You do not have to believe in God to acknowledge how much the Bible has done for this world. From a historical perspective, it shows a group of people who were trying to be good. They were crafting laws to foster morality, aid the poor, and safeguard human dignity even in the most extreme situations. From a literary perspective, it is a masterful collection of poetry, personal essays, sermons, and songs. From a philosophical perspective, it asks all the hard questions about life and about God and comes to various, brilliant, and surprising conclusions. From a religious perspective, it has captured the hearts of billions of people.
And so it is no small thing to decide to retell Bible stories. And even more daunting when we are writing these stories for children, who are both vulnerable and impressionable. And so we want to be clear that our mission was never to produce a work of scholarship. Reading our stories will not teach your children Hebrew or Aramaic. We will not pontificate about the meaning or origins of Elohim. In fact, we mostly avoid dabbling in etymologies or exegesis. We were not even particularly careful to be historically accurate. In fact, we intentionally use playful anachronisms, like Abraham and Sarah packing their things into moving boxes. We do this to help make the ancient world feel familiar to children. In short, we are not attempting to give an authoritative, scientific, or historical gloss to these stories.
Instead of explaining the stories, we have tried to tell them, and to tell them beautifully. We hope it will help bring them to life in new ways for both you and your child. Of course, we couldn’t tell every story in the Bible. It’s a big book, and every history is layered with histories. But the stories we do tell aren’t just the simple ones with easy, happy endings. Instead, what you will find in these pages are moments of tenderness, injustice, triumph, failure, deep sorrow, radical hope, and God’s enduring love — much like what you will find across the pages of your own life.
And while people have argued over biblical interpretations for thousands of years, we are not entering that arena. We are not trying to indoctrinate or convert children to a particular faith beyond general Christianity. And while we do practice a specific form of Christianity ourselves, we see these stories as a shared treasure. And we hope to contribute to the millions of artists before us who have praised God with their words and chords and colors. Artists whose work is shared by Catholics and Protestants, Copts and Mormons, Baptists and Evangelicals alike.
There is a chance that some of these stories will surprise you. But the Bible is full of surprises. And you might see new sides of old characters and find fresh possibilities in familiar readings. However, if you think we got something wrong or took too much liberty, go ahead and tell your children the story as you understand it. You won’t hurt our feelings. This is about you and them. These stories are successful when they create a moment of grace, where both parents and children feel that tickling, that warmth, that whispering of the spirit at the very same time. And you can tell them what it is. Or, more accurately, who.
To purchase a hard copy of The Bible Storybook: The Old Testament, visit ForLittleSaints.com
To access the complete audiobook of The Bible Storybook: The Old Testament, become a Friend of Faith Matters by subscribing at FaithMatters.org/subscribe.
Because the stories are written in chronological order and the Bible is not, we will release some stories before they come up in Come, Follow Me. Below is a schedule of which episodes to listen to each week, if you’d like to use this along with Come, Follow Me.
January 12-18 (Genesis 1-2; Moses 2-3; Abraham 4-5)
1. The beginning of everything (Genesis 1)
2. The Bitter, Tasty, Forbidden Fruit (Genesis 2-3)
January 19-25 (Genesis 3-4; Moses 4-5)
2. The Bitter, Tasty, Forbidden Fruit (Genesis 2-3)
3. Cain, who was a perfectionist (Genesis 4)
February 9-15 (Genesis 6-11; Moses 8)
4. Noah, the man who saved things (Genesis 6-9)
5. The people who tried to climb to heaven (Genesis 11)
February 16-22 (Genesis 12-17; Abraham 1-2)
6. The man who learned to be generous (Genesis 12)
7. The followers and their promise (Genesis 12-15)
8. The God who sees (Genesis 16)
9. Son of laughter (Genesis 17-21)
February 23-March 1 (Genesis 18-23)
9. Son of laughter (Genesis 17-21)
10. The boy who lived (Genesis 21)
11. Lot and his wife and their daughters (Genesis 18-19)
12. The sacrifice (Genesis 18-22)
13. Finding a wife (Genesis 23-24)
March 2-8 (Genesis 24-33)
13. Finding a wife (Genesis 23-24)
14. The world in Rebekah’s belly (Genesis 25)
15. The amazing, goodlooking, athletic brother (Genesis 25-33)
16. Jacob, who traveled through time and wrestled an angel (Genesis 28-35)
