Nehemiah (1and2) Nehemiah Decides to Rebuild the Wall

  It had been 100 years since God touched the hearts of the Persian kings and allowed the Jewish exiles to return to Judah/Jerusalem and 40 years since God's temple had been rebuilt. The book of Nehemiah is unique. It was written by Nehemiah in the first person style. Which means he wrote of everything that happened to him and around him from his vantage point. So we are going to let Nehemiah tell the story in his own words. So whenever you read the words Me or myself or I, it is Nehemiah talking about himself.
  Hi, my name, as you already know is Nehemiah. For the past one hundred years, my countrymen, the Jews, have been making the 800 mile trek from Persian back to Jerusalem. Many of my friends and family have made the journey. But I have remained here in Persian. Mostly because I have a comfortable life here. I work for the king and live in his palace. I am the king's cup bearer, which means I taste the king's drink and food to make sure no one is trying to poison him. Yes, it is a dangerous job, but it is also a respected job because the king trusts me. Sometimes he even asks for my advice on some issues that arise in his kingdom. But I do miss my friends and family.
  So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that my brother and some of his friends were returning to Persia for a visit. When I heard that my brother was inside the kingdom walls, I ran out to meet him and his friends. My heart was beating as I asked how he and all the returning exiles were doing back in Jerusalem. But my heart sank when my brother answered, "Not good."
  "Why? what is going on?." I asked.
  "Without a wall around the city, the people are afraid to leave their homes, especially the women and children." My brother answered and then continued."The men are fearful that some neighboring countries will send troops through the city and snatch up all the women and children and the temple has yet to be decorated with the ornate silver and gold pieces that originally graced the walls and sanctuary."

  The walls had been torn down and burned by the Babylonians more than a hundred years ago. I knew it was not good for the people to live in fear. How can people live a God honoring life if they are afraid to come out of their own homes? I became very sad for the people there. I even began to cry. For many days after I hears the news, I fasted and prayed to the God of Heaven. I confessed my sin and the sin of all my people. I reminded God of His promise to restore His people and His city if we returned to Him through repentance, worship and obedience. I prayed for about four months that God would do something to help the people. Then something changed. I felt God telling me that I was the one that He was calling to go and help the people and rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.

  God is amazing that way. Prayer is not only asking God, but listening to Him. As we present our requests to Him, He slowly changes our hearts and guides us into His will. As you continue to pray for someone or some situation, listen. God may changing your heart and prompting you to be His tool for His purpose in that very situation!

  Ok, so I heard the clear voice of God. I was supposed to go back to Jerusalem, get the people together, and lead the reconstruction of the wall around Jerusalem. But there was one problem. Approaching the king with this idea was causing me much angst. The king did not even like if anyone was sad around him, let alone make such a life changing request. He could have me thrown in a dungeon, or even worse, put to death! I prayed that God would calm my soul and put just the right words in my mouth.
  I remember it was a beautiful spring morning. I had never appeared sad before the king before, but this particular morning I was feeling so much compassion for my fellow countrymen back in Jerusalem, that my face reflected my sadness. The king noticed and asked me what was wrong. I was
badly frightened, but replied. "Long live the king! I am sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins. The wall has been torn down and the gates burned."
  Then the king asked, "What can I do for you?"
  "Ok.... this was my chance..... don't blow it." I thought to myself so under my breath I said a very quick prayer to the God of Heaven, and answered. "If it please the king and you are pleased with me as your servant, I humbly request that you let me go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city."

 Next time we will see if the king throws Nehemiah in the dungeon for asking such a thing, or if he grants his request. One thing we found out about Nehemiah so far.... he is definitely a man of prayer.

The Fall of Judah (2Kings 24 &25) and Ezra

 After Josiah, The next 4 kings were bad. (They didn't do right in the eyes of the Lord)  The kings led the people of Judah away from the Lord. They broke the covenant that God had made with them, which meant that their land would become desolate and the people would be scattered, just as it had happened to Israel 136 years earlier when they were taken over by the Assyrians. The four "bad" kings were Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. During the third king's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, surrounded Jerusalem. He went into the temple and carried out most of the gold and silver that was in there. He also took many of the officials and the king as captives. The people of Judah had one last chance to turn back to God, but the next king, Zedekiah, continued to turn his back on God. 

 God is the God of 2nd 3rd 4th and so on chances. Don't ever feel like you've crossed the line of forgiveness and that you can't come back to God. Just confess it to God (which means that you agree with Him that is was wrong) and repent. (Which means turning away from the wrong doing and turning back to God)

King Nebuchadnezzar and his troops continued to surround Jerusalem for the next eleven years. The food ran out and all the people fled. As they were fleeing, King Zedekiah was captured. Then Some of the Babylonians went into Jerusalem and destroyed walls of the city and burnt the temple of God to the ground. They took what few Jews that remained back to Babylon and made them servants and slaves. With all the people gone, the wall torn down and the temple destroyed, the message that the Lord had given through the prophet Jeremiah came to pass. 'The land laid desolate for 70 years.' During the seventy years, the Babylonian empire was taken over by Persia.  .... That concludes the book of 2Kings.
 The next two books of the Bible are 1Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. These two books are recounts of the two Kings books. They begin with the first King of Israel, King Saul, then David's life is recalled with a few more details and finally King Solomon.  After King Solomon died,  2Chronicles  tells of how Israel split into the north kingdom, (Israel) and the south kingdom, (Judah). Finally the fall of Israel and the fall of Judah were covered. So we will pick up our story seventy years after the fall of Judah in the book of Ezra.

 The book of Ezra picks up where 2 Kings left off. Babylon had fallen to the Persians and in the first year of Persian King Cyrus' rule, God touched his heart. The king made a proclamation that all the Jews that were in the land could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The king also personally brought out valuable items that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple. Then he ordered that every single item that was taken from the temple be given to the Jews so that they could return them once the temple was rebuilt. Ezra chapter 2 covers a list of all the Jewish exiles that were returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Chapter 3 describes the first phase of the rebuilding, which was the altar, and then the beginning of the temple rebuild. In Chapter 4, the Jews face opposition when a new king is in charge. The Jews had to put the rebuilding of the temple on hold until the next king, Darius, became ruler of the Persian empire. He reviewed the decree of King Cyrus, and allowed the Jews to resume the rebuilding of the temple. With all the opposition to the rebuilding, it took over 40 years to complete, then Ezra the prophet returned to Jerusalem with many of the Jewish exiles. Chapter 8 of the book of Ezra gives family names of the returning exiles. Ezra made sacrifices in the temple and the people confessed their sins.


