 Old Testament History for Beginners, Book 1 (advanced) - From Creation to Saul
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REVISED EDITION
Adopted for use in the Protestant Reformed Churches
by the Synod of 1978
PREFACE
This book is the first of three books written for children between the ages of 6 and 8. Book One covers Bible History from Adam to Saul. Book Two treats the history from Saul to the return from the captivity. Book Three deals with the history as recorded in the New Testament from the birth of Jesus to the death of Paul.
Since these three books cover an age span in which there is considerable development in the child, it is suggested that the child of six learn the first eight questions and answers, while the older pupils learn the entire lesson. As much as possible the more difficult and doctrinal questions are placed at the end of the lesson. Children of five years of age who attend this class will learn according to their capacity.
In each lesson the emphasis falls upon one or two outstanding incidents, which the child of that age can readily understand and remember. The teacher should limit himself to these particular incidents as much as possible.
May the Lord richly bless these efforts in the instruction of the covenant youth of the church unto the gathering of His church and the glory of His matchless name.
Revised in 1978
LESSON 1 Creation
1. What does the first verse of the Bible teach us?
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Gen. 1:1.
2. In how many days did God create all things?
God created all things in six days.
3. What did God create on the first day?
God created the earth, and also the light.
4. What did God create on the second day?
God created the firmament, or, the sky.
5. What did God make on the third day?
God made dry land, the trees, and the plants.
6. What did God create on the fourth day?
The sun, the moon, and the stars.
7. What did God make on the fifth day?
God made the fishes and the birds.
8. What did God form on the sixth day?
God formed the animals and man.
9. Did God create a helper for Adam?
Yes, God created Eve while Adam slept.
10. Where did God place Adam and Eve?
In paradise, which was a picture of heaven.
Memory verse: “And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
LESSON 2 Adam and Eve in Paradise
1. Who were our first parents?
Our first parents were Adam and Eve.
2. What did Adam and Eve do in paradise?
They served God by taking care of the garden.
3. What else did Adam do?
Adam gave names to the animals.
4. Were Adam and Eve happy in paradise?
Yes, they saw the glory of God in everything round about them.
5. Did they talk to God in paradise?
Yes, God walked and talked with them in the garden.
6. What special tree was in the garden?
The tree of life.
7. Might Adam and Eve eat of this tree?
Yes, as long as they ate of this tree they would not die.
8. Which other tree was in the garden?
The tree of knowledge of good and evil.
9. Might Adam and Eve eat of that tree?
No, for God had said, “The day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2:17.
10. Why might they not eat of that tree?
God wanted them to obey Him in everything.
Memory verse: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth.” Psalm 8:1
LESSON 3 The Fall of Man
1. Did Adam and Eve stay in paradise?
No, God drove them out of the garden.
2. Why did God drive them out of the garden?
Because they disobeyed God.
3. How did they disobey God?
They ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
4. Who tempted Adam and Eve to eat of that tree?
Satan, a wicked, fallen angel.
5. How did Satan speak to Eve?
He spoke to her through a serpent.
6. What did Satan tell Eve?
“Ye shall not surely die.”
7. Did Eve eat of the tree, as Satan told her to do?
She ate of the tree, and she gave to Adam also.
8. Were they ashamed after they had sinned?
Yes, they hid away from God, because they knew they were naked.
9. What was the result of Adam’s sin for us?
We are all born in sin.
10. What did God promise to Adam and to us?
He promised a Savior to save us from our sins.
Memory verse: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10
LESSON 4
Cain and Abel
1. Name the two sons of Adam and Eve.
Cain and Abel.
2. What does the Bible tell us about Abel?
Abel feared the Lord.
3. How did Abel show that he feared the Lord?
He sacrificed a lamb to God.
4. Why was this sacrifice pleasing to God?
Abel showed that he needed a Savior.
5. What does the Bible say about Cain?
Cain was wicked.
6. How did Cain show that he was wicked?
He offered to God the fruit he had raised.
7. Why was this wicked?
Cain showed that he did not want a Savior.
8. How else did Cain show his wickedness?
He was jealous of Abel and killed him.
9. How did God punish Cain for his sin?
God sent him away from his home and family.
10. Did God give another son in the place of Abel?
Yes, He gave Seth, who feared the Lord.
