Look, Listen & Live 4: Servants of GOD (Extended)

Introduction

Hello. God loves everyone and cares for everyone. His love makes us want to honour Him, serve Him and obey Him. Some of the greatest people who ever lived were servants of God. Listen to how God made them great many years ago, as it is written in God’s book, the Bible, and look at the pictures. Look at the next picture when you hear this music.

Picture 1: A Family Flees from Famine

Ruth 1:1-5

God created all people, but they turned against Him. God chose the people of Israel, who are called the Israelites, to know and to worship Him. He chose the nation of Israel to make His name known among all the other nations. They had to set the example for all the other nations. But at times, the people of Israel rebelled against God. Then they would worship idols and false gods like the other nations around them. God brought wars and famines against the people of Israel to try to bring them back to Himself. During one such famine a family decided to go to the land of Moab to find food. They lived in that foreign land for ten years. The father died there. The two sons married women from Moab. Then the sons died, too. Only the mother and her two daughters-in-law were left in that foreign land.

Picture 2: Naomi and Ruth Return to Israel

Ruth 1:6-22

The mother of that family was called Naomi. Her daughters-in-law were Moabites, and their names were Ruth and Orpah. Naomi heard that God was providing food for the people of Israel, so she decided to return to her homeland. Ruth and Orpah started walking with her on her journey. Then Naomi said to them, “Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. God has turned against me.” So Orpah kissed Naomi and went back to her parents’ home. But Ruth clung to Naomi and said, “Don’t make me leave you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.” So Ruth went with Naomi to Bethlehem in the land of Judah.

Picture 3: Ruth in the Harvest Field

Ruth 2:1-23

Naomi and Ruth were very poor. Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone who is kind enough to let me.” She went to a field where the workers were harvesting. The owner of that field was a man named Boaz. He asked his workers about the foreign woman in his field. One of them said, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi.” Boaz had heard how good she had been to her mother-in-law. He saw that she was a hard worker. So he said to Ruth, “Stay here with my female workers. Watch where the men are harvesting, and follow along with the other girls.” He told the men who worked for him not to harm her, but to leave grain for her to pick up. That evening Ruth told Naomi about the kindness of Boaz. Naomi said, “The Lord bless him!” She added, “That man is our close relative.”

Picture 4: Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

Ruth 3:1-18

One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. Boaz is our relative. This evening he will be threshing barley. Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. When he is asleep go down to the threshing floor. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.” Ruth did just as Naomi had told her. When Boaz woke up and found Ruth at his feet, he knew she wanted to marry him, because that was the practice in Israel in those days. When a man died in Israel, his closest relative could marry the widow. Therefore Boaz said to Ruth, “Don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. You are respected by everyone in the town.”

Picture 5: Boaz and the Elders of Bethlehem

Ruth 4:1-22

Boaz called ten elders together at the gate of Bethlehem. There was another relative who had first right to marry Ruth, but they all agreed that Boaz should marry her instead. To seal the agreement, the other relative gave Boaz his sandal. This was the custom in Israel. So Boaz took Ruth as his wife. They had a son, and named him Obed. Then the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, Who has given you a grandson to look after you. May he become famous in Israel and renew your life and care for you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law loves you. Ruth is better to you than seven sons and has given birth to him.”
Friends, Ruth, a Moabites, found great joy when she joined herself to God’s people and then served God and His people. Her son Obed later became the grandfather of David, the great king of Israel. God chose Ruth to be the great-grandmother of King David, who was an ancestor of Jesus, God’s promised Messiah who was appointed to save people everywhere. Soon we are going to hear about another woman whom God chose. Her name was Hannah.

Picture 6: Mary and the Angel of God

Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-7

But before we hear about Hannah, I want to tell you that many years (generations) after Ruth, God chose another woman to serve Him. Her name was Mary. She was a descendant of Ruth. Mary was a virgin. She was promised in marriage to a man named Joseph. But before they were married, an angel of God appeared to Mary. He said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. His kingdom will never end.” Mary asked the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High God will cover you. So the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.” Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Mary became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Jesus. This is how Mary became the mother of Jesus, who was sent from God.

