Study Desk

But God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that in the future he would give Abraham this land for himself and for his children. This was before Abraham had any children.

"This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will live in another country. They will be strangers. The people there will make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years.

"God made an agreement with Abraham; the sign for this agreement was circumcision. And so when Abraham had a son, he circumcised him when he was eight days old. His son's name was Isaac. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob. And Jacob did the same for his sons, who became the twelve great ancestors of our people.

"This was the time when Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him at home.

He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he defended him. Moses hit the Egyptian to pay him back for hurting the man. He hit him so hard that it killed him.

So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for 40 years.

But God turned against them and let them continue worshiping the army of false gods in the sky. This is what God says in the book that contains what the prophets wrote: ‘People of Israel, you did not bring me blood offerings and sacrifices in the desert for 40 years;

You carried with you the tent for worshiping Moloch and the image of the star of your god Rephan. These were the idols you made to worship. So I will send you away beyond Babylon.'

God was very pleased with David. He asked God to let him build a Temple for the people of Jacob.

‘The Lord says, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is where I rest my feet. So do you think you can build a house for me? Do I need a place to rest?

He fell on his knees and shouted, "Lord, don't blame them for this sin!" These were his last words before he died.

Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was a good thing. Some godly men buried Stephen and cried loudly for him. On that day the Jews began to persecute the church in Jerusalem, making them suffer very much. Saul was also trying to destroy the group. He went into their houses, dragged out men and women, and put them in jail. All the believers left Jerusalem. Only the apostles stayed. The believers went to different places in Judea and Samaria.

What a happy day this was for that city!

Simon amazed the people with his magic for so long that the people became his followers.

When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for the Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Spirit.

Simon answered, "Both of you pray to the Lord for me, so that what you have said will not happen to me."

So Philip got ready and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia. He was a eunuch and an important official in the service of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was responsible for taking care of all her money. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship.

For three days, Saul could not see; he did not eat or drink.

The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight Street. Find the house of Judas and ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He is there now, praying.

But the Lord Jesus said to Ananias, "Go! I have chosen Saul for an important work. I want him to tell other nations, their rulers, and the people of Israel about me.