Names

Names are something we use to label things. God has many names such as Living God, Shepard, God almighty, and more. God gives us and sometimes changes our names because each name has a meaning behind it meant to fit us. An example of God changing people’s names is Abram and Sarai. Which were changed to Abraham (meaning father of many) and Sarah (meaning princess) to better fit them. My visual is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola fits the product because the name means a carbonated non-alcoholic drink (Oxford Languages). Most names around the world are given for a purpose. I was partly named after my great-grandma, whose name was Ella. Names show stuff about people’s character or what their hearts are like. I think that is true, because hey, my name means beautiful one so I’ll take it!

Covenant

A covenant is simply a deal or a promise between two groups. One covenant example in the bible is the deal between God and his people about taking care of the earth. But there are also other covenants between Adam and Eve with the whole garden scenario, covenants between God and the Israelites, and even more covenants. When there are covenants between God and his people, if the people obey, they are blessed, but if they disobey they will have consequences. With God there are two types of covenants, there is a conditional covenant where on both ends of the deal they have to do something. But unconditional covenants mean that only God has to do something, no matter what the people do. My visual is an adoption paper because an adoption is a promise (similar to a covenant) to the organization that they will take care of the kid. Covenants are meant to be kept. Even though we humans probably break deals we have made (I know I have).

Sinai law

The Sinai law is the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments are a covenant between God and his people. The people had to obey the commandments, and God had to be their God (which he already was). God’s laws are there to protect us, not destroy us. The 10 commandments can be used in every area of our lives. Some examples are school, friends, social media, and sports. The Siani law is kind of like a stoplight. If we follow it, it will hopefully keep us safe. But if we don’t follow it, the chances are greater that we could get injured, or killed.

Something is rotten

Israel had one bad king after another. So God sent prophets to talk to the Israelites. One prophet was named Elijah. While on Mt. Carmel, Elijah showed some of the Israelites that his God was more powerful than their god, he did so by destroying baal. I bet that some of the Israelites spent some time wondering what god they should choose to worship. We should not be like them, we should choose what god to worship right now (which by the way, should hopefully be our God). My example above is leaders

. Lately, we have had lots of ungodly leadership in our country and state. But thankfully God has other people here in the U.S. who can tell others about him. I know that  God is way more powerful than other gods (including our leaders).

Slide to destruction

Israel had one good king but they still worshipped baal. Therefore, God sent Assaryaih to separate them. Judah had 2 good kings, but they worshipped idols. Babylon was then therefore sent to take over them. Judah and Israel both had some ok kings but they got worse and worse. The kings focused on power, they didn’t focus on God. There are punishments for disobeying God. God wants us to listen and pay attention to the prophets he puts in our lives. My visual is a test (quiz).  In elementary tests aren’t great, but as you move up grades and eventually get to college, the tests get worse. I think that the slide to destruction means something was ok, but gets worse.

A savoir

The people didn’t keep the 10 commandments very well or at all, therefore, God made a new covenant. The covenant would be on their hearts, and they wouldn’t have to sacrifice things anymore since Jesus (God’s son) would be their sacrifice. Jeremiah gave them the new covenant based on God’s forgiveness and grace. My visual relates to the book The Honest Truth. Jesus is our savior who saves us from sin. Just like in the book, Mark saves Beau from dying in a crevasse.

Salute to a king

Way back then, there was a cycle of judges. First, it would go well, then the people would sin, then the enemies came, the people would cry out to God, and God would send a judge. This happened repeatedly. The people wanted a Melek king, not a nagid king. Since they didn’t have great leaders, everyone did what seemed best. They were influenced by their culture. My visual is money. Because our culture loves money and practically everyone is influenced by it. Just like the Israelites were influenced by other people doing what they thought best.

Sent to the Promised Land

The Israelites had to trust God a lot as they journeyed to the promised land. They had to trust that God would give them manna and quail. While on their journey, if they obeyed God and did as he wanted of them, they would get blessed, but if they disobeyed God,  they would be cursed. They had to trust God that he would keep them safe as they crossed the Red Sea. They had to trust that God would have someone in Jericho (Rahab) to care for their spies. They also had to trust God, that he would get them to the promised land. My visual is my youth leader’s wife. She has had heart problems for a long time and has gotten cancer. Yet she has trusted God a lot. She has to trust God just like the Israelites had to trust God.