Picture 7: Hannah Prays to God

1 Samuel 1:1-20

Now let’s go back to Hannah. Soon after the time of Ruth, there was another woman in the land of Israel, named Hannah. She was the wife of Elkanah. Elkanah loved Hannah very much, but Hannah was unhappy, because she could not bear him any children. Every year they went to the house of God at Shiloh. They took offerings and made sacrifices to God. Hannah went in, prayed to God and wept, “O God, if You will remember me and give me a son, then I will give him to You for all the days of his life.” Her lips moved as she spoke to God, but she made no sound with her voice. Eli, the priest, saw her. He thought she was drunk and said to her, “You shouldn’t come here drunk. Throw away your wine!” Hannah replied, “I haven’t been drinking. I’m deeply upset and was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of Him.” God heard Hannah’s prayer, and some time later she gave birth to a son. She called him Samuel.

Picture 8: The Child Samuel in the Temple of God

1 Samuel 1:24-28, 2:12-21, 3:1-21

While Samuel was still a little boy, Hannah dedicated him to God. She took him to live with Eli in the temple at Shiloh. Eli taught Samuel how to serve God. Eli had two sons, but they were wicked men. One night Samuel was lying down in the temple of God. Suddenly God called him, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” This happened three times. Then Eli realised that it was God who was calling Samuel. So he told Samuel to answer God and say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” So when the Lord called a fourth time, Samuel replied: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” God told Samuel that he was about to judge the family of Eli because of the wickedness of his sons. In the morning, Eli insisted that Samuel tell him what the Lord had said. So he did. After that, God spoke to Samuel many times, and he became a great priest, prophet and leader in Israel.

Picture 9: Samuel Prays for Israel

1 Samuel 4:1-21, 7:2-14; Exodus 20:2,5

God fulfilled His promise about punishing the wicked sons of Eli. The Philistines killed them in battle and defeated the Israelites. For over 20 years the Philistines ruled over Israel. Then Samuel said to the people, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then get rid of the foreign gods. Commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” The Israelites obeyed Samuel. They came together at one place. Then Samuel offered a sacrifice to God and prayed for Israel. The Philistines gathered to attack Israel. But God sent a great thunderstorm upon them. The Philistines fled in fear, and Israel was finally able to defeat them all.

Picture 10: Samuel Anoints Saul with Oil

1 Samuel 8:1 - 10:1

God was the real king of Israel and Samuel led the people for Him. But the Israelites wanted a man to be their king, just like the other nations had human kings of their own. Samuel was not pleased when he heard this. But God said to him, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king. Listen to them and give them a king.” There was a young man named Saul. He was tall and good-looking. One day Saul went to visit Samuel. When Samuel saw him coming, God said to Samuel, “This is the man. He will rule over my people.” So Samuel took a flask of oil. He poured the oil on Saul’s head, anointing him. This was the sign that Saul was chosen to be king. For 40 years Saul ruled as king over Israel.

Picture 11: God Rejects Saul as King

1 Samuel 15:1-29

During the time of Saul’s kingship, the Amalekites harmed Israel in many ways. So Samuel said to King Saul, “Listen to the message from God. Attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them.” God helped Saul and his army to defeat the Amalekites. But the Israelites disobeyed God. They saved the best of the Amalekites’ animals to sacrifice to God and they did not kill the Amalekite king as God had commanded. Then Samuel said to Saul, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your sacrifices, or your obedience to him? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering animals. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness is as bad as worshipping idols. Because you have rejected the command of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.” As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grasped his robe. It tore in Saul’s hand. So Samuel said, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else who is better than you.”

Picture 12: Jesus in the House of God

Luke 2:41-50, 1:35

Many years after Samuel, God sent His Son, Jesus. He was born as Mary’s child in Israel. When he was twelve years old, Mary and her husband Joseph went to Jerusalem. Jesus went with them. On their return, Jesus went missing (As they were going back, they could not find Jesus), so they searched for Him. After three days they found Him in the temple of God. He was talking with the Jewish teachers about God. Mary said to Him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? We have been anxiously searching for you.” But Jesus said, “Why were you searching for Me? Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?” When Jesus was just a boy like Samuel had been, He knew that He had come to serve God. Jesus came to lead all people back to God, for God is the true king and leader of everyone.

