Podcast: Season 2

Episode 10 – Abram and The Evil Cities

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapters 17 to 19

Abram and The Evil Cities

When I was 99 years old, God met with me. First He changed my name from Abram to Abraham, which means ‘father of many’ and then He changed Sara’s name to Sarah, which means ‘princess’. And we found that it wasn’t Ishmael who would be the promised son, but a child still to be born to Sarah, who was already very old!’

‘A little while later, God appeared to me yet again, but this time it was different. Three men, well, I thought they were men at first, came near our tent. Because it was our custom to be friendly to strangers, I hurried over to invite them to come and have a meal with us. One of the men was God Himself, in the form of a man, the other two were angels also in the form of men. As they sat with me, God told me that now was the time for the promise to be fulfilled! Sarah was to have a son in one year’s time!’

‘Sarah was listening in the tent and laughed because she thought, ‘How can an old woman like me have a baby?’ But God always keeps His promises.’

‘As God left, I walked with Him towards those evil cites in the river valley where Lot lived. As we looked over them, He told me that He was going to destroy them because the people were so evil. But what about Lot! He was living in one of those evil cities. As the angels went on ahead, I took my courage into my own hands and spoke with God.’ (P – GULP)

‘Erm, if you find 50 good people living in that city, surely you wouldn’t destroy the good people with the evil ones?’

GOD ‘If I find 50 good people, I won’t destroy the city,’ said God.

ABRAHAM ‘ Now that I’ve found the courage to ask’, I continued. ‘What if you only find 45?’

GOD ‘If I only find 45, I won’t destroy the city.’

ABRAHAM ‘And so our conversation continued, I asked about 40, then 30, 20 and finally 10. And each time God said that if He found that number of good people He wouldn’t destroy the city. Then He left.’

‘Meanwhile the two angels had arrived in the city where Lot and his family lived. And, as they arrived Lot happened to be sitting by the gate and encouraged them to stay at his home. At first they said no, but Lot insisted because he knew they wouldn’t be safe in the city square at night.’

‘And as night fell, all the men of the city came to Lot’s house and hammered on the door. ‘Bring out those strangers Lot – we want to hurt them. And if you don’t, we’re going to hurt you.’

‘Lot went out and tried to reason with them but they attacked him, and the angels quickly pulled Lot back inside. Then they blinded the men to stop them from finding the door and breaking it down. – The angels spoke to Lot.’

ANGEL ‘Are there any other members of your family in the city?’

LOT ‘Well yes, there are my daughters’ fiancées.’ He said.

ANGEL ‘Get them and your family out of the city now because we’re going to destroy this city for all the evil the people have done. Be quick!’

ABRAHAM ‘Lot rushed out to his daughters’ fiancées.’

LOT ‘Boys, we’ve got to leave now. There’s no time to waste! God’s going to destroy the city, and you too if you don’t leave now.’

ABRAHAM ‘But the boys thought he was joking and ignored him. The next morning the angels were even more insistent.’

ANGEL ‘Hurry up, get your wife and two daughters out of the city or you too will be caught up in the destruction.’

ABRAHAM ‘But still Lot hesitated. Maybe be couldn’t cope with the thought of losing everything, but God was merciful to poor weak Lot. The angels grabbed him, his wife and his two daughters by their hands and dragged them out of the city.’

ANGEL ‘Now run for your lives.’ They said to Lot and his family. ‘Don’t stop and don’t look back. Escape to the mountains or you will die.’

LOT ‘The mountains! I can’t go to the mountains,’ moaned Lot, ‘I’d die. Look, there’s a small village just over there. Couldn’t I just go there and be safe.’

ABRAHAM ‘All his life Lot had ignored what God wanted, and even now, in fear of His life, still Lot wouldn’t obey God. But even so, God was merciful to Lot and the Angels let him escape to the small village. (P) Lot and his daughters ran on ahead to the village, but his wife lagged behind, and when the fire and burning sulphur of judgement fell from heaven, wave upon wave, utterly destroying those evil cities, Lot’s wife – looked back. Instantly God judged her for doing what He had told her not to do through the Angels and turned her into a pillar of salt.’ (PAUSE)

‘The next morning I went back to look over the river valley. The destruction was terrible. The smoke from the burning sulphur was rising in columns to the sky. But God had answered my prayer, Lot was safe, even though he hadn’t learnt anything from that terrible tragedy.’

‘As for Sarah and me? God kept His promise; at the ripe old age of 100 I became the proud father of a little son born to Sarah. It was a real miracle. (P) Sarah laughed when he was born. Saying ‘who’d have thought such a thing would happen to an old woman like me?’ (P) We named him Isaac, which means ‘he laughs’.’

‘Although – the joy of having Isaac was overshadowed when he and Ishmael didn’t get on. Sarah saw Ishmael bullying young Isaac one day, and that was that! Sarah made me send Hagar and Ishmael away! – But God looked after them – and kept His promise to give Ishmael more descendants than he could ever count!’

Episode 8 – Abram to the rescue

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapters 13 & 14

Abram to the Rescue

‘Hello, I’m Abram. Last time I told you how me and my wife Sara had left our hometown and come to live in this beautiful land of Canaan. (P) Yes, I’d made some pretty big mistakes along the way. I’d stopped trusting God when there was a famine. I’d thought I could deal with it myself by going down to Egypt. But that wasn’t what God’d wanted, and when I’d started to tell lies about Sara being my sister and not my wife, I’d almost lost her to King Pharaoh. It was only when God stepped in to help that I got Sara back – even then we were still all kicked out of Egypt – and I came back to Canaan like a dog with its tail between its legs!’

‘But I’d learnt from my mistake. I’d apologised to God and, although I didn’t deserve it, He’d forgiven me. However, it wasn’t long before I had to face another test. And this time I was determined to do the right thing and trust God.’

‘We were back in Canaan with my nephew Lot. The Lord had really looked after us, and He’d given us lots of animals, wealth and servants, but between us we had too many animals for the land to support. And this led to fights between our shepherds. I couldn’t let it carry on – so I called Lot over for a chat.’

‘Come on Lot,’ I said. ‘We need to talk about this. We can’t allow this fighting to continue. – I think I have a solution.

‘We can’t share the same land, as there’re too many animals, so my proposal is this. You choose where you’d like to go. If you choose to go to the right, then I’ll go left. If you choose left, then I’ll go right.’

‘Lot was a smart man, but he hadn’t learnt from the mistakes Sara and I’d made. He didn’t ask God where He wanted him to go! With his own thinking, and without talking to God, he made a decision that later – he was to bitterly regret. (P) Lot looked around and saw a beautiful river valley with more than enough pasture for all his animals, and decided to go there. – But unfortunately, in that river valley were some cities that were filled with people who were very wicked. Lot saw how evil the people were, and the way they behaved upset him. (P) At first he pitched his tents in the valley a little bit away from the evil cities. But as time went by, his tents moved closer and closer until the day came when Lot and his family actually ended up living in one of those wicked cities.’ (PAUSE)

‘After Lot had gone, God spoke to me again.’

