steedman nurserybible
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7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF
BIBLE STORIES
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ldquoHe placed at the east of the
garden of Eden CherubimsrdquoGenesis iii 24
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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THE NURSERY BOOK
OF BIBLE STORIES
BY
AMY STEEDMAN
YESTERDAYrsquoS CLASSICS
CHAPEL HILL NORTH CAROLINA
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by YesterdayrsquosClassics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC is
an unabridged republication o the text originallypublished by C and E C Jack For the complete
listing o the books that are published by YesterdayrsquosClassics please visit wwwyesterdaysclassicscomYesterdayrsquos Classics is the publishing arm o theBaldwin Online Childrenrsquos Literature Project which
presents the complete text o hundreds o classic booksor children at wwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-268-1
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-268-4
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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CONTENTS
983144983141 B983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 W983151983154983148983140 983089
N983151983137983144 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 R983137983145983150983138983151983159 983151983142 H983151983152983141 983094
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983138983154983137983144983137983149 983089983088
I983155983137983137983139 983137983150983140 R983141983138983141983147983137983144 983089983095
983144983141 983159983151 B983154983151983156983144983141983154983155 J983137983139983151983138 983137983150983140 E983155983137983157 983090983090
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 D983154983141983137983149983141983154 983090983097
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 R983157983148983141983154 983091983095
983144983141 F983145983150983140983145983150983143 983151983142 M983151983155983141983155 983092983092
M983151983155983141983155 983156983144983141 G983154983141983137983156 L983141983137983140983141983154 983093983088
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983152983145983141983155 983093983094
G983145983140983141983151983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 983094983093
R983157983156983144 983156983144983141 G983148983141983137983150983141983154 983095983092
S983137983149983157983141983148 983156983144983141 L983145983156983156983148983141 S983141983154983158983141983154 983096983088
J983151983150983137983156983144983137983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 P983154983145983150983139983141 983096983095
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 S983144983141983152983144983141983154983140 B983151983161 983097983094
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 F983145983143983144983156983141983154 983089983088983091
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S983151983148983151983149983151983150 983156983144983141 W983145983155983141 K983145983150983143 983089983089983089E983148983145983146983137983144 983156983144983141 H983157983150983143983154983161 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983089983096
E983148983145983155983144983137 983156983144983141 M983137983150 983151983142 G983151983140 983089983090983093
H983141983162983141983147983145983137983144 983156983144983141 G983151983151983140 K983145983150983143 983089983091983089
J983141983154983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983091983095
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 D983137983150983145983141983148 983089983092983092
Q983157983141983141983150 E983155983156983144983141983154 983089983093983090
N983141983144983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 W983137983154983154983145983151983154 B983157983145983148983140983141983154 983089983094983088
983144983141 M983141983155983155983141983150983143983141983154 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983094983095
983144983141 C983151983149983145983150983143 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983095983090
983144983141 B983151983161983144983151983151983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983096983088
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983137983152983156983145983155983156 983089983096983094
983144983141 W983151983154983147 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983097983092
P983137983154983137983138983148983141983155 983151983154 S983156983151983154983145983141983155 983090983088983089983144983141 983154983145983157983149983152983144 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983090983089983088
S983156 P983141983156983141983154 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 A983150983143983141983148 983090983089983095
S983137983157983148 983156983144983141 P983141983154983155983141983139983157983156983151983154 983090983090983093
S983156 P983137983157983148 983156983144983141 S983141983154983158983137983150983156 983151983142 C983144983154983145983155983156 983090983091983091
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983141983148983151983158983141983140 D983145983155983139983145983152983148983141 983090983092983091
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1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
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2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
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3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
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4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
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5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
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6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
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7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
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8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
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ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
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10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
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11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