Sometimes God touches peoples hearts to fulfill His purposes. Sometimes He touches our hearts too. When God puts something on your heart it is called a burden. He wants you to act. But He won't force you to do anything. If we follow Jesus, we will have burdens placed on our hearts. God may want to bless someone through your actions. And guess what? Then we get blessed too! 

The Four Lepers and The Enemy Camp (2 Kings 6- 7)

  Last time we saw that the Aramean army was led into Syria by Elisha after God had confused them. The king of Israel wanted to destroy them, But Elisha told him to feed them and send them back home.
  Well some time later, the king of Aram decided to surround Syria in an attempt to take it over. As a result, there was a terrible famine in the land. The king of Syria walked down the streets, becoming more and more distraught seeing the suffering of the hungry people. As he continued to witness the effects of the famine, the king became more and more angry at Elisha.... and God. "I should have destroyed the Aramean army when I had the chance!" He said. "I want Elisha arrested and put to death this very day!"
  Elisha was at  his home with some of leaders of Israel. God revealed the king's plan to Elisha and he told the men, "One of the king's men is on his way to arrest me, but don't open the door. I want the king to show up here personally so I can speak to him."
  Sure enough, a short time later, the king showed up at Elisha's house and angrily shouted, "It is the Lord who has brought this terrible situation on our land and people! Why should we wait on Him any longer? The people are without hope and starving!"
  Elisha calmly said. "The Lord has said that by this time tomorrow, the people will have more than enough food. They will have horses and livestock, and plenty of silver and gold!" One of the kings men replied. "Even God himself could not make that happen, even if He opened the floodgates of heaven." Elisha looked at him and said. "You will not be able to share in any of it."
  That evening, four men with leprosy were outside the city gates talking among themselves. Lepers were not allowed to live inside the city because of their contagious condition. "Why should we sit here waiting to die? We will starve if we stay here, and will starve if we go into the city." One of them continued. "We may as well surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway."
  Little did they know, but God had caused the whole Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses, so that it sounded like a huge army was approaching! The Army fled for their lives, leaving behind everything, including their gold, silver, horses and livestock. So when the four lepers entered the Aramean camp that evening, no one was there! They entered one tent after another, eating, drinking  and carrying out all the silver and gold. Then one of the lepers said. "Wait a minute.....this is not right. This is good news! We should go back and tell all the people about this. We should not keep this to ourselves when there are people on the other side of that wall who are starving to death."
  So they went back and told the gatekeeper the good news. He relayed the message to the king who thought it may be a trap. He sent a couple men to check it out. When they returned, they informed the king that it was true. Then all the people made a mad dash to the Aramean camp and ate and drank till they were satisfied. They carried out all the silver and gold. They also took the horses and all the livestock. So it was just as Elisha the prophet had foretold. The Syrian economy was booming and the people were overjoyed. But remember the guy that said that this was impossible, even if God opened the gates of heaven, and Elisha told him that he would not eat any of it?...... well he was trampled to death as he stood near the city gate!
  The four lepers had good news. They knew it was not right to not tell anyone about it. Did you know that the word "Gospel" means good news? The four Gospels are the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. So the story of Jesus is good news! If we know the good news of Jesus, it is not right for us to keep it to ourselves. Just as there were people starving in Syria because they didn't know the good news of the food that was just outside the walls of the city, there are people all around us "starving to death" and without hope because they don't know The Bread of Life, Jesus. The life-giving promise of Jesus is a free gift for all who believe and take the step of trusting Him. Jesus wants us to tell the whole world about Him. (The good news)  Matthew 28:16-20

Solomon Takes a Wrong Turn (1Kings 10-16)

 King Solomon became well known for his wisdom and his wealth. Kings and queens from all over would come to see these things for themselves. Once the Queen of Sheba came for a visit. "I heard all these stories about your wealth and wisdom." She exclaimed. "But you are even wiser and wealthier than I ever imagined."

 King Solomon was so rich, that even his drinking cups were made of gold! He also built up a huge force of Chariots and horses. Solomon had 1,400 chariots and over over 12,000 horses!

 The problem with having all this stuff, is that we tend to lose focus on what is important (namely God, others and eternity), and Solomon fell into the same trap. Not only did he amass large quantities of everything, he also began marrying many women. Most of them were from other countries and worshipped other Gods. God's clear instruction was not to marry foreign women because the women would lead their husbands to worship their gods. But Solomon had lost his focus. God became very angry with Solomon for his heart had turned away from Him. God appeared to Solomon twice to warn him about not obeying His commands, and now Solomon was doing exactly what God had told him not to do.

 Being away from God left a big empty space in Solomon's heart. He tried to fill it with possessions, women, parties, reading and many other worldly things... but he discovered that nothing can fill the place in our hearts that is meant for only God to fill. Solomon even wrote a book about all he had done in his life looking for fulfillment. It is found in the Bible. It is called the book of Ecclesiastes.
He finishes up the book of Ecclesiastes with this conclusion: "Obey God, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge all we do, even in secret, whether good or bad." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

 Solomon died when he was sixty years old. His son Rehoboam became king. But because of Solomon's disobedience, the peace that Israel enjoyed for forty years was about to come to an end. Rehoboam got rid of his father's counselors and surrounded himself with advisers that were not very smart. They told him to be the strictest and toughest king that Israel had so far. So when the Israelites approached Rehoboam and asked him to lighten their harsh labor demand and reduce their heavy tax burden, he told them that the taxes would be even higher, and the labor more harsh!

 One of Solomon's labor leaders was named Jeroboam. He had been replaced by the new king with a man named Adoniram. But the people stood with Jeroboam and rebelled against the new king. The people made Jeroboam their new king. This split Israel. Now they had two kings. Rehoboam ruled over the southern kingdom which consisted the tribe, Judah. Jeroboam ruled over all the rest of the tribes in the north.