GOD ‘Abram, look around at this land. This is the land I’m going to give to you and your descendants forever. You will have so many descendants that, just like the grains of dust that cover the earth, no one will be able to count them. Take a walk through this land and see what I’m giving you.’

‘I did what God said, and moved to another area, but all the time I was thinking about that word – ‘descendants’. God was promising us ‘descendants’ and yet here we were in our old age without any children at all! (P) But even so, I knew one thing for sure, if anyone’s able to keep their promises, it’s God. So I carried on trusting Him.’ (PAUSE)

‘However, all was not well with Lot. There were stories of war and rebellion. For 13 years the city where Lot lived had been ruled over by a foreign king, King Kedorlaomer. But the people of that city, along with four other cities, had rebelled against this king. Within a year Kedorlaomer and his allies came to put the rebellion down. The two armies met in the beautiful river valley, while Lot and those not involved in the fighting waited for news.’

‘But the news, when it came, made even the strongest man shake with fear. It’d been a rout! Kedorlaomer was far stronger than the rebellious army. The soldiers from Lot’s town and the other four towns were so badly beaten, they’d turned and run without even looking where they were going. The valley where they were fighting had lots of tar pits in it and, as the frightened soldiers ran for their lives, quite a few of them slipped to their deaths in the tar pits. The rest ran to the mountains and hid.’

‘Kedorlaomer and his army were overjoyed at their victory, and they marched to the cities that’d rebelled against them and took everything they could get their hands on. Food, clothes, animals, money, and people – if it could be moved, they took it. And then, loaded down with their bounty, they started on their long journey home.’

‘Lot had been in one of those cities. And as the army of Kedorlaomer came through, taking everything they could lay their hands on, they also took Lot and all his possessions with them. Lot was going to become a slave. And surely no one’d try and save him now, not after Kedorlaomer had shown how dangerous he was.’ (PAUSE)

‘A short while later, while I was sitting with a friend, I saw a scruffy little man running towards me. As I stood up to see what the man wanted, he ran right up to me, and after catching his breath, he spluttered out his news.’

‘Mr Abram sir. Your nephew, Mr Lot, he’s been captured! King Kedorlaomer came and ransacked the city and took everything, including Mr Lot.’ (P)

‘Well, I knew at once what I had to do. I had to trust God for help and go and rescue Lot. I called together all the men of my household, 318 in all, you know, including servants, shepherds and everybody. And I armed each one of them and set out after Kedorlaomer.’

‘Now, Kedorlaomer and his army couldn’t move very quickly with all the animals and treasure they’d stolen from the cities. So within just a few short days, I caught up with them in the north of Canaan.’ (P)

‘As I spied out the situation, it was obvious Kedorlaomer’s army was far too strong for my 318 men to attack during the day. So we waited until the darkest part of the night before we launched our attack.’

‘Kedorlaomer didn’t know what hit him. In the middle of the night – screaming warriors raced at him, sounding like thousands of fighting men. He and his army were terrified and ran for their lives with me and my men in hot pursuit. Then when we’d seen off Kedorlaomer once and for all, I recovered everything Kedorlaomer and his army had taken, the goods, the people and especially Lot and his possessions and set off back home.’ (PAUSE)

‘Now here’s an interesting thing. As I returned from our victory, a man named Melchizedek, who was the King of the city Salem, and also a priest of the Most High God, brought us some bread and wine. And Melchizedek blessed me in the name of God Most High and I gave him a tenth of all the goods I’d recovered.’

‘But as for the man in charge of the evil city Lot lived in, I wouldn’t accept anything from him. He offered to allow me to keep all the good I’d recovered from Kedorlaomer, but I refused. (P) You see, I want everyone to know that it’s God who looks after me, Abram, and that I don’t need help from anyone else, least of all such an evil man as him.’

Episode 9 – Hagar & Ishmael

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 16

Hagar & Ishmael

‘Hello, it’s me Abram again. Do you remember I told you how God promised me a son one day? He’d made that promise 10 years ago, and here I was – 86 years old and still no sign of a son. To be honest, it looked like Sara never would have any children. God had blessed her with great beauty but He’d also stopped her having children. And now Sara was getting older, and, well … not to put too fine a point on it … she was past childbearing age!’

‘One day, when Sara realised that she wasn’t able to have any children, she came to me with her servant, an Egyptian woman called Hagar. And she told me that because she couldn’t have any children, I should marry Hagar and that any children Hagar had, Sara would see as her own!’

‘To be honest I didn’t really think it through very well. Hagar was a nice woman, and Sara didn’t seem to mind, and it did look like a way of answering God’s promise of a son! (P) And… well – where I lived it was ok to have more than one wife … so I married Hagar. (PAUSE) Big mistake!’

‘You see, within no time at all Hagar became pregnant! She managed to do the one thing Sara couldn’t do in all the years we’d been married.’

‘That’s when I saw what a big mistake I’d made. You see when Hagar realised she was pregnant; she started to look down on Sara. Somehow she seemed to think she was more important than Sara because she was going to give me a baby. And instead of being a good servant she started to ignore Sara and not do her duties!’

‘One day – soon after, Sara came to my tent … she was in a really bad mood!’

‘It’s all your fault Abram! How could you let this happen! I was the one who let you marry Hagar and now that she’s pregnant, she’s treating me as a nobody! The Lord will make you pay for doing this terrible thing to me Abram!’

‘But dearest,’ I replied. ‘She’s your servant … you really ought to deal with the situation in whatever way you think’s best.’

‘That just made things worse! Sara started treating Hagar really badly; paying her back for all the trouble she’d caused. In fact, it wasn’t too surprising when we woke up one morning to find Hagar had run off. Sara had made her life so miserable she didn’t want to stay with us any longer.’

‘Poor Hagar didn’t know what to do. But when she stopped by a desert spring along a dusty road, God came and found her.’

‘Hagar, where’ve you come from, and where’re you going?’

‘I’m running away from my mistress,’ Hagar sobbed.

‘But then the Lord spoke tenderly to Hagar. ‘Return to your mistress and be obedient to her.’’

‘And then He started talking about the child she was going to have. ‘You’re pregnant with a son. When he’s born you are to call him Ishmael, which means ‘God hears’. For I have heard about your misery. This son of yours will be a wild one! Against everyone, and everyone against him! But through him you will have so many descendants that you won’t be able to count them all!’’ 

‘When Hagar realised it was the Lord who was speaking to her, she said, ‘I have seen the one who sees me.’ Later that well where she met the Lord was renamed – ‘the well of the Living One who sees me.’’

