Yours Is the Kingdom

By Yvonne Jones

Yours Is the Kingdom is a compilation of stories taken exclusively from the Scriptures of the Holy Bible. It is a story of a king, His Kingdom, and an invitation to become a member of His royal family. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He intended for Earth to become a territory and a replica of Heaven. Jesus refers to this when He taught us to pray "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." God created man in His image to have dominion over the earth. Adam and Eve enjoyed a very special fellowship with God and His Presence was with them in the garden. Everything they needed was provided. Satan's deception caused mankind to lose dominion. Consequently, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and Satan's evil influence began to rule on earth. Yet the Lord God had a plan of redemption and restoration. His plans of triumph were ordained before the foundations of the world and prophesied throughout the Bible. God chose the family line of Abraham to bring a Savior, Jesus, into this world. The stories of Abraham's family recount a series of lessons in triumph and defeat, obedience and rebellion, and of promise and restoration. Jesus came to restore the dominion of the Kingdom of God to Earth. Through the pages of this book, the love of God for His creation and His desire to live among us unfolds. Jesus redeems mankind to their original relationship with the Almighty God and restores man's place in the Garden of Eden-a place of rest, provision, and complete reliance on the Creator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098023386

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Yours Is the Kingdom

Yvonne Jones and Shayla Jones

Copyright © 2020 by Yvonne Jones and Shayla Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Lord God

In the Beginning

Double Restoration

The Patriarchs

Dreams Fulfilled

Deliverance

The Wilderness Experience

The Land of Promise

A Search for a King

Kings and Prophets

Exiles Return

Providence

The Rebuild

The Savior

The Good News of the Kingdom

Dominion Restored

Preface

After several years of Bible study, the Holy Spirit guided us to put together Yours Is the Kingdom. The Word of God has changed our lives, and our desire is for you to experience the same type of personal transformation. We were inspired to use only scriptures to tell the story of God’s Kingdom without personal commentary. Transformation happens by the renewing of our mind through His holy Word.

This is not the whole Bible. Every book of the Bible is vitally important; however, we intentionally chose to leave a few books out to maintain the continuity of the overall story line. We want you to understand how the stories of the Bible come together to tell the story of the King and His Kingdom. This book is designed to give people who are interested in reading the Bible a place to begin and to alleviate any intimidation. We believe that after reading this, you will be able to pick up the Bible with confidence and have a deeper understanding of its meaning.

God’s Kingdom is mentioned in the Old Testament and expounded on in the New Testament by Jesus. His Kingdom existed before the foundation of the heavens and earth, and it has no end. Shadows of Christ are found throughout the entire Old Testament, and His ministry was to restore the dominion of God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.

We intentionally left the scriptural references so that you can look up additional content on any particular story. We encourage you to read it deliberately, pondering on what is being said and how it can be applied to your life. We pray you will be inspired by this work to go to the Holy Bible and learn more for yourselves. As a result of reading this book, you will have a clear understanding of what God desires from us as His royal children. May God bless you as you read His Word!

The Lord God

The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Out of its center came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man. Everyone had four faces, and each one of them had four wings.

Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone. On the throne was a likeness of a man. I saw it as glowing metal, as fire within it all around. From the appearance of fire, there was brightness around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud, so was the brightness all around.Ezekiel 1:1, 5-6, 26–28

He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, and the cloud is not burst under them. He encloses the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud on it. He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters, and to the confines of light and darkness. The pillars of Heaven tremble and are astonished at His rebuke. He stirs up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He strikes through the fleeing serpent. By His Spirit the heavens are garnished. His hand has pierced the swift serpent. These are but the outskirts of His ways. How small a whisper do we hear of Him!Job 26:7–14

Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; but those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.Isaiah 40:28–31

Can you fathom the mystery of God? Or can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are high as Heaven. What can you do? They are deeper than the underworld. What can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.Job 11:7–9

The Rock: His work is perfect, for all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is He.Deuteronomy 32:4

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end.Ecclesiastes 3:11

For the Lord your God, He is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who doesn’t respect persons or take bribes. He executes justice for the fatherless and widow and loves the foreigner in giving him food and clothing.Deuteronomy 10:17–18

