Noah's Ark Learning Zone: J,C,Y,M : Bible (OT History)

Students will be reading through the book of Matthew and the historical Old Testament books from Genesis to Esther.

Day 1
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We’re going to start the year off with reading one of the gospels. We’ll do this every year. This year we’ll read Matthew and then we’ll go back to the beginning and start reading in Genesis.
Read Matthew 1:18-24.
Tell the story to a parent.

Day 2

Read Matthew 2:1-12.
How do the wise men know that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem? (answer: Micah 5:2God spoke about it hundreds of years before.)
How did they know not to go and tell Herod about Jesus? (answer: God warned them in a dream.)

Day 3

Read Matthew 3.
John tells the Pharisees that those who produce bad fruit will go to hell (“thrown into the fire”). What does He say about the kind of “fruit” they should produce? (hint: verse 8) (answer: They need to show that they have repented and turned away from doing sin.)
John the Baptist didn’t think he should be baptizing Jesus, but Jesus told him it was the right thing to do. Jesus gave us the example and we are to follow in His footsteps and be baptized as well. It’s not something to be afraid of. It marks the beginning of our life of following Jesus.

Day 4

Read Matthew 4:1-11.
Tell a parent or older sibling how Satan tried to tempt Jesus and how Jesus responded to him.
Copy or memorize this part of Matthew 4:4, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Day 5

Read Matthew 5:1-12.
Who is blessed? You can insert the word happy instead of blessed.
What do they receive?
How can being persecuted and being lied about make you happy? (answer: It can make you happy because you will receive a reward in heaven, and you can know you are experiencing the same as Jesus and the other prophets.)

Day 6

Read Matthew 6:1-15.
Copy Matthew 6:9-13. Hang it up where you will see it and work on memorizing it this week.

Day 7

Read Matthew 7:7-14 and 7:24-29. Keep scrolling down to read both.
How can you be wise like the man whose house didn’t fall? (hint: verse 24) (answer: obey God’s word)

Day 8

Read Matthew 8:1-13.
Let’s compare and contrast these stories. That means to find what they have in common and what’s different about them.
What are some things that they have in common? (answer: Jesus healed someone, someone came to Jesus asking for healing, they both believed that Jesus could heal) Did you find some that I didn’t?
What are some things that are different about the stories? (answer: Jesus touched the one man to heal him and the other he healed just by speaking that he was healed, one man was a Jew and the other was a Gentile (not a Jew), one expected Jesus to heal the other wasn’t sure if Jesus was willing to be healed) Did you find some that I didn’t?

Day 9

Read Matthew 9:18-37.
What is one reason Jesus healed everyone who came to Him? (hint: verse 36)
*Print out this sheet (compassion)and write on each line someone you should have compassion on. s could be soldiers, p could be people without homes, or they could just be names.

Day 10

Read Matthew 10:1-8.
How many of the 12 apostles can you name? If you can’t name them all, go back and find who you are missing.
The last sentence in this section is, “You have received freely, so give freely.” What does that mean?
What have you been given that you should be giving?

Day 11

Read Matthew 11:2-10.
Jesus quotes a prophecy from the Old Testament book of Malachi. He says the prophecy is about John the Baptist. What does it say John was going to do? (answer: He would prepare the way for Jesus to come. He did that by teaching people to repent and turn away from their sins.)
In your reading today, you read that John has his disciples ask Jesus if He is the Messiah. Jesus doesn’t say yes or no. He answers that he has healed the blind, the lame, the deaf and the leper and that He is preaching the gospel (good news) to the poor. Why did he say those things? Jesus was telling John that other Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled. The Old Testament prophets said that a Messiah or Savior would come and heal and preach the gospel to the poor. Read Isaiah 35:5-6. Read Isaiah 61:1. Do those verses sound like what Jesus told John? Do you think John understood Jesus’ message?

Day 12

Read Matthew 12:1-13.
What were the Pharisees accusing Jesus and his disciples of doing? (answer: breaking the Sabbath, the command to not work one day a week)
Jesus shows the Pharisees that they are hypocrites because they would help a sheep on the Sabbath but not a person. This is one way you can tell if something is from God or not. God cares about people. the Pharisees didn’t care about the man who needed healing. They cared about their rules. They were proud of their sacrifice to not work on the Sabbath. But Jesus told them that they were not doing what God wanted, that God wanted them to love others. That’s what Jesus meant he said, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.”
Copy the sentence, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.”
Tell someone the story you read today and explain what it means that God wants mercy and not sacrifice.

Day 13

Read Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. Scroll down to read the second part.
Draw a picture of the parable and then explain to someone what the picture means.

Day 14

Read Matthew 14:13-21.
Tell a parent or older sibling what happened in this story.
God can take whatever you have to offer and turn it into a big blessing. But first you have to offer what you have. What do you have that you could give? It could be money or food or toys or it could be things like time and love. You could stop by the home of an elderly neighbor and say good morning. What else could you give that could God could use to turn into a big blessing for you and others?

Day 15

Read Matthew 15:1-18.
In other parts of the world being clean is THE most important thing. Muslims won’t pray unless they wash themselves first. In Muslim countries being called “dirty” is one of the worst insults. What does Jesus say makes you “unclean?” Explain to a parent or ask if you don’t understand what Jesus is saying.

Day 16

Read Matthew 16:5-12.
Jesus is using figurative language. That means that he is not speaking plainly. He’s making word pictures. In this section he warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Yeast is what you put in bread to make it rise. You put a little bit into the flour and it gets through the whole dough to make it rise. Jesus doesn’t mean make sure you don’t get their yeast on you. What is Jesus really warning the disciples about? (answer: Jesus was warning about what the religious leaders taught.)

Day 17

Read Matthew 17:24-27.
This is a fun story. Remember that earlier, when Jesus was a teenager, he had called the temple, “his father’s house.” Here Jesus is saying that He doesn’t have to pay the tax because it is His father’s house and father’s don’t collect tax from their sons.
What does Jesus do to pay the tax?
Can God always provide the money you need?
There are many, many stories of Christians getting the money they needed at just the right moment, from finding five dollars stuck to your shoe while walking down the street, to having an angel hand you the money. God has plenty of ways of providing. Trust Him to do it!

Day 18

Read Matthew 18:21-35.
Tell a parent or older sibling what happened in the story.
What is the lesson of this story? (answer: Christians must forgive each other and those who seek forgiveness from them.)

Day 19

Read Matthew 19:16-30.
How do we know the rich man wasn’t really loving his neighbor as himself? (answer: He was still rich. He was keeping his money for himself.)

Day 20

Read Matthew 20:25-28.
Why did Jesus come? (answer: He came to serve others.)
Verse 28 commands, “Be like Jesus.” How can you live your life to serve others? What are some things you can do every day? What is something you can aspire to do (dream about doing or work towards doing) for others when you are older?

Day 21

Read Matthew 21:1-17.
In this section we see several more prophecies from the Old Testament fulfilled. God knew exactly what was going to happen. The donkeys were prepared and waiting for him even though the owner didn’t know it! You don’t have to try and do big things for God. All you have to do is be willing and ready to obey Him.
Do you know why Jesus was so angry in the temple? What did he call it? (answer: a den of robbers)
People who were not Jews were not allowed inside the temple. They were only allowed in an outer court area of the temple. That’s the place that was given to them to pray. But Jews had set up tables for selling the animals that people use for sacrifice and sold money to people who didn’t have the coins used in the temple. They were making money off of people coming to worship God. Plus, they were making it so that people who weren’t Jews had no place to pray.

Day 22

Read Matthew 22:1-14.
Can you tell the story? What happened? (answer: The king invites guests to his son’s wedding dinner. They don’t want to come. So, the king has his servants invite others. They come, but one is kicked out because he’s not wearing wedding clothes.)
This is a parable, a story that has another meaning. Jesus wasn’t really telling them about a king. Who is the real king and the king’s son? What do you think? (answer: The king is God and his son is Jesus.)
The people who ignore the king’s request to come to the dinner or who kill the king’s servants are the Jews. The servants are God’s prophets. As a whole group the Jews didn’t listen to the prophets and even killed some of them.
Then the king invites everyone else, those who aren’t Jews. Many show up. One is thrown out because he’s not wearing wedding clothes. What do you think that really means? (answer: The Bible talks about how we are cleaned by the blood of Jesus and how He will dress us in white, make us pure from all sin. This man didn’t believe in Jesus. He hadn’t had his sin forgiven. He wasn’t welcome in heaven and is thrown into hell.)

