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The Early Years

THE EARLY YEARS

This year's lessons are going to bechock-full of surprises and valuable

lessons. You'll be able to see how Goddoes things and even why Mr. Herbert W.Armstrong is the human leader of God'sChurch today. We'll cover kings andprophets, captive people and free people,and miracles that only God could do.You'll laugh and sometimes feel sad, butmost of all you'll learn more about God'sinstruction book, the Bible.

We will cover some things you havestudied already. We are going to start theyear with Samuel, a prophet of God, asGod talked to him. Samuel was one ofmany prophets in the Old Testament.Being a prophet just meant that Godwould use him to tell the people of Israelwhat they were supposed to do.

God doesn't talk to people today in thesame way He spoke to the prophets ofold. God actually spoke to certain peopleback then and made sure that what Hesaid was written down in the Bible for usto read.

Today God helps Mr. Armstrong tounderstand the Bible and inspires him toteach us the lessons we need to learn. Inthis way, we have an advantage over thepeople of the Old Testament. They didn'thave the Bible! But today we can learnhow to live our lives by reading the many

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examples preserved in the pages of thisbook.

These lessons in the Old Testament arestill worthwhile today, because God is stillthe same. God is "the same yesterday,and today, and for ever" (Hebrews13:8).

The things you learn in these lessonsthis year will help you in the years tocome. By learning these lessons, you canbegin to set a good example right now!We need to realize that God doesn'talways want us to do what everybodyelse is doing.

One reads the instructions on a new toyor game in order to learn how to play it tohave the most fun. Sometimes, you needhelp with the rule book, so you asksomeone to explain it. In the same way,God's instruction book, the Bible, tells youand me how to live the right way, the waythat will make us the happiest. But somethings God tells us are hard tounderstand. If you have some troublefiguring it out, just ask your father, yourmother or one of God's ministers in yourarea. They can help anytime and reallywant to.

A KING IS CHOSEN

"Samuel," God said, "go to the tribe ofJudah and find a man by the name of

Illustrations by Basil Wolverton

Jesse. I want you to take your oil andanoint one of his sons as the new kingover Israel." Samuel was a little scared.

"I'll go, but if Saul finds out what I'mdoing, he'll kill me."

"Take a heifer with you," Godcontinued, "and offer a sacrifice; that waySaul won't know what you're doing. InviteJesse and his sons to the sacrifice, thenI'll show you which one is to be the newking."

Samuel left the next morning with thebest young calf he could find. Within a dayor two he arrived in Bethlehem and metJesse and his sons. God was going to tellSamuel which one to anoint as king. Butafter looking at Jesse's sons, God stillhad not shown Samuel which one toselect. Samuel was surprised and askedJesse, "Are these all of your sons?"

"No," replied Jesse, "my youngest isdown watching the sheep." Samuelrealized that watching over livestocktakes a very responsible person. Samuelasked Jesse to get David. When Davidarrived, Samuel saw he was not as big ashis brothers. But he was strong andrugged and a very hard worker.

When Samuel saw him, God said, "Thisis the one I have chosen to be king." SoSamuel anointed David the new king overIsrael.

Samuel didn't question God's choice.He knew that God always looks on theheart. Open your Bible to I Samuel 16,verse 7. If you don't have a Bible, borrowone and fill in the blanks below.

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Looknot on his , or on the_____ of his ; because

I have refused him: for the Lord seeth notas man seeth; for man looketh on the

_____, but the

Lord looketh on the "Have you ever had anyone tell you that

you aren't trying-when you really were?Have you ever had someone tell you"You're too short" or "You're too tall"?Or maybe they picked you last because ofthe way you looked. God doesn't choosepeople that way!

God wants people who have guts­young people who know what's right andreally try to do it! Sure, you may makemistakes from time to time, and sure, it'stough to tell the crowd you can't playsports on Saturdays. But that's whatbuilds the kind of character that pays offwith a good job and a happy future.

Just as Samuel didn't question God,David didn't question what Samuel wasdoing, because his father, Jesse, hadtaught him to always do what God said.David's father had also taught him torespect his elders and those in authority.The job of being king was a hugeresponsibility, but David knew God wouldhelp him even though he was only a youngman. He asked Samuel why he wasselected. Samuel didn't know for sure, buthe did know that God wanted someonewho would obey Him.

