Christ Teachings

Job had three friends who had heard of the things that had happened to him. They planned to come and comfort him. They met together and came to his house. When they first saw him they did not know him for he was so changed. They saw that he was very sad, and they wept because they were so sorry for him. Then they sat down on the ground with him.

For seven days and seven nights no one said anything. Finally Job spoke to them and told them how sad he was: That he trusted God but could not understand why these things were happening to him. Then each of the friends spoke to him for a long time. They told Job that he must have done something very wicked or these things would not have happened to him.

Of course, they did not know what conversations had taken place in Heaven either. They thought themselves very wise and able to explain to Job the reason for his suffering. Job answered each of them and said,

After King Ahasuerus had ruled for three years, he made a great feast for the princes and leaders from every part of his kingdom. They came from India and Egypt and every part of the world, dressed in rich clothing and jewels. For six months the king entertained them, showing them all the riches and splendour of his city and kingdom.

Then before they left, he made a great feast and invited the men of Shushan. This feast lasted seven days. There was much drinking of wine out of golden vessels. Only men attended this feast for at that time in Persia men and women never met together in this way. The queen made a feast for the ladies at the same time.

After they had been drinking for seven days, the king sent some of his servants to fetch the queen and bring her into the banqueting hall where the men were so they might see how beautiful she was wearing her golden crown. Queen Vashti refused to come as it was not their custom.

The king was furious that she should disobey him before all the princes and rulers of the whole kingdom. He said, “She shall not be queen any longer. I will find someone else to wear the royal crown instead of Vashti.” Many of the prettiest girls of the whole kingdom were taken to the palace so that the king could choose a new queen.

Esther was among them. She was not only beautiful, but she was kind and loving. All the servants at the palace liked her. When it was time for her to go before the king, God gave her favour and she was chosen to be the queen. She was given beautiful clothing to wear and a crown of jewels was placed on her head.

The king loved her and made a great feast in her honour. She did not tell the king that she belonged to the Jewish people because Mordecai (her uncle who had brought her up) had told her not to say anything about it. Mordecai came every day to see how Esther was doing and to see if she was well.

One day when he was at his job of gate keeper, he overheard two men plotting to kill the king. He quickly got word to Queen Esther about this and she went and told the king. The men who had plotted were put to death, and it was written in one of there record books.

Job had three friends who had heard of the things that had happened to him. They planned to come and comfort him. They met together and came to his house. When they first saw him they did not know him for he was so changed. They saw that he was very sad, and they wept because they were so sorry for him. Then they sat down on the ground with him.

For seven days and seven nights no one said anything. Finally Job spoke to them and told them how sad he was: That he trusted God but could not understand why these things were happening to him. Then each of the friends spoke to him for a long time. They told Job that he must have done something very wicked or these things would not have happened to him.

Of course, they did not know what conversations had taken place in Heaven either. They thought themselves very wise and able to explain to Job the reason for his suffering. Job answered each of them and said, “No, I have not sinned. I have lived a good life. I have worshiped God. I have been kind to the poor. The things you say about God are not true, and the things you say about me are not true either.”

Finally a younger man came, and he talked for a long time too. What he said was better and more comforting than what the other three had said, though he believed also that these things had happened to Job because he had sinned.

Then God spoke out of the whirlwind. He reminded Job and his friends that He had made the earth and everything in it, that He guided the stars and kept them in place. Before God spoke to him, Job felt that he was a good man and had not sinned. But when he heard God’s voice speaking to him out of the whirlwind and saw how holy and wonderful He was, Job saw that he was a sinner.

He said to God, “I have heard You in my ears, but now I have seen you and I hate myself. I know that I am a sinner and I am sorry.” Job knew that in God’s sight he was not good, and was not able to stand before God/ He knew too, that God had a right to do with him just as He wished.

Then God spoke to Job’s friends and told them that they had sinned in talking as they did and that they must offer a sacrifice and ask Job to pray for them. Job prayed for his friends, and they offered a sacrifice as God said they should. Then Job was healed of the boils.

