The Old Testament: Homer Dives In; A Story & Reader’s Guide For Kids Of All Ages
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Meet Homer, a normal boy in every respect but one, he reads at an intergalactic speed. One morning in church, as a way to stay out of trouble, Homer started to read the Old Testament. As he raced past kings, battles and talking donkeys, “Homer was reading and having a ball.” The Old Testament, he learned, “is quite thrilling,” and “all of its stories deserve top billing!”
The story of Homer began as a way to represent readers who already have some ideas about God; they may even attend church and be familiar with stories from Genesis, but for reasons of their own, skip to later parts of the Bible. More importantly, Homer represents readers who, once they immerse themselves in God’s word, become reluctant to lay down the Bible…they want to discover more about God and his word.
Together, Homer Dives In and the accompanying Reader’s Guide were created to encourage readers to embark on or continue a lifelong journey of knowing the Creator, the Savior, the Alpha and Omega, the Messiah, the Master, the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords…as revealed in Jesus through the Bible. And the authors seek to leave as few fingerprints as possible and let the Name Above All Names speak for himself.
This combination of story and reader’s guide is not a retelling of each story; it is simply a prompt to read the Bible unfiltered. Exhaustive? No! Just a beginning!
The Story
One fine summer day, a day with no school,
Homer O'Malley daydreamed of his pool.
He was floating and splashing and holding his breath.
He was diving and scaring his mother to death.
But all of a sudden, his butterfly stroke,
Was halted abruptly by one strong, deep poke.
"Sit up straight, " whispered Dad, "and open your eyes!”
Homer sighed; his reality was no surprise.
He was far from a pool; he had nothing to do.
Poor Homer was stuck on a hard, wooden pew.
See, Homer liked God and thought much of the Lord,
But truly and frankly he was...well...quite bored.
An Invitation to The Reader’s Guide
We first joined Homer as he sped past the beginning of the Old Testament. However, by the end of the story, Homer was in awe of the Old Testament and the truth that it revealed… especially about God and his plan to send his son Jesus Christ to redeem us. We could see that Homer’s new view of God’s word included reverence for God and a desire to learn more.
So, grab your Bible, an imaginary camera, possibly a journal or sketch pad, and join Homer, as we begin at the beginning. Now, let us dive into the Old Testament and read, but not at intergalactic speed.
Don’t be shy. Just dive in.
We will complete 70 dives as we read chronologically from the creation account in Genesis to the birth announcement of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. Let us preview part of the last dive, Dive 70.
Dive 70: One Promise is Fulfilled: Jesus Lived, Died, and Lives Again; Another Promise is Made: Jesus Will Return.
Read Acts 1:9-11; 2 Samuel 16:13; and 2 Peter 1:21.
In Dive One, we read about the forty-day period between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension into heaven. That period of time ended with the promise that he would one day return. God will fulfill that promise just as surely as he fulfilled his first promise by sending Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, to live, to die, and to live again.
We began our Reader’s Guide with a story about Jesus after he rose from the dead. We saw him explaining the law and the prophets to his disciples. Many of the events, laws and prophecies that Jesus explained are ones that we read about in Dives 2-69.
Now, imagine Homer back in church at Christmas. He is listening to the choir singing Handel’s Messiah, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Indeed, the Son is given. We can sing with the choir in Homer’s church and celebrate Jesus: his birth, his death, his resurrection, and the promise of his return as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus has come. There is no disconnect between the Old and New Testaments. Jesus Christ in the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us.
If you review a list of passages that you have just read from the Bible, you will discover that out of the 66 books in the Bible, you have read parts of 22 books in the Old Testament and 11 in the New. Imagine how much more there is to discover in those 33 books as well as the 33 that we did not reference in Homer.
May this little book serve as a departure point for a lifetime commitment to Bible study, a study that definitely includes the Old Testament. May we follow our Lord’s teaching so that there is no disconnect between his word and our lives.
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Book Details
About the Book
Meet Homer, a normal boy in every respect but one: he reads at an intergalactic speed. One morning in church, as a way to stay out of trouble, Homer began to read the Old Testament. As he raced past kings, battles and talking donkeys, Homer was reading and having a ball. The Old Testament, he learned, “is quite thrilling,” and “all of its stories deserve top billing!”
Homer’s story is paired with a Reader’s Guide to more stories in the Old Testament. Those stories reveal God as the creator of the universe and as the author of an audacious plan for redemption and reconciliation.
Arranged chronologically, the guide is swept along by the current of the Old Testament narrative, all the way to the advent of the Messiah. As that narrative flows into the New Testament, Old and New Testament connections are clearly presented.
So grab your Bible and an imaginary camera, and join Homer as we dive into the Bible.
About the Author
Michelle Edwards and Barbara Boyd have taught in both private and public schools. However, their most rewarding educational experience is in teaching God’s Word, as they point to the source of life and true wisdom, God himself, as he is revealed in his Son Jesus and the Bible.