CREATION

David had always obeyed his parents.He remembered the many evenings hisfamily would sit by the warm fire watchingthe flickering flames and listen to hisfather tell of how God had created theuniverse. He recalled his father saying

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that God has a plan for everything Hedoes and that He does things in order.Even the creation had an order.

First, God made the light and thedarkness. Then the waters were sepa­rated, and thirdly, the great God made theland, seas, plants and trees. On the fourthday God made the sun, moon and starsappear. Next, the birds and fish wereadded. On the sixth day God made theland animals and man. David knew whatthe seventh day was, because he hadbeen taught to respect God's day. Healso knew that God had made theSabbath for man because he needs therest and needs to be reminded each weekwho God is.

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Adam and Eve being driven from the Garden ofEden for not obeying God.

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WORLDWIDE CORRUPTION

David sat and contemplated the manythings his father and grandfather hadtaught him. He remembered how man hadgotten further and further from God'sways. First, Adam and Eve were put outof the Garden of Eden for not obeyingGod. They could have eaten of the Tree ofLife and received God's Spirit which leadsto eternal life. But they obeyed Satan andate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Goodand Evil, bringing nothing but unhappinessand trouble on themselves. Then therewas the first murder. Cain killed hisbrother Abel because he was jealous.God accepted Abel's offering of the lambbut not Cain's offering of some vegeta­bles. Cain knew better. He knew that Godexpected an animal sacrifice.

God watched the entire world becomepopulated and extremely wicked. Peoplewere supposed to be dating and marryingwithin their own races, but instead, theyellow people were dating the whitepeople and the black people weremarrying the yellow people. David knewthat God had created all the races and didnot want them to date or intermarrybecause it would weaken the specialtalents He had given each.

God saw how wicked man hadbecome. And so God decided to destroyeverything with a great flood and start allover. Noah and his family were the onlyones saved. Noah had not intermarried. Infact, his whole family ancestry, all theway back to Adam, had not married anyother race.

David remembered many stories hehad heard his father tell. David's mindturned to a story that took place just after

Confusion at the Tower of Babel.

the time of the Flood.An evil man named Nimrod became

ruler of the people. He was extremelywicked. Besides marrying his own mother,Semiramis, he made the people toobserve many pagan holidays, such asChristmas (a pagan custom still carried ontoday).

Nimrod also organized the people tobuild a great tower-a tower so high itwould reach the clouds! David chuckled tohimself as he remembered how Godstopped their plans.

God caused everyone to begin speak­ing in many different languages. Thepeople were so confused that they wereunable to continue. In fact, the place of thetower was renamed Babel, which means"confusion. ' ,

God certainly knew how to stop the

Tower of Babel project in a hurry.Eventually, everyone was divided andscattered throughout the entire earthaccording to their particular language.

How Well Do You Remember?

1. How does God look at a person? _

2. Why did God bring the Flood? __

3. How did God stop the Tower of Babelproject? _

A NATION IS BORN

David was always held spellboundwhen his father spoke of their excitingfamily history. David knew that hisancestors were chosen by God to father agreat nation, and he knew why.

Abraham was one of David's great,great, great ... grandfathers. He was avery wealthy man, with many possessionsand a large family. But when God toldAbraham to pack up his belongings andmove, Abraham obeyed. Turn in yourBible to Genesis 12:1-4 and read whatGod told Abraham. Complete the scrip­ture: "Now the Lord had said unto Abram,______ of thy , andfrom thy kindred, and from thy father'shouse, unto a that I will_____ thee: And I will make of theea nation."

Did Abram argue? No! Verse 4 says,"So Abram departed." This is the kind ofobedience God wants from all of us.

David, the new king, often wonderedwhat it would be like to own manythousands of cattle, sheep, goats and

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horses, like Abraham, to have armies ofmen and workers of every kind at hiscommand. Abraham's servants must havebeen taught obedience too, because whenAbraham moved, they had to pack up andmove also.

Once, God even gave Abraham theultimate test. He instructed Abraham tosacrifice his only son, Isaac! Abrahamwould rather have died than kill Isaac. ButAbraham was still willing to obey God!

Let's see what Abraham's reactionwas, in Genesis 22: 10. Complete thisverse: "And Abraham hishand, and took the to_____ his son."