All his brothers and sisters as well as friends came to see him again. Each one brought him a gift and they had a feast. Then the Lord blessed Job and gave him twice as much as he had before. He then had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 donkeys. Again Job was the greatest man in the east. And best of all God gave him seven sons and three daughters.

All the angels who had been watching, as well as Satan and his evil angles, knew that Job loved and trusted God and that God loved and cared for him. He lived to be a very old man, and then God took him to Heaven.

Even though the Persian army was camped outside the city walls of Babylon, King Belshazzar planned a great feast to be given at the palace. He invited one thousand guests, and great preparations were made to entertain them. In the huge banquet hall they had a great feast. Servants hurried to and fro with food and wine.

As Belshazzar sat drinking wine, he remembered the beautiful gold and silver dishes and goblets that his grandfather had brought from the temple at Jerusalem. He sent servants to bring them and fill them with wine. We read, “They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of brass, of iron, of wood and of stone.”

They thought these gods had helped them to defeat the Israelites and secure these beautiful vessels. They laughed and drank more wine. Their minds were becoming dulled with wine when something happened.

Suddenly on the wall in the great hall, right beside a candlestick so that everyone could see, there appeared the fingers of a man’s hand. When the king saw this he was very frightened. His face grew pale and his knees shook. Everyone stopped drinking and looked.

As they watched, the hand began to write some words in a strange language. No one knew what they were nor what they meant, though everyone felt that it must be bad news. Finally the king called out loudly to his servants to bring the magicians and astrologers. When they came, the king said, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means shall have a scarlet robe and a gold chain about his neck. He shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

But the wise men and astrologers only shook their heads. They could not read this strange writing. The king was more afraid than ever and did not know what to do. Then the queen, the king’s mother, came in. She said to him, “Don’t be frightened. I know a man in your kingdom who can read this writing and tell what it means. In the days of King Nebuchadnezzar he interpreted dreams and was very wise. Call for Daniel and he will tell you the meaning of this writing.”

So Daniel was brought in. The king said to him, “The magicians and astrologers could not read this writing. If you can tell me what it means, you will be given a scarlet robe and a gold chain, and made the third ruler of the kingdom.” Daniel replied, “Keep your gifts I don’t want them. But I will read the writing and tell you what it means.”

Then Daniel told him that this was a warning from God, because of his pride. He said, “You have lifted up yourself in pride against the living God. You have drunk wine out of the vessels that were dedicated to Him and you have praised the idols as you did it.” Then Daniel told him what the writing meant. “God has brought your kingdom to an end. He has weighed you in His balances and found you wanting. He will divide your kingdom and give it to the Medes and Persians.” The hand disappeared as Daniel spoke.

The king commanded his servants to bring the scarlet robe and the gold chain for Daniel. Before all those in the banqueting hall he announced that Daniel would be the third ruler in the kingdom. Perhaps the banquet went on, but everyone was fearful and afraid. God’s word through Daniel came true that very night, perhaps before they had left the banqueting hall.

King Cyrus and his soldiers had found a way to get into the city. While the banquet was going on, they had dug a new channel for the river that ran through the city. They took it by surprise. King Belshazzar was killed that night. King Cyrus took the kingdom for his country, the Medes and the Persians. They had conquered so many countries that one man could not rule them all, so King Cyrus appointed Darius to rule for him in Babylon.

There was an opportunity to show not only King Nebuchadnezzar, but all the people, that the idols had no power at all, but the God of Daniel and his friends had all power. Even though the king had admitted that Daniel’s God was the great God who could reveal secrets, he thought that He was only one of many gods but a powerful one.

Nebuchadnezzar was a very powerful king, feared by everyone. One day he had a very large image of his god made of gold. It was ninety feet high and nine feet wide. He had it set up on a plain so that it could be seen for many miles. It glittered and sparkled in the sunlight. When it was completed, Nebuchadnezzar sent an order for all the princes and rulers from every part of the kingdom to come to the dedication of his image.

