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BIBLE HISTORY

AND

BRIEF OUTLINE OF CHURCH HISTORY

VOLRATH VOGT

Formerly Principal of the Cathedral School, Christiania, Norway

REVISED EDITION

FROM THE NORWEGIAN BY N. C. BRUN

AUGSBURG PUBLISHING HOUSE MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

BIBLE HISTORY--VOGT-BRUN Copyright 1919 Augsburg Publishing House

Manufactured in the United States of America Printed by Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis 15, Minnesota --8885--

Contents

THE OLD TESTAMENT

THE NEW TESTAMENT

Parables of Jesus.

Miracles of Jesus.

Other Stories from the Life of Jesus.

The Last Days of Jesus.

Brief Outline of the History of the Church after the Death of the Apostles.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said: Let there be light--and there was light. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.--And God made a vast expanse which he called Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.--And God gathered the waters into one place, and the dry land appeared. And God said: Let the earth put forth grass and herbs and trees bearing fruit. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.--And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.--And God created the great sea-monsters, and every creature that lives in the waters, and every fowl that flies under heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.--And God made the beasts of the earth, and the cattle, and everything that creeps upon the ground. And God said: Let us make man in our image, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over everything that lives upon the earth. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. And God rested on the seventh day from all His work, and He blessed the seventh day and hallowed it.

God planted a garden eastward, in Eden. This garden has been called Paradise. And out of the ground God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden; and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God put man in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it, and He said: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge thou shalt not eat; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die--God said also: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help, answering to him. And God brought all living creatures to Adam to see what he would call them, and whatsoever Adam called every creature, that was the name thereof; but for man there was not found a help meet for him. And God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and He took one of his ribs and made thereof a woman and brought her unto him. Then Adam said: This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.--Adam was the first man, and Eve was the first woman.--They were innocent, and knew neither sin, nor sorrow, nor sickness, nor death.

The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which God had made. And he said unto the woman: Has God truly said: Ye shall not eat of any tree in the garden? The woman answered: Of all the other trees we may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge God hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, lest ye die. The serpent answered: Ye shall not die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband, and he ate. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked. In the evening they heard the voice of God, and hid themselves among the trees of the garden. Then God called unto Adam and said: Where art thou? And Adam said: I heard Thy voice, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Then God said: Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree of knowledge? Adam answered: The woman gave me of the fruit, and I ate. Then God said to the woman: What is this thou hast done? She answered: The serpent beguiled me, and I ate. And God said unto the serpent: Cursed art thou above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.--Unto the woman God said: In pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy husband shall rule over thee.--Unto the man God said: Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, till thou return unto the ground; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. So God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden, and He placed Cherubim with a flaming sword to keep the way to the tree of life.--Thus sin came into the world, and through sin came sorrow and sickness and death.

Adam and Eve got two sons; the first was called Cain and the second Abel. Cain tilled the ground, and Abel kept sheep. Once they both brought their offerings to the Lord: Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, and Abel of the best of his flock. God had respect unto Abel and his offering; but unto Cain and his offering He had not respect. Then Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And God said unto him: Why is thy countenance fallen? Is it not so that if thou doest well, thou mayst freely look up? And if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door, and its desire shall be unto thee, but do thou rule over it. Still Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him, when they were in the field. And the Lord asked Cain: Where is thy brother? Cain answered: I know not; am I my brother's keeper? Then the Lord said: Thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. Therefore cursed art thou; and a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain went and dwelt on the east of Eden. His descendants were inventive and skilful, they invented harps and flutes and forged weapons; but they did also that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Adam and Eve got a son instead of Abel. He was called Seth. Seth and his descendants were pious and were called the children of God; but they were not innocent; for all have sinned in Adam. One of them was called Enoch; he walked with God and did not die; the Lord took him, when he was 365 years old. Methuselah lived 969 years, and is the oldest of all men. His grandson was Noah.