You are the Lord, even You alone. You have made Heaven, the Heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The army of Heaven worships You.Nehemiah 9:6

Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the Kingdom, Lord, and You are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all! In Your hand is power and might! It is in Your hand to make great, and to give strength to all!1 Chronicles 29:11–12

There is no one like You, Lord. You are great, and Your name is great in might. Who shouldn’t fear You, King of the nations? For it belongs to You. Because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is no one like You.Jeremiah 10:6–7, 10

Lord, Your word is settled in Heaven forever. Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have established the earth, and it remains. Your laws remain to this day, for all things serve You.Psalm 119:89–91

The Lord! The Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving sin and disobedience and iniquity.Exodus 34:6–7

Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness. Isaiah 41:10

I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.Isaiah 57:15

But let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for I delight in these things, says the Lord.Jeremiah 9:24

In the Beginning

Creation

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

God said, Let there be light, and there was light. God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.

There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

God said, Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse sky.

There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

God said, Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called seas. God saw that it was good. God said, Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth; and it was so.

The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be signs to mark seasons, days, and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth; and it was so.

God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

God said, Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.

God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.

God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.

There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

God said, Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind; and it was so.

God said, Let’s make man in Our image, after Our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.Genesis 1:1–26

The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.

The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. The Lord God made a woman from the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

The man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘Woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.

Therefore, a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.Genesis 2:7, 18, 21–25

God created man in His own image. In God’s image He created him; male and female; He created them. God blessed them.

God said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

God said, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food; and it was so.

God saw everything that He had made, and it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.Genesis 1:27–31

The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. On the seventh day God finished His work. He rested on the seventh day from all His work. God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because He rested in it from all His work of creation.

The Lord God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.Genesis 2:1–3, 8–9, 16–17

Cast Out

There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. They didn’t prevail. No place was found for them any more in Heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.Revelation 12:7–9

You were in Heaven’s Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. They were prepared in the day that you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers. Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your commerce, your insides were filled with violence, and you have sinned.

Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.Ezekiel 28:13–17

The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.Revelations 12:9, 12

Loss of Dominion

Now the serpent was more-subtle than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?

The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, or else you will die.’

The serpent said to the woman, You won’t really die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and would make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband, and he ate it, too. Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves. They heard the Lord God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day. The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

The Lord God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?

The man said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so, I hid myself.

God said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?

The man said, The woman you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.

The Lord God said to the woman, What have you done?

The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise His heel.

To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

To Adam He said, Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life. It will yield thorns and thistles. You will eat the herb of the field. You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. You are dust, and you shall return to dust.

The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.

The Lord God said, The man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. Now, he may also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. Therefore, the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.Genesis 3:1–23

The First Family

The man knew his wife.

She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with the Lord’s help.

Again, she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

As time passed, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell.

The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.

Cain said to Abel, his brother, Let’s go into the field.

While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.

The Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel, your brother?

He said, I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?

The Lord said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, saying, for God has given me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.

A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the Lord’s name.Genesis 4:1–11, 25–26

In the day that God created man, He made him in God’s likeness. He created them male and female, and blessed them. On the day they were created, he named them Adam. Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he became the father of other sons and daughters. All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years, then he died.Genesis 5:1–5

The Great Flood

Noah, a descendant of Seth, was five hundred years old.Genesis 5:32

Men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them. God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.

The Lord said, My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so, his days will be one hundred twenty years.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart.

The Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.

But Noah found favor in the Lord’s eyes.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

God said to Noah, I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. I will destroy them and the earth. Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch. I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die. But I will establish My covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives, the birds after their kind, livestock after their kind, every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive. Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them.

Thus, Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 6:1–3, 5–14, 17–18, 20–22

The Lord said to Noah, Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before Me in this generation. In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.

Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened. It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered. The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.Genesis 7:1, 4–5, 11–12, 19–21, 24

God remembered Noah, all the animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ship; and God made a wind to pass over the earth. The waters subsided.

The waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ship, and looked. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

God spoke to Noah, saying, Go out of the ship, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth.