There were many captives from many lands living there, even as the Jewish people were. Each one worshipped a different god. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded them all to worship his god; the one whom he thought had helped him conquer the world. When they all came together and stood before this great image m a herald stood up and cried out in a loud voice, “You are commanded every one, when you hear the musical instruments playing, to fall down and worship the golden image which King  Nebuchadnezzar has set up. If you do not do this you will be thrown into a burning fiery furnace.”

Everyone knew that the king would do as he said. Soon the sound of the music was heard, and the people fell to their knees before the image. Three men stood straight and tall as the music played. They were Daniel’s three friends. Near them were some of the wise men of Babylon. They hurried to the king and said, “O King, live forever. You have made a decree that if anyone should not fall down and worship the golden image, he should be cast into the burning fiery furnace. There are three Jews here who have paid no attention to your decree. They do not serve your gods, and they have not worshiped your image.”

The king was very angry. He commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought to him. When they stood before him, he said, “Is it true, that you do not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image that I have set up?” We will give you one more chance. This time, if you do not fall down and worship the image when you hear the music, that same hour you will be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that God that will deliver you out of my hand?”

The young men stood very straight before the king as they answered, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not afraid to answer you. Our God is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and from your hand. But even if He does not deliver us from the furnace, we must tell you that we will not serve your gods, nor worship your image.”

The king was so angry that his face twisted in rage. He commanded his servants to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it had ever been heated before. This was an open furnace which had been built so that the king could watch as prisoners were thrown into it. He called the strongest men in his army to bind the three young men and throw them into the furnace.

The flames were so hot that the soldiers who threw them into the furnace were burned to death from the heat. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell down on their knees bound in the fire. Then suddenly the king rose in astonishment and said to his counsellors, “Did we not throw three men bound into the fire? I see four men, loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the form of the fourth man is like the Son of God.”

The king came closer to the furnace and called out, “Ye servants of the most high God, come here.” The three men came walking out of the fiery furnace. Not only the king, but all the people saw them. They saw that they were not burned, and there was no smell of fire about their clothing.

The only thing the fire had done was to loose the bonds which bound them. Then the king issued another decree, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. I make a decree that no one is to speak a word against their God, or they shall be punished. There is no other God that can deliver in this way.”

Then the king promoted the three men and gave them better positions in the kingdom. God had protected His servants because they were true to Him.

In the wicked city of Babylon God needed a man who could stand for Him against the power of Satan. Could He trust Daniel? Would Daniel be God’s man in God’s place? God allowed Daniel and his friends to be tested to see if he could trust them. The king wanted these young men to be strong and healthy so he said that they were to eat the same food he ate, and drink the same wine that was served to him.

Daniel and his friends were troubled about this. They knew that they were Jews. They knew that in the laws which God had given Moses there were certain rules about their food. Some things they were not to eat at all, and some things were to be prepared in a special way. They knew that if they were to eat the king’s food, they would break God’s law. The food and wine could have been offered to idols. They also knew, too, that those who were set apart to wholly serve the Lord were never to drink wine, Numbers 6:1-4.

Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not eat the king’s meat or drink his wine even if he lost his life. He went to the master of the servants who was in charge of them and told him how he felt about this. He asked that he and his friends be excused from doing as the king commanded.

The Lord had worked in the heart of this man so that he had come to love Daniel. He wanted to please him and do as he asked, but he knew that he must obey the king or he would lose his own life. He said to Daniel, “I am afraid to do this. If the king sees that you are looking paler or any worse than the other young men, he would cut off my head.” Daniel said to him, “Let us have simple foods, fruits and vegetables and water to drink. Give us a ten day trial, to see if we do not look as good as the others.” At the end of the ten days they were fatter and looked better than all the others. So they were allowed to go on with the simple foods.

After three years all the young men who had been studying were brought before the king. The king questioned them all about the things they had been studying. He found Daniel and his friends ten times better than anyone else in the whole kingdom. Out of all this group they were chosen to stand before the king and serve him. Because they were true to God, He worked for them. He protected them when they were willing to go His way.

