BIBLE: The Composition of the

The Holy Bible as God’s Bible:

Written Word:  The Bible is divided into two
sections namely Old Testament and
 The Bible is a collection of books the New Testament.
containing the word of us.  The word testament means covenant
 The Bible is a library of books or agreements.
because it contains different types of
books written by different authors. a) Old Testament:
 God speaks to people through the
Bible.
 The Bible is made up of 66 books.  This is the first section of the bible.
It contains 39 books.
 It was written by people inspired by
God. These people were led by the  These books explain the origin of the
Holy Spirit. universe, laws and covenant between
God and His people, the life and
 The bible has the following
experience of the Israelites and
importance:
different prophesies.
a) It gives us correct solutions to
such problems.  Books in Old testament include:-
b) It gives us the correct guidance Genesis Ecclesiastes
and teachings. Exodus Songs of songs
c) It contains the word of Gods. Leviticus Isaiah
d) It has morals that are needed by Numbers Jeremiah
a Christian. Deuteronomy Lamentation
e) It gives us skills to make correct Joshua Ezekiel
judgments. Judges Daniel
f) It comforts us when we are faced Ruth Hosea
by challenges. 1 Samuel Joel
2 Samuel Amos
 The Bible is very important so it
1 Kings Obadiah
should be handled well. The
2 kings Jonah
following are ways of handling it:
1 Chronicles Micah
a) It should remain clean always.
2 Chronicles Nahum
b) It should be covered well.
Ezra Habakkuk
c) Pages of the Bible should not be
Nehemiah Zephaniah
torn.
Esther Haggai
d) It should not be burnt.
Job Zechariah
 A bible should be read all the time
Psalm Malachi
and the scriptures should not be
Proverbs
misunderstood or misinterpreted.
 Genesis is the first book of the Bible
e) Do not use it for swearing
and Old Testament while Malachi is
f) Do not misinterpret the scriptures.
the last book of the Old Testament.

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b) The New Testament:  The word Pentateuch is a Greek
word which means ‘Five Volumes’
and Torah is a Hebrew word which
 This is the second section of the means ‘Laws”
Bible.  These books were written by Moses.
 It explains the birth, mission and The law is called Torah in Hebrews
death of Jesus Christ. It also contains  Law books in the Bible include
the experiences and teachings of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
different apostles. Numbers and Deuteronomy.
 Books of the New Testament are 22  The book of Genesis is the first book
in number and they include;- of the Bible and the Old Testament.
Its main information in the book is
Mathew 2 Thessalonians creation. It also talks about the
Mark 1Timothy followings:
Luke Timothy a) The life of the patriarchs of
John Titus Israel.
Acts Philemon b) Noah and the floods.
Romans Hebrews c) The origin of different languages.
1 Corinthians James d) The birth of the nation of Israel.
Corinthians 1 Peter e) The migration of the Israelites to
Galatians 2 Peter Egypt.
Ephesians 1 John
 The word exodus means ‘exiting’ of
Philippians 2 John
‘going out’. The main message of the
Colossians 3 John
book of exodus is the journey of the
1 Thessalonians Jude
Israelites from slavery in Egypt to
Revelation
the Promised Land.
 Mathew is the first book of the New
 Other messages in the book of
Testament and Revelation is the last
exodus are:
book of the Bible as well as of the
a) The birth, life, call and mission of
New Testament.
Moses.
 The books of the Bible are further b) The Passover.
classified depending with either c) How God led the Israelites across
authors or the message they convey. the Red sea.
These classes include: d) The giving out of the Ten
i) Law Books Commandments to the Israelites
ii) Historic Books by God.
iii) Prophetic Books e) The life and experiences of the
iv) Gospels Israelites in the desert.
v) Letters
vi) Poetic Books
d) Historical Books:
c) Law Books:
 These books talk about the History
of the Israelites from the time they
 The books are also called Mosaic reached the Promised Land up to the
Books, Torah Books or Pentateuch. time they settled in Canaan.

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 They also tell us the life of the f) Prophetic Books:
Israelites in the Promised Land.
 Historical books include:  Prophetic books are further sub-
i) Joshua divided into major and minor
ii) Judges prophets.
iii) Ruth  Major prophetic books are Isaiah,
iv) 1 Samuel Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
v) 2 Samuel  Minor prophetic books are Hosea,
vi) 1 Kings Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
vii) 2 kings Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
viii) 1 Chronicle Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi and
ix) 2 Chronicle Revelation
x) Ezra
 Revelation is the only prophetic
xi) Nehemiah
book in the New Testament. It is
xii) Esther
believed to have been written by
xiii) Acts
John the disciple of Jesus. It
 Acts is the only historic book from prophesise, how the last judgment
New Testament. It explains the life, day will be like.
experience and the mission of the
early apostles. It also accounts the
growth of the early church. g) Gospel Books:

e) Poetic Books:  These are the first four books of the

New Testament. They explain the
birth, life, mission, arrest,
 Poetic books are also known as persecution, death and resurrection
books of wisdom and they include of Jesus Christ.
Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
 Gospels books are sub-divided into-
Songs of Songs and Lamentations.
synoptic gospel and non-synoptic
 The book of Job talks about the gospels.
difficult life and experiences of Job
 Synoptic gospels have repeated
as a God fearing man.
information in most books.
 Psalms was written by King David to
 Synoptic gospels include Mathew,
praise and honour God for His
Mark and Luke.
mightiness.
 Non-Synoptic gospel is John.
 Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of
 The word gospel means “Good
Songs are believed to have been
News”
written by King Solomon.
 The good news is the salvation of
 Lamentation was written by Prophet
mankind from the slavery of Sin by
Jeremiah to lament on the
Jesus Christ.
destruction of Jerusalem and
unfaithful Israel.
h) Letters:

 Letters are also called apostles.

These books are divided into letters

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 written by Paul and letters written by  Genesis 2 has the following
others authors. characteristics:
 Letters written by Saint Paul are i) It starts with the creation of human
called Pauline epistle or letters. They beings.
include: ii) It emphasizes on the creation of
i) Romans human beings.
ii) 1 Corinthians  God is the creator of the universe and
iii) 2 Corinthians everything in it. Before that, the earth was
iv) Galatians formless and desolate. This means that
v) Ephesus the earth did not have a definite shape and
vi) Philippians it was not occupied by any living
vii) Colossians creature.
viii) 1 Thessalonians  The whole earth was covered by a large
ix) 2 Thessalonians ocean. It was also enclosed in a total
x) 1 Timothy darkness. The spirit of God was hovering
xi) 2 Timothy over the sea. This statement shows that
xii) Titus God existed even before the creation of
xiii) Philemon the earth.
 Letters written by other authors are:  God created the earth in six days. This
i) James teaches Christians that we should work
ii) 1 Peter because God also worked. Work is a
iii) 2 Peter blessing from God.
iv) 1 John  The story of creation is found in the book
v) 2 John of Genesis. Below is the order of creation
vi) 3 John according to Genesis Chapter one:
vii) Jude
 The author of an epistle called
Hebrew is not known.
i) The First Day (Genesis 1:
3-5):
THE CREATION STORY:
 God commanded lights to appear and it
happened so. He separated the light from
a) The Creation of the Earth: the darkness and called the light ‘day’ and
he called the darkness ‘night’. God was
 The creation of the universe is found in pleased with what he saw. This teaches
the books of Genesis 1 and 2. Christians that God created Day and
 Genesis 1 has the following Night on the first day.
characteristics:
i) Creation is orderly. It shows what is ii) The Second Day (Genesis
created on each day.
ii) It starts by explaining how the earth
1: 6-8):
looked like before it was created.
iii) It explains how each creature was  God commanded the dome to appear and
created. separate the water and keep it into two
iv) It ends with the creation of man separate places. It was done just like he
had wanted.

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 God named the dome ‘sky’. God was
pleased with how it was formed. In
summery we learn that God created the
sky (firmament) on the second day.
iii) The Third Day (Genesis
1: 9):
 God commanded all the water under the
sky to collect itself in one place so that a
dry land may appear. It appeared and God
named the dry land ‘earth’ and the water
‘sea’. God then commanded the earth to
produce different types of plants.
 Everything happened just like God had
commanded and he was pleased with how
it happened. This teaches Christians that
God is powerful.
 From this story we learn that God created
the earth, the sea and vegetation (plants)
on the third day.
iv) The Fourth Day:
 God commanded lights to appear in the
sky to separate the day and night and to
show days, months and years starts.
 He created the sun to shine during the
day, the moon and the stars to rule the
night.
 From this story, we learn that God created
heavenly bodies on the fourth day.
v) The Fifth Day:
 God commanded the sea to be filled with
aquatic creatures such as fish and sharks.
 He also created all birds of the air. He
blessed the birds and the fish and told
them to reproduce and fill the sea and the
air. God was happy with what happened.
This teaches Christians that God
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appreciated all he created. We should also
appreciate God’s creation.
vi) The Sixth Day:
 God commanded the earth to produce all
types of wild and domestic animals both
large and small.
 God also created human beings both male
and female on the same day
vii) The Seventh Day:
 God had finished working on the seventh
day. He blessed the day and set it aside as
a special day because he had finished
working.
 This teaches us to always have leisure
time after working.
 This day is known as the Sabbath day. We
should worship God on this day. We
should also visit and help the less
fortunate in the society on this day.
b) The Creation of Human
Beings:
 On the sixth day, God wanted to create
human beings. He said ‘and now we will
make human beings………..’ This
statement teaches Christians that God is
trinity. He is God the father, the son and
the Holy Spirit. This is the main reason
why he used the word ‘we.’
 Using Command, ‘’Let there be.”
This showed that God is powerful.
 God took soil from the ground and
created a man. He breathed life-giving
breath into his nostril and he began to
live. This teaches us that God is the sole
giver of life.
 Man was God’s special creation because
he created him in his own image and
 likeness. This teaches Christians to
respect and appreciate each person’s
appearance.
 The main reason why God created human
beings was so that he could take care of
God’s creation. This is seen when he said,
‘They will have power over the fish, the
birds, and all animals, domestic and wild,
large and small.’ This teaches Christians
to take care of their environment since
that is the main reason why they were
created by God.
 He commanded man to have many
children so that his descendants would fill
the earth and put it under their control.
 The first man created by God was called
Adam. God created animals to give him
company. After naming all animals, he
became lonely because animals could not
make good friends for him.
 God made man to fall in a deep sleep and
removed part of his ribs. He made a
woman from the ribs.
 Adam called the woman Eve, which
means ‘living.’ Adam means ‘humanity.’
 Adam was very happy and said the
following words:
“At last, here is one of my own kind-Bone
taken from my bone, and flesh taken from
my flesh.
‘Woman’ is her name because she was
taken out of man.”
 A man shall leave his parents and join his
wife and they will become one as
husband and wife. By doing this, God
initiated marriage.
 God created Eve mainly to give Adam
companionship. In this way, Christians
marry mainly for companionship.
a) Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden:
 After creating Adam and Eve, God placed
them in the Garden of Eden to cultivate
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and guard it. This shows that man should
work and that work is a blessing from
God.
 They were also to get food from it. This
teaches us that God intended human
beings to enjoy life.
 The Garden of Eden was very beautiful.
It had different trees and fruits. Water
came from underground and watered the
plants and seeds.
 The garden had four rivers flowing in it.
The rivers were:
i) Pishon: It surrounded the land of
Havillah. It had pure gold, rare
perfume and precious stones.
ii) Gihon: It flows in the land of Cush.
iii) Tigris: It flows in the land East of
Assyria.
iv) Euphrates: It was the fourth river in
the garden.
 At the center of the garden had a tree that
gives life and the tree that gives
knowledge of what is good and what is
bad.
 Adam was instructed to eat fruits from all
the trees except the one in the middle of
the garden (the one that gives life and the
tree that gives knowledge of what is good
and what is bad). If they eat they were to
die the same day.
 The snake was the most cunning animal
in the garden. It convinced Eve to eat the
fruit from the forbidden tree.
 Eve disobeyed Gods commands and ate
the forbidden fruit. She took some to her
husband, Adam and he ate it. This teaches
us that the first (original) sin to be
committed on earth was disobedience.
 As soon they finished eating the
forbidden fruit, they were given
understanding and they realized that they
were naked. They sewed fig leaves and
covered their bodies.
 When God came to the garden in the
evening, they hid from him behind among
the trees.
 God asked them why they were hiding.
God knew what they had done so he
asked them only to test their honesty.
 Adam answered him that he heard him in
the garden and hid because he was afraid.
 God asked him why he ate the forbidden
fruit and he told God that the woman he
had given him made him eat it. Eve also
told God that the snake tricked her to
eating it.
 God pronounced the following judgments
to the man, woman and the snake for
disobeying his commands:
i) The Snake: God told the snake
that it will crawl on its belly and
eat dust all its life. God also told
the snake that its descendants and
the snake’s descendants will be
enemies. The snakes will always
bite the human being’s heel and
human beings will crush the
snake’s head. The snake alone
among all animals will face these
curses.
ii) The Woman: God told her that he
will increase her trouble in
pregnancy and pain when giving
birth. In spite of all these, the
woman will still be subjected to
the husband. She will also still
have desire for her husband.
iii) The Man: God told Adam that
the earth will be under a curse
because he listened to his wife
and ate the forbidden fruit. Man
will work very hard on land to
make it produce food but instead
it will produce thorns and weeds.
Man will therefore eat wild plants
as food. God also told the man
that he will work very hard and
sweat to make the soil to produce
food all his life until he dies and
buried into the soil where he was
created.
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 From this story, we learn that we should
always be obedient to God and others.
We also learn that God will punish those
who disobey him and reward the
righteous people.
 God made for them clothes out of animal
skins. This showed that he still loved
them even after they disobey him.
 God did not want the man to come near
the tree of that gives life because they he
had eaten it and known what is good and
what is bad. God then sent them away
from the Garden of Eden.
 At the east side of the garden, he placed
living creatures and a flaming sword that
turned in all directions. This was to stop
them from accessing the tree of
knowledge of what is good and what is
bad.
b) Adam’s Descendants:
 Adam and his wife Eve had three sons
named Cain, Abel and Seth.
 Cain was their first born. He was a farmer
while Abel the second born was a
shepherd.
 One day, Cain and Abel took their
sacrifices to God. Cain took his harvest
while Abel slaughtered a sheep and
offered the best parts to God.
 God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice
but rejected Cain’s sacrifice because it
was not the best.
 Cain was very angry. God advised him to
overcome his emotions. This teaches us
that we should always do good things to
God. We should also strive to control our
emotions.
 Cain took his brother Abel to the field and
killed him because of jealousy.
 When God asked him where Abel was, he
answered him that he is not his brother’s
keeper.
 God was not happy with what he did. He
pronounced the following curses to him:
i) The soil will not produce good
harvest anytime he farms the soil
because it has been soaked with
Abel’s blood.
ii) He will be a homeless wanderer.
 God told Cain that seven lives will be
taken in revenge if he is killed. He placed
a mark on Cain to warn anyone who
would want to kill him.
 From the story of Cain and Abel, we learn
that jealousy is bad because it may make
us to commit sin. We should therefore
control our emotions.
 When Adam was 130 years, he was
blessed with another son and named him
Seth. The name ‘Seth’ means ‘has given.’
 Adam’s greatest descendants of that time
were Enoch and Methuselah. Enoch did
not die instead he was taken to heaven by
God. Methuselah on the other hand is the
man who lived longer than anyone on
earth. He died at the age of 969 years.
1. THE STORY OF NOAH
a) Noah and the Floods:
 After creation, the population started
increasing. Heavenly beings (angels) saw
how women on earth were beautiful and
married some. God was not happy with
them so he said that human beings would
not live more than 120 years on earth.
 The heavenly beings and the beautiful
women they married from earth gave
birth to giants.
 When God saw how human beings were
evil and sinners, he decided to destroy
them.
 God was happy with only one man called
Noah because he was the only righteous
person on earth.
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 Noah’s father was called Lamech. The
name Noah means ‘relief.’
 Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham and
Japheth.
 God wanted to save Noah and his family
because he was a good man. He therefore
told him to build an ark (boat).
 The size of the ark was to be 133 metres
long, 22 metres wide and 13 metres high.
 The ark had many rooms and it was
covered with tar inside.
 God told him to take in himself, his wife,
his three sons and their wives. He told
him to take in seven pairs of ritually clean
and one pair of ritually unclean animals
and seven pairs of birds.
 They stayed in the ark seven days before
God sent floods.
 Noah was 600 years old when God finally
sent the floods. The rain fell continuously
for 40 days and nights.
 The water covered the tips of the highest
mountains. All human beings animals
and birds which were not in the boat died.
 The water started going down after 150
days. God brought a strong wind which
blew and the water started going down.
 The ark went and stopped on Mount
Ararat
 After 40 days, Noah opened the window
of the ark and sent a raven to confirm
whether the water had completely gone
down but it did not come back. Noah sent
a dove but the dove came because the
floods had not gone down. Noah sent it
after seven days and this time it came
back with a fresh leaf in its beak a sign
that the floods were over. This teaches
Christians to be honest and obedient like
the dove and not dishonest and
disobedient like the raven.
 Noah, his family and all the animals came
out after seven days.
 Immediately after coming out of the boat,
God made a covenant with God. During
this covenant, the Noah offered a
 sacrifice of ritually clean animals to God.
This was to thank God for his saving
power.
 God promised Noah that He (God) will
not destroy the earth with floods again.
 God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of
the covenant and the promise he had
given Noah.
 He gave Noah the following commands:
i) Noah to have many children so that
they may live all over the earth.
ii) All animals and plants were placed
under his descendants. This means
that they are to take care of the
environment.
iii) They were not to eat meat with blood
because blood is life.
iv) They were to protect life of other
people.
 Noah was a farmer and he was the first
farmer to plant a vineyard. He made wine
from it, drank and got drunk. He removed
all his clothes and lay in his tent naked.
His son called Ham saw him and did
nothing. He went and told his brothers.
Shem and Japheth took a sheet, walked
backwards and covered their father’s
nakedness. This story teaches us to avoid
drug abuse.
 When Noah was sober, he learnt what
Ham did. He cursed him but blessed his
brothers.
 Noah lived 350 years after the floods and
died at the age of 950.
 All the people on earth nowadays are the
descendants of Noah.
 From the story of Noah, we learn that we
should live a righteous life. We also learn
that God saves righteous people.
 Values we learn from Noah are:
i) Faithfulness: He remained
faithful to God even when the
whole earth sinned.
ii) Holiness and purity: He was a
righteous man. He did not
commit sin.
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iii) Obedience: He obeyed God
when he was told to construct the
ark.
b) The Tower of Babylon:
 The descendants of Noah started
increasing in number. They settled in
plains of Babylonia. During that time,
they spoke one language only.
 They decided to make bricks and build a
city with a tower reaching the sky so that
they can be famous. They also decided to
build it so that they could stay together
and not scatter all over the earth.
 God did not like this because it was a sign
of pride. He mixed them p by making
each person to speak a different language.
 This made them to be scattered all over
and stopped building the city. The city
was called Babylon which means ‘mixed
up.’
 This story teaches us not to be proud but
instead be humble before God and others.
2. PATRIARCHS OF
ISRAEL:
 Patriarchs are oldest founders of a
community.
 The patriarchs we will learn here are the
scriptural fathers of the Israel nation.
 They include:
a) Abraham
b) Isaac
c) Jacob
d) Joseph
e) Moses
 The nation of Israel would not have
existed without these people.
 They also formed the basis of the
Christian faith in the world.
 They are role models in the life of a
modern Christian.

ABRAHAM:
a) The Call of Abraham:
 Abram was the founding father of the
Jewish race.
 His father was called Terah and his
brothers were Haran and Nahor.
 He lived with his family at Ur in
Babylonia. His wife was called Sarai and
Nahor’s wife was called Milcah. Haran
had a son called Lot
 Haran died while they were living at Ur.
Terah, Abram and Lot moved from Ur to
a place called Haran.
 Terah died at Haran. He was 205 years
old when he died.
 While they were at Haran, God called
Abram and told him to leave his land and
relatives and go to the land he was going
to show him.
 Abram was 75 years old when God called
him.
 He obeyed God’s call and started his
journey to the land God wanted to show
him. He went with his wife, wealth,
slaves and his nephew called Lot.
 When he reached Canaan at Shechem (at
the sacred tree of Moreh), God appeared
to him and told him that that was the land
he wanted him to occupy.
 Abram then moved further and set up a
tent (settled) between Bethel and Ai. He
also built an altar to God there.
 God made the following promises to
Abram during his call:
i) I will give you many descendants,
and they will become a great
nation.
ii) I will bless you and make your
name famous, so that you will be a
blessing.
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iii) I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
iv) I will bless the whole world
through you.
 Abram was called mainly because God
wanted to bless the whole world through
him.
 The call of Abram teaches us to always
be obedient to God. We should also
accept God’s will to our life because he
has good plans of prosperity in our lives.
 We should be a source of blessing to other
people just like Abram was. We should
help in the spreading of the word of God
to different places in the world.
b) The Life of Abraham in the
Promised Land:
 A great famine affected Canaan so
Abram decided to go to Egypt in order to
escape it.
 Before crossing the border to Egypt, he
instructed the wife to tell anyone who
asks her identity that she is her sister.
Abram did this because his wife Sarai
was very beautiful and he feared that
Egyptians would kill him and marry her.
 When they arrived there, some of the
court officials saw how beautiful she was
and they told the king. The king ordered
that she be taken to the palace and
married her.
 Because of that, Abram was treated well
by the king. He was given sheep, goats,
slaves and camels.
 God sent a terrible disease to the king and
all people living in the palace. The king
sent for Abram and asked him why he
cheated him.
 The king gave Abram back his wife and
sent him peacefully out of Egypt.
 Abram was a very rich man. He had a lot
of sheep, goats, cattle, slaves, silver and
gold. His nephew, Lot was also very rich.
 There was little pasture where Abram and
Lot were living so their servants started
quarreling over the little pasture.
 Lot and Abram therefore decided to
separate so that to avoid the quarrel. Lot
left and settled in Jordan Valley near the
town of Sodom. Abraham remained in
Canaan.
 This teaches us that we should settle our
differences in life properly just like Lot
and Abram did.
 Abram later moved and settled near the
sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron. He also
built there an altar to God.
 One day, four kings namely Amraphel of
Babylonia, Arioch of Ellasar,
Chedorlaomer of Elam and Tidal of
Goiim attacked five kings namely, Bera
of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of
Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim and the
king of Zoar also known as Bela.
 The four kings defeated the five kings and
carried their people as captives. Lot was
one of the people carried away. They also
looted their wealth including Lot’s.
 When Abram heard that, he assembled
318 men and went to rescue Lot from the
four kings. Abram fought and defeated
them. He successfully rescued Lot
together with his property.
 Melchizedek, the king of Salem went to
meet Abram and congratulate him for
defeating the four kings. The king blessed
him and Abram gave him tenth of the loot
he had recovered.
 In the book of Hebrew 7: 1-10,
Melchizedek is referred to as the priest of
the Most High God. He is compared with
Jesus. He ruled with peace and humility.
Nobody knew his parents or even the day
he was born. No one knew when and
where he died.
 This story teaches us that we should be
mindful of others. We should always be
ready to help the needy in the society. As
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we do so, we should avoid fighting but
instead solve our problems amicably.
c) Abraham and Hagar:
 Sarai was barren therefore she asked her
husband to marry her Egyptian slave
woman called Hagar so that she could
have a child for her.
 Abram did just like his wife wanted.
Hagar became pregnant and despised
Sarai. Because of this, Sarai treated
Hagar so harshly that she ran away.
 The angel of God met her at a spring in
the desert on the road to Shur and told her
to go back to Sarai and continue being her
slave.
 The angel told her that she will have a son
and name him Ishmael because God had
heard her cry of distress. The name means
‘God hears.’
 God promised her that her son have many
descendants. Ishmael would live like a
donkey; he will be against everyone and
everyone will be against him. He will live
away from his relatives.
 Hagar called God ‘A God who sees.’
This is why the place between Bered and
Kadesh is called ‘The Well of the Living
One who Sees Me.’
 Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael
was born.
d) Abram’s Covenant with
God:
 Abram remained obedient, loyal and
faithful to God even though his wife was
unable to give birth. He thought that his
servant, Eliezer of Damascus would
succeed his wealth.
 God appeared to him and reminded him
the promises he had made to him during
his call.
 He promised him that he will give him a
son of his own through Sarai. To fulfill
his promises, god made a covenant with
Abram.
 Abram offered the following animals and
birds during the covenant:
i) Cow
ii) Goat
iii) Ram
iv) Dove
v) Pigeon
 The animals were to be aged three years
old.
 Abram cut the animals into two equal
pieces and placed them opposite each
other’s in two rows. He did not divide the
birds.
 Abraham spent the whole day chasing
away vultures who wanted to feed on the
sacrifice. When evening approached, fear
and terror came over him and he fell
asleep.
 God appeared to him and told him the
following words:
i) His descendants will be strangers
and slaves in a foreign land for four
hundred years.
ii) He will punish the nation that will
enslave his descendants.
iii) God will rescue them from the
foreign land and they will leave with
their wealth. This will happen to the
fourth generation.
iv) Abram will die in peace at a ripe old
age.
 When it was now dark, a smoking firepot
and a flaming torch appeared and passed
between the pieces of sacrificed animals.
 God promised to fulfill the promises he
made to Abram. He also wanted Abram
to obey and keep the covenant he had
made with him.
 God changed Abram’s name to Abraham
because he was going to the father of
many descendants. Sarai’s name was
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changed to Sarah. The name means
‘princes.’
 God instructed Abraham to circumcise
himself and all males in his house as a
sign to the covenant. He was 99 old years
when he was circumcised and Ishmael,
his son with the Egyptian slave woman
was 13 years old.
 Abraham moved from Mamre settled at
Gerar. He asked his wife to tell anybody
who asks her that she was his sister and
not his wife.
 Abimelech, the king of Gerar married
Sarah. God appeared to Abimelech in a
dream and told him that he was going to
die because he had taken someone’s wife.
 Abimelech returned Abraham’s wife. He
also gave him sheep, cattle, slaves and
1000 pieces of silver. He also allowed
him to live anywhere in the land.
Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his
wife and they had children.
 Sarah, Abraham’s wife died at Hebron at
the age of 127 years. She was buried at
Machpelah cave which Abraham bought
from Ephron.
 Abraham died at the age 175 years and
was buried Hebron in Machpelah cave by
his sons, Ishmael and Isaac.
e) The Promise and the Birth
of Isaac:
 It was one hot day when Abraham was
seated outside the entrance of his tent
when he saw two men standing there. He
ran towards them and bowed down with
his face touching the grown.
 He welcomed them to his house and
asked his wife to prepare a meal for them.
He served them under the sacred trees.
 One of the men told Abraham that his
wife Sarah would be pregnant and have a
son after nine months. Sarah was behind
them at the door of the tent so she laughed
 to her said and said that she was old and
his husband was old also.
 From this story, we learn that we should
always be kind and generous to others.
 God kept his promises and after nine
months, Sarah gave birth to a son and
Abraham named him Isaac which means
‘laughter’ or ‘he laughs.’ Abraham was a
hundred years old when Isaac was born
 Abraham circumcised Isaac at the age
eight days old. Sarah was happy and said
the following, “God has brought me joy
and laughter. Everyone who hears about
it will laugh with me.”
 One day, Ishmael was making fun of
Isaac and when Sarah saw that, she asked
Abraham to send Hagar and her son
Ishmael away. Abraham gave Hagar
water and food and sent her away.
 Hagar left and started wandering in the
desert of Beersheba. When in water was
finished, she left the child in a bush and
sat away about a hundred metres.
 She was not happy because her son was
going to die of hunger so she started
crying.
 God told her not be troubled because he
had heard the cry of her son. He told her
to pick the child and comfort him.
 God opened her eyes and saw a well. She
went over it and filled her leather bag
with water. She gave some to the boy.
 God blessed the boy and he grew up as a
skilled hunter. Ishmael married an
Egyptian wife. He was the ancestor of the
Ishmaelite.
f) God asks Abraham to
Sacrifice his Only Son,
Isaac:
 God called Abraham and commanded
him to offer his only son Isaac as sacrifice
in the land of Moriah.
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 Abraham obeyed God and did just like
God wanted. He started his journey with
Isaac and his two servants. Isaac carried
the wood for the sacrifice while he carried
a knife and live coals.
 When they reached the land of Moriah,
Abraham built an altar for God and
arranged wood on it. He then tied up Isaac
and placed him on the altar on top of the
wood. He picked the knife and was about
to kill him when he heard the angel of
God calling him.
 The angel of God told him not to kill
Isaac because he had already shown his
obedience and faith in God.
 Abraham saw a ram caught in the bush by
its horns. He took it by the horns and
offered as a sacrifice to God instead of
Isaac.
 This story teaches us that Abraham had
faith in God. He was also obedient to God
as Christians; we should be faithful and
obedient to God.
 Abraham named the place “The lord
provides.” He later went and settled at
Beersheba.
g) Death and Burial of Sarah:
 Sarah died at Hebron at the age of 127
years.
 Since he was a foreigner in Canaan and
didn’t have a land to bury his wife,
Abraham bought a land from Ephron the
son of Zohar, a Hittite.
 He buried Sarah in a cave called
Machpelah. This cave was in the land that
he had bought.
 Abraham also married another wife
called Keturah. Keturah gave birth to
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak
and Shuah.
 Abraham was 175 years old when he died
and he was buried by Isaac and Ishmael
at Machpelah cave next to his wife Sarah.