Memory verse: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” Hebrews 11:4
LESSON 5 The Days Before the Flood
1. What did Cain do after he fled from his home and family?
He built a city for himself and his children.
2. What do we know about the wicked people who lived after
Cain?
Some of them were rich and had much cattle.
3. What did some descendants of Cain do?
They used organs and harps to sing wicked music.
4. What did still others do?
They made tools from iron and brass.
5. What very wicked man is mentioned in the Bible?
Lamech, who had two wives and was a murderer.
6. What did the people of God begin to do?
They came together to worship God, as we do on Sunday.
7. What God-fearing man lived at this time?
Enoch, who walked with God.
8. What did God tell Enoch to do?
God told him to warn the wicked people that God would punish them.
9. Did they listen to Enoch?
No, they wanted to kill him.
10. Could they kill Enoch?
No, for God took him to heaven.
Memory verse: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Genesis 5:24
LESSON 6 The Flood
1. What does the Bible tell us about Noah?
Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
2. What did God tell Noah to do?
God told him to build an ark.
3. Why did Noah build an ark?
Because of the flood that God would send.
4. How long did it take Noah to build the ark?
It took one hundred and twenty years.
5. What did Noah do while he built the ark?
He told the wicked people that God would send a flood.
6. How long did the rain fall?
The rain fell for forty days and forty nights.
7. Who were saved in the ark?
Noah and his family, and animals of every kind.
8. How long was Noah in the ark?
He was in the ark for one year and ten days.
9. Of what is the flood a sign?
It is a sign of the end of the world.
10. What does the sign of the rainbow tell us?
That God always remembers and saves His people.
Memory verse: “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:13
LESSON 7 The Days After the Flood
Genesis l 1
1. Give the names of Noah’s three sons.
Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
2. Did these sons of Noah have many children?
Yes, in a short time there were many people on the earth.
3. Did these descendants of Noah continue to serve God?
No, they soon became very wicked.
4. Whom did they choose for their king?
Wicked Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter.
5. How did these people show their wickedness?
They began to build a high tower.
6. Why did they want to stay together?
They wanted to make a great kingdom.
7. Why was it wrong for them to want to make a kingdom?
They wanted to be great so that they would not need God.
8. Did they finish the tower?
No, God changed their speech, so that they could not understand each other.
9. What happened after God had changed their speech?
They scattered over the whole earth.
10. What does this teach us?
When Antichrist tries to make a kingdom, God will destroy him also.
Memory verse: “The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.” Psalm 145:20
LESSON 8 Job
The Book of Job, 1, 2, 42
1. What does the Bible say about Job?
Job feared the Lord.
2. How did God bless Job?
God gave him ten children and many camels, sheep, and cattle.
3. What did the devil want to do to Job?
He wanted to take everything away from Job.
4. Why did he want to take everything away from Job?
He wanted Job to curse God.
5. Did God give the devil the power to do this?
Yes, the devil took away all his children and riches in one day.
6. What did Job say when he had lost everything?
“The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
7. How else did the devil plague Job?
He made Job very sick.
8. Did Job’s friends comfort him?
No, they made his troubles worse.
9. How did Job show his faith in God?
He said, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Job 19:25
10. Did the Lord bless Job after that?
Yes, God gave him ten more children, and also twice as many camels, sheep, and cattle.
Memory verse: “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” James 5:11
LESSON 9 Abraham Moves to Canaan
1. What did the Lord tell Abraham to do?
To leave Ur and to go to another land.
2. Did God tell him to what land he should go?
No, God only said, “Go to the land that I will show thee.” Gen. 12:1.
3. Where did God bring Abraham?
God brought him to the land of Canaan.
4. Whom did Abraham take along to the land of Canaan?
Abraham took along his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot.
5. What did God promise to Abraham when he came to Canaan?
God promised to give his children the whole land.
6. Why did God promise this land of Canaan to Abraham?
Because Canaan is a picture of the heavenly Canaan.
7. What else did God promise to Abraham?
God promised him as many children as the stars in the sky.
8. Did Abraham and Sarah have any children at this time?
No, they were old, and still had no children.
9. What did God tell Abraham?
God said, “Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Gen. 15:1
10. What does the Bible tell us about Abraham’s faith?
He believed that God would do all that He promised. Rom. 4:21.