God now had a man to stand for Him against the power of Satan in Babylon, Daniel. One night the king had a dream. He was very much troubled about it. In the morning he called for all the wise men of the kingdom to come before him. He said , “I have had a dream, and I want to know what it means.”

The wise men answered, “O King live forever: Tell us your dream and we will tell you what it means.” The king replied, “It is gone from me. I have forgotten it. You must tell me first what the dream was, and then what it means. If you can’t do this, you will all be killed.”

The wise men were very distressed. They knew that the king could cut off their heads in a moment if he wished to, and no one could stop him. They trembled as they replied, “We can tell you the meaning of the dream, but no one can tell you what you dreamed except the gods.” The king was very angry. He gave the order that all the wise men in Babylon be put to death.

The soldiers went out to round up all the wise me in Babylon so that they might be killed. When Daniel learned about this, he came before the king and asked him to give them a little time and he would tell the king both the dream and the meaning of it.

Then Daniel went back to his three friends and they prayed together, asking God to show the dream. That night God showed Daniel what the dream was and what it meant. In the morning they had another prayer meeting and thanked God. Then Daniel went before the king.

King Nebuchadnezzar said to Daniel, “Are you able to make known to me the dream and its meaning?” Daniel said,”There is a God in Heaven that reveals secrets. He has told me your dream.” Then Daniel went on and told the king that in his dream he had seen a great image, very tall, with a head of gold, a chest of silver, a body of brass, and legs of iron.

He had seen a great stone cut out without hands come down and strike the image and smash it. Then Daniel told the king what the dream meant. Each part of the image stood for a great Gentile nation that would be very strong and rule the world for a time. The head of gold stood for the king of Babylon himself and his kingdom. The stone which smashed the image stood for the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some day He will come and set up His kingdom, and it will fill the whole earth.

When the king heard this, he gave Daniel gifts and made him a ruler over the whole province. He said, “Your God is a great God who alone can reveal secrets.” The king saw that Daniel’s God was much greater than their god, Bel. Daniels’ three friends were given important positions in the kingdom also. God had protected them from the king’s anger.

After King Darius died, Cyrus came to be king in Babylon. God put it into his heart to let the Jews go back to their own land. Perhaps Daniel showed King Cyrus what God had written about him long before he was born. One say Cyrus called his scribe and had him write out a long proclamation.

In it he said, “The Lord God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem. All the Jews who wish to return may do so and build the house of their God. Those who do not want to return are to help them with money or whatever they need.”

After many weeks of travelling they reached Palestine, the land which God had given them long before this. They found Jerusalem a heap of rubbish. The walls were all broken down and no houses were standing. The temple was in ruins. They had to live in tents while they got settled.

Each family went back to live in the same place where their fathers and grandfathers had lived before the captivity. Soon they all gathered together in Jerusalem. They could not worship in the temple for it had not been built, so they made an altar. The priests led them as they offered sacrifices on this altar. For many it was the first time they had ever worshiped God as He commanded. In Babylon they could not build altars for worship.

They gave thanks to God and they gave gifts of money. Then they kept one of the feasts which God had commanded. This was the first time in over seventy years that this had been done. The people knew that there were enemies all around them. They were careful to come to God as He had said. Then they asked Him to protect them.

After they had been back for more than a year, they started work on the temple, (Ezra 3: 7-13). The people gave gifts of money that could be used for masons and carpenters. King Cyrus had given them permission to float down great logs from Lebanon in the north.

When the foundation stones were laid they had a great celebration. The priests came with their white robes, playing trumpets. The choir sang a lovely anthem, “O, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endureth forever,” Palm 136:1. When the foundation stones were put in place the people shouted for joy; but some of the older ones who had seen the temple of Solomon before it was destroyed, wept.

Some laughed and some cried, but all were happy and all joined in giving thanks to God. Then they went to work to get the temple built. This took fourteen years, for sometimes their enemies troubled them and once they got so discouraged and did not work for a time. So God sent prophets to them, Haggai and Zechariah, to encourage them to go on with the building.

