and teenagers has shown that thirty to forty-five minutes is a good amount of time to set aside for reading and discussing each story. However, the book can also be used for a ten- to fifteen-minute nightly devotion with older elementary school-aged children (eight- to twelve-year-olds) or as an in-depth study for mature Christians who want to dig deeper into God’s Word by seeking out the Scriptures provided at the end of each story.

Whether you use these stories to structure an in-depth family discussion, read with your children at bedtime, or take the time for your own personal Bible study and later share what you have learned, your family will:

Develop a better and deeper understanding of God, our Father, and his Son, Jesus

Learn how we are part of God’s family

Learn how God expects us to live amidst the joys and sorrows of life

Apply practical lessons and eternal truths to the situations we face today

Bible Background: Setting the Stage

As stated in the Introduction to Volume 1, the Bible (the Word) is God’s message to all people. Through his Word, we find that his message begins and ends with the revelation of Jesus Christ—that is, God telling us who Jesus is. Within each of the Bible stories, God is sharing the following with us:

Human history from beginning to end (our family history)

A guide to living our lives on earth

Most important, for us, who God is and his plan of salvation

The Old Testament is divided into three main sections: (1) History and the Law, (2) Poetry and Wisdom, and (3) the Prophets. However, all of the books point to Jesus, God’s Son. Jesus, in his teachings, tells us that the entire Old Testament is a book of prophecy, or messages from God about the future. Jesus told the religious leaders of his day that Moses wrote about him, confirming that Genesis is a book of prophecies and picture-stories that show us who Jesus is. Jesus further instructs us that the Psalms and other Old Testament books talk about his life and how he will save us. These pronouncements of Jesus are affirmed by Paul and other authors of the New Testament books.

Portraits of Christ

Prophecies are revealed as God provides the history of mankind through his Word. We see pictures, and at times more formal portraits, of Jesus hidden in the Old Testament stories of the patriarchs, the ancient fathers of God’s family. In these pictures, not only do we see Jesus, but we also learn of God’s plan to rescue us. Further, we learn through these stories how God is calling us to live his way. Many of these revelations are shrouded in mystery until they are revealed in the New Testament; some we still may not understand. Thankfully, the New Testament writers shed light upon these Old Testament stories, and through their revelations we see how God’s plans were first revealed in the stories of the patriarchs.

The pictures that God draws for us in the Old Testament come in varying shapes, sizes, and nuances. Some are bold and clear, such as the picture of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac as an incredible symbol of God sacrificing his own Son for us. Other portraits are like silhouettes, making it somewhat difficult to determine who is in the picture. But as we get to know our Savior better and better, the silhouettes become an undeniable picture God painted for us.

For example, suppose that someone who doesn’t know me very well is shown a silhouette of my daughter. This person wouldn’t be able to tell you who she is and certainly would not know much about her. But someone who has spent time with me and my family would easily recognize my daughter and call her by name if I were the one showing them the picture. And it’s similar with our Old and New Testament readings. The more intimate we become with them, the clearer the pictures become—even if some mystery remains. Through a deeper study of the Bible, we’re able to better understand the pictures God has drawn for us—and we begin to see a portrait of how we are to live.

Why has God chosen to speak in images and mysteries instead of being more direct? The disciples asked Jesus, Why do you speak in parables? His response was that he wanted us to study his stories. Those who thought the stories were foolish or unimportant would miss the true meaning and ignore them. Only those who were truly interested in him would take the time to study and understand. By opening our eyes and ears to God’s Word, we discover the stories’ meaning, and the Holy Spirit guides us in this endeavor. The Holy Spirit is God in spirit form, sent to live within the hearts of all those who believe that Jesus died and rose again for us.

How True Are These Stories?

Okay, we’re given these stories to show us who God is and his plan for us. But are they just make-believe pictures and stories, or are they real stories about real people? In the Gospels, Jesus speaks of the men, women, and children of the Old Testament as real people who lived in history. A few examples may help:

He said, "Just as it happened in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man."

He told others, Before Abraham was born, I am. (Note: The words I am is the word the Israelites used for God.)

He even talks about stories that are hard to believe, such as when he said, "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot . . . [He] went out from Sodom, and it rained fire and brimstone . . . It will be the same in the day that the Son of Man is revealed . . . Remember Lot’s wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt."

And finally, "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Jesus compared his personal life events with sensational and sometimes hard-to-believe Old Testament stories. Jesus claimed that upcoming events were just as real as these Old Testament stories. Therefore, if Jesus spoke of these ancestors as real people, why shouldn’t we? However, whether you believe these stories are historical events or not will not change the important practical applications they should provide to you and your family or the message that God reveals regarding his plan for all of us.