Noah went out, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ship.

Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The Lord smelled the pleasant aroma.

The Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth. I will never again strike every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.Genesis 8:1, 13–22

God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand. Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave you the green herb, I have given everything to you.

God spoke to Noah and to his sons saying, As for Me, I establish My covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth. I will establish My covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.

God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood. All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.

Genesis 9:1–3, 8–15, 28–29

Babel

The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. As they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there.

They said to one another, Let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.

They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

They said, Let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, or we will be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.

The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.

The Lord said, They are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. Come, let’s go down confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

So, the Lord scattered them abroad. They stopped building the city. Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. From Babel, the Lord scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.Genesis 11:1–9

Double Restoration

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God, and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household. This man was the greatest of all the children of the east.

His sons went and held a feast in the house of each one on his birthday. They sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. Job sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings for each one.

Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts.

Job did so continually.

Now on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan also came among them.

The Lord said to Satan, Where have you come from?

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

The Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant, Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil.

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven’t You made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce You to Your face.

The Lord said to Satan, All that he has is in your power. Only on himself don’t stretch out your hand.

So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

It fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house.

A messenger came to Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked, and took them away. Yes, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The fire of God has fallen from the sky, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and swept down on the camels, and have taken them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword. I alone have escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. There came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on the young men, and they are dead. I alone have escaped to tell you.

Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.

He said, Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the Lord’s name.

In all this, Job didn’t sin, nor charge God with wrongdoing.

Job 1:1–22

Again, on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

The Lord said to Satan, Where have you come from?

Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

The Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to ruin him without cause.

Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce You to Your face.

The Lord said to Satan, He is in your hand. Only spare his life.

So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head. He took for himself a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.

Then his wife said to him, Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die.

But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

In all this Job didn’t sin with his lips. Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him. When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn’t recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept. They each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky. So, they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.Job 2:1–13

After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.

Job said: Let the day perish in which I was born, the night which said, ‘There is a boy conceived.’ Let that day be darkness. Don’t let God from above seek for it, neither let the light shine on it. For my sighing comes before I eat. My groanings are poured out like water. The thing which I fear comes on me. That which I am afraid of comes to me. I am not at ease, neither am I quiet, neither do I have rest; but trouble comes.Job 3:1–3, 24–26

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, If someone ventures to talk with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Now a thing was secretly brought to me. My ear received a whisper of it. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear came on me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face. The hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I couldn’t discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes. Silence, then I heard a voice, saying, ‘Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more-pure than his Maker? He puts no trust in His servants. He charges His angels with error. How much more, those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth! Morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it.’Job 4:1–2, 12–20

Then Job answered, Oh that my anguish was weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! To him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend; even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away. You see a terror, and are afraid. Yes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless, and make merchandise of your friend. Now therefore be pleased to look at me, for surely, I will not lie to your face. My cause is righteous. Is there injustice on my tongue? Can’t my taste discern mischievous things?Job 6:1–2, 14–15, 27–30

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, How long will you speak these things? Shall the words of your mouth be a mighty wind? Please inquire of past generations. Find out about the learning of their fathers. (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days on earth are a shadow.) Shall they not teach you, tell you, and utter words out of their heart? God will not cast away a blameless man, neither will He uphold the evildoers. He will still fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame. The tent of the wicked will be no more.Job 8:1–2, 8–10, 20–22

Then Job answered, Truly I know that it is so, but how can man be just with God? God is wise in heart, and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?Job 9:1–2, 4

I will tell God, ‘Do not condemn me. Show me why You contend with me. Is it good to You that You should oppress, that You should despise the work of Your hands, and smile on the counsel of the wicked? Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as man sees? Are Your days as the days of mortals, or Your years as man’s years, that You inquire after my iniquity, and search after my sin? Although You know that I am not wicked, there is no one who can deliver out of Your hand.’Job 10:2–7

Then Zophar, the Naamathite, answered, Shouldn’t the multitude of words be answered? Should a man full of talk be justified? But oh, that God would speak, and open His lips against you, that He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For true wisdom has two sides. Know therefore that God exacts of you less than your sin deserves.Job 11:1–2, 5–6