But God was only testing Abraham'sobedience. He stopped Abraham just ashe was about to kill Isaac.

"David," his father Jesse would say ina deep voice, "because Abraham dideverything God told him to do andbecause he kept God's laws, he wasblessed greatly." Turn in your Bible toGenesis where God promised theseblessings to Abraham. Complete verses16 and 17 of chapter 22: "Because thouhast done this thing, and hast not withheldthy son, thine : That inblessing I will , and inmultiplying I will thy

as the of"

David's father also added that Godalways keeps His word whenever Hepromises something. This was a valuablelesson that David would never forget.

Abraham's son was Isaac, and one ofIsaac's sons was Jacob. God kept thispromise of a great nation through Jacob.Jacob had 12 sons, which were the 12

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tribes of Israel, a people that David knewmuch about.

David remembered that God hadchanged Jacob's name to Israel. BecauseGod gave him a new name, Jacob's 12sons became "the 12 tribes of Israel."David had never had his name changed,but he knew that if God changed it, theremust be a very good reason. Theblessings promised to Abraham began tocome through Israel, his grandson. Davidtook careful note because he was fromthat same family, the same family thatChrist was born into much later. Davidknew that since God had changedJacob's name to Israel, Israel's 12 sonswould later become nations. Do you knowthe 12 tribes of Israel? Write them downon the lines below. Turn in your Bible toGenesis 49 and you will find the childrenof Israel, the 12 tribes. _

THE ISRAELITES

David remembered his mother tellinghim that he came from the tribe of Judah.He knew the 12 tribes pretty well andremembered that God had said the tribeof Levi was to be the priestly tribe thatwould perform the sacrifices. Moses andAaron were two Levites that God usedwhen He freed the 12 tribes from Egypt.The Israelites had been made slaves tothe Egyptians. Because the king of Egypt,the pharaoh, was killing the Israelites'male babies, and because God had aspecial land picked out for Israel, Hewanted them to leave Egypt.

God opening the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites toescape.

God told Moses to go to Pharaoh andtell him to let the people of Israel go. ButPharaoh refused to let them go.

God brought 10 terrible plagues onEgypt so they would know who the trueGod was. Finally, God killed all of the first­born of Egypt. Pharaoh then knew that theIsraelites were God's people and let themgo. God did not want anyone to forget thatHe had freed His people from slavery. Hecalled that night the Passover. It sentchills up David's spine to think that thedeath angel passed over the Israelites'homes, but all the Egyptians' firstborndied. The Israelites put blood on their doorposts, just like God had told them to do,and none of their firstborn died.

It must have been quite a sight tosee-all those people leaving Egypt, Godopening the Red Sea so the Israelitescould cross, the pillar of fire at night and

the cloud by day to show them the way,the manna that God gave them for foodwhile they traveled, and a promised landthat they were to be given!

After the Israelites had left Egypt, Godgave the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai.Look up Exodus 20 in your Bible and putthe Ten Commandments on the linesbelow.1) _

2) _

3) _

4) _

5) _

6) _

7) _

8) _

9) _

10) _

Make sure you get them in the properorder. You will memorize them in a laterlesson, so writing them down now will helpyou. David could see why God gave theTen Commandments. He knew thateveryone would be happy if they obeyedthe Ten Commandments.

God was also concerned about every­one's health and told Moses whichanimals were okay to eat. God's instruc­tions are found in Leviticus 11 andDeuteronomy 14. Do you know which

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animals are clean and which animals areunclean? David knew.

Test your knowledge with the activityon back page. You will have fun with thisone. Perhaps your father, mother or yourbrothers and sisters would like to see howmany they can get right too.

Jesse, David's father, taught him God'slaws, just as God had taught theIsraelites. God did not want His people toforget who He is. After all, God wasblessing them because of Abraham'sobedience. God wanted all the manyIsraelites to see His plan for mankind.

You and I can know God's plan todayeven better than David did. God's HolyDays are written down for us in Leviticus23. God's Holy Days tell what He has instore for us.

Listed below are the meanings of theseven festivals. (But they won't be in theorder of God's plan.) Take a separatesheet of paper and write down the sevenfestivals of God in order. Then matchthem to the proper description. Whenyou're finished, you will have the completeplan of God.