Memory verse: “For he 1ooked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:10
LESSON 10 Lot Saved From Sodom
1. Why did Abraham and Lot separate in Canaan?
Because there was not enough grass for their cattle.
2. Where did Lot choose to live?
He chose to live near the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
3. Was Lot happy in Sodom?
No, he knew that the people were very wicked.
4. Why did Lot stay in Sodom?
Because his family wanted to stay there.
5. How did God warn Lot that he should not stay there?
Lot and his family were taken captive by an enemy.
6. How did Lot escape from this enemy?
Abraham came with an army to deliver him.
7. Did Lot move away from Sodom after that?
No, he and his family went back, for they loved the things of this world.
8. What happened to these wicked cities?
God rained fire from heaven upon them.
9. Was Lot destroyed with these wicked cities?
No, two angels helped him to escape.
10. What happened to Lot’s wife?
She looked back and was changed into a pillar of salt.
Memory verse: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” I John 2:15
LESSON 11 Isaac
1. Who came to Abraham at Mamre?
God came to him as a lord with his two servants.
2. What did God do when He came to Abraham?
He ate and talked with Abraham.
3. What did God tell Abraham?
That Sarah would have a son.
4. Why did Sarah laugh when she heard this?
She could hardly believe it, because she was so very old.
5. What did God answer Sarah?
“Is anything impossible for the Lord?” Gen. 18:14.
6. What did Abraham and Sarah name their son?
Isaac, which means “laughter,” for they laughed for joy.
7. What did God command Abraham to do when Isaac was grown up?
God told him to sacrifice Isaac.
8. Why was this so very hard for Abraham to do?
Because he knew that Christ was to be born from Isaac.
9. How could Abraham, then, sacrifice his son?
He believed that God was able to raise him from the dead.
10. What did God give as a sacrifice?
A ram, which died, just as Christ died for our sins.
Memory verse: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
LESSON 12 Jacob
1. Why did Abraham send his servant to Haran?
To get a wife for Isaac.
2. Why did he send his servant to Haran for a wife?
Because Isaac might not marry a wicked woman from Canaan.
3. How did the servant try to find a wife for Isaac?
He prayed that God would bring her to him.
4. Did God answer the servant’s prayer?
Yes, as soon as he had finished praying, Rebekah came to the well.
5. How many children did God give to Isaac and Rebekah?
God gave them twins, Esau and Jacob.
6. What did God tell Rebekah about these children before they were born?
God told them that he loved Jacob, but hated Esau.
7. How did Esau show that he was wicked?
He sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.
8. Was Jacob honest in seeking God’s blessing?
No, he deceived his father.
9. How did he deceive his father?
He pretended that he was Esau.
10. Where did Jacob go when Esau wanted to kill him?
He fled to his uncle Laban.
Memory verse: “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” Hebrews 11:20
LESSON 13 Jacob in Haran
1. What happened to Jacob on the way to Haran?
The Lord appeared to him in a dream at Bethel.
2. What did the Lord promise to Jacob at Bethel?
The Lord promised to bless him and bring him back to the land of Canaan.
3. How long did Jacob stay in Haran?
He stayed twenty years in Haran.
4. What did Jacob do during those twenty years?
Jacob worked hard to earn his wives and his cattle.
5. How many wives did Jacob have?
He had two wives, Leah and Rachel.
6. How many children did God give to Jacob?
God gave him twelve sons and one daughter.
7. How else did the Lord bless Jacob?
The Lord gave him much cattle and sheep.
8. Why did Jacob leave Laban?
He left Laban because the Lord told him to return to Canaan.
9. What happened to Jacob on the way to Canaan?
Jacob wrestled with God.
10. Did Esau kill Jacob when he saw him again?
No, God kept Esau from doing him harm.
Memory verse: “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Genesis 32:30
LESSON 14 Joseph
1. To which son did Jacob show special favors?
He showed special favors to Joseph, Rachel’s son.
2. Name one special favor that Jacob showed Joseph.
Jacob gave him a beautiful coat.
3. Why did Jacob show special favors to Joseph?
He wanted him to have the birthright blessing.
4. How did the brothers feel toward Joseph?
They were jealous of him and hated him.