 Remember that God promised David that he would always have a descendant on the throne. Well He kept His promise. David's grandson Rehoboam ruled in Judah 18 years. During his reign, Judah drifted farther from God. Jeroboam was even worse! He made golden calves for the people to worship! Doesn't that sound familiar? Moses' brother, Aaron did the same thing when the Israelites got impatient waiting for Moses to come back down the mountain in Exodus 32.
 The next several chapters list the kings of the northern kingdom and the kings of the southern kingdom. Most of the kings didn't do what was right in God's eyes and there was a constant civil war between the two kingdoms. However, a king named Asa, a descendant of David, did what was right in God's eyes and Judah began to return to the one true God during his and his son Jehosaphat's rule.

 Solomon's sin had repercussions on all of Israel. Do we consider how our sin will affect others? We cannot foresee what the consequences will be, but we can know that the promises of God are true. Obedience to God's rules is not meant to rob us of our fun. It is meant to protect us and to fulfill our exciting purpose which God has prepared for us long before we were even born. If we fill our hearts with the things of God and not with things of this world, our lives will be amazing and exciting!

Consequences of the Census (2 Samuel 24)

  So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel because they had rebelled against His decision.... again. God used David's sin to enact punishment against the entire nation of Israel. When we left last time, the prophet Gad had relayed God's message to David. David had a choice to make about the punishment that would be executed against the nation of Israel. Here were the three choices. Either three years of famine, three months of fleeing from their enemies or 3 days of a deadly plague.

  If you had a tough decision like this, what would you choose? I know what I would NOT choose. Since I would be the king, I wouldn't have to worry about a famine, because the king had plenty of food stored up. Or I wouldn't have to worry about fighting off the enemy, because as king, I would be protected at all cost. I wouldn't pick the plague, because death could strike anyone at any time. As king, I would be as vulnerable as anyone else in the kingdom. So that would definitely NOT be one of my choices..... but that is exactly what David chose. He knew that he had sinned. (he takes full blame at the end of the chapter) and he says in verse 13., "Let me fall into the merciful hands of our Lord. If he sees fit to inflict me, then so be it."

  So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel and it last three days. Seventy thousand people died throughout the nation. But as the death angel was in Jerusalem, he stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah. (A threshing floor was a hard floor where a wheat farmer would crush his crop to remove the grain from it's husk by having oxen drag a large heavy board over it) When David saw the angel of the Lord. He prayed that the plague would end and that if anyone else should die, it would be David himself. Just then Gad the prophet came to David and said, "Build an altar to God on this very site. So David went to Araunah, the man who owned the site where the altar was to be built. Araunah was a little nervous because the king wanted to talk to him. "Why have you come my lord?" he asked.
  David replied. "I have come to buy your threshing floor so that I could build and altar to the Lord there, so that He will stop the plague."
 "Please take it my lord. And here are some oxen for the offering and wood to make the fire. I will give it all to you, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice." Araunah answered.
   David insisted. "No. I must pay you for the place, the oxen and the wood. For what kind of sacrifice would it be if it cost me nothing?"

  The word sacrifice itself means to give up something. If David took the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood and offered it up to God, it would have been Araunah's sacrifice. We must remember that when we live our lives for Jesus, we are giving up our own desires and plans and replacing them with God's. But the amazing thing is that God loves us so much! His desires and plans for us are for our own good. He wants the best for us! The Bible says that the more we give up for Him, the more we have! That is called a paradox, and the Bible is full of them. (The last shall be first..... the humble will be exalted... to name a couple of examples.)

 So David bought the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood. Then he built and altar and sacrificed to the Lord. The plague stopped right there at the threshing room floor!

  The amazing thing about where that threshing room floor was located was that it was on Mount Moriah. The same place where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac to God a thousand years earlier. And it is also the same place where Jesus sacrificed his life for us on the cross a thousand years later! God is so amazing!
 Well that finishes the books of First and Second Samuel. Next time we will be starting First Kings.

The Story of Abigail (1Samuel:25)

After David had revealed to king Saul that he had spared his life and the king promised to leave David alone, they went their separate ways. King Saul went back to Israel and David went back into the wilderness with his army of men. David still did not trust the king and thought it best to stay away from him.

 They set up camp near a rich man named Nabal always let his sheep and cattle out to pasture. David and his men would protect the flocks and herds against the Ishmealites who roamed the wilderness stealing and killing.
 David and his men never asked for anything in return. When sheep shearing time came around, Nabal's entire household, including the people who worked for him, would join in a big sheep shearing festival. David sent 10 of his men to Nabal to ask if they could reap some of the benefits from the party.
 Nabal (Whose name means fool) lived up to his name when he answered them. " Who does this David fellow think he is anyway? Go back and tell him NO WAY!"
 David's men returned with the message from Nabal. David was furious! "He wouldn't even have the cattle and the sheep if we didn't help protect them!" David shouted. "Men strap on your swords! We are going to teach that fool a lesson!" David was so mad that he wanted to kill Nabal and all his men.
 Meanwhile one of Nabal's men went to Abigail, Nabal's wife and told her of the situation.  Abigail didn't waste any time. She loaded up several donkeys with Nabal's best goods and headed in David's direction. I'm sure she was afraid, but she had to do something to protect her husband.

 Have you ever found yourself in a sudden fearful situation. The Bible says over and over not to be afraid. Fear only clouds our judgement and sometimes it paralyzes us. The Bible tells us to be courageous. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of fear. Fear may paralyze, but courage acts.

 Abigail met David about half way. She fell at his feet. "My Lord, please have mercy on my foolish husband! Don't kill him and have that dark spot on your record when you become king." Abigail knew that David had been anointed the next king. Nabal must have forgotten or he didn't care. Abigail continued, "Here is plenty of food for you and your men. Please take this gift in good faith and spare my husbands life. I take full responsibility. May the Lord reward you with a lasting kingdom and victory in all your battles if you forgive me and my husband."
 David looked at Abigail and responded. "Praise the Lord. He has sent you here to keep me from making a terrible mistake. Bless you for having the courage to come out here and meet us." Then David accepted the gifts. "Return home in peace. We will not kill your husband."

 Whew! That was a close one! Nabal had no idea how close he came to ending up dead. Abigail was not only courageous. She was smart and humble. Did you notice that she asked for her forgiveness as well as Nabals, even though she had done nothing wrong. But wait! The story is not over.....