He said to them, “You know that this temple will not be nearly as grand as Solomon’s, but some day I will fill this temple with glory, and it will be greater than the glory that filled Solomon’s. He meant by this that some day the Saviour Himself who was to come would be in that very temple, and He would be the glory of it.

Finally the temple was all finished, the gold and silver vessels in place, and then a dedication service was held. They offered sacrifices and worshiped as God had commanded them. 

In the wicked city of Babylon God needed a man who could stand for Him against the power of Satan. Could He trust Daniel? Would Daniel be God

Just as God has plans, so does Satan. His plan is to destroy everything God has planned! He knows what God’s plan is, that the Lord Jesus should come into the world to take the punishment for sin, so that we could be saved from his power.

He knew that God had promised to send the Saviour through the Jewish people, the family of Abraham. He must have thought to himself, “If I can get rid of this whole race of people, then the Saviour could not be born and God’s plans could not come to pass.” Satan needs people to carry out his wicked plans, just as God needs people to carry out His plans.

After the Jewish people were taken captive to Babylon, they lived there for many years. Then the country of Babylon was captured by another great nation, the Medes and the Persians. Their capital city was changed from Babylon to Shushan. When the Jews were still living in their own land, Jeremiah prophesied that Babylon would be destroyed. God had used them to punish His people, but they would be punished for their cruelty.

Shushan, the capital, was a very large, splendid city, even grander than Babylon. From there the king ruled over all the land from India to Egypt, which was all the world they knew at that time. Many thousands of Jews were living then in Persia, though some had already gone back to Jerusalem.

In one humble Jewish home in Shushan there lived a man called Mordecai. His father had been one of the captives who had been brought form Jerusalem many years before. Living with him was a beautiful young cousin named Esther. Her parents were dead, and Mordecai had brought her up as if she were his own daughter.

Mordecai worked every day as a gate keeper at the king’s palace. No doubt they talked many times about there homeland and about the living God and His Word. Esther stayed at home and kept the house tidy and clean. She obeyed Mordecai as if he were her own father.

Many years went by in Babylon, and Daniel grew to be an old man. King Nebuchadnezzar, who came to believe in Daniel’s God, died after he had ruled for forty years. While he was king, Daniel was given a great deal of power in the kingdom. He was always faithful and did his work well.

And always Daniel was true first of all to God. He remembered the prayer that Solomon had prayed when their beautiful temple was dedicated, 1 Kings 8:46-53. In it he had asked God to look upon His people when they were in captivity if they should repent and pray toward Jerusalem. All the years Daniel had been in Babylon he prayed three times a day, morning, noon and night, kneeling at his open window with his face turned toward Jerusalem.

Finally the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar became king. He knew that his grandfather had come to trust in the living God, but it made no difference to him. He kept on worshiping his idols.

About this time another nation was becoming very strong. Away over in Persia, far east of Babylon, a king by the name of Cyrus with his army was conquering every country just as Nebuchadnezzar had done years before. God was allowing this so that his purpose could be worked out for His people. Their armies had taken much of country of Babylon and marched against the city itself.

However, they could not conquer it because of its great strong walls. They were built three hundred feet high with one hundred gates scattered around the city. The soldiers could not break down these walls, and they could not climb over them. They pitched their tents outside the city walls and camped there. The young people and the king were not afraid. They thought that King Cyrus and his men would not get into the city, and they felt perfectly safe.

This young king did not come to Daniel for counsel and help as his grandfather had done. Instead he took some of the power away from him. But Daniel kept on praying and trusting God.

There was an opportunity to show not only King Nebuchadnezzar, but all the people, that the idols had no power at all, but the God of Daniel and his friends had all power. Even though the king had admitted that Daniel

King Darius had been tricked into signing a decree that meant no one could ask anything of anyone for thirty days. These men had reported Daniel as he was praying as he always did to God. Darius loved Daniel and did not want him hurt. All day long he worked hard trying to have the decree changed. The men said, “But it has been signed with the king’s seal. It is the Law of the Medes and Persians it can not be changed.” Finally the king gave the command that Daniel be taken and cast into the den of hungry lions.