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Abraham leaving Home
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13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
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14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
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ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
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ldquoHe placed at the east of the
garden of Eden CherubimsrdquoGenesis iii 24
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THE NURSERY BOOK
OF BIBLE STORIES
BY
AMY STEEDMAN
YESTERDAYrsquoS CLASSICS
CHAPEL HILL NORTH CAROLINA
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by YesterdayrsquosClassics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC is
an unabridged republication o the text originallypublished by C and E C Jack For the complete
listing o the books that are published by YesterdayrsquosClassics please visit wwwyesterdaysclassicscomYesterdayrsquos Classics is the publishing arm o theBaldwin Online Childrenrsquos Literature Project which
presents the complete text o hundreds o classic booksor children at wwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-268-1
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-268-4
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 524
CONTENTS
983144983141 B983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 W983151983154983148983140 983089
N983151983137983144 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 R983137983145983150983138983151983159 983151983142 H983151983152983141 983094
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983138983154983137983144983137983149 983089983088
I983155983137983137983139 983137983150983140 R983141983138983141983147983137983144 983089983095
983144983141 983159983151 B983154983151983156983144983141983154983155 J983137983139983151983138 983137983150983140 E983155983137983157 983090983090
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 D983154983141983137983149983141983154 983090983097
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 R983157983148983141983154 983091983095
983144983141 F983145983150983140983145983150983143 983151983142 M983151983155983141983155 983092983092
M983151983155983141983155 983156983144983141 G983154983141983137983156 L983141983137983140983141983154 983093983088
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983152983145983141983155 983093983094
G983145983140983141983151983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 983094983093
R983157983156983144 983156983144983141 G983148983141983137983150983141983154 983095983092
S983137983149983157983141983148 983156983144983141 L983145983156983156983148983141 S983141983154983158983141983154 983096983088
J983151983150983137983156983144983137983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 P983154983145983150983139983141 983096983095
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 S983144983141983152983144983141983154983140 B983151983161 983097983094
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 F983145983143983144983156983141983154 983089983088983091
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S983151983148983151983149983151983150 983156983144983141 W983145983155983141 K983145983150983143 983089983089983089E983148983145983146983137983144 983156983144983141 H983157983150983143983154983161 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983089983096
E983148983145983155983144983137 983156983144983141 M983137983150 983151983142 G983151983140 983089983090983093
H983141983162983141983147983145983137983144 983156983144983141 G983151983151983140 K983145983150983143 983089983091983089
J983141983154983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983091983095
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 D983137983150983145983141983148 983089983092983092
Q983157983141983141983150 E983155983156983144983141983154 983089983093983090
N983141983144983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 W983137983154983154983145983151983154 B983157983145983148983140983141983154 983089983094983088
983144983141 M983141983155983155983141983150983143983141983154 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983094983095
983144983141 C983151983149983145983150983143 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983095983090
983144983141 B983151983161983144983151983151983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983096983088
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983137983152983156983145983155983156 983089983096983094
983144983141 W983151983154983147 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983097983092
P983137983154983137983138983148983141983155 983151983154 S983156983151983154983145983141983155 983090983088983089983144983141 983154983145983157983149983152983144 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983090983089983088
S983156 P983141983156983141983154 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 A983150983143983141983148 983090983089983095
S983137983157983148 983156983144983141 P983141983154983155983141983139983157983156983151983154 983090983090983093
S983156 P983137983157983148 983156983144983141 S983141983154983158983137983150983156 983151983142 C983144983154983145983155983156 983090983091983091
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983141983148983151983158983141983140 D983145983155983139983145983152983148983141 983090983092983091
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7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
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2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
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3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
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4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
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5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
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6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
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7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
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8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
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ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
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10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
