chonzskypedia

The tenth plague of Egypt was the greatest suffer­ing sent by Almighty God to the Egyptian people. One day, God said to Moses: "Let each family the children of Israel kill a young lamb and sprinkle doorposts, of their houses with the blood of the lamb. Let the lamb be roasted and eaten at night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs."         Moses obeyed the command of God and said to the Israelites: "The Angel of death will pass through the land to destroy all the first-born of the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on your doorposts, he will pass on. He will not kill you or your children." The children of Israel did according to the orders of Moses.         One night, the Angel of death passed through the land of Egypt and killed every first-born creature, both man and beast. In all Egyptian houses — from the king's house to the house of the poorest Egyptian laborer — there was sorrow and weeping becaus...

     Again  and again. Moses and Aaron asked the king of Egypt to let their people go and offer sacrifices to the Lord in the desert. Each time the king of Egypt refused, and ordered his servants to give the Israelites more work so that they might not have time to think of offering sacrifices.      When the Israelites were given harder work, they blamed Moses and Aaron for their troubles. Moses said to God: "Why do you allow the people to suffer so much? Since I came, the king has treated them more harshly. Why have you sent me?" God answered Moses: "You shall see what I shall do to the king. Go to the Israelites and tell them that I shall free them from their slavery." But the Israelites would listen no longer. Moses and Aaron again went to the king. They asked him to lei the Israelites go. To prove that they came at God's com­mand, Aaron cast his rod down before the king. It im­mediately became a serpent. The king called his magi­cians, and...

     One day, while Moses was watching the sheep of his father-in-law, he saw a bush that was all on fire but which did not burn.  Moses said: “I shall go and see why the bush is not destroyed by the fire.”      The Lord Himself appeared to Moses in the flame of fire.  He said: “I am the God of you fathers. I have seen how my people are suffering in Egypt.  I know how they are made to suffer.  I have heard their prayer and I have come to free them from the Egyptians.  I will take them into the Land of Promise.”      The Lord went on: “Go to the ruler of Egypt and ask him to let you take my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt.”      But Moses answered: “Who am I? How can I do this?”      The Lord said: “I will be with you. You will say to the children of Israel.  “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me ...

     The descendants of Jacob lived many years in Egypt.  They were very industrious so that they became very rich, and their number rapidly increased until they finally spread all over Egypt.      After many years, a new king ruled Egypt.  He became very mean to the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, because he feared their industry and their number.  He said to the Egyptians: “Let us be very harsh with the Israelites, so that they may not increase in number and power; for they may become our enemies and over power us.”      However, in spite of the cruelty of the Egyptians, the Israelites continued to increase in number and prospered in their industries.  They had the blessing of God with them.  At last, the Egyptian king ordered that all male children of the Jews be thrown into the river to die.  (The Israelites came to be known as Jews after the exile in Babylon.)      At that t...

     The family of Jacob had been in Egypt for seventeen years when Joseph heard that his father was sick.  He went to see him at once.  At that time, Jacob was one hundred forty-seven years old.  He said to Joseph, “I am dying, but God will be with you.  He will take care of you and will take you back into the land of your fathers.”      When all his sons were around him, Jacob told them about the things that would happen to each one of them.  The twelve sons of Jacob were to be the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.      The greatest blessing given by Jacob before dying was imparted to Juda.  Jacob said to Juda: “You shall rule over your enemies.  The sons of your father shall bow down before you.  The scepter shall not be taken away from Juda till He comes that is to be sent and Who shall also be the Expectation of Nations.” These words of Jacob contain a prophecy, because Jacob foretel...

     Before leaving for Egypt, Jacob offered sacrifices to God.  One night, God appeared to him and said: “Jacob, Jacob!”      And Jacob answered: “Here I am!”      God said to him: “I am the most mighty God of your father.  Fear not, go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of you there.  I shall accompany you and I shall bring you back here again.”      And Jacob rose up from the place where he had offered the sacrifices to Almighty God and went to Egypt with his sons, wives, grandsons and all his belongings.  He was riding on the wagon which the King of Egypt had sent to fetch him.  All the persons of the house of Jacob entered into Egypt.  All in all they were seventy.      Juda, one of the sons of Jacob, went ahead to tell Joseph that his father was coming.  When Joseph heard this news, he started out to meet his father.  On seeing him, Josep...

     Joseph was made governor over all Egypt.  First, there were seven years of plenty.  Then there were seven years of famine.  The famine was all over the world; but only in Egypt was here bread.  Whenever the people would ask for food, the king would say: “Go to Joseph!” Joseph’s father and brothers lived in the land of Chanaan.  The brothers of Joseph came to Egypt to buy food.  Joseph immediately recognized them when he saw them; but his brothers did not know him.  They presented themselves to Joseph and said that they had come to buy food, and that they had another brother who had remained behind with their father, and that another was dead.  Joseph said to them: “You are spies.  I shall not let you go, unless your youngest brother is brought here.  One of you can go to fetch him, and until he returns, the rest of you will be placed in prison.” And Joseph did as he said.      After three days, J...

