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Old Testament Stories for Children

The document recounts the biblical creation story, beginning with God creating light, the sky, land, plants, animals, and ultimately humans, Adam and Eve. It narrates significant events such as the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the story of Cain and Abel, the flood during Noah's time, the journey of Abraham and his descendants, and culminates with the leadership of Moses and the Israelites' escape from Egypt. Key themes include obedience to God, the consequences of sin, and the lineage leading to significant biblical figures.

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The First Day—Light The earth was completely empty. Darkness covered the ocean. Then God said, “Let there be light!” And light began to shine. God separated the light from the darkness. God named the light “day,” and he named the darkness “night.” This was the first day.
The Second Day—Sky Then God said, “Let there be a space to separate the water into two parts!” So God made the space and separated the water. Some of the water was above it, and some of the water was below it. God named that space “sky.” This was the second day.
The Third Day—Dry Land and Plants On the third day, God said, “Let the water come together in one place and the dry land appear.” He called the dry land “earth,” and he called the water “seas.” God saw that what he had created was good. Then God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants, and fruit trees.” And it happened. The earth grew grass and plants. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.
The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, and Stars On the fourth day of creation, God said, “Let there be lights in the sky.” And the sun, the moon, and the stars appeared. God made them to give light to the earth and to mark day and night, seasons and years. God saw that what he had created was good.
The Fifth Day—Fish and Birds On the fifth day, God said, “Let living things fill the waters, and birds fly in the sky.” This is how he made everything that swims in the water and all the birds. God saw that it was good. God blessed all the living things in the sea and told them to have many babies and fill the seas. And he blessed the birds on land and told them to have many more babies.
The Sixth Day—Land Animals and People God said, “Let the earth produce many kinds of living things. Let there be many different kinds of animals. Let there be large animals and small crawling animals of every kind. And let all these animals produce more animals.” And all these things happened. Then God said, “Now let’s make humans who will be like us. They will rule over all the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. They will rule over all the large animals and all the little things that crawl on the earth.” So God took some soil, formed it into a man, and breathed life into him. This man’s name was Adam.
A Companion for Adam God planted a large garden where Adam could live, and put him there to care for it. Then the Lord God said, “I see that it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the companion he needs” So God made Adam fall into a deep sleep. Then God took one of Adam’s ribs and made it into a woman. Her name was Eve.
The Seventh Day—Rest God finished the work he was doing, so on the seventh day he rested from his work. Adam and his wife were very happy living in the beautiful garden God had made for them. Neither of them wore clothes, but this did not cause them to feel any shame because there was no sin in the world. They often walked in the garden and talked with God.
Sin Enters the World In the middle of the garden, God planted two special trees—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam that he could eat from any tree in the garden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he ate from this tree, he would die. Sadly, there was a crafty snake in the garden. Satan spoke through the snake in the garden in order to deceive Eve. Then she and Adam disobeyed God. God then told Adam and Eve they had to leave the Garden of Eden.
Cain and Abel Eve became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Cain. Later, Eve gave birth again to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd, and Cain became a farmer. Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to God. But Abel offered a better sacrifice to God because he had faith. God said he was pleased with what Abel offered. And so God called him a good man because he had faith.
Enoch Enoch was the father of the person who lived the longest in the Bible, Methuselah. But the most interesting thing regarding Enoch is that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying— “He disappeared, because God took him. For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5) Enoch pleased God so much that it seems one day he just walked with God straight into heaven.
Noah and the Ark The descendants of Adam and Eve multiplied. However, many people turned away from obeying God and did wicked things. This evil that people did against each other made God very sad, because it made it impossible for them to enjoy the loving and happy lives that God had intended. God decided to stop the evildoers. But God found one good man. His name was Noah. God told Noah about the flood He was planning to send. He told Noah to build a huge boat. Noah and his three sons built the boat just the way God had told them. Then it began to rain, and rain, and rain. It rained for forty days and forty nights without stopping! The whole world was covered with water. Only Noah and the others in the boat were left.
A Tower to Reach Heaven For many years after Noah’s death, the people multiplied, and they all spoke the same language. At one time, they gathered in a valley and devised a plan: “Let’s build a city and a great tower that will reach all the way to heaven!” In their pride, they wanted to build a tower to show how great and powerful they were. But God was displeased with this plan, and to put a stop to this, He confused their language. Very soon, they were no longer able to understand one another and the work on the tower stopped. The people left the area and the great tower was left unfinished.
God Speaks to Abraham Hundreds of years later, God spoke to a man named Abraham. God told him, "Leave your country and family and go to the land I will show you. I will bless you and make you a great nation. All families on earth will be blessed because of you." So Abraham obeyed God. He took his wife, Sarah, together with all of his servants and everything he owned and went to the land God showed him, the land of Canaan. Many years went by, but Abraham and Sarah still did not have a son. God spoke to Abraham and promised again that he would have a son and as many descendants as the stars in the sky. Abraham believed God's promise.