  Abigail returned home after meeting David and his men. Nabal was getting out of hand at his sheep shearing party. He was so drunk that Abigail decided to wait till the next day when he was sober to tell him how close he came to being killed. The next morning, Abigail told Nabal everything. As a result, Nabal had a heart attack. He was in bed for ten days, then he died. When David heard what happened he said. "God has paid back Nabal for us!" Then he went back to Abigail and took her as his wife.

 Romans 12:19 says not to take revenge. Leave it in God's hands. Sometimes He does it right away like in David and Abigail's story. Or sometimes He takes his time. Either way. it is out of our hands and in God's. He is the great just judge. (Isaiah 33:22)

David Spares King Saul's Life (1 Samuel 23 &24)

One day, David got word that the Philistines were attempting to take over the city of Keilah. David prayed and asked God if he should gather his men (which now numbered about 600) and fight the Philistine army and save Keilah. God said "Yes." So David gathered his men and they defeated the Philistine army and saved the city of Keilah. In the meantime, King Saul heard that David was at Keilah. "Now we have David right where we want him! He is in Keilah, a city with a wall all the way around it. Gather the entire Israelite army! We have him trapped!" King Saul shouted.
 So as the king and his men marched toward Keilah to kill David, David prayed to God and asked him if he should stay in Keilah or leave. God told David that the people of Keilah would turn him over to king Saul, and that he should leave the city.

 Wow! David saves the whole city from destruction by the Philistine army, and they are ready to turn on him as soon as they hear that King Saul was on his way!

So David and his men left and headed into the wilderness. Jonathan heard that his father the king was in hot pursuit of David and went to the wilderness to find David and encourage him. "Don't worry." Jonathan told David when he finally reached him. "God has anointed you to be king, so my father can't harm you."

God knows where we are all the time and He led Jonathan to David. David was in need of some encouragement after he found out that the city of Keilah was going to turn against him. God knows where you are right now, physically, mentally and spiritually. And he will equip you with what you need to carry out His purposes.

When King Saul reached Keilah, the people told him which way David went. The king and his army were just on the other side of a large rock that David was hiding behind, when Saul got word that the Philistines were attacking Israel. He gathered his men, left the chase and went back to Israel to fight. Ever since then, that rock has been known as "the Rock of Escape". Then David and his men went deeper into the wilderness and found a cave in which to hide.

 After King Saul chased the Philistine army out of Israel, he took 3000 of his best warriors and continued to chase David. Some men along the way told the king which way David went.  So King Saul headed in that direction. Along the road into the wilderness, the king had to go to the bathroom so he ducked into a cave. Guess what? David and his men were hiding in that very cave! As King Saul was standing with his back to David and his men, some of David's men whispered to David that now was the time to kill Saul and become the king. David knew that this was not God's plan. "Saul is God's appointed leader and it is a serious thing to attack and kill him!" David rebuked his men.
 So David reached out and cut off a piece of Saul's robe. Then he told his men not to harm the king.
 After King Saul left the cave and was on his way, David came out and shouted, "My lord the king!"
Saul turned and saw David holding something. "Why are you trying to kill me?" David continued. "Don't listen to all those men who say that I am trying to kill you! Look what I have in my hand. It is a piece of your robe! I could have killed you back in that cave, but I didn't. I am leaving all the judging to God. He will punish which ever one of us is guilty. Be sure of this my king. I will never purposely harm you."
 Saul called back to David and began to cry. "You are a better man than I David, for you have repaid me good for evil. You have shown me kindness today. I was in a place where you could have easily killed me. But you didn't." Saul continued."I know now that someday you will be king! Please be kind to all the members of my family when you do."
 With that Saul went back home and David went back to the cave where he had set up camp.

God says in the book of Romans that we should "overcome evil with good" and that is just what David did.

David on the Run (1 Samuel 19-20)

  As time went by, King Saul hated David more and more, even though David was married to his daughter Michal and  he was best friends with his son, Jonathan. The king was jealous of David because of his popularity and because he knew that David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king. Saul wanted his son to keep the throne in the family and David was standing in his way.


 One day Saul had enough. He sent a couple of his men to David's house. "Kill him when he comes out in the morning!" Saul ordered. That evening the men went to David's house and waited outside until David came out the next morning so they could kill him.
 Michal, David's wife, was looking out the window. She noticed that a couple of her father's men were hanging around. She overheard them saying that they were supposed to kill David. She woke up David. "Hurry my husband! You must climb out the window right away and get away. My father has ordered some of his men to come and kill you!" So she helped David climb out the widow. Then she put some things in his bed along with a furry goat pillow to make it appear as if David was still in bed. David fled into the forest.
 The next morning, David never came out of his house, so Saul's men went inside. "Where is David?" they asked.
 "I'm sorry, David is not feeling well today." Michal told them as she motioned toward the bed. The men saw the "fake" David under the covers. His bushy hair partially exposed from under the covers. Saul's men returned to the castle to report to the king.
 "Did you kill David?" Saul asked.

 "No, he was ill and in bed, so we left him alone." The men stated.
 Saul got very angry! "So what!" He shouted. "Bring his bed with him lying in it, and I'll kill him myself!" So Saul's men went back to David's house. When they picked up David's bed, they realized that they had been tricked and reported back to Saul right away. Saul stormed over to David and Michal's house.
 "Where is David?" Saul inquired of his daughter. "Why have you tricked me?"
 Even though Michal had done the right thing by helping David escape, she did the wrong thing by lying to her father. " David threatened to kill me if I didn't help him escape!" She said. This made Saul burn with more anger still.


 Sometimes we do the right thing in God's eyes, but the when confronted by man, we become afraid and undo the good that we have done. God wants us to do the right thing, then stand by our actions when confronted by others. By doing this, we are trusting God and bringing him glory. Trust in God rather than man. (Psalm 118:8) as a side note: Psalm 118:8 is the exact center of the bible. That's cool!


