Look, Listen & Live 2: Mighty Men of GOD (Extended)

Introduction

Hello (Greetings). Do you know the one true God? Let me tell you about some of the men who knew Him. These stories come from God’s book, the Bible. Look at the pictures while you listen to the program and remember to look at the next picture when you hear this music. (MUSIC)

Picture 1 Two Brothers

Genesis 25:21-34

Abraham and his son Isaac were living in Canaan as God had directed, but the Canaanites around them worshipped many idols. Isaac and his wife Rebekah had twin boys after twenty years of barrenness. Even before the children were born God gave Rebekah a promise about her children. He said, “There will be rivalry between your sons. The older son will serve the younger son.”

In this picture the two sons are making a bargain. The older one, called Esau, was a great hunter. He had just returned from the open country and saw Jacob, his younger brother, who had prepared some good food. Esau was exhausted and very hungry. He asked Jacob for some of the food. Jacob said to Esau, “First give me your right of inheritance, your birthright, as the oldest son.” Esau replied, “I’m almost dead from hunger; what good is a birthright to me?” So he sold his birthright for one meal.

(Optional: When Esau was forty years old, he married two Canaanite women, which brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah. The promise of the seed of the woman would not be brought to the world through the Canaanites, but through Abraham’s family (descendants, tribe, clan). )

When Isaac was very old and knew that he would die soon, he called Esau and told him to go and kill a wild animal and cook it for him. Then Isaac would bless him as the firstborn. Rebekah overheard their talk and told Jacob to pretend to be Esau. She cooked some goat meat, covered Jacob with goatskin, and put Esau’s clothes on him. She sent Jacob with the food in to Isaac. Jacob told his father that he was Esau. Isaac couldn’t see very well any more, because of his old age. He touched Jacob to see if it was really Esau. When Isaac touched the animal skin he thought it was Esau’s hairy body and was convinced. He ate the food and gave Jacob the blessing intended for the firstborn. When Esau returned and found out that his father had given his younger brother the blessing meant for him, Esau, he was beside himself (very distressed) and cried bitterly. He had lost his birthright and his special blessing . (MUSIC)

Picture 2 Jacob’S Dream

Genesis 27:1 - 28:22

After that day, Esau hated Jacob. He wanted to kill him, so Jacob had to run away from his own home. At nightfall he lay down beside the road and fell asleep. He had a dream. He saw a stairway reaching from the earth to heaven and the angels of God going up and down on it. God stood at the top of the stairway and He said to Jacob, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be as many as the specks of dust on the earth. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” God loved Jacob even before he was born, because of God’s grace. Grace means that God treats us kindly even though we do not deserve it. God knew that Jacob was a cheat, but He loved Jacob and wanted to change him. God chose Jacob and gave him wonderful promises for him and his children, and blessed him, not because of anything Jacob had done, but because that is what God wanted to do. God has the power and authority to do whatever He wants to. (MUSIC)

Picture 3 Jacob and Laban

Genesis 29:1 - 31:55

Jacob arrived at the area where Abraham’s relatives had settled, and he went to work for his uncle Laban, the brother of his mother Rebekah. Jacob wanted to marry Laban's younger daughter, Rachel. Jacob said to Laban, "I'll work seven years for you if you give me Rachel as my wife." Laban agreed and said, "You can marry Rachel." But when the wedding took place, Laban deceived Jacob and replaced Rachel with her older sister, Leah.

Then Laban made Jacob work another seven years for Rachel. God blessed Jacob as He promised, and He also blessed Laban for Jacob’s sake. Jacob gained all the best animals from Laban’s flocks as payment for his work on Laban’s property. Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” Jacob also noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been. Then God said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” (MUSIC)

Picture 4 Jacob Meets God

Genesis 32:1-32

Jacob wanted to return home, but he was afraid of Esau. One night, when Jacob was on his way home, a Man came to Jacob. He wrestled with Jacob all night. Just as the sun was rising, the Man dislocated Jacob’s hip. He said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.” (Jacob knew that the Man was from God). Jacob could fight no longer but answered, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” So the Man said to Jacob, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel.” Israel' means 'a prince who struggles with God.' God had to make Jacob, the 'cheater' weak, so that He could change him (into a prince). The Man said, “You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.” Then He blessed him. Jacob then said, “I saw God face to face, and my life has been spared.” Jacob, or Israel, was reconciled to his brother Esau and returned to his family in peace. He became the father of a great nation of people who worshipped God. (MUSIC)