‘And so Hagar returned to Sara and me and gave birth to a little son. I called him Ishmael.’

Episode 7 – Abram – down to Egypt

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 12

Abram Goes Down to Egypt

‘Hello, my name’s Abram, and I’m married to Sara.’

‘I want to tell you how God gave us something we’d longed for, for many years. We thought we’d get it very quickly, but that wasn’t God’s plan. Yet as we waited, we learnt so many lessons, and especially how we ought to keep trusting God!’

‘I remember it all so well, we thought we were happy in the city of Haran, with lots to do and see. We were near our family and content enough, although my father had died recently. But looking back now, I can see how much we were missing.’ (PAUSE)

‘Sara still gets cross with me when she remembers how she found out that something was happening. One day she heard a commotion outside her room. And as she looked out, there I was rushing around and telling the servants to start packing, saying we were going to leave! It was the first she’d heard about it! I can still remember her voice! ‘Abram! ABRAM! What’s going on? Why are you telling everyone to start packing?’

‘Sara, you’ll never believe it!’  I said.

‘Try me,’ she replied.

‘God spoke with me Sara! He told me that we have to leave this place and go to another country that He’ll show us.’

‘But we’re happy here Abram, why would God want us to leave?

‘Sara, it’s so wonderful. He made me a promise, something we’ve wanted for a very very long time. (P) He promised us – a son.’

Then she got all upset. ‘Oh Abram, please don’t. You know I can’t talk about it anymore. He hasn’t given us any children in all the years we’ve been married. (PAUSE) Did He really promise?’

‘Sara, He promised me that I’ll become the father of a great nation. – – – – – – -He promised to bless me and make me famous, and that I’d be a blessing to others. If anyone curses me, He’s going to curse them, and if anyone blesses me, He’ll bless them. He promised that one day every family on earth would be blessed through me. (PAUSE) But (PAUSE) we have to leave this country and our family and go to the place He’s gonna show us. (P) I can’t be that father if we don’t go.’                                                                                                                                                     

Sara couldn’t believe it. ‘All our married life we’ve wanted children Abram, but God hasn’t let us have any. He’s given us wealth, but what good is wealth when you don’t have any children to leave it to? But now, God really has promised?‘ I nodded. – ‘Time to start packing!’

‘We both thought we’d have the child very soon, but that wasn’t God’s plan. I think what was most important to God was that we loved and obeyed Him. Because over the following years we learnt so much about God, and that even when we couldn’t see the answer, we had to trust Him that He would keep His promise.’

 ‘So we left Haran with our servants, cattle, sheep and shepherds. Oh, and with my nephew Lot who came with us with all his – family, servants, cattle, sheep and shepherds. And we travelled to a beautiful and fertile land called Canaan, which was the place God wanted us to go to!’ (P)

‘Not long after we’d arrived, God appeared to me again and promised that He would give this land to ‘our descendants’. There it was again, His special promise to ‘our descendants’! But I was getting to be an old man now, and Sara, even though she was so beautiful, was also getting older. And we couldn’t have ‘descendants’ to inherit the land if we didn’t have a child. We just had to keep trusting that God would keep His promise and we would have a son.'(P+)

‘I wish I could say that I did always keep trusting God, but Sara often reminds me that when things started to get a little difficult – I failed. You see there was a famine in Canaan- nowhere near enough food and water for us all. And so we made a little – err –  ‘trip’ down to Egypt!

You see, God had told us to go to Canaan. But what was I supposed to do when things started to go wrong in Canaan? There was a famine! The sheep were dying before our eyes. Every day things got worse, more animals died. At night I found it hard to sleep as the sheep bleated for water. I felt I had to take matters into my own hands and find food and water.’

‘Anyway, we’d met a man from Egypt who told us there was plenty of food and water down there. (P) God hadn’t said to leave, but I figured I had to do something.! And as far as I could see, the only way to save the animals, … and us, was to go down to Egypt and stay there until the famine passed. I tried to convince myself God wouldn’t mind – and so we packed up and left.’ (PAUSE)

‘But there was one other slight problem. – Sara!’

‘I’m not saying Sara was a problem, but she’s so beautiful I was afraid that if the Egyptians saw how beautiful she was, they’d kill me so they could take her for themselves. Then where would God’s promises be?’

‘And so to my shame, I asked Sara and my servants to – lie. I told them to tell anyone who asked, that Sara was my … sister, and not my wife. You see, I hoped they’d treat me extra well if they thought she was my sister. But things got out of hand when Pharaoh’s servants saw how beautiful Sara was. And the news of her beauty reached king Pharaoh himself.’

PHARAOH ‘If this woman is so beautiful then bring her to my palace,’ he ordered. ‘Surely all the most beautiful women should belong to me, king Pharaoh. Give her brother Abram riches, but bring the woman to me!’ (P+)

‘They came and took Sara away. They took her to the palace and the royal harem with all of Pharaoh’s other wives.’

‘It’d all gone wrong. Not only had I lost my wife, but with her gone, he’d also lost any hope of a son. (P) And I don’t think God was very happy with me either. I’d disobeyed Him by leaving Canaan, I’d made Sara and my servants tell lies because I was such a coward, and now I’d lost Sara to Pharaoh! (P) But one of the things I have learnt over the years – is that God is a loving and forgiving God and He won’t let His plans fail.’ (PAUSE)

‘The first I heard about it was when armed guards came to take me to Pharaoh.’

PHARAOH ‘What have you done to me?‘ Pharaoh roared!

‘Er … erm … er ..’ I replied.

PHARAOH ‘My family is dying before me eyes, a plague is spreading through my household! And when I tell my wise men to find out why, do you know what they tell me?’

ABRAM ‘Er …er… no?’

PHARAOH ‘They tell me that God, your God, has sent this plague to punish me! Why would your God want to punish me, I ask my wise men? And then, at the fear of losing their heads, they tell me that your God is punishing me because I have taken … another mans wife! Your wife!’

‘You lied to me Abram, and your God is punishing me! How could you let me believe that Sara was your sister and allow me to bring her into my harem? Why didn’t you say she was your wife!’

ABRAM ‘I … um … I. … er.’

PHARAOH ‘Get them out of my sight!’ Pharaoh roared and then turning to his guards. ‘And get them out of my land! Them and their servants and all their belongings, I want them out of here and out of Egypt NOW!’

ABRAM ‘It was all very frightening, armed guards rushed us out of Pharaoh’s presence and hurried us back to our tents. Then they made us pack up as quickly as we could and rushed us and our servants and our animals back over the border into Canaan.’ (P)

‘Looking back on it all now, I’m so ashamed of my behaviour. I wish I’d trusted God and stayed in Canaan. But I’m also glad that when I said sorry to God, He forgave us. (P) But even though I had Sara back, we still didn’t have our promised son!’