h) The Story of Sodom and
Gomorrah:
 People of Sodom were sinners so God
planned to destroy the two cities.
Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy
the cities for the sake of the righteous
people living there.
 Lot was the only righteous man in the two
towns so God sent two angels to save
him.
 Lot welcomed them to his house and
prepared a meal for them and before they
went to the bed, all men of Sodom, both
old and young surrounded his house and
demanded him to give them the two
strangers in his house because they
wanted to have sex with them.
 Lot pleaded with them to leave the men
but they refused. He even to give them his
two daughters but they still refused.
 Lot locked the door but they wanted to
break it. The angels pulled Lot in the
house and struck the men blind.
 The angels told Lot to take his family
members and escape from the town
because God was going to destroy the
city. Lot told men who wanted to marry
his daughters to escape with him but they
refused.
 At dawn, the angels held Lot, his wife and
his two daughters by their hands and
hurried them out of the towns. They told
them not to look behind.
 God sent fire from heaven and bunt the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and
everything in it.
 Lot’s wife disobeyed God’s command
and looked behind. She turned into a
pillar of salt. This story teaches us that we
should always be obedient to God’s
commands.
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 Lot went to a small town called Zoar but
he did not stay there because he was
afraid of the people living there. He later
moved to a far place where no one lived.
 His daughters did not have men to marry
them so they made their drunk, slept with
him and became pregnant.
 The elder daughter gave birth to a son and
named him Moab. Moab was the ancestor
of the Moabites. The younger daughter
gave birth to baby boy and named him
Benammi who was the ancestor of the
Ammonites.
 Abraham is remembered because of his
obedience and faith in God. This why he
is popularly referred to as the father of
faith. He is also the father of the Jewish
community.
ISAAC:
 Isaac was the only Abraham’s son. He
was promised to him by God. His mother
was called Sarah.
 Isaac was God fearing and obedient just
like his father Abraham. He was faithful
and obedient to God.
 God renewed the promises he made to
Abraham through him.
 There was a famine in Canaan so he went
to Abimelech, the king of Gerar. The king
welcomed him and treated him kindly. He
commanded his subjects to treat him
nicely.
 When Abraham was old, he called his
servant and sent him to Mesopotamia to
get a good wife for Isaac. The servant
took ten camels and started his journey to
Nahor’s town.
 When he arrived at well in Mesopotamia,
he prayed that any woman who will come
to the well and give all his camels water
to drink will be his master’s wife.
 Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel came to
the well and gave him water and all his
 camels. She also welcomed him to their
house. Bethuel was Nahor’s son. Her
brother was called Laban. Do you
remember Nahor? He was Abraham’s
brother.
 Abraham’s servant took her to Isaac as
his wife. Isaac was 40 years old when he
married her.
 This story teaches us that God gives a
good wife to those who pray and depend
on him.
 Rebecca became pregnant and gave birth
to twins. The first one was red in colour
and his body was hairy. Isaac called him
Esau. The name means ‘hairy.’ Esau
became the ancestor of the Edomites.
 The second son was born holding Esau’s
heel tightly. Isaac called him Jacob which
means ‘heel.’
 Isaac was 60 years when the twins, Esau
and Jacob were born.
 Esau was a skilled hunter and used to
bring Isaac game meat. This made Isaac
to love him more than Jacob.
 Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at
home and helped with domestic chores.
Rebecca loved him more than Esau.
 Isaac died at the age of 180 years.
JACOB:
a) Introduction to Jacob:
 His parents were Isaac and Rebecca.
 Esau was his twin brother.
 His name means “heel” because he was
born holding tightly on Esau’s heel.
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b) Jacob Buys Esau’s First
Born Rights:
 Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob
because he hunted and brought him
animal’s meat.
 One day, when Jacob was cooking bean
soup, Esau came home from hunting. He
was very hungry.
 He asked Jacob for the bean soup and
promised to give him his birth right (first
born right) in exchange.
c) Jacob Tricks his Father and
gets Esau’s Blessings:
 When Isaac was old and blind, he called
his beloved son Esau and asked him to
take his bow and arrows and go to the
country and hunt an animal for him. He
instructed to cook a tasty food for him. He
will then give him his final blessings
before he dies.
 Rebecca heard the discussion between
Esau and his father so when Esau left, she
called Jacob and asked him to slaughter
two fat goats from his flock.
 Jacob did just like his mother instructed
him to do.
 Rebecca cooked the kind of the food
Isaac liked. She took Esau’s best clothes
and put them on Jacob. She also put the
hairy skin of the goats on his arms and
neck. This was to confuse Isaac since
Esau was hairy.
 She gave him the tasty food and the bread
and told him to take to his father.
 Isaac ate the food and blessed him. Esau
hated Jacob because he had tricked his
father and taken his blessings. He planned
to kill him after the death of his father.
d) Jacob’s Dream at Bethel:
 Rebecca and Isaac sent Jacob away to
Mesopotamia to live with his uncle Laban
because of two reasons:
i) Because Esau was planning to kill
him.
ii) To find a wife because they did not
want him to marry foreign wives like
his brother Esau had done.
 On his way to Mesopotamia, he reached
a holy place and camped there. He lay
down to sleep with his head resting on a
stone.
 He dreamt a stairway from the earth to
heaven with angels going up and down on
it.
 God appeared to him and gave him the
promises he had given to his Abraham
and Isaac.
 When he woke up, took the stone he used
as a pillow and anointed it. He set it as a
memorial. He poured olive on it and
dedicated it to God.
 He named the place Bethel which means
House of God. Before that it was known
as Luz.
e) Jacob at Laban’s House:
 Jacob continued with his journey and
arrived at a certain well where shepherds
usually brought their animals to drink
water.
 At the well, he found some shepherds and
asked them whether they knew Laban. As
they were talking, Laban’s daughter
called Rachael arrived with her father’s
flock.
 Laban helped her to remove the stone
from the well. He also helped her give
water to all her flocks.
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 Rachael went and told her father about
Jacob. Her father welcomed him in his
house and lived with him.
f) Jacob Works for Laban to
Marry Rachael:
 Laban had two daughters namely Leah
and Rachael. Leah was the eldest.
 Leah had lovely eyes while Rachael was
shapely and beautiful.
 Jacob loved Rachael and when he asked
her hand in marriage, his father asked him
to work for him for seven years before
marrying her. Jacob accepted.
 When the seven years were over, Jacob
gave him Leah instead. This is because
Leah was the first born and was to be
married first before Rachael who was the
youngest as their culture demanded.
 Jacob worked for other seven years in
order to marry Rachael.
 This story teaches us to be patient and
tolerant just like Jacob was.
g) Jacob’s Children:
 Leah was given a maid called Zilpah by
his father. He gave Bilhah to Rachael.
 Leah gave birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi,
Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah.
 Dinah was Jacob’s only daughter.
 When Rachael realized that she had given
birth to any child, she gave out her maid
Bilhah to Jacob as a wife. Bilhah gave
birth to Dan and Naphtali.
 Leah also gave out his maid called Zilpah
to Jacob as a wife and she gave birth to
Gad and Asher.
 Rachael gave birth to Joseph and
Benjamin.
 Reuben was the first born while
Benjamin was the last born.
 Rachael died while giving birth to
Benjamin. As she was dying, she named
him Benoni which mean ‘son of my
sorrows’ but Jacob renamed him
Benjamin who means ‘son who will be
fortunate.’
 All the eleven sons were born when Jacob
was still living with his father-in- law.
Benjamin was born when he was on his
way back to his mother land. He born on
the road to Ephrath currently known as
Bethlehem. That is where Rachael was
also buried.
 Dinah was raped by Shechem the son of
Hamor. Dinah had gone Canaanite
women when he saw her.
 Simeon and Levi killed Shechem, Hamor
and all people in their city because their
sister had been defiled. Jacob cursed them
because he was not pleased with their
actions. This story teaches us not to
revenge evil with evil.
h) Jacob and Laban Separate:
 Jacob continued to work for Laban even
after marrying his daughters. Laban
rewarded him with every black sheep and
spotted or speckled goat from his floak as
his wages.
 God blessed Jacob so much that he
became very wealthy. Laban’s sons
became jealous of Abraham and started
saying that Abraham’s wealth came from
his father’s.
 Laban also started treating Abraham as a
foreigner so one day when Laban had
gone out to sheer his sheep, Abraham
gathered his family and animals and left
to his father’s land. God had instructed
him to do so.
 Laban realized after three days that
Abraham had left. He gathered his men
and pursued him.
17
 He found Abraham at Gilead where he
had camped. God warned Laban in a
dream not to attack him.
 Laban asked him why he had to escape
without informing him and Jacob told
him that he did so because he was afraid
he would take away his daughters from
him.
 Laban and Jacob made an agreement
between themselves. Laban asked Jacob
to take care of his daughters. If doesn’t
then God would watch over him.
 Laban instructed his men to pile stones at
the place as a sign of the agreement. He
called the place Jegar Sahadutha which
means “a pile to remind us.” Jacob named
the place Galeed which had the same
meaning.
 Laban also named it Mizpah which
means “Place from which to watch”
 They ate and spent the night at the place.
Laban then bid them bye the next
morning and Jacob continued with his
journey.
 Angels met Jacob and when he saw them
he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp” so he
named the place Mahanaim which means
“two camps”
 From here he sent messengers to his
brother Esau informing him of his return
and requesting for his favour. Esau went
and met his brother. He also welcomed
him back home. From this incident,
Christians learn to be forgiving to others.
 Esau went back to his home at Edom but
Jacob went to Sukkoth in Shechem where
he built his home.
i) Jacob Wrestles with an
Angel of God at Peniel:
 When Jacob reached River Jabbok, he
allowed his family and all his possession
to cross over to the other side of the river
but he remained behind.
 The angel appeared to him and wrestled
with him and when the angel realized that
it was not winning, it hit him on the hip.
 When the angel was about to leave, Jacob
asked him to bless him.
 The angel changed Jacob’s name to
Israel because he had struggled with God
and with men and had won.
 The angel then blessed Jacob and left.
 Jacob named the place Peniel which
means “the face of God” because he
thought he had seen God face to face.
j) Death of Jacob and Rachel:
 Racheal died while they were on their
way from Mesoptamia, Laban’s home.
She died at place called Bethlehem, near
the road to Ephrath.
 She died while giving birth to Benjamin,
Jacob’s last born.
 Jacob died in Egypt and his sons carried
him to Mamre where he was buried near
his father, Isaac, at Machpelah Cave.
 Jacob lived a holy life. He was a righteous
man who did the will of God. He had faith
and obeyed God just like his father, Isaac
and his grandfather, Abraham were.
 He died at the age of 147 years.
 All Christians are expected to emulate his
life and characters.
JOSEPH:
1. Introduction to Joseph:
 Joseph’s parents are Jacob and Rachel.
 Joseph was a God fearing man. He was
faithful and obedient both to God and his
parents just like his father was.
 He helped his father by taking care of his
flocks.
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 He also reported to his father bad things
his brothers used to do.
 Jacob loved Joseph more than all his
brother’s because he was born to him at
the old age by his most loved wife. To
show his love, he made him a long
sleeved robe.
 His brothers hated him so much that they
could not talk to him with kindness. They
hated him mainly because his father
loved him more than them.
2. Joseph’s Dreams:
 One night, dreamt that he was in the field
with his brothers tying up sheaves of
wheat. His sheaf stood up straight and his
brothers’ formed a circle around his and
bowed down to it. This showed that he
was going to be a ruler over them. This
dream made his brothers to hate him even
more. His brothers asked him whether he
was going to be a leader over them.
 Joseph also had another dream. In this
dream, he saw the sun, the moon and the
eleven stars bowing down to him. His
father asked him whether his mother, his
brothers and him were going to bow
down at him. This made his brothers to
be jealous of him.
3. Joseph is Sold by his
Brothers:
 Jacob and all his sons were nomadic
pastoralists. They kept sheep and
animals. They moved with their animals
from place to place.
 One day, Joseph’s brothers had gone to
take care of their father’s sheep at
Shechem. Jacob called Joseph and sent
him there to see whether his brothers and
the flock were safe.
 Joseph started his journey but he did not
get them at Shechem. He was told that
they had moved to Dothan.
 His brothers saw him from a distance and
planned to kill him. They agreed to throw
his body in a well and lie to his father that
he had been killed by a wild animal. This
because they hated him so much.
 Reuben did not like this. He planned to
save Joseph and send him back to his
father so he asked his brothers not to kill
him but instead throw him in a dry well.
When he arrived, they removed his
clothes and threw him in a dry well.
 When they were eating, they saw
Ishmaelite traders (Midianites traders)
going to Egypt from Gilead. Judah
proposed to his brothers not to kill him
but instead sell him to the traders. His
brothers agreed and sold him for twenty
pieces of silver. Reuben was away when
they did all these.
 They killed a goat, dipped Joseph’s
clothes in its blood and took it to their
father. They cheated him that he had been
killed by a wild animal.
 This story teaches us that we should not
do bad things to other people because of
hatred and jealousy but instead we should
control our emotions. We should
appreciate and feel happy when others
succeed.
4. Joseph in Potiphar’s House:
 The Ishmaelite traders sold Joseph in
Egypt to Potiphar. Potiphar was the
captain of the king’s palace guard.
 God was with Joseph and made him very
successful in everything he did. Potiphar
loved him and appointed him his personal
servant. He also appointed him to be in
charge of his house and everything he
owned.
19
 God blessed Potiphar’s house because of
Joseph’s presence. He trusted Joseph
with everything he owned.
 Joseph was well built and handsome and
because of this, Potiphar’s wife wanted to
have sexual relationship with her. Joseph
refused because he knew that that was sin
before God.
 One day when Joseph was alone in the
house, Potiphar’s wife caught him by his
robe and asked him to sleep with her.
Joseph escaped outside leaving his robe
in her hands. Joseph practiced self-
control and purity. Christians should
emulate him and avoid irresponsible
sexual behaviours.
 Potiphar’s wife lied to her husband that
Joseph wanted to rape her. Potiphar
believed his wife and arrested Joseph. He
put him in prison.
5. Joseph in the Prison:
 In the prison, Joseph met two king’s
prisoners, the wine steward and the chief
baker.
 God was with Joseph in the prison and
blessed him greatly. He was appointed to
be in charge of all prisoners. He was also
in charge of everything that took place in
the prisoner. He was also assigned the
king’s prisoner’s servants. This teaches
us that God is always with his people and
He is always ready to protect them from
evil.
 One night the king’s prisoners had
dreams. The wine steward dreamt that
there was a grapevine with three branches
in front of him. The leaves sprouted on
the branches and the flowers sprouted on
the branches. The grapes appeared and
then ripened.
 He squeezed the ripe grapes in the cup he
was holding and gave it to the King.
 Joseph interpreted the dreams by telling
him that the two branches are three days
so after the three days, the king will
forgive him and restore him to his
position as the wine steward. He told him
to remember him when things will be
going well for him.
 The chief barker also told Joseph his
dream. He said that he was carrying three
baskets on his head. There were all kinds
of pastries for the king in the third basket
and the birds were eating them.
 Joseph told him that the dream means that
after three days, the king will release him
and cut off his head. He will then hand his
body on the pole and the birds will eat his
flesh.
 Everything happened just like Joseph
interpreted.
6. Joseph Interprets the King’s
Dreams:
 The king of Egypt had two dreams which
disturbed him very much.
 In the first dream, seven fat and sleek
cows came from River Nile and started
grazing. Seven thin and bony other cows
also came from the river and ate the fat
and sleek cows.
 In the second dream, he saw full and ripe
seven ears of wheat growing on a stalk.
The other seven ears of corn which were
thin and dry swallowed the full ones.
 The king was worried so the following
morning, he called all the magicians and
wisemen in Egypt and asked them to
interpret the dreams to him but they
failed.
 The wine steward whom Joseph
interpreted the dreams to him while in the
prison remembered told the king about
their experience with him in the prison.
 The king sent for Joseph and he was
brought from prison. He was shaved,
20
changed his clothes and brought before
the king.
 Joseph told the king that the two dreams
had the same meaning. The seven fat and
sleek ears of wheat and the seven full and
ripe ears of corn represent seven years of
plenty of harvest that will be experienced
in Egypt.
 The seven thin and bony cows and seven
thin and dry ears of wheat represent seven
years of drought and famine.
 The dream therefore means that there will
be seven years of good harvest which will
be followed by seven years of a severe
famine that will affect the whole
kingdom.
 Joseph advised the king to choose a man
full of wisdom and insight and put him in
charge of the country during the two
periods. He also told him to appoint other
officials who will collect a fifth of the
food during the seven years of good
harvest and store them. This stored food
would be used during the seven years of
famine.
7. Joseph is Appointed
Governor:
 The king’s officials approved Joseph’s
opinion. Joseph was also appointed the
governor of Egypt by the king of Egypt.
 Joseph was appointed as the governor
because he had great wisdom and insight
than anyone in Egypt.
 The king gave Joseph an Egyptian name
known as Zaphenath Paneah.
 Joseph was 30 years when he was
appointed governor.
 He married a wife called Asenath the
daughter of Potiphera.
 God blessed him with two sons. He
named the firstborn Manasseh which
means ‘cause to forget’ and the second
 born was called Ephraim which means
‘give children.’
 Joseph coordinated the collection and the
storage of food in all cities throughout the
country.
 Joseph was very successful in Egypt
because he was faithful and God fearing.
8. Joseph Welcomes his
Brothers to Egypt:
 After seven years of plenty harvest, the
whole world started experiencing severe
famine.
 People from different parts of the world
came to Egypt to buy food.
 Jacob sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buy
food. He did not allow Benjamin to go
with them because he was afraid that
what happened to Joseph would happen
to him.
 When they arrived in Egypt, they bowed
down before Joseph with their faces on
the ground. This was one of the
fulfillments of the dream he had dreamt
when he was still very young.
 Joseph recognized them but pretended
not know them. He asked them where
they had come from and whether they
were spies. He kept them under tight
guard for three days.
 On the third day, he went to them and
asked one of them to stay behind in prison
while others take food home. In order to
prove their innocence and honesty.
 He asked them to bring their younger
brother (Benjamin) as a proof that they
were telling the truth.
 Simeon was the one left in prison until
Benjamin was brought.
 Joseph ordered his servants to fill their
sacks with corn and put their money back
into their sacks.
 While on their way back home, one of
Joseph’s brothers opened his sack to feed
21
his donkey and found his money on top of
the food in the sack. They were all
terrified.
 When they arrived home, they told their
father Jacob everything that happened to
them in Egypt.
 Jacob did not want them to go back with
Benjamin because he didn’t want
anything to happen to him.
 Reuben persuaded him to allow them go
with him. He also promised his father that
he will ensure Benjamin comes back
safely.
 When the food was over, Jacob sent them
back to Egypt to buy more food. He also
allowed them to go with Benjamin after
Judah assured him that he will bring him
sound and safe.
 Jacob gave them resin, honey, spices,
pistachio nuts and almonds to take to
Joseph.
 He also gave them twice the money
including the ones they got in their sacks.
 When they arrived in Egypt, Joseph’s
servant welcomed them in the house,
gave them water to wash their feet and
gave them food.
 When Joseph saw his younger brother
Benjamin, he was filled with pity. He
went to another room and cried.
 They shared food with Joseph on the
same table. Benjamin was served five
times his brothers were served.
 Joseph instructed his servant to fill their
sacks with food and put their money back
into their bags.
 He also told him to put his silver cup into
Benjamin’s sack of food. The servant did
as he was instruction.
 When they left, the servant was sent by
Joseph to go and arrest the one whose
sack had the Governor’s silver cup and
make him his slave.
 After searching the sacks from the eldest,
they found it in the youngest sack.
 When his brothers saw that, tore their
clothes in sorrow. They packed their food
back on their donkeys and followed
Benjamin, who had been arrested back to
Egypt in solidarity with him.
 When they reached Joseph’s palace,
Judah pleaded with him to allow them go
back to Canaan with Benjamin.
 They told him that their father would die
if they went without him.
 Joseph finally revealed to them that he
was their brother whom they sold years
back.
 He sent them to go and bring their father
and other family members to leave in
Egypt.
 Joseph sent them to his father with ten
donkeys loaded with goods and other ten
donkeys loaded with corn and bread. He
also gave them wagons to carry their
father and children.
 He gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver
and five pairs of clothes.
 Joseph forgave his brothers all the things
they did to him. Christians should
emulate him.
 The king of Egypt was happy when he
heard that Joseph’s family members were
in the country. He welcomed them and
gave them a land at Goshen where the
stayed.
 He lived in Egypt for 17 years up to the
age of 147years. He was 130 years when
he came to Egypt.
 Jacob’s descendants who settled in Egypt
were 70 in total.
 Before Jacob died, he called Joseph and
told him not burry him in Egypt when he
dies.
 When Joseph brought his sons, Manasseh
and Ephraim, to Jacob to be blessed,
Jacob laid his right hand on the younger
child Ephraim instead of the younger.
Joseph tried to correct him but he told him
that he knew what he was doing.
22
 He blessed them and took them like his
own sons because he was happy to meet
him with his two sons. This is why they
are regarded as the tribes of Israel and not
Joseph.
 Joseph died at the age 110 years. Before
he died, he had made his people to
promise that they will not burry him in
Egypt but instead carry his remains to
Canaan when they will be migrating.
 His body was embalmed and placed in a
coffin until the day the Israelites were
rescued by Moses.
MOSES:
 Moses was from the tribe of Levi, who
mostly served as priests.
 His father was called Amram and his
mother was called Jochebed. They were
all from the tribe of Levi.
 Moses was born during the time when the
Israelites, the descendants of Abraham
were being mistreated by the king of
Egypt.
 During this period, Joseph and the good
king of Egypt who had welcomed them in
Israel had died.
 A new king who knew nothing about
Joseph and the Israelites was in power.
 This new king did not like the Israelites.
This is because they were increasing in
number and they were also very strong.
 He feared them because their increasing
population was becoming a threat to him
in case of a war.
 The new king decided to reduce their
influence, morale and population
increase. He subjected them to hard
forced labour.
 The Israelites were forced to build the
cities of Pithon and Ramese. He also
forced them to work in the Egyptians’
 land. The Egyptians treated them as
slaves.
 The more the king oppressed them, the
more God increased their number. This is
because they were God’s chosen nation
and God had promised to be with them
and protect them.
 When the King saw that the oppression
did not decrease the population of the
Israelites, he advised Shiphrah and
Puah, the two mid-wives in Egypt who
helped the Israelite women to give birth
to kill the child if it is a boy and spare if
it is a girl.
 The midwives did not kill the baby boys
because they feared God.
 When the king asked them why they were
not doing so, they told him that the
Israelite women give birth easily before
they reach there.
 This statement about the two midwives
teaches Christians to always respect and
obey God’s commands and always
exercise good values regardless of the
circumstances that are surrounding them.
 The king ordered his security personnel
to throw all baby boys in River Nile but
spare the lives of baby girls. Moses was
born during this period.
 When the mother saw that baby Moses
was handsome and healthy, she hid him
for a period of three months.
 When she realized that she could no
longer hid him for a longer period, she
made a basket out of reeds and covered it
with tar so that water does not go through
it.
 She put the baby in it and hid him in the
tall grass at the banks of River Niles.
 His elder sister, Miriam was told to look
after him from a distance.
 One day, the princess, the king’s
daughter, came to the river to bathe. She
saw a basket in tall grass and sent her
servant to go and pick it.
23
 She opened it and noticed a baby boy in
it. The child was crying. The princess felt
sorry for the child.
 Miriam watched her from a distance and
when she recognized the child as a
Hebrew’s child, Mirriam asked her
whether she could call a Hebrew woman
to take care of her.
 The princess accepted and Miriam went
to call her real mother. When the child
weaned, she took him to the princess. She
adopted him as his own child.
 She named the boy Moses which means
‘pull out’ because she had pulled him out
of the water.
 Moses grew up in the palace of the king
of Egypt but he still knew that he was a
Hebrew.
 One day after Moses had grown up, he
went to visit the Israelites and saw an
Egyptian kill an Israelite. After
confirming that no one was seeing him,
he killed the Egyptian and buried his
body in sand.
 Another day, Moses went to visit his
people at Goshen. He found two Israelites
fighting. He advised them not to fight
because they were brothers. One of them
asked him who made him them a judge
over them.
 He asked Moses whether he was going to
kill him like he had killed an Egyptian.
Moses realized that what he did had been
known.
 When the king of Egypt heard that Moses
had killed an Egyptian, he tried to kill him
but Moses escaped to Midian.
 One day when he was seated by a well in
Midian, seven daughters of Jethro came
to draw water for their father’s goats and
sheep.
 Some shepherds tried to chase them away
but Moses went to rescue them and
helped them to water their flocks.
 Jethro was a priest of Midian.
 When they went back home early, their
father asked them why they arrived home
early that day.
 Jethro welcomed Moses in his house and
shared food with him.
 Moses lived with Jethro and helped him
to look after his flock. He married his
daughter called Zipporah.
 Zipporah gave birth to two sons. The
firstborn was called Gershom which
means ‘foreigner.’ The second born was
called Eleazar.
 One day when Moses was looking after
his father-in-law’s sheep near Mt. Sinai,
the holy mountain, the angel of God
appeared to him in form of a burning
bush.
 Moses saw that the flame was coming
from the middle of the bush but it was not
burning. Moses thought it was strange so
he decided to go closer and see.
 The voice of God called Moses from the
middle of the bush instructing him not to
move closer to the bush but remove his
sandals because he was standing on a
holy ground.
 Moses obeyed and covered his face
because he was afraid to look at God.
 God called him mainly because He
wanted to send him to rescue the
Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
 Moses was not willing to go to Egypt to
deliver the Israelites mainly because he
was not a good speaker.
 God promised to be with him and protect
him. He also told him to pick his elder
brother Aaron as his spokesperson.
 He told him to worship with the Israelites
on Mt. Sinai as a proof of God’s saving
power.
 In case the Egyptian authority ask him the
person who sent them, God told him to
tell them that ‘I AM WHO I AM’ had sent
him.
24
 Moses asked God how to handle
Israelites suppose they do not believe him
and refuse to listen to what he will say.
 To prove to Moses that He was a
powerful God, He showed Moses the
following miracles:
a) God told him to throw down the stick
he was holding. Moses did so and the
stick turned into a snake. God told
him to bend down and pick it up by
the tail. When Moses did so, it turned
back to a stick.
b) God told Moses to put his hand into
his robe. Moses did so and when he
took his hand out, it was covered with
white spots like snow. This was a sign
of a disease. \god told him to return
his hand in the robe and when so did,
it healed and the white spots
disappeared.
 God showed these miracles to Moses
mainly because of the following reasons:
a) God wanted to prove that He was the
true God of the Israelites i.e the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
b) For Moses to convince the Israelites
that he was indeed sent by God to
rescue them from their slavery in
Egypt.
c) God wanted to prove His power and
might to Moses, Israelites and to the
Egyptians in general.
 Moses obeyed God’s call, took his
family and started his journey to Egypt.
This teaches us that Moses was obedient
to God so we should emulate him.
 Aaron met him in the desert at the holy
mountain also known as Sinai and they
both went to Egypt. They gathered all the
Israelite leaders and told them all the
Lord had told him. He told them that that
God had sent to save them from cruelty
and slavery.
 When the Israelites heard that, they were
very happy. They bowed down and
worshipped God.
 Aaron and Moses went to the king of
Egypt and asked him to release the
Israelites. The king did not like the idea.
He asked the slave drivers to add
Israelites more work.
 He ordered them to not to give the
Israelites straw used to make bricks but
still force them to make the same number
of bricks.
 Denying them straws was to make their
work harder.
 Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was
83 years old when they went to the king.
 Israelites complained and accused Moses
and Aaron for causing more pain and
suffering in the hands of the king of
Egypt.
 Moses and Aaron went back to the king
of Egypt to release the Israelites. God
made the king to be very stubborn.
 In order to prove that they had been sent
by God, Aaron threw his stick before the
king and it turned to a snake. The king’s
wise men and magicians also threw their
sticks down and they too turned into
snakes. Aaron
3. GOD SAVING THE
ISRAELITES FROM
EGYPT:
a) Passover:
 Passover is a period when the angel of
God passed over the houses of the
Israelites and entered the houses of the
Egyptians killing their firstborns.
 God instructed Moses to tell Israelites to
always celebrate this day every tenth day
of that month every years.
25
 The followings were to be observed by
the Israelites:
ii) To choose a lamb or a young goat
aged one year without a defect,
slaughter it and eat it roasted.
iii) The whole animal should be eaten
(including legs, head and internal
organs). If the family is small to eat
the whole animal then they should
share with the next door neighbours.
iv) The blood of the animals slaughtered
to be smeared on the doorposts and
door beams. The angel of God was to
Passover the houses of those who
smeared the blood but went into the
houses of those whose houses didn’t
have the blood killing their houses.
This was also to differentiate the
houses of the Egyptians and
Israelites.
v) The meat was to be eaten with bitter
herbs and unleavened bread (bread
without yeast). Bitter herbs showed
the slavery life the Israelites passed
through. Unleavened bread and
roasted meat showed that they were in
a hurry to leave and they were the
journey was going to be very long.
vi) No part of the meat should be left
until morning. The left overs should
be burnt completely.
vii) They are to eat the food quickly
dressed ready for the journey. They
were to eat with their sandals ready in
their feet, walking stick in their hands
and girded loins.
viii) Foreigners, temporary
resident or hired worker should not be
allowed to eat the Passover meal.
ix) Slave that had been bought should not
eat the Passover meals unless he is
circumcised.
x) The bones of the animals slaughtered
during the Passover should not be
broken.
 God instructed the Israelites to celebrate
the Festival of Unleavened Bread. During
this period, they were to eat unleavened
bread unleavened bread. They were to
meet for worship the first day of the seven
days.
 Israelites were expected to celebrate the
Passover every year as a remembrance of
how God saved them from slavery and
oppression in Egypt.
 After the Passover, God instructed the
Israelites to dedicate every firstborn
males, male human being and animal to
God.
b) Israelites’ Journey to the
Promised-Land (Canaan):
 After the Passover, the Israelites started
their journey to Canaan, the land God had
promised them through Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, their ancestors. They were led
from Egypt by Moses.
 They carried Joseph’s body with them
just like Joseph had demanded. He had
requested to be buried next to his
ancestors.
 The shortest route to Canaan from Egypt
was the road that goes up the coast to
Philistia. God did not want them to follow
this shortest route but instead, He made
them to follow the roundabout way
through the desert. This is because God
did not want them to change their mind
because they were going to fight in order
to get the Promised Land.
 The Israelites travelled both during the
day and during the night. God led them
with a pillar of cloud during the day and
a pillar of fire during the night.
 When they left Egypt, they walked
through the desert and camped at the
shores of the Red sea between Pi
Hahiroth and Baal Zephon. The King of
26
Egypt changed his mind and collected
about 600 soldiers on the chariots and
pursued the Israelites.
 The Israelites were terrified when they
saw the Egyptian army and their King
matching towards them with chariots and
horses. They complained to Moses but
Moses told them to have courage and
have faith in God because He was going
to save them from the Egyptians.
 God told Moses to tell people to match
toward the Red sea. He also told him to
raise his stick over the sea. Moses did so
and the sea was divided into two by a
strong wind and a dry route was formed
in the middle of the sea.
 God caused a pillar of cloud to move
between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
The cloud caused darkness on the
Egyptian’s side but gave light on the
Israelites’ side. God also made the wheels
of the Egyptians’ chariots to move slowly
and with difficulties. All these happened
so that the Egyptians’ army doesn’t reach
the Israelites.
 As the Israelites were crossing the Red
Sea on a dry land, the Egyptians followed
them. God told Moses to hold his stick
over the water again and the water
returned to its normal position. The
Egyptians tried to escape but they all
drowned in the sea. By this time, all the
Israelites had crossed to the other side of
the sea.
 God saved the Israelites from the
Egyptians once again. This teaches
Christians that God is powerful and
merciful to those who trust, obey and
have faith in Him.
 Moses and his elder sister Miriam sang
songs of praise to God.
Israelites’ Journey in the
Wilderness:
 After crossing the Red sea, Israelites
reached the wilderness where they
wondered for 40 years.
 The following are the experiences the
Israelites encountered while in the
wilderness:
a) Bitter Water at Marah:
 From the Red sea, they reached the