The Visitors One day, Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent. He looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. Abraham said, “Sirs, please stay a while. I will get some food for you, then you can continue your journey.” Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. Then the men said to Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?” Abraham said, “She is there, in the tent.” Then one of them said, “I will come again in the spring. At that time your wife Sarah will have a son.” Abraham and Sarah were very old. Sarah was past the right age for women to have children. So she laughed to herself. Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Sarah laughed and said she was too old to have a baby. But is anything too hard for the Lord?”
The Son of Promise God kept His promise. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, bore him Isaac, the forefather of the Jews [Israelites]. When Isaac was a young man, God tested Abraham’s faith by saying, “Take Isaac, your only son, and go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” Again, Abraham obeyed God. When they reached the place of sacrifice, God said, “Stop! Do not hurt the boy! Now I know that you fear me because you did not keep your only son from me.” Then God said to Abraham, “Because you were willing to give me everything, even your only son, I promise to bless you.”
Jacob and Esau Isaac married and had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau hated Jacob because Jacob had stolen his rights as oldest son and also his blessing. So he planned to kill Jacob after their father died. But Rebekah heard of Esau’s plan. So she and Isaac sent Jacob far away to live with her relatives. Jacob lived with Rebekah’s relatives for many years. During that time he married and had 12 sons and a daughter. God made him very wealthy. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather, and I will be with you.” Jacob returned with his family, his servants, and all his flocks and herds of animals. He was very afraid because he thought Esau still wanted to kill him. But Esau no longer wanted to harm Jacob. Instead, he was very happy to see him again, so the brothers lived peacefully in Canaan.
Joseph is Sold as a Slave Jacob had twelve sons, but he loved Joseph more than his other sons. Because he loved Joseph so much, he made him a beautiful coat of many colors. When Joseph was a teen, his brothers sold him into slavery because they were jealous of the extra attention their father gave him. Joseph was taken to Egypt to work as a slave, where he wound up the property of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. Joseph rose to prominence in his new position, but when Potiphar's wife falsely accused him, he was thrown into prison.
From Slave to Ruler One night, the Pharaoh had two dreams that disturbed him greatly. None of his advisors could tell him the meaning of the dreams. But God had given Joseph the ability to interpret dreams, so Pharaoh had Joseph brought to him from the prison. Joseph interpreted the dreams for him and said, "God is going to send seven years of plentiful harvests, followed by seven years of famine." Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph that he appointed him to be the second most powerful man in all of Egypt! Joseph told the people to store up large amounts of food during the seven years of good harvests. Then Joseph sold the food to the people when the seven years of famine came so they would have enough to eat. When the famine reached Joseph’s native land of Canaan, Jacob sent Joseph’s older brothers to Egypt to buy grain. There, Joseph revealed himself to them. Jacob, Joseph’s brothers and their families then moved to Egypt and lived there in peace and abundance.
Baby Moses After Joseph died, all of his relatives stayed in Egypt. They and their descendants continued to live there for many years and had many children. However, the Egyptians no longer remembered Joseph and all he had done to help them. The Pharaoh who was ruling Egypt at that time made the Israelites slaves to the Egyptians. The Pharaoh of Egypt feared that the Hebrew slaves were becoming too numerous and would one day revolt against the Egyptians. Therefore he ordered that all newborn Hebrew boys be killed. But one woman disobeyed pharaoh. To save her baby boy from the soldiers, she put him in a basket and placed him in the river, praying for God to save her baby. Because of her faith and ingenuity, Moses was found and adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter, was raised and educated in the Pharaoh's household, and later led his true people out of bondage to the Promised Land.
Escape Through the Red Sea When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops. The Egyptians then chased after the Israelites and caught up with them as they were camped beside the shores of the Red Sea. As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked. But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today” Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water. the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side! When all the Israelites had reached the other side, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea.
The Ten Commandments After God led the Israelites through the Red Sea, he led them through the wilderness to a mountain called Sinai. Only Moses was allowed to go up the mountain. God wrote Ten Commandments on two stone tablets and gave them to Moses. God also gave many other laws and rules to follow. If the people obeyed these laws, God promised that he would bless and protect them.
A Donkey Speaks Balaam had been asked by the king of Moab to falsely prophesy a curse against the Israelites who were journeying through the desert near the land of Moab. God told Balaam to not curse the Israelites because they were blessed; however, Balaam chose to travel with the princes of Moab to curse the Israelites. God was angry that Balaam went with them, so He sent an angel to stop Balaam. When the donkey saw the angel with his sword drawn, she lay down. Balaam beat the donkey, but God opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you beat me these three times?” Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn. Balaam then bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. In the end, Balaam obeyed God by blessing the Israelites.