How to Use This Book

If you’re reading this book in a family setting, I encourage you to read the stories out loud. Feel free to pause in the middle of each reading to discuss a specific point or to relate the story to an event or situation in your family’s life, thus allowing these stories to become your family stories. Following each story are two sections that provide for additional discussion and research. The first section includes questions and comments for further discussion and is intended to help the details of the story penetrate more deeply into your lives. The second section includes notes and references to other related passages in the Bible so that you and your family can learn more about the meaning and significance behind certain parts of each story. Feel free to look up, read, and study these references together depending on the age, needs, and interests of your family.

It’s not enough to simply adopt these stories as our own family history; we should also accept that they are the Word of God written to each of us. God has given you the gift of the Bible to help you develop a closer relationship with him and to provide you with instruction and comfort for every circumstance of your life. No circumstance is too significant and overwhelming or too unimportant—they all matter. My hope is that each time you read this book, you will discover new details that were previously unseen, and perhaps more importantly, that you will grow together as a family and in your own personal relationships with God.

A Note about Volume 3

Volume 1 introduced God’s creation and his plan for all men and women. When humanity failed to follow God’s chosen path, God immediately devised an alternative plan that was ultimately formed through the selection of one family that became known as God’s Chosen Family. Through this one family (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel), all of the world would be blessed. The primary focus of the stories retold in Volume 1 was to reveal that new plan and to point out the guidance God provided to us as we live out our lives while here on earth.

Volume 2 focused on arriving and surviving in the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, the Judges, and finally the early Kings of Israel. God offered his family a chance to live a life set apart from the rest of the world under his principles and standards. However, the Israelites didn’t follow God’s plans to clear the land of the heathen nations. The stories consistently revealed the failure of God’s Chosen Family, and now we have the opportunity to learn from their successes and their failures about how to live a better life by being disciplined and obedient under God’s control.

Volume 3 continues retelling the Old Testament stories, picking up with the man after God’s own heart, King David. While his failures are significant, we learn through the Book of Psalms how truly committed David was to God. The many psalms he wrote give us insight as to how we should live with the Holy Spirit guiding our lives. The Book of Proverbs demonstrate the wisdom of King Solomon, David’s son and successor to his throne. Both of these books will give us valuable lessons in living within God’s standards and principles (Kingdom Living) while enduring the difficulties we often face in our daily lives.

Thereafter, the stories focus on our personal interaction with God and how to access the resources God provides from his world, the heavenly realm. This is a spiritual world that is set apart in another dimension, available to us only when we learn how to truly access God. We also learn more about our enemy, the devil, in the heavenly realm. He and his forces of evil interfere in our lives as he rules our world. Because of humanity’s constant selfish actions, it appears that God’s original plan to have us part of his family will never be accomplished. Finally, the true worship of God is established under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the stage is set for God to implement his plan to save the world by sending his son, Jesus, to provide salvation that we cannot achieve on our own.

Chapter 1

DAVID ESTABLISHES HIMSELF AS KING

2 Samuel 2–5

Making God Part of Your Family, Volume 2 ended with Saul, the king of Israel and his son, Jonathan, being killed in a battle with the Philistines. And David was finally crowned king in Hebron, a powerful city in Judah. But at this point, he was only king over Judah, his family’s tribe. As we learned when God first anointed David, his plan was for David to be the king of all Israel. However, Saul’s supporters were not ready to let go so easily. Abner, commander of Saul’s army, went to Saul’s only remaining son, Ish-bosheth, to help establish him as king over the other eleven tribes.

Civil War within Israel

David’s family (including his sister’s sons, Joab, Asahel, and Abishai) joined his army when he fled into the wilderness to escape the wrath of Saul. They became his close companions. David appointed Joab commander of his army because he was the strongest leader.

A civil war between those supporting David and those supporting Ish-bosheth soon erupted. Joab and Abner knew each other very well from earlier times when they fought together against the Philistines, and they held a great deal of respect for each other’s skills. Early in the war, Joab and Abner decided to send twelve of their best men into hand-to-hand combat against each other. The men were so evenly matched that none of the twenty-four soldiers survived the battle.

More battles ensued and David’s army started taking control. Abner had to flee, and Asahel pursued him. Asahel was such a fast runner that the Bible compared him to a swift-footed gazelle. Although Abner was much stronger, he could not outrun Asahel. Because Abner respected David, he implored Asahel to fight someone else; however, Asahel wanted to kill Abner and become a hero.

When it was clear that Asahel would not stop pursuing him, Abner turned and struck Asahel with his sword, and he died on the spot. Soon, Joab and Abishai caught up with their enemy, but Abner suggested that the ensuing battle would become a bloodbath with fellow Israelites killing each other, brother against brother. Joab agreed, but the war continued for another two years.

During those two years, David’s army constantly gained ground, and Ishbosheth began losing control over his people. Abner was gaining respect in the house of Saul. Soon thereafter, Ish-bosheth accused Abner of sleeping with one of his father’s concubines. It’s not clear from the Scriptures whether Ish-bosheth heard rumors or dreamed up the charge himself. Regardless, Abner was furious. He could not understand why Ish-bosheth was accusing him after he spent the last two years supporting him to become king. As payback for this accusation, Abner vowed to turn against Ish-bosheth and help David secure the kingdom for all twelve tribes. Ish-bosheth was now afraid of Abner.