17. Two sisters, a lot of babies, and their strange names (Genesis 29-30)
March 9-15 (Genesis 37-41)
18. Band of brothers (Genesis 35-45)
March 16-22 (Genesis 42-50)
18. Band of brothers (Genesis 35-45)
19. Giving food and taking dignity (Genesis 46 - Exodus 1)
March 23-29 (Exodus 1-6)
19. Giving food and taking dignity (Genesis 46 - Exodus 1)
20. A conspiracy of women to save the boys (Exodus 1-2)
21. Moses, who learned he had power (Exodus 2-4)
22. The freedom plan (Exodus 5-15)
April 6-12 (Exodus 7-13)
22. The freedom plan (Exodus 5-15)
April 13-19 (Exodus 14-18)
22. The freedom plan (Exodus 5-15)
23. A new law and a new king (Exodus 16-40)
April 20-26 (Exodus 19-20; 24; 31-34)
23. A new law and a new king (Exodus 16-40)
April 27-May 3 (Exodus 35-40; Leviticus 1; 4; 16; 19)
23. A new law and a new king (Exodus 16-40)
24. The sin eaters (Leviticus)
May 4-10 (Numbers 11-14; 20-24; 27)
25. Moses’ 70 helpers (Numbers 9-11)
26. All of God’s children are prophets (Numbers 11-20)
May 11-17 (Deuteronomy 6-8; 15; 18; 29-30; 34)
27: Moses gives advice and says goodbye (Deuteronomy)
May 18-24 (Joshua 1-8; 23-24)
28: The conquest (Joshua-Judges 16)
May 25-31 (Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16)
28: The conquest (Joshua-Judges 16)
June 1-7 (Ruth; 1 Samuel 1-7)
29: Ruth, who lost a husband and gained a family (Ruth)
June 8-14 (1 Samuel 8-10; 13; 15-16)
30: The first king (Judges 19 - 1 Samuel 10)
31: The king who trusted a shepherd (1 Samuel 10-17)
June 15-21 (1 Samuel 17-18; 24-26; 2 Samuel 5-7)
32. Two boys who decided to be brothers (1 Samuel 18-20)
33. David faces another giant (1 Samuel 22 - 2 Samuel, Psalms)
June 22-28 (2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 6-9; 11)
33. David faces another giant (1 Samuel 22 - 2 Samuel, Psalms)
34. Solomon who was less remarkable than a lily (1 Kings 2-11; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes)
June 29-July 5 (1 Kings 12-13; 17-22)
35. A man and a woman whose miracles ran out (1 Kings 12-17)
36: Elisha, who was nobody (1 Kings 19 - 2 Kings 2)
July 6-12 (2 Kings 2-7)
36: Elisha, who was nobody (1 Kings 19 - 2 Kings 2)
37. A little girl without a name (2 Kings 5)
38. More with us (2 Kings 6)
July 13-19 (2 Kings 16-25)
42. Hezekiah, the man who fought for today (2 Kings 18-20; Isaiah 36-39)
July 27-August 2 (Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-6; 8)
49. The Rebuilders and The Remained (Ezra; Nehemiah)
August 3-9 (Esther)
48. The queen of Persia (Esther)
August 10-16 (Job 1-3; 12-14; 19; 21-24; 38-40; 42)
46. A story about a man called Job (Job)
August 17-23 (Psalms 1-2; 8; 19-33; 40; 46)
33. David faces another giant (1 Samuel 22 - 2 Samuel, Psalms)
August 24-30 (Psalms 49-51; 61-66; 69-72; 77-78; 85-86)
33. David faces another giant (1 Samuel 22 - 2 Samuel, Psalms)
August 31-September 6 (Psalms 102-3; 110; 116-19; 127-28; 135-39; 146-50)
33. David faces another giant (1 Samuel 22 - 2 Samuel, Psalms)
September 7-13 (Proverbs 1-4; 15-16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1-3; 11-12)
34. Solomon who was less remarkable than a lily (1 Kings 2-11; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes)
September 14-20 (Isaiah 1-12)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
43. Isaiah and the new city called Zion (Isaiah)
September 21-27 (Isaiah 13-14; 22; 24-30; 35)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
42. Hezekiah, the man who fought for today (2 Kings 18-20; Isaiah 36-39)
43. Isaiah and the new city called Zion (Isaiah)
September 28-October 4 (Isaiah 40-49)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
43. Isaiah and the new city called Zion (Isaiah)
October 5-11 (Isaiah 50-57)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
43. Isaiah and the new city called Zion (Isaiah)
October 12-18 (Isaiah 58-66)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
43. Isaiah and the new city called Zion (Isaiah)
October 19-25 (Jeremiah 1-3; 7; 16-18; 20)
44. Jeremiah and the rich who became poor and the poor who became rich (Jeremiah)
October 26-November 1 (Jeremiah 31-33; 36-38; Lamentations 1; 3)
44. Jeremiah and the rich who became poor and the poor who became rich (Jeremiah)
November 2-8 (Ezekiel 1-3; 33-34; 36-37; 47)
45. The dreamer, playwright, poet, artist, Ezekiel (Ezekiel)
November 9-15 (Daniel 1-7)
47. The memory keepers (Daniel)
November 16-22 (Hosea 1-6; 10-14; Joel)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
41. Hosea and his strange marriage advice (Hosea)
November 23-29 (Amos; Obadiah; Jonah)
39. Jonah and the whale and the bush (Jonah)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
November 30-December 6 (Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah)
40. What the prophets said (Isaiah; Amos; Micah; Joel)
December 7-13 (Haggai 1-2; Zechariah 1-4; 7-14)
50. Healing in his wings (Zachariah; Malachi)
December 14-20 (Malachi)
50. Healing in his wings (Zachariah; Malachi)
