God's Not On Trial: Kids' Edition
God's Not On Trial
Kids' Edition
God is the Judge. His Word is true.
From the book by Joseph-Israel
1God's Not On Trial, Kids' Edition
Adapted for young readers from God's Not On Trial by Joseph-Israel.
Copyright 2026 Joseph-Israel. All rights reserved.
Published by ZI² Books. zi2books.com
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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The Room Turned Backwards
In a courtroom, the judge asks the questions. No one puts the judge in the small chair and asks him to explain himself.
But some people do that to God. They sit in the high seat and ask God to answer to them. The room is turned backwards!
This book turns the room back around. God is the Judge, and His Word is the law.
Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.Psalm 119:89, NKJV
Settled means it will not change. God's Word stays the same forever.
Chapter One
The Court Begins
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The High Seat
Walk into a courtroom and look up. The judge sits in a high seat, and the book of the law rests in front of him. All the other people stand down on the floor.
In this book, God is the Judge, and the Bible is His law.
We are the ones on the floor. We do not climb up the steps to tell God what to say.
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The Mountain
Long ago God came down on a mountain in fire and cloud. The people stayed at the bottom. Moses alone went up.
God gave Moses His words, cut into stone, and Moses carried them down. He did not change even one word.
Later the stones were broken. So God wrote the same words again. God does not change His Word to fit us.
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Job Has Questions
A good man named Job had a very bad time. He lost almost all that he had, and he was very sad.
Three friends came and told him it was his own fault. They were wrong.
Job wanted to ask God some hard questions. He wished that he could stand before God and make Him answer.
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Where Were You?
Then God did answer Job, out of a great wind. But God was the One who asked the questions.
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" God asked. "Were you there when the morning stars sang together?"
Job was not there. Nobody was there but God. So God is the One who can tell us how the world began.
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A Hand Over the Mouth
Job put his hand over his mouth, and he stopped talking. He said that he had spoken about things too big for him.
God was not mean to Job. He was kind to him, and He blessed him again with more than he had before.
It is good to ask God questions. It is better still to listen to His answer.
9Hide this verse in your heart
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?Job 38:4, NKJV
God asked Job this. Only God was there at the start, so we trust what He tells us.
Read this one with a grown-up
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.Isaiah 40:8, NKJV
Say it back
- Who sits in the high seat?
- What did Moses change in God's words?
- Who was there when the world began?
Do it
Go outside tonight and look at the stars. Tell God, "You were there. I believe You."
10Chapter Two
God Spoke Plainly
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A Family Fight
Moses had a sister named Miriam and a brother named Aaron. One day they grumbled, "Does God speak only to Moses?"
The Lord heard it. He called all three of them to His tent and came down in a tall cloud.
Then God Himself told them how He speaks to Moses.
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Like a Friend
God said that He speaks to some people in dreams. A dream is like a picture, and somebody has to tell you what it means.
But with Moses it was not that way. God spoke to Moses face to face, the way a man talks to his friend.
He spoke plainly. So what Moses wrote down is plain too.
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No Riddles
A riddle is a puzzle that hides what it means. Samson once made a riddle about something sweet that came out of something strong.
No one could guess it! The answer was honey in a lion.
God told Miriam and Aaron that He does not talk to Moses in riddles. The Bible's first page is not a puzzle to solve.
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Day One, Day Two
A builder keeps a list of his work. On day one he clears the ground. On day two he lays the floor. On day three he puts up the walls.
The start of the Bible reads like that list. There was evening and morning, the first day. There was evening and morning, the second day.
God counted six days, and then He rested. A child can read it and know just what it says.
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For Little Ones Too
God did not give His words only to the smart and the grown. He gave them to moms and dads, to grandmas, and to little ones.
He said to talk about His words at home, on the road, at bedtime, and when you get up.
So the Bible is for you. God said it so that you could understand it.
16Hide this verse in your heart
So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.Exodus 33:11, NKJV
God spoke to Moses plainly, so that we could know what He means.
Read this one with a grown-up
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NKJV
Say it back
- How did God speak to Moses?
- What is a riddle?
- Who is the Bible for?
Do it
Read the first page of the Bible out loud with a grown-up. Count the days on your fingers.
17Chapter Three
Be Fair
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Listen First
Before you say that someone is wrong, listen to all that they say. Then tell it back the right way.
If you tell a wrong story about a person, you break one of God's ten rules.
A fair judge hears the whole thing first. God wants you to be fair too.
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The Boy Who Loved Stars
A boy once loved the stars so much that he read every star book in the library. He grew up, and he came to love God too.