Joshua Takes Command When Moses died, Joshua became the new leader of the Israelites. Joshua was a good leader because he trusted and obeyed God. The Lord spoke to Joshua and said, "Joshua, you must be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Rahab Joshua sent two spies to the Canaanite city of Jericho that was protected by strong walls. In that city there lived a prostitute named Rahab who hid the spies and later helped them to escape. She did this because she believed God. They promised to protect Rahab and her family when the Israelites would destroy Jericho. Rahab and her family became part of the Israelites. Rahab later married and became one of Jesus’ ancestors.
Ruth, a Young Woman from Moab After Naomi’s husband and two sons died in Moab she decided to return to her homeland, Israel. Naomi suggested to both of her daughters-in-law that they should stay in their own country but one daughter-in-law, Ruth, chose to go with Naomi to her home in Israel. “Do not ask me to leave you. Wherever you go, I will go. Your people will be my people and your God my God,” Ruth told Naomi. Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem during the harvest season. Because they were poor, Ruth went to pick up grain left behind after the men had harvested the fields. There one day she met Boaz, a land owner and a relative of Naomi’s deceased husband. Boaz and Ruth loved each other and decided to be married. They had a son whom they named Obed, who was to be the grandfather of King David. This line of family members continued for many generations and had a special descendant, Jesus, God’s Son.
Young Samuel A long time ago in Israel there was a married woman by the name of Hannah who had no children. Hannah prayed to one day have children, and told God that she would raise her son to serve Him. God heard her prayers, and gave her a baby son that Hannah and her husband named Samuel. As promised, Hannah raised Samuel to love and serve God, and when he was old enough she took him to the temple for training. She said to Eli, the priest, “I was the woman that you saw years ago praying at the temple for a son. The Lord God has answered my prayers, and we would like your help in training Samuel to serve God.”
“Speak, Lord, Your Servant Listens” Little Samuel served the Lord by helping Eli the priest. One night, after Samuel went to live with Eli, while he was sleeping, Samuel heard a voice calling him. He woke up and ran to where Eli slept. “Here I am,” he said, because he thought that Eli had called him. But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” Two more times Samuel heard the same voice and ran to see Eli. Eli then realized that God wanted to talk to Samuel, and told Samuel how to respond the next time he heard the voice. When God called Samuel again, he sat up in his bed and answered, “Speak, Lord. As Your servant, I am listening”. God then spoke to Samuel with an important message. When Samuel grew up, he became a judge to the people and one of Israel’s greatest prophets.
A Young Shepherd Due to Saul’s disobedience, God sent Samuel to choose a new king for Israel. Samuel was to go to Bethlehem and offer a sacrifice to God along with Jesse one of the leaders of the city. God promised to show Samuel the man to be the new king. When Jesse came with his sons, Samuel saw one of his sons, Eliab, and said to himself, Surely this is the one. But the Lord said, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” Jesse brought seven of his sons to meet Samuel, but none were God’s choice. Samuel then asked Jesse, “Do you have another son?” Jesse replied, “I have one more, the youngest. He’s taking care of the sheep.” Jesse then called his youngest son, David, to come. When Samuel saw David, the Lord spoke to him, “This is the one. Anoint him as the new king.” And immediately the spirit of God was with David from that day on.
A Shepherd Boy and a Giant While King Saul of Israel was fighting a war against the Philistines, a giant soldier of the Philistines’ army came and defied the Israelite army. “Send a man who dares to fight me,” said Goliath, the giant. “If he kills me, the Philistines will be your servants. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!” Not one soldier in King Saul’s army dared answer the challenge to fight the biggest, strongest, most feared man of all the Philistine soldiers. Unexpectedly, a young man spoke up, “I’ll do it.” This young shepherd, who was not a soldier, valiantly faced the fierce giant armed with only a sling and a few stones. “You come with a sword and a spear and a shield,” the boy cried. “But I come in the name of the Lord God who will give me the victory!” And God did! The name of the young shepherd was David, who later became the king of Israel.
Solomon After many years, David died, and his son Solomon began to rule over Israel. God asked Solomon what he wanted most. When Solomon asked for wisdom, God was pleased and made him the wisest man in the world. Solomon built the Temple for which his father David had planned. People now worshiped God and offered sacrifices to him at the Temple instead of at the Tent of Meeting. Solomon blessed the people and said, "Praise the Lord! He has kept his promise and given us peace. May the Lord help us to always obey Him.”