Episode 6 – Job – A Time Of Trouble

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on the book of Job

A Time of Trouble – The Story of Job

     ‘Raiders!’ The sound of the man’s desperate voice made Job turn and look. ‘The Sabeans, they came and stole all your oxen and donkeys, and they’ve killed all your servants except me. (PAUSE) I’m the only one left alive!’

As he was speaking another man came running towards them. ‘Oh my master! The fire of God! The fire of God! As I watched, it fell from the sky and burned up all your sheep and the shepherds. I’m the only one left alive … ‘

‘The Chaldeans, the Chaldeans!’ The urgency in the voice made the three of them turn to see the man rushing towards them. ‘Oh my master. The Chaldeans have stolen all your camels and killed everyone. I’m the only one left!’ (PAUSE)

     It seemed that in a moment everything Job owned had gone with only Job and his family left. Silently, he thanked God that at least they were safe. (PAUSE) But even as he prayed he saw the small figure running towards him.

As he came closer, Job recognised him as a servant who worked for his eldest son. His face was pale, almost expressionless, but as he came and stood before Job, Job noticed the trembling in his hands that hung limply by his side.

‘ My master,’ he started. Then lowered his eyes to the ground. (SWALLOW) ‘They’re all dead my lord. There was nothing I could do. I left the house to fetch water, when a sudden violent and terrible wind rushed at the house. It struck the house on all sides at once. (PAUSE) They didn’t stand a chance…’ (P)

At the news of the death of his children Job fell to the floor, a roar of grief tearing at his throat. (PAUSE) While Satan, the enemy of God, smiled and listened to the man’s words. Surely now Job would curse God, and Satan would prove that no one really loved God, unless they had something to gain from it of course. 

You see, Satan had stood before God only a short time before and God had pointed out Job as a man who insisted on doing what God wanted. God had blessed Job with great riches, with children, animals and servants, and so Satan challenged God. ‘Take away Job’s riches and he’ll curse you.’

And now Satan listened, waiting to prove he was right with Job’s own words. (P)     

The roar of grief died on Job’s lips, and as he knelt in the dust he opened his mouth to speak. Satan listened carefully. (PAUSE) ‘When I came into this world, I came naked and with nothing, and when I leave it I won’t take anything with me. God, my Lord, has given me everything I have, and He has taken it away. But I will not stop telling how good my Lord is.’

‘NO!’ Satan screamed as he heard Job’s words, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. And he ran away, working out how next time he’d make sure Job cursed God. (PAUSE)

Some time later Satan found himself, along with the Angels, once again standing in front of God. Last time he’d got it all wrong and looked such a fool. He’d been sure Job would curse God when he lost everything. But this time, if God mentioned Job, Satan thought he had a foolproof plan.

‘Satan,’ God was speaking to him. ‘Do you see Job? He still fears me even though you persuaded me to let you harm him without cause.’

‘Ha!’ Satan replied. ‘What do you expect, a man’ll do anything to save himself. He blesses you because you bless him. (PAUSE) And I can prove it, let me take away his health, and then he’ll curse you!’

God looked at Satan. Satan couldn’t look back. (PAUSE) ‘OK,’ said God. ‘Do with him as you please, but DO NOT kill him!’

Satan hated being in God’s presence. But he’d got what he wanted. Now he was going to make sure that Job cursed God. (PAUSE)

                 Satan planned his attack well, first he covered Job from head to foot with terrible and painful boils. All poor Job could do was sit on a heap of ashes, and scrape at the painful boils with a broken piece of pottery. Even his wife encouraged him to, ‘curse God and let him kill you! Put an end to all this trouble.’ But Job would not do it and continued to trust God.

That night, and every night, as darkness approached, Job longed to get relief from his troubles by sleeping, but Satan sent terrifying nightmares to rob him of his sleep and wear him down. But Job continued to obey God and didn’t do anything wrong. (PAUSE) Then one day his – ‘friends’ – arrived to … ‘console him’ in his suffering. (PAUSE)

For 7 days after they arrived the three friends said nothing to Job because they saw how terrible his suffering was. They sat with him on the ground, in silence. But inside they were working out what they were going to say. Or perhaps Satan was whispering to them what he wanted them to say to turn Job away from God! After the 7 days had passed, his ‘friends’ could hold back no longer.

‘Why don’t you admit it Job – you’re evil! Can’t you see it? God only punishes those who do wrong, so it’s obvious, you must have been very evil indeed! Say sorry and everything’ll be OK again.’

‘But I’m innocent!’ insisted Job. ‘Who have I cheated? Where’re the widows or orphans that I’ve abused? Which of my servants can accuse me of mistreating them? When my enemy was hurt, I wasn’t happy! I haven’t hurt anyone! I share my home and food with anyone who needs it. Tell me what I’ve done? I AM innocent!

‘You can’t be innocent!’ His friends replied. ‘Don’t you see it? No one’s innocent before God, everyone’s guilty. And that includes you! Anyway, it’s the way things are, God punishes the wicked and he blesses the good. But God isn’t blessing you, just look at all the bad that’ve happened to you, you must be very evil!’

The argument went on and on between Job and his friends, but no matter what Job said they wouldn’t believe he was innocent. And as he argued, Job found himself pleading with God to show him why he was suffering when he was innocent, and why God was silent when all these terrible things were happening?

‘God! It’s not fair!’

(PAUSE)

As Job questioned, suddenly thunder roared and a whirlwind appeared!

‘Who are you to question me Job?’ As God spoke from inside the violent whirlwind, Job’s friends cowered in fear and Job’s heart turned to jelly inside him. ‘Who are you, Job, to question my wisdom and what I do? If you think you’re so wise, then I will question you and you shall answer me!’

‘Where were you when I first put the world together? Tell me if you know so much. When I’d finished my work and the angels and the stars sang for joy, where were you?’

‘Who decided the boundaries of the sea and land? Do you know where the gates of death are? Have you seen them? But of course you have, you’re so wise you already understand it all!’

‘How about the lightening? Can you command the lightening and it will go where you say? Do you know the wild animals, where they sleep and have their young? Do you make the stars move in their seasons? And do you know the laws of the universe and how I rule the earth?’

‘Tell me Job, are you still so wise that you think you can question what I do and why I do it. Do you still want to question me? Tell me, do you have any answers?’ (PAUSE)

Job realised that all he’d said was foolishness. What right did he have to question God when things didn’t go the way he wanted? How can something that’s been made tell the One who made it, how it should be used?

Job apologised to God for his foolishness. And to show how sorry he was he sat in dust and ashes and in silence.

But God hadn’t finished. He spoke to Job’s so-called friends. God was angry with them for saying things about Him that weren’t true. God might let a good man, like Job, face terrible trouble. And, He might let a bad man have wealth and riches. What’s important is that God is in control, and whatever happens, in the end He will always be fair and good. 

