After Elisha died, the nation of Israel became worse and worse. Most people served fake gods. They treated each other horribly. They were not acting like God's people at all.
King David ruled over Israel for a long time. Soon, he died. His son Solomon became King. For a while, it looked like Solomon would be an even greater King than David was. Solomon was given great wisdom. He built a magnificent temple for God.
David became a hero after defeating the horrible giant. But his road to being king would still take a while.
God's people demanded, "Give us a king! We want to be like all our neighbors with a tall, strong king." So, God gave them a king. A tall, strong king like they wanted.
God's people had made it into the Promised Land! God had won their battles through the warrior leader Joshua. Joshua showed the courage to follow God's ways, even when it was not easy.
God's people reached the edge of the promised land. It had been an unexpectedly LONG journey. 40 years! It didn't have to be that long... But the Israelites would not stop complaining. They were not interested in trusting God.
God's people were free! They were free from slavery and oppression in Egypt. They were free to follow God's pillar toward the land promised to Abraham. They were free to... well, complain...
God's people were slaves in Egypt, but God had rescued them from slavery! Though Pharaoh refused to listen to the first nine warnings, the tenth made him listen. In all the land, every firstborn son died. Pharaoh's own oldest son died. But, God's people, things were different. God told them to kill a lamb instead. The lamb's blood was painted...