Men multiplied on the earth, and the sons of Seth mingled with the descendants of Cain and took their daughters for wives. Thereby wickedness became great over all the earth, and it repented God that he had made man. But Noah found favor in the eyes of God. Therefore He said to Noah: Make thee an ark, three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high, and pitch it within and without with pitch; for I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy everything that lives. Noah built the ship which is called the ark, and went into it with his wife and his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japhet, and their wives, and a male and a female of all the animals that cannot live in the water. Then God let it rain for 40 days and 40 nights, and the waters rose 15 cubits over the highest mountains. And every living thing was destroyed upon the earth. Noah only, and those that were with him in the ark, were left alive.

God remembered Noah and caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters sank, and the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. Noah opened the window, and he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Then he sent forth a dove, but as she found no rest for her foot, she returned to the ark, and Noah put forth his hand and took her unto him. And he stayed yet seven days, and he sent forth the dove again. And she came back to him again at eventide, and in her mouth she had a fresh olive leaf. And he stayed yet seven days and sent forth the dove again, and she returned not; then Noah knew that the earth must be dry. The waters had then covered the earth for more than one year.

Now Noah went out of the ark and made a thank offering unto the Lord. And the Lord said in His heart: I will not again curse the ground for man's sake, for man is evil from his youth. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. And God set the rainbow in the heavens as a token that He would remember His covenant. Noah lived till he was 950 years old, and is the second father of the human race.

The whole earth was of one speech. When men journeyed eastward, they found a large plain, and they dwelt there. And they said one to another: Come, let us build a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, lest we be scattered over the whole earth. But the Lord came down and confounded their language, so the one did not understand the other. Thus the Lord scattered them over all the earth, and they left off building. Therefore the place is called Babel, that is, Confusion.--The descendants of Shem remained in Asia, the descendants of Ham went southwest to Africa, and the descendants of Japhet went westward to Europe.

Terah descended from Shem. He dwelt in Mesopotamia and had three sons, Abraham, Nahor and Haran. Terah served strange gods. And the Lord said unto Abraham: Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee. I will make of thee a great nation, and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. So Abraham took Sarah, his wife, and his brother's son Lot, and all that he had, and went to the land of Canaan. And the Lord appeared unto Abraham and said: Unto thy seed will I give this land; and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold; and Lot also, who went with Abraham, had flocks and herds. And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot about the pastures. And Abraham said unto Lot: Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the land before thee? If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou take the right hand, then I will go to the left. Lot saw that the plain of Jordan was well watered, that it was like the land of Egypt, even as the garden of Jehovah. So Lot chose the plain for himself, and pitched his tents toward Sodom. But the inhabitants of Sodom were wicked, and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.

Kings from the East came and made war against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, were victorious over them, and carried off the people and their goods. They also carried off Lot and all his goods. When Abraham heard that his brother's son was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, to the number of 318, pursued the enemy and overtook them; and he brought back all the goods, and set Lot and the people free. When Abraham returned, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, went out to him with bread and wine, and blessed him.--And the king of Sodom came and said unto Abraham: Take the goods to thyself and give me the people. But Abraham answered: I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham rich.

The Lord appeared again unto Abraham and promised him that his seed should become as numerous as the stars of the heavens. Abraham was old, and Sarah was old, and they had no children; but Abraham believed the Lord's promise, and He reckoned it to him for righteousness.

Abraham sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day. As he lifted up his eyes, lo, three men stood over against him. Abraham ran to meet them, bowed himself to the earth and said: My lord, pass not by thy servant: let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree and let me fetch a morsel of bread to strengthen you; after that you shall pass on. And they said: So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham ran unto the herd and had a good calf dressed and prepared, and Sarah took fine meal and baked cakes. And he took butter and milk and set before the men, and he stood by them under the tree, while they did eat. Then one of them said: Where is Sarah your wife? Abraham answered: She is in the tent. Then said he: In a year I will return, and Sarah shall then have a son. Sarah heard this in the tent and laughed; for she thought she was too old to have children. But the one who was the Lord said: Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?