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11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
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Abraham leaving Home
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13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
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14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
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ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
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THE NURSERY BOOK
OF BIBLE STORIES
BY
AMY STEEDMAN
YESTERDAYrsquoS CLASSICS
CHAPEL HILL NORTH CAROLINA
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by YesterdayrsquosClassics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC is
an unabridged republication o the text originallypublished by C and E C Jack For the complete
listing o the books that are published by YesterdayrsquosClassics please visit wwwyesterdaysclassicscomYesterdayrsquos Classics is the publishing arm o theBaldwin Online Childrenrsquos Literature Project which
presents the complete text o hundreds o classic booksor children at wwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-268-1
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-268-4
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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CONTENTS
983144983141 B983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 W983151983154983148983140 983089
N983151983137983144 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 R983137983145983150983138983151983159 983151983142 H983151983152983141 983094
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983138983154983137983144983137983149 983089983088
I983155983137983137983139 983137983150983140 R983141983138983141983147983137983144 983089983095
983144983141 983159983151 B983154983151983156983144983141983154983155 J983137983139983151983138 983137983150983140 E983155983137983157 983090983090
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 D983154983141983137983149983141983154 983090983097
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 R983157983148983141983154 983091983095
983144983141 F983145983150983140983145983150983143 983151983142 M983151983155983141983155 983092983092
M983151983155983141983155 983156983144983141 G983154983141983137983156 L983141983137983140983141983154 983093983088
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983152983145983141983155 983093983094
G983145983140983141983151983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 983094983093
R983157983156983144 983156983144983141 G983148983141983137983150983141983154 983095983092
S983137983149983157983141983148 983156983144983141 L983145983156983156983148983141 S983141983154983158983141983154 983096983088
J983151983150983137983156983144983137983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 P983154983145983150983139983141 983096983095
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 S983144983141983152983144983141983154983140 B983151983161 983097983094
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 F983145983143983144983156983141983154 983089983088983091
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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S983151983148983151983149983151983150 983156983144983141 W983145983155983141 K983145983150983143 983089983089983089E983148983145983146983137983144 983156983144983141 H983157983150983143983154983161 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983089983096
E983148983145983155983144983137 983156983144983141 M983137983150 983151983142 G983151983140 983089983090983093
H983141983162983141983147983145983137983144 983156983144983141 G983151983151983140 K983145983150983143 983089983091983089
J983141983154983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983091983095
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 D983137983150983145983141983148 983089983092983092
Q983157983141983141983150 E983155983156983144983141983154 983089983093983090
N983141983144983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 W983137983154983154983145983151983154 B983157983145983148983140983141983154 983089983094983088
983144983141 M983141983155983155983141983150983143983141983154 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983094983095
983144983141 C983151983149983145983150983143 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983095983090
983144983141 B983151983161983144983151983151983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983096983088
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983137983152983156983145983155983156 983089983096983094
983144983141 W983151983154983147 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983097983092
P983137983154983137983138983148983141983155 983151983154 S983156983151983154983145983141983155 983090983088983089983144983141 983154983145983157983149983152983144 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983090983089983088
S983156 P983141983156983141983154 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 A983150983143983141983148 983090983089983095
S983137983157983148 983156983144983141 P983141983154983155983141983139983157983156983151983154 983090983090983093
S983156 P983137983157983148 983156983144983141 S983141983154983158983137983150983156 983151983142 C983144983154983145983155983156 983090983091983091
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983141983148983151983158983141983140 D983145983155983139983145983152983148983141 983090983092983091
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7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
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2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
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4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
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5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
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6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
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7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
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8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
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ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
