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Question: "What can we learn from the life of Noah?"

Answer: We first hear about Noah in Genesis 5, which begins with “this is the book of the generations of Adam.” This is a recurring phrase in Genesis, and chapter 5 details the godly line of Seth as opposed to the worldly line of Cain (Genesis 4:17-24). Assuming no generational breaks, Noah represents the tenth generation from Adam. The genealogical account of Noah reads, “When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, ‘He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed’” (Genesis 5:28-29).

Right from the start, we see that Noah is going to be special as he is the only member of this genealogy whose name is explained. His father, Lamech, states that his son, Noah, will bring relief (“Noah” sounds like the Hebrew word for “rest or relief”). We learn quickly what Noah was to relieve us from in Genesis 6:1-8, where we see the unfettered results of the fall as unrighteousness increases throughout the world. God announces His indictment against mankind with these cryptic words: “The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). At this point, God determines to pass judgment on the world through the flood (v. 7). Yet, even in this situation, we see a ray of hope: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 8). Despite the rampant wickedness that was increasing exponentially upon the earth, there is one man who stands out—a man whose life was characterized by the hand of God’s grace upon him. Noah found favor with the Lord. God was about to send judgment upon the world for its wickedness, but He extends His saving grace to Noah and his family.

Genesis 6:9 marks the beginning of the flood narrative, and it is here that we learn the most about Noah’s life. We learn that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, and that he walked with God. One can almost see a progression of spirituality in this description of Noah’s life. By saying Noah was righteous, we know that he was obedient to God’s commands (as best as he was able and understood them at that time). He was blameless in his generation, standing out among the people of his day. While they were engaging in debauchery, Noah was living an exemplary life. Finally, Noah walked with God, which puts him in the same class as his great grandfather, Enoch (Genesis 5:24); this implies not only an obedient life, but one that has a vibrant and intimate relationship with God.

We see Noah’s obedient life demonstrated in his willingness to obey without question the Lord’s commands regarding the ark (Genesis 6:22; 7:5, 9; 8:18). Consider that Noah and his generation more than likely had never seen rain before, yet God tells Noah to build a large seagoing vessel nowhere near a body of water. Noah’s trust in God was such that he promptly obeyed. Noah’s blameless life is made manifest as he obeys the Lord in light of the approaching day of wrath. The apostle Peter tells us that Noah was a “herald of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), and the author of Hebrews says that he “condemned the world” (Hebrews 11:7) through his righteous actions. Throughout the long delay of the coming judgment, Noah continued to faithfully obey the Lord. As evidence of his walk with God, after the flood, Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to God (Genesis 8:20). Worship was a central part of Noah’s life.

Aside from the flood narrative and the vignette of his drunkenness recorded in Genesis 9:20-27, we don’t know much about Noah’s life. Surely, the drunkenness wasn’t the only instance of impropriety in Noah’s life. Like all of us, Noah was born with a sin nature. The episode of his drunkenness was included in the narrative, more than likely, to explain the animosity between the Canaanites and the Israelites. Despite this incident, we do see that Noah was revered as one of the few exceptionally righteous men in the history of God’s people. Twice in Ezekiel 14, God says through the prophet that even if Noah, Daniel and Job were present in the land, God would not spare the people from judgment. That’s some righteous company to be in (Daniel and Job). We also know that Noah is included in the “Faith Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11, another indication that Noah was considered a model of faithfulness and that he had the kind of faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).

With all that said, what can we learn from the life of Noah? Practically speaking, Noah is an example of a life of faith. Hebrews 11:7 says of Noah, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Noah didn’t need to “test” God before going into action; God commanded, and he obeyed. This was typical of Noah’s life. Noah was part of the godly line of Seth, of whom it was said, “At that time men began to call upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26). Noah was the result of generational obedience and faithfulness toward God. If we were to model our lives after Noah, there is no better rule to follow that to be “righteous, blameless in our generation, and to walk with God.” In other words, be right with God, be right with others, and have a reverent and worshipful relationship with God. You can almost hear the words of Jesus echoing here when He responds to the lawyer’s question regarding the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-39).

Theologically speaking, we can also draw some lessons from Noah’s life. First and foremost, Noah’s life shows us the eternal truth that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Noah wasn’t an exemplary individual because he was somehow able to bypass the fallen sin nature we all possess. God’s grace was upon him, aside from which Noah would have perished with all of the other wicked sinners in the flood. Noah is also a prime example that God saves His elect. We see that God was patient concerning the coming judgment while Noah built the ark (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5). The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. This truth is explicitly stated in 2 Peter 3:8-9, as we learn that the Lord will postpone final judgment until all of the elect reach repentance.

Finally, Noah’s life serves as a reminder that judgment on sin will come. The Day of the Lord will come (2 Peter 3:10). Jesus uses the life of Noah as a foreshadowing of what it will be like when the Son of Man returns in final judgment (Matthew 24:37-38; Luke 17:26-27). As such, we need to follow Noah’s example and be a “herald of righteousness” and heed the words of Paul: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Like Noah, we are Christ’s ambassadors in these last days. God’s judgment is coming, but He offers reconciliation through Jesus Christ. We must take this message of reconciliation to others.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Job?"

Answer: The life of Job is proof that man usually has no idea what God is doing behind the scenes in the life of each believer. All humans ask the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It is the age-old question, and difficult to answer, but believers know that God is always in control, and, no matter what happens, there are no coincidences—nothing happens by chance. Job was a believer; he knew that God was on the throne and in total control, though he had no way of knowing why so many terrible tragedies were occurring in his life.

Job never lost his faith in God, even under the most heartbreaking circumstances that tested him to his core. It’s hard to imagine losing everything we own in one day—property, possessions, and even children. Most men would sink into depression and even become suicidal after such a nightmare; however, Job never wavered in his understanding that God was still in control. Job’s three friends, on the other hand, instead of comforting him, gave him bad advice and even accused him of committing sins so grievous that God was punishing him with misery. Job knew God well enough to know that He did not work that way; in fact, he had such an intimate, personal relationship with Him that he was able to say, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face” (Job 13:15).

Job’s plight, from the death of his children and loss of his property to the physical torment he endured, plus the harangue of his so-called friends, never caused his faith to waver. He knew who his Redeemer was, he knew that He was a living Savior, and he knew that someday He would physically stand on the earth (Job 19:25). He understood that man’s days are ordained (numbered) and they cannot be changed (Job 14:5). The spiritual depth of Job shows throughout the book.

There are also several scientific and historical facts in the book of Job. The book implied the earth is round long before the advent of modern science (Job 22:14). The book mentions dinosaurs—not by that name, but the description of the behemoth is certainly dinosaur-like—living side by side with man (Job 40:15–24).

The book of Job gives us a glimpse behind the veil that separates earthly life from the heavenly. In the beginning of the book, we see that Satan and his fallen angels are still allowed access to heaven, going in and out to the prescribed meetings that take place there. What is obvious from these accounts is that Satan is busy working his evil on earth, as recorded in Job 1:6–7. Also, this account shows how Satan is “the accuser of the brethren,” which corresponds to Revelation 12:10, and it shows his arrogance and pride, as written in Isaiah 14:13–14. It is amazing to see how Satan challenges God; he has no scruples about confronting the Most High. The account in Job shows Satan as he truly is—haughty and evil to the core.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we learn from the book of Job is that God does not have to answer to anyone for what He does or does not do. Job’s experience teaches us that we may never know the specific reason for suffering, but we must trust in our sovereign, holy, righteous God. His ways are perfect (Psalm 18:30). Since God’s ways are perfect, we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever He allows—is also perfect. We can’t expect to understand God’s mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).

Our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not. When we do, we will find God in the midst of our trials—possibly even because of our trials. We will see more clearly the magnificence of our God, and we will say, with Job, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).
 
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Abraham?"

Answer: Aside from Moses, no Old Testament character is mentioned more in the New Testament than Abraham. James refers to Abraham as “God’s friend” (James 2:23), a title used of no one else in Scripture. Believers in all generations are called the “children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). Abraham’s importance and impact in redemptive history is clearly seen in Scripture.

The life of Abraham takes up a good portion of the Genesis narrative from his first mention in Genesis 11:26 all the way to his death in Genesis 25:8. Although we know much about Abraham’s life, we know little about his birth and early life. When we first meet Abraham, he is already 75 years old. Genesis 11:28 records that Abraham’s father, Terah, lived in Ur, an influential city in southern Mesopotamia situated on the Euphrates River about halfway between the head of the Persian Gulf and the modern-day city of Baghdad. We also learn that Terah took his family and set off for the land of Canaan but instead settled in the city of Haran in northern Mesopotamia (on the trade route from ancient Babylonia about halfway between Nineveh and Damascus).

Abraham’s story really turns interesting at the start of Genesis 12. In the first three verses, we see the call of Abraham by God:

“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’" (Genesis 12:1-3).

God calls Abraham out from his home in Haran and tells him to go to a land that He will show to him. God also makes three promises to Abraham: 1) The promise of a land of his own; 2) the promise to be made into a great nation; and 3) the promise of blessing. These promises form the basis for what will later be called the Abrahamic Covenant (established in Genesis 15 and ratified in Genesis 17). What really makes Abraham special is that he obeyed God. Genesis 12:4 records that, after God called Abraham, he went “as the LORD had told him.” This act of faith is so impressive that the author of Hebrews “enshrines” Abraham in the Faith Hall of Fame: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

How many of us would leave behind everything that is familiar to us and just go without knowing our destination? The concept of family meant everything to a person living in the time of Abraham. In that time, family units were strongly knit; it was unusual for family members to live hundreds of miles apart from each other. In addition, we’re not told anything about the religious life of Abraham and his family prior to his calling. The people of Ur and Haran were pagans who worshipped the ancient Babylonian pantheon of gods, in particular the moon god, Sin. Given that fact, it seems reasonable that Terah was a pagan idolater. There is no biblical evidence that the line of Shem (son of Noah and Abraham’s ancestor) were worshippers of the true God. Yet somehow, by God’s providence, Abraham knew and recognized the call of Yahweh, the LORD, and obeyed willingly, not hesitantly.