Then Job answered, "No doubt, but you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Yes, who doesn’t know such things as these? With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding. He breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release. He withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, He sends them out, and they overturn the earth. With Him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are His.Job 12:1–3, 13–16

Surely, I would speak to the Almighty. I desire to reason with God. But you are forgers of lies. You are all physicians of no value. Oh, that you would be completely silent! Then you would be wise. He will kill me. I have no hope. Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before Him. This also will be my salvation, that a godless man will not come before Him. Only don’t do two things to me, then I will not hide myself from Your face: withdraw Your hand far from me, and don’t let Your terror make me afraid. Then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, and You answer me. Make me know my disobedience and my sin. Why do You hide your face, and consider me Your enemy?Job 13:3–5, 15–16, 20–24

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer Me! Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it? What were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you? Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?Job 38:1–7, 33–36

Moreover the Lord answered Job, Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.

Then Job answered the Lord, I am of small account. What will I answer You? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, Now brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer Me. Will you even annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me, that you may be justified? Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like Him?Job 40:1–9

Then Job answered the Lord, I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be restrained. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore, I have uttered that which I didn’t understand, things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know. You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer Me.’ I had heard of You, but now my eye sees You. Therefore, I hate myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

It was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. My servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did what the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job. The Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, came to him and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that the Lord had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.

So, the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters.

After this Job lived one hundred forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, to four generations. So, Job died, being old and full of days.Job 42:1–13, 16–17

The Patriarchs

Abraham

(Of the three sons of Noah, Abraham was a descendant of Shem.)

Terah, Abraham’s father, took Abram his son, Lot his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there.Genesis 11:31

Now the Lord said to Abram, Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.

So, Abram went, as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his nephew, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan.

The Lord appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your offspring.

He built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him and called on the Lord’s name.Genesis 12:1–5, 7–8

Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, herds, and tents. The land was not able to bear them, both. Their possessions were so great that they couldn’t live together.

Abram said to Lot, Please, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. We are relatives. Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or, if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the Lord.

The Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted. Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its width; for I will give it to you.Genesis 13:5–6, 8–9, 12–17

(Some time later war broke out in the region.)

The king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar) went out. They set the battle in array against them in the valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and some fell there. Those who remained fled to the hills. They took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way. They took Lot, Abram’s nephew, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. At that time, he lived by the oaks of Mamre. When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his three hundred eighteen trained men, born in his house, and pursued as far as Dan. He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot and his goods, and the women also, and the other people.

Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. He blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.

Abram gave him a tenth of all.Genesis 14:8–14, 16, 18–20

After these things the Lord’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.

Abram said, Lord-God, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?

Abram said, You have given no children to me: and, one born in my house is my heir.

The Lord’s word came to him, saying, This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.

The Lord brought him outside, and said, Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.

He said to Abram, So your offspring will be.

He believed in the Lord, who credited it to him for righteousness.

He said to Abram, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.

He said to Abram, Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth; but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the sin of the Amorite is not yet full.Genesis 15:1–7, 13–16

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Sarai said to Abram, See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.

Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. She took Hagar the Egyptian after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived. When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai was despised in her eyes.

Sarai said to Abram, This wrong is your fault. I gave my servant into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, she despised me. May The Lord judge between me and you. But Abram said to Sarai, Your maid is in your hand. Do to her whatever is good in your eyes. Sarai dealt harshly with her, and Hagar fled from her.

The Lord’s Angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. He said, Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?

She said, I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.

The Lord’s Angel said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands. I will greatly multiply your offspring, that they will not be counted for multitude. You are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction. He will be like a wild donkey among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. He will live opposed to all of his brothers.Genesis 16:1–12

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.

Abram fell on his face.

God talked with him, saying, As for Me, My covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham. I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your offspring throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring. I will give to you, and to your offspring, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.

God said to Abraham, As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your offspring throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your offspring. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It will be a token of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations. He who is born in the house, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring must be circumcised. My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken My covenant.

God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.

Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?

Abraham said to God, Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!

God said, "No, but Sarah, your wife,