18 Beautiful Bible Stories to Read and Reflect On

The first verse of the Bible tells us something fascinating: God already existed before the beginning, before everything we know in the universe. He is the great Creator of the world and everything in it. God created the light, the waters, the heavens, the earth, the celestial bodies, the fish, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, and reptiles... Every kind of animal was His idea and creation.

Last but not least, God created people. From the dust of the earth, He formed man and breathed life into him. This was Adam. He was different from the animals because he was made in the likeness of the Creator Himself and received the breath of life from Him.

Next, God made Adam fall asleep and took one of his ribs. With it, He created the woman, Eve. She would be Adam's friend, wife, and companion. The creation of humanity was now complete. Man was no longer alone. They were beautiful and pure. They also received from God the ability to love, think, worship, and create.

God rested after finishing all His creation. Not because He was tired, but because He had completed a very important work. He saw everything He had made and considered it very good! With this, God teaches us to rest as well. He wants us to take time to rest and think about Him and His creation.

Day 1: God created the universe and the world where we live. Before that, there was nothing, not even light. The earth was formless and empty until the Spirit of God moved. God commanded, and light came into existence. He saw that the light was good and separated the light from the darkness. The Lord called the light day and the darkness night. Evening passed, morning came, and this was the first day.

Day 2: After this, God created the sky and the water. He separated the waters: those above the earth from the water on the earth, placing the sky between them. This layer of air (our atmosphere) contains various gases necessary for the protection of the earth. Without air and water, it would be difficult to have any kind of life on earth. God called the firmament above the earth "sky," and this was the second day.

Day 3: God created dry land and plants. On this day, God made dry land appear. He separated the land from the sea and also created vegetation. The orderly creation of the world we live in began to acquire more colors and beauty as it was being developed. Mountains, rocks, valleys, caves, beaches, lawns, trees, leaves, flowers, and fruits, all being prepared for the arrival of humanity.

Day 4: On the fourth day, God made the sun, moon, and stars. God knew that the earth would need these celestial bodies as sources of light and heat to survive. Before this day, there was already some kind of light, but the Lord made the sun to rule the day and the moon and stars to shine at night. Because of this, we can mark the seasons of the year, orient ourselves in time and space, and benefit from the tides, for example.

Day 5: On this 5th day, God created birds and fish. God filled the oceans and seas with fish and various types of marine creatures. He also made all species of birds that populate the skies and the earth. Additionally, God gave them the ability to reproduce and multiply. As on the other days, the Lord saw that the things He had made were good.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

- Matthew 6:26

Day 6: On the last day of creation, God created animals and people. He made the animals that live on the land (amphibians, reptiles, and mammals): wild and domestic animals. Everything was being prepared for the most special creatures of creation: man and woman.

Humanity is different from the rest of the animals because we are made in the image and likeness of God. First, God made man, Adam, and then from his rib, He created the woman, Eve. God made people with a clear purpose: to have a relationship of friendship and peace with Him. We glorify Him when we live close to Him in this special partnership. God saw that everything He had made on this day was very good.

Day 7: After creating the world in six days, God rested on the seventh. In doing so, He taught us the importance of resting and considering all the wonders that God has made. The Lord's work of creation was perfect. The last day was set aside to reflect on what He had completed, and it was very good. The entire universe speaks for itself; there was nothing to add, remove, or correct. Everything reflected God's greatness, beauty, and perfection.

After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, they found another place to live where they could cultivate the land and raise animals. They had children there. Cain, the eldest, was a farmer, and Abel, the younger, was a shepherd. After some time, both came to present an offering to the Lord. Cain offered some of the fruits of the land, and Abel offered the first and best of his flock.

God was pleased with Abel's offering, but He did not accept Cain or his offering. This made Cain angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord asked him, "Why are you angry, and why is your face downcast, Cain? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."

One day, Cain invited his brother to go out to the field. Abel went with him, and suddenly Cain attacked his brother and killed him.

The Lord asked, "Cain, where is your brother?"
Cain replied, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
But God insisted, "What have you done, Cain? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

Cain replied, "My punishment is more than I can bear! Today You are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from Your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
But God said to him, "Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

So, Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

After Noah and his family left the ark, God intended for them to repopulate the earth and spread out. However, the people became proud and arrogant. All the peoples of the earth spoke one language. They decided to stay together and found a wide and flat place in the plain of Shinar (Mesopotamia). They encouraged each other to bake bricks to build a great city and a tower so tall that its top would reach the heavens.