Another example of Abraham’s life of faith is seen in the birth of his son, Isaac. Abraham and Sarah were childless (a real source of shame in that culture), and yet God promised that Abraham would have a son (Genesis 15:4). This son would be not only the heir of Abraham’s vast fortune with which God blessed him but, more importantly, the heir of promise and the continuation of the godly line of Seth. Abraham believes the promise of God, and it is credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). God reiterates His promise to Abraham in Genesis 17, and his faith is rewarded in Genesis 21 with the birth of Isaac. Again, the author of Hebrews highlights this when he writes, “By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:11-12).

Abraham’s faith would be sorely tested regarding his son, Isaac. In Genesis 22, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the top of Mount Moriah. We don’t know how Abraham reacted internally to this command. All we see is Abraham faithfully obeying the God who was his shield (Genesis 15:1) and who had been extraordinarily gracious and good to him up to this point. As with the earlier command to leave his home and family, Abraham obeyed (Genesis 22:3). We know the story ends with God holding back Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, but imagine how Abraham must have felt. He had been waiting decades for a son of his own, and the God who promised this child to him was about to take him away. The point is that Abraham’s faith in God was greater than his love for his son, and he trusted that even if he sacrificed Isaac, God was able to bring him back from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19).

To be sure, Abraham had his moments of failure and sin (as we all do), and the Bible doesn’t shrink from relating them. We know of at least two occasions in which Abraham lied regarding his relationship to Sarah in order to protect himself in potentially hostile lands (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18). In both these incidents, God protects and blesses Abraham despite his lack of faith. We also know that the frustration of not having a child got to Abraham and Sarah as they concoct a plan to take matters into their own hands with Sarah’s servant, Hagar (Genesis 16:1-15). The birth of Ishmael not only demonstrates the futility of Abraham’s folly and lack of faith, but also the grace of God (in allowing the birth to take place and even blessing Ishmael). The “Father of the Faithful” had his moments of doubt and disbelief, yet he is still exalted among men as an example of the faithful life.

One obvious lesson to draw from Abraham’s life is that we are to live a life of faith. Abraham could take his son, Isaac, up to Mount Moriah because he knew God was faithful to keep His promises. Abraham’s faith wasn’t a blind faith; his faith was a settled assurance and trust in the One who had proven Himself faithful and true. If we were to look back on our own lives, we would see the hand of God’s providence all over it. God doesn’t have to speak from burning bushes or part the sea waters to be active in our lives. God is superintending and orchestrating the events of our lives. Sometimes it may not seem that way, but Abraham’s life is evidence that it is true. Even Abraham’s failures demonstrate that God, while not protecting us from the consequences of our sin, graciously works His will in us and through us; nothing we do will thwart His plan.

Abraham’s life also shows us the blessing of simple obedience. When asked to leave his family, Abraham left. When asked to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham “rose up early the next morning” to do so. From what we can discern from the biblical narrative, there was no hesitation in Abraham’s obedience. Abraham, like most of us, may have agonized over these decisions, but when it was time to act, he acted. When we discern a true call from God, or we read His instructions in His Word, we must act. Obedience is not optional when God commands something.

Abraham’s lapses of faith, particularly in regards to the situation with Hagar and Ishmael, show us the folly of trying to take matters into our own hands. God had promised a son to Abraham and Sarah, but in their impatience, their plan to provide an heir to Abraham backfires. First, conflict between Sarah and Hagar arises, and later on conflict between Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael’s descendants end up becoming bitter enemies of the people of God, as we later learn in the Old Testament narrative, and so it continues to this day in the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. We cannot fulfill the will of God in our own strength; our efforts ultimately end up creating more problems than they solve. This lesson has wide-ranging applications in our lives. If God has promised to do something, we must be faithful and patient and wait for Him to accomplish it in His own timing.

Theologically speaking, Abraham’s life is a living example of the doctrine of sola fide, justification by faith alone. Twice the Apostle Paul uses Abraham as an example of this crucial doctrine. In Romans, the entire fourth chapter is devoted to illustrating justification by faith through the life of Abraham. A similar argument is made in the book of Galatians, where Paul shows from Abraham’s life that the Gentiles are heirs with the Jews to the blessings of Abraham through faith (Galatians 3:6-9, 14, 16, 18, 29). This goes back to Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Abraham’s faith in the promises of God was sufficient for God to declare him righteous in His sight, thereby proving the principle of Romans 3:28. Abraham did nothing to earn justification. His trust in God was enough.

We see in this the workings of God’s grace very early in the Old Testament. The gospel didn’t start with the life and death of Jesus but goes all the way back to Genesis. In Genesis 3:15, God made a promise that the “seed of the woman” would crush the head of the serpent. Theologians believe this is the first mention of the gospel in the Bible. The rest of the Old Testament chronicles the outworking of the gospel of God’s grace through the line of promise beginning with Seth (Genesis 4:26). The calling of Abraham was just another piece in the story of redemption. Paul tells us that the gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham when God told him “all nations will be blessed through you” (Galatians 3:8).

Another thing we learn from Abraham’s life is that faith is not hereditary. On three separate occasions in the Gospels (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8; John 8:39), we learn that it is not enough to be physically descended from Abraham to be saved. The application for us is that it is not enough to be raised in a Christian home; we cannot ride into heaven on the coattails of someone else’s faith. God is not obligated to save us simply because we have an impeccable Christian pedigree. Paul uses Abraham to illustrate this in Romans 9, where he says not all who descended from Abraham were elected unto salvation (Romans 9:7). God sovereignly chooses those who will receive salvation, but that salvation comes through the same faith that Abraham exercised in his life.

Finally, we see that James uses the life of Abraham as an illustration that faith without works is dead (James 2:21). The example he uses is the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah. Mere assent to the truths of the gospel is not enough to save. Faith must result in good works of obedience that show a living faith. The faith that was enough to justify Abraham and count him as righteous in God’s eyes (Genesis 15) was the very same faith that moved him into action as he obeyed God’s command to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham was justified by his faith, and his faith was proved by his works.

In the final analysis, we see that Abraham was an exemplary individual, not so much in his piety or perfect life (he had his shortcomings, as we saw), but because his life illustrates so many truths of the Christian life. God called Abraham out of the millions of people on the earth to be the object of his blessings. God used Abraham to play a pivotal role in the outworking of the story of redemption, culminating in the birth of Jesus. Abraham is a living example of faith and hope in the promises of God (Hebrews 11:10). Our lives should be so lived that when we reach the end of our days, our faith, like Abraham’s, will remain as an enduring legacy to others.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Isaac?"

Answer: The name Isaac, which means “he laughs,” was derived from his parents’ reaction when God told Abraham that he, at 100 years old, and his wife Sarah, at the age of 90, would have a son (Genesis 17:17; 18:12). Isaac was Abraham’s second son; his first, Ishmael, was by Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar, as a result of Sarah’s impatience to give Abraham a family (Genesis 16:1-2). As soon as Isaac was weaned, Sarah insisted that Abraham send Hagar and her son away, ensuring the family inheritance would go to Isaac (Genesis 21:3-12).

As a teenager, Isaac was taken by his father up a mountain where Abraham, in obedience to God, prepared to sacrifice him (Genesis 22:1-14). There is an interesting analogy in this account that mirrors God giving up His only son, Jesus, to be sacrificed. When Isaac was forty years old, his father sent one of his servants to find a wife for him from their clan, as Abraham was determined his son should not have a Canaanite for a wife (Genesis 24:1-51). And so, Isaac married his cousin Rebekah.

Isaac, unlike his father Abraham, sets a new standard of being nonconfrontational, as we see him move from place to place to avoid trouble with his neighbours over the rights to the wells in the region. And yet, God re-affirms His covenant with Isaac that He had made with Abraham before him (Genesis 26:4). Later, in verse 7, we see history repeating itself as Isaac, just like his father, passes his wife off as his sister, for fear of his life.

Rebekah bore twin sons, Esau and Jacob. While Isaac favored his elder son, Esau, Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob. This caused great rivalry within the family and led to Jacob, the younger son, receiving the inheritance and his father’s blessing which should have gone to Esau, the older son, after Isaac and Esau were deceived by Rebekah and Jacob.

We might think there is little for us to learn from such a character as Isaac, and yet this isn’t the case. When Isaac discovered, for instance, that he had been deceived by his son Jacob, he accepted and submitted to what he recognised as God’s will, in spite of it being completely against the accepted tradition at the time. Just as Isaac discovered, we, too, must always remember that God’s ways are not our ways or His thoughts the same as ours (Isaiah 55:8).

Though there are no great achievements to speak of concerning Isaac’s life, it was Isaac that God chose to continue the covenant line, the same line that would produce our Messiah, Jesus. And for many generations the Jewish nation described their God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Indeed, there are several Scriptures where God describes Himself in the same manner (e.g., Exodus 3:6). Isaac is listed with the other patriarchs and in Jesus’ own words will be found seated in His kingdom (Luke 13:28). And there is no greater honor we can hope to achieve.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Jacob?"

Answer: Jacob’s life began with a struggle. As a twin in the womb with Esau, he jostled for position and was born grasping his brother’s heel. Jacob’s name is translated as “he deceives” (Genesis 25:26). When his mother, Rebekah, asked God during her pregnancy what was happening to her, God told her that there were two nations within her womb who would become divided. One would be stronger than the other, and the older would serve the younger (Genesis 25:23).

Jacob and Esau grew up together living a nomadic life. Esau became a fine hunter and loved to be out and about in the countryside while Jacob was a quiet, “stay-at–home” type (Genesis 25:27). Esau, being a hunter, was his father’s favorite as Isaac loved the wild game Esau brought home, while Jacob was favored by his mother (Genesis 25:28). This destructive favoritism would follow the family into the next generation, most notably with Jacob’s son Joseph. Such was Jacob’s favoritism for Joseph that it caused great resentment among his brothers and nearly cost Joseph his life.

When Isaac was old and his eyesight faded, he realized he was near to his death and made arrangements with Esau to pass on to him the blessings due to the firstborn son (Genesis 27:1-4). On hearing this, Rebekah hatched a plan to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob instead. Thus, Jacob received his father’s blessing, and as Esau discovered, this was the second time he had been deceived by his brother (Genesis 27:36). Esau vowed he would kill Jacob for this as soon as the period of mourning was over for his father’s death (vs. 41).