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10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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Abraham leaving Home
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13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
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14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
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ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by YesterdayrsquosClassics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC is
an unabridged republication o the text originallypublished by C and E C Jack For the complete
listing o the books that are published by YesterdayrsquosClassics please visit wwwyesterdaysclassicscomYesterdayrsquos Classics is the publishing arm o theBaldwin Online Childrenrsquos Literature Project which
presents the complete text o hundreds o classic booksor children at wwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-268-1
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-268-4
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
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CONTENTS
983144983141 B983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 W983151983154983148983140 983089
N983151983137983144 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 R983137983145983150983138983151983159 983151983142 H983151983152983141 983094
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983138983154983137983144983137983149 983089983088
I983155983137983137983139 983137983150983140 R983141983138983141983147983137983144 983089983095
983144983141 983159983151 B983154983151983156983144983141983154983155 J983137983139983151983138 983137983150983140 E983155983137983157 983090983090
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 D983154983141983137983149983141983154 983090983097
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 R983157983148983141983154 983091983095
983144983141 F983145983150983140983145983150983143 983151983142 M983151983155983141983155 983092983092
M983151983155983141983155 983156983144983141 G983154983141983137983156 L983141983137983140983141983154 983093983088
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983152983145983141983155 983093983094
G983145983140983141983151983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 983094983093
R983157983156983144 983156983144983141 G983148983141983137983150983141983154 983095983092
S983137983149983157983141983148 983156983144983141 L983145983156983156983148983141 S983141983154983158983141983154 983096983088
J983151983150983137983156983144983137983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 P983154983145983150983139983141 983096983095
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 S983144983141983152983144983141983154983140 B983151983161 983097983094
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 F983145983143983144983156983141983154 983089983088983091
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S983151983148983151983149983151983150 983156983144983141 W983145983155983141 K983145983150983143 983089983089983089E983148983145983146983137983144 983156983144983141 H983157983150983143983154983161 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983089983096
E983148983145983155983144983137 983156983144983141 M983137983150 983151983142 G983151983140 983089983090983093
H983141983162983141983147983145983137983144 983156983144983141 G983151983151983140 K983145983150983143 983089983091983089
J983141983154983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983091983095
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 D983137983150983145983141983148 983089983092983092
Q983157983141983141983150 E983155983156983144983141983154 983089983093983090
N983141983144983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 W983137983154983154983145983151983154 B983157983145983148983140983141983154 983089983094983088
983144983141 M983141983155983155983141983150983143983141983154 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983094983095
983144983141 C983151983149983145983150983143 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983095983090
983144983141 B983151983161983144983151983151983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983096983088
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983137983152983156983145983155983156 983089983096983094
983144983141 W983151983154983147 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983097983092
P983137983154983137983138983148983141983155 983151983154 S983156983151983154983145983141983155 983090983088983089983144983141 983154983145983157983149983152983144 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983090983089983088
S983156 P983141983156983141983154 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 A983150983143983141983148 983090983089983095
S983137983157983148 983156983144983141 P983141983154983155983141983139983157983156983151983154 983090983090983093
S983156 P983137983157983148 983156983144983141 S983141983154983158983137983150983156 983151983142 C983144983154983145983155983156 983090983091983091
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983141983148983151983158983141983140 D983145983155983139983145983152983148983141 983090983092983091
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7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
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4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
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5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
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7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
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8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
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10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
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11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
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Abraham leaving Home
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13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
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14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
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ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
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CONTENTS
983144983141 B983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 W983151983154983148983140 983089
