So children, did everyone bring what I told yesterday?
Yes Father!
That’s great! Did you bring yours Mathew?
Yes Father, here.. Its.. Its in my bag
And you Lucy?
Here it is Father!
Good. Now I want you all to put your building sets on the table
and start building a tower
And as you build the tower, I will tell you the story of Babel tower
Babel tower?
Yes Mathew!
Do you remember the story of Noah, I told you yesterday?
Yes father
You told us how God created a flood..
And only Noah and his family survived by building the ark!
That's very good Mathew!
So after they survived, God said to Noah
Noah, you will have many children
and they too will have many more!
They will fill the whole earth
The descendants of Noah populated the earth again.
But as time passed, pride and selfishness filled the human heart
Today we are strong, there is only God above us!
We are united and strong, no one should be above us, not even God!
We must find a way to be above God
Yes, it is not good for us to be under anyone
What can we do?
Why don’t we build a huge tower?
A tower that reaches the heavens in the sky!
That’s a brilliant idea!
That'll stand as a monument to our people
and show everyone how great we have become!
Lets start the work immediately!
The people started building the tower.
They made the tower using bricks, and up and up went the tower
But when God saw the city and the tower
He knew that mankind had lost their way
They were building a monument to themselves instead of worshipping God
who had made everything possible.
So God decided to puzzle the people by confusing their language
so they wont understand each other
Soon there was confusion
Friends could hear each other speak,
But they could not understand what others said
And because of this confusion, they had to stop building the tower
This city was called Babel, which means confused
Yeah! I have finished building my tower!
Oh! That’s a good one Mathew!
I can see that all your towers are up
Good work everyone!
Thank you Father!
Can you tell us another story from the Bible?
Please Father!
Why not?
Now that all of you have learned about the tower of Babel
Let me tell you the next story from the Bible
Which one is that Father?
I'll tell you the story of Abraham
Who was Abraham?
Many years after the time of Noah,
There was a man named Abram
He was a good man who owned many sheep’s and cattle’s
He lived with his wife Surai, in the land of Haran
Abram was a godly man
who lived his life by the ways of the Lord
His only sorrow was that he didn’t have any children
One day God spoke to Abram
Abram, leave your country and your people,
and go to the land I will guide you to
If you do, I will cause you to become a great nation
I will bless you, and make your name famous
And you will be a blessing to many others!
Surai... Surai...
Surai..
What dear?
Surai.. Dear.. You wont believe what I'm going to say to you
What is it dear?
You know what? God just spoke to me!!
God???
yes dear, God just spoke to me!
Can you believe that?
That's wonderful dear, what did He tell you?
Hello!
Oh hello Lot, my nephew!
Why are you gasping? You seem very excited
Yes.. Yes I'm very excited!
Lot, God just spoke to Abram
What? God?
I.. I cant believe this!
Yes Lot, the mighty God just spoke to me!
What did He tell you?
God told me to leave our home and country
Uh? What? But where do God want us to go?
Hmmm.. He didn’t tell me that.
But He said He will keep guiding us
But dear?
Do you think its a good idea to leave everything
and just.. just leave?
Yes. How can we leave just like that?
What about our house? and, and the flock?
and what about our relatives?
I know this sounds.. this sounds crazy Lot.
But we must have faith in God
and we must trust Him
God will guide us.
Don’t worry. I'll come with you wherever you want me to
Yes, we will do whatever you tell us to do
Abram started out from Haran, as Lord had told him to do
His wife Surai, and his nephew Lot went with him
They took their cattle, the sheep’s, horses and camels with them
They wandered through the hills and valleys for a long long time
They ate wild fruits when they were hungry
They drank water from the streams
And when they were tired, they slept under the trees
They did not lose their faith in God.
And kept traveling like God told them to.
And after a very long journey, they arrived in the land of Canaan
Ha haa... We have finally arrived!
Yes dear, I need to thank God!
Let me go and pray.
Abram, this is the land that I give to you and your family forever
Thank you, thank you Lord!
But their happiness didn’t last for long, as it didn’t rain for a long time
And a severe drought came upon the land
Abram and his family had no other option
But to move south to find food for themselves, and for the animals
and they eventually reached the border of Egypt
Is this Egypt?
They say that there’s food further south along the river Nile
And grains to be bought at the marketplace.
Will the Egyptians allow us to enter their land dear?
I hope so
We have silver and Gold to pay for everything we buy
I am afraid dear.
What if they rob us?
I'm not sure of this plan
I think we should turn back.
No No
We must enter Egypt
Otherwise there is no hope for us
Cant you see that the animals are dying of thirst?
We must do this
We understand that.
But what if they are not good people and harm us?
What if they get attracted by your wife?
They might kill us to take her!
Oh Lord! I cant let that happen.
Surai, you must stay here
I'll go and come back in a few days
No dear
I cant think of living without you
I would rather die
I too cant live without you Surai.
We have to find a way to enter Egypt together
That could be dangerous uncle.
Hey, I have an idea!
What if we tell them Surai is my sister?
That’s a brilliant idea!
Yes.. Then they will respect you
And welcome us as her family!
I think its going to be a good plan
Come on, lets get going then
We have no time to spare
Hello!
Who are you?
My name is Abram
We came from the North because we..
We were facing a terrible drought up there
So? What do you want me to do?
We came looking for food to feed my family and animals
We can trade our sheep’s for the food
We don’t need more animals
Then we'll pay in silver, sir.
Whoa? Who is this beauty?
Me?
I..
I'm his
Sister!