Once again, Rebekah steps in and warns Jacob of his brother’s vow, and after influencing Isaac that Jacob should find himself a wife from among his own people, Jacob is sent off to his uncle Laban who lived in their ancestral home of Haran (vs. 43). During Jacob’s journey, he has a dream of a ladder to heaven with God at the top and angels ascending and descending. This imagery is mirrored in Jesus’ words to His disciple Nathanael (John 1:51). God gives Jacob His assurance of His presence and the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham (Genesis 28:13-15). As a result of this experience, Jacob renames the place “Bethel,” meaning “house of God,” and he makes a vow to serve God.

After Jacob settles in Haran, Laban offers him payment for the work he had been doing as a shepherd looking after his flocks. And Jacob agrees with Laban to work for seven years in return for Laban’s daughter Rachel, whom he loved deeply. However, Jacob was to discover that his uncle Laban could be just as much a deceiver as he had been. On Jacob’s wedding night, Laban substitutes his older daughter, Leah, for Rachel (Genesis 29:23-25). However, Jacob agrees to work a further seven years for Laban to marry Rachel, which he does a week after marrying Leah. And Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (vs. 30).

While Rachel remained barren, Leah gave birth to Jacob’s firstborn son, Reuben. Then followed the birth of 11 more sons from Rachel, Leah, and their two handmaidens. These sons would be the progenitors of the 12 tribes of Israel. Eventually, Jacob receives God’s command to return to the land of his fathers accompanied by His promise “And I will be with you” (Genesis 31:3). So, Jacob leaves Haran, taking with him his wives and children and all the vast flocks he had accumulated. When Laban learns that Jacob has left, he sets off in hot pursuit as he discovers his idols have been stolen. Continuing the legacy of deception, Rachel had taken them, but she manages to conceal them from her father during his search. Laban and Jacob eventually part company after swearing an oath not to invade one another’s lands or to harm any of its inhabitants.

Jacob’s next highlight comes when he has to face his brother Esau. Though twenty years had passed since they had last seen each other, the memory of Esau’s threat to kill Jacob had never left him (Genesis 32:11). Jacob sends messengers ahead of him with gifts, instructing them to tell Esau that he is following on. On this night, Jacob experiences the greatest highlight of his life when he wrestles with a man whom he later learns is God (vss. 22-31). During the wrestling he is blessed by God and given the promised new name of “Israel,” the name that would remain with his descendants and the land they were promised by God until the present day.

To Jacob’s relief, the reunion with Esau is a warm one. Nevertheless, Jacob isn’t fully trusting of his brother Esau and so, instead of meeting up with him as agreed, Jacob takes his family another route where they finally purchase a plot of land and settle in El Elohe Israel or “Mighty is the God of Israel.” Jacob the deceiver is always wary of others who might be trying to deceive him. Here we see that the mind of those who plot to deceive is always suspicious of the motives of others and can never fully be at rest.

The following chapter (Genesis 34) records the rape of Jacob’s only daughter, Dinah, and the revenge her brothers Simeon and Levi carry out on the rapist’s entire community. Once again, we see how the deviousness of the parents is passed on to the children in the way they overcome their enemy. Jacob is livid with his sons, and, in obedience to God’s guidance, he moves his family back to Bethel (Genesis 35:1), where God reappears to Jacob and confirms His blessing (Genesis 35:9-10). In Jacob’s meeting with God, he receives the promise that kings and many nations will come from him and that the land God had promised his forefathers would be his inheritance (vss. 11-12).

We may be inclined to consider Jacob’s name “deceiver” as fitting; however, we mustn’t overlook the fact that it was his mother, Rebekah, who conceived the plan to deceive Jacob’s father on the basis of God’s promise that the older would serve the younger (Genesis 25:23). However, as Jacob went along with the plan, he reaped the consequences. “Like father, like son” is a phrase that would be appropriate for Jacob’s family as we read of his sons deceiving Hamor and his people in order to avenge the rape of their sister, Dinah. Nevertheless, God remained faithful to Jacob and, despite Jacob’s faults, God chose him to be the leader of a great nation that still bears his name today. But for this, it is unlikely that we would know much about Jacob, who appears to be in the middle of events while the key players are those around him. There is no great wisdom or bravery in Jacob to speak of, and we are tempted to see him as little more than God’s passive instrument. If we are tempted to think that, because we aren’t in the spotlight performing great acts for God, we are unimportant to Him, then we should consider the life of Jacob and know that, in spite of our failings, God can and will still use us in His plan.

When Jacob is fearful for his life and his family, he prays a humble prayer to God, reminding Him of the promise He had made to him for his safety (Genesis 32:9-12). The Bible is full of promises that God has made to those He has called. So, when we are in times of trouble and fearful of the outcome, like Jacob we should humbly call on God and remind Him of His promises to us, and as with Jacob, God will fulfill them.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Joseph?"

Answer: Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob, and his story is found in Genesis 37–50. As a 17-year-old shepherd, Joseph is something of a tattle-tale, bringing a bad report about his brothers to their father (Genesis 37:2). This behavior, combined with Jacob’s overt favoritism towards Joseph, causes his older brothers to resent him to the point of hatred (37:3-4). Because of Jacob’s open love for Joseph, his favoritism was begrudged by his other sons. And when Jacob presented Joseph with a highly decorated coat, he was hated and resented by his brothers all the more (Genesis 37:3). To make matters worse, Joseph begins relating his dreams—prophetic visions showing Joseph one day ruling over his family (Genesis 37:11-15). The animosity towards Joseph peaks when his brothers plot to kill him in the wilderness. Reuben, the eldest, objects to outright murder, so instead, the brothers sell Joseph as a slave and deceive their father into thinking his favorite son had been slain by wild beasts (Genesis 37:18-35).

Joseph is sold to a high-ranking Egyptian named Potiphar and eventually becomes the supervisor of Potiphar’s household. In Genesis 39 we read of how Joseph excelled at his duties and became one of Potiphar’s most trusted servants and was put in charge of his household. Potiphar could see that whatever Joseph did, God looked favorably on him and he prospered in all that he did. However, Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce Joseph, and when her advances are rebuffed, she falsely accuses him of attempted rape. Joseph, although innocent in the matter, is cast into prison (Genesis 39:7-20). In jail, Joseph interprets the dreams of two of his fellow prisoners. Both interpretations prove to be true, and one of the men is later released from jail and restored to his position as the king’s cupbearer (40:1-23). Two years later, the king himself has some troubling dreams, and the cupbearer remembers Joseph’s gift of interpretation. The king calls for Joseph and relates his dreams. Joseph predicts seven years of bountiful harvests followed by seven years of severe famine in Egypt and advises the king to begin storing grain in preparation for the coming dearth (41:1-37). For his wisdom, Joseph is made a ruler in Egypt, second only to the king (41:38-49).

When the famine strikes, even Canaan is affected, and Jacob sends ten of his sons to Egypt to buy grain (Genesis 42:1-3). While there, they meet their long-lost brother, whom they do not recognize. Joseph’s brothers bow down to him, fulfilling the earlier prophecy. Joseph then reveals his identity to his brothers and forgives their wrongdoing. Jacob and his family move to Egypt to be with Joseph. Jacob’s descendants stay in Egypt for 400 years, until the time of Moses. When Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt, he takes the remains of Joseph with him, as Joseph had requested (Genesis 50:24-25; cf. Exodus 13:19).

There is much to learn from Joseph’s story. As parents, we have warnings concerning Jacob’s favoritism and the effects that can have on other children as seen in Joseph’s youthful pride and his brothers’ envy and hatred. We have a good example of how to handle sexual temptation—run (Genesis 39:12; cf. 2 Timothy 2:22), and we have a clear picture of God’s faithfulness. He does not forsake His children, even in the midst of suffering: “the Lord was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:3, 5, 21, 23).

There may be many distressing circumstances we find ourselves in, and some of them may even be unjust, as were those in Joseph’s life. However, as we learn from the account of Joseph’s life, by remaining faithful and accepting that God is ultimately in charge, we can be confident that God will reward our faithfulness in the fullness of time. Who would have blamed Joseph if he had turned his brothers away when they were in need? Nevertheless, God desires that we exercise mercy above all other sacrifices we may offer Him in our lives (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13).

Perhaps most profoundly, Joseph’s story presents amazing insight into how God sovereignly works to overcome evil and bring about His plan. After all his ordeals, Joseph is able to see God’s hand at work. As he reveals his identity to his brothers, Joseph speaks of their sin this way: “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. . . . It was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:5, 7-8). Later, Joseph again reassures his brothers, offering forgiveness and saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20). Man’s most wicked intentions can never thwart the perfect plan of God.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Moses?"

Answer: Moses is one of the most prominent figures in the Old Testament. While Abraham is called the “Father of the Faithful” and the recipient of God’s unconditional covenant of grace to His people, Moses was the man chosen to bring redemption to His people. God specifically chose Moses to lead the Israelites from captivity in Egypt to salvation in the Promised Land. Moses is also recognized as the mediator of the Old Covenant and is commonly referred to as the giver of the Law. Finally, Moses is the principal author of the Pentateuch, the foundational books of the entire Bible. Moses’ role in the Old Testament is a type and shadow of the role Jesus plays in the New Testament. As such, his life is definitely worth examining.

We first encounter Moses in the opening chapters of the book of Exodus. In chapter 1, we learn that after the patriarch Joseph rescued his family from the great famine and situated them in the land of Goshen (in Egypt), the descendants of Abraham lived in peace for several generations until there rose to power in Egypt a pharaoh who “did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). This pharaoh subjugated the Hebrew people and used them as slaves for his massive building projects. Because God blessed the Hebrew people with rapid numeric growth, the Egyptians began to fear the increasing number of Jews living in their land. So pharaoh ordered the death of all male children born to Hebrew women (Exodus 1:22).