Picture 5 Joseph’s Dream

Genesis 37:1-11

Jacob, whom God had renamed Israel, had twelve sons. His favourite son was Joseph. Joseph was Rachel’s son, whom Jacob loved. Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. One night Joseph had a dream which he shared with his brothers: “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves (bundles) of grain out in the fields when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” The brothers were angry and said, “Do you really think you will be our king, and we will bow down to you?” They hated Joseph and they looked for an opportunity to harm him. (MUSIC)

Picture 6 Joseph Is Sold

Genesis 37:12-36

Joseph’s older brothers were grazing their flocks far from home. Jacob said to Joseph, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” When the brothers saw Joseph coming towards them, they decided to kill him. They stripped him of his beautiful coat and put him in a dry well. Then one brother said, “What will we gain if we kill our brother? Let’s sell him.” Just then some traders came along. So the brothers sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver. Then they stained Joseph’s coat with the blood of a goat and took it to their father. Jacob thought that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. He mourned for him with great sorrow. (MUSIC)

Picture 7 Joseph Refuses Potiphar’s Wife

Genesis 39:1-20

The traders sold Joseph in the land of Egypt. There he became the slave of a man called Potiphar. Potiphar was an important man in service of the king of Egypt. God was with Joseph and he had great success in all he did. Soon he was put in charge of Potiphar’s household. Joseph was a handsome young man. Potiphar’s wife desired him for herself. She tried to force Joseph to lie with her. Joseph knew that it would be wrong and refused her. One day she caught him by his cloak (robe) and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and fled out of the house. She took the cloak to her husband and accused Joseph of trying to molest (assault) her. So Potiphar had Joseph put into prison. (MUSIC)

Picture 8 Joseph in Prison

Genesis 39:20 - 40:23

God was still with Joseph, even in the prison, and He showed him His love and kindness. Soon Joseph was put in charge of all the other prisoners. The king’s chief servant, who poured out wine for the king to drink, and the king’s baker, were also put in prison. One night they both had dreams. They thought nobody would be able to explain the meanings to them. But Joseph said to them, “Doesn’t God know the meaning of dreams? Tell me your dreams.”

So the first servant told Joseph, “In my dream there was a grape vine with three branches. I took the grapes and squeezed them into the king’s cup, and gave it to the king.” Joseph told him the meaning of the dream: “In three days the king will have you released and give your job back to you.”

The baker also told Joseph his dream. “In my dream I had three bread baskets on my head. The top basket was full of baked foods for the king, but the birds were eating them.” Joseph told him also the meaning of his dream: “In three days, you will be executed.” Within three days the chief servant was released but the baker was killed, just as God had shown Joseph. (MUSIC)

Picture 9 The King’s Dream

Genesis 41:1-40

Joseph remained in prison for another two years. Then one night the king of Egypt also had a dream. He saw seven fat cows beside the river. Seven thin cows came out of the river and they ate up the seven fat cows. No one could tell the king the meaning of his dream. Then the king’s servant who had been in prison told the king about Joseph. The king ordered someone to bring Joseph out of prison.

Joseph told the king the meaning of his dream, saying, “God has revealed to you what He is going to do. There will be seven years of good harvests and plenty of food in Egypt. After that there will be seven years of famine. Look for a wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let that man appoint officials to collect some of the grain from all over the land during the seven years of good harvest and store it for the seven years of famine in the land.” The king saw that the Spirit of God was in Joseph, so he made him ruler over all Egypt. (MUSIC)

Picture 10 Joseph’s Rule in Egypt

Genesis 41:47 - 42:28

During the seven years of good harvest in Egypt, Joseph stored up much grain. When the seven years of famine came, he sold the grain to the people of Egypt. There was famine in Canaan also. So Joseph’s ten older brothers came to buy grain in Egypt.

They did not know that the ruler was Joseph, but he recognised them. He accused them of being spies and he put them in prison. After three days he said to them, “To prove that you are honest men, you must bring your youngest brother, the one you told me about, here to me.” He kept one of the brothers in prison and he let the others take grain to their families. (MUSIC)

Picture 11 Joseph Revealed to His Brothers

Genesis 43:1 - 45:27

Joseph’s brothers were afraid to return to Egypt, but soon they needed more grain. So they took their youngest brother, Benjamin, and went back to Joseph in Egypt. Joseph still did not tell them who he was. He sold them grain, but told one of his servants to return their money in their sacks and to hide his silver cup in the grain sack of the youngest brother. Then when they left to return home, Joseph sent his servants after them to accuse them of stealing from him.
The brothers immediately returned to Joseph’s house. There they all bowed down before Joseph, just like the sheaves of grain in Joseph’s dream long ago, and they pleaded for mercy. Joseph wept and could not keep his secret any longer. He told them, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt.” He also embraced Benjamin and wept as he kissed him and his other brothers. Joseph gave them great gifts and sent gifts to his father. Joseph told them to return to Egypt and bring their families and their father with them. The brothers went home and told their father, “Joseph is still alive! He is ruler of all Egypt!” (MUSIC)