Job’s friends apologised to God for what they’d said, and Job prayed for them. And after he’d prayed, God gave Job twice as much as he’d had before, and he lived 140 good years and saw four generations of his children and grandchildren.

Episode 5 – Babel (Confusion)

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 11: 1 – 9

Babel (Confusion)

‘Multiply and fill the earth!’ That’s what God commanded. He didn’t want all the people living in just one place. No! God wanted people living everywhere!

But after the world-wide flood when God saved Noah and his family in the gigantic ark, the people didn’t want to separate. You see, Noah’s children had children and their children had children and so on, until there were lots and lots of people, all speaking the same language. But they were frightened of separating and going to different places – because they’d stopped trusting God! (P) As they increased in number, the people travelled eastwards together until they found a huge, flat piece of land. But when they got there they made a decision that went against God’s command to fill the earth!

‘Tell you what!’ said one man. ‘Why don’t we start making bricks?’

‘Why?’ asked another.

‘Well, if we make loads and loads of bricks, then we’ll have enough to make an enormous city – that we can all live and stay in one place.’

‘Good idea!’ the people replied.

‘And,’ said the first man, ‘We could also make the biggest, the highest and the greatest tower that’s ever been made to show how wonderful we are! A tower to reach the skies!’

‘What a brilliant idea!’ the people said. And they started making bricks! (PAUSE)

Not only were the people disobeying God by trying to stay in one place, now they were boasting about how wonderful they were! God wouldn’t stand for that! (P) It was really so silly because if God had wanted to, He could’ve destroyed the whole city with a little earthquake! But instead, He decided to go to the city and see it for Himself. And as He saw how they’d forgotten about Him and worked so hard to disobey Him, He said,

‘Look at what these people have done. If they can be this wicked and forget about me so quickly, then think of all the evil they could do if We leave them sharing a common language! What terrible things will they do later? No! Instead, We will go down amongst them and give them different languages so they won’t be able to understand each other.’ (PAUSE)

Just how it happened, I don’t really know. But can you imagine waking up one morning as if everything’s normal? (P) I’m sure your own family would’ve spoken the same language, but as you leave your house, you wave to your neighbour who’s just putting the rubbish out. ‘Morning Mrs Jones’ you say. And then you stare at her. Had you heard right? Had she really shouted back? ‘Est-nick-nok transnacker.’

On your way to school, you see one of your friends on the other side of the road. ‘Hey Billy, hold on,’ you shout. ‘You’ll never believe what old Mrs Jones has just said.’ But as you speak, Billy turns and gives you a funny stare, and looking rather worried he hurries off!

By this time you’re starting to notice that something’s very wrong! And, as more and more people get up to start their day – there’s confusion everywhere. But rather than being patient and trying to work out what the other person’s saying, they’re all getting angry and shouting at each other, as if somehow shouting’ll make them easier to understand.

It’s all a little frightening. School’s closed and you hurry home to find your Mum and Dad already there along with a few other families who still seem to speak the same language as you. But it’s impossible to stay now – you need to leave so that your own little group’ll be safe.

And that’s what happened! The building of the great city and tower stopped that very day as the people set out in different directions to find new places to live, just as God had originally commanded!

And the city? It became known as Babel, which means ‘confusion’ – because it was in that city where God confused the people by giving them different languages.

Episode 4 – A Man Named Noah

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapters 6 – 8

Noah

Today’s story happened a long time ago. It’s a story about one man who listened to God when no-one else would. What he did – made other people think he was crazy. But, because he believed God, when terrible things started to happen – he was ready when no-one else was.

At that time, nearly everyone had forgotten about God, they only thought about themselves. God saw how selfish and evil all the people were – and He was sorry that He’d ever made them. They would cheat, steal, lie and murder just to get what they wanted. God was so sad and angry with them, that He decided it was time they got what they deserved. – He was going to send a terrible flood over the whole earth to kill every living creature.

However, there was one good man, called Noah. God loved Noah and didn’t want him to be destroyed when he sent the flood. So God spoke to Noah and told him about a special plan He had to save Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives.

God told Noah that he had to build a very large ………. Well, let me explain. It’s like a boat but it isn’t exactly a boat. It’s also like a very – very large box – called an ark!

And it was to be so big – because God planned not just to save Noah and his family, but 2 of every kind of animal, bird and insect as well – a male and a female. You see God didn’t just think about saving Noah. He thought about life after the flood, and a world which needed animals, birds and insects as well as people.

The ark was to have three decks with lots of rooms on each deck, and it was to be a massive 135 metres long, 13 ½ metres tall (that’s as tall as a three or four-storey house) and 22 ½ metres wide! God also told Noah not to worry about finding the animals to go inside the ark, as He would send them to Noah at just the right time.

The next day Noah said to his three sons, ‘Go down to the forest and buy this much wood.’

‘What do you want all that wood for Dad?’ one of them asked.

‘Well you see son,’ Noah started to explain. ‘God’s told me to build … an ark …’ and he told his sons all about it.

However, the town’s people weren’t so convinced. Why was Noah, building this great big boat-like thing in the middle of one of his fields? Not only that, there were no rivers or streams nearby and it was so big that there wasn’t any hope of moving it! And what is the point of having a large boat-like thing stuck high and dry in the middle of nowhere?

The town’s people started to moan and complain and laugh at Noah. But when he tried to explain why he was building it they replied, ‘You’re mad! God’s not going to judge us!’ But Noah knew that when God says something, He always does it – and carried on building the ark.

Slowly the ark took shape. And as it did, Noah started to notice unusual animals living in unusual places! After all, it’s hard not to miss a pair of crocodiles living in your bathroom, or a pair of hedgehogs nestling on your favourite chair (let’s hope he discovered them before he tried to sit down!). God was sending the animals – just like He’d promised! So carefully Noah collected them, and after nearly losing the pigs to the tigers, he made sure he kept them well fed and in strong pens and cages! (PAUSE)

Even with this very obvious zoo appearing in Noah’s fields, the people of the town still refused to believe that God was going to judge the earth. They were even ruder to Noah about his ‘floating zoo’! But Noah trusted God and carried on working.

Eventually the day came when all the animals had arrived and all the food had been collected. It was a beautiful day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! Then God spoke once again to Noah. ‘Go into the ark Noah, you and your family and all the animals I’ve sent to you. In seven days time, I will send rain for 40 days and 40 nights and wipe away every living thing I’ve created.’ So Noah and his family obeyed God, and started packing the ark with food and animals. Then, with the ark finished and all the people, animals and food inside. God Himself – the God of all heaven and earth – closed the door of the ark behind them, sealing them inside. (P) And then they waited! (PAUSE)

God’s plan wasn’t just to send rain, but to flood the earth with a sudden and violent flood that would sweep away everything in its path. Without warning the rain clouds arrived and burst in torrents on the earth. Most of the town’s people were washed away immediately, but a few made it to the ark. They hammered on the side, ‘Let us in! For mercy’s sake, let us in!’