desert of Shur. While there, the
wondered for three days looking for
water. The later found bitter water at a
place called Marah.
 They complained to Moses because of
lack of water. Moses prayed to God who
showed him a wood. He threw the wood
into the bitter water and the water became
clean for drinking.
 After leaving Marah, they came to Elim
where they found twelve springs and 70
palms. They camped there because the
place had water.
b) God provides Manna and
Quails to the Israelites:
 From Elim, the Israelites reached the
desert of Sin which was between Elim
and Sinai. There, they complained to
Moses and Aaron because of lack of food.
 God told Moses that He was going to send
them food from heaven. God told Moses
to assemble Israelites before Him. When
Aaron was talking to the Israelites, the
presence of God was signified by
dazzling light in the cloud.
 God spoke to Moses assuring him that He
will be sending Israelites food in the
morning and in the evening. He instructed
27
them to collect only what was enough for
them for that day. They were not to save
more for the following day. On the sixth
day, they were to collect twice as much of
what they needed and save for the seventh
day. This was so because God was not
going to send food on the seventh day
because it was a holy day. They were to
use to use the food saved on the sixth day.
 Some Israelites disobeyed God’s
instruction and collected more than what
they needed and saved it until the other
day. The next morning, the saved food
had worms and smelt bad but the case was
not the same with the one saved for the
seventh day.
 In the morning, God sent manna. This
food looked like white seed. It tasted like
biscuits like honey. The ones left on the
ground were melted by the sun. Quails
were sent in the afternoon.
 Moses told Aaron to take two litters of the
manna and store them in a jar. This was
as to remind the future generation how
God provided food for them in the desert.
 God fed the Israelites with manna and
quails for 40 years until they reached
Canaan.
c) Israelites Drink Water from
the Rock:
 From the desert of Sin, the Israelites
reached a place called Rephidim. Here
they came across Amalekites who were
hostile to them. Moses asked Joshua to
assemble an army to fight them
 Joshua obeyed the commands, he
selected the army and went out to fight
the Amalekites. Moses, Aaron and Hur
went on a mountain and whenever Moses
held their hands up, the Israelites won and
whenever his hands went down, the
Amalekites won. When Moses’ hands
became tired, Aaron and Hur gave him a
 stone to sit on and they stood at his sides
and held his hands up until the Israelites
won the battle.
 Moses built there alter for God and
named it “The Lord is my Banner”
because God held Israelites banner high
above other communities.
 From this story, Christians learn that God
is a protector. This is because God gave
the Israelites victory over their enemies.
d) The Covenant Box:
 This was a sign of the presence of God
among the people.
 The covenant box and other artistic work
were made by Bezalel, the son of Uri
from the tribe of Judah and Oholiab the
son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan.
 It was made using acacia wood and it
measured 110cm long , 66cm wide and
66cm high.
 It was covered with pure gold inside and
a strip of gold around it.
 The man reason why the covenant box
was constructed was to store the Ten
Commandments so that they are not
broken again.
e) Israelites War with the
Amalekites:
 The Amalekites attacked the Israelites at
Rephidim. Moses asked Joshua to pick
soldiers amongst the Israelites and fight
the Amalekites.
 Moses went up the hill and held a tick up
with both hands as God had told him. He
was with Aaron and Hur.
 The Israelites overcame the Amalekites
whenever Moses’ arms were up but they
were defeated whenever his arms went
down.
28
 When Moses’ arms got tired, Aaron and
Hur gave him a stone to sit and held his
arms up until they defeated the
Amalekites completely.
 As a thanksgiving to God, Moses built an
altar to God and named it “The Lord is
my Banner.”
 From this story, Christians learn that God
always fight all our battles.
f) Jethro’s Advice to Moses:
 Jethro was Moses’ mother-in-law. He
was the priest of Midian.
 Jethro went to meet Moses at Sinai Desert
at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
 He went with Zipporah, Moses’ wife and
his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
 He also brought sacrifices to be offered to
God.
 He advised Moses to pick judges who are
God-fearing and trusted so that they
could serve as judges and help Moses to
settle cases.
g) Sinaitic Covenant:
 This is the covenant between God and the
Israelites. It happened at Mt. Sinai.
 From Rephidim, the Israelites reached the
Desert of Sinai and camped at the foot of
Mt. Sinai.
 God called Moses to the mountain and
told him to pass the following promises to
the Israelites:
i) If they obey God and keep His covenant,
they will be His own people.
ii) They will be God’s chosen people and
dedicated to Him alone if they are
obedient.
 Moses went down the mountain and told
the Israelites what God wanted. They all
accepted and promised to do everything
that God had said.
 God told Moses to tell the Israelites to
purify themselves for worship and wash
their clothes. They were also not
supposed to engage in sexual intercourse
before meeting God. This shows us that
God is holy.
 God instructed Moses to mark a boundary
around Mt. Sinai. Israelites were not
supposed to step on or cross the boundary
or climb the mountain. If they did, they
were to die immediately.
 Those who crossed the boundary were to
be stoned or shot with arrows to death.
 In the morning, there was thunder and
lightning and they heard a very loud
trumpet and Moses led the Israelites to
the foot of the mountain to meet God.
 God told Moses that He would come to
him in a thick cloud so that people would
hear Him talk with him and they will
believe in him.
 On the morning of the third day, there
was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud
covered the mountain and a very loud
trumpet blast was also heard.
 The whole of Mt. Sinai was covered with
smoke because God’s presence was
signified by fire.
 When the Israelites saw all these, they
trembled violently in fear.
 God sent Moses to go down and bring
Aaron with him.
h) The Ten Commandments
given to Moses:
 God gave Moses the Ten Commandments
at Mt. Sinai.
 The Ten Commandments were aimed at
guiding the Israelites to relate well with
God and fellow human beings.
 God Himself wrote the Ten
Commandments on two stone tablets and
gave them to Moses.
29
 All Israelites were expected to observe
these laws and those who disobeyed them
were punished.
 The Ten Commandments include:
1. Worship no God but me.
2. Do not make yourselves images of
anything in heaven or on earth or
water underneath the earth.
3. Do not use my name for evil
purposes.
4. Observe the Sabbath and keep it
holy.
5. Respect your father and your
mother, so that you may live a long
time in the land that I am giving
you.
6. Do not commit murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not accuse anyone falsely.
10. Do not desire (covet) another man’s
house; do not desire his wife, his
slave, his cattle, his donkeys, or
anything else that he owns.
 Commandments 1 to 4 guided the
Israelites on how they should relate with
God while commandments 5-10 taught
them how they should relate amongst
themselves.
 Moses read the commandments to the
Israelites and they promised to follow
them.
 Moses built an altar at the foot of Mt.
Sinai using 12 stones each representing
tribes of Israel.
 God called Moses back to the mountain.
Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and
 Young men were sent by Moses to burn
sacrifices to God. Moses sacrificed cattle
to God as fellowship offering.
 Moses took half of the blood of the cattle
he had sacrificed and sprinkled on the
altar.
 He sprinkled the other blood on the
people and said “This is the blood that
seals the covenant which the Lord made
 with you when He gave all His
commands.”
 The sprinkling of the blood on the altar
and on the people was the sign of the
covenant between God and the Israelites.
This covenant was known as Sinai
Covenant.
 During this covenant, God promised to be
the God of the Israelites and to protect
them from their enemies. He also
promised to be with them and to provide
for their needs.
 The Israelites also promised to take the
Lord as their God. They promised to obey
God’s command and follow His
teachings.
 Moses went to pick the Ten
Commandment on the mountain with
Joshua. They stayed on the mountain for
a period of period of 40 days and nights.
 The cloud covered the mountain for 6
days and on the seventh day, God
appeared to Moses in form of a dazzling
light.
i) Israelite Worship Golden
Bull Calf:
 When the Israelites saw that Moses and
Joshua had stayed for a long time on Mt.
Sinai, they thought that they were dead so
they went to Aaron and asked him to
make a god to lead them back to Egypt.
 Aaron accepted and asked them to collect
their golden jewels. He melted them and
molded a golden bull calf as their god.
 He built an altar for the god and offered
sacrifices to the idol.
 People were very happy. They made a
feast where they drank and had sex.
 God instructed Moses to go down to the
people because they were sinning.
 Joshua heard the noise from the camp and
thought there was a battle but Moses told
30
him that it was a victory noise because
people were singing.
 Moses went down the mountain carrying
the two stone tablets containing the Ten
Commandments. When he saw the
Israelites worshipping the golden bull
calf, he got annoyed and threw the two
stone tablets down, breaking them.
 God was not happy with the Israelites and
planned to destroy them but Moses
pleaded with Him not to.
 Moses melted the golden idol mixed it
with water and forced people to drink it.
He also ordered the Levites to kill people
who were not on God’s side and on that
day about 3000 men were killed
 God sent a disease to the Israelites
because they influenced Aaron to make
an idol for them.
 Moses prayed for forgiveness from God
on behalf of Israelites. God heard his
prayers and renewed the covenant with
the Israelites.
 God told Moses to cut two stone tablets
so that He may re-write the Ten
Commandments on them.
 Moses did so and carried the tablets to the
mountain. God appeared to Moses in
form of a cloud. He stayed there for 40
days and nights. During this time, he ate
and drank nothing.
 Moses face shone brightly as he came
down from Mt. Sinai carrying the Ten
Commandments.
j) Israelites Journey into the
Promised Land (Canaan):
 While at the wilderness of Paran, Moses
sent twelve spies to confirm the
following:
a) What type of a country it is.
b) The number of people that live there.
c) How strong the people who live there
are.
 d) Whether the soil is fertile.
e) Whether the land is wooded or not.
 Each spy represented each tribe.
 The spies included:
a) Shammua from the tribe of Reuben
b) Shaphat from the tribe of Simeon
c) Caleb from the tribe of Judah
d) Igal from the tribe of Issachar
e) Hoshea also known as Joshua from
the tribe of Ephraim
f) Palti from the tribe of Benjamin
g) Gaddiel from the tribe of Zebulun
h) Gaddi from the tribe of Manasseh
i) Ammiel from the tribe of Dan
j) Sethur from the tribe of Asher
k) Nahbi from the tribe of Naphtali
l) Geuel from the tribe of Gad
 They were to bring some fruit as a sign
that the land was fertile.
 They explored the land for 40 days. The
ten spies brought back wrong message.
They told the Israelites that people in the
land were too strong for them to be
defeated. They also cheated people that
the land was not productive. Caleb and
Joshua encouraged people and told them
the truth about the land.
 Korah, Dathan and Abiram led agroup of
Israelites of 250 and some well-known
leaders rebelled the leadership of Moses
and Aaron. God punished them by being
swallowed alive by the earth.
 Aaron died on Mt. Hor and his son,
Eleazar succeeded him as Israel’s High
Priests. Israelites mourned him for 30
days.
 Israelites always complained to Moses
for removing them Egypt to the desert.
Because this, God gave them the
following punishments:
a) God made them to wonder aimlessly
in the desert.
b) God sent snakes that bit the Israelites
who wondered in the desert. God
instructed Moses to make a golden
snake and hung to it on a pole. Those
31
bitten by were instructed to look at the
snake for them to heal.
Baalam and the Speaking
Donkey:
 Balak, the king of Moab sent message to
Baalam to curse the Israelites so that he
may attack and defeat them.
 On his way to meet the king of Moab, the
angel of God holding a sword stood in the
middle of the road blocking the donkey
he was riding on.
 Balaam’s donkey left the road when it
saw the angel of God. Baalam beat the
donkey until it moved back to the road.
 The angel also stood in the middle of the
road at a narrow part. The donkey lay
down when it saw him.
 Baalam beat the angel until it spoke to
him asking him why he is beating it.
k) Two Spies are sent to
Jericho:
 After the death of Moses, Joshua led the
Israelites into the Promised Land.
 He sent two spies to spy in Jericho. While
the spies were in Jericho, the King of the
town heard that there were two strangers.
 He ordered for them to be arrested but
they went and hid in the house of a
prostitute known as Rahab.
 When the king’s soldiers came to the
house looking for the two strangers,
Rahab cheated them that they had gone
away. At that time, Rahab had hid them
at the ceiling.
 After the soldiers had gone, Rahab went
to the roof and made them to promise that
they will not kill her and her family
during the capture of Jericho.
 Rahab lowered them outside through the
window and they escaped and went back
to their camp.
 God instructed Joshua to tell the priests to
carry the covenant box and walk ahead of
the Israelites. They were to stand in the
middle of River Jordan.
 As soon as the priests stepped in River
Jordan, the water stopped flowing and the
Israelites crossed the river on dry land.
 After crossing, Joshua set up memorial
stones in the middle of the river using the
twelve stones picked from the exact place
the priests carrying the covenant box
stood.
 At Gilgal, Israelites conducted the second
circumcision to male members of the
communities.
 While approaching Jericho, the saw a
man standing in front of him holding a
sword. He asked the angel whether he
was an enemy but the angel told him that
He was the commander of the Lord’s
army. Joshua fell on the ground and
worshiped God before the man.
 The commander of God’s army told
Joshua to remove the sandals because he
was standing on a holy ground.
l) The Israelites Defeat of
Jericho:
 When the Israelites heard that the
Israelites were advancing, they shut all
the gates of the city to keep them off.
 God instructed Joshua to march around
the walls with solders once a day every
day for six days. The Covenant Box was
to be carried ahead of the soldiers. Seven
priests carrying trumpets were to walk
ahead of them. People were not supposed
to shout.
 On the seventh day, they were to go
around the walls of the city seven times
and on the seventh round, the priest are to
32
blow the trumpets after which Joshua was
to blow one long note signaling people to
shout.
 Joshua did as God had instructed him and
on the seventh round of the seventh day,
the walls of Jericho fell down.
 God had instructed the Israelites to
destroy everything in the city. They were
also supposed to kill everybody except
for Rahab and her family. Rahab was a
prostitute who saved the two spies sent to
Jericho by Joshua.
 Israelite soldiers attacked the city and
captured it. They also burnt it down
 God asked Joshua to tell Israelites to
collect things made of gold, silver, bronze
and iron and take them to the God’s
treasury.
 God instructed the Israelites not to take
anything for themselves. A man called
Achan the son of Carmi from the tribe of
Judah disobeyed God and collected a
beautiful Babylonian cloak, two
kilograms of silver and a half kilogram
bar of gold from Jericho and buried it in
his tent.
 Because of Achan’s sins, God punished
the Israelites by being defeated when they
went to attack a small town called Ai.
 Achan and his family were stoned to
death by the Israelites for his sins. They
also burnt everything he owned at the
Trouble Valley.
 After killing him, Joshua attacked Ai and
this round he defeated them and captured
the city.
 After defeating Jericho and Ai, Joshua led
the Israelites to defeat other communities
in Canaan. One of the communities
defeated were the Amorites. He captured,
killed and hanged the five Amorite kings.
During the war, Joshua prayed and the
sun and the moon stood still in the sky
over Gibeon until all the enemies were
conquered.
 Joshua helped the Israelites to settle in the
Promised Land.
Judges of Israel:
 Israelites were ruled by judges after
settling in the Promised Land. Joshua
ruled Israel as the first judge of Israel.
 The main role of judges was to solve and
settle disputes among the people. They
also led the Israelites to war with enemies
to deliver the communities.
 The following are some of the judges who
ruled Israelites:
a) Othniel:
 He was the son of Kenaz, the brother of
Caleb.
 He led the Israelites to defeat the king of
Mesopotamia.
 God punished the Israelites by allowing
King Cushan Rishathaim of
Mesopotamia to conquer them.
 He ruled the Israelites for 40 years before
he died.
b) Ehud:
 Israelites sinned and God punished them
by allowing King Eglon of Moab to
capture the Israelites for 18 years.
 King Eglon invited the Amalekites and
Amalekites and they both attacked
Israelites and captured Jericho.
 The Israelites prayed to God for
forgiveness and God sent a man called
Ehud the son of Geri from the tribe of
Benjamin to rescue them. Ehud was a
left-handed man.
 The Israelites sent Ehud to King Eglon to
take to him gifts. Ehud went to the king
with a double-edged swords 50cm long
33
fastened at his left hand side in his
clothes.
 After giving the gifts to the king the gifts,
Ehud sent the men he walked with to go
back home. He remained behind with the
king and told him that he had a secret for
him. The king ordered his servants to
leave them alone.
 When they were alone in the palace, Ehud
went closer to King Eglon, removed his
swords from his clothes and killed the
king by plugging the whole sword into his
belly. King Eglon was a very fat man and
the fats covered the sword.
 Ehud left the palace without anyone
noticing him, closed the doors behind him
and escaped to Seirah. The king servants
did not arrest him because when they
went to the palace and found the doors
locked, they thought that the king was
resting.
 When Ehud reached the country of
Ephraim, he blew the trumpet calling the
Israelites for battle against their enemies.
Ehud led them to defeat the Moabites.
 After defeating the Moabites, he became
a judge in Israel. He initiated peace that
lasted for 80 years.
c) Shamgar:
 He was the son of Anath.
 He saved the Israelites from the
Philistines.
 Using an ox goad, Shamgar killed 600
Philistines.
d) Deborah and Barak:
 God allowed King Jabin of Canaan to rule
the Israelites.
 Jabin was a powerful king with 900 iron
chariots. He ruled Israelites for 20 years.
He was very harsh and cruel to the
 Israelites. Sisera was the commander of
his army.
 During that time, Deborah, a prophetess,
was a judge in Israel.
 Deborah was the Lappidoth’s wife. She
always sat under a palm at Ephraim
between Ramah and Bethel.
 She called Barak the son of Abinoam and
told him to choose 10,000 soldiers from
the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and
camp at Mount Tabor. She also told him
that God would give them victory and
Sisera would be killed by a woman.
 Barak did as he was told and led the
Israelites’ to defeat the Canaanites. When
Sisera saw that his army was defeated and
all his soldiers killed, he left his chariot
and escaped by foot. He went to the tent
of a woman called Jael, the wife of Heber
the Kenite.
 Jael welcomed him in her tent and hid
him behind the curtain. Sisera asked her
for water to drink because he was thirsty.
Jael gave him milk and hid him again.
Sisera asked her to stand at the door of the
tent and not to reveal him to anyone who
asks for him.
 Since Sisera was very tired, he fell asleep.
Jael took a hammer and a tent peg and
drove the peg into the side of his head
killing him instantly just like Deborah
had prophesised.
 Deborah and Barak sang a song to praise
God (hymn of victory) for saving the
Israelites.
e) Gideon:
 Israelites disobeyed God and sinned
against Him. God allowed the Midianites
to conquer them and rule them for 7
years.
 The Israelites feared the Midianites
because they were very strong. They hid
away from them in hills and caves.
34
 The Midianites oppressed the Israelites
and treated them harshly. Whenever the
Israelites planted crops, the Midianites
would invite the Amalekites, attack the
Israelites and destroy their crops. They
would also carry their livestock.
 One day the angel of the Lord appeared
to Gideon, the son of Joash while he was
threshing wheat secretly at the winepress
and told him “The Lord is with you, brave
and mighty man.”
 God ordered him through the angel to go
with all his great strength and rescue the
Israelites from the Midianites.
 As a sign to prove that it was a real angel
from God, Gideon cooked a young goat
and baked bread without yeast using 10kg
of flour. He took the food to angel of God
who was still waiting under the oak tree.
The angel asked him to place the food on
the rock next to him. Gideon did as he
was instructed and when the angel
touched the food with the end of His
stick, fire came from heaven and burnt the
food. This is when Gideon knew that he
was an angel of God.
 Gideon was afraid because he had seen an
angel of God face to face but God assured
him that he was not going to die. He built
alter for God at Ophrah and named it
“The Lord is peace.”
 That night, God instructed Gideon to take
destroy his father’s alters of Baal and
Asherah, build alter of God at the same
place and offer a seven year old bull on
the altAr as a sacrifice. Gideon did as he
was told.
 When the Israelites woke up and found
out that the altAr of the Baal and Asherah
goddess was destroyed by Gideon, they
went to Joash his father and asked him to
provide Gideon so that they may put him
to death. Joash asked them to let Baal
defend himself if he is a true God because
it is his alter that was destroyed. Because
 of this, Gideon was referred to as
Jerubbal.
 As a proof that God had chosen him to
rescue the Israelites, Gideon placed wool
on the ground and asked God to make it
have due and not the ground around it.
God did as Gideon had requested. He also
asked God once again to make the ground
around the wool to have due and the wool
to remain dry. God did as asked by
Gideon.
 Israelite soldiers camped at the Spring of
Harod and the Midianites camped at
Moreh Hill.
 God told Gideon that the number of
soldiers that were in the camp was large
to be given victory. God said this because
this would make them have credit for
themselves and not give it to Him.
 God instructed Gideon to announce to all
the soldiers who were afraid to go back
home so 22,000 went back home leaving
behind 10,000. God still said that the
number was large.
 God instructed Gideon to take the 10,000
soldiers to River Jordan and observe how
they drink water. He was instructed to
select those who will drink water by
scooping it with their hands and send
home those who will drink directly by
lapping. 300 soldiers were selected.
 At mid-night, Gideon led the 300 Israelite
soldiers around the Midianites’ camp.
They blew the trumpets, broke the jars
they were holding held their torches up
and shouted “A sword for the Lord and
for Gideon!” God made the Midianites
soldiers to attack each other in confusion.
 Gideon ruled Israel as a judge for 40 years
and during this period, Israel was
peaceful and faithful to God.
 At his death, Gideon left 70 sons and one
of his sons called Abimelech succeeded
his father as a judge of Israel.
35
f) Abimelech:
 He was Gideon’s son by a concubine
from Shechem.
 He killed all his brothers but his youngest
brother called Jotham managed to escape.
 Abimelech was not faithful to God
because promoted the worship of Baal in
Israel.
 He was killed when capturing the city of
Thebez. A woman threw a milestone on
his head and broke his skull.
g) Tola:
 He ruled Israel as a judge after the death
of Abimelech.
 He was the son of Puah from the tribe of
Issachar.
 Tola ruled Israel for 23 years and when
he died, he was buried at Shamir.
h) Jair:
 After the death of Tola, Jair from Gilead
ruled Israel as a judge for 22 years.
 Jair had 30 sons who owned 30 cities.
They also rode on 30 donkeys.
 He was buried at Kamon after his death.
i) Jephthah:
 The Israelites sinned against God by
worshiping idols such as Baal and
Astartes.
 God was not happy with the Israelites so
he punished them by allowing the
Philistines and the Ammonites to conquer
them. Israelites cried out to God for
forgiveness.
 When the Ammonites camped ready to
fight the Israelites, the Israelites went to
 Jephthah from Gilead and asked him to
rescue them. Jephthah was the son of
Gilead. His mother was a prostitute. His
brothers did not want him to inherit
anything from their fathers so they chased
him from home.
 Jephthah asked the king of the
Ammonites the reason why they attacked
the Israelites and he was answered that
the Israelites had taken their land when
they migrated from Egypt.
 Jephthah accepted to lead the Israelites to
war against the Ammonites. Before going
to war, he asked God to give him victory.
He promised to offer to God as a burnt
sacrifice any of his family members who
will come out to meet him when he comes
from war.
 When Jephthah arrived home from the
battle, his only daughter was the first
person to come out of the house to meet
him.
 Jephthah kept his promise offered his
daughter as a sacrifice as he had promised
Him even though he loved her very much.
This teaches Christians to always keep
promises they make however hard they
may be.
 Jephthah ruled Israelites as a judge for six
years. He died and was buried at his home
town of Gilead.
j) Samson:
 During the birth of Samson, the Israelites
were ruled by the Philistines for 40 years.
This was as a punishment to them for the
sins they had committed against God.
 His father’s was called Manoah. He was
from the tribe of Dan. He lived in a town
called Zorah.
 Manoah’s wife did not have any child
because she was barren. One day, the
angel of God appeared to her and said to
her the following statement; “You have
36
never been able to have children, but you
will soon be pregnant and have a son.”
 She was instructed to dedicate the child
as a Nazirite. She was also told not to
drink beer or wine or eat forbidden food
until the child is born. The child was not
supposed to cut his hair all his life.
 When his wife told him what the angel
had told her, he went to the same point
where the angel met his wife but he did
not see the angel. He prayed and asked
God to bring the angel back. The angel
appeared again to the woman. This time,
the woman rushed home and called the
husband who came and found him.
 Manoah offered a young goat and some
grains to God on the rock alter. The angel
went up in heaven in the flames of the
sacrifice.
 Manoah’s wife gave birth to a son just as
she had been told by the angel. She
named the child Samson. Samson grew
up a strong man. He was also a God
fearing man.
 Samson fell in love with a Philistine
woman from Timnah and decided to
marry her. He asked his parents to
accompany him to Timnah to see the
woman. On their way, they heard lion
roar, God gave Samson strength and he
killed it by tearing it into pieces with his
bare hands. He didn’t tell his parents what
he had done.
 Another day when Samson was going
back to Timnah, he went to see the lion
he had killed and found bees and honey
in it. He took the honey, ate and took
some to his parents and he did not tell
them where he got the honey.
 One day, Samson went to Timnah to the
woman’s house and made a wedding
feast as the customs demanded. The
Philistines sent 30 youths to keep watch
on him.
 He gave the 30 young men a riddle and
asked them to solve it within seven days.
 He promised each a piece of fine linen
and a change of fine clothes if they got the
answer.
 The riddle was; “Out of the eater came
something to eat; Out of the strong came
something sweet.” The young men did
not know the answer so they threatened
woman to get the answer to riddle from
Samson.
 The woman convinced Samson and he
told her the answer to the riddle. The
woman went and told the young men who
also told the answer to Samson.
 The spirit of God came over Samson and
he went to Ashkelon, killed 30 men, took
off their clothes and gave them to the
young men.
 One day, went back to Timnah to visit his
wife. He carried for her a young goat.
When he reached there, he was not
allowed to get into her room because she
had been given to another man as a wife.
 Samson was annoyed so he caught 300
foxes and tied them two by two by their
tails. He then fixed a torch on their tails,
lit the torch with fire and released them
loose into the cornfields and olive
orchards burning all of them.
 The philistines reacted to Samson’s act
by burning the woman to death. They also
burnt her father’s house.
 In retaliation, the philistines attacked
Israelite town called Lehi and demanded
the Israelites to hand over Samson to
them as a prisoner.
 3000 Israelites tied Samson with two new
ropes, brought him from the cliff at Etam
and took him to the Israelites. When the
Philistines saw him, they ran towards him
shouting in anger. The spirit of God came
over him and broke the ropes with ease.
 He picked a dead donkey’s jawbone and
killed 1,000 people with it. The name of
the place was called Ramath Lehi.
 Samson became thirsty and prayed God
for water and God opened ground at Lehi
37
and a spring of water came out from it.
The place was named Hakkore.
 One day, the philistines caught Samson
with a prostitute in the city of Gaza so
they planned to wait for him till daybreak
and attack him. Samson woke up at
midnight, pulled down the city’s gate, put
it on his shoulders and carried it to the hill
overlooking Hebron.
 Samson fell in love with a philistine
woman from the Valley of Sorek called
Delilah. The five kings of Philistines
went to Delilah and asked her to trick
Samson so that he may tell her the source
of his strength. Each king promised to
give her eleven hundred pieces of silver.
 Delilah asked Samson the source of his
strength. He told her that he will be weak
if tied with seven new bowstrings that
have not dried up. Delilah went and told
the Philistines. They bought the new
bowstrings and Delilah used them to tie
him. She then shouted that the philistines
were coming. Samson broke the
bowstrings with ease.
 Delilah and the philistines still did not
know the secret of his strength. Samson
told her that if he will as ropes as told and
gave them to her. She tied him on the bed
and shouted telling him that the
philistines were coming. He woke up and
broke the ropes he was tied with.
 Samson also told Delilah that he will be
left powerless and weak if his seven locks
of his hair are weaved into a loom and
make it tight with a peg. Delilah made
Samson to sleep and did as she had been
told. After weaving his hair, she shouted
that the Philistines were coming. Samson
woke up and he pulled his hair loose from
the loom.
 Delilah kept on asking and nagging
Samson and one day he told her the truth.
He told her that her hair had not been cut
since he was born because he was
dedicated as a Nazirite.
 Delilah made Samson to fall in a deep
sleep and shaved his seven locks of hair.
She then called the philistines who
captured and arrested him. They removed
his eyes, chained him with bronze chains
and took him to Gaza. They forced him to
work as a grinder in a mill.
 The philistines met at Gaza to offer
sacrifice to God Dragon and thank him
for the victory against Samson. The house
was full with 3,000 people. Samson was
brought in to entertain them.
 When Samson was brought in, he held
two pillars of the house and prayed to
God to give him strength. His hair had
started to grow. God gave him strength
and he pushed the building killing all
people who were in the building. He also
died with them.
Ruth and Naomi:
 Naomi and her family migrated from
Israel to Moab to escape famine. Naomi
was the wife of Elimelech. They lived in
Bethlehem. Naomi’s sons were called
Mahlon and Chillion.
 Mahlon married a Moabite woman called
Ruth .Chilion married another Moabite
woman called Orpah. Elimelech and his
two sons, Mahlon and Chilion died while
they were still living in Moab.
 After sometimes, Naomi decided to go
back to Bethlehem because she had heard
that the famine was over. She called her
daughters in laws, Ruth and Orpah and
asked them to go away and get remarried.
 Orpah accepted to go back to her family
but Ruth refused to leave and told Naomi,
“Whenever you go, I will go; wherever
you live, I will live. Your people will be
my people, and your God will be my God.
Wherever you die, I will die, and that is
where I will be buried. “She also told
38
Naomi that it’s only death that will
separate them. Naomi accepted to go to
with Ruth to Israel.
 The whole town was excited when they
saw Naomi. She told them not to call her
Naomi but instead she be called Marah
because God had made her life bitter. It
was during harvest when they arrived.
 Ruth was later married by a very rich and
famous man called Boaz from the tribe of
Judah and God blessed them with a baby
boy and they named him Obed. Obed was
the father of Jesse and the grandfather of
King David. He was a descendant of
Jesus Christ.
 Ruth made the right decision by accepted
to follow Naomi while Orpah didn’t
make a correct decision in his life.
Christians should therefore emulate
Ruth’s life.
Kings of Israel:
 Israelites demanded for a king during the
time when Samuel a Judge and a prophet
of Israelite.
 The main reason why the asked for a king
is because they wanted to be like their
neighbouring communities such as the
Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites,
Midianites and Canaanites.
 Other reasons why they wanted to be
ruled by a king included:
a) Samuel’s sons Joel and Abijah were
corrupt and dishonest so the Israelites
did not want them to succeed their
father.
b) They wanted a human leader who
could lead them to war with their
enemies.
c) Samuel was getting very old and they
thought that he could not lead
effectively.
 Samuel was not willing to appoint a king
for them because he thought it was a way
 of rejecting God as their leader. Other
reasons why Samuel was not willing to
choose a king for the Israelites include:
a) A king would take their sons and
recruit them as his soldiers force.
b) A king would take their daughters and
make them his servants as cooks and
barkers.
c) A king would take their fertile fields,
vineyards and olive groves to himself
and his officials.
d) A king would take a tenth of their
harvest to his officials.
e) A king would take their servants and
livestock.
f) A king would take a tenth of their
flocks.
g) A king would make them his slaves.
 People of Israel paid no attention to what
Samuel told them. He insisted for having
a king.
 He prayed to God and God instructed him
to do as they wished.
1. King Saul:
 His father was a wealthy and influential
man named Kish. He was from the tribe
of Benjamin.
 Saul was looking for his father’s lost
donkeys when he met Samuel. When
Samuel saw him, God told him that “This
is the man I told you about. He will rule
my people.” Samuel invited Saul for a
meal. Saul spent a night there.
 At dawn, Saul started his journey back to
his home. When they reached the edge of
the town, Samuel asked Saul to tell his
servant to leave them for a while. When
they were alone, Samuel anointed him
with olive oil as the first King of Israel.
He told him that “The Lord anoints you
as a ruler of his people Israel. You will
rule his people and protect them from all
enemies.”
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 As sign that God had anointed him as the
King of Israel, Samuel told him that he
was to experience the followings:
a) At Rachael’s tomb at Zelzah, he will
meet two men who will tell him that
the lost donkeys had been found.
b) At the sacred tree of Tabor, he will
meet three men on their way to Bethel
to offer a sacrifice God. One will be
leading three young goats, the second
will be carrying three loaves bread
and the third one will be carrying a
leather bag full of wine. They will
greet him and offer him two loaves of
bread. Samuel told him to accept
them.
c) God told Saul to go to the Hill of God
at Gibeah at the camp of the
Philistines. At the entrance of the
town, he will meet prophets playing
harps, drums, flutes and lyres. They
will also be shouting and dancing.
The spirit of God will come over him
and will join them.
 Samuel told him to do what God wants
him to do. He also told him to go ahead
of him to Gilgal and offer burnt sacrifice
and fellowship sacrifice to God. He was
to stay there for seven day until Samuel
joins him there.
 Samuel introduced Saul to the Israelites
as their king at Mizpah. He also explained
to them the rights and duties of king.
 After one month, King Saul led the
Israelites to defeat the Ammonites.
 King Saul’s wife was called Ahinoam the
daughter of Ahimaaz.
 Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi
(Abinadab), Malchishua and Ishbosheth.
His daughters were Merab and Michal.
 Saul also had a concubine called Rizpah.
He bore him two sons called Armoni and
Mephibosheth.
 The Philistines camped ready to fight the
Israelites because King Saul had killed
their commander called at Geba. King
 Saul waited for Samuel for seven days so
that he may offer a sacrifice to God before
they go to war as he had instructed him
but he didn’t come.
 People became afraid and started to
desert Saul. King Saul then decided to
assume the roles of the priest and offered
the sacrifice himself. No sooner had he
finished offering the sacrifice than
Samuel arrived.
 Samuel accused him of lack of patience,
lack of faith and disobedience. Because
of that, God promised to snatch the
kingdom from the house of Saul.
 Samuel was instructed by God to tell Saul
to choose an army and fight the
Amalekites because they tried to block
the Israelites during their exodus from
Egypt. He was told to destroy everything.
He was also told to kill everybody: men,
women, children, babies and animals.
Saul selected an army of 200,000 ready to
fight the Amalekites. King Saul led the
Israelites to defeat the Amalekites.
 King Saul’s men captured King Agag of
Amalekites a life and spared his life.
They also did not kill best cattle and
sheep. They carried them as a loot. They
also carried valuable goods. They only
killed and destroyed bad ones.
 God was not happy with King Saul
because he disobeyed His command of
destroyed.
 Because of the disobedience, God
rejected Saul as the king of Israel.
 God instructed Samuel to anoint David
the son of Jesse from Bethlehem as the
king of Israel to replace Saul.
 God’s spirit left King Saul and an evil
spirit took control of him. His servant
brought in David, who was a talented
player of the harp, to play it to the king
whenever he is possessed by the evil
spirit.
 One day, the Philistine army camped at
Mount Gilboa ready to fight the Israelites.
40
When saw them, he was very terrified, he
talked to God but God did not answer him
either by dreams, prophets or by use of
Urim and Thummim. The king therefore
went to a medium and asked her to call
for him the spirit of Samuel. The medium
was not willing because she was afraid
she could be killed but assurance and
vows from the king, she did as she was
asked. Samuel told Saul that God had
abandoned him and he was going to be
killed in that war with the philistines.
 King Saul died at Mount Gilboa while
fighting with the Philistines. His three
sons; Jonathan, and Abinadab,
Malchishua also died in that war.
 King Saul was badly wounded by the
enemy’s arrow. He told a young man who
served as his body guard to kill him so
that the Philistines do not catch up with
him and kill him but the young man
refused. King Saul took his own sword
and committed suicide by falling on it.
When the young man saw that, he also
fell on his sword and died.
 The Philistines cut off King Saul’s head
and sent around Philistia.
 People of Jabesh from Gilead took Saul’s
and his son’s bodies and burnt them at
Jabesh. They buried their bones under a
tamarisk tree. They also fasted for seven
days in respect of the king.
2. King David:
 He was the son of Jesse from the tribe of
Judah. His grandfather was called Obed
who was the son of Boaz and Ruth.
 David was born and lived in a town
known as Bethlehem.
 David’s brothers were Eliab, the eldest,
Abinadab, Shammah, Nathanel, Raddai
and Ozem. David was the youngest of all.
 His sisters were known as Zeruiah and
Abigael.
 Prophet Samuel was sent by God to
Bethlehem and anoint one of Jesse’s sons
as a king of Israel.
 Samuel did as he was instructed by God.
Eliab was brought to him, he thought he
was the one but God told him not to pay
attention to how tall and handsome he
was. God told Samuel that he had rejected
him because He does not look at the
outward appearance of people but their
hearts. This teaches Christians not to
judge people with their appearance but by
their hearts and deeds.
 Jesse brought all other sons before
Samuel but God rejected all of them.
Samuel asked Jesse whether he had
another son remaining. Jesse told him that
there was his youngest son called David
who was out taking care of his flocks.
 When he was brought before Samuel,
God accepted him and he was anointed as
the second king of Israel. David was
handsome, healthy and his eyes sparkled.
 God choose David because he was a kind
and God fearing man.
 David was a very skilled and talented
musician. He knew how to play a musical
instrument called harp.
 David was brought to the palace to play
the harp to King Saul who was being
tormented by the evil spirit.
 David’s wives were Ahinoam, Abigael,
Maacah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah,
Bathsheba and Michal.
 His sons were Amnon, Daniel, Absalom,
Adonijah, Shephatiah, Ithream, Shimea,
Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua,
Shobab, Elpelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,
Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet. His
daughter was called Tamar.
a) David Defeats Goliath:
 One day when Saul was the king of Israel,
the Philistines camped at Ephes Dammim
41
ready to fight the Israelites. Israelites also
assembled and camped at the Valley of
Elah.
 A giant Philistine called Goliath from the
city of Gath challenged the Israelites to
nominate anybody to fight him. Saul and
his soldiers were afraid of him.
 Goliath challenged the Israelites for 40
days, morning and evening but no
Israelites came out to fight him.
 Goliath was 3 metres. He wore a bronze
armour weighing about 57kg. His spear’s
iron head weighed 7kg. A soldier walked
in front of him carrying a shield.
 One day, Jesse called David and sent him
to the Israelites’ camp to find out how
they are faring on.
 Jesse gave David 10kg of roasted grain,
and 10 loaves of bread to take to his
brothers. He also gave him 10 cheeses to
take to the commanding officer.
 When he arrived at the camp, found the
Israelites moving towards the battle line.
He left the food with the officer in charge
and ran to the battle line to see his brother.
 As he was talking to his brothers, Goliath
came and challenged the Israelites as
usual.
 David asked people in the battle the
reward to be given to the person who
defeats Goliath. He was told that the king
had offered to give his daughter as a wife
to anybody who kills the Philistines.
 Eliab, his eldest brother was annoyed
with David when he heard him talk to
people in the camp. He asked him what
he was doing in the battlefield. He also
asked him who was taking care of his
sheep in the wilderness. He called David
a cheeky brat who just came to watch the
battle.
 David was taken to King Saul and told
him that he was ready to fight Goliath.
King Saul doubted him because he was
still a young boy. David assured him that
he will defeat the Philistine because he
 had killed lions and bears who came to
attack his sheep in the wilderness.
 He had a strong faith that since God had
saved him from these wild animals, He
will also save him from Goliath.
 King Saul allowed him to go and fight
Goliath. He also gave him his armour to
wear. He also gave him a bronze helmet
to put on his head and a sword. David
removed all these things because he was
not used to using them.
 David took his shepherd’s stick, picked
five smooth stones from the river and put
them in his bag. He also carried his sling
and went to fight Goliath.
 When Goliath despised David because he
was just a good looking boy. He asked
what he was a stick for and whether he
thought he was a dog.
 Goliath challenged David and promised
to his body to the birds and animals to eat.
 David told Goliath that he was going
against him in the name of the Lord
Almighty yet he was against David with
sword, spear and javelin.
 David slung one stone to Goliath and hit
him on the forehead breaking his skull.
Goliath fell dead on the ground.
 David ran to him, used his sword and cut
off his head.
 The Philistines ran away in fear when
they saw that their hero had died. The
Israelites pursued the Philistines and
defeated them.
 David became very famous in Israel after
killing Goliath.
b) Saul becomes Jealous of
David:
 When soldiers were returning home from
war with Philistines, women from all
parts of Israel came to meting playing
tambourines and lyres, singing joyful
songs and dances.
42
 One of the songs they sung was “Saul has
killed one thousand, but David has killed
tens of thousands. This song did not
please King Saul. He became jealous of
him because women sang songs of praise
for him.
 One day when King Saul was in his
palace and David was playing the harp for
him as usual, the evil spirit came over him
and threw a spear at David two times but
all these times David dogged.
 King Saul became afraid of David
because the Spirit of God was with him.
 King Saul sent him away and put him in
charge of a thousand soldiers. David won
every battle with them. This made King
Saul to be more afraid of him.
 King Saul decided to give his daughter
Merab to David as a fulfillment of the
promise he had made of the person who
killed Goliath but when the time came for
David to marry her she was instead given
to a man called Adreil.
 King Saul daughter called Michal fell in
love with David and when the king heard
so, he was happy because he wanted to
use her to trap David and get him killed.
 King Saul instructed David to kill
hundred philistines and bring their fresh
skins as a bride price. This was a way of
getting David killed. David took his
soldiers killed two hundred philistines
and brought their fresh skins to King
Saul.
 King Saul had no options but to give
David his daughter Michal as a wife.
 From then King Saul treated David as his
enemy.
c) David and Jonathan:
 One day, King Saul told his son Jonathan
that he was planning to kill David since
Jonathan loved David very much, he
convinced his father not to kill him
 because he was a good man and he had
done a lot to the King and people of
Israel.
 Jonathan took David to Saul and
continued to serve him as usual.
 One day when David was playing the
harp, King Saul the evil spirit came upon
the king and timed to kill David with the
spear he was holding for the third time but
David dogged and the spear stuck on the
wall.
 David ran away and escaped to his house
King Saul sent some men to go to his
house and kill him, Michal his wife
warned him to escape because her father
was planning to get him killed.
 His wife Michal helped him to escape
through the window that night. She then
took a household idol laid in on bed and
placed a pillow made of goats hair on its
head and covered it.
 When Saul’s men came she told them that
her husband was sick and was lying on
the bed. The men went back and told the
same to the king. The king ordered them
to go back and carry David on his bed.
 The men did just like the king
commanded and when it was covered that
Michal had tricked them.
 David escaped and went to Ramah, where
Prophet Samuel was. When the king
learnt where David was he sent soldiers
to arrest him. When the soldiers reached
Naioth in Ramah, they saw a group of
prophets dancing and shouting with
Samuel as their leader. The spirit of God
came upon them and they joined them in
dancing and shouting.
 Saul finally decided to go by himself and
him also joined them, danced and
shouted. He also lay down naked the
whole day and night
 David escaped from Ramah and went to
Jonathan and asked him why his father
wanted to kill him yet he had served him
and the whole Israel well.
43
 The following day was a New Moon
festival, David did not want to attend this
festival because he was afraid because
King Saul was planning to kill him.
 They agreed with Jonathan that he hides
in the field behind a pile of stones the
whole day during the New Moon
Festival.
 He asked Jonathan to tell the King that he
had travelled to Bethlehem his home to
offer a sacrifice with his relatives.
 Jonathan made a vow that he will ensure
that he will save David’s life from his
father’s wrath. He also promised to let
David’s absence from the New Moon’s
festival.
 He told David that he will shoot three
arrows at the pile of stones he will be
hiding behind and tell the boy to pick
them he will tell the boy look the arrows
are on this side of you get them if the
king is not planning to kill him and the
arrows are on the other side of you if the
is planning to kill him
 When the day of the new moon festival
reached the king realized the absence of
David when he asked Jonathan he was
told that David had travelled to
Bethlehem.
 King Saul was not happy with Jonathan
because he had let him go. He even threw
a spear at Jonathan. This showed
Jonathan that his father was determined
to kill David.
 Jonathan went to the field where David
was hiding and shot spears just as he had
promised.
 David escaped and went to the house of
Ahimelech the priest in Nob.
 The relationship between Jonathan and
David is an example of loyal trustworthy
friendship.
 David took the sword that belonged to
Goliath from Ahimelech and went to king
Akish of Gath.
 David was afraid of King Achish when
people told him that he was David the
women song in praise. He pretended to
be a mad man.
 David escaped from Gath and went to
Adullam in a cave. There, his brother’s
parents and other 400 people joined him
and he became their leader.
 He left his parents in the cave of the King
of Moab.
 King Saul was told that David had visited
the priest Ahimelech and was given food
and Goliath’s sword
 The king ordered Ahimelech and all
priests not to be brought before him and
when they were brought he ordered their
killing. They were 85 priests in total. He
also killed all people and livestock in the
town of Nob.
 Ahimelech’s son called Abiathar escaped
and joined David.
 David saved the town of Keillah from the
Philistines who had attacked them.
 When Saul heard that David and his men
were in the wilderness near Engedi, he
took 3000 best soldiers in Israel and
started his journey to look for him and kill
him.
 On his way he went to a cave near the
road to relive himself it happened that
David and his men were hiding in the
same cave.
 His soldiers advised David to attack and
kill Saul but David instead crept to where
Saul was and cut off a piece of his clothe
from Saul’s robe without him noticing.
 When Saul left the cave, David called out
at him and asked him why he wanted to
kill him he showed him a piece of cloth
he had cut from his robe. He also told
him that he has no intention of rebelling
against the king or harming him, by doing
so, David saved the life of the king Saul.
44
d) David and Abigael:
 One day David went to the wilderness of
Pavin. Here was a rich man in the
wilderness called Nabal. He had 300
sheep, 1000 goats.
 David had saved his shepherds and his
flocks from thieves and attackers.
 David sent his men to him requesting for
some food. Nabal was sheering his
sheep.
 Nabal refused and insulted David’s men.
He sent them away without anything.
 David was not happy with Nabal’s
actions. He assembled hos 400 soldiers
and set off to strike and kill Nabal.
 Nabal’s wife called Abigail was told by
her servant how his husband mistreated
David’s servants.
 When Abigail heard that, she quickly
packed 200 loaves of bread, 2 leather
bags full of wine, 5 roasted sheep, 17 kg
of roasted grain, 100 bunches of raisins
and 200 cakes of dried figs. She started
her journey to meet David.
 When Abigail met David, she pleaded
with him to forgive his evil husband.
 Abigail acted wisely because she was
intelligent.
 When Abigail went back home she found
her husband parting she waited until the
next morning when she told him what
David was planning and she took food for
him and his men.
 When Nabal heard that he developed
stroke and became paralyzed for 10 days
before dying. This happened because he
was a very mean man.
 David married Abigail, Nabal’s wife after
the death of her husband. Sometime later,
King Saul assembled 3000 soldiers to
pursue David whom he had been told was
hiding on Mount Hachilah. He camped
to the road leading to the mountain.
e) David Spares Saul’s Life:
 When David heard that king Saul was
looking for him to kill him, he located
where they camped and the place where
the king would sleep.
 He asked one of two his soldiers,
Ahimelech and Abishai to accompany
him to Saul’s camps. Abishai offered to
go with David.
 Abishai and David sneaked into the camp
and found king Saul sleeping in the
middle of the camp with his soldiers also
sleep around him.
 Abishai told David that God had put his
enemy in his power that night. He asked
David to allow him to kill Saul with his
own spear. David refused and asked him
not to touch God’s chosen king. This
shows that David was a kind and
forgiving person.
 David and Abishai took the king’s spear
and his king’s water which were beside
the head of the king and went away. The
crossed over the other side of the valley
went on a hill and shouted at Abner, the
king’s commander of the army to always
guard the king.
 David also asked the king why he wanted
to kill him. By taking the king’s jar and
the spear, the wanted to prove to the kings
that he did not have any plan of killing
him.
 David escaped and went back to king
Achish of Gath the Philistine. The king
of Gath gave them the town of Ziglag
until king Saul died in war with the
philistine.
45
f) David becomes the King of
Israel:
 After the death of King Saul, David came
back to Israel and settled at Hebron in
Judah.
 The people of Judah made David their
king but Abner made Ishbosheth, Saul’s
only surviving son of the king of Israel.
 Rechab and Baanah sneaked into
Ishbosheth’s house about noon and killed
him while he was sound asleep. They cut
off his head and took it to David. Since
David was a kind man, he did not forgive
them for killing Ishbosheth, he ordered
for their killing.
 David was made the king of the whole
Israel when he was 30 years old.
 He ruled at Hebron as his capital city for
7 ½ years. He moved the capital of his
kingdom to Jerusalem. The town was
once occupied by the Jebusites.
 Jerusalem was chosen because it was at
the centre of the kingdom. The city was
known as the “City of David”.
 David united all tribes of Israel. He also
defeated all the enemies of Israel.
 David collected 30,000 soldiers and went
to Balaah in Judah to bring the covenant
box to Jerusalem.
 While the way, Uzziah stumbled and
touched the covenant box God was angry
and he died instantly. This is because
only the virtually clean and the priest
were allowed to loud it. This made David
to be afraid of the box. He changed his
mind and took it to Obed Edom where it
stayed for three months before being
taken to Jerusalem.
 While transporting the covenant box to
Jerusalem, King David danced with
celebration and joy until his clothes fell
of his body. When his wife Michal asked
him why he disgraced himself before the
 people he said that he was happy to dance
with God who lifted him to the throne.
 David showed mercy and care to
Jonathan’s only surviving called
Mephibosheth.
g) David and Bathsheba:
 One day David was walking on the
balcony in his palace late in the afternoon
when he saw a beautiful woman bathing.
 The woman was called Bathsheba.
Bathsheba’s was the wife of Uriah, the
Hittite.
 David sent for her and he committed
adultery with her.
 When David realized that she was
pregnant, he sent for Uriah to come to
him. Uriah was serving in David’s army
and had gone to camp with the troop.
 When Uriah came he talked to him and
sent him to his house but instead he didn’t
go. He slept at the palace gate with the
king’s guards
 David was not happy so he wrote a letter
to Joab, the commander of his army
instructing him to put Uriah in front line
where the fighting is heaviest to that he
could be killed.
 Joab did was he was instructed and Uriah
was called in war. David took Bathsheba
as his wife. God was not happy with what
David had done. He had broken three
commandments, they include:
a) Do not covet: he admired Uriah’s
wife
b) Do not commit adultery: He
committed adultery with Uriah’s wife
(Bathsheba)
c) Do not murder: He ordered Joab to
ensure that Uriah is killed.
 God sent a Prophet Nathan to warn David
of his sins. Nathan told him his sins
through a parable.
46
 He told him that there was two men who
lived in a town. One was very rich and
had many livestock and the other one was
poor and had only one lamp, the he loves
most. When the rich man had visitors, he
took the poor man’s only lamb slaughters
it and cooked a meal for his guests.
 When David heard that he was very
annoyed and ordered the rich man be
killed. Prophet Nathan told David that
the story referred to him. David felt sorry
and asked God for forgiveness.
 God forgave him but he made the child
born by Bathsheba through adultery to
die.
 Bathsheba’s bore another son for David
and named him Solomon. God told
Nathan to name him Jedidah which
means beloved of God this is because
God loved him.
h) Amon and Tamar:
 Ammon, one of David’s son fell in love
with his step sister called Tamar.
 Tamar was a very beautiful woman. She
was Abisalom’s sister.
 Ammon loved her so much that he fell ill.
This is because it was not possible to meet
her.
 His friend showed called Jonadab asked
him why he was sad. When Ammon told
him that he loved his sister and advised
him to pretend that he was ill and that he
wanted Tamar to take care of him that
would make him meet her.
 Ammon did as his friend had advised him
and when Tamar came, he tricked her and
raped her.
 Absalom killed Ammon his brother for
raping his sister. He fled to Talmai the
son of Ammihid, the king of Geshor
where he stayed for three years.
 Joab convinced the King David to allow
Absalom to come back from exile David
 accepted and Absalom stayed in
Jerusalem for two years without seeing or
meeting the king.
 He later asked for forgiveness and the
king pardoned him.
i) Absalom Rebels against his
Father:
 Absalom was a very famous in Israel
because he was very handsome. He was
neat and without any defect on his body
from head to the toe.
 He provided a chariot and horses for
himself. He also walked with an escort of
50 people.
 Every morning, he would stand at the
road that leads to the city in order to win
the favour of the Israelites. This made
him with the loyalty of the people.
 One day he convinced his father, King
David to allow him go with him to
Hebron to worship God. David allowed
him and he went together with 200
people.
 He went there to plan on how to
overthrow his father.
 One day David’s advisors called
Ahithophel joined Absalom and his
followers left to the city of Jerusalem
because they were afraid that Absalom
would attack the city and kill them.
 David also prayed to God to make
Ahithophel’s advice nonsense.
 King David went to Mount Olives
weeping. He covered his head as a sign
of grief.
 When they needed Bahorim, Shimei, the
relative of Saul followed them abusing
David and throwing stones at him. He
accused David of murdering Saul’s
family and taking his Kingdom.
 Abishai and his brother Joab wanted to
kill him but the king asked them not to do
so.
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 David and his men reached Jordan where
they rested.
 When Absalom reached Jerusalem,
Ahithophel advised Absalom to sleep
with his father’s concubines to show that
he was his father’s enemy. A tent was set
on the roof of the palace where Absalom
slept with his father’s concubines in the
sight of all Israelites.
 Ahithophel advised Absalom to select
12,000 soldiers to pursue and kill David
but Hushai advised him to collect very
many Israelites to fight David because he
was very strong and skilled soldier.
 Hushai advised Absalom so because they
wanted time to send messengers to David
to warn him and advised him to escape
across River Jordan so that he is not
attacked.
 When Ahithophel learnt that his advice
had not been followed he went back to his
city Hebron hanged himself.
 David divided his people into three
groups and replaced Abishai, Ittai and
Joab as leaders of each group. He ordered
them not to harm his son Absalom.
 David’s soldiers fought Absalom’s in the
forest of Ephraim and more the 20,000
people died.
 Absalom who was riding a mule met
David’s soldiers as he tried to escape his
head stuck in oak tree.
 Some soldiers told Joab that they had
seen Absalom hanging on an oak tree.
 Joab plunged three spears into Absalom’s
chest, Joab’s ten soldiers finishing killing
Absalom and buried him in a deep pit in
the forest and piled huge stones on his
body.
 Since Absalom didn’t has a son, he built
a monument for himself at the king’s
valley and named it after him to keep his
name alive.
 King David wept for the death of his son
Absalom even thought he was his enemy.
David did so because he was a kind man.
j) David Conducts a Census:
 David called Joab a commander and
asked him to convert all Israel.
 Joab did so and reported were 800,000
people capable of military service Israel
and 500,000 in Judah.
 God was not with David’s act. He sent
God to him with three forms of
punishment for him to collect one. The
punishment include:
a) Three years of famine in the whole
Israel
b) Three months running away from his
enemies
c) Three day of epidemic in the country
 King David chose three days of epidemic
because he preferred to be punished by
God himself to the people.
 God sent an angel that killed about
70,000 people. God stopped the angel
when it was about to kill.
 David pleaded with God to kill him
instead because he was the guilty one.
 God sent David to tell him Araunah and
built an altar of God in order to stop the
epidemic and offered an oxen for God as
a sacrifice he used the threshing boads
and yoke as forward. He brought all of
these from Arauniah for 50 pieces of
silver.
k) Death of David:
 When King David was old and he could
not keep warm even after being covered
with blankets.
 His servant the looked for a beautiful to
keep him warm. The woman was called
Abishag. David died after raking Israel
for 40 years, 7years in hebron and 33
years in Jerusalem.
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3. King Solomon:
 Adonijah, Solomon’s half-brother was a
very handsome man. The King has also
not accused him of any mistake.
 He was so ambitious and wanted to be the
King of Israel.
 He offer e d a sacrifice of sheep bulls and
fattened calves at the snake rock near
Enrogal spring.
 He invited all his brothers except
Solomon to the sacrificial forest.
 When prophet Nathan heard that he went
to Bathsheba and ask her whether she
knew that Adonijah was being crowned
king of Israel
 Nathan asked her because he knew that
King David had promised to make
Solomon his successor.
 Prophet Nathan and Bathsheba went to
remind the king of his promises and to
inform him that people had gathered to
crown Adonijah their king.
 King David ordered prophet Nathan
and priest Zadok to crown Solomon
the King of Israel.
 Zadok and Nathan did as they were
told and crowned Solomon as the third
King of Israel at the spring of Gihon
 When people at Adonijah’s party heard
that they fled to their homes.
 Adonijah went to the tent of the lord’s
presence and held the corners of the
alter because he was afraid of Solomon.
 Solomon ensured those who approved
him died. They included Adonijah
Shimei and Joab.
 He also banished and demoted
Abiathai from his position as a High
Priest and chose Zadok in the position.
Solomon Prays for Wisdom:
 Solomon was a God fearing and
righteous man .He did what was right
in the sight of God.
 One day King Solomon went to offer a
sacrifice at Gibeon. God appeared to
him in a dream at night and what he
would like to be given by Him.
 Solomon asked God to give him
wisdom to rule his people God was
pleased the choice he made. Because
of that God gave him wisdom and in
addition he gave him wealth and honour
than any King on earth.
 He also promised him long life if he
obeys and keeps His laws and command.
 One day two prostitutes came to the
king to have their case solved. One of
them told the king that they were only
two in the house when she gave birth
to a son, One night the other woman
rolled over her child and killed him.
He then exchanged with her child who
was alive.
 The second woman said that the alive
child was her child and the dead child
belonged to the second woman.
 Since all the women claimed the
ownership of the alive child , the king
ordered for the child to be cut into
two parts and give each woman one
part.
 The first mother full of love for her
child, asked the not kill the child
instead give it to the second woman.
 The second woman asked the king to
cut the child into two parts and give them
the parts.
 King Solomon ordered the child to be
given to the first woman because she
proved to be the mother of the child.
 King Solomon exercised his wisdom to
judge that difficult case.
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 King Solomon become very famous
because of his wisdom.
Solomon Built the Temple:
 Initially, King David had planned to
build the temple to God but God did
not allow him to do so because he had
killed many people in war and his
hands were soiled in blood.
 God promised David that his son who
would succeed him will build the
temple instead.
 King Hiram of Tyre provided cedar
and pine timber to King Solomon for
the building of the temple.
 King Solomon began to build the
temple during the fourth year of his
reign. This was four hundred and
hundred and eighty since the Israelites
left Egypt.
 The temple was 27 metres long, 9metres
wide and 13.5 metres high.
 After completing the building of the
temple, God promised Solomon that
He will live among the people in
the temple and not abandon them
if he obeys His commands and laws.
 The main reason why Solomon built
the temple to was to fulfil his
father’s work and God’s wish to
have it built by King David’s son.
 King Solomon and the people of the
Israel dedicated the temple to God. The
king sacrificed 22000 herds of cattle and
12000 sheep as a fellowship offering.
 He also celebrated the festival of shelter
for seven days on the eight day he sent the
people home.
Queen of Sheba Visits King
Solomon:
 The Queen of Sheba travelled to
Jerusalem to prove the wisdom of King
Solomon.
 She carried spices, jewels and gold with
her.
 She tested King Solomon by asking him
all sorts of questions but King Solomon
answered them without any difficulty.
 She also saw the temple the king had
built, the kind of food that was served, the
king’s servants quarters the uniform they
wore and how the king was wealthy.
Solomon Sins before God:
 Solomon married from foreign women
from Egypt, Moab, Ammon, Edom and
Sidon. He went against God’s command
of not intermarrying with those
communities.
 God did not want Israelites not to
intermarry with them because they will
introduce idolatry from their
communities into Israel and make people
to worship them.
 Solomon married 700 princess and 300
concubines.
 These foreign wives made him to turn
away from God. They made him to
worship foreign Gods they introduced to
him. This made him to be unfaithful to
God.
 He also built alters where his foreign
wives offered sacrifices to their gods.
 God appeared to him two times and
warned him against worshipping the idols
but he did not change.
 Solomon imposed forced and hard labor
on the 10 northern tribes of Israel.
 God was not happy with Solomon’s sins
because of this God divided the kingdom
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into southern and northern kingdoms. He
took away from Solomon’s house. He
left the southern two tribes to the house of
Solomon to rule.
 Solomon died at old age after ruling Israel
for 40 years. His son Rehoboam
succeeded him.
4. Jeroboam:
 He was the first King of the Northern
Kingdom also as Israel.
 He was the son of Nebert. He was a strong
young man and King Solomon appointed
him to be in charge of forced labourers
building the destroyed walls of
Jerusalem.
 One day when he was travelling from
Jerusalem prophet Ahijah met him on the
road. He took off his robe and tore it into
twelve pieces. He gave 10 pieces to
Jeroboam and told him that God was
going to take away the ten tribes from the
king Solomon and give them to him as
their king.
 When King Solomon heard that, he tried
to kill him but Jeroboam escaped to King
Shishak of Egypt.
 After the death of Solomon, Jeroboam
came back and became the king of the
Northern Kingdom.
 Jeroboam later turned away from God by
promoting idolatry in Israel. He made two
golden bull calves and placed them at
Bethel and at Dan. He convinced all
Israelites to worship them as their Gods.
 Jeroboam did this because he didn’t want
Israelites to continue going to offer their
sacrifices to God at Jerusalem in Judah.
This is because he thought Israelites
maybe loyal Rehoboam.
 Jeroboam also appointed and ordained
from other tribes other than the tribe of
Levi as the laws required.
 Jeroboam died after ruling Israel for 22
years. His son Nadab succeeded him as a
king.
5. King Rehoboam:
 He was the son of Solomon. His mother
was called Naamah from Ammon.
 Rehoboam succeeded his father as the
king of Israel but when the kingdom was
spilt into two, he remained with the
Southern Kingdom (the two tribes; Judah
and Benjamin) which he ruled as their
king.
 After the death of Solomon, people of the
united Israel came to Rehoboam and
asked him to lessen the burdens his father
had put on them and they will serve him
with loyalty.
 The older men advised him to do as they
requested but he ignored them and
followed the advice given to him by the
younger people.
 The younger people advised him to
ignore the older men’s advice and
increase the sufferings than his father did.
 Rehoboam was 41 years old when he was
anointed the King of Judah.
 He ruled Judah for 17 years and when he
died, his son Abijah succeeded him.
6. Ahab:
 He was the 7th King of Israel, (Northern
Kingdom) after Jeroboam.
 He succeeded his father Omri, after his
death.
 The capital of his kingdom was at
Samaria.
 His wife was called Jezebel, the daughter
of King Ethabaal of Tyre also known as
Phoenicia or Sidon.
 His wife was evil because she introduced
the worship of idols (idolatry) in Israel.
51
She forced Ahab and the Israelites to
worship Baal.
 Because of worshiping Baal and Asherah
gods, God sent Elijah to warn him. He
also pronounced a 3 year drought to Israel
because of that.
 Ahab was present when Prophet Elijah
challenged the prophets of Baal at Mt.
Carmel.
 God led Ahab to defeat King Benhadad
of Syria twice. This was to prove to King
Ahab that He was a true God. Ahab still
continued to sin.
 Ahab asked Naboth to sell for him the
vineyard that was close to his palace but
Naboth refused because he had inherited
it from his ancestors.
 Ahab went home angry and very
unhappy. He lay on his bed facing the
wall and refused to eat.
 His wife ordered for the killing of Naboth
and after he had been stoned to death,
Ahab took his vineyard.
 God also sent Prophet Elijah to warn him
for his sins he had committed by killing
Naboth. The followings are punishments
given to Ahab and Jezebel for killing
Naboth:
a) Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body in the
city of Jezreel.
b) Dogs will lick Ahab’s blood in the
very place dogs licked Naboth’s
blood.
c) Jezebel’s relatives who dies in the
city shall be eaten by dogs and those
who die in the open county shall be
eaten by vultures.
 King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat of
Judah planned to go to war with the Syria
and claim Ramoth Gilead back.
 Before going to that war, King
Jehoshaphat asked for the prophets to
consult God. Ahab collected 400
prophets and all led by Zedekiah the Son
of Chenaanah gave false prophesy that
they were going to win the battle.
 King Jehoshaphat asked whether there Omri Athaliah
was any prophet remaining. The king
ordered for prophet Micah to be brought Ahaziah Jehoash
from prison. He foretold to them that they
would lose the battle and Ahab would be Jehoram Amaziah
killed. Ahab did not like Prophet Micah
because he always condemned his sins. Jehu Uzziah
 During the day of the battle, Ahab
Jehoahaz Jotham
deceived the opponents by not wearing
the royal garments. He allowed King
Jehoash Ahaz
Jehoshaphat to dress like a king. This was
a cautionary measures so that he is not Jeroboam II Hezekiah
killed as prophesied by the prophet.
 As the war raged, a Syrian army struck Zechariah Manasseh
Ahab with an arrow by chance. The king
bled the whole day and he died at sunset. Shallum Amon
 His blood on the chariot was washed at
the pool of Samaria. Dogs licked his Pekahiah Josiah
blood and prostitutes washed themselves
there just like Prophet Elijah had foretold. Pekah Jehoahaz
 His son Ahaziah succeeded him as a king
of Israel. Hoshea Jehoiakim
 King Ahaz commandments broke the
following commandments: Jeconiah
a) Do not covet because he admired
Zedekiah
Naboth’s vineyard.
b) Do not murder because he killed
Naboth.
c) Do not worship idols because he
promoted the worship of Baal in Prophets of Israel:
Israel.
 Other kings of Israel were:  Prophets were people used by God to
foretell what was going to happen to the
Northern Southern people.
Kingdom (Israel) Kingdom (Judah)  God sent them to warn people to stop
committing sin and do what is right
Nabad Abijah before God.
 Prophets also warned people on the
Baasha Asa punishment of God that was to befall
them.
Elah Jehoshaphat
 Prophets of Israel also had the following
Zimri Jehoram roles:
a) Advice the king on what to do and
Tibni Ahaziah what not to do.
b) Offer sacrifices on behalf of the
people
52
 c) Acted as a go – between God and the
people.
d) Prove the powers of God through