Picture 12 Jacob and Joseph in Egypt

Genesis 45:28 - 50:26

Jacob took his whole family and all he owned, and went to live in Egypt. When Jacob saw his son Joseph, he embraced him and they both cried. Later he laid his hands on Joseph’s sons and he blessed them. They became great leaders among the tribes of Israel. Jacob died in Egypt as a very old man. Then Joseph’s brothers were afraid because of the wrong things they had done to him. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.”

Friends, there is One in Heaven who is greater than Joseph. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Wicked men killed Him, but God turned that shameful, evil deed into good for us. God honoured Jesus and raised him from the dead. Jesus is alive and will give you new life and save you from your sins and shame if you put your trust in Him.

The descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, stayed in Egypt, and they became such a great nation that a new king of Egypt started to fear them and forced them to work as slaves. But there was a man named Moses, also an Israelite, who was strong in the Lord. God used Moses to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt. (MUSIC)

Picture 13 Baby Moses

Exodus 1:1 - 2:10

Three hundred years after Joseph, Moses was born in Egypt. At that time, the king of Egypt treated the Israelites very badly and made them work very hard as slaves. Because the Israelites had become so many people, he gave orders to kill all the Israelite baby boys. But when Moses was born, his mother hid him. When he became a little bigger, she put him in a basket and hid him in the reeds beside the river. The king’s daughter came to bathe in the river. There she found the basket and the baby Moses. Moses began to cry. The king’s daughter felt sorry for the baby, so she decided to keep him for herself, to be her son. Moses grew up in the king’s palace. He learned all the ways of the Egyptians and he became a very important man. (MUSIC)

Picture 14 Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 2:11 - 4:17

One day Moses saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave. Moses wanted to help his own people, so he killed the Egyptian. But then Moses had to flee from the king. For forty years he lived in a desert called Sinai. Then one day he saw a very strange thing. He saw a bush that burned with fire, but it was not destroyed. God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, saying, “I have seen how cruelly My people are being treated. I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead My people out of that country.” (MUSIC)

Picture 15 Moses Returns to the King

Exodus 5:1 - 10:29

Moses was afraid, but he trusted God and returned to Egypt. His brother, Aaron, went with him. They said to the king, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a festival for Me in the desert.’” But the king said, “I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” After this, the king treated the Israelites even worse. God said to Moses, “The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of Egypt.” God also said, “When the king says to you ‘perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your stick and throw it down in front of the king,’ and it will become a snake.” Aaron obeyed, but the Egyptian magicians did the same thing. Their sticks also turned into snakes. But then Aaron’s snake swallowed the snakes of the Egyptian magicians. The king saw the power of God, but he would not let the people go.

So God worked many miracles against the Egyptians. He turned all the waters of Egypt into blood. He brought plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, boils on humans and animals, hail, darkness and locusts to Egypt. God allowed the Egyptian magicians to do some of these miracles, but the Lord worked more miracles that the magicians could not do. In this way God showed the king that his power was much greater than the magicians’ power. The animals and plants died, and the Egyptians became sick, but still, the king refused to obey God, and he would not let the Israelites go. (MUSIC)

Picture 16 The Sacrificed Lamb

Exodus 12:1-36

Moses announced to the king that God was going to kill every first-born son in Egypt. Then God spoke to Moses, “Tell all the people of Israel that each family is to take a lamb and kill it; they must take some of the blood and put it on the door posts of their houses. I will go through the land of Egypt. I will kill every first-born male. But when I see the blood, I will pass over your houses and not harm you.” God kept his promise. That night all the first-born sons of Egypt died. But none of the Israelites’ first-born sons died. Then the king sent for Moses and said, “Get up, and get out! Leave my people, you and all the Israelites. Go worship the Lord as you have requested.” (MUSIC)

Picture 17 Crossing Through the Sea

Exodus 13:17 - 14:31

Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. God went before them in a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. When the Egyptian king heard that the Israelites had left, he and the other Egyptians became angry because they realised they had lost their slaves. So the king and all his army pursued Israel to bring them back. The Israelites came to a great sea that they could not cross. The Egyptians were behind them. The Israelites could not escape. Moses said to the Israelites, “Do not be afraid! You will see what the Lord will do to save you. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” Then God opened up a way through the sea. The Israelites passed through the sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried to follow them, but the water flowed back and covered them. All those Egyptians were drowned and the Israelites were saved. (MUSIC)