But it was too late, God had shut Noah inside the ark and nothing could be done. After a while the voices disappeared and were never heard again. (P)

Constantly, for forty days and forty nights the rain hammered down. The ark, which had once seemed so big, became a tiny speck on the surface of a vast ocean that covered the whole earth. Eventually, even the mountain tops disappeared until there was no land at all, only water and the tiny ark with its precious contents of people and animals. – The only people and animals left alive.

Then, after 40 days of constant rain, it was as if someone turned off a tap and the rain suddenly stopped, and God remembered Noah and the animals in the ark. For another 5 months the little ark floated on the water until one day, ever so gently, it came to rest on a mountain.

But even though they’d come to rest, the earth was still covered with water. So after another 40 days, Noah opened a window in the roof and sent out a dove, but it came back to him because it couldn’t find anywhere to rest. (P) A week later he sent it out again. This time it came back with a freshly picked olive leaf in its beak. Another week later he sent the dove out again. This time it didn’t come back at all.

So Noah removed the roof covering the ark, and waited another 2 months until God spoke to him once again, ‘Come out of the ark Noah, you and your family and all the animals. Fill the earth with your offspring.’

It was wonderful to be back on dry ground again after so long locked away. The animals raced off to stretch their legs and escape once and for all from that dark, smelly ark. Already trees and plants were growing and there was enough food for the animals to look after themselves. As they streaked away to find new homes and fresh food, Noah and his family also came out of the ark, thankful to be able to leave it behind but even more thankful to God that He’d saved them from the flood.

And when they’d come out, Noah said a very special ‘Thank You’ to God for looking after them all. This ‘thank you’ pleased God and God made a promise, He promised that He would never again judge the whole earth as He’d done this time – even though people were still selfish and evil inside. He promised that the earth would carry on as it should, with summer and winter, springtime and harvest for as long as the world remained. And He gave Noah and his family a special sign to remind them that He would never break His promise. This sign can still be seen today, it’s the rainbow! Whenever Noah saw a rainbow, he’d remember God’s promise.

And today, when you see a rainbow, you can remember that it tells us that God still always keeps His promises.

Episode 3 – Cain & Abel

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 4

Cain & Abel 

When God first made men and women, He didn’t intend that they should ever die. He hoped they would love Him and obey Him and live with Him in perfect harmony for all eternity. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, that all changed.

God had warned Adam and Eve of the terrible results of disobeying His simple command not to eat the fruit. And, exactly as God had warned, when they ate the fruit – death came into the world. Now one day everyone must die. But even worse than that, since Adam and Eve’s disobedience, men and women had stopped knowing God properly and doing the things that made Him happy – because of the evil that now lived inside them. (PAUSE)

During Adam and Eve’s lifetime they had many sons and daughters. But it’s not all these sons and daughters I want to tell you about, it’s their first son Cain and what happened between him and his younger brother Abel, that interest me!

As they grew up, Cain and Abel both became farmers. Cain worked in the fields, growing all kinds of grain, vegetables and fruit. While Abel decided to work with animals and became a shepherd looking after sheep.

And although Adam and Eve had broken their relationship with God, and things weren’t how they were supposed to be. God hadn’t been forgotten and He still spoke with Adam and Eve and their children. So Cain and Abel grew up knowing God and that they still needed to show respect to Him and gratitude for all He did. So when harvest time came the two of them decided that they ought to give a sacrifice to God – a special gift to show that they hadn’t forgotten Him and that they were grateful for all He’d given them.

Abel spent quite some time deciding what it was he should bring God to say ‘thank you’. And after much thought, he decided he should give something precious. Something valuable and important to show God how much He meant to Abel. (P) As a shepherd, the most important thing Abel had were his sheep, and the most valued sheep he had were the young lambs of the best sheep in the flock – healthy lambs without anything wrong with them. If Abel gave God something as important as that, surely it would show just how grateful he was. And so Abel brought several of his best lambs to God.

Meanwhile, as it was harvest time, Cain knew that he really ought to be giving something to God as a ‘thank you’ for the wonderful crops he’d just harvested. But what to bring? (P) Well – did it really matter what he brought? Wasn’t it all the same to God anyway? (P) So instead of thinking about it and making sure he brought something that would please God, Cain rummaged through what he could find easily and brought that! (PAUSE)

You know, God doesn’t just look at the gifts we bring Him, He looks at the attitude we have as we bring Him our gifts. It’s easy to give something to God that doesn’t cost much, but it’s much harder to bring something to God that costs a great deal! Abel loved God, and because of that he gave God something that cost him a lot. But Cain didn’t really care and only gave a bit of what he had. Just enough to show that he’d ‘done his duty’!

 When God saw what Abel had brought Him, He accepted both Abel and his gift. But when He saw what Cain had given – He rejected Cain – and his gift – because Cain hadn’t treated God with the respect He deserved. (P) But when Cain realised that Abel and his gift had been accepted – while he and his gift had been rejected – you could tell by his face how angry and upset he was. (PAUSE)

So God spoke to Cain.

‘Why are you so angry Cain?’ God asked. ‘Why do you look so miserable? It doesn’t have to stay like this! You can change things if you act in the right way! (P) But watch out! Because if you refuse to act in the right way, the evil desires of sin are waiting to take you captive and destroy you! You mustn’t let that happen, you must fight against these evil desires and make sure they don’t ruin your life!’

But Cain wouldn’t listen. And now everyone would see how terrible the curse of death really was!

‘Hey Abel! You up for a walk in the fields?’

‘Yeah sure Cain, I could do with a change of scene, let’s go!’

But Cain didn’t care about a change of scene – all he wanted to do was get rid of his ‘perfect’ little brother! And in his jealousy and rage he attacked and murdered Abel where he thought no one could see – leaving Abel’s lifeless body in a pool of blood in a lonely field.

Sin was beginning to show how terrible it was with the first ever murder, coming from Cain’s bitterness and jealously. It didn’t need to happen, if only Cain hadn’t been so proud and, and, asked God to help him do what was right. But Cain only cared about himself, he didn’t care about God anymore! The desires of sin, to put himself first and do exactly what he wanted, had taken him over. And now Adam and Eve, Abel’s father and mother, would really know how terrible the curse of death was – the curse they’d brought into the world by disobeying God’s command. – It’d cost them their son! (PAUSE)

But Cain had been mistaken to think no one had seen what he’d done, because God watches everything we do. (P) He spoke to Cain, ‘Where’s your brother? Where’s Abel?’

‘How on earth on should I know,’ replied Cain angrily. ‘Am I supposed to keep track of his every movement?’