In Exodus 2, we see Moses’ mother attempting to save her child by placing him in a basket and putting it into the Nile. The basket was eventually found by pharaoh’s daughter, and she adopts him as her own and raises him in the palace of the pharaoh himself. As Moses grows into adulthood, he begins to empathize with the plight of his people, and upon witnessing an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, Moses intervenes and kills the Egyptian. In another incident, Moses attempts to intervene in a dispute between two Hebrews, but one of the Hebrews rebukes Moses and sarcastically comments, “Are you going to kill me as you did the Egyptian?” (Exodus 2:14). Realizing that his criminal act was made known, Moses flees to the land of Midian where he again plays the hero—this time to the daughters of Jethro by rescuing them from some bandits. In gratitude, Jethro grants the hand of his daughter Zipporah to Moses.

The next major incident in Moses’ life is his encounter with God at the burning bush (Exodus 3), where God calls Moses to be the savior of His people. The rest of the story is fairly well known (especially if you’ve seen Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments or the animated movie The Prince of Egypt). Moses and his brother, Aaron, go to pharaoh in God’s name and demand that he let the people go to worship their God. Pharaoh stubbornly refuses, and ten plagues of God’s judgment fall upon the people and the land, the final plague being the slaying of the firstborn. Prior to this final plague, God commands Moses to institute the Passover, which is commemorative of God’s saving act in redeeming His people from bondage in Egypt.

After the exodus, Moses leads the people to the edge of the Red Sea where God provides another saving miracle by parting the waters and allowing the Hebrews to pass to the other side while drowning the Egyptian army (Exodus 14). Moses brings the people to the foot of Mount Sinai where the Law is given and the Old Covenant established between God and the newly formed nation of Israel (Exodus 19 - 24).

The rest of the book of Exodus and the entire book of Leviticus take place while the Israelites are encamped at the foot of Sinai. God gives Moses detailed instructions for the building of the tabernacle—a traveling tent of worship that could be assembled and disassembled for easy portability—and for making the utensils for worship, the priestly garb, and the ark of the covenant, symbolic of God’s presence among His people as well as the place where the high priest would perform the annual atonement. God also gives Moses explicit instructions on how God is to be worshipped and guidelines for maintaining purity and holiness among the people. The book of Numbers sees the Israelites move from Sinai to the edge of the Promised Land, but they refuse to go in when ten out of twelve spies bring back a bad report about Israel’s ability to take over the land. God condemns this generation of Jews to die in the wilderness for their disobedience and subjects them to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. By the end of the book of Numbers, the next generation of Israelites is back on the borders of the Promised Land and poised to trust God and take it by faith.

The book of Deuteronomy shows Moses giving several sermon-type speeches to the people, reminding them of God’s saving power and faithfulness. He gives the second reading of the Law (Deuteronomy 5) and prepares this generation of Israelites to receive the promises of God. Moses himself is prohibited from entering the land because of his sin at Meribah (Numbers 20:10-13). At the end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses’ death is recorded (Deuteronomy 34). He is taken up Mount Nebo and is allowed to look upon the Promised Land. Moses was 120 years old when he died, and the Bible records that his “eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated” (Deuteronomy 34:7).

That’s Moses’ life in a nutshell; now what can we learn from his life? Moses’ life is generally broken down into three 40-year periods. The first is his life in the court of pharaoh. As the adopted son of pharaoh’s daughter, Moses would have had all the perks and privileges of a prince of Egypt. He was instructed “in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). As the plight of the Hebrews began to gnaw at his soul, Moses takes it upon himself to be the savior of his people. As Stephen says before the Jewish ruling council, “[Moses] supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand” (Acts 7:25). From this incident, we learn that Moses was a man of action as well as a man possessed of a hot temper and prone to rash actions. Did God want to save His people? Yes. Did God want to use Moses as His chosen instrument of salvation? Yes. But Moses, whether or not he was truly cognizant of his role in the salvation of the Hebrew people, acted rashly and impetuously. He tried to do in his timing what God wanted done in His timing. The lesson for us is obvious: we must be acutely aware of not only doing God’s will, but doing God’s will in His timing, not ours. As is the case with too many other biblical examples to count, when we attempt to do God’s will in our timing, we make a bigger mess than originally existed.

Moses needed time to grow and mature and learn to be meek and humble before God, and this brings us to the next chapter in Moses’ life, his 40 years in the land of Midian. During this time, Moses learned the simple life of a shepherd, a husband, and a father. God took an impulsive and hot-tempered young man and began the process of molding and shaping him into the perfect instrument for God to use. What can we learn from this time in his life? If the first lesson is to wait on God’s timing, the second lesson is to not be idle while we wait on God’s timing. While the Bible doesn’t spend a lot of time on the details of this part of Moses’ life, it’s not as if Moses were sitting idly by waiting for God’s call. He spent the better part of 40 years learning the ins and outs of being a shepherd and supporting and raising a family. These are not trivial things! While we might long for the “mountain top” experiences with God, 99 percent of our lives are lived in the valley doing the mundane, day-to-day things that make up a life. We need to be living for God “in the valley” before He will enlist us into the battle.

Another thing we see from Moses during his time spent in Midian is that, when God finally did call him into service, Moses was resistant. The man of action early in his life, Moses, now 80 years old, became overly timid. When called to speak for God, Moses said he was “slow of speech and tongue.” Some commentators believe that Moses may have had a speech impediment. Perhaps, but then it would be odd for Stephen to say Moses was “mighty in words and deeds.” Perhaps Moses just didn’t want to go back into Egypt and fall flat on his face again. This isn’t an uncommon feeling. How many of us have tried to do something (whether or not it was for God) and failed, and then been hesitant to try again? There are two things Moses seemed to have overlooked. One was the obvious change that had occurred in his own life in the intervening 40 years. The other, and more important, change was that God would be with him. Moses failed at first not so much because he acted impulsively, but because he acted without God. Therefore, the lesson to be learned here is that when you discern a clear call from God, step forward in faith, knowing that God goes with you! Do not be timid, but be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10).

The third and final chapter in Moses’ life is the chapter that Scripture spends the most time chronicling, namely, his role in the redemption of Israel. Several lessons can be gleaned from this chapter of Moses’ life as well. First is how to be an effective leader of people. Moses essentially had responsibility over 2 million Hebrew refugees. When things began to wear on him, his father-in-law, Jethro, suggested that he delegate responsibility to other faithful men, a lesson that many people in authority over others need to learn. We also see a man who was dependent on the grace of God to help with his task. Moses was continually pleading on behalf of the people before God. Would that all people in authority would petition God on behalf of those over whom they are in charge! Moses’ life also teaches us the lesson that there are certain sins that will continue to haunt us throughout our lives. The same hot temper that got Moses into trouble in Egypt also got him into trouble during the wilderness wanderings. In the aforementioned incident at Meribah, Moses struck the rock in anger in order to provide water for the people. However, he didn’t give God the glory, nor did he follow God’s precise commands. Because of this, God forbade him from entering the Promised Land. In a similar manner, we all succumb to certain besetting sins which plague us all our days, sins that require us to be on constant alert.

These are just a handful of practical lessons that we can learn from Moses’ life. However, if we look at Moses’ life in light of the overall panoply of Scripture, we see larger theological truths that fit into the story of redemption. The author of Hebrews devotes ten verses of chapter 11 to Moses and the faith he exhibited. We learn that it was by faith that Moses refused the glories of pharaoh’s palace to identify with the plight of his people. The writer of Hebrews says, “[Moses] considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:26). Moses’ life was one of faith, and we know that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Likewise, it is by faith that we, looking forward to heavenly riches, can endure temporal hardships in this lifetime (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

As mentioned earlier, we also know that Moses’ life was typological of the life of Christ. Like Christ, Moses was the mediator of a covenant. Again, the author of Hebrews goes to great lengths to demonstrate this point (cf. Hebrews 3, 8–10). The Apostle Paul also makes the same points in 2 Corinthians 3. The difference is that the covenant that Moses mediated was temporal and conditional, whereas the covenant that Christ mediates is eternal and unconditional. Like Christ, Moses provided redemption for his people. Moses delivered the people of Israel out of slavery and bondage in Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land of Canaan. Christ delivers His people out of bondage and slavery to sin and condemnation and brings them to the Promised Land of eternal life on a renewed earth when Christ returns to consummate the kingdom He inaugurated at His first coming. Like Christ, Moses was a prophet to his people. Moses spoke the very words of God to the Israelites just as Christ did (John 17:8). Moses predicted that the Lord would raise up another prophet like him from among the people (Deuteronomy 18:15). Jesus and the early church believed and taught that Moses was speaking of Jesus when he wrote those words (cf. John 5:46, Acts 3:22, 7:37). In so many ways, Moses’ life is a precursor to the life of Christ. As such, we can catch a glimpse of how God was working His plan of redemption in the lives of faithful people throughout human history. This gives us hope that just as God saved His people and gave them rest through the actions of Moses, so, too, will God save us and give us an eternal Sabbath rest in Christ; both now and in the life to come.

Finally, it is interesting to note that even though Moses never set foot in the Promised Land during his lifetime, he was given an opportunity to enter the Promised Land after his death. On the mount of transfiguration, when Jesus gave His disciples a taste of His full glory, He was accompanied by two Old Testament figures, Moses and Elijah, who represented the Law and the Prophets. Moses is, this day, experiencing the true Sabbath rest in Christ that one day all Christians will share (Hebrews 4:9).
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Joshua?"

Answer: Joshua is best known as Moses' second in command who takes over and leads the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses’ death. Joshua is considered one of the Bible's greatest military leaders for leading the seven-year conquest of the Promised Land, and is often held up as a model for leadership and a source of practical application on how to be an effective leader. Let's look at his life from a biblical perspective.

As a military leader, Joshua would be considered one of the greatest generals in human history, but it would be a mistake to credit Israel’s victory solely to Joshua’s skill as a military general. The first time we see Joshua is in Exodus 17 in the battle against the Amalekites. Exodus 17:13 tells us that Joshua "overwhelmed Amalek and his people," and so we're tempted to conclude that Joshua's military expertise saved the day. But in this passage we see something odd occurring. In verse 11 we read, "Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed." Eventually, Moses' arms grew so weary that Aaron had to bring a stone to prop them up. Hence, we see in this vignette that Joshua prevailed because God gave him the battle.