     The merchants who took Joseph to Egypt sold him to a rich man, a captain in the king’s army, whose name was Putiphar.      Joseph pleased his master and was placed over all his possessions.  Because of Joseph, the Lord showered blessings upon the house of the Egyptian.  Putiphar became richer and richer.  But Putiphar’s wife was mean to Joseph. One day, the wicked woman became very angry with Joseph and told her husband a wicked lie about him.  Putiphar believed her and had Joseph sent to prison.  But God took care of Joseph and helped him to do everything well, even in prison.      The prison guard soon came to love Joseph.  He put him in charge of all the other prisoners, among whom were the king’s chief butler and chief baker.      One day, Joseph saw that these two servants of the king’s house were very sad because the night before, they each had a dream  which nobody...

    Jacob settled in Chanaan, the Promised Land.  He had twelve sons, and among these he loved Joseph most of all.  The other sons of Jacob resented this preference and therefore, they hated Joseph.  When Joseph was sixteen years old, Jacob had a coat of many colors made for him.  This all the more enkindled his brothers’ jealousy, and they never spoke kindly to Joseph again.      Now, Joseph had two dreams – two very strange dreams.  In one, he saw himself and his brothers binding sheaves of corn in a field.  As they worked, his sheaf stood upright while his brothers’ sheaves all gathered around it and bowed to it.  In another dream, he saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bow before him and honor him.      When he heard of Joseph’s dream, Jacob wondered.  “What,” he cried, “shall you rule over us? Shall I and your mother and brothers bow before you?”      When Joseph related ...

     God pronounced a stern judgement on Adam's transgressions, banishing him and his wife from paradise.  But at the same time, God made a wonderful promise to them.    To the serpent, the Lord God said: "Because you tempted Eve, you will be cursed among all the cattle and beasts of the earth. You will crawl upon your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.  I shall put enmity between you and the woman; between your seed and her seed.  He shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for his heel.      To Eve, the Lord God said: "I will multiply your sorrows.  In pain sorrow, you will bring forth your children, and you will be always under your husband's power, and he will have dominion over you.      Finally, the Lord God said to Adam: "Because you have listened to your wife's voice, and you have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, cursed is the earth because of you:...

◄  Main Directory One day God called Jonah and said,"Arise, go to Nineve and preach init, for the people there are wicked." Jonas was afraid. So he rose to flee to Tarsus  where he took a boat. But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea and the boat was about to sink. The sailors threw away nearly all the cargo; still, the boat continued to sink, they looked for Jonah who was sleeping down in the boat. "Rise, pray to your God that we may be saved," they said. They also asked, "Why are you running away from the Lord?" Jonah said, "Cast me into the sea and the sea shall be calm."So they cast him into the sea and the wind ceased from raging. Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. He was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. He said, "I cried out of the belly of hell and the Lord heard me. I am cast out of the sight of the Lord but yet I shall see Your temple again. May my prayers come to You and to Yo...

◄  Main Directory On the third day of the fast Esther put on the royal clothes, and stood in the inner court of the king's house. The king sat on his throne and saw Esther who pleased his eyes. He held the scepter toward her and said, "What will you, Queen Esther? Even if you ask half of my kingdom it shall  be given to you." Esther answered, "If it pleased the King, I beseech you to come to me this day, and Aman with you to the banquet which I have prepared." The King said, "Call Aman quickly that  that he may obey Esther's will" So the King and Aman came to the banquet of the queen. After drinking plentifully, the King asked Esther, "What do you desire, my Queen?" Esther answered, "My petition is this: Let the King and Aman come to my banquet tomorrow; then I will open my mind to the King."So Aman went out happy. But when he saw Mordechai not honoring him, he was very angry. Although all the honors were his, it wer...

◄  Main Directory One day Assuerus, king for over one hundred twenty provinces, sat on the throne in Susan, capital of his kingdom. He gave a great feast to show his power and glory. On the seventh day of the feast, after drinking much, he asked for his queen to come and show her beauty. But the Queen, Vasthi, did not go. So King Assuerus called his nobles for advice. His advisers said, "Queen Vasthi gave a bad example of disobedience. Let a decree be promulgated that she is no more the queen, but another be made queen in her place."  This he did. His officers advised the King to send servants to all parts of the kingdom to select the new queen. This was also done. There was a man in Susan, a Jew, named Mordechai. He brought up his niece, Esther, Esther was exceedingly fair and beautiful. Because she was an orphan, Mordechai adopted her as his daughter.   She was one of the maidens brought to Susan under the care of Egeus, eunuch. The maidens were given maids, oil...

◄  Main Directory In the reign of Nebuchadnezzar most of the countries were brought under his control. He wanted to capture the whole world. He sent his general, Holofernes to do it. When Ozias, the Prince of Juda, learned of the conquests of Holofernes he began preparations to fight him in defense of Israel. When Holofernes heard of it he got angry and was determined to capture Israel. He called Anchoir and asked him, "What kind of people are the Israelites?" Anchoir told the story of the Jews, their flight to Egypt and from Egypt to Canaan; that the God of Israel protected them from all dangers, parting the Red Seas for them, feeding them with manna for forty years, etx. "Whenever they follow the commandments of their God they are powerful; when they forget their God they become weak. God punished them." Upon hearing this Holofernes was very angry indeed. He said, "There is nobody more powerful than Nebuchadnezzar." He was about to kill Anchi...

