Last Sunday I was conducting in Primary and the child that was asked to give a talk was sick. So I took the opportunity to share with the children how much I enjoy reading and studying the Old Testament. I told them some of the chapters are difficult to understand but the Come, Follow Me manual helps us learn better and apply what we read.
I also told them that there are many hidden gems in the Old Testament. I asked them if they knew what a gem is. One boy raised his hand and said, it's where you lift weights... gym and gem do sound a lot alike!
I shared with them some of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. It hard to choose but here are my top five:
The creation (Genesis 1), "In the beginning God created the heaven and earth" ...imagine it.
Noah and the ark (Genesis 6-9), The people began to forget about God. They became wicked. God decided to destroy the world and basically start over. God asked Noah to build an ark. People thought Noah was crazy when he said a flood would destroy the earth. He gathered the animals and his family. The Bible says it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Eight people were saved from the flood.
David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17), The people of Israel were fighting the Philistines. The two armies faced each other for battle. One man from the Philistine army stepped forward to challenge anyone from the Israelite army to fight him. Goliath was over 9 feet tall! David stood up for God and His people. With faith in God, David took five stones from the river and attacked Goliath with only a slingshot. One stone was all it took.
I love the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, (Daniel 3), King Nebuchadnezzar built a statue and commanded the people to worship it. But three young men name Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow before the idol. They would only worship God. The men knew that the punishment for not obeying was to be thrown into the furnace. The Bible say that they were not burned, not even their clothes. The king was amazed, he looked into the fire and saw a fourth person. The king knew it was God. After that experience, the king vowed only to worship God.
Daniel and the Lion's Den, I remember hearing this story when I was a young girl. There were wicked men who hated Daniel. They tricked the king into signing a law that no one could worship any other person or god for 30 days. They should only worship the king. If anyone was caught worshiping anyone, they would be thrown into a pit full of lions. King Darius knew that his friend Daniel worship God, but he signed the law anyway. Daniel was praying to God like he always did and the wicked men saw him. The brought him before the king and he threw Daniel in the lion's den. God protected Daniel and closed the mouths of the lions. God was faithful then and now, and helps those who love and trust him.
I really do believe the Bible is the word God, look for hidden gems! I want to share these stories with my grandsons but I know they already know most of them!
