Easy steps in the Bible story from the creation to Sinai ...

Introduction

The truth, simply told, always carries with it the power of conviction. Embellishments do not belong to God's word. God never makes any apology when he speaks to man. It is, "Thus saith the L,ord," or, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost;" then whatever God has to say, he says it simply, directly, and right to the point.

This little book does not claim to be original in conception, nor to bring out startling truths or fanciful ideas : it simply gives the truth, in language adapted to the young. It takes the truths that lie upon the very surface of revelation, and tells the story simply, that others may be able to comprehend its nature and see its beauty.

The lyord said to Israel: "Thou shalt remember all the way which the L,ord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no." Deut. 8:2. He would have people repeat over and over to their children, and to their children's children, the dealings of God with them. The facts were given in the scrolls of the Hebrews, but the story was told in the language of the mothers. So should it ever be.

God would have the story of creation ; of the flood ; of his servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; of Joseph io Introduction

and Moses ; and of the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt, — all his wonderful dealings with mankind, — repeated in the language of the people. This is what the present book does. It gives the story of what God has said, and of what he has done in his dealings with the children of men.

Daniel was preserved in the courts of Babylon from the meat that came from the king's table, and from the wine which the king drank, by the barrier built around his soul by his mother's telling him the story of Nadab and Abihu. This was the Hebrew method of teaching the children ; and were this method more fully adopted at the present time, it would throw about our children a safeguard that would keep them from the thousand evils that surround them.

I^et all feel the power there is in the simple story that God has given in his word, spoken in language that the children and youth can comprehend. In the perils before us, our youth will need a special protection from the I^ord. He is to draw over his people the covering of the Holy Spirit ; but none can be covered unless their minds are directed to the history of God's work, and impressions are made that will lead them to trust in him who has ever wrought for his people in the past.

S. N. HASKEIylv.

September, 1900.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I The Making of the World . . .13

II Man's Disobedience . . . . 21