Day 23

Read Matthew 23:1-15.
What are the Pharisees like? (answer: hypocrites, proud)
I wonder what pastors and priests who are called “Father” or “Reverend” think when they read verses 8-10.
The most important thing to learn from this is that God cares what’s in your heart. If your heart is good (you love God and love others), then you will do good. If you are only acting good on the outside, eventually your evil heart will show. You can’t pretend forever.

Day 24

Read Matthew 24:1-14.
The disciples want to know when the end will come, when Jesus will come back and rule. We are still wondering, wanting to know!
Jesus doesn’t tell them. He tells them that people will try and fool them that He has already come back. What other command does He give them, “Don’t…”? (answer: Don’t be alarmed.)
He says there will be wars, famine, earthquakes and Christians will be put in prison and killed. But we aren’t to be afraid! It’s all part of God’s plan and He is only allowing it to happen to get His Church holy, ready to be with Him.
It says many will turn away from their faith because they will be afraid. We will obey whomever we fear. We need to fear God alone. He’s the only leader who wants to do what’s best for us instead of for himself.
Pray and ask God to help you not be afraid.

Day 25

Read Matthew 25:31-46.
When you help people or ignore people, do you ever think about Jesus? When have you acted like a sheep? When have you acted like a goat?

Day 26

Read Matthew 26:47-56.
Jesus says he could have asked for help and His Father would have send an army of angels. Why doesn’t Jesus want an army of angels to rescue Him? (answer: His choice was to be obedient. This is what God had chosen from the beginning.)

Day 27

Read Matthew 27:11-26.
What does the crowd yell? (answer: Crucify him!)
What did the crowd yell one week earlier? (answer: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!)

Day 28

Read Matthew 28.
I met a Jewish woman once who told me Jesus’ disciples took His body away while the guards were sleeping. It made me smile because her thinking that just proved the Bible true. Why? (hint: verse 15)
What’s wrong with the guards’ story? (answer: If there were asleep, they couldn’t know who rolled away the stone and took the body. And, guards would never sleep on the job because they would be killed if they did and allowed something to happen.)

Day 29

We finished reading the gospel of Matthew. Gospel means “good news.” What is the good news that Matthew tell us?

Day 30

Read Genesis 1.
Print out 2 of these pages of circles (Creation circles). Write Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 on four of the circles. Leave one page blank for today. Draw or write what God created that day.

Day 31

Read Genesis 2.
Fill in circles for day 5 (birds and fish), day 6 (other animals and people), day 7 (holy), and you can make a cover with your other circle.
Staple them together.

Day 32

Read Genesis 3.
Tell the story or act it out.
Who does Eve blame? (answer: the serpent)
Who does Adam blame? (answer: Eve)
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us.” (1 John 1:9) We need to confess (tell) our sins to have them forgiven. Don’t be like Adam and Eve. Admit that you did something wrong and ask forgiveness.

Day 33

Read Genesis 4:1-16.
What does God say in verses 6 and 7?
He tells Cain he is only sad and angry because he did wrong. If he had done what is right (offered God the first and best things he had grown), then he wouldn’t be sad and angry. Sin made him sad and angry. (He’s not sad that he sinned against God. He’s pouting. What does God say sin wants to do to Cain? (answer: grab him)
Cain had to make a choice right there. Would he conquer sin or let sin conquer him? Who won? (answer: sin)
What are ways you can conquer sin? (some answers: avoid temptation-get away from it, pray and praise, ask for help, decide with all your heart and mind that you always want to obey God’s word, fear God)

Day 34

Read Genesis 6:5-22.
Why did God choose to send the flood? (answer: verses 6, 13)
Why did God choose Noah to be safe? (answer: verses 9, 22)

Day 35

Read Genesis 7.
Noah built that boat for a long time. It just sat there on dry ground. He trusted God and obeyed God even though it seemed like nothing was happening. How long before the flood did Noah know when it was going to come? (answer: 7 days)
Who was saved? Who was in the ark? (answer: Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives, 2 of every kind of unclean animal, 7 of every clean animal, 7 of every kind of bird)
How long did the flood last? (answer: 150 days)
What questions do you have about this story? I wonder what they ate on the ark. What do you wonder?

Day 36

Read Genesis 8:1-4, 13-21, Genesis 9:3-4, 11-15. Keep scrolling down to read more.
Find Mount Ararat. Enter Genesis 8. If that site isn’t working, you can find it on this map. Mt. Ararat is marked with a symbol.
What were the “clean” animals for? (answer: to sacrifice as an offering)
After the flood what can they now eat? (answer: meat)
Do you think God told them to be vegetarians before the flood so that Noah’s family wouldn’t kill and eat the animals God was trying to preserve? (Just wondering.)
What is God’s covenant, promise? What is the sign to remember His promise? (answer: The rainbow is the reminder of God’s promise to never again destroy the world by a flood.)

Day 37

Read the beginning and end of chapter 11. Scroll down to read the second part.
Read Genesis 12:1-8.
Why did God confuse their language? (hint: Genesis 11:6)
How is Abram (later he is named Abraham) related to Lot? Can you figure it out? (answer: Abram is Lot’s uncle)
What did God command Abram? (answer: to leave his home and go to the land where God would show him)
What did God promise Abram? (answer: that from him would come a great nation and that all the nations of the world would be blessed because of him)

Day 38

Read Genesis 13:8-18.
What city did Lot choose to live near? (answer: Sodom)
What was wrong in the city where he chose to live? (answer: The men were evil and sinning against God.)

Day 39

Read Genesis 15:1-7, 13-16.
What does God promise Abram? (answer: That he will have as many children as the stars in the sky. Children here means descendants, meaning his children’s children and his children’s children’s children’s children, etc.)
What was Abram’s right reaction? (answer: He believed.)
What does God say is going to happen to Abram’s descendants for 400 years? (answer: They are going to be slaves in a foreign country.)

Day 40

Read Genesis 17:1-17.
What new names did they receive? (answer: Abraham and Sarah)
What’s the answer going to be to the questions in verse 17? (answer: Yes! Abraham will have a child when he is 100 and Sarah when she is 90.)

Day 41

Read Genesis 18:17-33.
What is happening in this chapter? What does God plan on doing? What is Abraham doing? (answers: God is planning on destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is asking him not to if there are righteous people in the city.)
Will God destroy the righteous with the wicked? (answer: no)
Read Genesis 19:15-26. This is the next morning. The angels are sent to destroy the city and to get Lot and his family out first.
What happens to Lot’s wife when she’s doesn’t obey the angel’s directions? (answer: She turns into a salt statue.)
What lessons can you learn from these chapters? (answers: It’s important to obey the word of the Lord. God listens to prayer and it can make a big difference.)

Day 42

Read Genesis 21:1-7.
Sarah says that everyone who hears about this will laugh. Did you laugh? Sometimes we don’t stop to think about Bible stories being real stories that happened to real people. Can you image a woman who is A LOT older than your grandmother being pregnant and having a baby after never having a baby her whole life and without doctors and special treatments, etc.? It is pretty crazy! Even with doctors and technology no one has come even close to having a baby as old as Sarah did.
Read Genesis 22:1-18.
This is a really important story. Here are some things to remember.

God does test us. When we are faced with something really hard, it shows what is really in our hearts. If God just gave us perfect lives, we would love Him for selfish reasons. We need to love God for who He really is. He is love; He is kind; He is just; He is powerful; He knows everything; He is in control; He is patient; He is faithful; He is trustworthy…What else do you know about who God is?
God never asks us to do something He wasn’t willing to do Himself. This is one big example. God did give up His only Son to be killed for us. God never wanted Issac to be killed. He only wanted to see obedience in the heart of Abraham.

Abraham will be blessed. His children will be blessed. The whole world will be blessed because…? (hint: verse 18) (answer: Abraham obeyed.)

Day 43

Read Genesis 24.
Did you notice that God answered the servant’s prayer before he even prayed?
Do you find it weird that Isaac and Rebekah get married without knowing each other first? It many parts of the world, a marriage arranged by parents is normal. The two are often given the choice, yes or no, but they may have only been introduced to the person. I have never known anyone to say no (even when the other person is not attractive at all) because they respect they choice of their families.