The same can be said of the military victories in the Promised Land. The Lord had promised sure victory and delivered it in convincing fashion. The only exception is in the battle of Ai (Joshua 7). There are several things to note about this incident. Israel broke faith with God in regards to the “devoted things” (Joshua 7:1). God had commanded the Israelites to devote everything to destruction (Joshua 6:17), and Achan had kept some of the loot from the battle of Jericho for himself. Because of this, God judged them by not giving them the victory at Ai. Another thing to note is that there is no explicit command by God to go against Ai. The purpose of putting these two battle stories side by side is show that when God sets the program and agenda, victory follows, but when man sets the program and agenda, failure ensues. Jericho was the Lord’s battle; Ai was not. God redeemed the situation and eventually gave them the victory, but not until after the object lesson was given.

Further evidence of Joshua’s leadership qualities can be seen in his rock-solid faith in God. When the Israelites were on the edge of the Promised Land in Numbers 13, God commanded Moses to send out twelve people to spy out the land, one from each of the tribes of Israel. Upon their return, ten reported that the land, while bounteous as the Lord had promised, was occupied by strong and fierce warriors dwelling in large, fortified cities. Furthermore, the Nephilim (giants from the Israelites’ perspective) were in the land. However, Joshua and Caleb were the only two who urged the people to take the land (Numbers 14:7-10). Here we see one thing that sets Joshua (and Caleb) apart from the rest of the Israelites—they believed in the promises of God. They were not intimidated by the size of the warriors or the strength of the cities. Rather, they knew their God and remembered how He had dealt with Egypt, the most powerful nation on the earth at that time. If God could take care of the mighty Egyptian army, He could certainly take care of the various Canaanite tribes. God rewarded Joshua’s and Caleb’s faith by exempting them from the entire generation of Israelites that would perish in the wilderness.

We see Joshua’s faithfulness in the act of obediently consecrating the people before the invasion of the Promised Land and again after the defeat at Ai. But no more clearly is Joshua’s faithfulness on display than at the end of the book that bears his name when he gathers the people together one last time and recounts the deeds of God on their behalf. After that speech, Joshua urges the people to forsake their idols and remain faithful to the covenant that God made with them at Sinai, saying, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

So what can we learn from Joshua’s life? Can we draw principles for leadership from his life? Sure. That God gave him the victory in taking the Promised Land does not take away from his military leadership. Furthermore, he was a more-than-capable leader for the Israelites, but his skill in leadership is not the primary lesson we should draw from Joshua’s life. A better lesson would be Joshua’s faithfulness, his stand against the ten spies who brought the disparaging report about the obstacles in taking over the Promised Land, and his zeal in ensuring the covenant faithfulness of the people. But even his faith wasn’t perfect. There is the fact that Joshua sent spies into Jericho even though God had ensured victory, and then there is the overconfidence he exhibited in the battle of Ai.

The primary lesson to draw from Joshua’s life is that God is faithful to His promises. God promised Abraham that his descendants would dwell in the land, and under Joshua, God brought the people into the land that He had promised to give to them. This act completed the mission of redemption that God started with Moses in bringing Israel out of Egypt. It is also a type which points to the ultimate redemption that Jesus brings to the community of faith. Like Moses, Jesus delivered us from bondage and slavery to sin, and like Joshua, Jesus will bring us into the eternal Promised Land and everlasting Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:8-10).
Question: "Who is Caleb in the Bible?"

Answer: The story of Caleb, a faithful man of God, begins in the book of Numbers. After being delivered from bondage in Egypt, the Israelites were led by God to the border of the land of Canaan, a land “flowing with milk and honey” that God had promised they would inherit (Exodus 3:8, 17). Moses had chosen twelve men, one from each tribe, to scout the land before entering. Among them was Caleb, representing the tribe of Judah. The twelve men spied out the land for forty days and then came back to Moses. They reported that the land was indeed fruitful but its inhabitants were the mighty descendants of Anak. Terrified by the size and strength of the Canaanites, ten of the spies warned Moses not to enter Canaan (Numbers 13:23–33).

Caleb silenced the murmuring, fearful men by saying, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30). Caleb took his stand because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly (Joshua 14:8–9). Caleb knew of the promises of God to the Israelites, and, despite the evidence of his own eyes regarding the obstacles, he had faith that God would give them victory over the Canaanites.

Unfortunately, the people of Israel ignored Caleb and listened to the report of the other spies. They were so frightened that they wept all night and even wished they had died at the hands of their slave masters in Egypt (Numbers 14:1–4). They turned on Caleb and Joshua (the spy from Ephraim) and wanted to stone them on the spot (Numbers 14:6–10). God was exceedingly angry with the people and threatened to destroy them until Moses interceded for them. God relented, but He decreed that the people would wander in the wilderness until all of that faithless generation had died. But God said that “my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly” and gave him the promise that he would own all the land he had seen as a spy (Numbers 14:11–24).

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years until all of that generation, except Joshua and Caleb, died (Numbers 14:29–30). After the forty years of wandering and five more years of war within Canaan, Caleb was 85 years old; yet he was as strong as ever and able to fight the same Anakites that had frightened his countrymen. His confidence was born out of his absolute faith in the promises of God (Joshua 15:13–14).

Caleb’s territory in Canaan included “Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) From Hebron Caleb drove out the three Anakites—Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, the sons of Anak. From there he marched against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher)” (Joshua 15:13–15). Othniel, a nephew of Caleb, captured Kiriath Sepher and was given Caleb’s daughter Aksah to wed (verses 16–17). Later, Aksah asked her father to include some springs of water as part of her inheritance (verses 18–19), and Caleb gave them to her. Later still, Othniel, Caleb’s son-in-law, became Israel’s first judge (Judges 3:7–11).

From the accounts of the life of Caleb, we see a faithful man who trusted God to fulfill His promises when others allowed their fears to override their small faith. Even into his later years, Caleb remained steadfast in his faith. God blessed Caleb for his faithfulness and patience, an encouragement to us to believe God. Like Caleb, we should be prepared to follow God in every circumstance, patiently waiting for Him to fulfill His promises and ready to take action when the time is right.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Deborah?"

Answer: Deborah was one of the judges of Israel during a time of oppression. She is called a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth. The Lord spoke through her as she held court under a tree called “the Palm of Deborah” in Ephraim. The Lord also used her to set her people free and defeat the king of Canaan. Deborah’s story is found in Judges, chapters 4 and 5.

Deborah was Israel’s only female judge. Some scholars have suggested that her position as judge was itself a judgment on the weak-willed men of Israel. Because Israel’s men were unfit to judge, God chose a woman for the job, partly to shame the men who should have taken the leadership. Other commentators believe that Deborah’s role as judge was a sign of God’s comforting presence in the midst of His oppressed and downtrodden people.

When Deborah became judge, the Israelites had been subjugated for 20 years by Jabin, king of Canaan. The commander of Jabin’s army was named Sisera, and he had 900 iron chariots – formidable weapons against Israel’s foot soldiers (Judges 4:3). The Israelites were treated very cruelly by Sisera and his army, and Israel’s spirits were very low. Deborah describes the hardship of living under Jabin and Sisera this way: “The highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be” (Judges 5:6-7). In other words, people feared to leave their homes; traveling was very dangerous.

God’s word comes through Deborah to a man of Naphtali named Barak. The message is that he will lead the revolt against Sisera. Barak’s response is, “I’ll only go if Deborah goes with me” (Judges 4:8). Everyone was afraid of Sisera, including Barak. Deborah agrees to accompany Barak, but she also prophesies that the honor for the victory would belong to a woman, not to Barak (Judges 4:9).

When the time came for battle, God again spoke through Deborah, who prompted Barak to marshal his forces. The Israelites came against the army of Sisera, and God granted the victory. The mighty Sisera himself was brought down by the hand of a woman, just as Deborah had said. As the commander rested after the battle, a woman named Jael drove a tent peg through his head.

What can we learn from the life of Deborah? We can see that God’s power is what matters, regardless of the instrument He chooses to use. Man or woman, strong or weak, confident or hesitant – all are strong when they are moved by God’s Spirit and filled with His strength. We can also see in Deborah a picture of God’s tender care for His people. As a mother cares for her children, so Deborah led and nurtured Israel (Judges 5:7).
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Gideon?"

Answer: The account of Gideon’s life is recorded in Judges 6:11-8:32. The backdrop for Gideon’s biography begins with the Israelites being ravaged by the Midianites as a consequence of their disobedience to God (Judges 6:1). For seven years they faced invasions from the Midianites, Amalekites, and Eastern foreigners who ruined their crops and destroyed their cattle. Although they had been unfaithful to God by worshipping the gods of the Amorites, they cried out to God for His help without realizing why this was happening to them (Judges 6:6). And so God sends them a prophet to remind them of how the one true God had provided for them in the past and yet how quickly they had forsaken Him (Judges 6:8-10).

God hears their cries and graciously intervenes by sending an angel to Gideon to call him into service (vss. 11-14). Gideon, whose name means “cutter” or “cutter of trees,” belonged to an undistinguished family of the Abiezrites, but from the angel’s greeting we can assume that Gideon had already proved to be a mighty warrior (Judges 6:12). Though Gideon was a willing servant of God, he needed assurance that it was, in fact, God calling him to this divine service (vs.17). In accomplishing the mission set before him by God, Gideon proves himself to be faithful, a mighty warrior, a strong leader of men (Judges 7:17), and a diplomat (Judges 8:1-3). As such, he is included in a fitting testimonial for the great men of faith in Hebrews 11:32-34. Gideon was the fifth judge and renowned as the greatest of Israel.

The highlights of Gideon’s life include his victorious battle against Israel’s enemies. However, we mustn’t overlook his amazing faith, by which he carried out God’s mission and which was first put to the test and confirmed when he destroyed the Baal idols his father and the community had been worshipping (Judges 6:25-27). Gideon’s battle triumph is preceded by God’s anointing (Judges 6:34). It was no small feat that Gideon managed to enlist his tribesmen, the Abiezerites, to go into battle with him. These were the men whose idols he had destroyed and who had renamed him “Jerub-baal” (Judges 6:32). Before entering battle, Gideon’s troops number 32,000, but in obedience to God he reduces them by 22,000 (Judges 7:2-3). Again in obedience to God he decreases the remaining 10,000 by a further 9,700, leaving him with just 300 men (vss. 7-8). This was against an enemy that is described as “thick as locusts” with “camels as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore” (Judges 7:12). With the battle finally won, the people suggest that Gideon rule over them as their king, but he declines their accolades and tells them the Lord will rule over them (Judges 8:22-23).