As the soldiers took him away, the king said to him, “Daniel, your God whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” Daniel was thrust into a dark dungeon where a great many hungry lions were kept. A large stone was put at the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own ring.

Then the king went back to his own palace. He could not eat. He could not sleep. His servants wanted to play soft music to help him sleep, but he would not listen. All night long he fasted and walked the floor, waiting for the light of morning. As the first rays of light broke the darkness, he hurried out towards the lion’s den. As he neared the den, he called loudly, “Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, who you serve continually, able to save you from the lions?”

Then he listened. Even though Daniel had been in the den with the lions for many hours, still the king listened to see if he would answer. Then he heard Daniel’s voice. He called back, “O King, live forever. My God has sent his angel and has shut the lion’s mouths and they have not hurt me.”

Perhaps Daniel had slept with his head on the fur of a lion for a pillow! The king sent his servants to bring Daniel up out of the pit at once. They looked him over carefully and found that he was not hurt at all, because God had taken care of him.

Then the king gave an order to his solders. All the wicked men who had plotted against Daniel were brought with their families and were thrown into the den. There was no angel there to close the mouths of the lions, and the great beasts broke all their bones before they had even reached the bottom of the pit.

All those watching knew that it was a terrible thing to fight against the living God. Then King Darius made another decree. In it he said, “I command that men everywhere tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God, and steadfast forever.”

Nehemiah 1:1-6:15. Even though the temple was now built, still the walls around Jerusalem were broken down and the gates had been burned. In those days a city wall was needed to keep out enemies and robbers. When it was broken down, they had no protection.

One day a man whose name was Nehemiah appeared in Jerusalem. He had come from Persia, the country which then ruled the world. He had been a cupbearer to the king and a very important man in the palace. One day someone had come to see him and tell him about the condition of the walls around Jerusalem.

This made him very sad, and he wanted to go back and help his people. The king gave him permission and he journeyed to Jerusalem. There he got the leaders of the people together and told them how God had sent him. Then he said to them, “Let us all work together, and build up the walls.”

So they went to work. Everyone worked on the part of the wall that was nearest his own house. Even the women helped some and perhaps the children too. Satan tried to stop them just as he had tried to stop them from building the temple. He sent people to laugh at them saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Why, even a fox could knock down that wall!”

Then they tried to stop them from working and do other things. Finally Nehemiah told them to carry weapons with them so that they could fight if their enemies should come against them. Each workman worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other hand. Nehemiah had a trumpeter beside him to call them all together into one place quickly if an enemy should appear.

They prayed and worked. In fifty two days the walls were finished. When their enemies saw this, they were very much cast down in their own eyes, for they knew that God had worked for the Jews. The people all rejoiced and sang as they thanked God for this.

The sole purpose of Sunday school is to teach children and young people about God, His Word and His will for their lives. As they study the Bible they learn about creation, how sin entered the world, why we need a Saviour, how God sent his only Son to redeem us etc.

The Bible tells us what is right and what is wrong. The right way to go and what happens if we go the wrong way. It gives examples of people who did what was right in God

Job was a very rich man. He is called the greatest of all men in the east. In those days wealth was counted by cattle and sheep. Job had 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys. He had many servants to care for these. Then he had seven sons and three daughters.

When our story begins, Job’s seven sons were grown and living in their own houses. The brothers and sisters were very fond of one another and took turns inviting all the others to their homes to celebrate their birthdays together.

Job was not only a rich man, but a good man as well. This is far better than being rich. He was perfect and upright. He loved and feared God and stayed away from evil. He offered sacrifices as God has taught them to do, for he knew that God was a holy God and that sin must be punished by death before anyone could come into his presence.

He not only offered sacrifices for himself but for his family as well. Job wanted them to live for the Lord too, so he prayed for them and taught them. Job was a good father. He was a good neighbour to, kind to the poor and needy and helpful to all.