miracles
e) Anoint kings and rulers.
 Prophets in the Bible are grouped in
major and minor prophets.
 Major Prophets included: - Jeremiah,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Elijah, Elisha and
Samuel.
 Minor prophets included Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, Malachi, Nathan, Ahija, Gad,
Jehu, Micaiah, Jonah, Micah and
Obadiah.
7. Isaiah:
 He was the son of Amoz.
 He served as a prophet during the reign of
kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and
Hezekiah.
 Prophet Isaiah foretold the followings:
a) The coming of a peaceful kingdom
(paradise) where human beings and
wild animals will leave in peace.
b) The work and the mission of John the
Baptist as the messiah’s front runner
when he said:
“Someone is shouting in the desert,
prepare a road for the Lord; make a
straight path for him to travel!”
c) Mary, who was a virgin, would be
pregnant and give birth to Jesus
Christ when he said:
“A virgin woman will be pregnant
and have a son, and he will be called
Immanuel which means God with us”
d) The voice that came from heaven and
said about Jesus during Jesus’
baptism and transfiguration.
e) That Jesus would begin his work at
Galilee.
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f) That God would satisfy those whose
greatest desire is to do what God
requires.
g) That those who mourn will be
comforted by God.
h) Reminds us that heaven is God’s
throne and earth is His footstool.
i) That Jesus will heal peoples’ different
diseases.
j) Jesus was God’s chosen servant.
k) The reason why Jesus will use
parables in his teachings.
l) The hypocrisy of the Pharisees and
teachers of law.
m) Warned the Israelites against the
misuse of the temple of God.
n) The suffering and humiliation of
Jesus Christ.
o) He referred to Jesus as a light to
reveal God’s will to the Gentiles and
to bring glory to His people Israel.
 Prophet Isaiah was referred to as the
prophet of hope mainly because he
foretold the birth of Jesus.
8. Jeremiah:
 He was the son of Hilkiah. His father was
a priest in the town of Anathoth.
 He served as a prophet during the reign of
Kings Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and
Zedekiah.
 God called Jeremiah and told him that he
chose him before he gave him life. He
selected him s his prophet before he was
born.
 Jeremiah was not willing to serve as
God’s prophet because he didn’t know
how to speak and he thought that he was
still very young.
 God told him to go and serve as prophets
and promised to be with and protect him.
God touched his lips and gave him words
to speak.
 God showed Jeremiah two visions of a
branch of an almond tree and a boiling pot
in the north. The two visions showed that
God will allow kingdoms from the north
to attack and destroy the kingdom of
Judah and Jerusalem city.
 He warned Israelites of their
unfaithfulness to God and idolatry. He
also pointed out the sins committed by the
people of Judah and Jerusalem.
 He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem
city by the Babylonians. He went on to
foretell the carrying of the people of
Israel and their kings to Babylon as
captives.
 Jeremiah wrote a book in the Bible called
Lamentation. The book express
Jeremiah’s weeping over the destruction
of Jerusalem and Judah.
 Jeremiah’s had a secretary called Baruch.
The prophet asked people to repent their
sins and live a righteous life.
 Jeremiah’s also saw another vision in this
one the earth was like a barren waste the
mountains were shaking and the hills
were rocking. There were no people on
the earth or birds in the air. Fertile land
had become desolate and cities were
ruins. The vision showed God’s anger
and the coming destruction on Jerusalem.
 Prophet Jeremiah foretold the new
covenant that God made with all people
in the world.
 The followings are characteristics of the
new covenant as foretold by Jeremiah:
a) It was made with all people in the
world unlike other covenants that was
between God and Israelites or
individual.
b) Individual people will be punished for
their own sins unlike the previous
covenants where people were
punished for the sins of their
ancestors.
54
c) The Lord will be the God of all people
and not of the Israelites only as it were
in the previous covenants.
d) Every person would make an effort to
reach God.
e) God will forgive and forget sins of
those who repent.
 Jeremiah wore an ox yoke made from
cross bars and leather straps to show the
Israelites how the kingdoms of Judah,
Israel and their neighbours will be taken
as slaves by King Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon.
 The prophet prophesised that King Herod
would kill the baby boys in Bethlehem
with an aim of killing baby Jesus.
 He was nicknamed the prophet of doom
because he foretold the fall and
destruction of Jerusalem.
9. Samuel:
The Birth of Samuel:
 He was the son of Elkanah from the tribe
of Ephraim.
 Elkanah was a God fearing man who
lived in a town of Ramah.
 Elkanah had two wives called Penninah
and Hannah.
 Penninah had children but Hannah had
not given birth to any child.
 Penninah tormented and humiliated
Hannah because she was childless. This
would make Hannah cry a lot and refuse
to eat.
 One day, Elkanah and his wives went to
Shiloh to worship the Lord and offer a
sacrifice to Him. While they were eating,
Hannah got up and went to the temple to
pray.
 In her prayers, she asked God for a child.
She also promised to dedicate the child to
God all his life. This teaches us ask God
all that we want through prayers.
 She prayed silently and when Priest Eli
saw her lips move, he thought that she
was drunk. She told Eli that she was
pouring her troubles to God.
 God answered her prayers. She became
pregnant and gave birth to a son and
named him Samuel means “name of
God” or “ask.”
 After weaning, Hannah took the son to
the Lord at Shiloh and dedicated him to
God all his life as she had promised. This
teaches us to keep our promises always
just like Hannah did.
 They also took 3 years old bull, 10
kilograms of flour and a leather bag full
of wine as a sacrifice to God.
 Elkanah and his wife Hannah went back
to their home in Ramah and left Samuel
at Shiloh where he lived with Eli. He
served God all his life there.
 Each year, Hannah would accompany her
husband to Shiloh to worship and offer a
sacrifice to God. She would take a robe to
Samuel. This teaches parents to be
responsible and always provide for the
needs of their children.
 God blessed Hannah even more and she
gave birth to three sons and two
daughters.
The Call of Samuel:
 One night while Samuel was sleeping at
Shiloh in the sanctuary where the
covenant box was, God called him.
During this time, Eli was sleeping in his
room.
 Samuel thought it was Eli calling him so
he woke up and went to him. Eli asked
him to go back and sleep.
 God called him the second and third time.
This is when Eli realized that it was God
calling him. He advised him to go and
sleep and taught him how to respond
incase God calls him again.
55
 God called Samuel the fourth time and
told him that Eli’s sons; Hophni and
Phineas will be killed by God on the same
day because they had committed many
sins. They slept with women who worked
at the entrance of the Lord’s Tent.
 God’s message came to pass when
Hophni and Phineas were killed in war
with the Philistines and the Covenant box
captured by God.
 Eli fell down from his chair and died
when he was told that his children were
killed and the covenant box captured by
the Philistines.
Samuel Rules Israel:
 After the death of Eli, Samuel served as a
priest in Israel. He also served as a
prophet and the last judge if Israel.
 Samuel called all the Israelites at Mizpah
and called them to turn away from their
sins and get rid of their idols. He also
prayed to God on their behalf to forgive
them their sins. They drew water and
poured it as an offering to God.
 When the five Philistines’ kings heard
that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah,
they decided to attack them. Samuel
prayed to God. He also offered a lamb to
God. God heard Samuel’s prayer and
stroke the Philistines with thunder. They
ran in confusion and the Israelites
pursued them and killed them.
 Samuel set a stone between Mizpah and
Shen and named it “Stone of help.”
Samuel also built an altar to God at
Ramah.
 Samuel’s sons were called Joel and
Abijah.
 Saul was famous because he led the
Israelites with dignity and honesty. He
also advised the Israelites to turn away
from their sins.
 He served as a prophet of Israel during the
reign of King Saul. He anointed Saul and
David as kings of Israel.
 Samuel died and was buried at Ramah.
10. Elijah:
 Elijah came from Tishbe in Gilead. He
was a prophet of Israel. The name means
“My God is Yahweh”
 He was called “wonder-maker” because
of the wonderful miracles he performed.
 He served as a prophet during the reign of
King Ahab of Israel.
 He warned the Israelites including King
Ahab and his wife, Queen Jezebel against
the worship of idols.
 He pronounced a serious drought in Israel
that was to last 2 – 3 years as a
punishment for idolatry among the
Israelites.
 After pronouncing it, Elijah went to hide
near the brook of Cherith. He drank water
from the brook and ravens brought bread
and meat for him.
Elijah and the Widow of
Zeraphath:
 God instructed Elijah to go to the town of
Zeraphath near Sidon. At the gates of the
town, he saw a widow collecting
firewood. He asked her for water to drink
and bread to eat.
 The widow of Zeraphath had little flour
and oil remaining for her and her son to
make one meal and live to starve. Elijah
persisted and the woman accepted to
make bread for Elijah. This teaches
Christians to always be generous and
kind like the widow.
 Because of her kindness, Elijah prayed
for her and her oil and flour never got
finished until the drought was over. From
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this story, we learn that God blesses those
who are kind and generous especially to
the needy.
 One day, the widow’s son fell ill and died.
Elijah took the son upstairs and laid him
on bed. He prayed to God and stretched
himself on the boy three times. God
answered Elijah’s prayers when the child
was raised back to life.
Elijah Challenges the Prophets
of Baal:
 One day, King Ahab called Obadiah his
servant and sent him out to go out and
look for grass for his horses and mules.
On his way, he met Elijah. Elijah sent him
to go back and call Ahab for him.
 Ahab called Elijah the troublemaker of
Israel. Elijah on the other hand told Elijah
that he was the one who was the
troublemaker of Israel.
 Elijah asked Ahab to assemble all
Israelites at Mt. Carmel. He also asked
him to invite 450 prophets of Baal and
400 prophets of goddess Asherah. Elijah
alone was to represent the prophets of
God. This meeting was to prove to the
Israelites the true God and the false one
between the Lord and Baal.
 Elijah asked the king to provide two
bulls; one for the prophets of Baal and the
other one for him.
 They were to cut the bull in pieces, place
it on the altar and pray for their God to
provide fire to burn the sacrifice. The
God that provides the fire was to be
regarded as the true God. Ahab did as he
was told by Elijah.
 The prophets of Baal killed their bull,
slaughtered it, laid on the altar and prayed
to their god for fire.
 They prayed until noon but their god did
not answer their prayers. They danced
around the altar praying and cutting
 themselves with daggers and knives but
Baal did not answer them.
 When Elijah’s turn came, he built the
Lord’s torn alter with twelve stones each
representing the tribes of Israel. He dug a
trench around it and filled it with water.
 He placed firewood on the altar, laid the
slaughtered bull on it and prayed for God
to send the fire from heaven and burn the
sacrifice.
 God answered Elijah’s prayers and the
fire burnt the whole sacrifices. This
proved to all Israelites that the Lord was
the true God.
 From this story, we learn the following
lessons:
a) Jehovah the Lord is the true God
b) God answers prayers.
c) God does not like idolatry. We should
therefore worship God only.
 Prophet Elijah killed all the prophets of
Baal by drowning them in River Kishon
because they misled the Israelites.
 After that, God ended the drought by
sending rain to Israel. This shows that
God is forgiving.
 Elijah escaped to Beersheba in Judah
because Jezebel wanted to kill him. He
left his servant at Beersheba and went to
the wilderness.
 At the wilderness, he sat in the shade and
wished he was dead. He then lay down
and then slept. The angel of God woke
him up and fed him with a loaf of bread
and water.
 Elijah continued with the journey up to
Mt. Sinai. He hid in a cave on the
mountain. God appeared to him in a soft
whispering of voice. God sent him to
anoint Hazael as a king of Syria, Nimshi
as king of Israel and Elisha as his
successor.
 The prophet condemned Ahab and his
wife for taking Naboth’s vineyard and
later killing him.
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 He told King Ahaziah of Israel that he
was to die because he consulted
Baalzebub, the Philistine’s god instead of
God the Lord. The king had fallen from
the balcony of his palace and had sent a
messenger to consult the idol whether and
find out whether he was going to die.
 Elijah did not die, he was taken up in
heaven by a chariot of fire driven by
horses of fire while at Jericho.
 The prophet had crossed over to Jericho
by dividing the water of River Jordan by
hitting it with his cloak.
11. Elisha:
 He was the son of Shaphat from Abel
Meholah.
 He was chosen by Elijah to succeed him
as the prophet of Israel.
The Call of Elisha:
 Elijah found Elisha ploughing with oxen.
He took off his cloak and put it on Elisha.
 Elisha stopped ploughing and followed
Elijah. He asked him to allow him to say
goodbye to his parents. Elijah allowed
him.
 Elisha killed the oxen he was using to
plough, used yokes as firewood and
cooked the meat. He shared the meat with
the people and followed Elijah.
 He witnessed Elijah’s ascension. Elijah
left his cloak behind for Elisha.
 The following are miracles performed by
Elisha:
a) He purified the water of the city of
Jericho by throwing salt in it. The
water used to cause miscarriage
among pregnant women.
b) He multiplied oil for a poor widow.
The widow’s husband had died and
his debtors were threatening to take
her two sons as slaves as payment for
 the depts. Elijah asked the widow to
collect jars and pour the little oil she
had into all the jars. She was told to
sell the oil and pay the debts.
c) When Elisha was travelling from
Jericho to Bethel, some boys made
fun of his bald head. Elisha cursed
them and 42 of the boys were torn into
pieces by two she-bears.
d) Elisha prayed for the childless rich
woman of Shunem and she got a son
as a reward for her kindness. She
always invited Elisha into her house
and provided for his needs whenever
the prophet went to Shunem.
e) Elisha raised the son of the rich
woman of Shunem. He went to the
house where the boy was lying dead,
lay down on the boy placing his
mouth, eyes and hands on the boy’s.
The boy sneezed seven times and
opened his eyes.
f) He made poisonous soup better.
When he was teaching a group of
prophets, his servant collected wild
wine and made stew with it. When the
prophets were served, they found it
poisonous. Elijah poured some of the
stew in the pot and the soup became
nonpoisonous.
g) He fed 100 prophets with 2 loaves of
bread. The prophets ate to their full
and some leftovers remained. The
bread had been brought to Elisha by a
man from Baal Shalishah.
h) Elisha cured Namaan, commander of
the Syrian army from his leprosy. A
little lady had referred Namaan to
Elisha. Elisha told him to go and wash
himself in River Jordan seven times.
Naaman gave Elisha gifts but he
refused to take them.
i) He cursed his servant Gehazi and his
body was covered with leprosy.
Gehazi had taken the gifts from
Namaan that Elisha had refused.
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j) Elisha had recovered the head of the
axe from a river. One of the prophets
who were cutting down trees to build
threw the axe in the river by mistake.
The prophet had borrowed the axe
and he was worried.
k) During the war with the Moabites,
people threw copses in Elisha’s tomb.
The copse came back to life as soon
as it became in contact with Elisha’s
bones.
 Elisha prophesied to King Jehoash that he
would defeat the Syrians. He did so by
telling him to shoot an arrow through the
window facing Syria. He also foretold
that he would defeat them three times
because when he told him to strike the
ground with an arrow, he did it three
times. During this time, the Elisha was
sick and old
12. Daniel:
 Daniel was one of the people carried to
Babylon by king Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon.
 King Nebuchadnezzar attacked the
Southern Kingdom (Judah) and captured
it. He destroyed the city of Jerusalem and
carried King Jehoiakim and other people
as prisoners.
 King Nebuchadnezzar asked his chief
officer called Ashapenaz to select young
men from royal and noble family. The
young men were to be handsome,
intelligent, well trained, quick to learn
and without any physical defects.
 These people were to be taught how to
read, write and speak in the Babylonian
language.
 These young people were to be fed every
day same as members of the royal court.
 After three years, the young men were to
be brought to the king. They were to serve
the king in the royal court.
 Among the young men chosen included
Daniel (Belteshazzar), Hananaiah
(Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and
Azariah (Abednego).
 Daniel asked Ashpenaz to feed them on
vegetable and water for ten days and
compare them with those who were fed
with royal foods. This is because he
didn’t want to eat ritually unclean food.
 Daniel and his friends fed on vegetation
and water were healthier than those fed
on royal food.
 The king was impressed with them and
was selected to serve in the royal court.
 God gave them wisdom in philosophy
and literature.
 Daniel was given powers to translate
dreams. He translated and explained
dreams to king Nebuchadnezzar.
 Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego disobeyed King
Nebuchadnezzar‘s command of
worshiping an idol (Gold statue). The
king ordered that they be thrown in the
furnace of fire. The king was amazed
when he saw that the three people were
not burning up and their number had
increased to four and they looked like
angels.
 The king called them from the furnace
and promoted them.
 God saved Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego. This teaches Christians that
God saves his people.
 One day, King Belshazzar of Babylon
was having a party in his palace. He was
using utensils carried from the Lord’s
Temple by King Nebuchadnezzar.
Suddenly a hand appeared and wrote the
following words on the wall: Mene,
Mene, Tekel Parsin.
 The king was very worried. He called
magicians, wizards and astrologers but
they were unable to read and translate the
words.
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 When Daniel was brought to the king, he
read the words as Number, Number,
Weight and Division. He also translated
them that God had numbered his
kingdom’s days and brought it to an end.
He had also weighed the king and found
him too light. The kingdom had been
divided and given to Medes and Persians.
 Daniel was promoted as the third most
powerful in the kingdom that night.
 That very night, King Belshazzar was
killed that very night and his kingdom
seized by king Darius of Medes. He was
62 years when he became a king.
 King Darius appointed Daniel and other
two officers to supervise 120 governors.
 Daniel was very outstanding and the king
promoted him and put him in charge of
the whole kingdom.
 Other supervisors and governors were
jealous of Daniel so they tried to find any
fault to fix him but they couldn’t get.
 Since Daniel was very religious, they
went to the king and convinced him to
make a law of not permitting anyone to
pray or request anything from God for
thirty days. Those who disobey it were to
be thrown in a den of lions.
 When Daniel learnt this, he did not
change his mind. He went to his and knelt
at an open window facing Jerusalem and
prayed to God. This teaches Christians to
always pray regardless of any
circumstance.
 His enemies saw him pray and they
reported him to the king. The king
ordered that he be thrown in the lion’s
den.
 Daniel was not eaten by the lions. God
saved him from death. This teaches
Christians that God saves his people.
 The king ordered Daniel’s enemies who
had deceived him to be thrown in the pit
of lions. The lions started eating them
before they could reach the bottom of the
pit.
 God also revealed his messages to Daniel
through dreams and visions.
13. Hosea:
 Prophet Hosea was the son of Beeri.
 He served as a prophet in Israel during the
reign of Kings Uzziah, Jotham and Ahaz
of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel.
 God talked to Hosea and told him to go
and marry unfaithful woman called
Gomer the daughter of Diblaim.
 They got their first son and God told
Hosea to name him Jezreel because God
will punish the king of Israel for murders
caused by Jehu. He will destroy Jehu’s
dynasty at the Valley of Jezreel.
 God blessed them with the second child,
a girl this time. God told Hosea to name
her “unloved” because He will not show
love to the Israelites. He will also not
forgive them.
 Hosea and Gomer had the third child and
God told him to name him “Not my
people” because Israelites were not God’s
people.
 The unfaithfulness of Gomer showed the
way the Israelites were unfaithful to God.
 Prophet Hosea condemned idolatry and
paganism among the Israelites.
 The prophet foretold that Jesus will be a
refugee in Egypt when he said “When
Israel was a child, I loved him and called
him out of Egypt as my son.”
Other Prophets:
1. Joel: He foretold the coming of the
coming the Holy Spirit and what will
happen during judgment day.
2. Amos: He warned God’s judgment
coming on Israel’s neighbouring
communities. He foretold the coming
judgment on Israel.
60
3. Obadiah: He foretold the coming of the
punishment that was to come to the
Edomite and the judgment that was to
come to sinful nations. He also
prophesied the victory of Jerusalem.
4. Jonah: He was the son of Amittai. God
called him and sent him to go and preach
to Nineveh. Jonah disobeyed God’s
command. He instead went to Joppa and
boarded a ship to Spain. God sent a strong
wind that caused a huge storm making the
ship to almost sink. He was thrown in the
sea to save the ship from sinking. He was
swallowed by a large fish. Jonah stayed
inside the fish for three days and nights
and on the third day, the fish vomited him
at the sea shore. Jonah obeyed God and
went to preach Nineveh. This story
teaches Christians to be obedient to God.
5. Micah: He warned people against the
oppression of the poor. He also foretold
the return of the Israelites from exile from
Babylon. He also warned people against
moral corruption such as dishonesty,
murder, taking bribes and using false
scales and weight.
6. Nahum: He warned Nineveh against
God’s anger for their sins. He also
foretold the fall of Nineveh.
7. Habakkuk: He complained of Israel’s
injustice. He warned people about the
doom of the unrighteous.
8. Zephaniah: He warned people against
the coming of the day of the Lords
judgment. He also pleaded for people to
repentance. He foretold the doom of the
nations of Israel.
9. Haggai: He reminded people to always
obey the Lord’s command.
10. Zechariah: He foretold the promises of
God to restore and deliver Jerusalem.
11. Malachi: He pointed out people’s
unfaithfulness to God. He also
encourages people to pay tithes.
THE BIRTH, MISSION
AND DEATH OF JOHN
THE BAPTIST:
The Announcement of the Birth
of Jesus Christ:
 The announcement of the birth of Jesus is
known as annunciation.
 Angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin woman
called Mary. She lived at Galilee in a
town called Nazareth.
 Mary was engaged to a man called Joseph
and they were planning to get married.
 Joseph was a descendant of King David
from the tribe of Judah. He was born in
Bethlehem but lived at Nazareth.
 The angel approached Mary and said,
“Peace be with you! The Lord is with you
and has greatly blessed you!”
 The angel’s words troubled her and she
wondered what they meant. The angel
told her not to be worried because God
was gracious to her. She was told that she
will become pregnant and give birth to a
son and name him Jesus. The son would
be great and would be called the son of
the Most High God. God will make him a
king just like his ancestors David was. He
will rule the descendants of Jacob
forever. Jesus’ Kingdom shall never end.
 Mary wondered how this will happen yet
she was still a virgin. The angel told her
that she will be pregnant of the Holy
Spirit and that is why the child shall be
called the son of God.
 Mary did not object, she said, “I am the
Lord’s servant,” …………May it happen
to me as you have said.”
 When Joseph learnt that Mary was
pregnant, he planned to break the
engagement secretly because he did not
61
want her. This is because he was a good
man and did what was right.
 The angel of God appeared to Joseph in a
dream and told him not to be afraid
because Mary was pregnant of the Holy
Spirit. The angel told Joseph that her wife
Mary will have a son and he should be
called Jesus because he will save his
people from sin.
 Mary went to visit Elizabeth, Zachariah’s
wife. At that time, Elizabeth who was her
cousin was six months pregnant. The
Baby in Elizabeth’s womb moved when
she heard Mary’s greetings.
 Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
and told Mary that she was the most
blessed of all women and blessed is the
child she will bear.
 Mary sang a song of praise to the Lord.
This song was known as the magnificant
or canticle of Mary.
The Birth of Jesus:
 Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. His
parents had gone there for a census.
 During that time, the emperor of the
Roman Empire was called Augustus.
Quirinius was the governor of Syria and
Herod was the King of Judea.
 Emperor Augustus had given orders for a
census to be carried out in the whole
empire. Everybody was to go back his/her
town of birth. Joseph went with Mary, his
wife, to Bethlehem because that was his
birth place.
 While there, Mary gave birth to a baby
boy, wrapped him in strips of clothes and
lay him in a manger because there was no
space in the main house (inn).
 The angel of God appeared to the
shepherds who were taking care of their
flocks at night. The glory of God shone
over them and they were afraid. The angel
encouraged them and told them not to be
 afraid because they had visited them with
good news that would bring great joy to
the people.
 The good news was the birth of Jesus
Christ and the great joy was the salvation
of people from their sins.
 The angel announced the birth of Jesus to
them and told them that the sign to prove
this was a baby wrapped in strips of
clothes and lying in a manger. A great
army of heaven’s angels appeared to the
shepherds and sang songs of praise to
God. One of the songs they sang was,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven and
peace on earth to those with whom he is
pleased!” When the angels left, the
shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem
and witness the things that had happened
as told to them by the Lord.
 When they reached Bethlehem, they
found Mary and Joseph. They also saw
the baby just like they had been told by
the angels. The shepherds told them all
the angels had said about the child. After
witnessing the birth of the messiah, they
went back singing praises to God for what
they had witnessed.
Visitors from East:
 They were also known as Maggi or wise
men.
 These men studied the star and came to
Jerusalem from East. They asked where
the baby who was going to be the king of
Jews was born. They said that they had
seen the star signifying his birth and they
had come to worship him.
 Herod and all people in Jerusalem were
annoyed when they heard that. King
Herod summoned all the teachers of law
and priests and asked them where the
messiah would be born.
62
 They told him that he would be born in
Bethlehem as foretold by prophet Micah.
The prophet foretold this when he said;
“Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
you are by no means the least of
the leading cities of Judah;
for from you will come a leader
who will guide my people Israel.”
 King Herod secretly called the visitors
from East and asked them the exact time
the star had appeared. He also sent them
to search for the place where the child
was born. He also asked them to let him
know the place so that he could go and
worship him. Herod actually wanted to
kill the baby.
 When the wisemen found the baby, they
knelt down and worshipped him. They
also gave him the gifts of Myrrh, gold
and frankincense. God then warned them
in a dream not to go back to Herod
because he was planning to kill the baby.
They therefore went back following
another route.
 The followings are meanings of the gifts
given to baby Jesus by the wisemen:
a) Myrrh: The bitter life (suffering)
Jesus was to go through.
b) Gold: That Jesus was to be the Priest
of the Most High God.
c) Frankincense: That Jesus would die
and resurrect again.
 God appeared to God in a dream and
warned him to escape with the baby and
his mother because Herod was planning
to kill him. Joseph did as he was told and
escaped with the child to Egypt where
Jesus lived as a refugee until Herod died.
This happened to fulfill the prophesy of
prophet Hosea when he said, “I called my
son out of Egypt.”
 King Herod was annoyed when he
realized that the wisemen from the East
had tricked him. He ordered for the
killing of all the baby boys aged two years
 and below in Bethlehem. He was planned
to kill Jesus in the process.
 The killing of baby boys in Egypt was
foretold by prophet Jeremiah when he
said;
“A sound is head in Ramah,
The sound of bitter weeping
Rachel is crying for her children’
For they are dead.”
 Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt
until Herod died. God appeared to him in
a dream and instructed him to go back to
Israel. From Egypt, he went to Nazareth
where Jesus grew up.
Jesus’ Dedication:
 Jesus was circumcised and named after a
week (7 days).
 The name Jesus means saviour and Christ
means the anointed one.
 Joseph and Mary took baby Jesus to the
temple when he was a week old to be
dedicated and to perform the ceremony of
purification as the Law of Moses
required.
 During the ceremony, they were to offer
a pair of doves or two young pigeons as
the Law demanded.
 In the temple, they met a God fearing man
called Simeon. He was waiting for the
salvation of Israel. The Holy Spirit had
assured him that he would not die until he
the promised Messiah.
 Simeon took the child and gave thanks to
God when he said the followings:
“Now, Lord, you have kept your
promise, and you may let your servant
go in peace.
With my own eyes I have seen your
salvation, which you have prepared in
the presence of all peoples:
A light to reveal your will to the gentiles
and bring glory to your people Israel.”
63
 Simeon also blessed Jesus and his
parents. He also said the following words
to Mary:
“This child is chosen by God for the
destruction and the salvation of many in
Israel. He will be a sign from God which
many people will speak against and so
reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow
like a sharp sword, will break your own
heart.”
 The very day, there was a very old
woman in the temple. She was a
prophetess called Anna. She was the
daughter Phanuel from the tribe of Asher.
She was a widow aged 84 years. She
never left the temple. She worshipped
God, prayed and fasted day and night.
 She thanked God and spoke about Jesus
to those who were waiting who were
waiting for Jerusalem to be saved.
 After that, Jesus grew and became strong.
He was filled with God’s blessings and
wisdom.
Boy Jesus in the Temple for
the Passover:
 Jesus, parents took him to Jerusalem to
celebrate the Passover when he was 12
years old.
 When the ceremony was over, his parents
started his journey back to Nazareth. On
the way, they learnt that Jesus was not
with them. They looked for him among
relatives and they did not find him. They
went back to Jerusalem to look for him.
They found him after three days.
 They found him in the temple listening to
the Jewish teachers and asking them
questions. His mother asked him why he
had done that to them. Jesus asked her
whether she knew that she had to be at his
father’s house.
 Jesus went with his parents back to
Nazareth. He was very obedient to them.
 This teaches Christians to always be
obedient to their parents.
Baptism of Jesus:
 Jesus left Galilee and came to Jordan to
be baptized by John the Baptist. When
John the Baptist saw him he, told people
that Jesus was a Lamb of God, who takes
away the sins of the world.
 John tried to refuse telling Jesus that he
was the one who ought to baptize him
instead. Jesus asked him to baptize
because that is how God required.
 As soon as Jesus was baptized, the
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit
came down inform of a dove and rested
on him.
 A voice from heaven was heard saying,
“This is my own dear son, with whom am
pleased.”
Jesus is Tempted:
 After being baptized, the Spirit of God
led Jesus to a desert where he was
tempted by the devil. He stayed there for
40 days and night without food. The devil
subjected him to the following
temptations:
a) The devil asked him to order the stone
so that they could turn into bread.
Jesus answered him that the scriptures
says that human beings cannot live on
bread alone, but need every word that
God speaks.
b) The devil took Jesus on the highest
point of the temple in Jerusalem (The
holy city) asked him to throw himself
down if he is the son of God because
the scripture says that God will
instruct His angels to hold him up and
his feet will not be hurt. Jesus
answered him that the scripture says
64
that we should not put the Lord God
to test.
c) The devil took Jesus to the highest
point of a mountain and showed him
great kingdoms. He asked Jesus kneel
down and worship him and he will
give him all those kingdoms. Jesus
sent the devil away and told him that
the scriptures say that people should
worship the Lord God and serve him
only.
 Jesus was able to defeat the devil because
he knew the scriptures well. We should
therefore read and understand the
scriptures from the Bible.
Jesus’ Disciples:
 When Jesus heard that John the Baptist
had been put in prison, he moved from
Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum
which was located on the shores of Lake
Galilee. This is the place where Jesus
started his work.
 Prophet Isaiah foretold that Jesus would
start his work Capernaum in Galilee
when he said the followings:
“Land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali,
on the road to the sea, on the other side
of Jordan, Galilee the land of the
Gentiles!
The people who live in darkness will see
a great light.
On those who live in the dark land of
death the land will shine.”
 While here, Jesus preached for people to
turn away from their sins because the
kingdom of God was near.
 Jesus selected 12 disciples so that he
could reveal the secrets of the kingdom of
God to the world through them. Jesus also
wanted to build a Christian faith in the
whole world through them.
 One day, Jesus was walking along the
shores of Lake Galilee, he saw two
 brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew
fishing. He got into Simon’s boat and
taught the crowd. When he finished
preaching, he told Simon Peter to push
the boat into the sea so that they may fish.
Peter told Jesus that they had been fishing
the whole night and they had caught
nothing. They obeyed Jesus and they
caught a lot of fish until their boats were
about to sink. When peter saw that, he fell
on his knees and asked Jesus to go away
from him because he a sinner. Jesus asked
Peter and Andrew, the sons of John to
follow and he will teach them how to
catch people. Jesus said this to mean that
he wanted them to assist him to convert
people to Christianity. These were Jesus’
first disciples.
 Jesus and his first two disciples walked a
little further along the shore of the lake
saw James, his brothers John fishing and
their father Zebedee fishing. He asked the
two brothers to follow him and they did.
Peter and James were also known as
Boarneges or sons of thunder. Their
mother was called Salome. John was
Jesus’ most loved disciple. Peter on the
other side was a disciple who loved Jesus
most.
 Jesus called Philip to be his disciple while
at Galilee. Philip was from Bethsaida.
Peter and John also came from there.
Philip later found Nathaniel and told him
they had found the Messiah whom Moses
wrote about in the book of law. Nathaniel
asked Philip whether anything good
could come from Nazareth. Philip later
took Nathaniel to Jesus and Jesus saw
him, he told him; “Here is a real
Israelites, there is nothing false about
him.” When Philip asked him how he
knew all those, Jesus told him that he had
seen him under a fig tree when he was
called by Philip.
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 Nathaniel recognized Jesus as the son of
God and the king of Israel. Nathaniel was
also known as Bartholomew.
 Jesus also called a tax collector called
Levi and asked him to follow him as one
of his disciples. Levi was in his office
collecting taxes. He left everything he
was doing and followed him
immediately. Levi was also called
Mathews.
 Levi made a big a feast in his house and