Picture 13: David, the Brave Shepherd

1 Samuel 16:1-13, 17:34-35

We remember that Samuel anointed Saul to be king. Saul was the first king of Israel, but he kept on disobeying God. God left Saul and did not help him any more. There was a young boy named David. He looked after his father’s sheep. David trusted God and he was not afraid of danger. One day a lion caught one of the sheep. David killed the lion and saved the sheep. He also made beautiful music and sang praises to God. The songs are called Psalms and can be found in the Bible. God was pleased with David, so God chose him to be king after Saul. Samuel came to David’s family in Bethlehem and anointed David with oil. But David only became king after Saul’s death.

Picture 14: David and the Giant

1 Samuel 17:1-54

There was war between Israel and the Philistines. Among the Philistines there was a giant called Goliath. He shouted to the Israelites and said, “Choose a man. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will be your servants, but if I kill him, you will be our servants.” The men of Israel were afraid of Goliath. No one would fight him. Then young David said, “Who is this Philistine to threaten the army of the living God?” David was not afraid of Goliath. He knew that God could help him to kill the giant because it was God’s battle. David asked king Saul to let him fight Goliath and the king agreed. So David went to meet Goliath, taking his sling and five stones. He shot a stone that hit the giant’s forehead. Goliath fell to the ground and David ran to him. He took Goliath’s own sword and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran away. The army of Israel pursued and defeated them.

Picture 15: Saul Tries to Kill David

1 Samuel 18:1 - 19:10

At first Saul was pleased with David because he had saved Israel. The people of Israel loved David. He became a great soldier and leader in Israel. The Israelites were glad to follow him. But then Saul became jealous of David. One day David was making music for Saul with his harp. An evil spirit came upon Saul and he picked up his spear and threw it at David, but it missed him and stuck in the wall. After that Saul tried to kill David several times. But God protected David by sending Saul’s son Jonathan and many other Israelites to help David. David still had to flee to the desert to escape from Saul.

Picture 16: David Spares Saul’s Life

1 Samuel 26:1-25; Romans 12:19

One day Saul and his army went to capture David in the wilderness. During the night, while Saul and his men were asleep, David and his friend Abishai sneaked into Saul’s camp. Abishai wanted to kill the sleeping king, but David stopped him. He said, “God will punish whoever harms His chosen king.” David took the spear and the water jug from beside Saul’s head. When they had gone out of the camp, David called out to awaken Saul’s men. He said to Abner, the man who was responsible to protect the king, “You have not protected your master. Look around you. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were near his head?” David said to Saul, “Just as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all danger.” So David went on his way and Saul returned home. After that, Saul stopped trying to kill David.

Picture 17: David Becomes King

1 Samuel 31:1-6; 2 Samuel 5:1 - 7:16

The Philistines again came to fight Israel. King Saul, his son Jonathan and his other sons were killed in the battle. Then the people made David king of Israel. He built his palace in the city of Jerusalem. God said to David, “I took you from the pasture and from looking after the sheep to be ruler over My people Israel. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.” When the Philistines heard that David had become king, they all set out to fight against him. But David trusted God and he did as the Lord commanded him, so he defeated the Philistines. God made David great and gave him the power to defeat all the enemies of Israel.

Picture 18: David and Bathsheba

2 Samuel 11:1 - 12:24; Exodus 20:14

One day David was walking on the roof of his palace. He saw a beautiful woman having a bath. David wanted her for himself. The woman’s name was Bathsheba. She was the wife of Uriah who was a soldier in David’s army. Uriah had gone away to fight the enemies of Israel. David sent for her and he slept with her. Then she returned home. Later she discovered that she was pregnant and sent a message to David to tell him. David sent instructions to the captain of the army and told him to make sure that Uriah was killed in the war. Then David took Bathsheba to be his own wife. But God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David that what he had done was wrong. David was really sorry and asked for God’s forgiveness. The firstborn son of David and Bathsheba died. David comforted his wife Bathsheba. Later on, she gave birth to another son and named him Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon.

Picture 19: A Temple for God

1 Chronicles 22:1-19

David had sinned against God, yet he loved God and wanted to serve Him. He wanted to build a great temple (house) where people could meet to worship God. But God said, “You are not to build a house for My name, because you have fought many battles and killed many people. But your son Solomon will be a man of peace and rest. He is the one who will build a house for Me. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.” David prepared many things for the temple of God in Jerusalem before he died, but it was Solomon who built it. It took seven years to complete. It was a beautiful place. The people of Israel worshipped God in this temple (house) in Jerusalem for hundreds of years, and they never forgot that David was a very great king.

