Grandma's Bible Stories

When Saul became king, they fought against one of their enemies. God gave Saul strict orders to destroy everything, but Saul rebelled against God and kept some of the spoils. Even though he thought he was going to use it for good, obedience to God was way more important.

The Philistines were oppressing the Israelites, and Jonathan, Saul's son, went to fight against him. God used his bravery to save Israel!

The people of Israel wanted a king over them and ultimately rejected God as their king. God warned them that a king would eventually oppress them, but they wouldn't listen. So God gave them Saul, whom Samuel anointed as king, to be over them.

God chose Samuel to be a prophet to speak to the Israelites after Eli and his sons. Eli's sons were very wicked, and God was about to punish them for their evil deeds.

In a grand display of loyalty, Ruth traveled to Israel with her mother-in-law. God blessed her steadfastness by bringing her to Boaz.

Time and again, God also used judges to save Israel. He gave Samson great strength and saved Israel through his hand.

In order to make sure the Israelites didn't depend on their own strength but rather depend on God, he only let Gideon go into battle with a very small handful of soldiers against the massive army of the Amalekites. And again, God showed his mighty power in this battle.

After God's mighty victory over Jechicho, he told them to destroy everything that belonged to the city. The Israelites confidently went to their next battle against Ai and were terribly defeated. Someone didn't obey God, and they paid the price for it!

When the Israelites finally entered the promised land, they came to a huge, fortified city called Jericho. Joshua and the Israelites were afraid they couldn't conquer the city, but God had bigger plans in mind!

On their way to the promised land, the people again grumbled against Moses and God. Moses, however, disobeyed God and as a result, Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land.

The Israelites finally made it to Canaan, the promised land! However, after they spied out the land, they were greatly afraid of the people already there. All they had to do was trust God and his promises, but did they?

Korah and his relatives also rose up against Moses and tried to take positions and places that were not theirs. God's wrath burned against them for disobeying his commands.

Miriam and Aaron rose up against Moses and challenged his authority over the people of Israel. They thought they should share in the authority and position Moses was given by God. Things didn't turn out so well though!

On the Day of Atonement, the people of Israel remembered their sins, repented of them, and turned to God. Through their sacrifices, they would be reminded of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who could truly take away all their sins.

God gave Moses very specific and careful plans to build the Tabernacle, the place where God would meet with his people. This would point people to the coming Messiah when they could approach God directly through the perfect priest, Jesus.

We have a very special guest today! While God was giving Moses his 10 Commandments, the Israelites very quickly turned away from God and made their own false God to worship. What a great sin this was!

As the Israelites wandered through the desert, God brought them to Sinai where he gave them his law. These 10 Commandments, though given many thousands of years ago, still convict us of our sin and inability to live up to God's standards.

As the Israelites came up out of Egypt, God again graciously provided water to them in the desert. As the Amelekites came out to attack them, God also delivered them from the hand of these enemies.

While Israel traveled through the wilderness, they again grumbled against Moses and against God. But God, in his great mercy, was gracious to the people, and provided food for them, even in the middle of a dry wasteland.

The Israelites had no sooner left Egypt than Pharoh hardened his heart again. And so, God's punishment of Egypt was not yet complete, and he had one more great miracle to show to his people. God defended his people, he led them, and defeated their enemies, all in one day!

The day had finally come. God's promised deliverance was at hand - the Israelites were about to leave Egypt! And yet, even this Passover was a foreshadowing of the promised Messiah, the true deliverer who was still yet to come.

The last of the ten plagues was near. Moses gave Pharoh one final warning to let the Israelites go. Not only was Egypt completely devastated, but now, God was going to destroy every firstborn in Egypt, whether man or animal. And still, Pharoh hardened his heart and threatened Moses.

Despite the almost complete devastation of Egypt, Pharoh continually refused to let the Israelites go. As if there was anything left, the plague of locusts completely destroyed every last thing left from the previous plagues. Despite Pharoh's advisers practically begging Pharoh to let the Israelites go, he continued to harden his heart.

The devastation from the plagues was terrible. And now, God afflicted not just their crops, but also their animals and the people themselves! Eventually, some of the Egyptians began to fear God and heed Moses's warnings. But not Pharoh.

As Pharoh continued to harden his heart, God continued to show his mighty power through the plagues. Not only were the plagues devastating to the Egyptians, they did not fall upon the Israelites, who were right among them.