N983151983137983144 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 R983137983145983150983138983151983159 983151983142 H983151983152983141 983094
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983138983154983137983144983137983149 983089983088
I983155983137983137983139 983137983150983140 R983141983138983141983147983137983144 983089983095
983144983141 983159983151 B983154983151983156983144983141983154983155 J983137983139983151983138 983137983150983140 E983155983137983157 983090983090
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 D983154983141983137983149983141983154 983090983097
J983151983155983141983152983144 983156983144983141 R983157983148983141983154 983091983095
983144983141 F983145983150983140983145983150983143 983151983142 M983151983155983141983155 983092983092
M983151983155983141983155 983156983144983141 G983154983141983137983156 L983141983137983140983141983154 983093983088
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983152983145983141983155 983093983094
G983145983140983141983151983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 983094983093
R983157983156983144 983156983144983141 G983148983141983137983150983141983154 983095983092
S983137983149983157983141983148 983156983144983141 L983145983156983156983148983141 S983141983154983158983141983154 983096983088
J983151983150983137983156983144983137983150 983156983144983141 S983151983148983140983145983141983154 P983154983145983150983139983141 983096983095
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 S983144983141983152983144983141983154983140 B983151983161 983097983094
D983137983158983145983140 983156983144983141 F983145983143983144983156983141983154 983089983088983091
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S983151983148983151983149983151983150 983156983144983141 W983145983155983141 K983145983150983143 983089983089983089E983148983145983146983137983144 983156983144983141 H983157983150983143983154983161 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983089983096
E983148983145983155983144983137 983156983144983141 M983137983150 983151983142 G983151983140 983089983090983093
H983141983162983141983147983145983137983144 983156983144983141 G983151983151983140 K983145983150983143 983089983091983089
J983141983154983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983091983095
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 D983137983150983145983141983148 983089983092983092
Q983157983141983141983150 E983155983156983144983141983154 983089983093983090
N983141983144983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 W983137983154983154983145983151983154 B983157983145983148983140983141983154 983089983094983088
983144983141 M983141983155983155983141983150983143983141983154 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983094983095
983144983141 C983151983149983145983150983143 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983095983090
983144983141 B983151983161983144983151983151983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983096983088
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983137983152983156983145983155983156 983089983096983094
983144983141 W983151983154983147 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983097983092
P983137983154983137983138983148983141983155 983151983154 S983156983151983154983145983141983155 983090983088983089983144983141 983154983145983157983149983152983144 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983090983089983088
S983156 P983141983156983141983154 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 A983150983143983141983148 983090983089983095
S983137983157983148 983156983144983141 P983141983154983155983141983139983157983156983151983154 983090983090983093
S983156 P983137983157983148 983156983144983141 S983141983154983158983137983150983156 983151983142 C983144983154983145983155983156 983090983091983091
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983141983148983151983158983141983140 D983145983155983139983145983152983148983141 983090983092983091
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1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
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2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
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13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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S983151983148983151983149983151983150 983156983144983141 W983145983155983141 K983145983150983143 983089983089983089E983148983145983146983137983144 983156983144983141 H983157983150983143983154983161 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983089983096
E983148983145983155983144983137 983156983144983141 M983137983150 983151983142 G983151983140 983089983090983093
H983141983162983141983147983145983137983144 983156983144983141 G983151983151983140 K983145983150983143 983089983091983089
J983141983154983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 P983154983151983152983144983141983156 983089983091983095
983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 D983137983150983145983141983148 983089983092983092
Q983157983141983141983150 E983155983156983144983141983154 983089983093983090
N983141983144983141983149983145983137983144 983156983144983141 W983137983154983154983145983151983154 B983157983145983148983140983141983154 983089983094983088
983144983141 M983141983155983155983141983150983143983141983154 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983094983095
983144983141 C983151983149983145983150983143 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983095983090
983144983141 B983151983161983144983151983151983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983096983088
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983137983152983156983145983155983156 983089983096983094
983144983141 W983151983154983147 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983089983097983092
P983137983154983137983138983148983141983155 983151983154 S983156983151983154983145983141983155 983090983088983089983144983141 983154983145983157983149983152983144 983151983142 983156983144983141 K983145983150983143 983090983089983088
S983156 P983141983156983141983154 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 A983150983143983141983148 983090983089983095
S983137983157983148 983156983144983141 P983141983154983155983141983139983157983156983151983154 983090983090983093
S983156 P983137983157983148 983156983144983141 S983141983154983158983137983150983156 983151983142 C983144983154983145983155983156 983090983091983091