Day 44

Read Genesis 25:19-34.
What are the names of Isaac’s and Rebekah’s sons? (answer: Esau and Jacob)
Who was their grandfather? (answer: Abraham)
What bad thing did Esau do? (answer: He gave up his rights as the first born son.)
Birth rights are something that were important historically. In many places throughout history the oldest son received all of the father’s land and property. It was of great value to have the rights of the first born. Esau didn’t value it and gave it away for food.
I want you to notice one more thing. God had it planned from the beginning that Jacob would be the “father of Israel,” not Esau. It didn’t matter that Esau had been born first. Lots and lots of times in the Bible you will see God choose not the first and the “best” (according to the way people see it), but He will more often choose the last and least important to do His work and then they become very important.

Day 45

Read Genesis 28:10-22.
What did Jacob dream? (answer: He saw a stairway to heaven and angels going up and down them and the Lord at the top of the stairs.)
What did God promise him? (answer: The promise He gave Abraham that he would have many descendants and they would be given the land he was on and that the world will be blessed through them.)
What did Jacob promise God? (answer: If God took care of Him on his journey, then he would take Him as his God and give him a tithe, a tenth of everything that he had.)

Day 46

Read Genesis 29:10-35. Jacob has gone to his uncle’s to find a wife.
At the end of this chapter, how many sons does Leah have? (answer: 4)
Jesus is born from the family line of the last of Leah’s sons. Who was Jesus’ great, great, great, great, great,…..grandfather? (answer: Judah)
Rachel eventually has two sons, including Joseph, who you probably know about. Rachel and Leah also give their maids to be like wives to Jacob. They end up having six sons between the two of them. So, how many sons does Jacob have? (answer: 12)
When the Bible talks about the tribes of Israel, they are the family groups started by each of these sons.

Day 47

Read Genesis 31:1-21.
What does Jacob do? (answer: runs away with his family and belongings)
What does Rachel do? (answer: steals the household gods)
Why would they believe a god is powerful if it can be picked up and stolen?

Day 48

Read Genesis 37:1-11 and 19-36.
What were Joseph’s dreams? (answer: that grain and stars bowed down to him, meaning his brothers would bow down to him)
Why were his brothers mad? (answer: They were jealous because Joseph was their father’s favorite.)
Who wanted to save Joseph? (answer: Reuben)
Who ended up being Joseph’s owner? (answer: Potiphar, pharaoh’s official)

Day 49

Read Genesis 39.
What did God do for Joseph? (answer: He blessed everything Joseph did.)
What was his job? (answer: He was in charge of everything in Potiphar’s home. )
Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to act like a husband toward her. Joseph refuses, but he makes the mistake of being alone with her. What happens to Joseph because of her lie? (answer: He is thrown in jail.)

Day 50

Read Genesis 40.
Who was sent to jail? (answer: the royal cupbearer and the baker)
They both had dreams. What did Joseph do? (answer: Joseph told them what their dreams meant, and he was right.)

Day 51

Read Genesis 41:1-16, 25-27.
What was Pharoah’s dream and what did it mean? (answer: Seven fat cows and seven heads of grain mean there will be seven years of lots of food and wealth. Seven skinny cows and seven bad heads of grain that eat the good ones mean that seven years when there won’t be enough will come and “eat up” anything extra from the years when there was plenty.)

Day 52

Read Genesis 41:41-57.
What did Joseph do to prepare for the famine? (answer: He stored up grain.)
What did he do once the Egyptians felt the famine and asked Pharaoh for food? (answer: He sold them grain.)

Day 53

Read chapter 42:1-26.
Who came to Egypt? (answer: all of Joseph’s brothers except Benjamin)
What does Joseph accuse them of? (answer: spying)
What happened to make Joseph remember his dream? (answer: They bowed down to them.)

Day 54

Read Genesis 43:11-32. Israel has finally agreed to let them go back to Egypt to buy more grain after they had already eaten all the grain they had brought. He took so long to agree because he was worried about Benjamin who had to travel with them this time.
Now instead of favoring Joseph because he was Rachel’s son, he favors Benjamin because he was Rachel’s son. Israel/Jacob even left Simeon in prison all this time while they used up all of the grain instead of sending the brothers back right away to get him out of prison. All because he valued Benjamin more than Simeon. But the brothers act differently toward Benjamin. They are no longer jealous. They understand and are treating him as more important, saying they will place his life above theirs.

Day 55

Read Genesis 44:1-11, 18-19, 33-34.
What happened? What did Joseph sneak into Benjamin’s? (answer: silver cup to make it look like he stole it)
He is testing them to see how they will treat his mother’s son, Benjamin. He sees they have changed their hearts and do not treat Benjamin the way they treated him.
Who offers to be a slave instead of Benjamin? (answer: Judah)

Day 56

Read Genesis 45:1-10.
The brothers sold him but who does Joseph say “sent” him? (answer: God)
Some people say God only does the “good” stuff. He doesn’t send the bad stuff in our lives. But here Joseph is saying that God was in control of all the “bad” that happened to him, but when God is control He works it all out so it ends up being for your good.

Day 57

Read Genesis 46:2-4.
What promises did God give Jacob? (answer: that He would be in Egypt with them and that He would bring them out again)
Read Genesis 47:1-6.
Where did the Israelites settle? (answer: the part of Egypt called Goshen)

Day 58

Read Genesis 50:15-26.
What were Joseph’s brothers afraid of? (answer: that Joseph would do something to get back at them)
Joseph tells the brothers that God had used his coming to Egypt for good and saved many lives. How did God save many lives through Joseph’s being sold as a slave? (answer: because he was in Egypt he was able to interpret the Pharaoh’s dream and store up food to give the people during the famine to keep them from starving)

Day 59

Read Exodus 1:8-13, 22.
Did you notice we started a new book? Exodus. EX in the beginning of a word means out like EXit. In Exodus the Israelites are going to come out of Egypt. The main character of the story now is going to be Moses. This is where his story is going to begin.
What did the new Pharaoh do to the Hebrews? (answer: He made them slaves and ordered that all the boy babies be killed.)
A long time passes…
Read Exodus 2:1-10.
Moses’ mother hides him by the river. Now she must have hid it near Pharaoh’s palace because Pharaoh’s daughter finds him and feels bad for him and wants to take care of him. And one of my favorite things in the whole Bible, Pharaoh’s daughter hires Moses’ own mother to take care of him.

Day 60

Read Exodus 2:11-15.
Moses sees the Israelites being treated wrongly. He tries to save one himself. How did he do it? (answer: by killing the Egyptian)
He made things worse instead of better. God is going to use Moses to save, or deliver, the Israelites from the Egyptians but it’s not going to be by the power of man.
Moses ends up living with the Midianites and marries one of them.
This is happening about 40 years later. Read Exodus 3:1-10.
We’ll read more about this day.

Day 61

Read Exodus 3:7-22.
Tell someone what God’s plan is. What are all of the instructions to Moses?

Day 62

Read Exodus 4:1-17.
Moses is worried that the Israelites won’t believe him and he’s worried that he won’t be able to speak well. What does God do to help him? (answer: He gives him miracles to perform including a staff that turns into a snake and he sends his brother Aaron to speak for him.)

Day 63

Read Exodus 5:1-9, 22-23.
What was Pharaoh’s response when Moses and Aaron asked him to let them go for a few days? (answer: He said no and increased their work.)
Moses is upset because God sent him to deliver his people from the Egyptians but instead he made things worse! He doesn’t know what’s about to happen.

Day 64

Read Exodus 7:14-24.
What was the first plague God sent to change Pharaoh’s mind? (answer: turn the Nile into blood)
Notice that Pharaoh’s magicians that practice evil magic could also turn water into blood. Notice that God allowed them only to make the plague worse! They couldn’t make it better! If they truly had power like God’s, they could have turned it back into water. Only God could end the plague.

Day 65

There is a plague of frogs and a plague of gnats all over Egypt. Pharaoh’s magicians can make more frogs, but they can’t make the dust turn into gnats like God did. The Israelites suffered through these first plagues it seemed. I’m sure after those plagues the Israelites had changed their minds about Moses and believed that God was using him to rescue them from the Egyptians.
Read Exodus 8:20-30.
What did God do differently this time to show that He was in control over the land? (answer: He kept the plague of flies from Goshen, which is where the Israelites lived.)

Day 66

Read Exodus 9:1-7.
What plague did God send? (answer: He killed the farm animals of the Egyptians.)
How did God show that He was the God of the Hebrews? (answer: None of the animals belonging to the Hebrews, Israelites, died.)
In the rest of the chapter God sends a plague of boils, which are sores on your body, and a plague of hail.