This was how they hoped to become famous and glorious throughout the earth. However, this mega-construction and the ambitious project to massify and unify the population did not continue. The Lord intervened in their proud plans. He confused the language of all the people, causing them to speak different languages.

So, God dispersed them throughout the earth. They stopped building the city because of the confusion caused by so many different languages. That city was called Babel, which means confusion because there God mixed the languages of the whole earth.

God decided to choose one man: Abram. Through him, He planned to start a new nation, which would be called the people of God. The Lord told Abram to leave his land (Haran) and his relatives and travel to a place He would show him. Abram obeyed and left the land where he lived, taking with him Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his nephew.

God made promises to Abram, asking him to count the stars if he could. It would be like this: his descendants would be countless. He also said that his name would be great and that the whole world would be blessed through him and the new nation that would come from him. Abram believed in God and built an altar for Him. He had true faith in God, and this made all the difference.

After his journey through Egypt, Abram went to the Negev with his wife and Lot, his nephew. But they had so many possessions that the land could not support all their flocks together. The uncle and nephew could no longer live together. So, to resolve the problem, Abram gave Lot the right to choose an area for himself. He would take the portion that was left. Lot chose the most beautiful and fertile land, the plains of the Jordan, which were like a well-watered garden. So, Lot moved near a place where many wicked people lived, Sodom. Abram went to live in a less attractive land, but God blessed him, promising that all that land (Canaan) would one day belong to him and his descendants.

A long time ago, God chose to bless the world by building a nation. For this, He chose a man named Abram to start this people. God told Abraham to look at the sky and said that his descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) would be countless like the stars in the sky. Abraham believed in God, and He was pleased with this.

However, Abram and Sarah were already very old. They wondered how God would make this happen because they were getting older every day and had not yet had any children together. But God fulfilled His promise! When Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, they had a son and named him Isaac. This name means laughter, which was the result of the joy granted by God.

They loved Isaac and loved God. They were happy because they believed that through that boy, God would fulfill the promise made.

God tested Abram's faith again. He asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on an altar. Normally, devotion was shown through the sacrifice of an animal (lamb or goat), but now, God said, "— Take your only son, whom you love, and offer him as a sacrifice on a mountain in Moriah."

This was a very difficult request because it meant that Abraham would have to offer his precious son’s life to God. But despite this request seeming terrible, Abram understood that God always does what is right. If he obeyed, God would do what was best in the end. Perhaps he thought that God might let Isaac die but had all the power to resurrect his son. He believed in God. Yes, even without understanding, Abraham obeyed God.

When father and son reached the top of the indicated mountain, they began to build the altar, and Isaac asked for the animal that would be sacrificed. Abraham said, "— God will provide the lamb, my son." Only he knew what God had asked him.

When everything was ready for the moment of sacrifice, Abraham laid his son on the wood of the altar. As Abraham reached for the knife to give the fatal blow, the Angel of the Lord called out from heaven: — "Abraham! Abraham, do not touch the boy! Do not harm him at all. Now I know that you truly fear God. You did not withhold even your son, your only son, from me!"

Then Abram looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket and sacrificed it instead of his son.

After the war of four kings against five, Lot was taken captive along with his family and possessions by the victorious kings. But Abram pursued those kings and defeated them with 300 able men born in his household. Thus, he rescued them and brought back his nephew, his family, possessions, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who had also been taken captive. After Abraham defeated the enemies, the king of Sodom came to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh.

There, Abraham met with Melchizedek, king of Salem, and gave him a tenth of everything. Melchizedek brought him bread and wine. He was the Priest of the Most High God and blessed Abram: — Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your hands.

Once, some people brought children to be blessed by Jesus. He was not bothered by the presence of the little ones, nor did he consider it a bad attitude or superstition by those people.

But some of His disciples, wanting to spare Jesus from that possible discomfort, rebuked them for this action. It was natural, in human eyes, that such an important master (rabbi) as Jesus should not be bothered by children. Even more so at that time, when the younger ones were not viewed as they are today. But to Jesus, those children were considered precious.

Jesus did not push the little ones away; on the contrary, He was indignant with the disciples for their attitude. He said: Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth: anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.

This story told by Jesus beautifully illustrates God's love in rescuing the lost (Luke 15:3-7). A man had 100 sheep, and when one of them got lost, he left the 99 in the wilderness and went in search of the lost sheep until he found it. When he found it, he joyfully placed it on his shoulders! He went home and invited his friends and neighbors to celebrate the rescued sheep.