S983156 J983151983144983150 983156983144983141 B983141983148983151983158983141983140 D983145983155983139983145983152983148983141 983090983092983091
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
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2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
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4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
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5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
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7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 724
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 824
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 924
1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1024
2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1124
3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1224
4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1324
5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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Abraham leaving Home
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13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 824
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 924
1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1024
2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1124
3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1224
4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1324
5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 924
1
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
W983144983141983150 night comes down and everything is dark and
black we sometimes are a little araid or we cannotsee all the pleasant things around us and it makes useel lonely to be in the dark Te very 1047297rst thing o allwe want is light
So it was when God made the world that the very1047297rst thing He did was to make the light It had all been
quite dark until He looked down and said ldquoLet therebe lightrdquo and then the beautiul light came
Tere were many things to be done afer that
Tere was the light to be divided into day and nightand the sky and the land and the sea to be made and
set all in their right places and as God worked He was
glad because He saw that it was all going to be verybeautiul and very good But still the earth was quite
bare worse even than the garden in winter when allthe 1047298owers are dead because there had never been
any trees or 1047298owers or grass at all So then God madea glad springtime to come bursting over the earth and1047298owers and trees began to grow and green leaves and
buds and corn began to sprout and instead o a baredark world there was a great garden all clothed in abeautiul green dress and starred with 1047298owers
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1024
2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1124
3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1224
4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1324
5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
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10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1024
2
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
Now there is one thing which a garden needs
above everything else and that is sunshine So God
made the sun to shine down rom the blue sky in theday-time and he made the silver moon that hangs
up there like a great lamp in the night-time and all
the stars that shine ldquolike diamonds in the skyrdquo Springsummer autumn and wintermdashGod arranged them allso that everything should grow in its right time
It was a very silent earth still or trees and 1047298owersgrow very quietly but soon the sweet sound o music
came stealing into the world or afer making all the1047297shes that swim in the seas and rivers and streams Godmade the dear birds that chirp and twitter as they 1047298yabout He taught them too to make their nests and
bring up the baby birds so that we should always have
birds in the world to sing their songs to us
Now in the air there was the sound o 1047298utteringwings and in the water the 1047297shes swam and 1047298ashed their
tails and only the earth was waiting or the animals
and insects that were to make it their home So Godnext made all the beasts and cattle and all the creeping
things and when He looked down He saw it was all very good
Ten it was that God made the greatest thing o
all or it was something that was made ldquoin His own
imagerdquo which means like God Himsel He made the1047297rst man Adam and the 1047297rst woman Eve and He made
them different rom all the other things which He hadcreated because He put into them some o His own lie
the part o us which we call our soul
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1124
3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1224
4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1324
5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1124
3
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
At 1047297rst the two people whom God had madewere very happy indeed Tey lived in the most beautiul
garden where all the most wonderul trees and 1047298owersgrew where there was nothing to harm them and
everything to make them happy All the animals andbirds were their riends and Adam gave all o them
their names and there was no suffering or pain in thegarden because everything was good
Ten a sad day came when Eve was disobedi-ent and all the happiness was spoilt God had said that
Adam and Eve might enjoy all the delicious ruit thatgrew in the garden except the ruit o one special treewhich they were orbidden to touch But the temptercame and whispered to Eve that it was very hard that
she should not taste that ruit and that God would
not really punish her i she did Poor Eve was not wiseenough to listen to the voice inside her which told hershe must not disobey God and so she did as the tempter
suggested and all the happiness in that beautiul gardencame to an end
Neither Adam nor Eve had ever known beore
what ear meant but now that they had disobeyedGod they were araid to meet Him and went and hid
themselves And God was very sorrowul to think Hischildren had disobeyed Him and by their wrongdoinghad brought sin and death into the beautiul world
which He had made so good
No longer could Adam and Eve live in the airgarden or they must be punished and God sent them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1224
