Look, Listen & Live 1: Beginning with GOD

Introduction

Good day. Come and learn about some of the first people who lived on the earth. God's dealings with them teach us much about Him. Look at the pictures in the red book as you listen to this. It has teachings from God's book, the Bible. Turn to the next picture when you hear this music.

Picture 1: Adam and the Animals

Genesis 1:1 - 2:14

There is only one God. He is Spirit. He knows all things and He is everywhere. In the beginning only God existed; besides God there was no other living creature. The earth as we know it today, did not exist. God created everything. First He made the light. Then God made the sky, the clouds and the earth. He separated the sea from the dry land and plants started to grow. Then God made the sun, the moon and the stars. He made all the living creatures on earth and in the sea. The man in this picture is Adam. He was the first man who ever lived. God made him from the dust of the earth. He made the man after his image. God made the man to know Him (God) so that the spirit of man could be one with the spirit of God. All of the man's thoughts and desires agreed with those of God and he walked with God.

Picture 2: A Wife for Adam

Genesis 1:27-28, 2:15-25

God put Adam in a beautiful garden called Eden and told him to care for it. There were trees of every kind, including the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. God allowed Adam to find names for all the animals and the birds. There were males and females of all creatures. They were not afraid of the man and did him no harm. But there was no suitable companion (mate) for Adam. So God created a woman as a companion for Adam. God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took a rib from Adam's side. From this rib God made the woman. God brought her to the man. The man and woman were naked, but they were not ashamed. They spoke to God like friends. There was no sorrow, death or evil in that wonderful place.

Picture 3: The Snake in The Garden

Genesis 2:16-17, 3; Isaiah 14:12

God commanded the man, Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." But Satan tricked Adam's wife. Satan had once been an angel of God, but he rebelled (turned) against God who made him. He wanted to become greater than God. So God cast him out of heaven and Satan became God's enemy. Satan, the evil one, came to the woman in the form of a beautiful snake. He tricked her and said that she would not die if she ate of the forbidden fruit. The woman ate and gave some of the fruit to Adam. As soon as they had eaten they knew that they were naked. They realised that they had disobeyed God and that their relationship with God was not the same. They made coverings of leaves for themselves and tried to hide from God.

Picture 4: Adam and His Wife Outside the Garden

Genesis 3:14-24

In this picture we see what happened after Adam and his wife had disobeyed God. God had to punish them for disobeying his command, but first God said to the snake, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals!" From that time onwards Satan has been the enemy of God and man (people). God also foretold that the offspring of Adam and his wife would defeat Satan. Jesus did this when He died for the sins of the world and rose from the dead.

God said to the woman, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children..." God told Adam that because he had listened to his wife and had eaten from the tree, the ground would be cursed. Therefore he would have to work hard to make it produce enough food for him and his family until he died. God made them leave the garden.

Adam named the woman Eve, which means 'living'. She had children by him. All people are descended from Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve, and all the people after them have evil in them and this evil separates them from God and from each other.

Picture 5: Noah and the Ark

Genesis 6:1 - 7:5

The children of Adam and Eve and the following generations became very many. They followed the ways of Satan and did what was wrong before God. God was sorry that He had made man. Only one man obeyed God. His name was Noah. One day God spoke to Noah and said, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them . . . So make (build) yourself an ark." An ark is a big boat. "I am going to send a flood on the earth to destroy every living creature. But I will make an agreement with you. Go into the ark, you and your wife, your sons and their wives. Take into the ark with you male and female of every kind of animal and bird, in order to keep them alive. And you must take every kind of food for you and the animals to eat and store it away." God told Noah exactly how to build the ark. Noah did everything God commanded.

As he was building the ark, Noah kept warning the people that God would destroy them, but they would not turn from their evil ways.

Picture 6: The Great Flood

Genesis 7:6-23

When the ark was finished, Noah, his family and all the animals went into the ark. God closed the door and shut them in. Seven days later the rain began to fall. It rained for forty days and nights. Springs of water came from under the ground and the whole earth was covered with a great flood. All the people and animals outside the ark died.