Elisha's Secret Army The king of Aram (present-day Syria) was at war with ancient Israel and had sent an entire army to the city of Dothan to capture the prophet Elisha. They came by night, so when Elisha's servant woke and went out early in the morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Don't be afraid," the prophet said. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Naaman and the Slave Girl Naaman was an important officer in the Syrian army. He was a great soldier, but he suffered from a serious skin disease. A young servant girl who was serving in Naaman’s house said to her mistress: “My master should visit the prophet who lives in Samaria. The prophet could cure my master of his disease.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariot and stopped at the entrance to the house of the prophet Elisha. Elisha sent a servant to tell Naaman to wash himself seven time in the Jordan River. At first Naaman felt humiliated to be asked to do such a simple act. However, his servant told him, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it. Now why can’t you just wash yourself, as he said, and be cured?” And so Naaman did and was completely cured.
The Oil is Multiplied One day a widow came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband, a prophet who served God, is dead, and now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”
The Floating Ax Head One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.” “All right,” he told them, “go ahead.” When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!” “Where did it fall?” Elisha asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. “Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it.
Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery King Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you will not recover from this illness.” When Hezekiah heard this, he prayed. Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: “Go back to Hezekiah. Tell him, ‘I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you.’” Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What sign will the Lord give to prove that he will heal me?” Isaiah replied, “This is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised. Would you like the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten steps or backward ten steps?” “The shadow always moves forward,” Hezekiah replied, “so that would be easy. Make it go ten steps backward instead.” So Isaiah the prophet asked the Lord to do this, and God caused the shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial.
The Young King Josiah Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah. He obeyed God’s law and like his ancestor, King David, he stayed faithful to God. Josiah sent some of his officials to the Temple to organize repairs and cleaning, and as they were working on the temple rooms, they found an old scrolls containing the law of God. King Josiah then called his people to assemble at the Temple. He read the law from the scrolls to the people, and they all made a covenant with the Lord to keep His commandments and follow His law. Many reforms were made, and the Temple and all of the land was cleaned of the false idols they had worship. He served God with all of his heart, mind, and strength and did his best to obey God’s law.
The Prophets God was always sending prophets to the Israelites. The prophets heard messages from God and then told them to the people. The prophets warned the people that they must stop doing evil and obey God instead. If the people did not do this, then God would punish them. Most of the time, the people did not obey God. They often mistreated the prophets. But the prophets continued to speak for God even though the people hated them.
Taken Captive to Babylon In the time of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked the city of Jerusalem. After capturing Jerusalem and seizing some of the Temple treasures, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon taking with him Israelite prisoners. Among them were the young sons of Jerusalem’s noblemen. The Bible tell us the story of four of them: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel. These four young men stood strong in their belief and faith in God. Due to their examples of diligence and trustworthiness, God was able to raise them up to important positions of responsibility in the king’s court where Daniel helped the king through his God-given skills of interpreting visions and dreams.
Daniel Interprets King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream One night, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. The men replied, “The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. Then Daniel went home and told his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego what had happened. He urged them to ask God to show them his mercy by telling them the dream and its meaning, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. That night God revealed the dream and its interpretation to Daniel in a vision.
Daniel in the Lion’s Den When the Medes overthrew the Babylonians, Daniel became a senior administrator during the reign of King Darius. However, Daniel's fellow governors became jealous and plotted against him. They persuaded Darius to decree restrictions on prayer and worship, under penalty of death, but Daniel's devotion to his God compelled him to ignore the decree. When Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions, it seemed that would be the end of him, but the next morning he emerged from the den unscathed. The king was overjoyed and decreed that everyone throughout the kingdom should respect the God of Daniel.
Brave and Beautiful Queen Esther During the rule of King Ahasuerus, there lived a Jewish man named Mordecai in the capital, Shushan. In Mordecai’s care was Esther, his uncle’s daughter, whom he had adopted after the death of her parents. Esther was a young Jewish girl when she caught the eye of the Persian king. After becoming queen, Esther risked her life to save her people when the king's corrupt minister, Haman, ordered all the Jews in the kingdom to be put to death.
The Runaway Prophet God instructed His prophet Jonah to deliver a message to the powerful city of Nineveh to warn them that God was very displeased with their wickedness. But Jonah didn’t want to do this, and instead of going to Nineveh, he boarded a ship that was sailing in the opposite direction. God wasn’t pleased with Jonah’s disobedience. Soon a terrible storm arose at sea. The terrified sailors suspected that their problem had something to do with Jonah. After admitting his disobedience, Jonah told them that they should throw him overboard and that God would then stop the storm. Once Jonah had been thrown into the sea, the storm ceased, but God hadn’t forgotten about poor Jonah and sent a big fish to swallow him. After three days and three nights, the fish spit Jonah out onto the shore and Jonah did what God had asked.
www.freekidstories.org Art courtesy of Didier Martin, used by permission. Text by Didier Martin, www.openbiblestories.com and other Bible-based sources.