invited Jesus. Pharisees and teachers of
Law. Complained to Jesus’ disciples
because ate and drank with the tax
collectors and outcasts. Jesus told them
that people who are well do not need a
doctor instead those who are sick. He told
them that he had come to save the outcast
and not respectable people. He also told
them that it is kindness that God wants
and not animal sacrifice.
 All the twelve disciples of Jesus are:
i) Simon Peter also called the Rock
(Cephas)
ii) Andrew
iii) James
iv) John
v) Philip
vi) Bartholomew( Nathaniel)
vii) Matthew (Levi)
viii) Thomas also called Didymus
(The Twin)
ix) James son of Alphaeus.
x) Thaddaeus also called Judas son of
James.
xi) Simon the Patriot also called The
Zealot of the Cananean
xii) Judas Iscariot the son of Simon.
 Jesus sent his twelve and the 72 disciples
out with the following instructions:
a) Not to go to any Gentile region or
Samaritan town but to the sinners
among the people of Israel.
b) Preach that the kingdom of God is
near.
c) Heal the sick and raise the dead.
 d) Cast out demons from people.
e) To do everything for free because
they had received it for free.
f) Not to carry with them gold, silver,
copper money, beggars bag, extra
shirt, shoes or stick.
 He instructed them to leave greetings of
peace in the houses and towns of those
who welcome and listen to them. He told
them to take their greetings back and
shake the dust off their feet in the houses
of those who will not welcome them. This
means that the disciples were to warn
them of the punishment that was to befall
them.
Teachings of Jesus:
1. The Sermon on the Mount:
These preaching were also known as
beatitudes. Jesus saw a great crowd that
had followed him, went to the hill, sat
down and taught the followings:
a) “Happy are those who know they are
spiritually poor; the kingdom of
heaven belongs to them.”
b) “Happy are those who mourn; God
will comfort them!”
c) “Happy are those whose greatest
desire is to do what God requires;
God will satisfy them fully!”
d) “Happy are those who are humble;
they will receive what God has
promised!”
e) “Happy are those who are merciful
to others; God will be merciful to
them!’
f) “Happy are the pure in heart; they
will see God!”
g) “Happy are those who work for
peace; God will call them his
Children!”
h) “Happy are those who are
persecuted because they do what
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God requires; the kingdom of
heaven belongs to them!”
i) “Happy are you when people insult
you and persecute you and tell you
all kinds of evil lies against you
because you are my followers. Be
happy and glad, for a great reward is
kept for you in heaven.”
2. Teachings about Salt and
Light:
Jesus taught that Christians are like salt
because they are expected to exercise
Christian values.
He also taught that we are the light of the
whole world. So we are expected to shine
just like a lamp that is lit and put on a
lamp stand where it gives light for all. We
should use our Christian faith to serve
others.
3. Teachings about the Law:
Jesus teaches us that He did not come to
do away with the Laws of Moses and the
teachings of prophets but instead, he
came to make them come to pass. He also
taught that no part of the Laws and
teachings will be removed.
He reminded us that those who disobey
those teachings or teaches others to
disobey them will be the least in the
Kingdom of God.
Those who will join the kingdom of God
are those who are faithful to God than the
teachers of Law and the Pharisees.
4. Teachings about Anger:
Those who are angry with others or those
who call others good for nothing or those
who call others worthless fools will be
punished by God.
 He also taught that we should make peace
with people we are angry with before
serving God. We should also solve the
disputes we have with people outside the
court.
5. Teaching about Adultery:
Anyone who looks at a woman and
admires her is guilty of committing
adultery with her.
Jesus also taught that if your right eye or
hand causes you to sin then take it out and
throw it away. This means that we should
avoid or do away with activities or
properties that may lead us to sin.
6. Teaching about Divorce:
If a man divorces his wife for any reason
other than unfaithfulness, he is guilty of
making her commit adultery if she
marries again. The man who marries her
is guilty of committing adultery.
7. Teachings about Vows:
We should not make vows when making
promises. We should also not swear by
heaven because it is God’s throne neither.
We should not swear by the earth because
it is where God rests his feet.
Christians should not swear by Jerusalem
because it is a city of the great king. They
should not also swear by their heads
because they cannot make even a single
hair on it black or white.
14. Teaching about Revenge:
We are taught not to take revenge on
people who wrong us. If anyone slaps us
on the right cheek, we should let them
slap us on the left too. If anyone takes
67
your shirt you should let him take your
coat too or if any soldier forces you to
carry his pack one kilometre, carry it two
kilometre. This means that if anyone does
a wrong thing to us, we should not
revenge but instead do good things to
them.
15. Teachings about Love for
Enemies:
We should love our enemies and pray for
those who persecute us. By doing so, we
will become God’s children. God shows
a good example when He shines the sun
and sends rain both to those who are
righteous and sinners equally without
discrimination.
16. Teachings about Charity:
We should not perform our religious
duties in public so that we can be seen by
people. Those who do so will not be
rewarded by God. We should also not
make a big show of when helping the
needy but instead, we should do it in
secret and God who sees us in secret will
reward us.
17. Teaching about Prayer:
When praying, we should not do it in
houses of worship or on street corners for
people to see us like the hypocrites do but
we should when praying we should do it
in secret and God will reward us.
We should not use a lot of meaningful
words while praying. Our prayers should
also not be long like the pagans’ because
God knows what we need before we even
ask.
The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples
include:
 “Our Father in heaven:
May your holy name be honoured;
May kingdom come;
May your will be done on earth as it
is in heaven:
Give us today the food we need.
Forgive us the wrongs we have done,
As we forgive the wrongs that others
have done to us.
Do not bring to us hard testing,
But keep us safe from the Evil One.”
We are taught that if we ask then we will
get. If we knock, we will be opened for.
Jesus said that a father will not give his
child a stone if he asks for bread. He will
also not give him a snake if he asks for
fish. This also shows that God will give
us exact things we ask from him through
prayers.
18. Teachings about Fasting:
When we fast, we should not put on a sad
face to like the hypocrites do for people
to see but instead, we should wash our
face and comb our hair. We should only
let God to know that we are fasting.
19. Teaching about Riches in
Heaven:
We should not store up our wealth for
ourselves on earth where they can be
destroyed by moths and rust or stolen by
robbers but instead store them in heaven
where they will be safe. This means that
we should always practice Christian
values and avoid secular values.
20. Teaching about
Possessions:
No one can serve two masters. He will
love one and hate another one. Because of
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this, one cannot love God at the same
time love secular materials.
We are also taught that we should not be
worried about what we will eat and drink
or what we will wear because God will
provide them for us. He gives us an
example of birds who do not sow seeds
yet they don’t die of hunger; flowers that
look very beautiful yet they do not make
clothes.
21. Teaching about Judging
Others:
We should not judge others because God
will judge us in the same way. We should
first correct ourselves before we correct
others. Jesus taught when he gave us this
example:
“Why then do you look at the speck in
your brother’s eyes and pay no attention
to the log in your own eye?”
He also taught us to take corrections
given to us with positivity. He taught us
this when he gave us the following
statements:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs. They
only turn and attack you.”
“Do not throw your pearls in front of
pigs, they will only trample on them
underfoot.”
22. Teachings about the Great
Commandment:
Pharisees tried to trap Jesus when they
asked him the greatest commandment in
law. Jesus gave them as:
a) Love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the greatest
commandment.
 b) Love your neighbour as you love
yourself. This is the second greatest
commandment.
All the Ten Commandments are summed
up in the two commandments which have
“love” as their pillar.
23. Teachings about Jesus’
Mother and Brothers:
While Jesus was teaching, his mother and
brothers came, stood outside and sent
someone call him because they wanted to
talk to him. Jesus told those he was
teaching that his mother and brothers are
those who listen and follow his teachings.
Important Events in Jesus’
Life:
1. Transfiguration of Jesus:
 One day, Jesus went to pray on a
mountain. He went with Peter, John and
James. As the three disciples looked on,
Jesus’ face changed and it shone like the
sun. His clothes changed to dazzling
white. They also saw Moses and Elijah
talk to him.
 Peter asked Jesus to allow them to
construct three tents for him, Moses and
Elijah. While he was still speaking, a
shining cloud came over them and a voice
was heard from the clouds saying, “This
is my own dear son, with whom I am
pleased-listen to him!” When the
disciples heard that, they threw
themselves on the ground in fear.
 Jesus touched them and told them not to
be afraid. He also asked them to get up.
When they looked up, they only saw
Jesus alone. Moses and Elijah had gone
away.as they were going down the
mountain, Jesus asked them not to tell
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anyone what they had seen until he
resurrects.
 The presence of Moses during
transfiguration showed that all that had
been written in the books of law and in
the Old Testament had been fulfilled. The
presence of Elijah proved that the
prophesy about the birth and mission of
the Messiah as foretold in the Old
Testament had come to pass.
2. The Triumphant Entry of
Jesus into Jerusalem:
 When Jesus was near (Bethphage and
Bethany) Mt. Olives on his way to
Jerusalem, he sent his two disciples to go
ahead of them to a village. There, they
will find a donkey tied at the road and colt
beside it. He told them to untie it bring it
to Jesus. They were to tell anybody who
asks them that it was their master who had
sent them.
 The disciples did as they were told and
when they brought the donkey, people
placed their cloaks on it and Jesus rode on
its back. A large crowd followed him as
he entered the city. They shouted and
said, “Praise to David’s son! God bless
him who comes in the name of the Lord.
God bless the coming Kingdom of King
David, our father! Praise God!”
 People spread their cloaks on the ground
for Jesus to step on. Some cut branches of
trees and palms and spread them on the
road.
 Prophet Zechariah foretold the
triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
when he said,;
“Tell the city of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you!
He is humble and rides on a
donkey.”
 Christians should emulate Jesus and be
humble like him because went to
 Jerusalem riding on a donkey as a sign of
humility.
3. Jesus Cleanses a Temple:
 Jesus went into the temple of God in
Jerusalem and chased away all the people
who were selling and buying there. He
told them what is written in the scriptures
as foretold by Prophet Isaiah; “My
temple will be called a house of prayer,
but you are making it a hideout for
thieves!”
4. The Anointing of Jesus at
Bethany:
 Jesus went to the house of Simon, the
man who had been healed from the
dreaded skin disease at Bethany. This
man was also called Lazarus, whom Jesus
raised.
 While they were eating, a woman called
Mary anointed Jesus with a very
expensive perfume (oil). Judas Iscariot
wondered why the perfume was not sold
for 300 silver coins and the money given
to the poor. He said that because he was a
thief not a kind man.
5. Jesus washes his disciples’ feet
 Jesus washed his disciples’ feet a day
before the Passover festival. Simone
Peter did not want his feet to be washed
but Jesus told him that he will not be his
disciple if he refuses. Peter later accepted
and Jesus washed his feet.
 This actions of Jesus teaches Christians
that Jesus is humble and ready to offer his
service to people. We should therefore
emulate him and always express humility
and service to all.
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6. Jesus and Nicodemus:
 Nicodemus was a Jewish leader who
belonged to the party of the Pharisee. He
went to Jesus at night and he told him that
he knew that he was a teacher sent by
God. He also told him that no one could
perform all that he was performing unless
he had been sent by God.
 Jesus told him that no one can see the
kingdom of God without being born
again. Nicodemus wondered how one
could enter his mother’s womb and later
be born the second time. Jesus explained
to him what being born again meant.
 Being born again means repenting your
sins, being baptized and accepting Jesus
Christ as a true saviour. Christians should
therefore follow Nicodemus actions,
search for salvation and accept Jesus
Christ in their lives.
7. Jesus and the Samaritan
Woman:
 On his way from Judea to Galilee, Jesus
passed through Samaria. While in
Samaria, he passed through a town called
Sychar. He sat down at the Jacob’s well
because he was tired.
 A Samaritan woman came to draw water
from the well. Jesus asked her for water
to drink. At that time, Jews and
Samaritans were enemies and they did
not share utensils, food and wells. Jesus
disciples had gone to the town to buy
food.
 The woman refused to give Jesus water
because the tribalism that existed
between the Jews and the Samaritan.
Jesus told her that he could give her Life-
Giving water. The woman wondered
where Jesus could get his water yet he
didn’t he didn’t have any bucket. Jesus
 told her that those who drink his Life-
Giving water will never be thirsty again.
 This life-giving water Jesus talked about
was not ordinary water but the word of
God that was to bring salvation in her life.
 The woman asked Jesus to give her the
life giving water and Jesus asked her to
go and bring her husband. She told Jesus
that she didn’t have a husband. Jesus told
her that she had been married five times
and the one she is having is living with
was not her real husband. The woman
went to the town and told the people that
she had seen the Messiah.
 This story teaches us that we should not
embrace tribalism in our lives. It also
emphasizes the importance of eternal life.
8. The Woman Caught in
Adultery:
 One day morning, Jesus went to the
temple and started teaching people who
had gathered around him. Teachers of
Law and Pharisees brought to him a
woman who had been caught committing
adultery. They told Jesus that the Law of
Moses required that such a person to be
stoned to death. They did this because
they wanted to trap him.
 Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground
with his finger. When he stood up, he
asked the person who has committed sin
to throw a stone at her. After saying that,
she bent down and wrote again. All those
people left one by one when they heard
that. The eldest left first.
 Jesus stood up and asked the woman to
go. He also asked her not to sin again.
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9. Jesus Celebrates the Lord’s
Supper:
 One day during the celebration of the
Passover (Festival of the unleavened
bread), Jesus sent Peter and John to go to
Jerusalem and prepare the Passover meal
ready for him and his disciples. Jesus told
them that they will meet a man in the city
carrying a jar of water. He told them to
follow him into the house he will enter.
 They did so and the man showed the man
showed them a large room prepared
upstairs. When the time for the Passover
came, he went to the table with his
disciples.
 Jesus took a piece of bread and gave
prayers of thanksgiving to God. He broke
it and gave it to his disciples and told
them to take it and eat it because it was
his body.
 Jesus also took a cup of wine, thanked
God and gave it to his disciples. He told
them to drink it because it was his blood
that seals God’s covenant.
 It is during this occasion that Jesus told
his disciples that one of them was going
to betray him.
 Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn then
he left and went to Mt. Olives.
Miracles of Jesus:
 Jesus performed miracles mainly because
of the following reasons:
a) To prove the power of God in him.
b) To prove that he was the true son of
God.
c) To reinforce his teachings/ missions.
1. Healing the Daughter of the
Woman of Tyre:
(Matthew 15: 21-28, Mark 7: 24-30)
 Jesus went near the city of Tyre. He went
to the house because he did not want
people to know that he was there.
 A Canaanite woman born in the region of
Phoenicia in Syria came to Jesus and
asked him to have mercy on her because
her daughter had demons (evil spirit) and
her health was very terrible.
 His disciples asked Jesus to send the
woman away but Jesus told them that he
was sent to save and assist the lost sheep.
 Jesus asked the woman, to first feed the
child. He also told the woman that it
wasn’t right to take the children’s food
and throw it to the dogs. The woman told
Jesus that even the dogs eat the food that
falls under the children’s table. This
answer proved that the woman had a
strong faith.
 Because of the woman’s faith, her
daughter was healed that very moment.
 Lessons we learn from this miracles are:
a) We should have strong faith in
everything we do just like the woman.
b) Jesus has power over the demon (evil
spirit/Satan)
2. Healing of the Dumb Man
(Matthew 9: 32-33, Luke: 11:
14-23, Matthew 12:22-30,
Mark 3:20-27):
 Some people brought to Jesus someone
who could not talk. This man was dump
because he was possessed by demons.
 Jesus drove demons out of the man and
he began to speak. Pharisees called Jesus,
the chief of the Chief of demons known
as Beelzebul.
72
 This miracle teaches Christians that Jesus
has power over demons/Satan.
3. Healing a Boy with Epilepsy
(Matthew 17: 14-20, Mark 9:
14-29, Luke 9:37-43):
 Jesus noticed a crowd and when he came
closer, he saw his disciples argue with the
teachers of Law and the Pharisee.
 A man who was in the crowd brought to
Jesus his son who was possessed by
demons. The demon/evil spirit caused
epilepsy to the boy. The man told Jesus
that he had brought his sick son to his
disciples but they could not heal him.
Jesus accused his disciples of lack of
faith.
 Jesus asked the man whether had had
faith and the man accepted. When the evil
spirits in the boy saw Jesus, they threw
the boy down.
 Jesus commanded the devil the demon to
leave the boy saying, “Deaf and dump
spirit, I order you to come out of the boy
and never go into him again.” The evil
spirit screamed, threw the boy down and
left him. The boy lay down like a corpse.
People thought that he was dead. Jesus
held his and lifted him up.
 Jesus’ disciples wondered why they
couldn’t drive out demons from the boy.
Jesus told them that they couldn’t heal the
man because they lacked faith.
 Lessons Christians learnt from this
miracle are:
a) Christians should have a strong faith.
b) Jesus has power over demons/ evil
spirits/devil.
4. Healing of a Man with Evil
Spirit.
(Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8: 26-39,
Matthew 8: 28-34):
 Jesus and his disciple arrived in the
territory of Gerasa also known as Gedara.
A man with evil spirit came out of the
caves to meet.
 The man who was without clothes lived
in the tombs. He broke all the chains they
used to tie his legs and hands. The evil
spirit mad him very strong.
 The man wondered in the tombs shouting
and cutting his body his body with stones.
When he saw Jesus, he ran and fell on his
feet and said, “Jesus, son of the Most
High God, What do you want with me?”
He said this because Jesus was driving
demons from him.
 The demons in the begged Jesus to drive
them into the pigs that were grazing at the
sea cliff.
 Jesus asked for his name and the man told
him that he was called “Mob” meaning
that were many of them.
 The demons went to into the 2,000 pigs
they wished down the cliff and drowned
into the sea. The shepherds ran away
spreading the news of what they had
witnessed. People who witnessed the
healing asked Jesus to leave their
territory.
 The man begged Jesus to go with him
when He saw Him boarding a board but
Jesus told him; “Go back home to your
family and tell them how much the Lord
has done for you and how kind he has
been to you.”
 This miracle teaches Christians that Jesus
has power over the devil/demons/Satan.
This is because he drove demons/evil
spirits away.
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5. Healing a Man with Evil
Spirit at Capernaum.
(Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4: 31-
37):
 Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and
started to teach people on Sabbath. There
was a man with evil spirit in the
synagogue that time. He screamed with a
loud voice and said; “What do you want
with us, Jesus of Nazareth? I know who
you are-You are God’s holy messenger!”
Jesus ordered the demons to be quiet and
leave the man. The evil spirit shook the
man, threw him down and left him.
 People were amazed because of Jesus
authority. News about Jesus spread all
over.
 This miracle teaches us that Jesus has
power of over the demons.
6. Healing Blind Bartimaeus.
(Matthew 20: 29-34, Mark
10: 46-52, Luke 18: 35-43):
 As Jesus passed through Jericho with his
disciples, a blind beggar called
Bartimaeus sat at the road side. He was
the son of Timaus. When he was told that
Jesus was passing, he shouted; “Jesus,
son of David!’ Take pity on me!”
 People scolded him and told him to be
silent but he kept on shouting. Jesus
called him and told him to cheer up.
 He was told that Jesus was calling him, he
threw away his cloak, jumped up and
went to Jesus. Jesus asked him what he
wanted him to do for him. The man said
that he wanted to see.
 Jesus ordered him to have his sight
because his faith had made him well. This
miracle teaches us to have faith in
everything we do.
7. Healing a Blind Man at
Bethsaida.
(Mark 8: 22-26):
 When Jesus was at Bethsaida, people
brought a blind man and asked him to
heal him. Jesus took the man out of the
village, spat on his eyes, placed his hands
on him and asked him whether he could
see. The man said that he could see
people but they looked like walking trees.
Jesus placed his hands on his eyes and
this time, the man was able to see clearly.
Jesus sent him home and asked him not to
go back to the village.
 This miracle teaches us that Jesus was a
merciful person and he cared for the
needy (less fortunate) in the society. It
also teaches us that Jesus had powers over
all kind of sicknesses.
8. Jesus Heals a Man Born
Blind.
(John 9: 1-7):
 One day when Jesus was walking with his
disciples, they saw a man born blind.
They asked Jesus whose sins made him to
be born blind. They asked whether it was
his parents but Jesus told them that the
man’s blindness had nothing to do with
his sins or his parents’ but he was born
like that so that God’s power maybe
manifested through him.
 Jesus spat on the ground and made some
mud with the spittle. He rubbed the mud
in the man’s eyes and asked him to go and
wash his face in the pool of Siloam.
Siloam means ‘sent’. The man did as he
was instructed and came back to Jesus
seeing.
 People including his neighbours
wondered whether he was the same blind
74
man they knew. He confirmed to them
that he was the one and told them how
Jesus had made them well.
 This miracles teaches us that people
living with disabilities are like that not
because they committed sin but for the
glory of God to be seen through them
when them when they are healed. We
should therefore take care of the needy
just like Jesus did.
9. Healing of the Two Blind
Men
(Matthew 9: 27-31):
 The two blind men followed Jesus
shouting, “Take pity on us, son of
David!” Jesus asked them whether they
believed and had faith that they would be
healed. They accepted and Jesus touched
their eyes and said, “Let it happen, then
just as you believe!”
 They regained their sight immediately.
Jesus asked them not to tell anybody but
they instead spread the news to many
parts of the country.
 This miracle of Jesus reminds us to take
care of the less fortunate (needy people)
in the society.
10. Healing the Deaf- Mute
Person
(Mark 7: 31-37):
 Jesus was on his way from Tyre to Lake
Galilee through Sidon when people
brought to him a deaf and mute man.
Jesus was on his way of the Territory of
Ten Towns. They asked him to heal them.
 Jesus took him away from them, put his
fingers on his ears, spat and touched his
tongue.
 Jesus looked up and, groaned and told the
man, “Ephiphatha” meaning “open up.”
Immediately, the man was able to speak
and hear.
11. Healing a Man Who
Could Not Speak.
(Matthew 9: 32-34):
 Some people brought a person who could
not speak to Jesus because he was
possessed by demons. Jesus drove the
demons away from him and he began to
speak.
 Everyone was amazed and said, “We
have never seen anything like this in
Israel.” Pharisees said that it was the chief
of demons gave Jesus powers to drive out
demons.
 This miracle teaches Christians that Jesus
has power over demons/devil/ Satan/ evil
spirits.
12. Healing a Man with Skin
Disease.
(Matthew 8: 1-4, Mark 1: 40-
45, Luke 5: 12-16):
 A man with a dreaded skin disease
(leprosy) went to Jesus, knelt down and
told him, “Sir, if you want to, you can
make me clean!” Jesus touched him and
told him that he wanted to make him
clean. He commanded him to be clean
and at once he was made clean.
 Jesus told him not to tell anyone but
instead go straight to the priest to be
examined and declared clean. He also
asked him to offer the sacrifice as ordered
by Moses. This teaches us that Jesus
recognized and obeyed/respected the
Laws of Moses (the Old Testament).
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13. Healing a Man with
Crippled Hand
(Matthew 12: 9-14, Mark
3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11):
 Jesus went to the synagogue to teach
when he saw a man with a paralysed
hand. Teachers of Law and Pharisees
wanted evidence to accuse Jesus for
doing wrong so they asked him whether
it was against their law to heal on Sabbath
day. Jesus asked them what they will do
if their sheep falls in a deep hole on
Sabbath. He also asked them if they will
save it.
 Jesus wondered whether the life of a
sheep was more important than that of a
human being. He called the man and
asked him to stretch his hand. The man
did so and it healed immediately.
 The miracle reminds Christians to always
take care of the less fortunate amongst
them.
14. Healing a Man with
Swollen Arms and Legs
(Luke 14: 1-6):
 Jesus went to eat in the house of a
prominent Pharisee. A man with swollen
legs came to Jesus. Jesus asked teachers
of Law and Pharisees whether the laws
allowed the healing on the Sabbath or not
but they could not answer him. Jesus
called the man and healed him. He then
asked the people whether any of them
would save their son or ox if they happen
to fall in a well on a Sabbath.
 This miracle teaches us that Jesus has
power over all kinds of diseases. We also
learn that it is good to do good things
everyday including the Sabbath.
15. Healing the Roman
Officer’s (Centurion)
Servant.
(Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7: 1-
10):
 Jesus went to Capernaum when a Roman
Officer came to him and begged him to
heal his servant who was very sick and
was about to die.
 When Jesus was on the way, the Roman
Officer asked Jesus just to order the
healing from where he was. He claimed
that he was not worthy enough to
welcome Jesus in his house. Jesus was
surprised with the Roman Officer’s
answer. He said that he had never found
anybody with faith like that in the whole
of Israel. At that moment, the officer’s
servant was healed.
 This miracle teaches Christians that that
they should have faith in everything they
do.
16. Healing a Paralyzed Man
(Matthew 9: 1-8, Mark 2: 1-
12, Luke 5: 17-25):
 Jesus was teaching people in a room at
Capernaum when four men brought to
him a paralysed man lying on a bed. The
room was so full that there was no space
for them to reach to the point where Jesus
was.
 They created a space on the roof and
lowered the sick man to the space where
Jesus was. When Jesus saw the strong
faith they had, he said to the man that his
sins were forgiven. When the teachers of
Law and the Pharisees heard that, they
accused Jesus of blasphemy because
according to them, it is only God who can
forgive sins.
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 Jesus knew what they were and asked
them what was easier between forgiving
sins and telling the man to get up and
walk.
 He also told then that he will prove to
them that the son of the man has authority
to forgive sins. He then told the paralysed
man, “I tell you, get up, pick your bed and
go home!” At once the man got up,
picked his bed and went.
 People were completely amazed. They
praised God and said, “We have never
seen anything like this.”
 This miracle teach Christians that Jesus
has powers to forgive sins.
17. Healing a Paralyzed Man
in Jerusalem
(John 5: 1-18):
 One day, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a
religious festival. At the sheep gate in
Jerusalem, a group of sick people such as
the lame, blind and paralysed were lying
in the porches at the at the gate.
 There are five porches at sheep gate also
known as Bethzatha.
 Among the sick people, there was a
person who had been paralysed and lying
there for 38 years. Jesus saw him and
asked her whether he wanted to get well.
The sick man told Jesus that he had no
one to put him the pool when the water is
stirred. He also said that anytime he tries
to get in somebody else gets in.
 Jesus told him to get up, pick up his mat
and walk. The man got up immediately,
picked up his mat and walked away.
 Jesus healed this man on Sabbath day so
the Jewish authorities saw the man
carrying his mat. They asked him who
healed him and he said that Jesus did
made carry the mat.
 Jesus later found the man in the temple
and told him that he was well and he
should stop sinning or else something
worse may happen to him.
 The Jewish authorities began to persecute
Jesus because he had healed on the
Sabbath day. Jesus told them that his
father was working so he too must work.
This statement made the Jewish
authorities to plan for the killing of Jesus
mainly because called God his own father
(blasphemy).
 This miracles shows us that Jesus was
very caring.
18. Healing Peter’s Mother-
in-Law
(Matthew 8: 14-15, Mark
1:29-31, Luke 22: 50-51):
 One day, Jesus visited Simon Peter’s and
Andrew’s house and found Peter’s
mother-in-law lying on her bed sick. She
was suffering from fever.
 Jesus went with disciples including James
and John
 Jesus touched her, fever left her and she
became well.
19. Healing the High Priest’s
Slave (Soldier)
(Luke 22: 50-51):
 Jesus healed the ear of a high priest’s
slave. The slave (soldier) had come with
other soldiers to arrest.
 Simon Peter had cut the ear of the slave
with a sword.
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20. Healing the Son of a
Government Official
(John 4: 46-54):
 Jesus had gone to Cana when a
government official from Capernaum
came to him and begged him to go with
him to Capernaum and heal his sick son.
 Jesus told him “None of you will ever
believe unless you see miracles and
wonder.”
 The official insisted and said,
“Sir……come with me before the before
my child dies.”
 Jesus told him to go because his son will
be alive. The officer believed Jesus’
words and went to Capernaum.
 The official’s servants met him and told
him that his son had healed. When he
asked them the time he was healed, they
told him that it was 1 o’clock and that’s
why he remembered that it was the same
time Jesus had told him that his son would
be well.
 This was Jesus’ second miracles.
21. Healing Ten Lepers:
(Luke 17:11-19):
 One day, Jesus was going to the village.
He passed through the border of Samaria
and Galilee when ten people suffering
from a dreaded skin disease known as
leprosy met him.
 They stood far from Jesus and shouted
“Jesus! Master! Take pity on us!” Jesus
shouted to them and told them to go to the
priests to examine them.
 The men were made clean on their way to
see the priests for examination. When one
of the ten lepers realized that he had been
healed, he came back to thank him
singing and praising God.
 Jesus wondered where the other nine
were. He was pleased because a foreigner
was the one who came to thank him.
 Jesus told him to get up and go because
his faith had made him well. The man
who came back was a Samaritan.
 This miracles teaches us to be thankful
just like the Samaritan man.
22. Healing a Man with a
Severe Bleeding
(Matthew 9: 20-22, Mark 5:
25-43, Luke 8: 43-48):
 A woman who was suffering from a
severe bleeding touched Jesus’ clock.
The woman had said to herself, “If I only
touch his clock, I will get well.” The
woman had been bleeding for 12 years.
 Her bleeding stopped and she was healed
immediately she touched Jesus clock.
Jesus knew that someone had touched his
clock because he had felt some of his
powers leave him.
 Jesus asked for the person who had
touched him and his disciples told him
that a large crowd was surrounding them
so it was difficult to know the person.
When the woman heard that, she went to
Jesus trembling and knelt before him. She
told Jesus that it was he who had touched
him. Jesus said to her, “My daughter,
your faith has made you well. Go in peace
and be healed of your trouble.”
 This miracles teaches us to have faith in
Jesus Christ.
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23. Miracle of Raising Jairus’
Daughter
(Matthew 9:18-26, Mark
5:21-43, Luke 8: 40-56):
 While Jesus was teaching a large crowd
at the lakeside, a man named Jairus came
to Jesus, threw himself down before him
and begged him to go and heal his sick
daughter.
 Jairus was an official in a local
synagogue. Jesus accepted and started the
journey together with a large crowd. On
the way he met and healed the woman
who had a severe bleeding.
 While Jesus was still speaking to the
woman, messengers came and told Jairus
not to bother Jesus because his daughter
had died.
 Jesus told Jairus not to be worried but to
believe. Jesus went with James, John and
James. He did not allow other people to
go with him.
 When they reached the house, they found
people crying and wailing loudly. They
also looked confused. Jesus asked them
why they were confused. He also asked
them why they were crying. He told them
that the girl was not dead but she was just
sleeping but they laughed him.
 Jesus went to her room together with her
parents and the three disciples. He held
the girl’s hand and told her “Talitha,
koum” which means “Little girl, I tell
you to get up.”
 The girl was raised and started walking.
Jesus asked the parents to give her
something to eat. People who saw
everything were very amazed.
 This miracle teaches us that Jesus has
power over life.
24. Raising the Son of the
Widow of Nain
(Luke 7: 11-17):
 Jesus went with his disciples to a town
called Nain and a large crowd followed
them. As they approached the town, they
a funeral procession was leaving.
 The only son of the widow from that town
is the one who had died. Jesus felt pity for
the widow. He told her to stop crying.
 Jesus touched the coffin and the people
carrying it stopped. He told said to the
man, “Young man! Get up, I tell you!”
The young man was raised back to life
and he begun to speak.
 All people were filled with fear. They
praised God by saying, “A great prophet
has appeared among us!” They also said
that God had come to save their lives.
 This miracle teaches us that Jesus has
power over life.
25. The Miracle of Raising
Lazarus
(John 11:1-44):
 Lazarus lived in Bethany. He was Martha
and Mary’s brother.
 One day, Lazarus fell ill so her sisters
went to Jesus and told him that his friend
was ill. Jesus told them that the illness
will not lead to his final death but it will
happen so that God’s glory maybe
brought.
 Jesus did not go to see Lazarus for two
more days after which he told his
disciples to accompany him to Judea to
raise Lazarus. The disciples tried to stop
him from going there but he insisted on
going. Thomas convinced other disciples
to go with Jesus and die with him.
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 Lazarus was already dead and he had
been buried for four days. Martha left
Mary in the house and went to meet Jesus.
She told Jesus that his brother would not
have died had he been there. Jesus told
her that her brother would rise back to
life.
 Jesus wept when he was taken to Lazarus
grave. He ordered for the removal of the
stone at the entrance of tomb. Martha told
Jesus that there would be a smell because
he had died four days ago. Jesus remind
her that she will see God’s glory if she
believed. After praying, Jesus called
saying, “Lazarus, come out!”
Immediately Lazarus come out of the
graze with his face, hands and feet
wrapped in burial clothes. Jesus asked the