Gideon had proved his faithfulness to God, and his obedience had required him to take a stand against his own father and tribe. And, although he feared his own people (Judges 6:24), from the three requests he made for the Lord’s confirmation of His will, it is evident he feared God much more. In battle he took on far greater odds than were realistic to mere mortals. When the Israelites wanted to honor him as their king for triumphing over their enemies and restoring Israel’s pride, Gideon, recognizing God as the real victor in the battle, declines their request and affords the rightful sovereignty to God. This was a great test of Gideon’s faithfulness, when he could so easily have succumbed to pride by accepting the people’s honor. So, it is with great surprise that we see Gideon go on to compromise his faith by requesting they all contribute gold from the plunder of the battle so he could create an “ephod,” a breastplate or mask used in cultic worship (Judges 8:24-26). And, as we see in verse 27, it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

From Gideon’s example we can learn that no matter how great the odds against us may be, our faithful God is sovereign, and He will always see us through whatever battles we face in life, as long as we remain faithful to His calling and obedient to His commands. “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). We can also see how God uses ordinary people to accomplish His plans, although with Gideon, the key factor was his willingness to obey God.

Sometimes, the most difficult people to witness our faith to are our families. And we can see after Gideon destroys the false gods his family had been worshipping that he receives an anointing from the Lord. It was because of this anointing that he was able to accomplish the mission that God had set before him. And it is with God’s anointing on our lives that we can truly claim “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Gideon had gone from being a warrior in hiding, threshing wheat at the foot of a hill out of sight of the enemy, to vanquishing the same enemy in battle. However, he was careful to ensure that it was God’s will he was obeying. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

However, unlike Gideon, who had proved his faithfulness to God and received God’s answers to his requested signs as an encouragement, we must not expect God to do likewise for those who request signs from God because of their doubts or weak faith. (See our article on laying out fleeces at https://www.gotquestions.org/prayer-fleece.html.) There may be times when everyone around us does lack the faith to go on, and it is up to us, like Gideon, to take the lead by our example and encourage the weak among us (Judges 7:17; Romans 15:1).
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Samson?"

Answer: Samson’s life is one of contradiction. First, he was to be “a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth” (Judges 13:5), yet he continually broke his vow. The Spirit of God came upon him many times, giving him great strength to fight the Philistines, the oppressors of the Israelites. At the same time, however, Samson was a womanizer and a vengeful man, full of sin. Samson’s life illustrates that giving in to temptation leads to sin, that God will use even a sinful man to enact His will, and that God will not let us escape the consequences of our sin.

The life of Samson - giving in to temptation leads to sin
Samson’s story begins with a violation of God’s law. He wants to marry a Philistine woman despite his parents’ protests and in violation of God’s law about intermarriage with pagans. His mother and father accompany him past the vineyards of Timnah (Judges 14:5) to obtain his new bride when a lion attacks and is killed by Samson. As a Nazirite, Samson had to follow the laws written in Numbers 6:1-21. First, he was to “abstain from wine and other fermented drink and…not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.” By passing by the vineyards of Timnah, he invited temptation to violate this portion of his vow. Had he not walked so openly into temptation, he would not have encountered the lion, another source of later sin. When Samson came back by the carcass of the lion, it was filled with a honeycomb, which he ate. This was a clear violation of the second part of the Nazirite’s law: “Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord he must not go near a dead body” (Numbers 6:6). Samson seemed to know what he was doing was wrong because when he gave the honey to his parents, “he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's carcass” (Judges 14:9).

The customary feast described in Judges 14:10 was, literally, a “drinking party.” Although Scripture does not indicate whether Samson drank wine or fermented drink, it was yet another source of temptation that ultimately led to sin. In this case, Samson offers a wager on a riddle, and his wife betrays him and gives the answer to his riddle to her countrymen, the Philistines. In response, Samson murders thirty men.

The life of Samson - God will use even a sinful man to enact His will
Samson willingly went into situations that led to sin, but each time, God used him for His glory. God created Samson to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). Even sinful men cannot prevent God’s will. When Samson killed the lion, it was his first recorded test of strength. It gave him confidence to face the Philistines. He murdered 30 Philistines out of vengeance in order to pay a debt. Later, Samson swears to “get even with the Philistines” (Judges 15:3) and to “get [his] revenge on [the Philistines]” (Judges 15:7). Both occasions were for personal reasons and were not godly, but God used them as a springboard to launch Israel out of their oppression. Despite Samson’s sin, God’s will would not be thwarted.

The life of Samson - God will not let us escape the consequences of our sin.
Even though God’s will is unstoppable, Samson still experienced the consequences for his sin. When he met Delilah and she begged to know the secret of his strength, he broke the final part of the Nazirite law: “During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long” (Numbers 6:5). After Delilah’s countrymen cut his hair, Samson still expected God to be with him. “He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I'll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the LORD had left him” (Judges 16:20). He had gained confidence from previous violations which appeared to have gone unpunished, but his continual willful disobedience had reached an end. When Samson had finally broken all of the Nazirite laws, he had to face the consequences of his actions.

The lessons we can learn from Samson’s life are that if we willingly and repeatedly walk into temptations which lead to sin, we will suffer the consequences of our disobedience even though God still uses us to accomplish His will. In the end, Samson understood the true source of his strength, but he never understood his true purpose. “Then Samson prayed to the LORD, ‘O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes’" (Judges 16:28). We see from this verse that Samson was more concerned about revenge than about doing God’s will, and it cost him his life. “Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived” (Judges 16:30). God’s will was done, but the many blessings Samson might have seen were never realized.
Question: "Who was Naomi in the Bible?"

Answer: The story of Naomi appears in the Bible in the book of Ruth. Naomi lived during the time of the judges. She was the wife of a man named Elimelek, and they lived in Bethlehem with their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. Naomi’s life illustrates the power of God to bring something good out of bitter circumstances.

When a famine hits Judea, Elimelek and Naomi and their two boys relocate to Moab (Ruth 1:1). There, Mahlon and Kilion marry two Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After about ten years, tragedy strikes. Elimelek dies, and both of Naomi’s sons also die, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah widows (Ruth 1:3–5). Naomi, hearing that the famine in Judea was over, decides to return home (Ruth 1:6). Orpah stays in Moab, but Ruth choses to move to the land of Israel with Naomi. The book of Ruth is the story of Naomi and Ruth returning to Bethlehem and how Ruth married a man named Boaz and bore a son, Obed, who became the grandfather of David and the ancestor of Jesus Christ.

The name Naomi means “sweet, pleasant,” which gives us an idea of Naomi’s basic character. We see her giving her blessing to Ruth and Orpah when she tells them to return to their mothers’ homes so that they might find new husbands: she kisses them and asks that the Lord deal kindly with them (Ruth 1:8–14). But her heartache in Moab was more than Naomi could bear. When she and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem, the women of the town greet Naomi by name, but she cries, “Don’t call me Naomi. . . . Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me” (Ruth 1:20–21). The name Mara means “bitter.” The cup of affliction is a bitter cup, but Naomi understood that the affliction came from the God who is sovereign in all things. Little did she know that from this bitter sorrow great blessings would come to her, her descendants, and the world through Jesus Christ.

Ruth meets a local landowner, Boaz, who is very kind to her. Naomi again recognizes the providence of God in providing a kinsman-redeemer for Ruth. Naomi declares that the Lord “has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead" (Ruth 2:20) Seeing God’s hand in these events, Naomi encourages Ruth to go to Boaz as he slept in the threshing floor in order to request that he redeem her and her property. Naomi’s concern was for Ruth’s future, that Ruth would gain a husband and provider (Ruth 3).

Naomi’s bitterness is turned to joy. In the end, she gains a son-in-law who would provide for both her and Ruth. She also becomes a grandmother to Ruth’s son, Obed. Then the women of Bethlehem say to Naomi, “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth” (Ruth 4:14–15). Naomi was no longer Mara. Her life again became sweet and pleasant, blessed by God.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Hannah?"

Answer: Hannah was one of two wives of a man named Elkanah who lived “in the hill country of Ephraim” near Shiloh. The other wife of Elkanah, Peninnah, had children, but Hannah had no child. Because of this, Hannah was very grieved. She desperately desired a child but could not conceive. To make matters worse, Peninnah taunted Hannah concerning her barrenness. Although Elkanah loved Hannah and was very kind to her (1 Samuel 1:5, 8), Peninnah’s unkindness on top of her natural grief was too much for Hannah to bear. Hannah cried out to God about her situation. She promised the Lord that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to God as a Nazirite (a man set apart to serve God; see Numbers 6:1-8).

While Hannah was earnestly and silently praying, Eli (the priest at the tabernacle) saw her and mistook her distress for drunkenness. He made an ill-advised comment to encourage her to give up drinking, and she corrected his mistake. “I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief,” she told him (1 Samuel 1:16). Hannah then explains her predicament, and Eli says, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” After that, Hannah felt better; she had received God’s promise.

The Lord answered Hannah’s prayer. She bore a son and named him Samuel, whose name means “Asked of God.” When the child was old enough, she kept her promise to the Lord, taking him to Eli and giving him to the Lord to serve in the tabernacle. There, Eli worshiped God along with Hannah. And then Hannah spoke a beautiful prayer, recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

In Hannah’s prayer, God is presented as the One who helps the weak. Hannah and Peninnah represent the weak and the strong in this world. The strong often mock the weak, but God hears and rescues the Hannahs of the world. Hannah’s prayer addresses the arrogance of the proud, contrasting their haughty words with God’s knowledge, which is vast and far beyond their understanding. “The bows of the mighty are broken,” she says, “but the feeble bind on strength” (verse 4). She begins her prayer with “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord.” Hannah recognized that her strength came from God and not from herself. She was not proud in her strength but rejoiced in God’s ability to make a weakling strong.