  Meanwhile David found Jonathan out in the fields. "Your sister Michal told me that she overheard your father's men talking, and your father wants to kill me." David told him.
 "My sister has a tendency to exaggerate. I'm sure it's not true." Jonathan replied.
 "Ok, I have an idea." said David. " Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival. I always sit with your father during the meal. If he asks where I am, tell him that I requested to celebrate with my family instead and that you approved my request. You will see how he reacts and let me know the day after tomorrow. I'll be waiting here."
 The next day, at the festival, Saul noticed that David was not there, but didn't say anything. Then the next day, David was still a no show. "Where is David?" Saul asked Jonathan.
 "Oh, I told him that he could celebrate with his family this year."Jonathan replied.
 Saul flew into a rage and hurled a spear at Jonathan, nearly missing Him. Saul called his son a bunch of names and told him to go get David so he could kill him. Jonathan rebuked his father and said that David was a good man and didn't deserve to be killed. Jonathan knew that his sister was right. David's life was in danger. He returned to David and told him. Through tears Jonathan and David parted ways. They vowed their friendship forever, even to any relatives that may be left behind if either of them should be killed. This is important as we will see in upcoming chapters.


 Michal and Jonathan both did the right thing by protecting David, however Michal chickened out when confronted by her father. Jonathan on the other hand stood strong for what was right. Even to his father, the king.

King Saul Becomes Jealous of David (1Samuel18)

 After defeating Goliath with just a slingshot, David stood before King Saul. Saul was very impressed with David and asked him to stay in the palace with him. (Up until this time, David had split his time between playing the harp for Saul and tending his father's sheep)
  While at the palace, David met Saul's son, Jonathan. They became instant best friends. Jonathan wanted to show David that he would be David's BFF, so he gave him his robe, sword, bow and belt as a promise. This was really amazing because Jonathan was next in line for the throne, but he knew that David was anointed to be king. Instead of being jealous, Jonathan pledged his friendship to David.

 King Saul appointed David as commander over his palace army of 10,000 men. David was very successful in every battle and he became famous throughout the kingdom. People began singing a song about David and Saul. The song went something like this:
                                      "Saul has killed his thousands,
                                        and David his ten thousands"

  Saul found out about what the people were singing and got very upset. He said, "They are singing about me killing thousands, but they are giving David more credit by singing that he has killed ten thousands! His jealousy got the best of him and the very next day Saul threw a spear at David while he was playing the harp. David had to duck or it would have killed him. Even after this happened, David stood by the king and continued to play the harp in an effort to ease the king's mind. But Saul did the same thing. He tossed another spear in David's direction! Saul intended to kill David. "I wanted to pin him to the wall!" he said to himself.

  Finally , Saul transferred David out of the palace and put him in charge of only one thousand men. Much to Saul's dismay, David continued to be successful in his battles against the Philistines. Saul became even more afraid of David's popularity because he knew that God was with him. He was afraid that he would lose the throne to David because David was becoming so popular with the people. Saul needed to come up with a plan....

  Saul summoned David before him." This is my daughter, Merab. I will give her hand in marriage to her if you fight and defeat the Philistines in the next battle." (Saul planned on letting David be killed by the Philistines, probably by ordering his army to retreat just at the right time, leaving David vulnerable) But David humbled himself and said that he was not worthy to be in the royal family. Saul ended up giving his daughter, Merab to another man. Saul was disappointed that his plan failed.

Meanwhile, Saul's other daughter, Micah, was falling in love with David. When Saul was told about this, he was very pleased. This time he worked on David through his attendants. Saul ordered them to talk to David. They told David how much Saul loved him and how he would love to be his father-in-law. So when Saul had David before him again, he said. "David, you have a second chance to become my son-in-law. My daughter Micah has shown a deep affection for you. If you kill one hundred Philistines and bring back proof, I will give Micah's hand in marriage to you." David agreed.

  God was with David. He killed 200 Philistines! When he returned, Saul was surprised. He had no choice but to let David marry his daughter. Saul became more afraid of David and continued to plan how he would kill him.

First of all, we can see how jealousy can be so destructive. Jonathan chose to be friends instead of being jealous. We will see how deep that friendship remained throughout their lives. Saul chose to be jealous. His jealousy took over his mind and actions causing him to sin over and over. We can choose.We should choose love not jealousy. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant (1Corinthians13:4) Where jealousy is, there is disorder and sin (James 3:16)

  Secondly, we can see God's hand in David's life. God's plans cannot be altered by men. God had told Samuel to anoint David as the next king. No matter what King Saul did, God was with David. Protecting and Guiding him. God has a plan for your life. Get on the same page with God and He will make sure that His plans are carried out through you. He will guide and protect you. The Lord keeps you from harm and watches over your life. (Psalm121:7) Teach me your will Lord, and the Holy Spirit lead me. (Psalm 143:10)

The Fall of Saul (1 Samuel:13-15)

  When we left last time, Samuel had anointed Saul as king. Samuel warned the people that God was not very pleased with them about choosing a king over Him. But that as long as they looked to God first for everything, that He would continue to bless them.

 Saul was 30 years old when he became the first king of Israel. He ruled for 40 years. Saul had a son named Jonathan. Jonathan became a great soldier in Saul's army. In one battle, Saul took 2,000 men and gave Jonathan 1,000 men. Jonathan defeated a garrison of Philistines with half the men that his dad had. Saul sent a message out that he had won a great battle against the Philistines. The Philistines got mad and mounted a great attack with chariots and horsemen. Saul and his men got scared and camped at Micmash.
  Samuel the Prophet sent a message to Saul. The message said that he would be there within seven days to pray and make a sacrifice to God. Saul waited and waited. But his men began deserting. Some hid in caves, and some crossed the Jordan River and ran. After seven days, Saul was too fearful to wait any longer. "Bring me the burnt offering." he shouted.

 Just a Saul had finished the sacrifice, guess who shows up? Yep Samuel.
 "What have you done!?" Samuel asked. " Sacrifices must only be offered up by priests and prophets. That was a very foolish thing to do."
 "I didn't think you were coming. All my men were leaving and I thought that the Philistines were ready to attack." Saul replied. Then Samuel told Saul that his disobedience would result in losing the crown.... and that God already had someone after His own heart in mind. Then Samuel left.
 There were only 600 men left with Saul. They left Micmash just in time, because the massive Philistine army showed up there and set up camp.  Saul and his army were in Geba, not far from where the Philistines were set up.Without telling his father, Jonathan took one of his servants. They snuck up on the Philistines. Jonathan told his servant that God would be with them. They attacked the Philistines. The Philistine army was so confused, that they began killing each other! Saul's lookout saw something going on and reported it to Saul. Then he saw the Philistine army running off in every direction. Saul knew that he had to get over there to help Jonathan before the Philistines regathered their troops. He called his men together to pray, but it was taking too long, so he said to forget it, and they left. When they arrived. The Philistine army was gone. The Lord saved Israel that day, but the battle was far from over.