Day 67

Next came a plague of locusts. Then…
Read Exodus 10:21-29.
What plague is God going to send next? (answer: darkness)
How will God treat the Hebrews differently from the Egyptians? (answer: They will have light.)
What does Moses agree with at the end of the chapter? (answer: Pharaoh will never see his face again.)

Day 68

Read Exodus 12:1-16.
What was the last plague? (answer: The first born of all the Egyptians died.)
When death passed over the Israelites because of the lamb’s blood, that night we call the Passover. Death passed over them. Jesus died during the Jewish holiday of Passover. His last meal was the Passover supper and then he was killed. That’s why we call Jesus the Lamb of God. He was our Passover lamb. His blood covers us and makes it so death can pass over us and not touch us. Many things in the Old Testament reflect what is going to happen in the New Testament. Sometimes they seem so different, but they really are a perfect match!

Day 69

Read Exodus 14:5-28.
What happened? (answer: Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after the Israelites. God made a way for them to escape by walking on dry land through the sea, but the water crashed down on the Egyptian army.)

Day 70

Read Exodus 15:19-27.
What test does the Lord give the Israelites? He tells them to obey Him.)

Day 71

Read Exodus 16:1-4, 11-23.
When the Israelites were hungry, what did they do? (answer: They grumbled, again.)
What did God provide for them? (answer: quail meat in the evening and bread in the morning)
This type of bread the Israelites named manna, and they ate it every day for forty years until they came to the land God promised them.

Day 72

Read Exodus 17:1-13.
How were they testing the Lord? (answer: They questioned, “Is the Lord among us or not?” They questioned if God had abandoned them and stopped taking care of them.)
What did Moses have to do for the Israelites to win against the Amalekites? (answer: He had to keep up his arms and his staff.)

Day 73

Read Exodus 19:16-25.
What is this talking about? Moses is talking to God on Mount Sinai (sigh-nigh). Only Aaron is allowed to come too. Every one else must be set apart as holy–they had to clean their clothes and make sure they didn’t do anything wrong just so that they could stand near the mountain. Anyone who touched the mountain would die. We’ll read more about this later, how God is holy and people cannot just go into His presence. That’s the most powerful thing that Jesus did. His death and resurrection makes it so that we can be made holy and can go into God’s presence. On the mountain God is going to give the law to Moses, the Ten Commandments.

Day 74

L* (M is using this too.)

Read Exodus 20:1-12.
What are the Ten Commandments? Fill in the worksheet. You will finish it tomorrow.

Day 75

Read Exodus 20:13-24.
Finish your worksheet from Day 74.

Day 76

What comes next is the Law. We are not going to read the whole law given to the Israelites. There are more than 600 laws. They cover all sorts of things. Things like, “If you cow wanders away and falls into a hole on someone else’s land…” and tells you what should happen to be fair.
Read Exodus 23:20-33.
What are the Israelites told not to do? ( hint: verse 24)
What are they promised if they obey and worship God? (hint: verse 25)
What do verses 32 and 33 say they shouldn’t do? What happens if they do?

Day 77

Read Exodus 24. Be on the lookout for strange and unusual things.
What did you notice that was strange and unusual? (answer: What I saw that seemed strange and unusual is that they saw God, at least his feet. Also, they put blood on everybody.)
What do the Israelites promise to do? (hint: verse 7)

Day 78

Up on the mountain God gives Moses instructions for building him a place to live among the Israelites. It’s called a tabernacle. There are six chapters on instructions for how to build it, what to put inside it (for offering sacrifices and for honoring God’s presence) and for who can approach it and how. Here are a few pictures from a mini museum of what the tabernacle was like.
Read Exodus 32:1-8 and 31-35.
What sin did the Israelites commit? (answer: They built an idol, a statue to worship as god.)
How did God punish them? (answer: He sent a plague.)

Day 79

Read Exodus 34:1-14, 29-32.
Who wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets? (hint: verse 1)
What are some of the ways that God describes Himself? (hint: verses 6 and 7)

Day 80

Read Leviticus 6.
Did you notice? We moved into new book. The rest of Exodus repeated all of the directions for the tabernacle while the people built it. God was very specific in how it should be done, what colors, what sizes. The tabernacle, the arc and the mercy seat were where God dwelled among the Israelites. And just like when God’s presence was on the mountain, anyone not invited and not made holy could not go into the tabernacle or they would die. That’s what Jesus did for us. He makes us holy so that we can be in God’s presence. That doesn’t mean we get to sin and still be with God. It means that we can can be holy through repentance and through the forgiveness we are offered because Jesus took our punishment for us by dying on the cross.
In Leviticus we read about many more of the laws. In this chapter it talks about some of the offerings they are required to to make. When someone sinned, something had to be sacrificed, an animal was killed, so that the sin could be forgiven. In the New Testament we read, “The wages of sin is death.” Death is payment sin requires. That’s what Jesus did for us. He made the payment. We don’t sacrifice animals anymore because Jesus was the final sacrifice, great enough for all of us.
When an offering was made, sometimes for sin, sometimes to say thank you, sometimes to celebrate a holiday, part of the animal was burnt (all the fat–God was keeping them healthy!) and part of the animal was given to the priest for him and his family to eat, and the rest the person making the offering got to keep/eat. There are very specific rules for all of it, which of course, the Israelites will soon break!

Day 81

The next few chapters are about the different types of sacrifices and Aaron and his sons making the sacrifices and offerings to God. Remember, there are specific rules for what they are supposed to do. If they feared and honored God, they would follow all of the rules. Then this happens…
Read Leviticus 10:1-3.
Read Leviticus 11:1-3. These are the rules God set for the Israelites for what they could eat.
What does the New Testament say about these dietary laws? Mark 7:18-19 Acts 10:9-16
The second one shows that the disciples didn’t just give up their diet that they had been trained on since youth. The second one, the vision, was used by God to teach Peter that God could “clean” a non-Jew. Just after this Peter goes to the home of a non-Jew, a Gentile, and preaches the gospel. Before, he wouldn’t have even gone into the home of a Gentile because it was “unclean.” But both of these show that the power of God is not found in food. Eating certain foods doesn’t make us “unclean”, unholy. Sin is what makes us unholy.

Day 82

What we skipped was a long list of rules for the Israelites to live by.
Read Leviticus 23.
This is a list of holidays the Israelites are to remember each year. You remember Passover, right? The Day of Atonement is when the Israelites’ sins are forgiven when a sacrifice is made on their behalf. They are to live in little huts for a week during the festival of booths.

Day 83

Read Leviticus 25:11-28.
What does God say in verse 23? (answer: He says that the land they live on is really His. He says they are just renting the land. They shouldn’t act like they own it.)
What do you have that you don’t really own, that really belongs to God? Ask your parents about it.

Day 84

Read Leviticus 26:1-17.
What are some of the blessings promised to them when they obey?
What are some the punishments promised them when they disobey?

Day 85

Read Numbers 11:1-23, 31-34.
What did the Israelites do wrong? (answer: They complained.)
How did God punish them? (answer: God sent a fire and a plague.)

Day 86

Did you notice we are in a new book now? It’s called Numbers. Can you guess why? Yep, there are a lot of numbers in the book. They count up everyone by family and keep records of everything. This is all significant as a record of history, but it’s not terribly exciting.
Read Numbers 12.
Remember that Aaron, Moses and Miriam are brothers and sister. How are Aaron and Miriam feeling? (answer: sounds like they were prideful and jealous)
What happened to Miriam? (answer: She got leprosy.)
What was special about Moses? (answer: He was more humble than everyone and God spoke to him plainly face to face.)

Day 87

The Israelites have reached part of the land that God promised them. Moses sends spies into the land to see what’s there.
Read Numbers 13:17-33.
Who wasn’t afraid of the people in the land and they should go take the land? (answer: Caleb)
Why is everyone else afraid? (answer: They say the people there are so big and their cities have walls around them.)
Stand up. Look down at your feet and picture a grasshopper. The Israelites said that’s what they felt like next to the people who lived there. There were giants living there, like Goliath was a giant, but saying they were like grasshoppers next to them was definitely an exaggeration

Day 88

This is a bit of a long one today. Be patient to read it. Read Numbers 14:1-10, 26-45. This starts right after the Israelites hear that there are giants living in the land they are supposed to go and conquer and live in.
What are they saying? (answer: They want a new leader. They don’t want to fight.)
What do they want to do to Joshua and Caleb? (answer: They want to kill them.)
What’s their punishment? (answer: They can’t enter the promised land. Anyone 20 years old and up will have to die in the desert. The Israelites will wander in the desert for 40 years instead of entering into the promised land.)
When they realize they are going to be punished, they say, “Oh, we’ll obey now,” and they go up to fight, but that wasn’t what they were supposed to do. It was too late. They gotten beaten in the battle.