5. What made the brothers hate Joseph still more?
Joseph dreamed that his brothers would bow down to him.
6. What did the brothers do to Joseph?
They sold him as a slave into Egypt.
7. What made Jacob think that a wild animal had killed Joseph?
His brothers sent Joseph’s coat home covered with blood.
8. What happened to Joseph in Egypt?
Joseph became Potiphar’s chief servant.
9. What did Potiphar do to Joseph?
He put him in prison.
10. Had Joseph done any wrong?
No, Potiphar’s wife lied about him.
Memory verse: “The arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.” Genesis 49:24
LESSON 15 Joseph as Ruler of Egypt
1. Whom did Joseph meet in prison?
The king’s butler and baker.
2. Why were the butler and the baker sad?
They both dreamed a dream and wondered what it meant.
3. How did they find out the meaning of their dreams?
God showed Joseph the meaning of their dreams.
4. What did those dreams mean?
That the butler would be set free, and the baker hanged.
5. What did Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, dream?
Pharaoh dreamed about fat and lean cows, and healthy and sickly ears of corn.
6. Who explained to Pharaoh the meaning of his dreams?
Joseph, who was called out of prison to explain the king’s dreams.
7. What did Pharaoh’s dreams mean?
That God would send seven years of plenty to Egypt, and then seven years of famine.
8. How did Pharaoh reward Joseph for explaining his dreams?
Pharaoh made Joseph the chief ruler of Egypt.
9. Who came to Joseph during the years of famine?
His brothers came to him to buy corn.
10. Was Jacob glad to hear that Joseph was alive?
Yes, he and his sons came to Egypt to live.
Memory verse: “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.” Genesis 50:20
LESSON 16 Moses
1. Were the Israelites happy in Egypt?
No, a cruel king arose who made them slaves.
2. What did the king command the Israelites to do?
He commanded them to drown their baby boys in the river.
3. Who was born at this time?
Moses.
4. Why did not Moses’ parents drown him in the river?
They believed that God had a special reason for giving them this beautiful baby.
5. What did Moses’ mother do to save his life?
She laid him in a basket and set the basket in the river for the king’s daughter to find.
6. What happened to Moses after Pharaoh’s daughter found him?
She let his mother keep him until he was old enough to live with her in the palace.
7. Did Moses want to be the son of Pharaoh’s daughter?
No, he wanted to deliver his people from their cruel bondage.
8. How did Moses try to help his people?
He killed an Egyptian, but after that he had to flee to Midian.
9. How did God appear to Moses in Midian?
The Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush.
10. Why did God send him back to Egypt?
God sent him back to deliver Israel and to lead them to Canaan.
Memory verse: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” Hebrews 11:24
LESSON 17 Israel's Deliverance
1. What did Moses tell king Pharaoh?
The God of Israel says, “Let my people go!” Ex. 5:1
2. What did Pharaoh do when he heard this?
He would not let Israel go, but made them work harder.
3. Why did Pharaoh refuse to let Israel go?
Because he was wicked and God hardened his heart.
4. What did God send upon Egypt?
Ten great plagues.
5. What did God give to Israel at the time of the last plague?
The Passover feast.
6. Was Pharaoh happy after they were gone?
No, he and his army followed after them to bring them back.
7. Did God save Israel from wicked Pharaoh?
Yes, God led Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.
8. What happened to Pharaoh and his army?
They were drowned in the Red Sea.
9. Name the ten plagues.
Water turned to blood.
Frogs covered the land.
Dust became lice.
Swarms of flies.
Sickness among the cattle.
Sore boils on man and beast.
Hail and fire.
Locusts that ate every herb.
Darkness for three days.
All the firstborn died.
Memory verse: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Exodus 12:13
Note: The plagues are mentioned last, because it may prove too difficult for the five and six year olds to learn them.
LESSON 18 Israel in the Wilderness
1. How did God lead Israel in the wilderness?
God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
2. How did God feed Israel?
God rained manna from heaven and gave them water from the rock.
3. What did God give them at mount Sinai?
God gave them the ten commandments and other laws.
4. What did God tell Moses to build?
A tabernacle where the people could worship God.
5. What sin did Israel commit at mount Sinai?
Israel worshipped the golden calf.