Picture 7: The Rainbow and God’s Promise

Genesis 7:24 - 9:17

Noah and his family and all the animals were in the ark for more than a year. When at last the rain stopped and the water had dried up from the earth, they all came out of the ark. Then Noah built an altar to God, as you see here. He killed some animals and sacrificed them to God by burning them on the altar. God was pleased with it and put a rainbow in the sky. He promised never again to destroy all living creatures by a flood.

Picture 8: The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-9

God told Noah and his three sons to have many children and to spread out all over the earth. But their descendants would not listen. They disobeyed God and decided to build a city (big village) with a tower that reaches high into the sky. God saw the city and the tower. He also saw their disobedience and pride. So God said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, ... Come, let us go down and confuse (mix up) their language so (that) they will not understand each other." In this picture the people cannot understand one another any more. So they stopped building the city and they went to live in different places.

Picture 9: Job Worships God

Job 1:1-12

Here we see a man named Job. He is offering a burnt sacrifice to God. Job worshipped the one true God and he would not follow Satan's ways. Job had seven sons and three daughters and he made offerings on behalf of his children. He asked God's forgiveness, if they had offended God in any way. God was pleased with Job. He blessed him and caused him to prosper. Job had large herds of animals and many servants. One day God told Satan that He was pleased with Job. But Satan started to accuse Job before God. He said that Job only worshipped God so that he would be rich. Satan said to God, "If you take away everything that Job has, then he will curse you." God knew that Satan was a liar and he knew that Job was a good man who only wanted to please Him (God). So God allowed Satan to take everything away from Job to test him.

Picture 10: Job in Mourning

Job 1:13-22

This picture shows a day of great sorrow for Job. His servants brought him terrible news. The first servant came running to tell Job that enemies had killed his other servants and had stolen all his oxen and donkeys. Before he had finished speaking another servant came. He said lightning had struck the sheep and shepherds. All were killed. A third servant came to tell Job that bandits had attacked them and had stolen all his camels.

Another servant brought the worst news of all, "Your children were feasting together when a storm blew the house down and killed them all."

After hearing this, Job shaved his head and fell to the ground in grief. He said, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Although all these bad things had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Picture 11: Job Suffers

Job 2:1 - 41:34

Satan saw that Job still honoured God, so he said to God, "If you hurt Job's body, he will curse you." God allowed Satan to test Job again. Satan brought a terrible skin disease on Job. Job went outside and scraped his sores with a piece from a broken pot. His wife said to him, "Curse God and die!" But Job answered, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Three of Job's friends came and talked to him for many days. They tried to find out the reason for all Job's suffering. They said that he must have done something wrong and that God was punishing him. Job did not agree with them. Job questioned God's ways, but he never turned against God. Therefore God showed his greatness and knowledge to Job.

Picture 12: Job Is Restored

Job 42:1-17

In this picture Job is well and rich again. I will tell you how this happened. When Job met God, he realised God's greatness and repented (felt truly sorry) of questioning God's ways. Then God spoke with one of Job's accusers named Eliphaz, "I'm angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." God also told them to go to Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for themselves and that his servant Job would pray for them. God said that He (God) would forgive them. Job did pray for his friends and God accepted his prayer. After this God made Job well and rich again. Job's friends and relatives came to feast with him and to bring him gifts. God gave him seven sons and three beautiful daughters. Job lived to see many of his descendants and he died a very old man.

Introduction

Let me tell you about a man called Abram. He obeyed God and through him many people have been blessed. Be ready to turn to the next picture when you hear this music.

Picture 13: Abram Leaves Home

Genesis 12:1 - 13:4

In this picture you see Abram, his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and their servants. They are going on a long journey because God had spoken to Abram saying, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; ... and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Abram believed God's promise. He and his companions took all their possessions and travelled for many days until they reached the land Canaan. There God appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land."

Abram had travelled through the land, but when he came to the Negev area in the south of Canaan, a famine came over the land, and there was no food for them to eat. Abram and his people had to go to another country called Egypt, to find food. But later he returned to Canaan, because he still believed God's promise to him.