 In the years that followed, Saul fought against Israel's enemies in every direction. He won battles against Moab, Ammon, Edom and Zobah. The Israelites continued to battle the Philistines.
  One day Samuel said to Saul. " I have anointed you as king because God told me to. So now listen to what the Lord wants you to do. He wants you to destroy the country of Amelek because of the evil they did against the Israelites when the left Egypt during Moses' day." Samuel continued. " Make sure you follow these instructions exactly. Destroy everything and everyone. Do not take anything or anyone or any animal. from the land."
  So Saul gathered his army. They destroyed most of Amelek. Saul took the king as prisoner and brought back the best sheep, donkeys and cattle and anything else that appealed to them.

  God said to Samuel the Prophet. " I am sorry that I ever made Saul king. He has been disloyal to me and has disobeyed me at every turn." Samuel was so upset with Saul that he set right out to confront him. When Samuel finally reached the camp, he asked one of the men where Saul was. Guess where he was? He was out in a field surrounded by all the sheep, goats, and cattle that he took from Amelek and he was building a monument.... to himself!
  "I did it!" Saul exclaimed. " I followed God's commands."

 "Then what is all the bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?!" Samuel was very angry.
"Oh, I was going to sacrifice them to God later." Saul lied.
"Obedience is much more important to God than sacrifices!" Samuel retorted.
Saul knew he had done wrong. He confessed, but Samuel told him that the since he had rejected the Lord's command..... the Lord will now reject him as king.

   We can see Saul's gradual fall away fro God. We can learn from his mistakes. Let's look at his demise:
1. Saul took credit for Jonathan's victory.
2. Saul sacrificed without Samuel. (He thought of it as a magic wand, not as communing with God)
3. Saul didn't pray because it would have taken too long.
4. Saul directly disobeyed God's commands.
5. Saul thought more of himself than God. (When he built a monument to himself.)
 We should continually check ourselves. Do I take credit for things I did not do. Do I treat the things of God (prayer and bible reading) like a magic lamp? Do I hurry through my prayers or forget about them altogether? Do I break any of God's commandments. Do I think more of myself than of God? All of these things pull us away from God. He loves us and wants us near. He is always in the same place. we are the ones who pull away.

 

Saul is Anointed and Crowned King (1 Samuel 9-12)

  After the feast was over, Samuel took Saul to the rooftop where he had already prepared a bed for him. Saul still did not know what all the fuss was about. (Last time we learned that God had picked Saul as the first king of Israel)
The next morning, Samuel woke up Saul and his servant. Samuel sent the servant on his way and he brought Saul to a house at the edge of town. Then Samuel took out a flask of oil. He poured it over Saul’s head. I’m sure Saul was till wondering what was going on. He just came to this town looking for his lost donkeys!
 As Samuel as anointing Saul with oil, he said. “ I have received a special message for you from God. He has appointed you as leader over the people of Israel! Now be on your way and return tomorrow for the big announcement to all the people.”

  So Saul went home. The next day Samuel called all the Israelites together to introduce them to their first king ever. Samuel made a long speech about how God didn’t really want the people to have a king. And that God was their king, but God gave the people what they wanted. Finally the time came to announce Saul as the new king, but he was nowhere to be found. God told Samuel where to find Saul and he brought him out and said. “This is Saul! Son of Kish! God has chosen him and in all Israel there is no equal!”
 All the people shouted. “Long live the king!”
  Samuel stood next to Saul and read all the duties of the king from a long scroll. Saul was a very tall handsome man. He stood head and shoulders above everyone in Israel. The people agreed that God had picked the right man as their king. (Whether the people agreed or not, God always chooses right)
 When Samuel was finished reading, he sent the people home. Saul went home too. He was still not too sure about this whole king thing. He went back to working in his fields. Many people brought him gifts and encouraged him, but of course there were a few wicked men who complained about Saul as king.

  About a month later, the king of Ammon led his army against the Israelite city of Jabesh-gilead. The people surrendered to the king and offered themselves as his servants. The king said that he would return in seven day to not only take them as servants, but he said that he would gouge out every single Israelite’s right eye too!
 When the word about the king’s threat reached Saul’s hometown, everyone began to cry. Saul finished plowing his field and went into town. “Why is everyone crying?” He asked.
 The messenger from Jabesh-gilead filled Saul in on all the details. Then the Holy Spirit came upon Saul and he knew what he needed to do. (In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would come upon people as God saw fit. Now, because of Jesus, we can have the Holy Spirit living inside us, if we believe that Jesus died for us and we follow Him.)
 Saul went around Israel and gathered 330,000 men. They launched a surprise attack on the Ammonites and defeated them completely.The people hailed Saul as king.
 Samuel said. “OK now lets go reaffirm Saul as king.” So in a solemn ceremony, Saul was crowned king of Israel. The people of Israel rejoiced because they had a brave and strong king.
 Samuel then made his final speech as judge over Israel. “ Now you have your king. My work as judge is done, but I will never stop praying for you, teaching you or giving you godly advice. I will continue as God’s prophet. Even though you rejected God as your king, He has given you a brave and strong king. Just remember to look to the Lord for your help and remember all the wonderful things He has done for you.”

   Isn’t it amazing that even though the people rejected God as their king, he didn’t punish them. That is called mercy. Then on top of it, God picked out the best man for the job and empowered him with the Holy Spirit. That is called Grace.
 Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. We don’t deserve to go to heaven because of our sin. God sparing us is mercy. God sent Jesus as our savior to die for us and the Holy Spirit to live in us. That is Grace. Isn’t that amazing!  Amazing Grace!

