Hello! My name is Jacob. I am 10 years old and I live in a little village not far from a big lake called Galilee. My dad is a carpenter. When I grow up, I will also be a carpenter like him and I like to help him.
Has Miriam shown you our house? You can see it here. My favourite time is when we all make a camp on the roof. We do it to remember the time when we all escaped from Egypt and lived for 40 years in tents in the wilderness. It is called Sukkot or the festival of shelters. Last year I helped dad cut down some wood for our camp. We live in it for seven days. You can read about it in our holy book here:
42 Live in shelters for seven days. All the people born in Israel must live in shelters. 43 This is so that all your descendants will know I made Israel live in shelters. It was during the time I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
Leviticus 23:42-43 (International Children’s Bible)
Sometimes in the summer I am allowed to take them up onto the hills above our village. I am learning to use a stone and sling to protect them from wild animals and from going too far away from me. I want to be really good at it because I want to be like King David who killed the giant Goliath. There are no giants anymore – only Romans.
My mum tells me to keep out of their way and not to be cheeky to them. They are very rough and frightening and I hide behind rocks and bushes when they come near me.
When I am not at school, one of my main jobs is to look after our four goats and two sheep. Sometimes in the summer I am allowed to take them up onto the hills above our village. I am learning to use a stone and sling to protect them from wild animals and from going too far away from me. I want to be really good at it because I want to be like King David who killed the giant Goliath. There are no giants anymore – only Romans. My mum tells me to keep out of their way and not to be cheeky to them. They are very rough and frightening and I hide behind rocks and bushes when they come near me.
Mum also asks me to help Miriam look after our plants. We do not have a big piece of land, but we grow some vegetables and herbs. Mum likes herbs and so does Miriam. It is my job to make sure it is watered so that the plants don’t die of thirst.
Once the goats got out of the pen we keep them in and ate some of the plants. I got into a lot of trouble for that!
My favourite stories are about when King David was being chased by King Saul in the desert. David is hiding in a cave at the crags of the Wild Goats and King Saul comes in. It is very exciting and funny. When I am out with the sheep and goats my Dad says that I am a true son of David.
If you want to read the story about David and Saul you can find it in your Bibles, 1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22.
Images: FreeChristianIllustrations.com.
Newman Research Centre for the Bible and its Reception 