He had shared with them the dream he had where his brothers bowed down to him.
He was also a favourite of his father, Jacob.
Joseph’s brothers decided to sell him as a slave in Egypt to get rid of him.
In Egypt, Joseph remained God-fearing and God blessed him.
The king was very pleased with Joseph and made him second-in-command in all of Egypt.
When there was famine back home, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to look for food.
Joseph recognised them but they didn’t know who he was.
He, despite their cruelty, gave them food and forgave them.
We too should forgive and be kind to those who wrong us.
Daniel in the lion's den
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Ruth and Naomi
(Ruth 1:3-18)
Ruth and Orpah were Naomi’s daughters-in-law.
Naomi had two sons, Mahlon and Chilion.
When Naomi’s husband and sons died, she opted to go back to her home in Bethlehem instead of continuing to live in Moab.
Ruth decided to go along with Naomi for she loved God and wanted to continue worshipping Him.
The people in Moab worshipped idols.
Ruth made the right choice in choosing to obey God’s commandments.
We too should make right choices and choose God over material things.
David and Goliath
(1 Samuel 17:1-54)
David was the last born son of Jesse.
He looked after his father’s sheep.
Goliath was a Philistine who was about three metres tall.
He would ridicule the Israelites and challenge them to fight him.
War broke out between the Israelites and the philistines and Goliath ridiculed the Israelites to fight with him.
The Israelites were afraid of Goliath but David was not scared.
David trusted God to give him courage as we read in 1 Samuel 17:45.
David killed Goliath with a sling and stone.
This story teaches us about courage and faith in God’s strength.
King Solomon
(1 Kings 3:1-15)
King Solomon was David's son.
King Solomon was asked by God to choose what he wanted.
He chose wisdom so he could be a better leader.
God was pleased with his choice and rewarded him by granting him both riches and honour.
We should pray to God to give us wisdom to make the right choices, for the Bible says that God will grant it to us.
Levi
(Luke 5:27- 32)
Levi who was later named Matthew was a tax collector.
When Jesus called him he left everything and followed Him.
He invited Jesus to his house and held a big party for him.
He had heard Jesus preaching and wanted to follow His teachings.
From Levi's choice, we see that we should obey Jesus' teachings despite what other people say about us.
Ananias and Sapphira
(Acts 5:1-11)
Ananias and Sapphira made the right choice by deciding to sell their land and give the money to the church.
By deciding to sell the property, the earnings became God’s.
However, Ananias kept part of the money for himself and presented the rest to the disciples.
He did this with the consent of her wife Sapphira.
Peter rebuked him for lying to God and on hearing those words, Ananias fell to the ground and died.
Sapphira, about three hours later, came and lied to Peter about how much they had got for selling the land.
She too fell down and died.
They didn't lie to Peter but lied to God.
We should never tell a lie, for God hates a lying tongue.
Lydia
(Acts 16:11-15)
Lydia lived in a town called Philippi.
She used to sell purple cloth.
She was a kind woman and a worshipper of God.
She invited Paul and his friends to stay at her house.
This story teaches us about kindness and its rewards.
Moses
(Exodus 3:2-15, 4:1-17)
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Moses was afraid of going to Egypt to rescue the Israelites.
He gave many excuses but finally listened to God and made the correct choice.
He obeyed God and believed in His promise that He would be with him.
We should be courageous when God calls us and obey Him.
Abraham and Isaac
(Genesis 22:1-13)
Abraham chose to believe God when he was told he would get a son in his old age.
Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old.
When Isaac got older, God asked him to offer him as a sacrifice.
Abraham obeyed God, for Isaac was a gift from God not a creation of his own making.
God was pleased with Abraham’s faith and provided a ram for the sacrifice instead.
God rewards us too, just as He did with Abraham, for being obedient.
More stories;
King Saul performed the duty of a priest
(1 Samuel 13:1-15)
The Philistines assembled to fight Israel.
Saul remained at Gilgal, together with the whole army filled with fear.
He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal.
Then Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.”
And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
“What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
Then Samuel left Gilgal.
From the story we learn that we should be patient no matter what.
King Ahab took Naboth's vineyard
(1 Kings 21-22)
Naboth was a Jezreelite.
The vineyard was in Jezreel near King Ahab's place.
Naboth turned down his request to buy the vineyard.
Naboth refused to sell the vineyard because it was an nheritance from his ancestors.
King Ahab became upset.
Jezebel inquired of him why he was upset and in knowing about it, she made wicked plans through the elders to have Naboth killed.
King Ahab could then have the vineyard as his.
Through Jezebel's plan Naboth was stoned to death.
Upon killing Naboth the elders sent word to Jezebel who informed the king.
When King Ahab heard that Naboth was dead he went down to take possession of the vineyard.
This is when God sent Prophet Elijah to go meet the king.
When Prophet Elijah met King Ahab he told him the disaster God was going to bring to his household.
As God's punishment for the evil he had done, God would cut off every male and wipe out his descendants.
Key learning from King Ahab's story;
1. Be contented with what you have.
2. Don't shed innocent blood, God is against murder.