And the men rose up, and Abraham followed them. Then the Lord said: I will destroy Sodom; for its sins are grievous. The two angels went toward Sodom, and Abraham stood alone before the Lord and said: Wilt Thou consume the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou not spare it for the sake of these? The Lord answered: If I find fifty righteous I will not consume it. Abraham said: Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes; peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty, wilt Thou destroy the whole city for lack of five? The Lord answered: I will not destroy it if I find there forty and five. And Abraham continued to pray, until he came down to ten, and the Lord promised to spare the city if He should find ten righteous in it.

Meanwhile the two angels came to Sodom and went in to Lot. Then the men in the city surrounded Lot's house to seize the angels; but they smote them with blindness, and brought Lot and his wife and his two daughters out of the city. And one of the angels said: Look not behind thee, neither stay in all the plain; escape to the mountain. But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Then the Lord rained fire from heaven, and the fertile plain where Sodom and Gomorrah stood became the Dead Sea.--Thus it appeared that there were not ten righteous in Sodom.

God visited Sarah at the time He had promised, and she bare a son, who was called Isaac. Abraham was then 100 years old, and Sarah was 90.

Some years after this it came to pass that God proved Abraham and said: Take now thy son, Isaac, thine only son, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt offering, and went unto the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. He said then to his young men: Abide ye here, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship. And he took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. Then Isaac said: Father, here is wood and fire; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham answered: God will provide himself the lamb, my son. So they went both of them together. When they came to the place, Abraham built an altar, laid the wood in order, bound Isaac and laid him upon the wood. And he stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Then the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said: Abraham, Abraham! Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw a ram behind him, caught in the thicket by his horns. And he took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.--God called the second time out of heaven and said: Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me, I will exceedingly bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. So Abraham returned unto his young men and went with them to his home.

When Sarah was dead, Abraham said to Eliezer, who ruled his house: Promise me that thou wilt not take one of the daughters of the Canaanites to be a wife for my son; but thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred and take a wife for my son Isaac. Eliezer then took ten of his master's camels, having all goodly things of his master's in his hand, and he went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels kneel down without the city by the well at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. And he said: Lord, God of Abraham, show this day kindness unto my master. I stand now by this well, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. I will then say to one of them: Let me drink of thy pitcher. If she answer: Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let the same be she that thou hast appointed as wife for Thy servant Isaac. Before he yet had done speaking, Rebekah came out, and she was very fair, and she had her pitcher on her shoulder and went to the well and filled her pitcher. And the servant went to her and said: Give me to drink, I pray thee, of thy pitcher. And she said: Drink, my lord, and I will give thy camels drink also, and she drew water for all his camels. And he wondered greatly while he looked on. When all the camels had done drinking he gave her a ring and two bracelets of gold and said: Whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in? She said: I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor. We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. Then the man bowed his head, worshipped the Lord and said: Blessed be the Lord, who hath led me in the way to the house of my master's brother. And Rebekah ran home and told all these words.

Rebekah's brother, Laban, ran out to the man, brought him into the house, gave the camels straw and provender, and set food before him to eat; but he said: I will not eat until I have told mine errand. When he had told all, Laban and Bethuel answered: This comes from the Lord; take Rebekah and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her: Wilt thou go with this man? And she said: I will go. Then Eliezer took her and went his way. And Isaac brought her into Sarah's tent, and she became his wife, and he loved her.

Abraham lived happy in the faith in the Savior, who was to come. He was 175 years old when he died and was gathered to his people. Isaac became heir of all that he had, and became a chief for his people, and the Lord blessed him and said: Unto thee and thy seed will I give the land of Canaan, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

Twenty years had passed, and Rebekah had no children. Then the Lord said to her: Thou shalt bear two sons, and the elder shall serve the younger. When her time came, she bore twins; the first-born was hairy all over, and was called Esau, and the second was called Jacob. And the boys grew, and Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a quiet man dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob had boiled pottage and Esau came in from the field, feeling faint, Esau said: Give me, I pray thee, the pottage. Jacob answered: Sell me first thy birthright. And Esau said: Behold, I am about to die; what profit shall the birthright do to me? So he sold his birthright to Jacob for that pottage of lentils, and he did eat and drink, and rose up and went his way, and he despised his birthright.