But you can’t fool God. ‘What have you done Cain?’ He asked. ‘I hear the blood of your brother Abel crying out to me from the ground! (P) And now you must be punished for this evil thing you have done. (P) I hereby banish you from your home and from the ground you have made unclean with your own brother’s blood. This ground will no longer produce wonderful harvests for you – no matter how hard you work. From this time on you will become a homeless wanderer going from place to place!’

But still, even as God told Cain his punishment, Cain wouldn’t say sorry for the evil thing he’d done. He didn’t seem to care that he’d murdered his own brother! All he could do was complain about the harshness of his punishment without any concern or sorrow for the life he’d taken.

‘This is too much God! I can’t cope with this! You’ve banished me from my homeland and from your presence and now you’re making me a wandering fugitive. Surely anyone who sees me now will try ‘n kill me?’

But still God cared for poor foolish Cain even though Cain wouldn’t turn back and say sorry and be forgiven. (P) ‘They won’t kill you Cain,’ He said. ‘For I will give seven times your punishment to anyone who does.’ And then to protect Cain, and to warn anyone else who might wish to kill him – not to, God placed a special mark on Cain as a warning.

And in His love God also remembered Eve in the loss of her son Abel, and some time later gave her another son. She named him Seth which means ‘granted’, because when he was born she said, ‘God has granted me another son in place of Abel’. And it was one of Seth’s descendants who many years later found himself in very deep water! But that’s another story!

Episode 2 – The fall – How it all went wrong

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 3

How it all went wrong

God had finished His work of creation, He’d made the grass and trees, the birds and animals and the insects and fish. But most important of all, he’d made people, the first man Adam, and the first woman Eve.

Adam & Eve’s job was to look after the world that God had made. It was all so good and perfect, every day God Himself would come and walk and talk with Adam and Eve in a garden that He’d planted for them – the Garden of Eden. And when they heard Him in the garden they’d run to be with Him. And they loved to be with God and talk with Him about all that they were doing. Everything was perfect, everything was just how it was supposed to be (P) but it wasn’t going to last.

In the Garden of Eden, God had planted a tree, called ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. And He told Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit from that tree they would – die!

It seemed strange to them, the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ was fine to look at and its fruit was as good as any other, and yet they were forbidden to even try it?

And anyway, what was – death? Adam and his wife couldn’t really understand properly – because there was no death in the world. They just knew it wasn’t what God wanted and so – they left it alone. Anyway, there were plenty of other trees in the garden, apples and pears, bananas and oranges to name just a few – so it wasn’t hard to leave the tree alone. If God had said not to touch it, He must have a good reason (P) they may not understand but they knew they could trust God. (PAUSE)

God had put that tree in the garden because He wanted to know if the man and the woman really loved Him. (P) If they obeyed Him by not eating the forbidden fruit then He would know that they did love Him. But, if they disobeyed Him and ate the fruit, then He’d know that He wasn’t as important to them as He should be.

It was all so simple. Leave the fruit alone and all would be well. (P) But temptation often comes when you know something’s wrong!

Now, into the Garden of Eden, where the man and the women were living and working, there came an enemy of God. And disguising himself as a snake, he hid by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, whose fruit Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat. The enemy of God hated God and wanted to destroy all the good works God had done. He wanted to spoil God’s perfect creation, and had planned just how to do it! (PAUSE)

God knew what the enemy wanted to do, but He didn’t stop him being near the tree. He didn’t even stop the enemy from talking to the man and woman, because He wanted the man and woman to love Him by choosing to obey His simple command and not eat the fruit – no matter what anybody said to them! (P) All heaven waited to see what the man and woman would do. (PAUSE)

One day, as they worked in the garden, Adam and Eve came near to the place where the enemy, disguised as a snake, was waiting. As the woman was nearest to it, the snake started talking to her.

‘Hello,’ he said.

‘Hello,’ she replied.

‘This is a very beautiful garden you live in,’ continued the snake.

‘Thank you,’ replied the woman, ‘God planted it for us and asked us to look after it.’

 Then the crafty snake asked a question that started to twist what God had said. ‘Tell me, did God really say that you aren’t allowed to eat any of the fruit in the garden?’

‘Of course we can eat it,’ replied the woman. Then she pointed to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ‘It’s only the fruit from that tree that we aren’t allowed to eat. God said that we shouldn’t eat it, or even touch it, or else we will – die!’

‘You won’t die,’ lied the snake. ‘God said you weren’t allowed to eat that fruit because He knows that when you do you’ll be able to understand everything and become as wise and as powerful as He is.’

‘Ooh’, said the woman. And as she looked up at the glistening fruit hanging temptingly on the tree, she saw how ripe it looked and thought how good it must be to eat. And as she stared at it, a longing came up inside her, and she could see herself, wise like God, powerful and majestic. Almost without noticing she was touching the fruit – and then she decided. She wanted to be like God. She wanted wisdom and power. And she was going to have it. The fruit pulled easily from the branch, she lifted it to her mouth and deliberately bit deeply into the ripe flesh. And then, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, a cold triumphant look on her face, she walked over to where her husband, Adam, had been watching.

Why hadn’t he stopped her? Why hadn’t he just taken her by the hand and led her away, or reminded her once again of what God had told them?

But now it was too late for the woman, there she stood before him, with an expression on her face that he’d never seen before. In her hand she held the fruit, and her lips were stained from the juices. Adam watched wide-eyed as she raised her hand to him, offering him the remainder of the stolen fruit.

If only he’d said no! If only he’d been stronger. If only he’d remembered what God had said and – and – just run away. But like a fool, he took the ripe fruit and without hesitation bit deeply into it, dreaming of how he too might become wise and powerful, majestic and mighty like God Himself. (P)

At that very moment their minds and their hearts were changed. Up until then everything had been simple, but now, things were somehow different. The enemy disguised as a snake was laughing at them. How easy it had been to trick them, and now they would no longer be God’s friends, but his slaves!

And now, everything seemed complicated! They were naked! Why hadn’t that bothered them before? How could they possibly face God naked! How embarrassing! In a hurry they found some leaves and tried to make something to cover themselves up with, but before they’d managed to make it work properly, and to their horror, they heard God walking in the garden. What were they going to do? How could they face God now?

In their fear and confusion Adam and Eve hid themselves amongst the trees of the garden, unwilling to go near the one they’d always previously longed to be with. Instead of running to greet Him at the sound of His voice, they ran away in their shame – and hid! Oh how things had changed! (PAUSE)

So God called out to the man and woman, ‘Where are you?’

The man called back, ‘I heard you in the garden, and … and … well … I’m naked! I can’t come to you like this, it’s so embarrassing and you might be angry with me!’

‘Who told you that you were naked?’ asked God. ‘Have you eaten the fruit from the tree I told you not to eat from?’

