Grandma's Bible Stories

In great faith, Queen Esther fearfully went before King Ahasuerus.  After inviting him to two banquets, she made her request to help save her people.  The King, furious with Haman for coming up with the decree to kill all the Jews, gave all the Jews special permission to defend themselves and had Haman hanged.  God, through Esther's bravery, once again saved his people from harm.

Haman, the wicked advisor to King Ahasuerus, plotted to kill all the Jews living in Persia.  Mordechai encouraged Esther, a brave Jewess, to use her position to save all the Jews.  In great faith and trust in God, she began to plan how to make her request to the king.

God also placed it on the heart of King Cyrus to allow Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls.  With careful planning, cunning use of some soldiers, and God's abundant blessing, the people finished building the wall in record time.

God, who is sovereign even over the heathen nations, put it in the heart of King Cyrus to let some of the people of Judah return to their country to rebuild the temple.  God blessed their efforts and provided abundantly for them.

Israel and Judah had many enemies who wanted to destroy them.  Israel never trusted God and was severely punished.  King Hezekiah, king of Judah, however, obeyed God and prayed to him for help when they were surrounded by enemies.  God, in his great mercy, protected Judah and saved them.

While Israel and Judah had many wicked kings, King Josiah, who became king while still a young boy, honored God, followed his commands, and pointed the people to God.

Wicked queen Athaliah tried to seize the throne over Israel after her husband died.  However, one little boy, Joash, was saved.  With great courage and with the fear of the Lord, he was made the rightful king, even while he was a young boy.

Jehoshaphat also called upon the Lord in their time of trouble.  And the Lord again delivered them mightily out of the hand of their enemy.  In fact, God's victory over the enemy was so great, that the Israelites didn't even have to lift a finger except to carry off all the plunder.

King Asa looked to God for help when their enemies attacked them.  And God, the deliverer, delivered them from the hand of their enemies.  A Prophet of God told him to continue serving God and all would go well with him.  Unfortunately, Asa forgot these words, and was punished for forgetting God.

Naaman, a great general of the whole Syrian army, had leprosy, a horrible skin disease.  When he went to Elisha for healing, he was not happy with the simple way Elisha told him to be cleansed.  Yet, he eventually did it, and God healed even this heathen general!

God worked mightily through Elisha, his prophet.  A woman who had no children was granted a baby boy.  And yet, to show God's power, the child died, but was soon returned to his parents alive!

Ahab, a wicked king of Israel, had been told by Elijah that his family would be destroyed.  As prophesied, his entire family was destroyed, and he and his wife, queen Jezebel, also met a tragic end.

Elijah's time had come, and God told him he would be taken straight to heaven.  His helper, Elisha, was with him one day when a chariot and horses of fire took Elijah to heaven!  Elisha was granted a full measure of the Spirit, and went on to become a great prophet like Elijah.

King Ahab, a wicked king of Israel, coveted his neighbor's vineyard.  His wife, Jezebel, used many sinful tactics to get that vineyard for him.  Elijah, however, pointed out his sin and prophesied a terrible future for unrepentant Ahab and Jezebel.

Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a test.  Whoever's god could consume their offering by fire, would indeed be the true god.  While the prophets of Baal tried, a bit of comedy ensued.  When Elijah prayed to God though, God's power was majestically revealed.

Since Solomon sinned near the end of his life, God said the kingdom would be split.  Yet it would happen after Solomon had died.  After Rehoboam became king, he resorted to cruelty instead of kindness, and the people rebelled against him.  So the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, began.

Jesus referenced the Queen of Sheba in Luke 11 as a condemnation of the crowds around him who wanted another sign.  The Queen of Sheba came from a great distance to hear Solomon's wisdom, but now that Jesus had arrived, those in his day didn't have any interest in hearing him.

As David was a man after God's own heart, God offered David's son, Solomon, anything he would like.  Rather than choosing riches and fame, Solomon asked God for wisdom.  God richly blessed Solomon and he became the wisest man who ever lived.  Kings and Queens from across the world sought an audience with Solomon.

While God does not live in a house made by human hands, Solomon built the grandest, most beautiful temple ever built as a way for the Israelites to worship God.  Not only was the temple incredibly beautiful and a marvel of design and engineering, it was a shadow of heaven itself.

After Absalom's failed coup, Adonijah, David's oldest son, tried to make himself king by force. But David had promised the throne to Solomon, his son by Bathsheba. Even in his old age, David was going to make things right and make Solomon king instead.

When David and his family fled Jerusalem from Absalom and his followers, David sent one of his advisors, Hushai, to try and confound the advice of Absalom.

Absalom, David's son, was cunning, devious, and sinful. He won over the people's hearts and made himself king in place of David. And David, instead of trusting God fully, fled the city out of fear of Absalom.

David and his men hid in a cave for fear of Saul and his army. As they were hiding, Saul came into the cave all alone! One swift strike of the sword would free David and his men from Saul's oppression. But David could not harm Saul, as he was the Lord's anointed one.

As David continued to have greater exploits and began to be honored more than Saul, the king was angry at David and tried multiple times to kill him. Yet God always rescued David and cared for him.

The Philistines again fought against the Israelites, and again God provided a deliverer. This being one of my son's favorite Bible stories, I had him join me as one of the voices today!