4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1324
5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1224
4
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
out and placed His angels with 1047298aming swords to guard
the way back
It had been easy work or Adam in the gardento look afer all the growing things but now it was verydifferent Torns and thistles and all kinds o weedsbegan to spring up and to choke the good plants and
Adam had to toil hard rom morning till night and
Eve too soon learned what it meant to be tired and
sorrowulBut even then there was still some happiness lef
or God sent Eve a great gif the gif o a little son Shecalled his name Cain And aferwards another baby boy
was born and this second boy she called Abel
Perhaps she thought
she could never be verysorrowul again now thatshe had two boys to loveand care or but sad to say
as the boys grew up sorrowand sin crept in again Cain
began to be jealous o his
younger brother Fromangry jealous thoughtscame angry words until at
last ollowed angry blows
and Cain killed his brotherout in the 1047297elds where he
thought no one could see him But he orgot that Godsees everything we do even when we think we are quite
alone and his punishment ollowed swifly God put a
Cain
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1324
5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1324
5
THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD
mark upon his brow and sent him to wander alone outinto the world ar away rom his home and his mother
Ten Eve knew even better than beore all the troubleand pain and suffering which sin had brought into the
world
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1424
6
NOAH AND THE
RAINBOW OF HOPE
A983155 God looked down upon the beautiul world He hadmade it grieved Him to see how it was spoilt by the
wickedness o the people who lived upon it No onetried to be good or to obey Godrsquos laws and as time wenton they grew worse and worse until God was sorry that
He had made the world at all
ldquoI will destroy itrdquo God said ldquoboth man and beastand the creeping things and the owls o the airrdquo
But there was just one man in all the world wholoved God and tried to please Him and in the end God
determined not to destroy everything but to save thisman and his amily and some o the animals and birds
and creeping things as well And so God told the manwhose name was Noah exactly what to domdashhow he was
to build a great ark o saety to be ready or the timewhen God would destroy the world by a great 1047298ood
All the rest o the people in the world went onenjoying themselves and doing just as they liked never
thinking o God at all Only Noah worked with all hismight to obey Godrsquos directions He tried to warn the
people o what was coming but they only laughed at
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1524
7
NOAH AND THE RAINBOW OF HOPE
him and his work What was this curious kind o shipthat he was building It surely must be meant to 1047298oat
upon the water But Noah was building it inland araway rom any sea and no one had ever beheld such a
huge vessel beore
ldquoWhere is the great sea on which it is going to
1047298oatrdquo asked the people and they only scoffed whenhe told them that God would send a mighty 1047298ood that
would cover the earth and drown all the people o theworld Tere was no sign o a 1047298ood they said and they
did not believe any 1047298ood was coming What a ool hewas to toil all day and wear himsel out with workinstead o taking his ease and enjoying his pleasures
But Noah worked on And as the years passed bythe ark at last was 1047297nished and Noah went in with his
wie and amily and two o each o the birds and beastsand insects which God had promised to save Ten thesky grew black with clouds and a terrible rain beganto pour down Blacker and blacker grew the sky and
1047297ercer and 1047297ercer blew the wind and the rain camedown in such torrents that the rivers began to swell and
over1047298ow their banks and presently the whole worldwas just one great sea o tossing grey waters
But God remembered His promise and the ark
1047298oated saely on that tossing sea For many long daysthe storm raged and then at last the rain stopped andthe 1047298ood began to subside Noah waited patiently still
or a while and then opened one o the windows othe ark and sent out a raven and a dove to see i theywould 1047297nd anything to rest upon But the dove came
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1624
8
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
back with tired wings and Noah knew that there was nodry ground yet showing above the water So he waited
or another seven days and again sent the dove out andthis time she came back with a tiny green olive lea in
her beak And the third time he sent her out she didnot return at all
Te waters were slowly going down the earth all
resh and clean began to show itsel once more and
the green things were all beginning to grow again TenGod bade Noah open the ark and set all the animals
ree upon the green earth once more
So Noah came out with his wie and all his amilyand he built an altar to God and sacri1047297ced upon it thebest o everything in a great thanksgiving service
Ten God blessed Noah and promised that neveragain would He send another 1047298ood to destroy the world
And as Noah listened to Godrsquos voice he looked up andsaw in the sky a beautiul hal-circle o shining light
made up o all the airest colours its ends touching theearth and its circle stretching across the sky
It was the sign o Godrsquos promise the rainbowo hope which should always bring to us its message
telling o sunshine afer rain joy afer sorrow
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1724
ldquoAnd lo in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt offrdquo
Genesis viii 983089983089
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1824
10
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
I983150 those long ago days when the story o the world
was only beginning a city had grown up ar away inthe East on the banks o the great river Euphrates Tepeople who settled there had learned to make bricksand build houses but many o them still lived in tentsor they ofen wandered ar away rom their city and
lived among the 1047297elds where they were herding theirsheep and cattle
Tere were no books in those days to teach thepeople what they wanted to know but they learned
rom other things besides books and the great sky above
