A Behold picture book
The Quiet Day
In Maple Hill, everyone rests on Rest Day. Everyone.
In the town of Maple Hill, everybody followed the Voice's rules. One rule was very big. On Rest Day, nobody works. Not even a little bit.
The Voice had already said what happens to anyone who works on Rest Day. They must die.
One Rest Day, a man named Mr. Pruitt went to the park. He picked up sticks.
Some neighbors saw him. They brought him to the town leaders, in front of everyone.
The leaders were not sure what to do with him. So they locked him up for the night.
Then the Voice spoke. "The man must die. Everyone in town must throw stones at him, outside of town."
So everyone in town took Mr. Pruitt outside of town. They threw stones at him until he died. Just like the Voice said.
Right after that, the Voice gave a new rule. "Sew tassels on your clothes, with a blue string. When you see them, remember to obey."
The End.
The source, revealed
The Fine Print
Numbers 15:32–41
Read it yourself (opens in a new tab)Where it's from
Numbers 15:32–41. It happens while the Israelites are camping in the wilderness, soon after God gives them his laws.
Who's who
| In our story | In the Bible |
|---|---|
| Maple Hill | The Israelite camp in the wilderness |
| Rest Day | The Sabbath |
| Mr. Pruitt | A man who isn't named |
| The town leaders | Moses and Aaron |
| The Voice | God (the LORD) |
| Tassels with a blue string | Fringes with a blue cord |
What the text says
Plain words: God said: The man must die. Everyone must throw stones at him, outside the camp.
KJV (Numbers 15:35): "The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp."
Plain words: They did it, just like God said.
KJV (Numbers 15:36): "and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses."
Plain words: The rule was already known: whoever works on the Sabbath must die.
KJV (Exodus 31:15): "whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."
What we kept
- A man gathers sticks on the Sabbath.
- People who found him bring him to the leaders and the whole community.
- He is locked up because they don't know what to do with him.
- God himself gives the sentence: death by stoning, outside the camp, by everyone.
- Everyone does it.
- The very next thing God says is the rule about tassels, to help people remember to obey.
What we changed
- The names, and today's world: a town, a park, a town hall.
- The wilderness camp became a town.
- We showed the death rule on a sign. In the Bible it was spoken by God and written in the Law (Exodus 31:15, 35:2).
- The Bible doesn't say why the man gathered sticks. We don't either.
Look closely
The leaders already knew working on the Sabbath meant death. They locked him up because "it was not declared what should be done to him" (Numbers 15:34). They asked God, and God chose the most public way.
How it's usually taught
Many teachers say it shows how holy the Sabbath was, and how serious it was to openly break God's law right after he gave it. Most Christians say this law no longer applies today. Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27).
What the story doesn't say
Nobody asks why he did it. Nobody gives him a warning or a second chance. The sentence doesn't come from angry neighbors. It comes from God.
Talk about it
- Is picking up sticks a bad thing to do?
- What would be a fair punishment for breaking a rule about resting?
- If the person who makes a rule picks the punishment, does that make the punishment fair?
- Would you have thrown a stone?
- Do you believe this is good advice?
One last question
If your town did this today, what would you call it?