Israel Requests a King (1Samuel 8,9and10)

 By now Samuel was getting old. He had two sons, Joel and Abijah. Samuel was getting his sons ready to take over as Israel’s judges, but the people wanted a king. Samuel had explained that God was their king. He told the people that Joel and Abijah would be the new judges, but the people cried out. “We don’t want your sons! We want a king like the other countries have!”
 Samuel was hurt. He went to God and told Him what the people were saying.
 “Don’t take it personally Samuel.” God said. “It is not you and your sons that the people are rejecting. It is me. Ever since I brought them out of Egypt, they have continually rejected me and followed other gods.” (Jesus said the same thing in John 15:18)
 God continued. "First warn the people about what will happen when they have a king. Tell them: A king will draft your sons into the army. A king will make some of your sons slave laborers. A king will take your daughters and force them to cook and clean for him. A king will take away your best fields and have them harvested as his own. A king will take your best cattle and keep them in the royal stable for him and his officials. Then you will beg to go back to the old way, but it will be too late.”
 So Samuel brought God’s message to the people. He warned them about how a king would treat them. Guess what the people said?  They said, “We don’t care! We still want a king like all the other countries around us!” They wanted to be like everyone else, even if it wasn’t best for them!

 Have you ever tried to be like everyone else? Sometimes it seems easier to just go along with the crowd, even if we know it is not what God wants. Do you know what God wants for you? He wants the best for you. When God says, “Don’t.” He is saying, “Don’t hurt yourself.” God loves you. He made you different from everyone else for a reason. Be who God made you to be.

Well, the Israelites made up their mind so God told Samuel that he would pick out a king for them. He told Samuel to prepare a feast and invite the top 30 officials in Israel. He also told Samuel to save the best piece of meat for the king. So Samuel invited 30 of the top officials and had a feast prepared. Wow! Samuel had faith! He would have looked pretty stupid if he threw a party for the new king and the king didn’t show up! But God was already working behind the scenes.

Did you know that God is working behind the scenes in our lives right now? When we talk to Him today, we should thank Him for all the things that He does in our lives that we don’t even know about.

A few miles away their was a rich man named Kish. He had a very handsome son named Saul. Saul was not only handsome but he was also tall. He stood head and shoulders above everyone else. Kish called to his son. “Saul, some of the donkeys have run off! Take one of the servants with you and see if you can find them and bring them back. So Saul and the servant headed toward the hill country. They searched everywhere and couldn’t find the donkeys.
 “I think we better head back home.” Saul said. “The donkeys are nowhere to be found.”
 “Wait!” Said the servant. “See that town just over the next hill? There is a prophet named Samuel that lives there. Maybe he can direct us to the donkeys.”
 So they headed toward the town. When they arrived at the gate, Samuel was waiting. Saul asked where he could find the prophet Samuel.
“I am he.” Said Samuel. “Come with me and don’t worry about the donkeys. They have been found.”
Samuel led Saul to the head of the table at the banquet and brought out the best piece of meat for him. Saul was very confused. He just wanted to find his donkeys and now he was the guest of honor at some feast.

 Sometimes we think that things are not going well, like Saul when he couldn’t find his donkeys. But sometimes God is leading us right where He wants us. Sometimes He is protecting us from something. Sometimes He is preparing us for something and sometimes he is teaching us something. But through it all, He is always drawing us nearer to Him.

The Attack of the Philistines (1Samuel 3-5)

                          
                        "As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything he said 
                          was wise and helpful. All the people of Israel, from one end to the 
                          other, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 
                          The Lord continued to give messages to Samuel  and Samuel’s
                          words went out to all the people of Israel.”    (1Samuel 3: 19-21)

 Remember the Philistines from the story of Samson? They were still at war with the Israelites. During one of the battles four thousand Israelites were killed. When they returned to the camp they began to cry to each other, “How could God let this happen to us! Why didn’t God do something?”
 Just the fact that they were crying to each other and not crying out to God showed that their hearts were in the wrong place. We do that sometimes, don’t we? We complain to each other about how things are going. We say things like “Why now?” or “Why me?” and “If only!” God wants a relationship with us. He wants us to come to Him. It’s OK to cry out to God.

 Well the Israelites had a great idea. “Let’s carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord into battle. We will surely be victorious with it!”
 Do you remember the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord? Moses had the people build it as they were wandering in the desert on the way to the promise land. It was like a portable temple that they could carry with them. (Exodus 25:10-31)

 They sent for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought into camp. Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas  were priests, so they helped carry the Ark of the Covenant into camp and then into battle the next day. The Philistines heard a large cheer coming from the Israelite camp and found out that it was because of the Ark of the Covenant. They became very afraid because they remembered hearing about how God had helped the Israelites at the Red Sea and Jericho when the walls came down. “We must fight harder than we have ever fought before.” The Philistine General shouted as they charged into battle.

 When the battle dust had cleared, thirty thousand Israelites were dead and The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had been taken by the Philistines! It was a huge defeat for the Israelites. They could not understand how they could lose as long as they had the Ark of the Covenant.

 God is not a good luck charm. Just because we wear a cross around our neck or have a picture of Jesus hanging on our wall, doesn’t mean that everything is going to work out. As a matter of fact, if we trust in out crosses and pictures, they become idols! Isn’t that unbelievable? A picture of Jesus could be an idol? But it’s true. Some people even put their trust in their prayers instead of the One that they are praying to. God wants us to trust in Him.

During the battle, Eli had put a chair just outside the city gate so he could get the news about the battle a soon as possible. He was very old now and could hardly see. Finally one of the messengers came running from the battle with news.
 “What happened?” Eli asked.
 The messenger answered. "The Israelites were beaten badly. We lost over thirty thousand men. I’m sorry to tell you this Eli, but your two sons were killed. And on top of it all, the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord!”
 When Eli heard this, he threw himself back in his chair. It fell backwards and Eli broke his neck and died. Thus fulfilling what God had told Samuel years earlier.

Joseph Becomes a Slave (GN 37 & 39)

Poor Joseph! Sold to the Egyptians as a slave! Could you imagine being free to do whatever you want one day and being a slave the next?

Now the brothers had to go face Jacob, their father. What do you think they told him?

Here’s what the brothers did. They took Josephs colorful coat that his father gave him and sprinkled it with blood. Then they gave the bloody coat to their father.                                                                

“We found this on the way back home father.” one of the brothers said. “It looks like some kind of wild animal tore him to shreds!” They continued.

Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son so he was very upset. He screamed and tore his clothes. ( in those days when you tore your clothes on purpose, it was a sign of sadness and hurting). if we tore our clothes on purpose.... we’d get grounded!

Jacob’s sons all tried to comfort him, but he was too upset. “Leave me alone! My son favorite Joseph is dead!” Jacob cried.                                                                                                                                        

 Meanwhile Joseph was sold by the traders that bought him to a very important man named Potiphar.

Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s main guys and Pharaoh was the king. Even though Joseph was in a bad spot, he never stopped loving God or never stopped trusting Him. Sometimes when things go wrong, we start doubting God and His love. We should be like Joseph. He became the best slave ever! Potiphar saw that God was with Joseph in all he did. Potiphar trusted Joseph and made him head of his household and he put him in charge of everything he owned. Joseph even got to live in Potiphar’s very expensive home.

  Everything was going pretty good for Joseph for a couple years. As time went by, Joseph got older and more handsome. One day Potiphar’s wife was alone with Joseph. She tried to kiss Joseph, but Joseph backed away. “Potiphar has put me in charge of everything. He trusts me and I’m not going sin against him or God by kissing you!” Joseph told her and he left.                                                                                  

  As time passed, Joseph kept his distance from Potiphar’s wife. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened before. But Potiphar’s wife made sure that Joseph would be alone with her again. When she got him alone, Potiphar’s wife snuck up on Joseph and gave him a hug and tried to kiss him. Joseph took off so fast, that he left Potiphar’s wife holding his cloak!          

 In hard circumstances, we always have a choice. Most of the time it is easy to see what God would want us to choose. Joseph made Godly choices when he decided to be the best slave that he could be and when he didn’t kiss Potiphar’s wife (and the Bible says that she was very beautiful!)        

We have to remember that God has a plan. Sometimes our life gets a little harder for a while so that God’s plan could work. Hard times make us a better person, and the better person we are, the more God can use us. We should obey God and we have to trust God! Do you think God knows what he is doing? Me too!

Joseph, his coat and his brothers (Genesis37)

I hope you had a great Christmas and New years!

Remember last time we were talking about Isaac, his two sons, Jacob and Esau and how Jacob tricked Isaac into giving him the family blessing? After that happened, Jacob was so afraid of his brother that he left. Jacob and Esau only met one time after that.

Jacob had 12 sons. One of his sons was named Joseph. In the next few blogs, we will be talking about Joseph. he had a most amazing life!

Out of all Jacob’s sons, Joseph was his favorite. Jacob treated Joseph extra special. He even made him a very colorful robe. Joseph loved the robe. he wore it all the time.
But Joseph’s brother’s were jealous of him. They did not like that their father treated him extra special. One day, all the brothers, except Joseph, were tending the sheep just outside of town. Jacob called Joseph over. “Joseph, could you go check on your brother and see if they need any water?”

Joseph left right away. Of course he was wearing his favorite colorful robe that his father gave him. Joseph’s brother’s could see him a mile away wearing it! They got madder and more jealous the closer Joseph came. By the time Joseph reached the brothers, they had already planned on killing him.

Rueben was the oldest. he said, “No we don’t want Joseph’s blood on our hands. We’ll just throw him in this abandoned well. If he dies, he dies.... but we will not have shed his blood.
So they took off Joseph’s robe and tossed him into the dry well. I bet Joseph was scared and hurt. His brother’s were just about to leave, when they saw some rich merchants passing by. One of the brother’s came up with the idea to pull Joseph out of the well and sell him as a slave! So that’s what they did. The brothers traded their brother, Joseph, for 20 coins!
Joseph was probably glad to be out of the well, but I’m sure he was really hurt that his brother’s did that to him. His brother’s did some bad things to Joseph because they were jealous. Jealousy is a sin and it leads to other sins. Whenever I see something that someone has that I wish I had, I have to ask God to help me, because I can feel jealousy starting. God helps me to be happy for the other person. Have you ever felt jealous? It doesn’t feel good does it? Have you ever been happy for someone? It feels good doesn’t it? Next time you start getting jealous, ask God for help. He loves you!!

The Tower of Babel (Gn11)

This is a story about putting ourselves before God. When we do that, we are prideful. Pride is the root of a lot of bad things. We will se a couple of them in this story.

After Noah and his family finally came out of the ark. (Remember the flood?) Noah built an alter to God. Noah thanked God and worshipped Him. Then God told Noah to "be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth." So what does that mean? God wanted Noah to have a great big family, so that his children would have great big families. Then God wanted them to move into all different parts of the world. The world is a big place and God wanted everyone to spread out and not stay in one place. We have to remember what God told Noah, because it is important in the tower of Babel story.

A few hundred years after the flood, there were a lot of people on the earth again. Noah had obeyed God and had a lot of children and they had a lot too. Many moved east to the other side of the river (not too far away) and found some nice flat land. Flat land was great for building. The people said "Come let us build a city with a giant tower that reaches all the way up to heaven. We will make a name for ourselves here and we won't end up being scattered around the world." (Gn11:4) God was looking down and knew what the people were planning. He knew that they were not building a tower for Him, but for themselves. God also knew that if they built the tower, the people would not fill the earth (spread out through the whole earth) like he told Noah, because they would stay near the tower.

God had a plan. His plan is funny if you think about it. God confused their language so that they couldn't understand each other!(vs.7) Imagine trying to build something and you can't understand your boss or the other workers. If one of the other workers asks you to pass a medium sized brick, but to you it sounds like blah blah blah blah blah, you wouldn't know what to do. Construction on the Tower of Babel had to stop because no one could understand each other. Babel means confused. They were confused all right! Did you ever hear anyone babbling about something. Not making any sense. I have.

So God scattered the people throughout the earth.(vs8) They didn't obey God, so He had to do something to make His plan work. I think God was pretty easy on these guys. He didn't hurt them. They deserved a lot worse. When God doesn't give us what we deserve, it's called mercy. God had mercy on the people building the tower. Has God ever had mercy on you?

Sometimes we put things before God. Things like our toys or games, our friends, or our allowance. Imagine if all of a sudden you spoke a different language than everyone else. You could't play games with your friends, or you could't understand your teachers or your parents. God may not confuse us like he did to the people in this story, but He does try to get our attention in different ways if we are too prideful or disobedient. Have you ever lost a favorite toy. Maybe it was more important than God. God says that if we put him first, He'll make sure about everything else that we need. (Mt6:31)

God gave us talents, when we draw a beautiful picture, write a wonderful story of play terrific music, we have to be careful not to be prideful about what we have done, but instead about what God has done through us. That is called glorifying God. He likes that. (Ps86:12)