A person can love God, be kind, and work hard, and still get one thing mixed up.
So we can love people and still check what they teach. Being fair and being kind go together.
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The Bottom Board
Stack seven boards on top of one post. If the post at the bottom is off, the whole stack will wobble.
What you believe is like that stack. The bottom has to be right.
The bottom must be God's Word. When God's Word comes first, the rest can stand.
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Check the Book
Long ago, people in a town called Berea heard Paul preach. They did not just nod their heads.
They opened the Scriptures every day to see if what he said was so. God calls them noble for that.
You can do the same. When you hear something about God, check it with the Book.
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God Sees the Heart
We can read what a person teaches, and we can test it with the Bible.
But we can not see inside a person's heart. Only God can do that.
So we may say, "That is not what the Bible says." We may never say, "God does not love that man."
23Hide this verse in your heart
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.Exodus 20:16, NKJV
To bear false witness is to say what is not true about someone.
Read this one with a grown-up
They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.Acts 17:11, NKJV
Say it back
- What do you do before you say someone is wrong?
- What must the bottom board be?
- Who can see a person's heart?
Do it
The next time you do not agree with a friend, say back what they said before you answer.
24Chapter Four
Six Days
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A Voice From the Fire
All of God's people stood at the foot of the mountain, the big ones and the little ones.
They saw the fire, and they heard a voice. It was the voice of God, and they all heard it at the same time.
No other words in the whole Bible were given that way.
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Written in Stone
Then God wrote those same words on two flat stones with His own finger.
And here is what He wrote in the middle of them: in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
God said it out loud, and God wrote it down. He made it all in six days.
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Your Week Is His Week
Why does your week have seven days? It is because God's first week had seven days.
God worked for six days and rested for one. So we work for six days and rest for one.
Each time a new week begins, it tells that story again.
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Who Is the Boss?
A boy says, "I obey my doctor, and I obey my tummy." But look at his table. It is full of cake and candy! His tummy wins every time, so his tummy is the boss.
The sky and the rocks show us how great God is. That is true and good.
But when people read the rocks one way and the Bible says another, the Bible must win. The Bible is the boss book.
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Jesus and Moses Agree
Did Jesus believe what Moses wrote? Yes, He did.
Jesus said that God made a man and a woman at the beginning. He did not say it was at the end of a long, long time.
Jesus said, "If you believed Moses, you would believe Me." It is like two seals on one letter. Jesus signs His name beside Moses.
30Hide this verse in your heart
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.Exodus 20:11, NKJV
God said this with His own voice and wrote it with His own finger.
Read this one with a grown-up
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.Psalm 19:1, NKJV
Say it back
- How many days did God take to make all things?
- Why does a week have seven days?
- Which book is the boss book?
Do it
Make a week chart. Color six days one color and the rest day gold.
31Chapter Five
Death Is the Enemy
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A Very Good World
When God had made all things, He looked at them and said they were very good.
Nothing died in that world. God gave green plants to every animal for food, so the lion did not hunt the lamb.
That is the world God made.
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How Death Came In
God told Adam that if he did not obey, he would die. Adam did not obey.
So death came into the world. It came in because of sin.
Death is not a tool that God used to build His world. Death is an enemy that broke into it.
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Jesus Beats Death
Jesus came to fight that enemy. He died for our sins, and then He rose again!
The Bible says that death is the last enemy, and Jesus will put an end to it.
One day the wolf will live with the lamb, and a little child will lead them. God will make His world very good again.
35
Water Fills It All
Fill up the sink and watch the water. It does not pile up on one side. It spreads out flat and fills the whole sink.
In the days of Noah, the water rose over all the high hills. So it went over the whole world.
That is why Noah needed a big boat. There was no dry place to walk to.
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The Promise and the Family
After the flood, God set a rainbow in the sky. He said that a flood would never cover the earth again, and He has kept His word.
Every person on earth comes from Adam and Eve, and from Noah's family after them.
The Bible names the fathers and the sons like links in a chain. And every person is made to be like God.
37Hide this verse in your heart
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.1 Corinthians 15:26, NKJV
Death is God's enemy, and Jesus will end it.
Read this one with a grown-up
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.Isaiah 11:6, NKJV
Say it back
- What did the animals eat in the very good world?
- Why did death come in?
- Who beats death?
Do it
Fill a sink with water. Show a grown-up how the water goes flat, and tell about Noah.
38Chapter Six
Hear the Other Side
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Two Tables
A fair court has two tables. One side tells its story, and then the other side gets a turn.