Hannah’s story gives us insight into God’s heart. God does not despise human desire. Hannah’s longing for a child was obviously placed in her heart by God Himself. Her husband tries to comfort her, saying in loving exasperation, “Am I not more to you than ten sons?” He does not understand why she cannot be content with what she has – namely, him! But Hannah’s desire for a son would not be quenched. She was mocked by Peninnah and rebuked by Eli, but heard by God. God did not chastise her for being discontent. We know that godly contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6). But that does not mean that our human desires – even those that overwhelm us with sorrow when they are unmet – are sinful in God’s eyes. He understands our feelings. He knows that “a hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12). And He invites us to bring our requests to Him (Philippians 4:6).

Hannah’s story also teaches us that God can use human weakness to accomplish great things. Samuel, Hannah’s son, grew up to be a great man of God – the final judge and the prophet who anointed the first two kings of Israel. But why was Hannah’s story necessary? Why not just start with Samuel in the tabernacle or at the start of his judgeship? Why not simply let him be born to a God-fearing couple and send an angel to tell them to dedicate their son to God? In short, why involve Hannah’s grief? Because God is glorified in Hannah’s story. Her weakness, her trust in God as she turned to Him, the fervency of her desire, and her faithfulness in bringing Samuel to God as promised are all evidences of God working in Hannah’s life. Her tears were ordained to be part of the glorious story of what God was doing in Israel’s history.

Every person experiences desires that will not be quenched and circumstances that cause grief. Many times, we simply do not understand these things. But in the life of Hannah we see that God knows our story from beginning to end, that everything has a purpose, and that trust in Him is never misplaced.
Question: "Who was Eli in the Bible?"

Answer: Eli in the Bible was a Jewish priest living in the days of the judges and serving God at the tabernacle in Shiloh, a city near the hill country of Ephraim (1 Samuel 1:1, 3). Eli is best remembered for his blessing on Samuel’s mother and for his part in Samuel’s first prophecy.

Eli had two wicked sons named Hophni and Phineas; they also served in the tabernacle but did not know the Lord (1 Samuel 1:12). They violated the Law by keeping and eating meat from the sacrifices that was not allocated to them. They also had sex with the women who served at the doorway to the tent of meeting (1 Samuel 2:22). The bad behavior of Eli’s sons was apparently widely known (1 Samuel 2:24), and the report came back to Eli. When he found out about these things, he rebuked his sons but failed to make them stop, allowing them to continue to profane the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:25).

Apparently, there was some lack of zeal on Eli’s part; some part of Eli’s heart was with his sons and not with the Lord. We know this because God sent a prophet to Eli to deliver a dire message concerning Eli’s household: “I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age. . . . What happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day” (1 Samuel 2:31, 34). This was a terrible curse, because the Levites depended on the priesthood for their living (1 Samuel 2:36). Eli’s family line would be supplanted by another, more faithful priest: “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always” (1 Samuel 2:35).

The priest God raised up was a boy named Samuel, who was dedicated to the tabernacle by his mother, Hannah, a formerly barren woman who had prayed for a child. Hannah spoke her prayer in Eli’s presence, and he had blessed her: “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him” (1 Samuel 1:17). God answered Hannah’s prayer, and she had a son. After Samuel was weaned, she gave him to the Lord’s service (1 Samuel 1:24–28).

The young Samuel lived in the tabernacle, under the tutelage and care of Eli. Each year, Hannah brought Samuel a linen ephod for him to wear in the house of the Lord (1 Samuel 2:19). Eli again blessed Hannah and her husband, asking God to give Hannah children to replace the one she had dedicated to the Lord (1 Samuel 2:20). Hannah eventually gave birth to three more sons and two daughters (verse 21).

Later, when Samuel was a little older and Eli’s eyes were so weak that he could barely see, the Lord Himself spoke to Samuel. In the middle of the night, the Lord “came and stood” in Samuel’s room (1 Samuel 3:10) and told the young boy to deliver to Eli the message that it was almost time for the prophesied judgment to fall upon his family (verses 11–14). Eli humbly accepted God’s decree, and Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord in Shiloh (1 Samuel 3:19–21).

A short time after that, the Philistines came against Israel to attack them. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phineas, went to battle, and they brought with them the Ark of the Covenant thinking it would guarantee protection against their enemies. However, God was not with them, and Eli’s two sons were killed, along with about 30,000 foot soldiers of Israel. In addition, the Ark was captured by the Philistines. When Eli heard the bad news, he fell off of his seat, and his neck was broken “for he was old and heavy” (1 Samuel 4:3, 10, 17–18). Meanwhile, Eli’s pregnant daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, went into labor; she died during delivery, but not before she named her son “Ichabod, saying, ‘The Glory has departed from Israel’” (verse 21). Thus, Eli’s grandson, born on a day of death and defeat, was given a name meaning “No Glory.” Eli had been a priest in Israel and a judge for forty years.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Samuel?"

Answer: Samuel, whose name means “name of God,” was dedicated to God by his mother, Hannah, as part of a Nazirite vow she made before he was born (1 Samuel 1:11). After Samuel was weaned at the age of four, he was brought to the tabernacle to serve under Eli the priest (1 Samuel 1:22–25). Even as a child, Samuel was given his own ephod, a garment normally reserved for a priest as he ministered before the Lord in the tent of meeting at Shiloh, where the ark of the covenant was kept (1 Samuel 2:18; 3:3). Traditionally, the sons of the priest would succeed their father’s ministry; however, Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were wicked in that they were immoral and showed contempt for the Lord’s offering (1 Samuel 2:17, 22). Meanwhile, Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men (1 Samuel 2:26).

At a time when prophecies and visions were rare, Samuel heard what he first believed to be Eli calling him during the night. Though the young Samuel was ministering in the tabernacle, he still didn’t know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him (1 Samuel 3:7). The Lord called Samuel three times before he answered, and then the Lord gave him a message to relay to Eli. The following day, Samuel took his first leap of faith, telling Eli everything, even though the message was bad news for Eli and his family (1 Samuel 3:11–18). Samuel’s credibility as a prophet spread throughout Israel, and God continued to reveal His Word to His people through Samuel (1 Samuel 3:20–21).

The Philistines, perennial enemies of Israel, attacked God’s people. Eli’s sons were killed in the battle, and the ark of the covenant was captured and taken to Philistia. Upon hearing the news of his sons’ deaths, Eli also died. After several months, the Philistines returned the ark to Israel, where it remained at Kiriath Jearim for over twenty years. As the Israelites cried out to God for help against the Philistine oppressors, Samuel instructed them to be rid of the false gods they had been worshipping. With Samuel’s leadership, and by God’s power, the Philistines were overcome, and there was a time of peace between them (1 Samuel 7:9–13). Samuel was recognized as the judge of all Israel.

Like Eli’s sons, Samuel’s two sons, Joel and Abijah, sinned before God by seeking dishonest gain and perverting justice. Seeing that Samuel’s judgeship could not be passed down to his sons, the elders of Israel demanded a king (1 Samuel 8:1–5). Samuel’s initial reaction to their demand was one of great displeasure, and he prayed to God about the matter. God gave Samuel leave to permit their request but warned the people what they could expect from a king (verses 6–21).

In time, Saul, a Benjamite, was anointed by Samuel as Israel’s first king (1 Samuel 10:1). Even so, Samuel called on God for a sign to show the Israelites the evil of choosing to replace their true king—God—with an earthly king (1 Samuel 12:16–18). After a couple of years, Samuel learned that Saul had been rejected by God to lead His people because of Saul’s disobedience (1 Samuel 10:8; 13:11–13). Samuel immediately warned Saul that God had already sought out a replacement for him (1 Samuel 13:14). After Saul continued to disobey, Samuel denounced him as king (1 Samuel 15:26). Samuel returned home, never to be at King Saul’s side again, but he mourned for him (verse 35). God instructed Samuel to choose another king from the family of Jesse (1 Samuel 16:1), and Samuel anointed Jesse’s youngest son, David (verse 13).

The life of Samuel was pivotal in Israel’s history. He was a prophet, he anointed the first two kings of Israel, and he was the last in the line of Israel’s judges, considered by many as the greatest judge (Acts 13:20). Samuel is cited alongside Moses and Aaron as men who called on God and were answered (Psalm 99:6). Later in Israel’s history, when the Israelites were living in disobedience to God, the Lord declared they were beyond even the defense of Moses and Samuel, two of Israel’s greatest intercessors (Jeremiah 15:1). This is a clear indication of the power of Samuel’s prayers—and the depth of Israel’s sin in Jeremiah’s day.

There is much to learn from the life of Samuel. In particular, we see the sovereignty of God in Israel, no matter whom the people chose to reign over them. We may allow other things or people to occupy the throne of our hearts, but God will always remain sovereign and will never accept usurpers to His authority in the lives of His subjects.

We can imagine how daunting it must have been for the young Samuel to give an honest account of his first vision to Eli. However, it appears that, even from a young age, Samuel’s absolute allegiance was to God first. There may be times when we feel intimidated by those in authority, but, as Samuel proved more than once, it is God who must remain our priority. The world may look on us cynically when we remain steadfast in our faith. However, we can be confident that God will vindicate those who have remained faithful to His Word (Psalm 135:14).

Though Samuel had deep reservations about letting the people have a king, he was quick to consult God about the matter and abided by His decision (1 Samuel 8:6–7). Many of us may consult God about important decisions in our lives, but how many of us are ready to accept His counsel and abide by it, especially when it appears to go against our own desires? Leaders in particular can learn from Samuel’s example of the power he derived from his close relationship with God, generated by a healthy prayer life. Samuel was a great man of prayer, and his people respected him for it (1 Samuel 12:19, 23). Even though Samuel was aware of the evil in Saul’s life, he never stopped praying and mourning for him. Indeed, Samuel described it as a sin not to pray for the people under his care. Perhaps too quickly we may write a brother off when we see him fall into sin. Certainly, God’s plans for each individual will come to pass, but it should never stop us from continuing to pray and care for those who are weaker in their faith (Romans 15:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:14).

The main theme throughout Samuel’s life is that God alone should receive the glory and honor. After making his sons judges, it must have been the saddest thing for Samuel to learn that they were unfit to lead. When he consulted God about the people’s request for a king, nothing was said in defense of his sons. Samuel was obedient to God’s instructions to give the people what they wanted.