Day 89

Read Numbers 16:1-7, 28-35, 41-50.
These men were sons of Levi. That means they were Levites. They were the tribe chosen to care for the tabernacle and all related duties. Only specially chosen ones could be priests and enter the tabernacle to offer sacrifices and be in God’s presence. They thought they were just as good as Aaron. They said, “The Lord is with us too, so we can present an offering to the Lord too.”
They are all killed.
Do you have any guess why the Israelites didn’t fear God after those men were killed? We know they didn’t because they complained that Moses and Aaron had killed the Levites when God was the one who had done it.
Then God punishes the Israelites and sends a plague. Thousands die until Aaron makes a sacrifice that they can be forgiven.
These stories should teach you the fear of the Lord. He is holy and all powerful and we can’t treat Him any way we please.

Day 90

Read Numbers 17.
What does God do to teach the Israelites who He has chosen so that they will stop complaining about their leaders? (answer: He has the leader of each tribe write his name on a staff and place it in the tabernacle. In the morning Aaron’s staff had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. His staff was placed in the tabernacle as a reminder to everyone.)

Day 91

Read Numbers 20:1-13.
You read that Miriam, Moses’ sister died. Later in the chapter Aaron dies.
The Israelites are complaining again about food and say it would have been better to have been killed than to die of thirst. Why don’t they believe God will provide for them?!
What instruction does God give Moses? (answer: Speak to the rock and water will come out.)
What does Moses do? (answer: He strikes the rock like God had had him do 40 years earlier.)
Because Moses didn’t treat God as holy (by disobeying what God had said), Moses and Aaron are told they will not be allowed to enter the promised land they have been leading the Israelites toward for 40 years. (It would have been a short journey, but they were forced to wander in the desert for 40 years because they didn’t believe God would help them defeat the giants.)

Day 92

The Israelites defeat one of the peoples living in Canaan. Another group, the Moabites, are afraid. Their king, Balak, tries to to get God on their side by asking Balaam to curse the Israelites.
Read Numbers 22:7-34.
God tells Balaam not to go with them. But when Balak’s officials push him, he goes and asks God again. God is not pleased that Balaam was still willing to go with them after He had told Balaam no. What does God do to show Balaam He is angered? (answer: He sends a destroying angel to block his path.)
What keeps Balaam from being killed by the angel? (answer: His donkey stays away from the angel.)
What do you think makes this a famous story from the Bible? (answer: The talking donkey!)

Day 93

Read Numbers 27.
This may not seem a significant chapter, but I wanted to point out something. It was really remarkable to have these daughters get the right to inherit land. Their father had died and he had no sons. God gives the land ownership to the man’s daughters. While men seem to rule everything and get all the rights, God doesn’t leave the women without hope. He provides for them and is thoughtful of them at all times.
Moses is about to die. Who does he pass on leadership responsibilities to? (answer: Joshua)

Day 94

We come to the book of Deuteronomy. In this book there is a retelling of Israel’s history.
Read Deuteronomy 6.
Memorize Deutoronomy 6:4-5.
What promises does God give them if they obey? (hint: verses 2, 3 and 24)

Day 95

The whole book of Deuteronomy Moses is giving a speech. He reminds the Israelites of how God has taken care of them and of all of the promises He has made. He also reminds them of the laws and the consequences of disobeying. Towards the end he presents everyone with a choice. What is the choice?
Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20.
What is the choice? (answer: He says you can choose between life and death. If they obey God, they will live. If they disobey God, they will die.)
We have the same choice today. We’ve already broken God’s laws, but we can ask for forgiveness because of Jesus’ death for us. And we can ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us and help us live according to God’s Word.

What is your choice?

Day 96

Moses dies and Joshua becomes Israel’s leader. He sends spies into Jericho and then leads all of Israel across the Jordan River.
Find the Jordan and Jericho on the map. The Jordan runs between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Jericho is just north of the Dead Sea.
Read Joshua 2:1-14 and Joshua 3:14-17.
How does Israel cross the Jordan? (answer: The priests stand in the water carrying the arc of the covenant and the water stops flowing and heaps up in a pile leaving the ground dry for the Israelites to cross.)

Day 97

Read Joshua 6:1-20.
What did they have to do in order to make the wall fall down? (answer: Obey God! Did I trick you? Yes, they had to march 7 days and play trumpets and shout, but the marching and shouting doesn’t make walls fall down, only God could have done that. Their obedience showed their faith in Him to do it!)

Day 98

Read Joshua 7:1-21.
What happens when they go to attack Ai? (answer: They are defeated and chased away.)
Why? (answer: Someone had disobeyed God’s command not to take anything from Jericho for themselves.)
Who broke God’s command? (answer: Achan)
He is stoned to death because he disobeyed.

Day 99

Read Joshua 10:1-15.
Five kings join together to attack. God tells Joshua that he will win. They surprise attack them.
What does Joshua say to the sun? (answer: Sun stand still until we have the complete victory.)
We know now that the sun always stands still. It’s the earth that’s moving. It was just an expression that the sun stood still. Joshua was asking that night wouldn’t fall until the battle was over. Maybe the Lord provided the light Himself for the Israelites that day, to make it light all night. Or, maybe the earth could have stopped spinning. If God spoke the universe into existence, then he can control it by His word as well.

Day 100

Read Joshua 24:1-21.
Joshua is about to die. He reminds Israel what God has done for them.
What does verse 12 say that God did for them? (answer: God sent hornets to get the others to leave the land.)
What does everyone promise? (answer: that they will serve the Lord)

Day 101
L

Read Judges 2.
You’ll see that we’ve started a new book. Joshua dies and they don’t have a leader except the Lord.
What do they do? (answer: They disobey. They serve other gods. They break their word.)
What is their punishment for breaking their side of the covenant? (answer: God will no longer drive out the nations before them. Other peoples will still live in their land.)
When another nation defeats them, what is God going to do to help them? (answer: He will raise up a judge to deliver them from their enemies.)

Day 102
L

Read Judges 4:1-9, 23-24.
The first verse mentions Ehud. He was the previous judge of Israel. Israel sins, God punishes them, they cry out to God for help, God sends a judge to deliver them and teach them again what is right and wrong.
Who is the newest judge? (It says “leader,” but you can read what her job was. She acted as a judge. She told the people what was right and wrong.) (answer: Deborah)

Day 103
L

Read Judges 6:1-10, 36-40.
What did the Israelites do again? (answer: They disobeyed.)
What happened to them? (answer: They were taken over by the Midianites.)
Anyone remember hearing about the Midianites before? (answer: It’s who Moses lived with when he ran away from Egypt.)
God chooses a man name Gideon to be the next deliverer and judge of Israel. How does Gideon feel about that? (answer: unsure He asks God to show me twice that He really was going to use Gideon to do this big job. God does what Gideon asks.)

Day 104
L

Read Judges 7:1-21.
How many Israelites fought? (answer: 300)
God showed them that it wasn’t their strength that won battles but His.
What trick did they do to make the Midanites think there were a lot more of them. (answer: Each one carried a torch and a trumpet, so it looked like there 300 light carriers and it sounded like there were 300 trumpet blowers all coming before what must be a really big army!)

Day 105
L

Read Judges 14:5-20.
Gideon has died and many other judges have ruled as Israel is in constant need of saving because they keep disobeying God.
Samson is the next chosen deliverer of Israel. He falls in love with a Philistine woman. Israelites aren’t supposed to marry non-Israelites, but he does and God uses it as a way to get the Philistines, who at the time are ruling over Israel.
How do we know Samson is a strong man (in the power of God)? (answer: He tore a lion apart.)
Even though he was the strongest man, who was able to get the secret from him? (answer: his wife)
Why did he tell her? (answer: She wore him down with nagging.)
Be careful whom you marry!