people to unwrap them and let him go.
 This miracle teaches that Jesus has power
over life.
26. The Miracle of getting a
Coin in a Fish’s Mouth
(Matthew 17: 24-27):
 When Jesus and his disciples were in
Capernaum when the temple tax
collectors asked Peter whether their
master (Jesus) pay taxes.
 Peter went to the house and Jesus asked
him his opinion on the person who is
supposed to pay taxes to the authorities.
Peter told him that foreigners are the one
to pay taxes.
 Jesus asked him to go to the lake and drop
a line. He was told to pull the fish he will
catch and remove a coin from its mouth.
 Pater did as he was told. He used the coin
to pay taxes.
 This lesson teaches us to respect/obey the
authorities. We are also reminded that
paying taxes is not bad therefore
Christians would always pay it.
27. Miracle of Cursing a Fig
Tree
(Matthew 21:19, Mark 11:14,
20):
 One morning, Jesus was angry. He saw a
fig tree by the road side and went over to
it. He didn’t get any fruits so he cursed
the tree by saying, “You will never again
bear fruit!” The tree dried up
immediately.
 The disciples were amazed and wondered
how the tree dried by itself that quickly.
 Jesus told his disciples that if they believe
without any doubt then they will be able
to the same things that he had done to the
fig tree.
 With that faith they are able to command
a hill and throw itself in the sea and it will
happen. If they believe then then they will
receive anything they ask for through
prayers.
 This miracles teaches us to have faith and
believe without doubts and anything we
want will happen.
28. Miracle of Feeding the
Five Thousand People
(Matthew 14: 13-21, Mark
6: 30-44, Luke 9: 10-17,
John 6: 1-14):
 One day, Jesus crossed Lake Galilee also
known as Tiberius. Because of the
miracles he had performed, a large crowd
followed him.
 He reached a hill and sat down and when
he saw the crowd, he asked Philip where
they could buy food to feed all those
people. Jesus asked him test him because
he had already known what he was going
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to do. Philip told Jesus that they required
200 silver coins to buy for them food.
 Andrew told Jesus that there was a boy a
boy among the crowd had five loaves of
bread and two fish. Jesus asked his
disciples to make the 5,000 people sit
down on grass.
 Jesus took the bread and the fish and gave
blessings. The food was multiplied and
distributed to all people. Jesus asked his
disciples to gather the leftovers and 12
baskets were collected.
 After witnessing this miracle, people
proclaimed that Jesus was a prophet who
was supposed to come to the world. Jesus
went off to the hills because he was aware
of their plans of crowning him a king.
 This miracle teaches us to be kind and
generous like Jesus.
29. Miracle of Feeding of Four
Thousand People
(Matthew 15: 32-39, Mark
8: 1-10):
 A large crowd came to Jesus and stayed
with him for three days. Jesus told his
disciples that he felt sorry for the people
because they had not eaten anything for
those days. He therefore didn’t want to
send them away with hunger because
some may faint.
 Jesus’ disciples asked him where they
would find enough food in that desert to
feed all the people.
 Jesus asked his disciples how much bread
they had and they told him that they had
seven loaves of bread and some few fish.
 Jesus asked the crowd to sit down. He
took the bread, gave thanks to God and
distributed to the people.
 All the 4,000 people ate the bread and fish
to their satisfaction. His disciples
collected seven baskets of leftovers.
 After sending them away, Jesus went to
the district of Dalmanutha with his
disciples.
 This miracles teaches us that Jesus has
powers over nature.
30. The Miracles of the Great
Catch of Fish
(Luke 5: 4-10):
 Jesus got into Simon Peter’s boat at Lake
Gennesaret and taught the crowd.
 After preaching, he asked Simon Peter to
push the boat into the sea and let their nets
ready to fish.
 Simon Peter told Jesus that they had
worked the whole night and caught
nothing.
 They did as they were told and they
caught a lot of fish that the nets were
about to tear.
 When Simon Peter saw that, she he fell
on his knees and asked Jesus to go away
because he was a sinner.
 This miracle teaches us that Jesus has
power over nature.
31. The Miracle of Calming
the Storm
(Matthew 8: 23-27, Mark 4:
35-41, Luke 8: 22-25):
 One evening, Jesus told his disciples to
go with him across the lake to the other
side.
 They left the crowd behind at the sea
shore and went into the boat with Jesus.
A strong wind started blowing. They
caused waves that filled the boat with
water. This almost made the boat sink.
 Jesus was sleeping behind the boat as the
strong storm rocked. The disciples woke
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Jesus up and told him this; “Teacher,
don’t you care that we are about to die?”
 Jesus commanded the wind to be quiet
and the waves to be still and immediately
the storm stopped.
 Jesus accused his disciples for lack of
faith.
 This miracle teaches us that Jesus has
powers over nature. It also teaches us that
we should have a strong faith in
everything we do.
32. The Miracle of Jesus
Walking on Water.
(Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:
45-52, John 6: 16-21):
 One evening, Jesus’ disciples went into
the boat and started sailing across the
lakes to Capernaum near Bethsaida. Jesus
didn’t go with them but instead he went
up the hill to pray.
 When the disciples reached the middle of
the lake, Jesus approached them walking
on water. It was between three and six
o’clock (morning). A strong wind was
also blowing.
 When the disciple saw him, they thought
that he was a ghost and started screaming.
Jesus asked them to have courage and not
be afraid because he was the one.
 When Peter saw Jesus walk on water, he
asked Jesus, “Lord, if it is really you,
order me to come out on the water to
you.” Jesus called him and he started
walking on water towards him. He
became afraid when he noticed a strong
wind. He started sinking and called the
Lord to save him. Jesus held him and told
him, “How little faith you have! Why did
you doubt?”
 Jesus went into the boat and the wind
settled and the disciples who were in the
 boat worshipped Jesus and said that Jesus
was truly the son of God.
 The miracle teaches us that Jesus had
powers over nature. It also reminds us to
have faith in everything we do.
33. The Miracles of Jesus of
Changing Water into Wine
(John 2: 1-11):
 One day, there was a wedding in a town
called Cana in Galilee. Jesus mother had
attended. Jesus and his disciples were
also invited to the wedding.
 The wine got finished and Jesus’ mother
told him that there was no wine left.
 Jesus told his mother not to tell him what
to do because his time had not happened.
Her mother told his servants to do what
he tells them to do.
 During weddings, Jews had washing
rituals so in this wedding. There were six
stones of water jars capable of holding a
hundred litres of water for this rituals.
 Jesus asked his servants to fill these jars
with water. After they had done so, he
asked them to draw some of the water and
take it to the man who was in charge of
the feast.
 The man tasted the water which had
changed into wine. He asked the
bridegroom why he had to serve the
ordinary wine first and the best one later.
 This was the first miracle that Jesus
performed.
 The miracle revealed Jesus’ glory
through Jesus Christ. It also made people
to believe in Him.
The Parables of Jesus:
 A parable is a simple earthly story with a
spiritual interpretation.
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 A parable is always used to teach the
truth, moral lessons or religious
principles.
 Parables were mainly used by Jesus to
teach people. It helped people to
understand the lessons well
 The followings are parables used by Jesus
during his missions:
1. The Parable of the Children
Playing
(Matthew 11: 16-19, Luke 7:
31-35):
 In this parable, Jesus compared modern
people with children playing. While
playing at the market place, one group of
children would shout to another group
telling them that they played wedding
songs for them and they did not dance.
They sang funeral songs to them and they
did cry.
 Jesus told his disciples this parables in
order to remind them the response of
people towards the preaching and mission
of John the Baptist and that of Jesus.
 This parables also teaches us how God
will reward his faithful servants and
punish the unfaithful.
 He reminded his disciples that when John
the Baptist fasted and didn’t drink wine,
people said that he had demons. He also
reminded that He ate and drank and they
called him a glutton and a drinker.
 They also called Him a friend of the tax
collectors and outcast.
 This parable teaches Christians not to
critic the servants of God and instead
accepts their teachings and God’s
wisdom.
2. The Parable of the Faithful
Servant
(Matthew 24: 45-51, Luke 12:
42-46):
 Jesus used this parable to explain who a
God’s faithful and unfaithful servant is. It
also teaches us what is expected of a true
and faithful servant of God.
 He told them that a true servant is that
who his master puts in charge of his
household and to feed his masters and
does just as he is assigned. The master is
happy with him and places him in charge
of all his properties.
 A bad and unfaithful servant will wait
until his master has gone on a long
journey then he will beat his fellow
servants. He will spend his time eating
and drinking with the drunkards.
 The master will come one day when the
bad servant is not expecting. He will cut
him in pieces and share suffering with the
disobedient and the hypocrites.
3. The Parable of the Fig Tree
(Matthew 24: 32-33, Mark
13: 28-29, Luke 21: 29-31):
 When we see the leaves of a fig tree
beginning to appear then we will know
that the summer is about to appear.
 In the same way when we see things
happen then we will know that the
kingdom of God is near.
 This parable teaches us that we will
experience signs of the coming of
kingdom of God.
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4. The Parable of the Friend at
Midnight
(Luke 11: 5-8):
 Jesus told his disciples suppose one of
them receives a friend from a long
journey and goes to a friend’s house at
midnight to borrow three loaves of bread
because he didn’t any food and suppose
the friend refuses to open the door
because it was late and the door was
locked.
 The friend will open the door and give out
the loaves of bread to his friend if keep on
asking and not because he is his friend.
 This parable teaches us to keep on
praying to God if we want Him to answer
us. (Persistence in prayer).
5. The Parable of the Gold Coin
(Luke 19: 11-27, Matthew
14-30):
 This parable is also known as the parable
of the three servants.
 In this parable, a king was about to go on
a long journey. He called all his servants
and gave them property to take care for
him according to his abilities.
 He gave the first one five thousand gold
coins, the second he gave two thousand
and the one thousand to the third one then
he left for his journey.
 The one who was given five thousand
invested the gold coins and earned other
five thousand. The second servant also
invested his gold coins and earned other
two thousand. The one who was given
one thousand did not invest his. He
instead dug a hole and hid his master’s
money there.
 When the king came back, the servant
who was given five thousand brought the
money he was given and another five
thousand he had saved. The one given
two thousand coins also brought his
together with another two thousand he
had earned. The king was happy with
them because they were able to manage
small amounts. They were therefore put
in charge of large amounts.
 The one who was given one thousand
brought his and told the king that he knew
that he was a hard man who reaps harvest
where he did not sow and gathers where
he did not scatter seeds. He also told him
that he was afraid so he hid his money in
a hole in the soil. The king was not happy
with him. He called him a lazy man and
took the money away from him and gave
it to the servant who had ten thousand. He
was thrown into darkness where he cried
and grid his teeth.
 This parable teaches us to use our talents
and abilities well.
6. The Parable of the Good
Samaritan
(Luke 10: 29-37):
 A teacher of law came to Jesus and tried
to trap him by asking him what he must
do in order to receive eternal life.
 Jesus asked him what the scriptures said
about the matter and what his
interpretation was. The man told Jesus
that the scriptures said that one need to
love the Lord with all the heart, with all
the strength and with the entire mind. He
also told Him that one also needs to love
his neighbour as he loves himself.
 The teacher of law asked Jesus to explain
to him who a neighbour is. Jesus told him
the parable of the Good Samaritan as an
explanation of who a neighbour is.
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 Jesus said that there was a man who was
traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when
robbers attacked him, stripped him, beat
him up and left him half dead on the road.
 The priest who was going down the road
walked on by road side when he saw the
injured man. He did not help him. The
Levite who was also traveling on the
same road passed by the side of the road
when he also saw the injured. He also did
not help him.
 When a Samaritan man saw the injured
man, he was filled with pity. He poured
oil and wine in his wounds, bandaged
them and put him on his own animal.
 He took him to an inn (hospital) gave an
innkeeper two silver coins and asked him
to take care of him. He also promised to
pay whatever else he spends on him.
 This parable teaches us to be kind to
people especially those who are needy in
the society.
 We also learn that a neighbour is any
person who is in need of help regardless
of the geographical distance, race and
tribe.
7. The Parable of the Great
Feast
(Luke 14: 15-24, Matthew
22; 1-10):
 This parable is also known as the
wedding feast.
 One of the people seated with Jesus at the
table said “How happy are those who will
sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of
God. “Jesus answered the man with the
parable of the wedding feast.
 There was a king who made a wedding
feast for his son. He invited many people
but they did not come. He sent his
servants to call them and tell them that the
party was ready.
 They refused and gave different excuses.
One said that he had bought a field and he
was going to look at it. Another said that
he had bought five pairs of oxen and he
was going out to try them. Another one
said that he had just got married. One of
the invited guests went to his shop.
 Other invited guests paid no attention to
the servants and went on with the
business while others grabbed them and
beat them up and killed others. The king
was not happy with what was done to his
servants. Sent soldiers to kill them and
burn their cities.
 Since al people the king invited did not
deserve the feast, he sent his servants to
go to streets and invite all people to the
party, both good and bad. They did as
they were instructed. Many people came
among them crippled, the blind and the
lame.
 When the king went into the hall that was
full to capacity, he saw a man who was
not dressed in the wedding clothes. He
ordered his servants to tie his hands and
legs and throw him out into the dark
where he will grind his teeth and cry.
 This parable teaches the following
lessons;
a) All people are invited to the kingdom
of God especially the spiritually poor.
b) God has invited many to the kingdom
of God but few are chosen to join it
especially those who are faithful and
obedient to the word of God.
8. The Parable of the Hidden
Treasure
(Matthew 13: 44):
 Jesus taught this parable in order to make
people understand the value of the
kingdom of God.
 He said that the kingdom of God is like a
man who finds a treasure hidden in a
85
field. He covers it and happily sells
everything and went to buy that field with
the treasure.
 This parable reminds us to use everything
we have in order to join the kingdom of
God because it is very precious.
9. The Parable of the Lamb
under a Bowl.
(Matthew 5:15, Mark 4:21,
Luke 8: 16, Luke 11:33):
 A person does not light a lamb and places
it under the bowl or bed but instead puts
it on the lamb stand so that it can give
light to all in the house.
 This parable teaches us to express our
Christian values, talents and abilities
openly so that we can be role models to
all people in the world.
10. The Parable of the Lost
Coin
(Luke 15:8-10):
 If a woman losses one coin out of her ten
silver coins, she will light her lamp,
sweep her house and looks for it
everywhere.
 If she finds it, she will invite all her
friends and her neighbours to celebrate
her lost and found coin.
 This parable teaches us that God is happy
and angels in heaven rejoice when a
sinner repents.
11. The Parable of the Lost
Sheep
(Matthew 18:10-14, Luke
15: 3-7):
 If a man with a hundred sheep losses one
among them, he will leave the 99 and go
to search the lost one.
 When he finds the lost sheep, he happily
carries it on his shoulders. He calls his
friends and neighbours together for a
celebration.
 This parable teaches us that God is happy
and there is more joy in heaven when one
sinner repents than when 99 people who
have refused to repent.
 This parable has the same meaning with
the parable of the lost coin.
12. The Parable of the
Mustard Seed
(Matthew 13: 31-32, Mark
4: 30-32, Luke 13:18-19-19):
 Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like
a man who sows a mustard seed in. It then
grows into a huge tree bigger than any
pant yet it is a very small seed. Birds
come and make nests on the tree.
 This parable teaches us the growth of the
kingdom of God.
13. The Parable of the Net
(Matthew 13: 47-50):
 Fishermen threw their nets into the sea
and caught all kinds of fish. When the net
was full, they pulled the net out in order
to share the fish. They take good fish into
the bucket and worthless ones are thrown
away.
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 The parable reminds Christians what will
happen during the judgment day (the end
of the age). The angels of God will pick
sinners from the righteous people. They
will then throw them into the fiery
furnace where they suffer. The righteous
will join the kingdom of God.
14. The Parable of the New
Patch
(Matthew 9:16, Luke 5: 36,
Mark 2; 21):
 No one tears a piece of cloth from a new
coat and uses it to patch an old coat. If he
does that then he would have torn a new
coat. Also, the new piece of cloth will not
match the old coat.
 This parable reminds us that we can mix
Christianity and sin.
15. The Parable of the New
Wineskin
(Luke 5: 37-39, Mark 2: 22,
Matthew 9: 17):
 No one pours new wine into the old used
wineskin because it will burst and the
wine will pour outside.
 Instead the new wine should be poured
into the new wineskin so that they may all
remain intact.
 The parable teaches us not to practice
hypocrisy. We should not practice
Christianity at the same time commit sins.
 The parable has the same meaning with
the parable of the new patch.
16. The Parable of the Pearl
(Matthew 13: 45-46):
 When a man looking for a pearl finds the
one that is unusually fine, he sells
everything he has and goes to buy it.
 The parable teaches us that the kingdom
of God is very precious and we should do
everything possible to get it.
 This parable has the same meaning with
the parable of the hidden treasure.
17. The Parable of the
Pharisees and the Tax
Collector
(Luke 18: 9-14):
 Jesus taught this parable mainly to
people who only knew their own
goodness and looked down anyone
others.
 Two people, Pharisee and a tax collector
went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee
stood a side and prayed like this: “I thank
you, God, that I am not greedy, or an
adulterer, like everybody else. I thank
you that I am not like the tax collector
over there. I fast two days a week, and I
give you a tenth of all my income.”
 The tax collector on the other side at a
distance and prayed. He did not raise his
face to heaven but instead beat his breast
and prayed like this: “God, have pity on
me, a sinner.”
 Jesus summarized everything by saying
that those who make themselves great
will be humbled while those who humble
themselves will be made great.
 The Pharisee did not humble himself. He
saw himself as great and righteous.
 He looked down upon the tax collector.
The Pharisee was proud while the tax
collector was humble in his prayer.
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 The parable teachers us to be meek
(humble) while praying like the way the
tax collector did and not be as proud as
the Pharisee.
18. The Parable of Places at
Wedding Feast.
(Luke 14: 7-11):
 Jesus said this parable after seeing how
guests choose best places in parties.
 Jesus said that when someone is invited
to a feast, he/she should not choose to sit
in best places because the place may have
been reserved for the distinguished guest.
The distinguished guest may come and
you may be asked to vacate the seat for
him/her. This may embarrass you.
Instead, sit at the lowest place and wait
for your host to invite you to sit at the best
place. This will ring honour to you.
 Jesus went on to say that those who make
themselves great will be humbled and
those who humble themselves shall be
made great.
19. The Parable of the Rich
Fool
(Luke 12: 16-21):
 A man from the crowd asked Jesus to tell
his brother to divide with him his father’s
property equally. Jesus told him that He
did not have powers to judge or to divide
property between them.
 Jesus advised us to be aware of every kind
of greed because human’s life does not
rely on things he/she owns even if he/she
is rich.
 In this parable, Jesus said that there was
once a very rich man who owned a big
land that gave him a lot of harvest. The
man did not have a place to store the large
 harvest so he decided to tear down his old
small barns and construct bigger ones
where his harvest could fit.
 After that, he said to himself that he will
take life easy, eat, drink and enjoy
himself. God called him a fool and took
away his life at night.
 Jesus reminded us that this is how it will
be to those regard earthly wealth other
that heavenly wealth (Christian values).
 This parable teaches us not to regard
earthly (secular values) highly but instead
pay more attention to Christian values
(eternal life/kingdom of God)
20. The Parable of the Rich
Man and Lazarus:
(Luke 16: 19-31):
 There was a very rich man with very
expensive clothes. He also lived a very
expensive lifestyle. There was a very
poor man called Lazarus.
 Lazarus’ body was covered with sores
and dogs licked them. He also ate bits that
fell from the rich man’s table.
 When the poor man died, he was taken to
the kingdom of God by the angels and sat
at the right side of Abraham. The rich
man died and was taken to hell
(Hades/world of the dead). He was in
great pain while there. He called
Abraham and asked him to take pity on
him. He also asked him to send Lazarus
to dip his finger in water and cool his
tongue because he was being burnt by
fire.
 Abraham told the rich man that there was
a deep pit therefore no body could cross
over to either side. The rich man begged
Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five
brothers not to sin so that they don’t join
hell. Abraham told the rich man that his
brothers had prophets to warn.
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 This parable teaches us to help the less
fortune in the society.
21. The Parable of the
Growing Seed.
(Mark 4: 26-29):
 The kingdom of God is like a man who
sows a seed in a field. The seed
germinates and grows day and night. As
this happens, the man does not see it
happen.
 The soil helps the plant to grow. All parts
of the corn develop and grow. It becomes
ripe and the man harvests it.
 The parable teaches us how a person
develops Christian’s faith until judgment
day when God will take them to the
kingdom of God.
22. The Parable of the Servant
(Luke 17: 7-10):
 When a servant who was ploughing or
looking after the sheep comes in from the
field, he will not hurry and eat a meal but
instead he will make supper ready for his
master and wait while he eats after which
he will eat.
 Jesus also said that Christians should also
do the same.
23. The Parable of the Shrewd
Manager
(Luke 16: 1-9):
 There was a servant who managed who a
rich man’s property. People went to the
rich man and told him that the servant
who was managing his property has been
misusing his money. The rich man called
the manager and asked him to submit his
full account.
 The servant was afraid because he did not
have strength to dig ditches for his
income if the rich man sacks him. He was
also ashamed to beg.
 The servant called those who owed his
master and reduced their debts. He
reduced the man who owed the rich man
one hundred barrels of olive oil to fifty.
He also the debt of another debtor from
1000 sacks to 800.
 The master of the dishonest manager
praised him for engaging in such shrewd
act because people in this world are not
honest.
 Jesus therefore advises us to make friends
with the worldly wealth so that you will
be welcomed in the kingdom of God
when it gets finished.
24. The Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13: 3-9, 16-23; Mark
4: 2-9, 13-20; Luke 8: 5-8, 11-
15):
 Jesus started teaching at the shores of
Lake Galilee when a large crowd started
to surround him. He got into the bought
and told them the parable of the sower.
 In this parable, there was a sower who
went out to the field to sow corn. While
sowing, some seeds fell on the paths and
birds came and ate them. Some fell on
rocky ground with little soil. They
sprouted but were burnt by the sun
because the soil was shallow for the roots
to grow deeper. Other seeds fell among
the thorny bushes. They sprouted and
grew but they didn’t produce any fruits
because they were chocked by the thorns.
Some seeds fell in good soil. They
sprouted, grew and produced healthy
corns.
 The following is the meaning of the
parable:
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a) The sower is the preacher and the
seed is the word of God.
b) The seeds that fell on the road and
were eaten are like people listens to
the word of God and Satan took the
word away from them.
c) The seeds that fell on the rocky
ground are like people who listened to
the word of God gladly but it did not
sink into them and it does not last
long. When trouble and persecution
comes because of the message, they
give up.
d) Seeds fell among thorn bushes are
like people who hears the message
but the love of the earthly wealth and
the worries of the earth prevent them
from serving God.
e) The seeds that fell in good soil are like
people who listen to the word of God
and understand it.
 This parable teaches us the response of
people to the word of God.
25. The Parable of Ten Young
Women
(Matthew 25: 1-13):
 Ten young women went to meet their
bridegroom with their oil lamps. Five of
those women who were foolish did not
carry extra oil while the other five wise
women carried extra oil with them.
 The bridegroom came late and the brides
started to fall asleep. The bride arrived at
midnight. They all woke up and trimmed
their lamps. The foolish women who
didn’t carry extra oil begged the wise
ones for oil because their lamps were
going out. The wise women refused and
asked the foolish women to the shop and
buy more oil.
 The foolish women went to the shop to
buy oil. The bridegroom came in the
room and locked himself in with the five
 wise women. They refused to open the
door for the five foolish women who had
to buy the oil because they were late. The
bridegroom told them to go away because
he didn’t know them.
 Jesus asked his followers to be on guard
because they don’t know the hour and the
day.
 This parable teaches us to always be
ready for the second coming of Jesus.
26. The Parable of Tenants in
Vineyard
(Matthew 21: 33-46, Mark
12: 1-12, Luke 20: 9-18):
 A landowner planted a vineyard and
fenced. He also dug a hole for the
winepress and built a watchtower.
 He went for a journey and left the
vineyard in charge of tenants. When
harvesting time reached, the landowner
sent his slaves to collect his part of the
harvest. The tenants beat one, killed
another and stoned the other.
 The landowner sent other slaves to the
tenants did to them the same way they did
to the first ones. He sent his own son to
the tenants believing that they will
respect him but when they saw him, they
too killed him.
 The meaning of this parable is:
a) The landowner is God.
b) The vineyard is the earth.
c) The tenants are people who live in the
world.
d) The slaves are servants of God
(preachers/prophets/priests)
e) The son is Jesus Christ.
 This parable teaches us the response of
people to the servants of God and Jesus
Christ. They reject and persecute them.
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27. The Parable of the Tower
Builder
(Luke 14: 28-30):
 If one wants to build a tower, he must first
sit down and calculate the cost of building
it. This will help him to know whether he
had enough money to complete the tower.
 If you don’t plan then the building will
not be completed beyond the foundation
and people may laugh at him.
 This parable teaches us about the cost of
being a disciple. One should assess if they
were ready for the faith.
28. The Parable of Two
Debtors
(Luke 7: 40-43):
 Jesus said this parable while in the house
of Simon the Pharisee.
 In this parable, one man owed a
moneylender five thousand silver coins
and the second man owed him fifty silver
coins. The two men were unable to pay
back so the moneylender cancelled the
debts.
 Jesus asked the person who will love the
lender most. Simon said that the person
who had more debt love him most.
 Jesus used this parable to teach that those
with this serious sins will be more happy
when their sins are forgiven.
 Jesus said this parable because a sinful
woman came to Jesus, cried and wet his
feet with her tears. The woman kissed
Jesus’ feet, dried them with oil and dried
them with her hair. Jesus later forgave her
of her sins.
 People wondered who Jesus was because
he was able to forgive sins. Jesus told the
woman to go in peace because her faith
had saved her.
29. The Parable of Two House
Builders.
(Matthew 7: 24-27, Luke 47-
49):
 Those who listen and obey Jesus’
teachings are like people who builds a
house on a rock. When it rains and rivers
overflows or winds blow over the house,
it will not collapse.
 Those who do not listen to the word of
God and does not obey it are like a person
who has built on sand. When it rains,
strong winds blow and rivers overflows
over the house and it falls.
30. The Parable of Two Sons
(Matthews 21: 28-32):
 There was a man who had two sons. He
sent the elder one to work in the vineyard.
He refused to go but he later changed his
mind and went.
 The mother then told his other son to go
to the vineyard and work. He agreed but
he did not go.
 Jesus asked the person who did what his
father wanted. People told him that the
elder son did.
 Jesus said that sinners like tax collectors
and prostitutes who repent will go to the
kingdom of God ahead of those who
pretend to be righteous yet they are sinful.
 This parable gives hope to sinners that
they will enjoy eternal life if they repent
and believe in Jesus as their Saviour.
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31. The Parable of
Unforgiving Servant
(Matthew 18: 23-35):
 Simon Peter asked Jesus whether he can
forgive his sinful brother seven times.
Jesus told him that he should forgive him
seventy times seven. He also told them
this parable to support his answer:
 A king decided to go through his
servants’ accounts. While going through
the accounts, a servant who owed him
one million pounds was brought to him.
 The servant was not able to pay his debts
so the king ordered that the servant, all his
family members and everything he
owned to be sold as slaves. When the
servant heard that, he knelt before the
king asked him to forgive him and give
him more time to pay the debt. The king
felt sorry for him and pardoned him.
 The man left the palace and went out. He
then met another man who owed him few
pounds. He chocked him and asked him
to pay him his debts. The servant begged
him to him some time and promised to
pay him. He refused and threw him in jail
until he pays him.
 Other servants who witnessed that were
annoyed. They went and told the king
what the servant he had forgiven had
done to his fellow servant.
 The king was angry with the servant. He
sent him to jail until he pays him the
whole amount because he had not
forgiven the person who had his debts yet
he had forgiven him.
32. The Parable of the
Unfruitful Fig Tree
(Luke 13: 6-9):
 A man had a fig tree growing in his
vineyard. The tree did not produce any fig
for 3 years. The man ordered his gardener
to cut down.
 The gardener asked the man to leave the
fig tree for one more year. He also
promised the man that he will dig around
the tree and provide it with manure. He
promised to cut the tree if it doesn’t
produce any fruit.
 This parable teaches reminds us that God
wanted to destroy all sinners but Jesus
accepted to come and save them from
their sins. Those who will not change are
the ones who will be punished.
33. The Parable of the
Watchful House Owner
(Matthew 24: 42-44, Luke
12: 39-40):
 Jesus tells us to be on guard all the time
because we do not know the day the Lord
will come back again.
 In this parable, we are told that if the
owner of the house knew the time a thief
will come to steal then he will be awake
all the night to keep away the thief.
 This parable teaches us to be ready
(righteous) all the time because Jesus will
come like a thief (without giving
notice/no one will know when he will
come)
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34. The Parable of the
Watchful Servants
(Mark 13:33-37, Luke 12:
35-38)):
 The second coming of Jesus is like a man
who goes on a long journey leaving his
servants in charge. He also assign them
work to do and informed the doorkeeper
to keep guard.
 We are advised by the parable to be on
guard always as we wait for the coming
of judgment day (Second coming of
Jesus).
35. The Parable of Wedding
Guests.
(Matthew 9: 15, Mark 2: 19-
20, Luke 5: 34-35):
 The guests at a wedding party are not
expected to be unhappy or go without
food when the bridegroom is with them.
A day comes when the bridegroom shall
be taken away from them and they will be
sad and fast.
 This parable teaches us that it is very
important to fast now especially when we
have received salvation and grace from
Jesus Christ.
36. The Parable of the Weeds.
(Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43):
 One day, a man went to his field and
sowed wheat seeds. An enemy came at
night when everybody was a sleep and
sowed weeds in the same field where the
man had sowed wheat seeds. They both
germinated and when the wheat started
forming ears of corn, the weeds began to
show up. His servants asked their master
 whether they would pull the weeds. The
man asked them not to uproot them but
instead wait until the harvesting day
because they might uproot the wheat in
the process.
 During the harvest, the workers will
uproot the weeds first, tie them together
and then burn them. The wheat will then
be harvested and stored in his barn.
 The following is the translation of the
parable of the weeds:
a) The man is Jesus Christ.
b) The field is the earth where we live.
c) The wheat seeds/good seeds are
righteous people who belong to the
kingdom of God.
d) Weeds are sinful people.
e) The enemy is the devil/Satan.
f) The day of harvest in the judgment
day.
g) The man’s servants /workers are
God’s angels.
 In this parable, we learn that God will
send his angels to gather all sinners
during judgment day and throw them into
the fire where they will suffer. The
righteous ones will join the kingdom of
God where they will enjoy the rest of their
lives.
37. The Parable of the Widow
and the Wicked Judge
(Luke 18: 1-8):
 There was once a judge in a certain town.
He didn’t respect people. He also did not
fear God. In the same town, there was a
widow who kept on going to him for
justice. All the time, the judge refused to
judge her case. The widow did not lose
hope but kept on going to him. One day,
the judge was tired of her nagging and
finally judged her case.
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 Jesus went on to say that God will judge
in favour of those people who cry and
pray to God day and night.
 This parable therefore teaches us to pray
without seizing/persistence in prayer. It
has the same meaning with the parable of
a friend at midnight.
38. The Parable of Wine and
Wineskins
(Matthew 9: 17, Mark 2:22,
Luke 5: 37-38):
 No one pours new wine into used / old
wineskins because the new wine will
burst the old wine skin. Instead, new wine
should be poured into a new wineskin.
 This parable teaches us not to commit sin
at the same time pretend to serve God.
 We are also taught that we should fast as
a genuine show of our commitment to our
prayers and not express our hypocrisy.
39. The Parable of Workers in
the Vineyard.
(Matthew 20:1-16):
 A man hired some workers early in the
morning to work in his vineyard and
agreed to pay them a silver coin a day.
The man also went out to the market place
at nine o’clock, saw some men and asked
them to go and work in his vineyard. He
also sent other men to work in his
vineyard from the same market place at
12, 3 and 5 o’clock.
 The man ordered his foreman to pay all
workers one silver coins including the
