Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth ...
In a fun manga rendition of the Bible, the story of earth's genesis is retold. While the original content is followed closely, modern elements are applied and jokes abound as the world is formed from nothing, the moon and the stars fill the sky, and the earth is populated with life in the ocean, in the air, and on land.
The first man, Adam, falls madly in love with the beautiful Eve, and after succumbing to the temptations of the serpent, they are cast out of God's perfect garden to live out their love toiling the earth and having children.
Their first two children, Cain and Abel, experience God's rejection and acceptance in their sacrifices. In frustration and jealousy, Cain, representing the first generation of man, commits murder and kills his brother.
Later the flood comes, and Noah is called upon by God to build an ark to save the animal life of earth, as well as his family. Upon their safe return to dry land, Noah plants a vineyard and becomes drunk, and the character of his sons is revealed.
As the tower of Babel is built as a monument to man's greatness, God strikes the nation of men with the confusion of many languages, causing them to scatter throughout the earth.
From his own corner of the world, Abraham comes out of the land of Ur where he and his wife Sarah were called by God to make a great nation. He faces many adventures: traveling to Egypt and back, rescuing his nephew Lot, and conversing with God himself. In an ultimate show of faith, he is asked by God to sacrifice his son. Acting in faith, he begins to do so until he is restrained by God's messenger and is commended for hisfaith.
Abraham's son Isaac grows up and has two sons of his own, Jacob and Esau, who are constantly fighting one another. When Jacob steals the blessing intended for Esau, Jacob flees to his uncle Laban, where he marries not one but both of Laban's daughters, and has a wealth of children through them.
Jacob's favorite son, Joseph, is scorned by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt, where after interpreting the Pharaoh's dreams by God's divine hand he is raised up as second in command of all Egypt. When he recognizes his brothers, he brings them and his father Jacob to come and live with him in Egypt.
Generations later, when the Egyptians rule over Jacob's descendants, Moses is born and becomes the adopted son of Pharaoh's own daughter. The story of the exodus includes Moses' killing of an Egyptian and his subsequent exile, where God called out to him from a burning bush to face Pharaoh once again and order him to let God's people free from their slavery. Due to Pharaoh's stubbornness, God sends through Moses ten plagues to strike the land of Egypt, finalized with the death of Pharaoh's own son in the last plague. Pharaoh sends Moses and the Israelites away, where they escape through the Red Sea--parted in two by God--to the land beyond. Thus, the Israelites begin their long physical and spiritual journey to the Promised Land ... to be detailed in book two of the series.
Synopsis
These books retell stories from the Bible in a youth-oriented Manga style. The Kingdoms series covers 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles to tell the history of Israel and Judah following the Davidic dynasty through the exile in Babylon. Full color.