God's plan is very simple. He wants tomake His family larger. He needs moreSpirit Beings to help Him do His Work. Ifwe obey God, He will make us into spiritand bring us into His Family. Then ourname will be God also.

PUT GOD'S FESTIVALS IN THEIRPROPER ORDER

This day pictures the Death Angelpassing over the Israelites, as well asChrist's death for our sins. Baptizedadults in God's Church take wine,unleavened bread and have the foot-

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washing ceremony on this evening.

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If baptized adults put sin out of theirlives and obey God with the help of theHoly Spirit, they will be born into God'sFamily whenever Christ returns. Thosepeople who are changed to spirit at thistime will be the first to enter God's Family.So God calls them the "first fruits," justlike the first grain harvested at reapingtime. This day pictures the first fruits ofGod's spiritual harvest.

* * * * * *

After Christ comes, everyone will be atone with God and doing what He wants.Satan will not be around, so this daypictures Satan being put away.

* * * * * *

Since Christ died for our sins, thisperiod of time pictures putting sin out ofour lives. Just as a little bit of leaveningleavens a whole loaf of bread, a little sincorrupts a person's life. So God has usput all leavening out of our homes to showus we need to put all sin out of our lives.

* * * * * *

Those who qualify will be changed intoSpirit Beings at Christ's return. Onlybaptized members of God's Church whoobey him will qualify. These spirit beingswill meet Christ in the air at the last trump.So this day looks toward Christ's SecondComing.

* * * * * *

After the Millennium, those who neverknew of God's true way of life will be

The people of Canaan were reported to be giants.

resurrected. These people will be giventheir first chance to learn God's laws andlive their lives His way. For 100 yearsthey will be judged accordingly.

* * * * * *

While Satan is gone, you, the youth ofGod's Church, will be given the opportuni­ty to help rebuild the world. There will be1,000 years of happiness and prosperity.You will be able to help make the world asuper place to live. This 1,000 years (orMillennium) is pictured in the Church's sealof the lion, the lamb and the child.

How Well Do You Remember?

1. From whom did the nation of Israeldescend? _

2. Why did God promise to bless Hisservant Abraham? _

3. How did God punish the Egyptians fornot letting the Israelites go? _

THE PROMISED LAND

David knew that the rules his parentshad given him were for his own good, justlike the rules God gave to Israel. He hadoften heard about the 12 spies whoscouted Canaan, the promised land. Heknew about Joshua and Caleb's obe­dience and about what God did to theother 10 spies and the rest of Israel fornot obeying.

Occasionally, a sheep would stray intosomeone's vineyard and begin eating thelarge clumps of grapes. David could justimagine Joshua and Caleb carrying abunch of grapes so large that it took bothof them just to carry it.

"Moses, Moses," Joshua and Calebexclaimed, "God has given this land forour very own! Let's go in there and kickthose trespassers out!"

The other spies laughed and jeered:"We'll be the ones to get kicked out!Those people are giants and there arelots of them!"

"No," said Joshua and Caleb, "Godhas given us the land-so let's go in andtake it. With God on our side, who cares ifthey are bigger?"

Caleb added: "Besides, look at thesize of those grapes! One man can't evencarry them. You should see the size of theother produce over there!"

Joshua and Caleb were only two menagainst the testimony of the 10 otherspies. The Israelites believed the 10 and

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were afraid to take the land. God wasangry that they didn't trust Him andbelieve that He would give them theland.

Because of their attitude, God didn't letany of them go into the promised land,except Joshua and Caleb. The Israeliteswandered in the wilderness for 40 yearsuntil everyone of that generation wasdead. Only Joshua and Caleb survived tosee the promised land.

Under the leadership of Joshua, theIsraelites followed God, and He workedsome great miracles. For example, theIsraelites were told to take over the city ofJericho. But there was no way to conquerthe town because of the giant wall thatsurrounded it.

The king of the city had all the gates

The walls of Jericho tumbling down at the finaltrumpet blast.

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closed tight. The people had plenty offood and water, and the archers wouldn'teven let the Israelites get close. God toldJoshua: "I'm going to give you the cityand all those who live in it. I want you tosurround the city with all your soldiers andthen march around it once each day forsix days. Have seven priests go beforethe Ark of the Covenant with seventrumpets blowing. Then," God continued,"on the seventh day, march around thecity of Jericho seven times. On the lasttime around, blow the trumpets with onelong blast, and at the same time everyonewill shout."