‘Yes,’ admitted the man as they slowly came out from their hiding places. ‘But it wasn’t really my fault,’ he lied. ‘It was her fault,’ He pointed at the woman. ‘She gave it to me.’

God looked at the woman. ‘How could you do such a thing after I told you not to?’

‘It’s not really my fault,’ she lied. ‘The snake tricked me into eating it.’ (PAUSE)

Adam and Eve regretted that day for the rest of their lives, wishing that they’d listened to God and never disobeyed Him. But it was too late now, death had come into the world and it couldn’t be undone by anyone!

So what was the point in continuing? Why didn’t God end it all then? His own creation had chosen to reject Him. (P) But even before He’d made the world, He’d known that Adam and Eve would disobey Him. But He still loved them – that’s why He called out to them instead of destroying them. And, He was already working on His own plan, a plan made before the world had begun, that one day He would destroy the power of the enemy – death itself – so we could not only be His friends again, but His children.

Episode 1 – Creation, How it all began

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapters 1 & 2

How it all began

Have you ever wondered how the world was created? I have. And even though some clever people say one thing and other clever people say something else, the truth is I don’t know, no one does. Because you see, I wasn’t there, no one was! I wasn’t watching over the Creator’s shoulder as He took – absolutely nothing and turned it into something! Or when at a word, He started the sun blazing in all its glory. 

He didn’t ask for my advice when he formed the world and separated the land and sea, or when He hurried the stars on their journey into deepest darkest space. 

He didn’t discuss with me how tall the cedar tree should be, and how many leaves the clover should have. Or what colour and scent the flowers of the valleys and mountains should be. Or where the animals and birds should live. Or even how many insects there should be in a single tree.

How He did it all, I don’t really know. But what I do know is that God planned it. This didn’t just happen, it wasn’t some terrible experiment that went tragically wrong! No, God meant to create the world and all that’s in it.

Also, I know that God made it to show us how great He is, so that when you look at a giant snow covered mountain, or the wing of a tiny fly, you can see the Creator’s hand at work and praise Him.

And I know this as well, God planned all this to show us how much He loves us! That He can take care of all our needs so that all we should do is learn to trust Him.

But imagine if you were there when the world was first created and it was just a ball floating in space – covered in raging seas. Then at a word from the Creator the seas start to go down and the sky appears as that thin blue halo surrounding the world, that can be seen in pictures taken from outer space.

And then another day and God speaks again and the water goes down further and dry ground appears. Imagine if you were walking on that dry ground. Oh yes, the winds might be howling and the seas raging, but this is a lifeless world, there’s no life yet! Then, at a word from the Creator, trees start racing up towards the sky, to see which will be the tallest, the strongest and the broadest. And all around you bushes and plants start to appear, and green races out to cover every square centimetre of this New World that the Lord has created. And then, the air’s suddenly filled with a wonderful fragrance as the flowers start to appear in all their glory, as if saying ‘Thank You’ to the Creator for the new life they’ve been given.

That night you sleep well on a bed of soft moss, and the next morning as you get up – you hear the Creator’s voice yet again. And suddenly you have to cover your eyes for a huge ball of light has appeared in the sky. Oh yes, there was light before but now the Lord has made the sun and it’s blazing down with warmth and light. And the flowers and the leaves all turn to face it and rejoice in its warmth.

And that night as you sleep, you sleep under a new moon, a brand new moon as it softly shimmers down in all its glory. While the stars laugh and twinkle in the sky as if marvelling at the wonderful things God has done.

The next morning you get up and taste some of the new fruit that’s appeared on the trees and bushes. And as you taste the fruit you hear the Creator’s voice again. As He stops speaking its like ten thousand times ten thousand tiny voices all start singing at once – the Lord has created birds! And they’re trying out their voices as if praising the Creator for the new life that they’ve been given, and then they try out their wings, soaring into the sky. A silent world and a still world has become one full of noise and motion.

As you watch the birds flying all around, you make your way down to the sea. And as you walk along the shore you see schools of fish nibbling at seaweed. And there, just beyond the shallows –you see a giant black object below the waves, making its way to deeper waters. The Lord God has created the fish and the creatures of the sea.

The next morning you’re woken early as the birds welcome the sun and the new day. And as you get up to have some fruit and explore some more, you hear the Creator’s voice. At first it’s not altogether obvious what’s happening, until a bit later you feel something rubbing against you leg. As you look down, you freeze in terror! For right there beside you is an enormous tiger, sniffing at your leg and trying to work out what you are. (P) But it’s ok, for now- tigers aren’t dangerous because nothing bad has entered this world yet. Anyway, before long the tiger loses interest and wanders off into the forest. And as you watch him leave you feel something tapping at the top of your head. As you turn around to see what it is, to your horror you find yourself staring into the face of a giant bull elephant! You’re standing right between his enormous tusks! And his trunk is playing with the wiry stuff on the top of your head, your hair, trying to work out if it can be eaten! Thankfully, after a few nasty tugs, it soon decides it can’t be eaten and as silently as it came, it disappears off into the forest. And then as you look around you see some hedgehogs snuffling in the bushes near by, and there in the distance you see some deer and gazelle moving majestically away. The Creator’s at work and you want to see it. So you work your way through the forest trying to find the clearing where God is at work.

After a long search, you eventually find the place where God Himself is in His act of creation. You’ve arrived just in time to see Him starting on His last creature.

There’re still a few animals around, a little puppy that seems soo happy with everything it looks like its tail’s about to wag off! But he soon disappears into the forest to investigate all the wonderful new smells. And as the Creator works, soon the horses and giraffes realise that this new animal is going to be altogether smaller than them, and they lift their noses in a very superior manor and wander off into the forest. So it’s only you and the monkeys left watching the Creator at work. And then something urgent seems to demand the monkeys’ attention high up in the trees above, and they run off screaming and shouting and chasing one another. Until it’s only you left – watching the Creator take incredible care as He makes this last creature.

Now this creature is to be altogether different from all the others – for it’s to be like God Himself. Oh yes, it still has legs and needs food and it’s going to live and work in this world that God’s made. But it’s to be able to think and reason and work things out like God. God’s going to give it a job, it’s going to have to look after this world and take care of it in a way that’ll make God happy. But most of all, this creature and its children are being made to have a loving relationship with God Himself. God the Creator will be their father, and they will be His children. And to show this, the Creator, God Himself, blows the breath of life into the nostrils of the first man and he comes to life.

The Creator’s looking across at you and smiling, it’s time for you to go. But don’t worry, the Creators’ not going to leave, He didn’t create this world like a big clock that He wound up and left to run down! No, He’s going to stay involved all the way through. He’s going to plant a garden for the man to live and work in. And before long He’s going to make a wife for the man, and they’ll have children.

No, don’t worry, God’s still involved in His creation – and He always will be. He’s made it and He loves it. He’s made you and He loves you too.