Day 106
L

It happens again! Read Judges 16:5-22.
Why does he tell Delilah the secret even though it is obvious that she’s helping the Philistines? (answer: She wore him down with constant nagging.)
Again, the strongest man is weakened by a woman.
What happens at the very end of the reading? (answer: His hair starts to grow back. Samson’s strength returns and he gets revenge on the Philistines.)

Day 107
L

Read Judges 17.
What’s wrong in this story? Micah’s mother says the silver is for the Lord. But what does she say to do with it? (answer: make an idol)
What was a Levite’s job, do you remember? (answer: They were in charge of the temple and the sacrifices.)
What does the Levite in this story decide to do? (answer: He becomes a priest for the idol.)
Israel has lost its way. They say they are the following the Lord, but they are all doing it in their own way and not following Him at all!
Israel just gets worse and worse. Then a sin is revealed that everyone agrees is so bad that they all unite together to fight against those who committed it and together they clean up Israel and turn back to God.

Day 108
L

Read Ruth 1:1-16.
Who are Ruth and Naomi? (answer: Naomi is an Israelite who left Israel because of famine. She returned to Israel after he husband died. Her two daughter-in-laws are with her. One goes back to Moab. Ruth decides to stay with Naomi and become a follower of the God of Israel.)

Day 109
L

Read Ruth 2:8-23.
Ruth goes to collect grain from a field so that she and Naomi have food to eat. God sees her to a field of a relative of Naomi’s. He blesses her in return for how she has cared for Naomi. Naomi recognizes that God has not abandoned her, He is caring for her.

Day 110
L

Read Ruth 4:1-12.
This is like a court scene. In the previous chapter Ruth reminds Boaz of the Jewish way of relatives obtaining the property and wives of the deceased in order to continue the family of the deceased. Boaz makes sure that the law is followed. Another relative has the first right to the land, but he doesn’t want the obligation.
What is the outcome? (answer: Boaz agrees to take Ruth as his wife.)
They have a child and Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of the future King David.

Day 111
L

The book of 1 Samuel is about, guess who? It starts with a woman named Hannah who has no children. She is at the house of the Lord at one of the times of sacrifice. She is crying. She promises the Lord that if she has a son, she will dedicate him to the Lord. The priest, Eli, sees her and tells her that she will receive whatever she is asking for. Hannah believes him and is soon pregnant.
Read 1 Samuel 2:12-26 and 30-36.
Eli’s sons did may evil things. What is one of them? (answer: The biggest is that they didn’t fear the Lord. They stole meat that people were bringing to sacrifice to God.)
What’s going to happen to them? (answer: They will both die on the same day.)
God says He’s going to raise up a new priest. Who do you think it’s going to be?

Day 112
L

Read 1 Samuel 3.
Who calls to Samuel? (answer: the Lord)
Who does Samuel think is calling to him? (answer: Eli)
What does Samuel grow up to be? (answer: a prophet)

Day 113
L

The Israelites are fighting the Philistines. They are losing. So, they have an idea…
Read 1 Samuel 4:4-18.
What do the Israelites bring into camp? (answer: the ark)
What happens to the ark? (answer: It is captured.)
What happens to Eli’s sons? (answer: They are killed in battle. They both die in one day just like Samuel had prophesied.)
What happens to Eli? (answer: He falls over and dies when he hears the ark has been captured.)

Day 114
L

Read 1 Samuel 5.
I think this is a funny story. Where do the Philistines put the ark? (answer: in one of their temples and placed it next to a statue of Dagon, one of their gods)
What did they find in the morning? (answer: the statue was lying face down before the ark like he was honoring and worshiping God)
What else happens to the Philistines? (answer: They are plagued with tumors.)
They decide to give the ark back to Israelites and send it to them with a sacrifice.

Day 115
L

Read 1 Samuel 8.
What does Israel want? (answer: a king)
Why is that wrong? (answer: because God is their king)
What is the problem with kings? (answer: They will demand things from the people for themselves.)
Read 1 Samuel 10:17-24.
Who is chosen king? (answer: Saul)
What makes Saul different? (answer: He’s taller than everyone else.)

Day 116
L

Read 1 Samuel 12.
This is a little review of Israel’s history. What sin do they realize they have committed? (answer: asking for a king)
What is the only way to avoid future disaster for Israel? (answer: They and their king have to obey God.)

Day 117
L

Read 1 Samuel 13:1-14.
I don’t know how long it has been since Saul has been king. It’s not the end of his reign though. The first verse there just tells how long all together that he is king.
What does Saul do wrong? (answer: He presents the offering to God instead of a priest doing it.)
What is the punishment? (answer: He is told that his kingdom won’t last, that it will be given to another.)

Day 118
L

Read 1 Samuel 15:1-23.
What did Saul do wrong? (answer: He didn’t obey God.)
Saul said that he didn’t obey because he wanted animals to sacrifice to God. He wanted to do a “good” thing. What does Samuel say is better than sacrifice? (answer: to obey is better than sacrifice)
Samuel tells him his kingdom is taken away and given to another.

Day 119
L

Read 1 Samuel 16.
Who did Jesse probably think was God’s chosen? (answer: his oldest son)
How does God choose someone? (answer: not by appearance but by their heart)
How does David end up in Saul’s palace? (answer: He is chosen to play the harp for him.)

Day 120
L

Read 1 Samuel 17:12-58.
How is David again in the king’s presence and gaining recognition in the kingdom?

Day 121
L

Read 1 Samuel 18:1-9, 20-30.
What do the people say about Saul and David’s success on the battlefield? (answer: Saul has killed thousands and David tens of thousands.)
How is Saul feeling about David? (answer: He is jealous. He thinks David will take his kingdom.)
Who does David marry? (answer: Saul’s daughter.)

Day 122
L

In chapter 19 Saul tries to kill David. His jealousy is controlling him. Do you remember anyone else who wanted to kill someone because of jealousy? (answer: Cain and some of Joseph’s brothers)
In chapter 20 we read about what a close friendship David has with Saul’s son, Jonathan. Jonathan would be the natural next king because he is the eldest son of Saul. Yet even though he realizes David might be king instead, he is not the one who is jealous. He loves David and helps him by telling him he needs to leave because Saul is going to keep trying to kill David. David runs away.
In the next chapters David is helped by some priests and fights some Philistines and wins. Saul kills the priests for helping David and continues to chase David even though he is fighting on Israel’s side against the Philistines.
Read 1 Samuel 24.
How does David get a chance to kill Saul? (answer: Saul is going to the bathroom in a cave where David is hiding.)
Why doesn’t David kill Saul? (answer: He wouldn’t hurt the one the Lord anointed. He is not in rebellion against the king at all. He would be happy to serve king Saul if he weren’t trying to kill him!)

Day 123
L

David marries two more women. He is leading a band of 600 men. David gets the chance to kill Saul again, but he doesn’t do it, again. David is living among the Philistines. The Philistines are going to attack Israel. Saul wanted to ask the Lord what would happen, as he normally would seek from the Lord before a battle, but the Lord will not answer him. So Saul gets an idea to ask Samuel, but Samuel had died. Saul, according to the Law of God, had gotten rid of all spiritists, psychics. People who say they can talk to the dead.
Read 1 Samuel 28:3-24.
Anyone who does this kind of work with spirits is supposed to be killed. The woman fears for her life.
There are fake psychics who make things up and tell people what they want to hear. Horoscopes and fortune cookies are forms of this. Even if they are meaningless, it’s best to avoid them because Satan can use them to try and control your mind and make you think a certain way.
There are real psychics who serve Satan and can communicate with demons. Demons can see things in the world now and know things from the past. They use those truths to convince people that the psychic really knows what she’s talking about. Then Satan can lie about what will happen in the future to control that person’s decisions and actions. Only God knows the future. Satan knows nothing of the future except what is written in the Bible.
God allows a special circumstance. The woman gets a message from Samuel. Samuel gives one last prophecy, that Saul will die that day.