The first story can sound right. Then someone asks good questions, and you see more.
So this book lets the other side speak. Truth is not afraid of questions.
40
Light Before the Sun
Here is a good question. God made the sun on day four. So how could there be a day one?
Read the first page again. On day one God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
A day needs light, and God made light first. He did not need the sun to do it.
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Grandpa's Day
Grandpa says, "In my day, we walked to school." He does not mean just one day. That is how people talk.
But what if he says, "On the first day we packed, and on the second day we drove"? Now he means real days.
Genesis counts its days that way. There is day one, day two, and day three, each with an evening and a morning.
42
The Tools Are Hung Up
A man stops work on a Friday and hangs up his tools. He is still resting years later. But that Friday was just one day.
God finished His work, and on day seven He rested.
His work of making the world is done. The rest goes on, but the day was a day.
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God Still Feeds Them
Our world is not as it was at first. Thorns grow, and things get hurt. Sin did that.
Yet God still takes care of what He made. He gives food to the birds and the deer, and He sends the rain.
God was good when He made the world, and He is good to it now. One day He will make it all new.
44Hide this verse in your heart
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.Genesis 1:3, NKJV
God speaks, and it happens. His Word is that strong.
Read this one with a grown-up
The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him.Proverbs 18:17, NKJV
Say it back
- How many tables does a fair court have?
- What did God make on day one?
- Who still feeds the birds?
Do it
Ask a grown-up one hard question about the Bible. Then look for the answer in the Bible together.
45Chapter Seven
The Open Door
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To Obey Is Better
God told King Saul what to do. Saul did only part of it. He kept the best sheep, and he said, "I saved them to give to God!"
That sounded nice, but it was not what God had said.
The prophet Samuel told him, "To obey is better than sacrifice." A good reason does not make it right to change God's words.
47
Speak to the Rock
God's people were thirsty. God said to Moses, "Speak to the rock."
But Moses was upset, and he hit the rock with his staff. Water still came out, and the people drank.
Yet Moses had not done what God said. God cares about His words, even the small ones.
48
God Warns and Waits
God does not rush to say, "You are wrong!" First He sends a warning. Then He sends one more.
He gives people time to turn around.
When a friend is wrong, tell him gently. Then give him time, the way God does.
49
The Teaching, Not the Person
In this book a teaching was tested, and it did not match God's Word.
But think of a rope across the room. The books are on one side, and the person is on the other.
We test the books. God alone knows the heart of the person. So we speak the truth, and we speak it with love.
50
The Door Is Open
At the end of a trial, you may think the judge will bang his hammer. But this Judge holds a door open.
God says that sins as red as scarlet can be made as white as snow. All of heaven is glad when one person comes back.
God is not on trial. We are. And the Judge is the very One who loves us and calls us home.
51Hide this verse in your heart
To obey is better than sacrifice.1 Samuel 15:22, NKJV
Doing what God says is better than a gift He did not ask for.
Read this one with a grown-up
"Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."Isaiah 1:18, NKJV
Say it back
- What is better than sacrifice?
- What did God tell Moses to do to the rock?
- What does the Judge hold open?
Do it
Is there a thing God says that you have changed to fit you? Tell Him. The door is open.
52Court Is in Session
The Judge is in the high seat, where He has always been. His Book is open.
You do not have to be afraid of this Judge. He made you, He loves you, and He tells you the truth.
So read His Word, believe what it says, and walk through the open door.
Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.Psalm 119:89, NKJV
For the grown-up who reads along
This is the kids' edition of God's Not On Trial by Joseph-Israel. The adult book is a courtroom case. This edition keeps the courtroom and its one big idea: God is the Judge, the Bible is His law, and we are the ones who answer to Him.
The story pages are written for a second grader to read alone. Sentences average nine words, and almost every word has one or two syllables. The Bible verses are harder. They are quoted from the New King James Version, so read those aloud together and talk about the one line of meaning under each.
Each chapter takes about ten minutes. Read the pages, say the short verse three times, ask the three questions, and pick a time today for the "Do it" step. Come back to the verse tomorrow, in three days and in a week. A verse reviewed four times stays.
What each chapter keeps
54What is left for older readers
55The adult book answers a teaching by name, with its books, its history and its seven counts. None of that is here. This edition names no teacher and no theory about how old the world is. It tells a child what God said, in the order He said it, and leaves the debate for later years. The legal terms, the Hebrew and Greek words, and the church history are left out as well. The hard endings of some Bible stories, such as what happened to Uzzah, are not told.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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