6. How did God punish them when they wanted meat instead of manna?
God sent them quails and a great plague that killed many of them.
7. What did Moses do when Israel came near Canaan?
Moses sent out twelve spies to spy out the land.
8. Did these spies bring a good report?
Two of them did, for they trusted that God would give them the land.
9. What did the other ten spies report?
They reported that there were cities with high walls and giants, of whom they were afraid.
10. What did Israel want to do when they heard this evil report?
They wanted to go back to Egypt.
Memory verse: “He brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness.” Psalm 105:43
LESSON 19 Israel in the Wilderness (cont.)
1. How did God punish Israel for wanting to go back to Egypt?
God made them wander in the wilderness for forty years.
2. What sin did Korah, Dathan, and Abiram commit?
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses and Aaron.
3. How were Korah, Dathan, and Abiram punished for their sin?
The earth opened and swallowed them up.
4. How was Israel punished when they complained about the manna?
God sent fiery serpents that killed many of them.
5. How were the people saved from the fiery serpents?
God told Moses to set up a serpent of brass, and whoever looked at it was saved.
6. Who tried to destroy Israel?
Balak, the king of Moab.
7. How did Balak try to destroy Israel?
He asked the wicked prophet Balaam to curse them.
8. Did Balaam curse Israel?
No, he wanted to curse Israel, but God made him bless them.
9. Did Moses lead Israel into Canaan?
No, Moses died on Mount Nebo.
10. Why might Moses not lead Israel into Canaan?
Because he was angry with the people, and struck the rock instead of speaking to it.
Memory verse: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” John 3:14
LESSON 20 Israel Enters Canaan
1. Who led Israel after Moses died?
Joshua, the servant of Moses.
2. Whom did Joshua send to Jericho?
Two spies to spy out the city.
3. What woman of Jericho showed her faith in God?
Rahab, who hid the spies.
4. How did Israel cross the Jordan?
God made a dry path through the river.
5. How did God cause Jericho to be taken?
The walls fell down after Israel marched around them seven days.
6. Were all the people of Jericho destroyed?
Yes, all except Rahab and her family.
7. Why was Rahab spared?
Rabab was spared because she hid the spies.
8. What happened to the city?
The whole city was burned with fire, as God commanded.
9. How did God later help Israel to fight their battle?
God caused the sun and the moon to stand still.
10. Why did God give Israel the land of Canaan?
God had promised it to Abraham as a picture of heaven.
Memory verse: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
LESSON 21 Ehud and Deborah
1. Was Israel happy in the land of Canaan?
Israel was happy as long as they served the Lord.
2. Did Israel still serve the Lord after Joshua died?
No, they forgot the Lord and served idols.
3. What caused them to forget the Lord so soon?
Fathers did not teach their children about God and His mighty works.
4. How did God punish them for forgetting Him?
God punished them by sending enemies against them.
5. Did God also deliver Israel from these enemies?
Yes, when they repented the Lord sent judges to deliver them.
6. Name one king who came into Canaan to oppress them.
Eglon, the king of Moab.
7. How did Ehud deliver Israel from Eglon?
Ehud killed him with a sword.
8. Whom did God raise to fight against the Canaanites?
Deborah and Barak, who gathered an army to fight the Canaanites.
9. How did God give Deborah and Barak the victory?
God sent a storm that stopped the horses and chariots of the Canaanites.
10. How was Sisera, the captain of the Canaanites, killed?
Sisera was killed by Jael while he hid in her tent.
Memory verse: “So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord.” Judges 5:31
LESSON 22 Gideon
1. How did God punish Israel at another time when they served Baal?
God sent thousands of Midianites to live in the land.
2. How did these Midianites oppress Israel?
For seven years the Midianites took their food, so that Israel almost starved.
3. What did God command Gideon to do?
God commanded Gideon to break down the altar of Baal which his father had made.
4. What else did God command Gideon to do?
The Lord commanded him to gather an army to fight the Midianites.
5. How many men did Gideon have left after most of them went home?
Gideon had only three hundred men left.
6. What did Gideon give these men before the battle?
Gideon gave each man a trumpet, and a burning torch in a pitcher.
7. What did these men do in the night of the battle?
They blew their trumpets, broke their pitchers, and held up their burning torches.
