A long time ago, Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and had destroyed the city and its walls. The Samaritans and the opposing gentiles found destroying the walls an opportunity to enter without resistance from its inhabitants. God has allowed that to chastise His people for a time.
Also, God ordered Cyrus, the king of Persia, to return the Jews from captivity and build the temple. So He sent Zerubbabel and all the Jews who wanted to return, and they started putting the foundation of the temple; however, the enemies opposed them, but finally, it was built.
After that, King Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, allowed Ezra, the priest and the scribe, to lead the second group, teach the Law to the people in Jerusalem, and start a spiritual reform for them.
After approximately thirteen years, the same king allowed Nehemiah to lead the third group from the returning Jews to build the walls of Jerusalem.
In His great love, God permits that His people go through tribulations, but then He grants them success when they repent and return to Him. Didn’t you hear about Nehemiah how he cared to build the walls of Jerusalem, the city of God? My heart does not stop to cry to the Lord, saying: “The walls! The walls! Who can build it and sanctify it except You!”
Tonight, I will tell you a lovely story about Nehemiah.”

To our Beloved sons and daughters
What do you know about the book of First Samuel?
The subject: Appointing a king over Israel. In the beginning, God was the king. God sent them judges when they went astray, but the people asked for a king like the other nations.
The topic of this book: Samuel was the fruit of his mother’s prayers, and Saul was the fruit of the persistence of the people, not the fruit of prayer. King David was the fruit of the prayers of Samuel the prophet.
+ This is considered a topic about the fruit of prayers.
+ The beginning of choosing a king, that is why we find for the first time the expression “The Lord of hosts.” (1:3). After the king was anointed, we hear “the horn of His anointed”. (2:10)
+ Pointed out the work of the Holy Spirit: the giver of the prophecy. (10: 6), and the One who grants a new heart (10: 9), the holy zeal (11: 6), and the keeper of man from evil spirits. (1:14)
The Parts of the book:

1. Samuel: chapter 1 - 7

2. Saul: chapter 8 – 15

3. David: chapter 16 - 31

Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

To our Beloved Children: What do you know about historical books?
To know the Judges' era in the Old Testament, we have to know the various historical stages from the standpoint of the salvation of mankind.
1. The creation stage
2. The renewal stage
3. The patriarchs' stage
4. In the land of slavery
5. In the promised land
6. There was no king to rule the people in all the previous stages, but God was the One who plans for the righteous people. When Joshua died, the people were exposed to slavery because of their sins. So from time to time, God sent them judges to arrange the matters of some of the tribes or all of them. God remained to be the King, and the leaders were the judges.
7. The people insisted on having a king like the other nations, so they chose Saul, handsome and full of physical strength. However, God chose for them a righteous king, who was David the prophet and the King.

To our Beloved sons and daughters: What do you know about the Book of Second Samuel?
The book of Second Samuel recorded the history of the kingdom of King David since he was enthroned and for the period of 40 years.
This book concentrated on “The presence before the Lord”, so David does not move unless he asks the Lord (2:1 & 5:19, 23 & 21: 1)
He became ruler over Israel “before the Lord” (5:3)
He danced “before the Lord” with all his might. (6:14)
When Michal rebuked him, he did not retreat but ascertained to her that he is so small in his eyes “before the Lord” who appointed him to be king over His people.
When David sinned, he said “I have sinned against the Lord.” (12: 13)
In every victory, he sang to the Lord being his rock, fortress, and deliverer. (22: 2).

The Book is illustrated with Coptic Icons

The strory of Ruth for kids with Coptic Icons illustrations.
The book of Ruth:
1. The book was related to the Feast of Harvest (Feast of Pentecost) which was read on that feast. Probably because Ruth appeared to glean the sheaves after the reapers so she can eat and give her mother-in-law. It is the book of harvest: that is the entry of the gentiles to the faith in the person of Ruth, as a new harvest offering the grain of the true life and satisfaction to her mother-in-law.
2. It is the only book after the name of a gentile woman in the whole Bible. Ruth has superseded many women. The genealogy of Christ mentioned her name in Matthew 1: 5 and revealed that her blood, as a gentile, ran in the veins of the Savior of the world.
3. In the era of the Judges, the Jews deviated exceedingly toward the pagan worship, however, this book declared that there was a minority even among the gentiles who held the faith in Him without any earthly greediness or lustful desire.
4. This book offers “The secret of the true satisfaction” for the human soul by uniting her with the bridegroom, the true Boaz. The words “relative, close relative”, were repeated several times, for this book is the book of the genealogy of the Lord Christ to all humanity, whether Jews or gentiles.
5. It correlates between the life of faith and the behavior, for it records the etiquette of conversation as it was between Naomi and Ruth, between Ruth and Boaz, and between Boaz and the reapers.

This book is Illustrative stories with Coptic icons for the children on the Book of Judges. The interaction between two young children not only effectively teaches the story of all of the judges, but allows to imagine themselves in the shoes of Sarah and Jack, and want to talk about the saints with their friends.