them was a page they ofen studied Tey watched thegolden sun rise in the east and marked the hours as itclimbed high into the sky and it taught them all about
times and seasons and at night when they saw themoon hang out her silver lamp and the stars come outone by one they learned the lesson o numbers andhow to guide their way and many other things
It was amongst these people that Abraham hadbeen bornmdashAbraham the great traveller the man who
had journeyed ar away into unknown lands and whohad met with so many adventures He had returned
now rom his wanderings and returned a very rich
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 1924
11
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
man indeed His possessions were piled high on the
backs o the long string o camels and asses his 1047298ocks
o sheep and goats and herds o cattle were driven alongby hundreds o his servants and he the great chie in
his scarlet robe rode at their head
A whole country was needed or this large tribeo people with their 1047298ocks and herds so Abraham
halted on the wide plain o Mamre and settled down
there to make his homeIt seemed as i the chie had all that his heart
could desire there was his dear wie Sarah to keep
him company there was his gold and silver his sheepand cattle a beautiul land to dwell in and best o allhe had God or his riend
But there was just one thing that Abraham andhis wie had not got and they wanted that one thingmore than anything else in the world Tey had no
children and they longed with all their hearts or a
little son God had been so good to them had takencare o them through all their wanderings had given
them great riches but this one gif He had not sent
and they said to themselves ldquoWhat is the use o all ourpossessions when we have no son to enjoy them aferwe are gonerdquo
Now it happened one day that Abraham sat
at the door o his tent and looked out over the rich
1047297elds where his 1047298ocks were eeding 1047297nding very little
pleasure in it all and eeling perhaps rather sorrowuland lonely when suddenly there came to him three
wonderul men whom he knew were messengers rom
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2024
Abraham leaving Home
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2124
13
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM
God And the message they brought was a very joyulonemdashso joyul that Sarah who was listening inside the
tent could scarcely believe it could be true God wasgoing to give them a little son the messenger angels
said
But although Sarah thought the news was toogood to be true Abraham was quite sure that God
would do as He promised and he was quite right or
afer waiting all those many many years the baby whomthey had so longed or was born
Tere was surely no happier woman in all the
world than Sarah when she held her little son in her
arms and Abrahamrsquos happiness was as great as hers
Tey called the baby Isaac which means ldquolaughterrdquo andhe was the very joy o their hearts and as he grew into
a strong healthy boy they seemed to love him moreevery day He was their only child and so much moreprecious than all the other gifs that God had given
them
Now God knew that Abraham loved and trusted
Him and He knew too how much Abraham loved his
little son and so He made a plan to try which love wasthe greater
In the stillness one day Godrsquos voice calledldquoAbrahamrdquo
And Abraham answered at once ldquoBehold heream Irdquo
Ten quite plain and clear the command cameldquoake now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2224
14
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
lovest and offer him or a burnt offering upon one othe mountains which I will tell thee ordquo
Abraham knew just what that meant or he hadofen built an altar o stones and offered a lamb uponit to God but now instead o a lamb he was to givehis only son
Not or one moment did Abraham hesitate He
could not understand why God should want to take
back His precious gif but he trusted God with allhis heart and was sure that whatever He did must beright
Very early in the morning he prepared or the journey to those distant mountains which he could just
see on the horizon He saddled the ass and told Isaac
to get ready to go on a journey with him and he alsocareully cut the wood ready or the burnt offering
Isaac was quite a big boy by this time and was
accustomed to go on journeys with his ather so he
asked no questions about what they were going to dountil at last they reached the mountain and began to
climb up over the rocks His ather had given him thebundle o wood to carry and he saw too the knie andthe 1047297re so he was sure they were going to offer a sacri-1047297ce to God But where was the lamb What was the useo 1047297re and wood without the lamb Isaac was puzzled
and at last he elt that he must ask a question
ldquoMy atherrdquo he said
And the poor ather climbing up and up with
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2324
ldquoTey went both of them togetherrdquo
Genesis xxii 6
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them
7172019 Steedman Nurserybible
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsteedman-nurserybible 2424
THE NURSERY BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES
tired eet and a heart heavy with sorrow paused or amoment and answered ldquoHere am I my sonrdquo
ldquoBehold the 1047297re and the woodrdquo said Isaac ldquobutwhere is the lamb or the burnt offeringrdquo
ldquoMy sonrdquo answered Abraham ldquoGod will provideHimsel a lamb or a burnt offeringrdquo
So on and on they went until at last they cameto the place which God had chosen and there Abraham
built an altar and put everything ready and took hisson whom he loved so dearly and who was so willingto do as his ather bade him and put him also uponthe altar Now he took the knie and raised it up to killthe boy but beore he had time to strike Godrsquos voice
rang out rom heaven
ldquoAbraham Abraham lay not thine hand uponthe lad neither do thou anything unto him or now Iknow that thou earest God seeing that thou hast notwithheld thy son thine only son rom merdquo
So Isaac was saved and all Abrahamrsquos sorrow
was turned into joy He had trusted in God through
the darkness o sorrow when every step o that long journey had cost him bitter suffering and now in thesunshine o joy he retraced his steps with a heart so
ull o gratitude and happiness that the long journey
seemed to him as a pathway o 1047298owers the boyrsquos handclasped in his and God leading them