8. What did they shout?
They shouted: “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” Judges 7:20
9. How did the Lord give Gideon the victory?
The Midianites were frightened and began to fight with one another.
10. Did they flee away?
Yes, they fled as fast as they could out of the land.
Memory verse: “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered.” Psalm 68:1
LESSON 23 Samson
1. How long did the Philistines oppress Israel?
The Philistines oppressed Israel for forty years.
2. What did the angel tell Samson’s mother about him before he was born?
The angel told her that Samson would be devoted to God as a Nazarite.
3. How did a Nazarite show that he was devoted to God?
He did not cut his hair, nor drink wine, nor touch a dead body.
4. Did Samson have an army when he fought the Philistines?
No, Samson fought the Philistines alone.
5. How could Samson fight the Philistines alone?
The Spirit of God made him strong.
6. How did Samson show his strength in fighting the Philistines?
He took three hundred foxes to destroy the corn of the Philistines.
7. What did Samson do when a thousand Philistines came to kill him?
Samson killed the thousand Philistines with a jawbone.
8. What was Samson’s great sin?
He loved Delilah and told her that his hair had never been cut.
9. What happened when Delilah cut his hair?
The Philistines took Samson, cut out his eyes, and put him in prison.
10. Did God give Samson strength once more after that?
Yes, God gave him strength to pull down the pillars of a temple in which three thousand Philistines were killed.
Memory verse: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” Psalm 27:1
LESSON 24 Ruth
The Book of Ruth
1. Why did Naomi go to Moab?
Because there was a famine in the land of Canaan.
2. What did Naomi’s two sons do in Moab?
They married women of Moab, Ruth, and Orpah.
3. Was Naomi happy in Moab?
No, because both her husband and her two sons died there.
4. What did Naomi learn from the death of her family?
She learned that she must go back to her own country and God would care for her.
5. Did Ruth and Orpah return with Naomi to her country?
Orpah stayed in Moab, but Ruth went along.
6. What beautiful confession did Ruth make to Naomi?
“Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Ruth 1:16
7. How did Ruth obtain food for herself and for Naomi?
She picked up grain in the field of Boaz.
8. Was Boaz good to Ruth?
Yes, he cared for her and later married her.
9. What does Scripture tell us about Ruth?
That she was the great-grandmother of David.
10. Why was this important?
Christ was born from the family of Ruth and David.
Memory verse: “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge.” Ruth 1:16
LESSON 25 Samuel
1. What did Hannah ask of the Lord?
She asked for a son who would serve the Lord.
2. Did the Lord hear her prayer?
Yes, the Lord gave her a God-fearing son, Samuel.
3. Where did Samuel’s mother bring him?
She brought him to Eli, the priest, to serve in the tabernacle.
4. What did the Lord tell Samuel one night?
That Eli and his wicked sons would die in one day.
5. How did Eli’s sons die?
They died in battle with the Philistines.
6. What other terrible thing happened in this battle?
The ark of God was taken by the Philistines.
7. What happened to Eli when he heard that the ark of God was taken?
He fell from his chair and broke his neck.
8. Did the Philistines keep the ark in their temple?
No, God caused their idol to fall and to break.
9. Did they keep the ark in their cities?
No, for God sent plagues to every city where the ark was kept.
10. What wicked request did the people make to Samuel?
They asked for a king, because they did not want God to rule over them.
Memory verse: “Then Samuel answered Speak, for thy servant heareth.” I Samuel 3:10
Additional Info
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Hanko, Cornelius
Rev. Cornelius Hanko was born to Herman and Jennie (nee Burmania) Hanko on May 19, 1907 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He received his heartfelt desire when the Lord in His mercy took him to glory on Monday, March 14, in the year of our Lord 2005.
Rev. Hanko was baptized in the Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church. During the common grace controversy in the 1920s the Hanko family followed Rev. Herman Hoeksema and the majority of the consistory of Eastern Avenue in their polemic against common grace and their advocacy of one, sovereign grace of God for the elect in Christ Jesus. The Hankos thus became charter members of the First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan when the Eastern Avenue Protesting Christian Reformed Church, her pastor and consistory, were cast out of the CRC in 1926. Rev. Hanko, therefore, was the last of the PRC clergy (and perhaps of the entire membership of the PRC) to have had direct, personal contact with the events of 1924–1926 that led to the formation of the Protestant Reformed Churches.