This is a very important lesson for us to learn. When things start going badly, we tend to look around to place blame on anybody but ourselves.¹ Ish-bosheth was losing his grip on the kingdom, and he chose to criticize the one man who was doing his best to help him. Further, Ish-bosheth’s accusation had nothing to do with Abner’s job on the battlefield; he chose to make it a personal matter. When you face trouble, bring your friends closer instead of pushing them away. And even more, appeal to God for help and guidance.² Before he went into battle, David would go before the Lord to ask for guidance and deliverance. We need to depend on the Holy Spirit³ in the face of trouble, just as David did three thousand years ago.

All of Israel Accepts David as King

Abner sent word to David that he would help establish him as king for all of Israel. David agreed to accept his help with the condition that Ish-bosheth return Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s first wife, to him. When Abner delivered David’s demand to Ish-bosheth, he was afraid not to comply; therefore, he immediately took Michal from her husband and returned her to David.

In Volume 2, I shared that David had more than one wife, which contradicts New Testament teachings. Specifically, Jesus quoted Genesis, chapter 3:

God made them male and female. For this reason, man shall leave his family and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. They are no longer two but one flesh.⁴

And Paul shared in his epistle to Timothy that an elder (church leader) had to be the husband of only one wife.⁵

Why did God allow David and others in the Old Testament to have multiple wives? The Law of Moses did not prohibit the marriage to more than one wife. I believe the best answer to this question is found in Jesus’ response when the Pharisee asked, Why did the law of Moses allow a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce? Jesus was very practical when he responded:

Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning, it has not been this way.⁶

I believe if Jesus had been asked the same question about multiple wives, he would have given the same response: Moses permitted it, but from the beginning, it has not been this way.

Back to the war between David and Ish-bosheth: Abner went to the elders of Israel to remind them how they wanted David to be their king in times past and how God told David that he would deliver his people from the Philistines and all their enemies. As a result, he convinced the leaders to make a truce and join together as one kingdom. Once Abner secured the support of the elders, he and these leaders visited David in Hebron and made the treaty. Then David gave Abner permission to obtain a covenant from all of Israel to crown him king.

During the same time David was battling with Ish-bosheth, other enemies were attacking Israel. When Joab returned from a victory against one of these enemies, he was upset that David had made a treaty with Abner. He told David that Abner came to deceive him and would not honor the treaty, but David knew Joab was still angry with Abner for killing his brother, Asahel. Without David’s knowledge, Joab sent messengers to Abner, telling him to return to Hebron. When Abner returned, Joab, with Abishai’s help, thrust his sword into Abner’s belly just as he (Abner) had done to Asahel two years earlier.

When David learned of this horrible act, he proclaimed his innocence before the people of Israel and pronounced a curse on the house of Joab. David led the funeral activities for Abner and fasted all day in mourning over Abner’s death. The people saw and heard David’s reaction to Abner’s death, and they were pleased to know that their new king suffered over the loss of their former leader.

David should have stripped Joab and Abishai of their place in his army in the same way Jesus instructs us to purge those who openly disagree with his commandments.⁷ While David must have felt he needed these two great warriors leading his army, I believe this was David’s first mistake as king.

When Ish-bosheth learned of Abner’s death, he lost courage, and the remaining leaders of his army knew the end was near. Two such leaders took matters into their own hands and entered Ish-bosheth’s bedroom, killing him as he lay in his bed. They then took Ish-bosheth’s head to Hebron and presented it to David in hopes he would reward them for their good deed.

What do you think David’s reaction was? David was furious and had them both killed as an example to others who might try to get in good with him for the wrong reasons. These men should have let God’s king determine the appropriate punishment.⁸

Giving In to God

After these events, the leaders from all twelve tribes assembled at Hebron and formally requested that David take over the kingdom, saying:

Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. Once before, you were our leader under Saul; now be ruler over us. The Lord said, You will shepherd my people and will be ruler over Israel.

We learn from this statement that the people already knew God wanted David to be their king. Isn’t it terrible that we stubbornly do what we want, even though we know God has a different design? David’s rule over the kingdom is a picture of God’s plan for Jesus to rule over us as king. David knew God’s plan and prophesied that Jesus would one day become our king.⁹ Just as the Israelites resisted David being their king, we too resist letting Jesus be our king and take control of our lives.

How wonderful it is when we finally give in! The people of Israel never had it so good. How much anguish and pain could they have avoided if only they had listened to God sooner? What about you? Is there something you need to turn over to God? Have you been told to change or stop doing something you know is wrong? If you will commit to change and do your best from now on, you will be released from worry and anxiety. While there’s no