Picture 14: Abram and Lot

Genesis 13:5-18

Abram and Lot lived together in Canaan. They had so many animals that there was not enough grazing land for them in this one place. So the herdsmen of Abram and those of Lot quarrelled. Then Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers." Abram told Lot to choose any part of the land he wanted. Lot wanted the best for himself, so he chose the fertile valley of the Jordan River, where there were also cities to live in. Lot went to live in this valley near a city called Sodom. The people of Sodom were very wicked. They displeased God. Abram stayed in the land of Canaan and there God spoke to him again. God said, "All the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever."

Picture 15: Abram Meets the King of Peace

Genesis 14:1-24

While Lot lived in the valley, war broke out. Lot and his family were taken away captive with all the people of Sodom. So Abram and his armed men went to set Lot free. They defeated the enemy and saved all the captives and their possessions. As they returned from the battle, they met a king, as you can see in this picture. The king's name was Melchizedek. He was king of a city called Salem, which means 'peace'. Melchizedek worshipped God and pleased Him. Melchizedek brought bread and wine to Abram. Abram bowed down before Melchizedek and brought him gifts.

The king of Sodom also wanted to give Abram gifts Abram for saving his people, but Abram would receive nothing from this evil king.

Picture 16: Abram and the Stars

Genesis 15:1-21, 17:1-19

After Abram had rescued Lot and all the people of Sodom, Lot returned to that wicked city. Then God spoke to Abram, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram was sad because God had not given him a son as an heir. For this reason God took Abram outside and said, "Look, try to count the stars. You will have as many descendants as that." Abram believed the promise of God, even though he had no children yet.

Picture 17: The Baby Ishmael

Genesis 16 - 17

Look! Abram has a baby son. This is how it came to be: Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, still waiting to receive what God had promised, for Sarai, his wife, was still without a child. Sarai had a servant named Hagar. She wanted Hagar to have a child by Abram and then Sarai would take the child to be her own. That was the custom in those days. So Hagar became pregnant by Abram. Sarai became jealous of her. She treated her badly, so Hagar ran away.

But the angel of God met Hagar and he confronted her. He told her, "... you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery." Ishmael means 'God hears'. "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers." Ishmael was born and later became the father of the Arab people.

Thirteen years after Ishmael's birth, God came to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers . . . As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

Because of the new name that God had given him, Abraham knew that God would give him many descendants. God also said to Abraham, "The whole land of Canaan, . . . I will give . . . to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." God also changed Sarai's name to Sarah. God promised to bless her and give Abraham a son by her.

Picture 18: Sarah Laughs

Genesis 18:1-15

One day three messengers of God came to Abraham's tent. Abraham called Sarah to prepare food, and he served them himself. Then the men asked Abraham, "Where is your wife Sarah?" Abraham answered, "There, in the tent." One of the three men was the Lord God Himself and He said to Abraham, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah heard Him and she laughed to herself because she was past her years of childbearing. She did not believe Him. Then God spoke to Abraham and said, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

Picture 19: Abraham Prays for Sodom

Genesis 18:16 - 19:29

When the three visitors got up to leave, Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. They looked down toward Sodom and God told Abraham that He was going to visit Sodom. He was planning to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because the people there were doing what was wrong before God. They had abandoned God's plan for a holy relationship between a man and a woman.

Abraham remembered Lot and said to the Lord God, "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? . . . Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham began to plead with God. Finally God said that He would not destroy Sodom if there were only ten people who served God. When the Lord had finished speaking to Abraham, He left and Abraham returned home.

But there were not even ten servants of God in Sodom. When the two messengers of God came to Sodom, they saw the wickedness of the people. The messengers commanded Lot and his family to flee out of Sodom and told them not to look back, because God had shown mercy to Lot. Then God sent fire from heaven and Sodom and Gomorrah with all the wicked people who lived there were destroyed. Lot and his family fled just in time, but on their way his wife looked back and immediately turned into a pillar of salt.

Abraham had pleaded with God to save all the righteous people. Only Lot and his two daughters lived, because God remembered Abraham and how he had prayed for Lot.

