The Lord came to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your children, and to their children, and it will be their land forever.” Abram built an altar and made an offering to the Lord and worshiped Him.

Abram took his wife, Sara, and his tents, sheep, cattle, and servants, and left his home in Ur. His nephew Lot, who also had animals and tents, went with them. They crossed rivers and climbed hills until at last they came into the land of Canaan. This was the land God had told Abram about. They set up their tents and prepared to live there. Every morning, the herdsmen took the livestock out to pasture, but they soon ran into a problem. There was not enough land for all the animals. Abram and Lot would have to separate.

On the sixth day of creation, God’s world was beautiful indeed. The fields were green, the flowers bloomed, and birds and animals roamed the forests. But there were no people, houses, farms, or cities on the earth. No children played under the trees. The world was ready for men and women to enjoy it. God said, “Let us make man in our likeness. He will have a soul and be master of all that is on the earth.”

After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, his youngest son Benjamin was born. Now Jacob had twelve sons. Of all Jacob’s children, Joseph was his favorite. He loved Joseph because he was Rachel’s child, and because he was the son of his old age. Joseph was also a good boy, faithful and thoughtful. Jacob made Joseph a special coat, a mark of his favor to Joseph. It made his older brothers very jealous.

The Holy Bible begins with God. He created the beautiful heavens above, and the earth below for us to live on. There was a time when everything was dark, very dark. No birds, animals, or laughter of little children were heard. Then a voice spoke: “Let there be light!” And suddenly there was light! God separated the light from the darkness and named them day and night. This happened the very first day.

While Jacob stayed in Haran, he wanted Rachel, the daughter of Laban, for his wife. Jacob told Laban, “I will work for you seven years if you will give me Rachel.” Laban agreed. On the day of the wedding, the bride was brought to Jacob. As was the custom in that land, she was covered with a thick veil so her face could not be seen. They were married, but later when Jacob lifted the veil, he found that he had not married Rachel whom he loved. It was her older sister, Leah, whom he did not love at all!

After Esau discovered that he had lost his blessing, he was very angry. He said, “Soon my father will die, and then I will kill Jacob.” When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, “Leave home and get out of Esau’s sight before it is too late. Perhaps when he no longer sees you, he will forget his anger.”

After Abraham died, God was very kind to Isaac and blessed him. However, Isaac’s wife Rebekah had no children for nineteen years. Isaac prayed earnestly for a child, and God answered his prayer. Twin boys, Esau and Jacob, were born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau grew up to be a hunter. He was rough and covered with hair. Jacob was quiet and thoughtful. He stayed at home and took care of his father’s flocks. Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, because he liked the deer meat that Esau brought him. But Rebekah loved Jacob more.

One of the greatest events of all time was about to happen! Jesus would be born to the virgin Mary. He would be called the Son of the Highest. Before Jesus was born, Mary visited her cousin Elisabeth. She stayed three months before returning to her home in Nazareth. There Joseph waited, eagerly looking forward to their wedding day. When Mary said she would have a baby, Joseph was shocked. He thought Mary had been unfaithful to him.

Pilate did not know what to do. He did not want to condemn an innocent man. Besides, his own wife had sent him this message: Leave that righteous man alone. This morning I have suffered much pain in a dream because of Him. But the angry mob kept roaring, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Soon they all began to shout, “Set Barabbas free!” These Jews did not really care about Barabbas, who was a convicted criminal. But they knew that Pilate usually freed one prisoner during this time. They would free anyone else, even a murderer, rather than Jesus.