We know that God is living. He hears and sees and knows all things. He has a host of angels to do His bidding and to go on errands and journeys for Him. In the book of Job God gives us a picture of something that happened in heaven, something that took place while Job was bringing his sacrifices and living a good, true life here on earth.

The angels were coming to present themselves before God, perhaps to report to Him. The Bible says, “And Satan came also among them.” Satan had been cast out of heaven because of pride and become God’s enemy. Since then he has lived on the earth, Job 1:7, and in the air, Ephesians 2:2. Here we learn that he is sometimes in Heaven as well, and for a special reason. In Revelation 12:10 he is called the “accuser of the brethren.”

It says that he accuses us before God day and night. When he see you sin he can accuse you before God. He can say, “Do you see what they have done? They have sinned and no sin can enter Heaven.” But the Lord Jesus is in Heaven too, and He makes intercession for us. He shows the scars on His hands and feet and side, and says, “Yes, they did sin, but I died for her and was punished for there sin. They have confessed this to Me and have been cleansed from it.”

Then Satan can say no more for he knows that this is true. This day in Heaven Satan was accusing Job. He hated Job because God loved him. He always hates what God loves and loves what God hates. God said that Job was the best man on the earth, and Satan said, He just serves you for what You do for him. You have given him riches and a family and servants. If you took these things away, he would not serve You. He would curse You.”

So God gave Satan permission to test Job but told him he must not hurt Job himself. So Satan left Heaven to return to earth.

Julia Shipley is a committed Christian worshipping and serving in her local church. She has a heart for the young children and the youth believing the word of God is the final authority. For information regarding Sunday school lessons and other Bible stories visit http://www.quick-christian-resources.com

After King Darius died, Cyrus came to be king in Babylon. God put it into his heart to let the Jews go back to their own land. One man who made this long trip from Babylon to Jerusalem was a man called Ezra. He was called a scribe. Ezra 8: 15-36. He loved god’s Word and wanted to go back so he could teach it to his people.

The king gave his permission for him to go and take some people with him. So Ezra gathered together all the Old Testament books and made them into one big scroll. This precious copy was carried with him to Jerusalem.

There he lived with the people and taught them the Word of God. After the walls and the temple were both built, the people all gathered together into a wide space near one of the gates. They made a pulpit for Ezra so that he would be higher than any of the others.

Then he stood up with the scroll in his hands. The people stood as he read from it. He read from morning till noon, and the people listened. Some of the priests may have helped him read it. Some of them were scattered through the crowd to help explain the meaning of any hard words, or anything they did not understand.

Then Ezra and Nehemiah told the people not to be sad but happy, to go home and eat and then send gifts of food to those in need. It was something like the modern day Thanks-giving day. After this they kept one of the feasts which God had commanded. It lasted for seven days. Every day they gathered to hear God’s Word read to them.

For many, it was the first time they had ever heard God’s Word read. The people listened to God’s Word from day to day. It told of the holiness of God and sinfulness of man. The people began to see the wrong things they were doing. Then they felt sad and fasted. Instead of listening to God’s Word read all morning, they had to take part of that time to confess their sins to God and pray to Him for forgiveness.

One of the things they had sinned in was that some of them had married heathen wives. This had been forbidden by God. He wanted His people to be a holy people. He knew that, if boys and girls grew up in a family where the mother worshiped idols and followed heathen practices, they would wan to do this also, even if the father worshiped the living God.

When they saw how sinful this was, the fathers said that they would give up their heathen wives. Another wrong thing was that they allowed the people to come inside the city walls on the Sabbath day to sell things like fish, fruit and wine.

Nehemiah closed the gates and would not allow those who sold to come in on the Sabbath. He wanted to obey God’s laws. The Jewish Sabbath is our Saturday, the last day of the week. Our Sunday or the Lord’s Day is the day on which the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. We observe it each week in memory of Him. He wants us to keep it as a holy day too, different from every other day of the week because it is His day.

Julia Shipley is a committed Christian worshipping and serving in her local church. She has a heart for the young children and the youth believing the word of God is the final authority. For information regarding Sunday school lessons and other Bible stories visit http://www.quick-christian-resources.com