David knew what happened next,because he had gone over the story againand again. When the trumpets blasted andthe people shouted, the walls fell down!The Israelites then conquered the city.God will really help you if you are obeyingHim. All you have to do is just ask Him.

Sometimes God does things anddoesn't say why. David knew that he mustbe obedient to his father and to God, evenif he didn't always understand why.

David knew what it was like to dosomething wrong. Sometimes when hewas younger, he had been spanked fordoing something he shouldn't have done.He always said he was sorry and tried tonever make the same mistake again. Heremembered well the example of theIsraelites during the time of the judges.

When the Israelites were obedient, Godwould bless them. But when things weregoing good, they forgot who was blessingthem and began to follow their own waysand disobey God. Then God would haveto punish them.

Eventually, the Israelites would repent

and start obeying God. Then God wouldbless them again. But they never seemedto learn their lesson.

The period of the judges came afterJoshua. During that time many differentpeople led Israel. On one occasion, Davidrecalled, an angel told the wife of a mannamed Manoah that she was going tohave a son. He could never cut his hair,nor could he ever drink wine or whiskey.Manoah's wife called his name Samson.

At that particular time the Israeliteswere being ruled by the Philistine people.But God was going to help Samson giveHis people their freedom again!

Samson could neither drink wine nor cuthis hair because he had taken a Nazaritevow. God was with him and gave himgreat strength. One time he killed a lionwith his bare hands!

Another time, he caught 300 foxes. Hetied their tails together in pairs and puttorches on their tails. The foxes ranthrough the Philistines' fields of ripe corn,which soon burned up. He also killed1,000 Philistine soldiers in one afternoon!

The Philistines hated Samson andplotted to kill him. But God was withSamson, making him invulnerable to thePhilistines. Finally, they paid a Philistinewoman, who was close to Samson, tolearn the secret of his strength.

This woman, named Delilah, finallylearned of Samson's Nazarite vow. Thenshe cut off his hair when he was sleepingand betrayed him to the Philistines.

The Philistines caught Samson and puthim in prison. They put his eyes out and

brought him to their pagan temple for allthe Philistines to jeer at him.

But enough time had passed thatSamson's hair had begun to grow again.He prayed for strength from God just oncemore. Then God gave Samson theawesome power to break the pillars thatsupported the entire temple. Thousands ofidol worshipers were crushed in thewreckage that day.

Although Samson died with the Philis­tines, the people of Israel were free onceagain. But only for a short time.

The Israelites soon forgot God's greatdeliverance from the Philistines. Theybegan to stray from God's ways, and thewhole cycle of obedience / blessings ordisobedience / punishment was startedagain.

Gradually, the Israelites became moreand more influenced by the pagan peoplesaround them. Finally, they began todemand a king, just like all the othernations. But that's a story for the nextlesson-a king for Israel.

How Well Do You Remember?

1. Why did the Israelites wander 40years in the wilderness? _

2. Which of the 12 spies wanted to takethe land? _

3. What were the conditions of Samson'sNazarite vow? _

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CLEAN OR UNCLEAN?

Circle the animals that you think areclean to eat. Then check your answers tosee how many you got right.

Here is how to check your answers:Put a mark in the box if the animal has the

characteristic found in that column. Youmay even need to use a dictionary orencyclopedia or maybe take a trip to thezoo. If both boxes are checked , then thatanimal is clean. But if a box is empty,write " unclean" on that line.

CHEWS CUD CLOVEN HOOF

Dromedary 0 0

Buffalo 0 0

Giraffe 0 0

Zebra 0 0

Chamois 0 0

Wildebeest 0 0

FINS SCALES

Carp 0 0

Sheepshead 0 0

Barracuda 0 0

Sole 0 0

Marlin 0 0

GOES ON LEGS ABOVEALL FOURS FEET

Clam 0 0

Snail 0 0

Grasshopper 0 0

Locust 0 0

Japanese Beetle 0 0

Bumblebee 0 0

CLEAN OR UNCLEAN

CLEAN OR UNCLEAN

CLEAN OR UNCLEAN