Wow! You are such a beauty!
Then..
Sir.. Can we finish what we were discussing about the trade?
Oh, that can wait.
But first let me you all to Pharaoh
I'm sure he will give you a great deal.
Come with me
Oh no!
Its going to be alright
God, please help me.
Your majesty.
Yes?
Oh! Who is this woman?
Tell him Tell him your name
Your majesty
My name is Surai
I have come from the North with my brother
We came here looking for food
You are truly beautiful Surai!
Can I have the pleasure to invite you for a feast tonight?
Feast?
Say yes dear
He will get angry if you deny him
Yes yes..
I'll join you for the feast
But only if you allow my brother to join us
Of course! Your brother can come!
and your whole family can join too!
Thank your majesty.
We are so lucky that Egypt didn’t have to face the draught
And we're lucky that you and your family found your way to Egypt
You have been more than generous to us Pharaoh
We will return to Canaan as soon as it rains
Oh yes. But if you wish, you can become citizens of Egypt
and marry, and have kids here
I can make you a governor with a palace of your own
Oh your majesty, you are too generous
And such generosity deserves its reward
Uh.. What do you want me to do?
You have a Jewel befitting a King
A jewel I desire more than anything on this earth
What Jewel do you speak of?
I speak of your sister
Do you not see what a great beauty she is?
I.. I don’t think
I can see how honored you are
That Pharaoh would take your sister as his wife
No.. Yes, Yes I'm honored
Lets celebrate
Pharaoh, the King of Egypt had more than twenty wives
and he used to take for himself any woman he liked
Fearing Pharaoh's wrath, Abram couldn’t object
Leave, and don’t disturb us
Come to me dear
Hmm.. Okay..
But before Pharaoh could touch Surai
He fell down with a terrible headache
And his whole body was covered with burns
Ah! My head
Oh what? What is this?
What.. What happened?
Ah.. Send for my doctor, quick!
Yes, I'll get him right away
You should not touch her, she belongs to someone else
What? I don’t believe this
Is it true Surai?
Are you anyone's woman?
I.. I..
Tell me the truth now
Yes Lord, I'm the wife of Abram
I'm so sorry for lying to you
What? But.. But you told me he is your brother
I'm sorry Pharaoh, we were afraid you would kill us
If we said the truth
So you lied to me?
Go and get Abram immediately.
Why did you do this to me Abram?
I'm really sorry
When we came to Egypt, we feared we would be robbed and slain
Because of Surai, you protected me and my people
You have been gentle to us.
I told Surai was my sister
But the truth is she is actually my half-sister
And yes, she is also my wife
I plead for your forgiveness
I'm in no mood to forgive
But if your God will lift this curse from us
You'll be free to leave Egypt
and keep the gifts I gave you
Thank you Pharaoh, We will leave immediately
So Abram left Egypt with his family
They took with them much more gold
and animals than they had arrived with
But trouble lay ahead as they returned to their homeland
This is the land that God promised me and my family forever
Why hasn’t God granted me land of my own?
Listen
When my brother Huran died, I took you into my family
Surai and I raised you as if you were our own son
I know
But..
There is no but,
You are my family
And you share in this blessing that God has given me
Abram's flock is always driven at the front
and they get the best grass
I know..
Abram is getting old
And look at his wife
So vain and beautiful
Yet she cant have any children!
Yeah
I think its time for you to take your rightful place
and show him that you are his equal
I will dear
Tomorrow I will ask my shepherds to take my flock
ahead of Abram's
Yes
You have as much as right to this land, as he does
No no.. You have to come behind
Who are you to say that?
My master told us to go in the front
No.. My master will get angry if I tell him this
My master is no weakling
You know? My master is above yours!
No.. I wont let you
Who are you to let me?
Move aside you..
Huh? How dare you push me?
Here you..
Oh yeah? That’s all you've got?
Lot, why did you ask your men
to put your flock ahead of mine?
So?
Why should your flock always get the best grazing?
That’s a good question Lot
But you should have come to me for discussing it
Why should I come to you?
If you had come to me, then our men wouldn’t be fighting themselves
And now our animals are scattered all over the countryside
Uh.. I didn’t think about that
Of course you didn’t, come with me Lot
This is the land that God promised me
Lot, we cant allow a split in our family
But, uncle..
Listen, I have decided that we should separate our flocks and herds
and we should go separate ways
No.. I didn’t mean to..
Don’t, let me complete
Even though we will be away from one another
We will stay close to each other
Yes
I'm sorry uncle
Look over there
On that side is the valley of Jordan
And this side are the hills of Canaan
You can choose any piece of land you want
And I.. I will go the other way
Hm.. I think I'll take the valley
Very well! May the Lord bless you and your family
Thank you.
If you ever need me, just send a messenger,
And I will come
Because you are my flesh and blood
So Abram and Lot parted company in the promised land
Abram took his family and animals, and all his possessions
And went to live near the great trees of Mumbreth, near Hebron
So? Did you all like the story?
Yes father!
Who can say the name of Abram's wife?
Surai.. Abram's wife was called Surai!
That’s good Lucy
And who can say the name of Abram's nephew?
He was called Lot
Right again, Well done Mathew!
Thank you father!
Now who can tell me why Abram lied to Pharaoh?
I can answer that Father!
Yes, you tell me George
Abram had to lie to the Pharaoh because
Because if told the truth, then the Pharaoh would have killed him
That’s correct George! Well done!
Now that’s enough for today
You should take the tower you made and show it to your parents
We'll meet again tomorrow
Bye everyone!
Bye father!