◄  Main Directory There was a great dragon in Babylonia and the people worshipped him. The king said to Daniel, "Behold, you cannot say now that this is not the living god?" Daniel answered, "This is not a living god. If you let me, O king, I will kill this dragon without sword or club." The king said, "I give you leave." So Daniel took pith, fat, and hair and boiled them together; He made lumps and put them into the dragon's mouth. The dragon burst asunder. Daniel said, "Behold him whom you worshipped." When the Babylonians heard about it, they gathered against the king and said, "The king has become a Jew.He destroyed Bel, killed the priests, and he killed the dragon. Deliver us Daniel or else we destroy you and your palace." The king delivered Daniel to them. They cast him into the den of lions and he was there six days. In the den there were seven lions which were fed two oxen and two sheep everyday, but that day the...

◄  Main Directory Daniel was the king's guest and was honored above all his friends. Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel and there were spent upon him every day twelve measures of flour, forty sheep, and sixty vessels of wine. The king also worshipped him but Daniel adored God. The king said to him, "Why do you not adore Bel?" David answered, "Because I adore only the living God that created heaven and earth." The king said, "Does not Bel seem to be a living god? You see how much he eats and drinks." David smiled, O king, do not be deceived, for he is but clay and brass and never has it eaten." The king got angry. He called the priests and said to them, "If you do not tell me who it is that eats up these expenses, you shall die. But if you can show me that Bel eats them, Daniel shall die." Daniel said, "Be it done according to your word." Now the priests of Bel were seventy, besides their wives and child...

◄  Main Directory In Babylon there was a rich man named Joakim. He took Susanna, a beautiful daughter  of Helcias, as wife. Joakim had an orchard near his house. There were also two wlders who were appointed judges that year of whom the Lord said, "Iniquity came out from the ancient judges that seemed to govern the people." These two men frequented the home of Joakim. They observed that Susanna walked in the orchard at noon; and they wanted to love her. They hid in the orchard. While in the orchard one noon day, it was very warm. So Susanna told her two maids to get soap, towel and clothes and close the gate of the orchard after them. When she was alone the two elders came to her and wanted to violate her. So she shouted for help. The elders also shouted. One of them opened the gate and charged Susanna with adultery. The elders said, "As we walked in the orchard, this woman came with two maid-servants. Then she shut the doors of the orchard and sent her maids a...

◄  Main Directory During the rule  of Darius, he appointed a hundred and twenty governors and three princess oven them. One of the princes was Daniel, an Israelite. He was the best of the rulers and he was the favorite of the  king. So the other princes and governors envied him. They tried to find any fault to Daniel but they found none. Then they craftily suggested to the king that anyone who shall ask  any petition of any god or man but of the king, shall be cast into the den of lions. The king signed the decree. Now Daniel knew this but he continued adoring his God. He knelt three times a day to adore and give thanks to God. When his enemies saw him praying they reported him to the king. The king was grieved but hecould not go against the law. So Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. The king could not eat or sleep. Then early the next morning the king went to the den and called, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God saved you?" Daniel answ...

◄  Main Directory Baltazar, the King, made a great feast for thousand of his officials and their wives. He ordered his servants to bring the chalices they captured from the churches and used them for drinking wine. They praised their gods of gold, silver, brass, iron and wood. In the same hour  there appeared fingers of a hand of a man, writing on the wall of the king's place. Baltazar became afraid. He called his wise men and sootsayers but nobody could read the handwriting. He said, "Whoever shall be able to read shall be the third man in the kingdom." None could. Then the queen came and said, "O king, do not be troubled. There is a man that has the spirit of the holy God in him. He is Daniel. Send for him." When Daniel was brought before the King,he said, "Are you Daniel from Juda?" Daniel answered, "Yes, Sir. This is what is written: Mane, Thecol, Phares. Mane means God has finished your kingdom; Thecol means You are weighed in ...

◄  Main Directory Nebuchadnezzar, the king who made an image of gold, set it in plain of Dura in Babylon. Then he invited all the  princess, governors, captains, judged   and other leaders to attend the dedication of the image. When they arrived a herald cried aloud, "When you hear the sound of the cornet, flute and other musical instruments you fall down to worship the golden image. Those who will not, will be thrown into the burning furnace." Most people fell down. However,some of the Chaldeans accused the Jews and said, "O king, live forever. There are certainn Jews whom you appointed officers in Babylon. Thesemen do not serve youur god nor worship the golden image." Nebuchadnezzar called them and said, "Is it true, Shaddrach, Meshach, and Abednego?" They answered, "Yes, O king. If you throw us into the furnace our God whom we serve will deliver us." Then the king was very angry. He commanded them to be bound and cast into the burn...