Picture 18 Food and Water in the Desert

Exodus 16:1 - 17:7

Moses led the people on into the desert. They did not have enough to eat, so they grumbled against Moses, Aaron and the Lord. Every evening God sent flocks of small birds for the people to eat. Every morning small flakes like bread from heaven appeared on the ground. The people called it ‘manna.’ When there was no water, the Israelites quarrelled with Moses once more. Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” Moses prayed to God and God answered him, “Take your stick and strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink.” And that is what happened. For 40 years God fed and cared for the people of Israel in the desert. (MUSIC)

Picture 19 Moses on the Mountain of God

Exodus 19:1 - 20:17; Psalm 19:11; John 14:15

The Israelites came to the mountain of Sinai. God came down onto the mountain with thunder and lightning, clouds and fire. Moses went up the mountain, and God spoke to him, saying, “I am the Lord your God. You must have no other gods before Me. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it. Do not use My name wrongly. Remember the seventh day of the week and keep it holy. Six days you should labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest for the Lord your God. On that day you should not do any work. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Honour your father and your mother. Do not commit murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not accuse anyone falsely or tell lies about someone. Do not desire to possess what others have.” God wrote His ten commandments on two tablets of stone, and Moses brought these down the mountain to all the people to teach them, along with other instructions. Today we find the laws of God in his Word, the Bible. (MUSIC)

Picture 20 The Snake on the Pole

Numbers 21:4-9; Deuteronomy 18:18

The people again began to speak against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest (hate) this miserable food!” So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. The people came to Moses and admitted that they had sinned. They cried out to him for help and Moses prayed for them. Then God told Moses, “Make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a snake of bronze and put it up on a pole. And everyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake did not die.

Moses was one of the greatest leaders and prophets of God that Israel ever had. For forty years he led the people through the desert. Before Moses died, God said to him, “I will raise up for My people a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command.” (MUSIC)

Picture 21 Jesus Feeds the People

John 6:1-58

For many years the people of Israel looked for another prophet like Moses. Then, finally, Jesus Christ was born in the land of Israel. He taught the people about God as Moses had done. One day the people went out to a lonely place to hear Jesus speak. They became hungry but they had no food. A young boy had five loaves of bread and two small fish. Jesus took the bread and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then He fed all the people from that food. There were over five thousand of them! The people said, “Surely this is the Prophet whom God promised would come into the world!” The next day Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” In the next few pictures we will learn more about Jesus. (MUSIC)

Picture 22 Jesus Speaks to Moses

Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36

One day Jesus led three of His followers up to a mountain by themselves to pray. As Jesus prayed, His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light. Then Moses and Elijah appeared before them. Moses and Elijah were both prophets of God who had lived many, many years before Jesus was born. Moses and Elijah spoke to Him about his coming death. Jesus’ three followers heard them talking together. Then a bright cloud came and covered them all. The voice of God spoke from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” When the voice had finished speaking, they saw only Jesus. (MUSIC)

Picture 23 Jesus Died for Us

John 3:14-16; Luke 23:26-49

Many people rejected Jesus and they succeeded in killing Him. Soldiers nailed Him to a cross of wood. They killed two other men with Him. These two were thieves and murderers, but Jesus had never done anything wrong. God has always wanted to live in a close, loving relationship with people, where we honour Him in all we do. However, we have all rebelled against God. We all deserve God’s judgment. But God is a God of grace. He loves all people. He does not want us to die forever (be destroyed). So God sent Jesus to take our shame and the punishment for our sin, and to reconcile us to Himself. Jesus did this by dying on the cross and then coming back to life. God removed all our sins and placed them on Jesus. Therefore we are able to come into the presence of God and be accepted by Him. We can stand before God without fear of His judgment and rejection. And in this life, we are empowered to live a life that honours and pleases Him.

In the time of Moses the blood of the lamb was shed to protect the Israelites from God’s judgment. In the same way, Jesus, the Lamb of God, took our sin upon Himself and died as a sacrifice for us. His blood protects us from the eternal judgment of God.

The Bible explains that just as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on the pole, so Jesus had to be lifted up on the cross so that everyone who looks to Him and believes in Him, may be saved and have eternal life. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (MUSIC)

Picture 24 Jesus in Heaven

John 19:38; Acts 1:6-11

Jesus’ dead body was taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb. But on the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead. Forty days after that, His followers saw Him rise up to heaven. Jesus is still alive today, and He sits at the right hand of God in glory. One day Jesus will return to earth, just as He went up to heaven. He will take all who believe in Him to be with Him in heaven. Are you ready to go with Jesus?