Picture 20: Jesus Comes into Jerusalem

Matthew 21:1-11

About a thousand years after King David, Jesus was born. Jesus was a descendant of King David. His mother was a virgin called Mary. His Father is (the only almighty) God. Jesus was the greatest servant of God. He taught the people the truth about God. He worked miracles by the power of God. Saul and David and all of us have sinned against God. But Jesus never sinned. One day he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people went out to meet Jesus and shouted, “Hosanna, Son of David!” Hosanna means ‘Lord, save us.’ And they also shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” The people saw that Jesus was even greater than King David. He was the great king, God’s chosen Messiah (king). Hundreds of years earlier the prophets had told the people about His coming. He is the king above all kings.

Picture 21: The Ravens (Birds) Feed Elijah

1 Kings 16:29 - 17:6

Before Jesus came, but after David and Solomon, other kings ruled over Israel. One was a man called Ahab. Ahab did more evil things than all the kings before him. He worshipped the idol Baal and built an altar to him. He married a foreign woman, named Jezebel, who was just as (also) evil. She killed many of God’s followers, and she forced the people to worship the idols of Baal. Elijah was a great prophet of God during that same time. He went to Ahab and said, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be no rain in the next three years except when I say.” So God sent a famine upon the land of Israel. However, God kept caring for his servant Elijah. He sent Elijah to a place called Cherith, where he could drink from the stream, and every morning and evening ravens (birds) brought Elijah bread and meat to eat.

Picture 22: Elijah and the Fire of God

1 Kings 18:16-46

In the third year of the famine Elijah told Ahab to call all the people of Israel and the prophets who served the false god Baal, to the mountain called Carmel. He said to them, “How long will you waver (be undecided) between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” Nobody answered. Then Elijah said, “Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for a sacrifice. But let them not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull, but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.” Elijah said, “The god who answers by fire – he is God.” The people agreed with Elijah. All day the priests of Baal called to their god. They danced around their sacrifice and cut themselves with knives. But no fire came. Elijah mocked them and said, “Shout louder. Maybe he is asleep or on a journey. Maybe he is daydreaming or relieving himself.” The prophets of Baal shouted and danced louder but still no fire came.
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord. He put wood on it and cut up the bull and placed it on the wood. He said to the people, “Fill those four large jars with water and pour it over the sacrifice.” He told them to do this two more times till the sacrifice, the wood and even the stones were completely wet. Then he prayed to God. “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, prove today that You are the only God in Israel and that I am your servant.” Immediately, fire fell from heaven on Elijah’s sacrifice. It burned up the bull, the wood, the stones and even the water. All the people called out, “The Lord – He is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” After that Elijah prayed for rain and God sent the rain. The famine was over.

Picture 23: Elijah Goes to Heaven

1 Kings 19:1-21; 2 Kings 2:1-14

Elijah killed those Baal priests because they were so wicked. Then King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, threatened to kill Elijah. He was afraid, so he fled to a distant place in the desert. There God met Elijah. After God had spoken to him, he was no longer afraid. He continued to teach the people to worship only the one true God. There was a man called Elisha. At God’s command he became Elijah’s helper. One day as they walked along together, a chariot of fire rushed in between them and God took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha did not see Elijah again.

Picture 24: Elijah and Moses with Jesus

Luke 9:28-36

About 700 years after Elijah, when Jesus lived in Israel, He took three of his disciples up a mountain to pray. As Jesus prayed, Moses and Elijah, two of God’s prophets, appeared to them on the mountain. The three disciples saw them all shining with glory. Then God Himself spoke from heaven concerning Jesus. He said, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.” When the voice stopped the disciples were alone with Jesus.
Jesus came as the perfect servant of God. He came to serve all people. He made it possible for us to be restored to a close relationship with God, free from guilt, shame and fear. He showed us how God wants us to live.
Jesus is our Saviour. God honoured Jesus by raising Him from the dead. God gives a new life to those who listen to His Word, trust in Him and honour Him.
Keep listening to these programs to learn more about Jesus and how you can become part of God’s family.