In the same way, Jesus explains that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents and returns to the Father's, the Shepherd’s, and the Lord's arms. There is more joy over one repentant sinner than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.

From the beginning, the Lord has been writing His story, and whether you believe it or not, we are all part of it. It all begins with God creating a perfect and cozy home for humanity. After making such special things that reflect His goodness, He created us in His own image. God loved us as His children and gave us everything we needed.

The plan was for us to walk with the Lord and take care of everything He made with love and gratitude. And so, it was for a time. However, the first two people, Adam and Eve, failed in this objective. God had an enemy, and this enemy deceived Adam and Eve. He made them believe they didn't need God, that they could take care of themselves and know everything without being accountable to God. They rejected the Creator as their King and Lord.

Thus, they turned away from God by listening to the serpent and themselves. When they ate the fruit that God had forbidden, the man and the woman died spiritually. Physically, they would also die, little by little, heading towards the end. The whole earth was cursed with the entry of sin into the world.

God was disappointed with this, but this decision did not take Him by surprise. He had already prepared an alternative way to address the great problem of sin. A descendant of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, meaning He would destroy the influence of the Enemy in the world and restore the Kingdom of God as it was in the beginning.

This was a wonderful promise, but Eve and Adam were expelled from paradise. Now life would not be so easy. Hard work, pain, suffering, violence, and death would be the consequence of their bad decision to live independently of God.

Time passed, and wickedness multiplied across the world. Destruction and death were the result of everyone’s sin, but there was still the promise of hope for a Savior. God chose a man, called him, and promised that through his descendants, all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abraham believed, and this justified him before God.

The story continued with his son Isaac and the 12 grandsons of patriarch Abraham. Faith was the distinguishing feature of this family. Despite their mistakes, God kept His promise. He delivered them from slavery in a foreign country (Egypt) and gave them the land He had promised. From one family, God established the nation of Israel.

The Lord clearly taught how His people should live for Him. He recorded the Law and all His commandments so that His people would learn and live in a way that was pure and faithful, pleasing to Him.

Significant leaders, judges, and prophets arose to guide the people, but the promise of the great Deliverer was still awaited by the faithful. From the lineage of one of these leaders, King David, God promised that the Promised One (Messiah), the Prince of Peace, would come and have an eternal kingdom.

However, even God’s chosen people sinned, turning away from the Lord and His instructions. The nation of Israel was punished for their bad decisions and was eventually captured by other nations. They were taken into captivity, which reminded them even more of the promise of the Great Savior who would come, Immanuel, God with us.

After a time of silence, the promise was fulfilled! The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among people to teach them, in practice, the entire will of God. Jesus is the Promised One (Christ), miraculously born of a virgin to save everyone from sin and the power of Evil. He is the Promised One from the beginning. Jesus not only fulfilled all of God's Law but is also the Way that leads us to God’s Truth and Life.

Jesus paid the price of God’s justice, taking upon Himself the punishment of divine wrath for sins.

Therefore, He died a cursed death on a cross in place of all sinners, giving them the opportunity for salvation. Once again, God offers an opportunity for forgiveness to those who believe in His love and sacrifice. As proof of His power over life and death, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.

All His followers saw Him resurrected. This was the confirmation that everything He said and did was true. He truly fulfilled God’s promise from the beginning. And He waits for those who hear His Word to believe and wholeheartedly accept His offer of love.

He desires to save us from the judgment that is coming. It will be the final punishment, condemning sin and all of God's enemies. Those who reject Him will also be punished, but Christ lovingly offers a safe place with Him to those who believe.

His apostles spread this message: the Gospel (good news) of Jesus' salvation, to the point of paying with their own lives. All those who, throughout history, have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ will live in eternity with God in the paradise He has prepared, just as in the beginning.

In this wonderful place that Christ has gone to prepare for us, in the heavenly mansion, we will live under the Light of God, with no need for any sun or stars. There will be no more crying, pain, distress, or death, for our satisfaction and joy will be full and eternal in the presence of the Lord.

Now, all of us who have heard this wonderful story cannot remain indifferent. We cannot remain unmoved by this genuine love story.

We need to take a step towards the Savior, understanding that He is the author of life, that He loves us with unconditional love. Yes, Christ calls us to true faith and worship. This love and trust in the Savior Jesus allow the believer to be born again, receiving the life that was lost in the Garden of Eden.