In the land of Uz, there lived a man who worshipped Jehovah. His name was Job. He was a very rich man with a large family. He was kind, and he helped poor people, women whose husbands had died, and children who had no parents. But just because he did what was right, would Job himself never have any problems?

Job did not know it, but Satan the Devil was watching him. Jehovah said to Satan: ‘Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth. He listens to me and does what is right.’ Satan replied: ‘Of course Job obeys you. You protect him and bless him. You give him land and animals. Take it all away, and he will stop worshipping you.’ Jehovah said: ‘You may test Job. But you are not allowed to kill him.’ Why did Jehovah let Satan test Job? He was confident that Job would not fail.

Satan began to test Job with a number of disasters. First he sent people called the Sabeans to steal Job’s cattle and donkeys. Then fire destroyed all of Job’s sheep. Another group of people, the Chaldeans, stole his camels. The servants who were looking after those animals were killed. Next came the worst disaster. All of Job’s children died when the house where they were feasting fell on them. Job was heartbroken, but he did not stop worshipping Jehovah.

Satan wanted Job to suffer even more, so he caused sores to break out all over Job’s body. Job was in terrible pain. He did not know why all these things were happening to him. Yet, Job still worshipped Jehovah. God saw all of this, and he was very pleased with Job.

Satan then sent three men to test Job. They told him: ‘You must have sinned and tried to hide it. God is punishing you.’ Job said: ‘I have not done anything wrong.’ But then he started to think that Jehovah was causing these problems, and he said that God was not being fair to him.

A young man named Elihu had been quietly listening to the conversation. Then he spoke up and said: ‘What all of you have said is wrong. Jehovah is greater than we can understand. He could never do anything wicked. He sees everything and helps people with their problems.’

Then Jehovah spoke to Job. He said: ‘Where were you when I made the heaven and the earth? Why do you say that I am not fair? You speak, but you do not know why things happen.’ Job admitted his mistake and said: ‘I was wrong. I had heard about you, but now I really know you. Nothing is impossible for you. I am sorry for what I said.’

When the test was over, Jehovah made Job healthy again and gave him much more than he had before. Job lived a long and happy life. Jehovah blessed Job for listening to him even when it was hard. Will you be like Job and keep worshipping Jehovah, come what may?

In Egypt, Jacob’s family became known as Israelites. After Jacob and Joseph died, a new Pharaoh began to rule. He was afraid that the Israelites were becoming more powerful than the Egyptians. So this Pharaoh made the Israelites slaves. He forced them to make bricks and to work very hard in the fields. But the more the Egyptians forced them to work hard, the more the Israelites grew in number. Because Pharaoh did not like that, he commanded that all the newborn Israelite boys be killed. Can you imagine how scared the Israelites must have been?

An Israelite woman named Jochebed had a beautiful baby boy. To protect him, she put him in a basket and hid it in the reeds of the Nile River. The baby’s sister, Miriam, stayed nearby to see what would happen.

Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe in the river and saw the basket. Inside she found a crying baby, and she felt sorry for him. Miriam asked: ‘Should I go find a woman who can nurse the child for you?’ When Pharaoh’s daughter said yes, Miriam brought back her own mother, Jochebed. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her: ‘Take this baby, nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’

When the child grew older, Jochebed brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who named him Moses and raised him as her own son. Moses grew up as a prince and could have anything he wanted. But Moses never forgot Jehovah. He knew that he was really an Israelite, not an Egyptian. And he chose to serve Jehovah.

At the age of 40, Moses decided to help his people. When he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave, Moses hit the Egyptian so hard that he died. Moses hid the body in the sand. When Pharaoh found out, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses ran away to the land of Midian. Jehovah took care of him there.