Day 124
L

I’m going to tell you what happens over the next several chapters. Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle against the Philistines. David is made king in Hebron and rules of Judah, but the leader of Saul’s army makes one of Saul’s sons king over Israel. Israel is split. The two sides war for seven years. David grows stronger and stronger and the other side grows weaker and weaker. Finally, Israel is united under king David.
Read 2 Samuel 5:1-5.
How long will David rule over Israel? (answr: 40 years)

Day 125
L

Read 2 Samuel 6:1-15.
What were they bringing ot Jerusalem? (answer: the arc of the covenant)
Why was David scared of it? (answer: Someone touched it and was killed.)
What does David do to celebrate? (answer: dances)

Day 126
L

Read 2 Samuel 7:1-17.
Just like God made a covenant promise with Abraham that his people forever would be God’s people, God makes a covenant with David and promises that his son will rule after him and that David’s kingdom will be established forever through his descendants. God says he will punish David’s son, who will disobey, but He will not remove His love like He did from Saul. David does not understand that his first born son is not the one who will be king after him, nor does he understand that the everlasting kingdom will be a heavenly kingdom established by the Messiah.
Who is the prophet that delivered the message? (answer: Nathan)
What did David want to do? (answer: build a house for the Lord)
Who will build it? (answer: his son)

Day 127
L

Read 2 Samuel 9.
Usually a new king wants to kill everyone from the previous royal family so that there is no threat to his throne. Why does David want to show kindness to someone from Saul’s family? (answer: for Jonathan’s sake)
Who does he honor? (answer: Mephiboseth, try and say it out loud)

Day 128
L

Read 2 Samuel 11.
What sins does David commit? (answer: adultery–treating another woman as if she were his wife, murdering Uriah)
What was Bathsheba’s sin? (answer: adultery–Even though disobeying a king probably meant possibly being killed, she still should have refused King David.)
This chapter tells us Bathsheba’s father’s name. We can read several chapters later that his father, Bathsheba’s grandfather, was one of David’s advisors, someone David trusted to give him advice. He gave perfect advice. After he realizes what has happened, he leaves David and works for someone else who wants to be king in David’s place. That story is coming next.

Day 129
L

Read 2 Samuel 12:1-24.
Who does God use to confront David about his sin? (answer: Nathan)
What happens to Bathsheba’s baby? (answer: dies)
What do they name their next son? (answer: Solomon)

Day 130
L

Read 2 Samuel 13:23-31 and 33-38.
Who killed whom? (answer: Absalom killed Amnon.)
Who were those men? (answer: David’s sons)
Things are never going to be right again since David sinned.

Day 131
L

Read 2 Samuel 15:1-14.
After several years Absalom, David’s son starts planning his move to become king. He was David’s oldest son, so he expected he was to be the next king. What does he do? (answer: He starts acting as judge and then gets a group together to declare that he is king in the city of Hebron.)
What does David do? (answer: flees the palace)

Day 132
L

Read 2 Samuel 16:23 and 2 Samuel 17:1-14.
Ahithophel was David’s advisor and became a traitor and joined Absalom. He always gave perfect advice.
Hushai was a servant of David’s pretending to help Absalom. David sent him to keep Absalom from following Ahithophel’s advice.
Who’s advice does Absalom take? (answer: Hushai)
Who’s side is the Lord on? (hint: verse 14) (answer: David’s)
If we know who’s side the Lord is on, then we know the outcome. Who is going to win and be king? (answer: David, Absalom and Ahithophel die.)

Day 133
L

Read 2 Samuel 24:1-17.
What was David’s sin? (answer: taking a census, counting his army)
It may not seem like a sin, but we read that David felt guilty about it. He knew it was wrong. He wanted to know his strength, as if he knew what he could rely on in battle. He was acting as if he’d forgotten that with God on your side, you can fight with no people and still win!
God had reason to punish Israel and this is how he does it. What punishment does David choose? (answer: a plague)
David prays to God and the plague ends. He was right that he could rely on God’s mercy.

Day 134
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Read 1 Kings 1:28-40. We’ve entered a new book, Kings. What’s it going to be about?
Who is going to be king after David? (answer: Solomon)
Whose son is Solomon? (answer: David and Bathsheba’s)
He is not David’s oldest son. Again, God is choosing who will be king and is not following the custom of the day where the eldest son would become king.

Day 135
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King David has died and Solomon is ruling as king. Read 1 Kings 3:1-15.
God offers Solomon anything he wants. What does he ask for? (answer: wisdom, understanding, knowing what is right and wrong)
What does God give him? (answer: wisdom and understanding and honor and riches)

Day 136
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Read 1 Kings 4:29-34.
Read 1 Kings 5:1-12.
What do these two examples show? (answer: how God had given him great wisdom)

Day 137
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Solomon works for 13 years to finish building the temple. Then he gathered everyone together to dedicate the temple to the Lord. You are going to read his prayer at the dedication.
Read 1 Kings 8:22-53.
What do you think is the main thing he asks for? (answer: It seems like he is asking, “Hear us when we pray,”)

Day 138
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Read 1 Kings 10:14-29.
What did Solomon have? (answer: everything! He got so much money, horses and chariots and we’ll learn, wives.)
What’s wrong with all this stuff he got for himself? Read this portion of the law that Solomon forgot.
Is Solomon in trouble? (answer: You bet!)

Day 139
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Read 1 Kings 11:1-14, and 23-26.
What caused Solomon to worship other gods? (answer: His wives worshipped other gods and lead him astray, but they couldn’t have done that if he hadn’t first disobeyed God’s command to not marry women from those nations. He also disobeyed the command to not get lots of wives for himself. His disobedience was his downfall.)
What is going to happen because he disobeyed and worshiped other gods? (answer: Most of the kingdom will be taken from his son and he will have troubles with people coming against him for the rest of his life.)

Day 140
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Read 1 Kings 12:1-20.
Rehoboam does not have his father’s wisdom. What foolish mistake does he make? (answer: He doesn’t listen to his father’s advisors. He listens to his friends who have no wisdom from experience and he makes the whole nation mad!)
Everyone leaves Rehoboam. He is left ruling only in Judah. Who is ruling over the rest of the tribes of Israel? (answer: Jeroboam)
From now on it will talk about Judah and Israel, these two portions of formal Israel. They will be against each other now.

Day 141
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Jeroboam is king over Israel.
Rehoboam is king over Judah.
The nation of Israel has been torn in half and they are constantly at war with each other. A long ling of kings takes the throne in each place. By far, most of the kings are evil. Read the list of kings. Try and pay attention to whether the king is in Israel or in Judah. Also, pay attention to anyone who is a good king. (Keep scrolling down the page.)
Who was the one good king? (answer: Asa, king in Judah)
The last we read, Ahab, married to Jezebel, was king in Israel.

Day 142
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While Ahab is king in Israel, a new prophet comes on the scene, Elijah. In this chapter we read a prophecy and about several miracles.
Read 1 Kings 17.
What is the prophecy he makes? (answer: that there will be no dew or rain for the next few years)
How does God provide for him at first? (answer: God tells him where there is a source of water and sends ravens to deliver him bread and meat twice a day.)
When the brook dried up, where did God send Elijah? (answer: answer: to the house of a widow)
What miracles did the widow receive? (answer: She never ran out of oil and flour to make bread. Her son came back to life.)

Day 143
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A few years have passed and Ahab is still king in Israel. Read 1 Kings 18:16-46. This is a long, but a famous story.
Tell the story of the Mount Carmel challenge.
Afterwards, Elijah goes and prays. What happens? (answer: the drought is ended and it rains)
Ahab gets in his chariot and rides off. Elijah starts running. Who’s faster? (answer: Elijah, by the power of God)

Day 144
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Jezebel wants to kill Elijah. He runs away. God sends an angel to Elijah to feed him to prepared for a journey. God sends him far away, to Mount Sinai.
Read 1 Kings 19:9-18.
God comes to Elijah. He doesn’t come in the power of an earthquake or a fire. What does he come and speak in? (answer: a gentle whisper)
Who will be God’s prophet after Elijah? (answer: Elisha)
The Israelites are going to be punished for worshiping Baal. How many will the Lord keep safe because they never worshiped another god? (answer: 7000)
We call that the remnant. There is always a remnant, a group of true believers. Never feel like you are alone in loving and serving God. God always has a people that He has kept for himself.

Day 145
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The king of Israel, Ahab, and the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, came together in an alliance to fight against Aram. Jehoshaphat asks that they inquire of the Lord before battle. Ahab has many false prophets who all say that he will have success. Jehoshaphat insists on having a prophet of the Lord come. They send for Micaiah.
Read 1 Kings 22:12-35.
Micaiah desribes a heavenly meeting. What was God looking for? (answer: a way to get Ahab to Aram so he would be killed there)
What was the plan to get Ahab to Aram? (answer: put lies in the mouths of his prophets, saying he would be successful)
How is Ahab killed? (answer: Ahab tries to hide, but an arrow “randomly” is shot and strikes him just at the right place and kills him.)

