Andrea Skevington - The Bible Story Retold in Twelve Chapters

To Peter, with love A.S.

Text copyright 2011 Andrea Skevington
This edition copyright 2016 Lion Hudson

The right of Andrea Skevington to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Lion Books
an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road,
Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com/lion

ISBN 978 0 7459 7664 8
e-ISBN 978 0 7459 7671 6

First edition 2016

Acknowledgments
The Bible retellings are based on the corresponding passages in the Holy Bible, New International Version and the Good News Bible.

The Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised is copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

The Good News Bible 1994 is published by the Bible Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd UK, Good News Bible American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used with permission.

The Lords Prayer as it appears in Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (Church House Publishing, 2000) is copyright The English Language Liturgical Consultation and is reproduced by permission of the publisher.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Beginning

So this is how it all began: with God, who created the heavens and the earth. At first, all was empty and dark: there was no shape or form. And the Spirit of God was there, hovering over the black, boundless waters.

Then, into this darkness, God spoke: Let there be light! and it appeared the first ever light dazzling and shimmering, bright beyond words. God saw that it was good. Then God split light from dark, day from night. So evening passed and morning came: the first day.

God spoke again: Let all the water and air that flows and moves be divided up. Separate the blue above from blue below. So the wide expanse of sky unfolded, shining and full of light. Then evening passed and morning came: the second day.

God spoke: Let the waters under the sky be gathered, so land can appear. So it was. The waters flowed together, and glistening land began to emerge from the waves.

God spoke: Let the land produce plants an abundance of every kind: trees that bear fruit and plants that bear seeds. And so the land began to shimmer with soft new growth; the whole earth was greening, fresh and new like the first ever spring day. God saw that it was good. So evening passed and morning came: the third day.

God spoke: Let lights shine in the sky to mark day and night, the turning of the seasons, and the passing of the years. So there was the greater light, the sun, for the day, and the smaller, the moon, for the night. God also made the countless shining stars. And God saw that it was good. Then evening passed and morning came: the fourth day.

God spoke: Let the waters be filled with life, shimmering with creatures, and let flights of birds soar through the sky. And so the seas heaved with living things: huge fish, tiny shells, silvery eels, and strange creatures of the deep; and the air was filled with the songs of birds flying high and free. God saw that it was good, and blessed all the creatures, telling them to live and grow and flourish. So evening passed and morning came: the fifth day.

God spoke: Let the land produce all sorts of living creatures! And so creatures began to appear on the land: the great and the small, the wild animals, and those that moved slowly across the ground. God saw that it was good. But there was more. God spoke again. Let us make human beings to be like us, so they can be responsible for the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and for the whole of the living earth. And so God created human beings: male and female. God blessed them and told them to grow in number. God gave them every plant that bore seeds, and the fruit of the trees, for their food.

God looked at all that he had made; everything was beautiful, vibrant, growing, and blessed. God saw that it was all very good. So evening passed and morning came: the sixth day.

Then, on the seventh day, God rested from his work of bringing life from darkness and nothingness. God blessed the day of rest for all creation, for all time.

The garden

God formed Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, and breathed into them the breath of life. God made a paradise to be their home: the garden of Eden. God put them in the garden so they could work its rich soil, and care for it together. The garden was lush and green for it was watered by a great river, and at its heart were two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve lived near their spreading shade. How happy and at peace they were, for everything was perfect and beautiful. They had no need of clothes, for they felt no shame.

God told them, This is a place of plenty! The trees everywhere are heavy with fruit. But you cannot pick all of it. There is one tree whose fruit you must not eat: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If you eat its fruit, you will die!

The slippery serpent

The bright serpent, cunning and full of lies, slid quietly through the soft green leaves of the garden. When it came to the woman, it stopped. Did God really say that you should not eat the fruit of any tree? it hissed.

Eve replied, We may eat the fruit of all these trees, but God did say that we should not eat from one tree in the middle of the garden. If we do, we will die!

No! The serpent spoke softly, coiling itself around Eve. You will not die. This is what will happen. You will see clearly what is good and what is evil, just as God does. You will become like God.

The serpents twisted words set a trap for Eve, which tightened with every step she took toward the tree. Soon she could think of nothing else. How good the fruit looked! She had forgotten Gods command, and she had forgotten the sweet fruit that hung from every other tree. She longed instead for the knowledge of good and evil, so she stretched out her hand and plucked the fruit, and shared it with Adam. As they bit into the fruit, they saw everything clearly.

They realized they were naked, so they hurried to gather fig leaves, stitching them together to make clothes to hide behind. Everything was changed.

Later Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden in the cool of the evening, and they drew back into the shadows, hidden among the leaves. God called out, Where are you? and Adam stepped out of the darkness, his head bent low.

I was afraid, because I was naked His voice shook as he spoke.

Who told you that? asked God. Have you eaten the fruit I told you not to eat?