Bible Story Retold in Twelve Chapters (eBook)

STORIES OF THE BEGINNING

Beginning

So this is how it all began: with God, who created the heavens and the earth. At first, all was empty and dark: there was no shape or form. And the Spirit of God was there, hovering over the black, boundless waters.

Then, into this darkness, God spoke: “Let there be light!” and it appeared – the first ever light – dazzling and shimmering, bright beyond words. God saw that it was good. Then God split light from dark, day from night. So evening passed and morning came: the first day.

God spoke again: “Let all the water and air that flows and moves be divided up. Separate the blue above from blue below.” So the wide expanse of sky unfolded, shining and full of light. Then evening passed and morning came: the second day.

God spoke: “Let the waters under the sky be gathered, so land can appear.” So it was. The waters flowed together, and glistening land began to emerge from the waves.

God spoke: “Let the land produce plants – an abundance of every kind: trees that bear fruit and plants that bear seeds.” And so the land began to shimmer with soft new growth; the whole earth was greening, fresh and new – like the first ever spring day. God saw that it was good. So evening passed and morning came: the third day.

God spoke: “Let lights shine in the sky to mark day and night, the turning of the seasons, and the passing of the years.” So there was the greater light, the sun, for the day, and the smaller, the moon, for the night. God also made the countless shining stars. And God saw that it was good. Then evening passed and morning came: the fourth day.

God spoke: “Let the waters be filled with life, shimmering with creatures, and let flights of birds soar through the sky.” And so the seas heaved with living things: huge fish, tiny shells, silvery eels, and strange creatures of the deep; and the air was filled with the songs of birds flying high and free. God saw that it was good, and blessed all the creatures, telling them to live and grow and flourish. So evening passed and morning came: the fifth day.

God spoke: “Let the land produce all sorts of living creatures!” And so creatures began to appear on the land: the great and the small, the wild animals, and those that moved slowly across the ground. God saw that it was good. But there was more. God spoke again. “Let us make human beings to be like us, so they can be responsible for the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and for the whole of the living earth.” And so God created human beings: male and female. God blessed them and told them to grow in number. God gave them every plant that bore seeds, and the fruit of the trees, for their food.

God looked at all that he had made; everything was beautiful, vibrant, growing, and blessed. God saw that it was all very good. So evening passed and morning came: the sixth day.

Then, on the seventh day, God rested from his work of bringing life from darkness and nothingness. God blessed the day of rest for all creation, for all time.

The garden

God formed Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, and breathed into them the breath of life. God made a paradise to be their home: the garden of Eden. God put them in the garden so they could work its rich soil, and care for it together. The garden was lush and green for it was watered by a great river, and at its heart were two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve lived near their spreading shade. How happy and at peace they were, for everything was perfect and beautiful. They had no need of clothes, for they felt no shame.

God told them, “This is a place of plenty! The trees everywhere are heavy with fruit. But you cannot pick all of it. There is one tree whose fruit you must not eat: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If you eat its fruit, you will die!”

The slippery serpent

The bright serpent, cunning and full of lies, slid quietly through the soft green leaves of the garden. When it came to the woman, it stopped. “Did God really say that you should not eat the fruit of any tree?” it hissed.

Eve replied, “We may eat the fruit of all these trees, but God did say that we should not eat from one tree in the middle of the garden. If we do, we will die!”

“No!” The serpent spoke softly, coiling itself around Eve. “You will not die. This is what will happen. You will see clearly what is good and what is evil, just as God does. You will become like God.”

The serpent’s twisted words set a trap for Eve, which tightened with every step she took toward the tree. Soon she could think of nothing else. How good the fruit looked! She had forgotten God’s command, and she had forgotten the sweet fruit that hung from every other tree. She longed instead for the knowledge of good and evil, so she stretched out her hand and plucked the fruit, and shared it with Adam. As they bit into the fruit, they saw everything clearly.

They realized they were naked, so they hurried to gather fig leaves, stitching them together to make clothes to hide behind. Everything was changed.

Later Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden in the cool of the evening, and they drew back into the shadows, hidden among the leaves. God called out, “Where are you?” and Adam stepped out of the darkness, his head bent low.

“I was afraid, because I was naked…” His voice shook as he spoke.

“Who told you that?” asked God. “Have you eaten the fruit I told you not to eat?”

So Adam and Eve told the whole broken-hearted tale of the snake’s trap, and the shared fruit.

Then they trembled under God’s curse. God spoke first to the snake, and then to Adam and Eve. “You, snake, will crawl in the dust all your days, the enemy of human beings. As for Adam and Eve: from now on, your lives will be hard, and scarred with pain. Even the land will sprout thorns instead of food because of what you have done. You will die, and return to the dust of the earth from which you were made.”

God spoke again: “Adam and Eve must not be allowed to reach out and pick the fruit of the Tree of Life. If they eat it, their evil will live for ever. They cannot stay here in Eden, under the shade of the Tree of Life.”

So God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden. They walked away weeping, their heads in their hands. As they looked back, they saw shining, wide-winged cherubim guarding the path back to the Tree of Life with a flashing, flaming sword.

They searched for somewhere else to make their home, but wherever they went, there was nowhere like Eden.

Bloodstained ground

In time, Adam and Eve found a place to settle and had two sons. The elder, Cain, worked the land, and the younger, Abel, kept flocks of sheep. They had not forgotten God. When they came to make an offering to God, Cain quickly gathered up some of the crops he had grown, but Abel carefully chose the finest pieces of meat from the firstborn of his animals. God saw that Abel was offering the very best he could, and smiled on him. He was not so pleased with Cain’s offering.

Cain strode around the fields with a face like thunder, knuckles clenched and white. God spoke to him: “Why are you so angry? Do what is right, and all will be well. Evil desires are lurking close by, waiting for you. Do not let them trap you. You can, you must, overcome them.”

But Cain did not listen. He marched up to Abel. “Let’s go into the fields,” he said. Cain led his brother far away, where Adam and Eve could not hear them. Then he grabbed Abel and struck him again and again with all his angry, jealous strength. Abel’s startled cries rang out in the silence as he fell to the ground. Then he lay still, broken and bleeding. There was no breath left in his body. Cain turned away, and walked back alone.

Then God said, “Cain, where is your brother Abel?”

“How should I know? It’s not my job to keep track of him.”

“Oh, Cain, what have you done? Don’t you know that your dead brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground? Now that blood-soaked ground is cursed for you. It will no longer give you crops, and you will have to wander the face of the earth with nowhere to call home.”

So Cain left, and Adam and Eve were alone. One son was dead, the other was his murderer. How empty the fields seemed.

The waters break their bounds

Years passed, and many generations of people lived and died, until a time came when people had forgotten God. They did not resist evil but allowed it room in their hearts. They began to hate, and hurt, and cause each other misery and pain. God looked at what had become of the people he had made – made to be like him – and was filled with sorrow. “Enough!” he cried. “It’s time to start again. Creation is ruined. I’ll wash it all away.”

But there was one person who did not join in with the evil-doers. His name was Noah, and he had not forgotten God. So God made him the centre of his plan to put everything right.

“You know how bad things are – the world is full of violence and hatred,” God said to Noah. “This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to send rain and floods to destroy the earth. You must...