Day 146
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Read 2 Kings 2:1-14.
How does Elisha know he has received what he asked for? (answer: He saw Elijah being taken away in a fiery chariot.)
What is the first miracle Elisha does now that the Spirit of God is on him? (answer: He strikes the Jordan with his cloak and it parts so that he can walk across.)

Day 147
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Read 2 Kings 4:1-7, 38-44.
Tell someone the three miracle stories you read about. Here are reminders: oil, stew, bread.

Day 148
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Read 2 Kings 5:1-16.
Who was healed of leprosy? (answer: Naaman, He wasn’t an Israelite.)
He almost wasn’t healed, why? (answer: He was proud and didn’t think dipping himself in the water was worth it.)
The dipping in water wasn’t important. That didn’t do anything. It was the act of obeying that showed faith in the Word of God that was important.
What does Elisha say when Naaman wants to pay for being healed? (answer: no way)

Day 149
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Read 2 Kings 6:1-23.
What does God allow Elisha’s servant to see? (answer: fiery horses and chariots ready to fight for them)

Day 150
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The Israelites are under siege. Do you remember what a siege is? It’s when the enemy army has you surrounded. You wait and see who can last the longest. The Israelites have run out of food. Everyone is starving. If anyone had any bread, it would sell for so much money because everyone would want it. There is a prophecy in the chapter you will read today that flour and grain would sell cheaply.
Read 2 Kings 7.
How many Arameans (air-a-me-ins) were killed when God gave the victory to the Israelites? (answer: none)
How did God give food to the Israelites? (answer: He scared away the Arameans with the noise of an approaching army. Then the Israelites took all of the belongings of the Armeanians.)

Day 151
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Read 2 Kings 8:1-6.
How does God make a way for the woman to receive her land back? (answer: The king was just hearing about her as she walked in.)
There is a list of kings that all do wrong and are eventually killed. Here read about Jehu. He was a king of Israel. He wasn’t one of the “good” kings, but God gave him the job of destroying what was left of Ahab’s family.
Read 2 Kings 10:28-35.
Next we will read about a new king in Judah. Joash is only 7 years old when he becomes king. A priest, Jehoida, is leading Israel on Joash’s behalf and teaching Joash the right way to live.

Day 152
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Read 2 Kings 12:1-12.
What did Joash accomplish? (answer: repairing the temple)

Day 153
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Elisha dies and there is a long line of kings who do evil. Joash’s son does okay for awhile as king of Judah, but everyone else does “what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
Read 2 Kings 17:1-23.
What is Israel’s punishment for their constant sinning, turning to other gods? (answer: They were sent into exile, had to leave their own country, and they were removed from God’s presence. He’s no longer with them. What could be worse?)

Day 154
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Read 2 Kings 18:1-8.
Who was Judah’s next “good” king? (answer: Hezekiah)
Assyria is ready to attack Judah.
Read 2 Kings 19:9-19.
The king of Assyria says Judah’s God can do nothing. Hezekiah prays. What do you think will happen?
Read 2 Kings 20:1-11.
Does Judah defeat Assyria? (answer: yes)
Is Hezekiah healed? (answer: yes)

Day 155
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Read 2 Kings 21.
Hezekiah did not do a good job of training up his son. Granted, he was only twelve when Hezekiah died. His mother must have been a very bad influence. What is Hezekiah’s son’s name? He was the worst king ever. (answer: Mannaseh)

Day 156
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Read about Manasseh’s grandson. His mother must have been a very goon influence.
Read 2 Kings 22.
What is his name? (answer: Josiah)
What is found in the temple? (answer: scroll containing the law)

Day 157
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Read 2 Kings 23:1-30.
When Josiah hears the law, he humbles himself and seeks the Lord and determines to follow the law. What are some of the things that he does? (answer: He got rid of everything and everyone that was for Baal worship. He reinstituted the Passover feast. He also got rid of witchcraft.)

Day 158
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Read 2 Kings 25:1-12.
Which king takes Jerusalem into exile (forces them to leave their land)? (answer: Nebuchadnezzar)
Who gets to stay home? (answer: Some of the poorest people get to stay to work the fields.)

Day 159
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The next book of the Bible is Chronicles. There is a first and second Chronicles. A chronicle is a history. This is a history record of what happened. It starts with a geneology, a list of names, starting with Adam and listing their children down through thousands of years.
It also retells some of the stories we just read. When it retells stories, it often adds in more detail than we read before.
Read this story from when Rehoboam was king, 2 Chronicles 12:1-12.
Why does God not destroy them? (answer: They aren’t destroyed because they humble themselves. They accept that God is right and they are wrong.)
What lesson does God say He wants to teach them? (answer: the difference between serving Him and serving other kings)

Day 160
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Read 2 Chronicles 20:5-30.
This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. A huge army rises up against Judah. Jehosaphat prays. The army of Judah goes out singing and by the time they get to the battle, the other army is already dead. They didn’t have to fight.
What weapons did the army of Judah fight with? (answer: faith and praise)

Day 161
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Read 2 Chronicles 26.
Uzziah was one of the good kings of Judah. What led to his getting leprosy? (answer: his pride)

Day 162
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Read 2 Chronicles 32:24-33.
You’ve read about Hezekiah getting sick and healed before. Here is another perspective as to what happened. What sin was he guilty of and then repent of? (answer: pride)
Why did God leave him? (answer: to test what was in his heart)

Day 163
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Israel no longer has a king. They have been conquered.
Read Ezra 1.
What king of Persia decides to rebuild the temple of the Lord? (answer: Cyrus)
Here is a map showing Persia during Cyrus’ rule. You can see what colors are his on the map key. It starts with the red, then it grows to the purple, then it grows to the light blue. He says that God has given him all the kingdoms on earth. That was the “whole world” to them.
Who was in control of Cyrus building the temple? (answer: God)

Day 164
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Read Ezra 3:7-13.
Everyone was giving money. The workers were working. Who was happy when the foundation of the temple was laid? (answer: everyone, well, all of the Israelites)
Who was sobbing when the foundation was laid? (answer: Those who remembered the first temple.)

Day 165
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Enemies of the Jews try to stop them from rebuilding the temple. They try to discourage them. They try to get laws in place to step them. Here is how the Israelites respond and how God helps them.
Read Ezra 5.
King Darius responds that they should continue their work.
Many Israelites are allowed to return to Jerusalem.

Day 166
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We are moving into another book, Nehemiah. The Israelites are again turning to God. They have collectively repented of marrying foreign wives who led them astray. Word gets back to Nehemiah about Jerusalem’s condition.
Read Nehemiah 1.
What happened to Jerusalem? (answer: Its wall surrounding the city was broken down.)
What does Nehemiah do when he hears the news of Jerusalem? (answer: pray)

Day 167
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Read Nehemiah 2.
The King gives Nehemiah time off to go see to rebuilding his ancestral city of Jerusalem. Some people are not happy. What is Nehemiah confident of? (answer: God will give them success.)

Day 168
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Read Nehemiah 4.
How did God frustrate their enemies? (answer: He let the Israelites learn of their plans to attack and the Israelites set guards over all of the work.)

Day 169
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Read Nehemiah 5.
Why were the people suffering? (answer: They had such heavy taxes to pay. They didn’t own anything and had to keep paying the owners.)
Why was Nehemiah a good governor? (answer: He didn’t take advantage of his position. He didn’t take money and food from people like others had.)

Day 170
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Read Nehemiah 6.
How are people trying to stop the work? (answer: They are trying to discourage them. They are making up lies about them revolting against the king.)
What does Nehemiah do when he is told that people want to kill him? (answer: He doesn’t run and hide. He prays.)
They complete the wall and acknowledge that it was completed because God helped them.

Day 171
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Read Nehemiah 8.
There is revival in Jerusalem. They are reading God’s law, confessing their sins and committing themselves to following the law and celebrating the Lord’s festivals.

Day 172
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Read Esther 1.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 173
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Read Esther 2.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 174
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Read Esther 3.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 175
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Read Esther 4.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 176
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Read Esther 5.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 177
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Read Esther 6.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 178
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Read Esther 7.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 179
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Read Esther 8.
Tell someone what is happening in the story.

Day 180
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Read Esther 9 and 10.
Tell someone how the story ends.

Pages

J,C,Y,M : Bible (OT History)