Already in his teenage years Rev. Hanko had his eye on the ministry. His first inclination was to be a missionary. That never happened, because the Lord called him to the pastoral ministry for his entire career. Rev. Hanko began his studies for the ministry under Revs. H. Danhof, H. Hoeksema, and G. M. Ophoff. He graduated from the seminary in 1929 with five other men (four of whom left the PRC in the split of 1953 and one of whom left the PRC in the early 1960s. All five of these eventually became ministers in the CRC).
After graduation from the seminary Rev. Hanko and his bride Jennie (nee Griffioen) made their way to Hull, Iowa PRC, in which church Rev. Hanko was ordained a minister of the Word and Sacraments in the PRC. God blessed Rev. and Mrs. Hanko with four children, all of whom are members of the PRC: Rev. Herman C. (married to Wilma Knoper), Professor Emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary; Fred (married to Ruth Miersma), who gave his working life to the Protestant Reformed Christian Schools (Adams Street in Grand Rapids, where he was my ninth grade teacher, Northwest Iowa in Doon, where he taught with my wife, and Hope, Walker, Michigan); Elaine, widow of Richard Bos; and Alice, who cared for her father in his later years.
In addition to the Hull PRC, Rev. and Mrs. Hanko served in the following Protestant Reformed Churches: Oaklawn, Illinois (1935); Manhattan, Montana (1945); First, Grand Rapids, Michigan (1948); Hope, Redlands, California (1964); and Hudsonville, Michigan (1971). After becoming emeritus in 1977, Rev. Hanko remained active for a number of years, preaching and teaching in the churches and preaching two services per Sunday in Florida during the winter seasons.
His years in First Church were difficult ones for Rev. Hanko because of the controversy that resulted in the split in First and in the denomination in June of 1953. The controversy involved the doctrine of the covenant. The majority of the congregation of First and of the members and clergy of the denomination embraced the covenant view of Dr. Klaas Schilder (conceiving of the essence of the covenant as consisting of a conditional promise made by God to every baptized child). These left our churches. During these years, while never compromising the truth of an unconditional covenant of grace and friendship established unilaterally by God with His elect in Christ Jesus, Rev. Hanko never lost a certain healthy balance in his preaching and teaching in First Church. He simply did his work by the grace of God, preaching, teaching, and caring for the flock of God as best he was able.
During his years in First Church, which numbered more than five hundred families before the split in 1953 and ca. 200 families after the split, Rev. Hanko had my father as one of his co-laborers in the consistory. They became good friends. The Hankos and the Deckers regularly visited together. It was through this contact that I got to know Rev. Hanko on a personal basis. It was during Rev. Hanko’s years as pastor of First that I was a student at Calvin College, then located on Franklin Street in Grand Rapids just a short block away from the parsonage occupied by the Hankos. Not infrequently, I would walk from class at Calvin to the parsonage with my questions. Rev. Hanko patiently answered these questions from Scripture and the confessions and would then offer prayer. Rev. Hanko was used by God, together with my parents to keep me in the PRC as a member and later as one of the churches’ pastors. I also had the blessed privilege after October 1, 1965, the date of my ordination as pastor of the Doon, Iowa congregation, to labor for a few years with Rev. Hanko as a colleague. We younger pastors in Classis West leaned heavily on our older, experienced, and competent colleague, learning much from his godly example.
During his pastorate in Hudsonville, Michigan the Lord delivered his beloved Jennie from her suffering into glory. I remember sitting with Rev. Hanko in the ICU waiting-room at the hospital, when he remarked, “Part of me is dying in there.” Now Rev. Hanko, having died in the Lord, enjoys God’s fellowship in Jesus in glory as well.
We thank God for giving our churches this gifted and faithful servant and for using him for the edification of the churches for the years of his lengthy ministry among our Protestant Reformed Churches. That in the years to come these churches may follow the example of our beloved brother, Cornelius Hanko, and “…earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints…” is our fervent prayer (Jude : 3b).
Soli Deo Gloria! (Written by Rev.Gise Van Baren)