When Isaac was old and nearly blind, he said one day to Esau: Take thy quiver and thy bow, go out to the field, and take me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat thereof and bless thee before I die. Rebekah, who heard this, told Jacob to go to the father in Esau's stead and obtain the blessing. Jacob answered: My brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. My father may feel me, and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. But she persuaded him, killed two kids of the goats and made savory food, and she put the skins of the kids of goats upon Jacob's hands and neck, and he went to his father and asked for the blessing. Isaac said: How is it that thou found it so quickly, my son? Jacob answered: The Lord thy God sent me good speed. Isaac said: Come nearer, my son, that I may feel thee. And he felt him and said: The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he did eat of Jacob's food, and blessed him and set him as lord over his brother, as if he were the first-born, and said: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be every one that blesseth thee.

Jacob went away from home, and when the sun was set he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night; and he took a stone, and put it under his head and slept. And he dreamed that a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood above it and said: I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And I will be with thee and bring thee again into this land. When Jacob awoke he said: How dreadful is this place! This is the house of God, this is the gate of heaven!

Jacob journeyed eastward and came to Laban, his mother's brother, and he abode with him the space of a month. Then Laban said to him: What shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters, Leah and Rachel; and Rachel was beautiful. Therefore Jacob said: I will serve thee seven years for Rachel. And the seven years seemed unto him but a few days, for he loved her. When the seven years were finished Laban gave Leah to him: Jacob said: Did I not serve with thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? Laban said: It is not customary with us to give away the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil the week of this one, and we will give thee the other also. Jacob did so, and then Laban gave him Rachel to wife. Then Jacob had to serve seven other years for Rachel. Afterward he served six years for wages, and God blessed him, so he became very rich. When he saw that Laban became envious of this he went away with his wives and children and all that he had.

When Jacob drew near to Canaan, he sent messengers to Esau to find favor in his sight. The messengers returned and said: Thy brother is coming to meet thee, and 400 men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and he sent a present from his herds and flocks to Esau, and prayed earnestly to the Lord. And the Lord appeared unto him as a man that wrestled with him. But Jacob held out manfully and said: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. God blessed him, and called him Israel, that is, one who strives with God.

When Jacob saw Esau he bowed himself to the ground seven times; but Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and they both wept.--Isaac died old and full of days, and Esau and Jacob buried him.

Jacob had 12 sons, of whom Reuben was the oldest; Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Rachel, were the youngest. Joseph was feeding the flocks with his brothers, and he brought evil report of them unto their father. Now, Jacob loved him more than his other sons, and he made him a long garment. The brothers who saw this hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers: We were binding sheaves in the field, and your sheaves bowed down to my sheaf. And he dreamed another dream and told it: The sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me. Then his brothers said to him: Shalt thou indeed reign over us? And they hated him yet more. And his father rebuked him and said: What is this dream, thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brothers come to bow down ourselves to thee? But his father kept the saying in his mind.

Once, when the other sons were feeding the flocks in Shechem, Jacob said to Joseph: Go now, see whether it is well with thy brothers and the flock. And Joseph went. When they saw him afar off, they said: Behold, this dreamer cometh, let us slay him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams. But Reuben, who wished to deliver him, said: Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit. And Joseph came to his brothers, and they stripped him of his coat and cast him into the pit, which was empty. And they sat down to eat; and some merchants came with their camels bearing spices and balsam to Egypt. Judah said: Let us sell him to these merchants, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother. And they sold him for 20 pieces of silver. Reuben had meanwhile been away. When he returned to the pit, and Joseph was not there, he went to his brothers and said: The child is not there, and I, whither shall I go? They then killed a he-goat and dipped the coat in the blood, and sent it to their father and said: This have we found; know now whether it is thy son's coat? And he knew it and said: It is my son's coat; an evil beast has devoured him. And he mourned for his son many days, wept and would not be comforted.

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