Picture 20: Abraham’s Sacrifice

Genesis 21:1 - 22:19

When Sarah was 90 years old she gave birth to a son, just as God had promised Abraham. Abraham was already 100 years old. They called the boy Isaac, which means 'he laughs'.

When Isaac was a young boy, God tested Abraham. God wanted to see if Abraham would obey Him. God said to him, "Take your only son Isaac, whom you love, and offer him as a sacrifice to me." Abraham obeyed God. Abraham placed the wood on Isaac and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac said, " . . . but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." Abraham built the altar, put the wood on it, then bound his son and laid him on the altar. Just as Abraham raised the knife to kill Isaac, God's angel spoke to him and said to Abraham, "Do not lay a hand on the boy . . . Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld (kept) from me your son, your only son." Then Abraham saw a ram caught in a bush. He offered the ram as a sacrifice to God instead of his son. So God said to him, "I will surely bless you (do good to you) . . . and through your offspring (descendents) all the nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Picture 21: Abraham and His Servant

Genesis 24:1 - 25:11

When Abraham was very old, he called his servant and said, "Promise me that you will go back to my country and to my own relatives, and get a wife for my son, Isaac." Abraham did not want Isaac to leave the land God had promised, or take a wife from the Canaanitic women. The servant obeyed Abraham and travelled to the city of Nahor. There he asked God to guide him to find the right woman for Isaac. A beautiful young woman named Rebekah came out of the city to draw water from a well. She was willing to draw water for Abraham's servant and his ten camels. The servant knew that God had guided him to this woman and that she was the woman he was looking for. He found out that she was the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. The servant worshipped God who had answered his prayer and who had led him to his master's relatives. So Rebekah became Isaac's wife. Abraham died when he was 175 years old. All his life he trusted God to keep his promises, so God accepted and blessed him.

God still blesses all those who trust in Him like Abraham.

Picture 22: Jesus Is Born

Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4-5

The Word of God is true. God never lies. God told Adam that He would send his chosen one to defeat Satan. He warned Noah that He would destroy those who are evil. God showed Job that he wants what is best for us. He showed Abraham that He always keeps his promises.

In this picture you can see the baby called Jesus. He was born at the right time in the land Palestine, later named Israel. His mother's name was Mary. She was a descendant of Abraham and Isaac. Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. Jesus had no human father. God is his Father. Jesus is the one who brings blessings to the whole world. He came to fulfil God's promise that Satan would be defeated and to bring us back to God.

Picture 23: The Death of Jesus

Galatians 3:13-14

When Jesus grew to be a man, He taught people the ways of God. Jesus did many miracles to show that He was from God. But men did not believe Him. They killed Jesus by nailing Him to a wooden cross. A soldier pierced his side with a spear to make sure that He was really dead.

God told Adam that he would die if he ate from the tree. We have all disobeyed God and we also deserve everlasting death. You will remember that God provided a ram for Abraham to be killed as a sacrifice instead of Isaac. In the same way God, instead of condemning all people to eternal death, gave his only son, Jesus, to die as a sacrifice for the sin of all people. Yes, our sin has separated us from God. Jesus is the way back to God.

Picture 24: Jesus Is Alive

John 20:19-29

Jesus' friends laid his dead body in a grave. He was in the grave for three days. Then He rose from the dead. Death could not hold Jesus, the son of God. Jesus showed himself to his disciples and stood in their midst. They were all amazed. One disciple, called Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus came to them. Thomas said to them, "If I don't see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

One week later Jesus appeared to them again. Look at the picture. Jesus showed Thomas the nail marks in his hands and He told Thomas to place his hands in his side. Then He said to Thomas, "Stop doubting and believe." Jesus also said, "... blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Let us not be like Thomas who doubted God. Remember, God said to Adam that He would send someone to defeat Satan. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He overcame Satan. Satan has no power over people who believe and trust in Jesus and obey Him. This is exactly what God promised Abraham too. God promised him that all the nations on earth would be blessed through him. This blessing is: that we can be saved from our sin and live with God eternally. This blessing came to be through Jesus. We can receive this blessing if we believe in Jesus and obey his Word.