ones who started working at 5 o’clock.
People who started to work in the
morning started complaining because
 they thought they would be paid more
than others.
 Jesus finished the parable by telling them
that those who are last will be first and
those who are first will be last.
 This parable teaches us that all people
will join the kingdom of God regardless
of the time they believed in Jesus Christ.
40. The Parable of the Yeast
(Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:
20-21):
 A woman takes mixes yeast with 40 litres
of flour until the dough rises.
 This parable teaches us about the growth
of the kingdom of God.
 It has the same meaning as the parable of
the mustard seed.
The Arrest, Death and
Resurrection of Jesus:
 One of Jesus disciples called Judas
Iscariot agreed to betray. The chief priests
paid him 30 pieces of silver for that job.
Judas then started looking for a chance to
betray Jesus. The priests had met in the
High Priest’s (Caiaphas’) palace.
 One day, Jesus went to pray on Mt. Olives
at the Garden of Gethsemane. He went
with Peter, James and John. This garden
was located across River Kishon.
 He told the disciples that the sorrow in his
heart was so great that it almost crushed
him. He said all these because grief,
anguish and distress had come over him.
Jesus left them and went to a short
distance. He asked them to stay awake
and keep watch. He also asked them to
pray so that they may not fall into
temptation.
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 He knelt down and prayed to God saying,
“If you will, take this cup of suffering
away from. Not my will, however, but
your will be done.” The angel of God
appeared to him and strengthened him.
Jesus prayed so much that his sweat were
like drops of blood falling on the ground.
 He went back to his three disciples and
found them sound asleep. He asked Peter
why they were not able to keep watch
with him even for one hour. He also told
them that his spirit was willing but the
flesh was weak.
 Jesus went away to pray the second time
and when he came back, he found his
disciples asleep again. He woke them up
and asked them to be on guard. He left
them once again and went to pray the
third time. He came back and found them
asleep once again. He woke them up and
told them that the hour for him to be
handed to the sinners for crucifixion had
come.
 When Jesus was still talking, Judas
Iscariot arrived with a group of soldiers.
They had been sent by the Chief Priest to
arrest him. Judas had instructed that he
will identify Jesus by kissing him. Judas
went to Jesus, kissed him and told him,
“Peace be with you, Teacher.” Jesus told
him to be quick about arresting him. Jesus
asked Judas, “Judas, is it with a kiss that
you betray the son of man?” The disciples
who were with Jesus asked him if they
were to use swords to defend him but
Jesus refused. Simon Peter used his
sword to cut the right ear of the High
Priest’s slave soldier known as Malchus.
Jesus asked him to put his sword back. He
touched the servant’s (soldier’s) ear and
healed it. He also told them that those
who take the sword will die by sword.
 The Roman soldiers and Jewish guard
arrested and took him to Annas who was
the father-in-law to Caiaphas, the one
who was the current High Priest.
 Simon Peter followed Jesus and remained
outside Caiaphas palace gate while Jesus
was taken to the court yard. One of the
High Priest’s servant woman went to him
and told him that he was also with Jesus
of Galilee. Peter denied Jesus when he
told her that he didn’t know what he was
talking about. Immediately the cock
crowed. Another servant woman saw
Jesus and told the men there that he also
was with Jesus of Nazareth. Peter denied
it by saying that he didn’t know Jesus.
After a short while, men standing there
went to Peter and told him that he was
with Jesus and the way he spoke showed
that he was his follower. Peter denied by
saying, “I swear that I am telling the
truth! May God punish me if I am not! I
don’t know the man!” Immediately the
cock crowed and he remembered that
Jesus had told him that he will deny him
three times before the cock crowed. He
went out and cried bitterly.
 At the Sanhedrin’s court, the chief priests
and the council tried to look for evidence
that will support the killing of Jesus.
Some men said that they heard him say
that he will tear down the temple of God
and built it after three days. The High
Priest asked him to defend himself
against the accusations said against him
but Jesus kept silent. The High Priest
asked him whether he was Messiah, Jesus
accepted and told him that he will see him
sit on the right side of God. The High
Priest tore his clothes and termed that
Blasphemy and took that as an evidence
to kill him.
 They spat on him, blindfolded him and hit
him asking to guess/ prophesy who hit
him.
 Early the next morning, Jesus was take
from Caiaphas’ house to the Governor
Pilate’s palace. Since they were about to
eat the Passover meals, the Jewish
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authorities remained outside because they
wanted to keep themselves ritually clean.
 Pilate asked Jesus whether he was the
king of Jews. Jesus asked him whether
that question came from him or he was
told. Pilate told him that the accusations
came from the Jews. He also told Pilate
that his kingdom does not belong to the
world and if it were so, his followers
would have fought for his release.
 Pilate asked him once again whether he
was the king of the Jews and Jesus told
him that he was born to the world to speak
the truth.
 Pilate went outside to the Jewish
authorities and told them that he did not
get Jesus guilty but they insisted that
Jesus be crucified.
 Pilate had a culture of releasing one
prisoner during the Passover festivals so
he asked the Jewish authority the person
he should release between Jesus and
Barabbas. They chose Barabbas who was
a bandit.
 Pilate took Jesus in the palace where he
was whipped. Soldiers made a crown of
thorns and placed in on Jesus’ head. They
also put a purple robe on him and stopped
him and shouted “Long live the king of
the Jews”
 When Pilate learnt that Jesus was from
Galilee, he sent to King Herod. Herod
was happy to meet Jesus because he heard
a lot about him and he wanted to see his
miracles.
 Jesus did not answer any question from
Herod. Chief priests and teachers of Law
accused Jesus before the king. Herod and
his soldiers made fun of Jesus, mistreated
him and placed an expensive royal robe
on him. He then sent him back to Pilate.
This restored his friendship with Pilate
because they had been enemies before.
 Because of pressure from the Jewish
authority, Pilate washed his hands in front
of them as a sign that he had nothing to
 do with his death and said, I am not
responsible for the death this man! This is
your doing!” Pilate took Jesus outside, sat
on the judgment seat known as
Gabbatha in Hebrew (The stone
pavement) and handed Jesus to them and
asked them to kill him themselves.
 They started their way to crucify him. On
the way, they met Simon from Cyrene
and forced him to help Jesus to carry the
cross. Simon was the father of Alexander
and Rufus.
 They crucified Jesus at a place called
Golgotha which means the place of skull.
This place was on Mt. Calvary.
 They gave Jesus cheap wine mixed with
a bitter substance called Myrra but Jesus
did not drink it. They then divided Jesus’
clothes by throwing dice.
 Notice that read, “The king of the Jews”
but the chief priest asked Pilate to write,
“This man said, I am the king of the Jews.
But Pilate refused by saying that, “What
I have written remain written.”
 Two thieves (bandits) were crucified with
Jesus and hanged on both sides of Jesus.
One on the left and another one on his
right.
 One of the criminals mocked Jesus and
told him to save himself and then save
them because he was a messiah. The
other one asked Jesus to remember him
when he joins the kingdom of God.
 Jesus prayed for those who crucified then
and asked God to forgive them because
they did not know what they were doing.
 The passerby insulted Jesus and asked
him to save himself because he said he
was going to tear the temple and built it
after three days. The chief priests,
teachers of Law and elders jeered at Jesus
and said that he saved others and he was
not able to save himself.
 Jesus’ mother, his sister’s mother, Mary-
Cleopa’s wife and Mary Magdalene were
standing next to the cross. Jesus told his
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mother that John, his beloved disciple
that he was his son. He also told John that
she was her mother and he should take
care of her.
The Death of Jesus:
 The son stopped shining and whole earth
was covered in darkness from 12 o’clock
(noon) to o’clock. The temples tore itself
into two pieces.
 At three o’clock Jesus cried out saying,
“Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani?” This
means, “My God, My God, why have you
abandon me?” Some people who were
standing there thought that he was calling
Elijah. A serious earthquakes shook the
earth, the rocks spilt and graves open
wide. God’s who had did rose back to life.
 Jesus who was still hanging on the cross
said, “I am Thirsty.” They soaked a
sponge in a cheap wine, put on a stalk of
hyssop and gave it to Jesus. He drank it
and said, “It is finished.”
 In a loud voice, he cried and said, “Father,
in your hands I place my spirit.” this is the
last words he said and then died.
 The soldiers who witnessed all these said,
“This man was really the son of God!”
(Certainly he was a good man). Women
who stood there and witnessed the death
of Jesus were Mary Magdalene, Mary the
mother of James and Joseph and Salome,
Zebedee’s wife.
 Since it was on Friday, the Jewish
authority did not want the bodies of Jesus
and the two criminals crucified with him
not to stay on the cross until the Sabbath
day so they went to Pilate and asked him
to allow them break their legs and remove
their bodies from the cross.
 The legs of the criminals crucified with
Jesus were broken but they did not break
Jesus’ legs because he had already died.
A soldier pierced Jesus’ ribs with a spear.
 Blood and water came out of the pierced
place. This action was foretold by
Prophet Zechariah.
 In the evening, a respected member of the
council went to Pilate and asked for
permission to take Jesus’ body and burry
it. His name was \joseph of Arimathea
from Judea. He was a secret follower of
Jesus. He was also a good and honourable
man who was waiting for the coming of
the Kingdom of God. Even though he was
a member of the council, he did not
support them. He was allowed to take the
body so he wrapped it in linen sheet. He
then buried Jesus’ body in his tomb.
Nicodemus brought 30kg of spices, a
mixture of Myrrh and aloes for the
preparation of the body of Jesus.
 Chief priests of the Pharisees requested
Pilate to allow a sign guards to guard the
tomb because they thought the disciples
would come and take away the body. A
huge stone was rolled at the entrance of
the tomb.
Resurrection of Jesus:
 Early Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene,
Mary mother of James and Salome went
to the tomb to take spices to the body of
Jesus and to anoint it. While they were on
the way, they wondered how they would
remove the huge stone placed at the
entrance of the tomb.
 When they reached the tomb, there was a
heavy earthquake and the angel of God
rolled the stone from the tomb. The angel
looked like lightening and his cloths were
as white as snow.
 The angel asked them asked them why
they were looking for Jesus among the
dead even when he had resurrected. He
told the women not to be afraid. He also
told them that Jesus they were looking for
had risen back to life. He instructed them
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to tell the disciples that Jesus Christ was
going to Galilee ahead of them.
 Mary Magdalene turned back and saw
Jesus and she thought that he was a
gardener. Jesus asked her why she was
crying and the person she was looking
for. She asked him to show her where he
had put Jesus if incase he had taken his
body. Jesus called her by her name and
she recognized him when she turned
towards him. She called him Rabboni
which meant “teacher” in Hebrew. The
women went and told the disciples who
went to the tomb to confirm.
 On the same day, two followers of Jesus
were on their way to Emmaus when Jesus
joined them but they did not recognize
him. They were talking about the
resurrection of Jesus. One of them was
called Cleopas. Jesus asked them what
they were discussing and Cleopas
wondered whether he was the only
stranger in Jerusalem.
 They narrated to him how the women had
gone to the tomb and found it empty.
Jesus wondered how foolish they were
and slow they were to believe all that had
been foretold by the prophets. He
explained to them what the scriptures said
about him from Moses’ books to
prophetic books.
Jesus Appears to his
Disciples after Resurrecting:
 When they approached Emmaus, Jesus
pretended that he was going a little
further but they begged him to stay with
them because it was getting dark. While
they were eating, Jesus took bread,
blessed it, broke it and gave it to them.
This is when their eyes opened and they
recognized him. Jesus then disappeared
from them.
 The two followers went to the other
eleven disciples and explained to them
what they had experienced. While they
were explaining this, Jesus appeared to
them and said, “Peace be with you.” They
were all afraid because they thought that
they were seeing a ghost. Jesus asked
them why they were afraid and doubtful.
He showed them his scars on his feet and
hands. He asked them to touch and feel
them to ascertain that he was not a ghost.
Still some of them could not believe
because they lacked faith.
 Jesus asked them whether they had
anything to eat. They gave him a piece of
cooked fish which she ate as they
watched. He did this to prove to them that
he was not a ghost.
 Jesus appeared to again to his disciples
and greeted them, “Peace be with you.”
The disciples had locked themselves in
the house because they were afraid of the
Jewish authority. He breathed on them
and asked them to receive the Holy Spirit.
He sent them to go throughout the world
preaching the word of God and baptizing.
He also gave them powers to perform
miracles, drive out demons in his name,
heal the sick and to speak in strange
tongues.
 One of the disciples called Thomas was
not present when Jesus appeared to the
disciples so he doubted his resurrection.
He did not believe that Jesus had
appeared to his colleagues. He told them
that he would not believe unless he sees
the scars on his hands and touches the
scars on his sides. After one week, Jesus
appeared to the disciples once again and
this time, Thomas was present. Jesus
showed him the scars and told him to stop
doubting and believe. Jesus asked
whether he believed only because he had
seen. Jesus went on to tell him that happy
are those who believe in him without
even without seeing him.
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 The story of Thomas teaches Christians
always to have faith in Jesus Christ. They
should also believe that Jesus died and
resurrected.
 Jesus also appeared to seven of his
disciples while they were fishing. Peter
had decided to go fishing when his fellow
disciples accompanied him. Some of
those disciples were Simon Peter,
Thomas, Nathaniel, James and John. The
disciples did not catch any fish the whole
night until day break. In the morning
when the sun was rising, Jesus stood at
the shore of the lake and asked them,
“Young men, haven’t you caught
anything?” They told Jesus that they had
not caught anything so Jesus instructed
them to throw their nets into the sea at the
right side of the boat. They did so and
they caught so many fish that they could
not pull their net.
 John (the disciples whom Jesus loved
most) told Peter that it was the Lord.
Peter, who had removed his clothes at
that moment, covered his body with his
outer garment and jumped into the water.
The other disciples pulled the boat full
of fish up to the sea shore. When they
were about hundred metres to the shore,
they noticed a charcoal fire with fish on
it. Bread was also beside it.
 Jesus asked them to bring out some of the
fish they had caught. Simon Peter
removed a total of 153 fish. Jesus then
invited the disciple for a meal but the
disciple did not care to know who he was.
Jesus took the bread and the fish and gave
them to the disciples.
 After eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter
whether he loved him. Peter affirmed to
Jesus he loved him. Jesus asked him three
times with Peter assuring him of his love.
Each time Jesus asked him to take care of
his sheep (the church).
Jesus Ascends to Heaven:
 Jesus went with his disciples to Bethany
after his resurrection. He raised his hands
and blessed them.
 While there, he the disciples asked him
whether he was going to give the
kingdom back to the Israelites at that
moment. Jesus God was the one with the
authority and He was the only one who
knows when that will happen.
 He also told them that the Holy Spirit will
come upon them and they will witness for
Him in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
 He ascended to heaven and was covered
with clouds. Two men dressed in white
clothes stood beside the disciples who
were still looking on the sky. The men
asked them, “Galileans, why are you
standing there looking up the sky?” he
told them that Jesus whom they saw
going up the will come back in the same
way.
 The death and resurrection of Jesus gives
Christians hopes of eternal life. This also
proved that there is life after death for
those who will live a righteous life.
Apostles:
 These were followers of Jesus who
ensured his mission was passed to other
generations.
 After betraying Jesus, Judas Iscariot used
the money he was given to buy a piece of
land. He later hanged himself in that land.
People later called the land “Akeldama”
which means Field of Blood.
 After the death of Judas Iscariot, 120
believers led by the eleven disciples of
Jesus met and decided to have him
replaced. They proposed Barsabbas
(Joseph or Justus) and Matthias and
agreed to choose one of them to join the
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eleven disciples. They later chose
Mathias as Judas Iscariot replacement.
 The followings are some of the activities
carried out by the early apostles:
ii) They performed miracles and
wonders.
iii) They preached the death and
resurrection of Jesus.
iv) They converted people to Christianity
and baptized them.
v) They fellowshipped together.
vi) They sold their belongings and shared
the money amongst according to their
needs.
vii) They always met in the temples.
viii) They shared meals.
ix) They praised the Lord and enjoyed
their time together.
x) They were one in the heart and in
mind.
 Some of the major and most influential
apostles include Peter, James, Ananias,
Saphira, Barnabas, Paul and Stephen
a) Simon Peter:
 Peter was the son of John and his brother
was called Andrew. Jesus loved him more
than other disciples.
 One day, Peter and John went to the
temple to pray at around 3 o’clock.
 At the Beautiful Gate of the temple, they
found a lame beggar who was always
brought there to beg money people. The
man was 40 years old.
 Peter and John called him and asked him
to look at him. The man thought that they
were going to give him money.
 Peter told him that he had no money but
he was going to give him what he had. He
ordered him to get up and walk in Jesus
name. He held his right hand and lifted
him up. The man started walking
immediately.
 Peter and John went into the temple and
started preaching. 5,000 people were
converted to Christianity that day. Priests,
Sadducees and palace guards came and
arrested them while they were preaching.
They arrested them because they were
preaching the death and resurrection.
 They jailed them until the following day
because it was late. The following day,
the Jewish authorities which included the
High Priests Annas, Caiaphas, John,
Alexander and other members of the
High Priest’s family met in Jerusalem to
judge Peter and John.
 Peter talked boldly about the resurrection
of Jesus due to the influence of the Holy
Spirit. The council released them and
asked them to be silent and not speak
about Jesus Christ.
 One day, Peter went to Lyda and met a
man named Aeneas. This man had been
paralysed for 8 years. He called him and
told him, “Jesus makes you well. Get up
and make your bed.” Aeneas stood up and
all people from Lyda and Sharon were
converted to Christianity.
 At Joppa, Peter raised a woman called
Tabitha. Tabitha was a God fearing
woman who always helped the poor. She
was also called Dorcas which means deer.
 After raising her, Peter lived in Joppa
with a leather tanner called Simon.
 In Caesarea, there was a Roman
Regiment called Cornelius. He was a
good man who worshipped God. He also
assisted the poor in the society.
 An angel of God appeared to him at three
o’clock in the afternoon and told him that
God was pleased with his charity work
and charity. He told him to send some
people to Joppa and invite him to his
house. Cornelius send his two servants to
Joppa to call Peter.
 While the servants were on their way to
Joppa, Peter went up the stairs an noon to
pray. While he was praying, he saw a
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vision of heaven opening and a large
sheet lowered down. On it were all kinds
of animals, reptiles and birds. A voice
was heard from heaven asking him to get
up, kill and eat them. Peter refused
because he had never eaten anything that
is ritually unclean. At that time, Peter
was hungry. This vision teaches us that
no one is unclean or unwanted
community or nation but all people are
equal before.
 The Holy Spirit told him to go downstairs
and meet the three servants sent to him by
Cornelius.
 When Peter asked them why they came,
they told him that he had been invited by
Captain Cornelius to his house. Peter
asked them to spend the night.
 Peter went with them the next day. He
was accompanied by some believers from
Joppa.
 Cornelius invited him to his house and
knelt down before him. Cornelius told
him to stand up because he was just a
human being.
 Simon Peter preached to all who were in
Cornelius’ house. The Holy Spirit came
down upon all people who were in
Cornelius, house.
 Cornelius’ story teaches us that all
communities/nations are equal before
God.
 Apostles in Jerusalem sent Peter and John
to Samaria when they heard that people
there had believed and were baptized.
They prayed for the people and laid their
hands on them and they received the Holy
Spirit. When Simon saw that, he
attempted to bribe Peter and John with
money so that they could give him the
powers so that he could give people.
 Peter rebuked him and told him that he
cannot buy the gift of God with money.
Simon the Magician repented and asked
Peter and John to pray for him.
 The story of Simon the Magician teaches
us that the Gift of the Holy Spirit cannot
be bought.
 King Herod persecuted many Christians
so one day, he killed James, John’s
brother with by the sword. When he
realized that this act pleased many Jews,
he arrested Pete and placed him in prison.
He did this because it was the Festival of
Unleavened bread. Peter was put under
the watch of sixteen soldiers divide into
four groups of four soldiers each.
 Other believers prayed for him and one
night while he was still in the prison, the
angel of God came to him, shook him and
told him to wake up. Peter was sleeping
between two soldiers. The angel told him
to hurry up and immediately the chains he
was tied with fell off. The angel told him
to fasten his belt, put on his sandals and
clock and follow him. Peter did as he was
told and all this time, he thought that it
was a vision.
 All the prison gates were open as the
angel led him out. The angel left after
setting him free. Peter went into the house
of John Mark’s mother called Mary.
Jesus’ followers were gathered in her
house praying. When Peter knocked at
her door, her servant called Rhoda went
at the door and recognized him. Believers
did not believe when she told them that it
was Peter instead they thought that she
was mad. They also thought that it was
Peter’s angel. The believers were amazed
when they realized that really he was
Peter.
 Herod searched for Peter the following
morning but he did not get him. He
ordered for the killing of the soldiers who
were guarding him.
 The story of Peter in the prison teaches us
that God saves his people. He is always
with his people in terms of need.
 Herod was later eaten by worms and died.
This is because he did not give God
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honour when addressing people of Sidon
and Tyre. These people had come to ask
him for peace because their country
depended on his country for food. As he
spoke to them, people shouted and said
that it is god speaking and not a man. This
angered God.
b) Stephen:
 Stephen was one of the seven deacons
chosen by the early church to help in the
distribution of funds among widows.
Other deacons include Philips,
Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas
and Nicolaus. These men were full of the
Holy Spirit. They were also having strong
faith.
 The Greek speaking Jews complained
that there were not being treated fairly
when funds were being distributed to the
widows.
 Stephen had powers and blessings from
God so he performed wonders and
miracles.
 Members of the synagogue of the
Freedmen (especially Cyrene and
Alexandria) and those from the provinces
of Cyrene and Alexandria opposed his
preaching. They also argued with him.
 These people bribed some people and
told them to lie that they heard Stephen
speak against Moses, sacred temple and
against God. They also accused him of
claiming that he will tear the temple and
build it after the days. People who
attended the council looked at Stephen
and saw that his face looked like an
angel’s face.
 Stephen preached the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ to the
members of the council. He also accused
them of not obeying the laws and
covenants. Members of the council were
annoyed by his preaching.
 Stephen looked up, saw Jesus Christ
standing at the right hand side of God and
told them what he had seen. In great
anger, members of the council took him
out of the city and stoned him to death.
Saul, who was later named Paul took care
of their clocks as they stoned him.
 As he was being stoned, he cried out to
Jesus to receive his spirit. He also asked
God not to remember their sins then he
died.
 Saul also known as Paul confirmed
whether he had died.
 Stephen was the first Christian to be
martyred. A martyr is a person who is
killed because of his/her faith.
c) Philip:
 Philip preached in Samaria. He also
performed many miracles and many
people believed. He also drove evil spirits
away from people and healed the
paralysed and the lame.
 There was a magician named Simon in
that city. He performed great miracles
and this made him a great man. People
thought that he used the power of God
known as “The Great Power.” People
believed him and started following him.
 People in Samaria were baptized and
believed in the Kingdom of God and in
Jesus Christ after listening to Philip’s
preaching and the miracles he performed.
Simon the Magician believe and was also
baptized. He followed Philip every day
and listened to his preaching.
 The angel of God appeared to Philip who
was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus
and told him to go to the road that leads
from Jerusalem to Gaza.
 Philip did as he was told and met an
Ethiopian eunuch who was traveling from
Jerusalem. The man was in his carriage
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reading from the book of Prophet Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit directed Philip to go into
the man’s carriage.
 Philip went over and asked him whether
he understood what he was reading. The
man told him that he will only understand
only if someone translates to him.
 The verse he was reading was:
“Like a sheep that is taken to be
slaughtered, like a lamp that makes no
sound when its wool is cut off, he did not
say a word.”
He was humiliated, and Justice was
denied him.
No one will be able to tell about his
descendants, because his life on earth
has come to an end.”
 Philip explained the meaning of the
scriptures to the Ethiopian eunuch. He
also taught him about the Good News of
Jesus Christians. When they reached a
place where there was water, Philip asked
him what was to stop him from being
baptized.
 After baptizing him, the Spirit of the Lord
took him away. The spirit took him to
Azotus. From there he went to Caesarea.
 The story of the Ethiopian eunuch teaches
us that the Holy Spirit guides the life of a
Christians.
d) Ananias and Sapphira:
 Ananias and Sapphira were members of
the apostles. Sapphira was Ananias’ wife.
 When they sold their property, they
agreed to keep part of the money and take
the remaining to the apostles.
 Peter asked Ananias why he allowed the
devil to control him and make him to
deceive the Holy Spirit. He also reminded
him that he had not lied to human beings
but instead he had lied to God.
 Ananias collapsed and died because he
lied to the Holy Spirit. His wife came in
 after three hours and when also lied that
the money brought by her husband was
the exact money got from the property
they sold. She also collapsed and died
because she lied to God.
 Ananias and Sapphira made a wrong
choice in life. Their story teaches us to be
honest to God and others.
 Barnabas also known as “One who
encourages” sold his land and gave the
whole amount to the apostles. This is
what Ananias and Sapphira would have
done.
e) Paul:
 He was once called Saul. He was a
Gentile from Tarsus. He was sent by
Jewish authorities and the High Priests to
arrest and persecute Christian believers in
synagogues.
 One day when he was on his way to
Damascus to arrest the believers, a strong
light flashed on him and he fell on the
ground. He also heard Jesus’ voice from
heaven asking him why he is persecuting
him. The voice also told him to go to
Damascus and he will be told what to do.
 Saul was blind when he woke up. He was
led by his people to Damascus where he
stayed for three days without eating or
drinking anything.
 A man of God called Ananias saw a
vision of God telling him to go to the
Straight Street and place his hands on
him. God told him that He had chosen
him to preach His words to the Gentiles.
Saul lived with a man named Judas while
he was in Damascus.
 Ananias did what he was instructed. He
placed his hands on him and things like
fish scales came from his eyes and Saul
started seeing. Saul was baptized, ate and
regained his strength.
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 He remained in Damascus and preached
the resurrection of Jesus. Jews who lived
in that city planned to kill him. They
waited for him at the gates to kill him but
Saul was saved by being lowered in a
basket outside the city gates.
 From Damascus, Saul went to Jerusalem
where he also preached the resurrection
of Jesus Christ but the disciples (apostles)
were still afraid of him. Barnabas
introduced him to them and convinced
them that he was a believer.
 Saul’s name was later changed to Paul
after believing and being baptized.
 Many people believed in Antioch and
received the word of God. When the
believers in Jerusalem heard this, they
sent a good Barnabas to go and preach to
them the Good News about Jesus Christ.
He went to pick Saul from Tarsus and
went with him. Some prophets also went
to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them
called Agabus foretold a serious drought
that was to affect the whole land.
Disciples therefore collected funds and
sent Barnabas and Saul with it to Judea to
help people affected by the drought.
 Barnabas and Paul were chosen and sent
to serve God by the prophets and teachers
from Antioch. Some of them were
Barnabas, Simeon also called black,
Lucius from Cyrene and Manaen. The
Holy Spirit told them to send them while
they were fasting.
 Paul (Saul), Barnabas and John Mark
went to Cyprus at Paphos where they met
a magician called Bar-Jesus (Elymas).
He was a Jew and he pretended to be a
prophet. One day, the governor of the
island known as Sergius Paulus invited
Paul and Barnabas so that they may teach
him the word of God but the magician
tried to oppose them and turn away the
governor from being a believer. Paul
rebuked him and accused him of his evil
tricks. He called him “the son of a devil”
 because he was an enemy of good things.
He also told him that he will be blind
never to see light of the day. The
magician became blind immediately and
when the governor saw that, he believed
in God’s salvation.
 In Lystra, Paul healed a man who had
been lame the whole of his life. He was
listening to Paul’s preaching when he told
him to stand up straight on feet. When
people saw that, they were amazed and
thought that gods have become men and
ascended to them. They named Paul
Hermes and Barnabas was named Zeus,
these were the names of their gods. They
wanted to offer a sacrifice for them but
they asked them to stop it.
 One day, Paul and Barnabas agreed to
visit believers in towns where they had
preached earlier. They disagreed and
separated because Barnabas wanted to
with John Mark but Paul did not like the
idea because he thought John Mark had
not stayed with them long enough. Paul
went with Silas and Barnabas chose John
Mark and went with him to Cyprus.
 While at Troas, Paul saw a vision of a
Macedonian man telling him to go over to
Macedonia and help them. Immediately,
Paul and Silas went there and preached
the word of God.
 One Sabbath day when Paul was
preaching to a group of women who had
gathered for prayers at Philippi, a woman
called Lydia from Thyatira listened to his
teachings and believed. She was
converted to Christians and was baptized.
She also invited Paul and Silas to stay in
her house. Lydia was a God fearing
woman and she always worshipped God.
She also dealt in purple clothes.
 Timothy who was a strong follower of
Jesus followed Paul and Silas after being
circumcised.
 While at Philippi, Paul and Silas met a
woman who used evil spirits to foretell
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the future. Certain group of people used
her to make a lot of money from his
predictions. This woman followed Paul
and Silas everywhere for many days
saying, “These men are servants of the
Most High God! They announce to you
how you can be saved!” Paul was not
happy with her behaviours so he cast the
spirit from her by saying, “In the name of
Jesus Christ I order you to come out of
her!” Those men who used her for
monetary gain were not happy with Paul
and Silas because they had cast the evil
spirit from her. They arrested them and
took them to the Roman authorities and
accused them of the followings:
i) They were Jews living in the Roman
territory.
ii) They were teaching customs that
were against the Roman laws.
iii) They were causing trouble in the city.
Paul and Silas were beaten and later put
in prison. Their feet were tied between
heavy blocks of wood. At midnight they
sang songs of praise to God and prayed.
The foundation of the prison was shook
by the earthquake. Chains fell off the feet
of all the prisoners and the prison door
was opened. The soldier in charge of the
jail thought that all prisoners had escaped
so he was about to kill himself when Paul
told not to do so because they were all
there. The soldier fell on Paul’s and Silas’
feet trembling and asked them what he
should do in order to be saved. They told
him to believe in Jesus Christ with his
family and he will be saved. They also
preached the word of God to him and all
prisoner.
He invited them to his house, washed
their wounds and gave them food. They
also baptized him and all his family
members. The Roman officials instructed
the soldier to release Paul and Silas. They
also asked them for apology.
 Paul and Silas went to Lydia’s house Many people were baptized and 3,000
when they left the prison. joined the believers.
 In Corinth, Paul met Aquila and his wife
called Priscilla. He lived with them and
worked as a tent maker.
 In Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla met a
man called Apollos. Apollos was a Jew
was born in Alexandria. He was a very
eloquent preacher and he was versed with
the word of God. He perfectly preached
about the teachings of Jesus. When they
heard his preaching, they took him to
their house and explained to him the
correct facts about the way of God.
 One Saturday at Troas, apostles and
believers gathered to share fellowship
meal. Paul preached.

God’s sends the Holy Spirit

(Acts 2: 1-42):

 One day, the apostles and other believers

gathered in Jerusalem. Noise that
sounded like a strong wind blowing was
head from heaven. The noise filled into
the house where they were.
 Tongues of fire appeared and touched
each person in the house. They were
filled with the Holy Spirit and started
speaking in strange language.
 People wondered why the believers were
speaking in their languages yet they were
Galileans.
 Some of the people thought that the
believers were drunk. They also made fun
of them.
 Peter and other eleven disciples spoke to
people and told them that the believers
were not drunk. It was nine o’clock in the
morning. They also reminded them the
prophesy of Prophet Joel about the
coming the Holy Spirit.
 Peter preached repentance and warned
people to save themselves from the
punishment that is about to come to them.

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