A key verse in the life of Samuel relates his words to King Saul: “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams’” (1 Samuel 15:22). Obedience to God’s Word must always be our top priority.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of King Saul?"

Answer: The life of King Saul could be summed up in a modern cliché: It’s not how you start; It’s how you finish. Saul started out very well only to see his subsequent disobedient actions derail what could have been a stellar, God-honoring rule over the nation of Israel. How could someone so close to God at the start spiral out of control and out of favor with God? To understand how things in Saul’s life got so mixed up, we need to know something about the man himself. Who was King Saul, and what should learn from his life?

The name “Saul,” from the Hebrew word pronounced shaw-ool, means “asked.” Saul was the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul came from a well-to-do family (1 Samuel 9:1) and was tall, dark and handsome in appearance. Scripture states that “there was not a man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he, being taller than any of the people from his shoulder and upward” (1 Samuel 9:2). He was God’s chosen one to lead the scattered nation of Israel, a collection of tribes that did not have a central leader other than God and no formal government. In times of trouble, leaders would arise but never consolidated power of the twelve tribes into one nation. Years before Saul’s rule, Samuel the prophet was Israel’s religious leader but not a king. In fact, Israel was loosely ruled by judges who presided over domestic squabbles (1 Samuel 8). They were not, however, equipped to rule in times of war. It is no exaggeration to say that Samuel and Saul lived in turbulent times. The Philistines were Israel’s sworn enemies, and war broke out between the two on a fairly regular basis (1 Samuel 4). Because of the constant threat of war, the people pressed Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them (1 Samuel 8:5).

Of course, we know that it was the Lord who brought all of this about because the people had forsaken Him and served other gods (1 Samuel 8:7-9). It became Samuel’s task to anoint a king from among the people. Saul was secretly anointed the first king of all the tribes of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1) before being publicly selected by the general population (1 Samuel 10:17-24). Saul’s reign over Israel started peacefully around 1010 B.C., but the peace was not to last. One of the most famous events in Saul’s life was the stand-off with the Philistines in the valley of Elah. Here Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days until a shepherd boy named David slew him (1 Samuel 17). Aside from that incident of fear and uncertainty, Saul was a competent military leader. He was good enough that his rule was solidified by his victory at Jabesh-Gilead. As part of the triumph, he was again proclaimed king at Gilgal (1 Samuel 11:1-15). He went on to lead the nation through several more military victories as his popularity reached its zenith. However, a series of very serious blunders, beginning with an unauthorized sacrificial offering (1 Samuel 13:9-12), started Saul’s downfall from his kingship. Saul’s downward spiral continued as he failed to eliminate all of the Amalekites and their livestock as commanded by God (1 Samuel 15:3). Disregarding a direct order from God, he decided to spare the life of King Agag along with some of the choice livestock. He tried to cover up his transgression by lying to Samuel and, in essence, lying to God. This disobedience was the last straw, as God would withdraw His Spirit from Saul. The break between God and Saul is arguably one of the saddest occurrences in Scripture.

While Saul would be allowed to serve out the rest of his life as king, he was plagued by an evil spirit that tormented him and brought about waves of madness. Saul’s final years were profoundly tragic as he endured periods of deep manic depression. However, it was a young man brought into the king’s court named David who became the soothing influence on the troubled king by playing music which temporarily restored the king’s sanity. The king embraced David as one of his own, but all of this changed as David became a fine military leader in his own right. In fact, a popular song of the day was “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). When Saul realized that God was with David, the king sought to kill David at every opportunity. David succeeded in evading the countless attempts on his life with the help of the king’s son, Jonathan, and the king’s daughter, Michal. The final years of King Saul’s life brought a general decline in his service to the nation and in his personal fortunes. He spent much time, energy and expense trying to kill David rather than consolidating the gains of his earlier victories, and because of this the Philistines sensed an opening for a major victory over Israel. With a large army they crushed Saul’s troops, killing all of his sons including Jonathan. In one final act of disobedience Saul takes his own life by falling on his sword, thus ending a promising life on a final note of shame.

There are three lessons we can learn from the life of King Saul. First, obey the Lord and seek to do His will. From the very start of his reign, Saul had the perfect opportunity to be the benchmark by which all future kings could be measured. All he had to do was to seek the Lord wholeheartedly, obey His commandments and align his will with that of God’s, and his rule would have been a God-honoring one. However, like so many others, Saul chose a different path and strayed away from God. We find a perfect example of his disobedience in the incident where God commanded him to kill all the Amalekites, but Saul kept the king and some of the spoils of war. Saul compounded his troubles by lying to Samuel over the incident. He claimed that it was the people that saved all of the animals (1 Samuel 15). This act, plus many others over the course of his rule, emphasized the fact that he could not be trusted to be an instrument of God’s will.

The second lesson we learn is not to misuse the power given to us. There is no question that King Saul abused the power God had entrusted to him. Pride often creeps into our hearts when people are serving and honoring us. In time, receiving “star treatment” can make us believe that we really are something special and worthy of praise. When this happens, we forget that God is the one who is really in control and that He alone rules over all. God may have chosen Saul because he was humble, but over time that humility was replaced by a self-serving and destructive pride that destroyed his rule.

Another lesson for us is to lead the way God wants us to lead. First Peter 5:2-10 is the ultimate guide for leading the people that God has placed in our charge: “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” How much different Saul’s life would have turned out had he obeyed these principles. King Saul would have had no shortage of wise counsel available to him. By ignoring God and His wise counsel, Saul allowed the spiritual health of his people to deteriorate further, alienating them from God.
Question: "Who was Jonathan in the Bible?"

Answer: Ten men named Jonathan are mentioned in the Bible, but we will only look at two here. The first is the son of Gershom, making this Jonathan the grandson of Moses. He was of the tribe of Levi and is notable (or notorious, rather) for being the priest hired to lead idol-worship in the tribe of Dan during the chaotic time of the judges (Judges 18:3–4, 30).

The other prominent Jonathan in the Bible is the son of King Saul. This Jonathan was a noble man of true character, faith, and integrity. Despite Saul’s hatred of David, Jonathan and David were very close friends (1 Samuel 18:1–3), and Jonathan protected David and helped him to escape Saul (1 Samuel 19:1–2). Since David was married to Jonathan’s sister Michal, Jonathan was also David’s brother-in-law.

In 1 Samuel 14, we see Jonathan’s good character contrasted with his father’s foolishness. Saul and his men were battling the Philistines, and Jonathan decided to raid a Philistine outpost (1 Samuel 14:1). He took only his young armor-bearer with him, and he told no one else of their plans (verse 3). Jonathan’s bravery as they approached the enemy garrison was rooted in faith, as he told his armor-bearer, “Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few” (verse 6). The Lord was indeed with Jonathan, and he and his companion killed about twenty Philistines (verse 14). Then God sent a panic into the enemy camp, along with an earthquake, and the enemy was routed (verses 15, 20, 23). Meanwhile, King Saul had placed his troops under an oath: no one was allowed to eat anything all day (verse 24). Jonathan, who had not been present when Saul made his foolish demand, found some honey after the battle and ate it (verse 27). When Saul found out that his son had eaten the honey, he demanded that he be slain (verse 44). It was only through the intervention of the rest of the army that faithful, brave Jonathan was spared that day (verse 45).

Jonathan was not much like his father. Jonathan was known for his deep love, loyal friendship, and faith in God, while Saul repeatedly showed foolishness, pride, and disobedience to God (1 Samuel 13:8–13; 14:24–30; 15:1–34). God eventually rejected Saul’s kingship and replaced him with David (1 Samuel 16:11–13). Jonathan was faithful to the Lord and positioned himself against his father politically, because he knew that God had chosen David to be the next king. He made a covenant with the house of David and therefore recognized David’s family, rather than his own, as the chosen line of kingship (1 Samuel 20:16). Jonathan and Saul were obviously not on good terms, for Jonathan actually desired that the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies (1 Samuel 20:16), and Saul, when he suspected Jonathan’s betrayal in favor of David, threw a spear at his son in an attempt to murder him (1 Samuel 20:33). Saul also insulted both Jonathan and his mother, calling Jonathan a “stupid son of a whore” (1 Samuel 20:30, NLT).

In a later battle with the Philistines, Jonathan was killed alongside two of his two brothers, Abinadab and Malchi-shua (1 Samuel 31:2). Saul himself was also badly wounded and told his armor-bearer to slay him. When the armor-bearer was unwilling to take the king’s life, Saul fell on his own sword, and his grieved armor-bearer followed his example. Even in death, Jonathan’s righteousness exceeded that of his father. In that way, the line of Saul ended, and David’s line continued as prophesied. Jonathan’s five-year-old son, Mephibosheth, was crippled on the day that his household received news of Jonathan’s death (2 Samuel 4:4). Later, King David honored Mephibosheth and treated him as his own son for the sake of his friend Jonathan (2 Samuel 9).
Question: "What can we learn from the life of David?"

Answer: We can learn a lot from the life of David. He was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:13-14; Acts 13:22)! We are first introduced to David after Saul, at the insistence of the people, was made king (1 Samuel 8:5, 10:1). This choice of king, or even having an earthly king at all, was against the will of God, and although Saul was anointed by God through Samuel, he did not measure up as God’s king. While King Saul was making one mistake on top of another, God sent Samuel to find His chosen shepherd, David, the son of Jesse (1 Samuel 16:10, 13). David was believed to be 12-16 years of age when he was called in from tending his father’s sheep to be anointed as the true king of Israel. As soon as the anointing oil flowed down David’s head the Spirit of the Lord departed from King Saul (1 Samuel 16:14). The fact that evil spirits were tormenting Saul brought David into the king’s service (1 Samuel 16:21). Saul was pleased with young David, but this feeling vanished quickly as David rose in strength to slay the Philistine giant, Goliath, and win the overwhelming favor of the people (1 Samuel 17:45-51). The chant in the camp of Saul was taunting as the people sang out the praises of David and demeaned their king, causing a raging jealousy in Saul that never subsided (1 Samuel 18:7-8).

If you or someone you know has eked his way through life amid strife, conflict and continuous battles, then you might understand how David lived and felt throughout his lifetime. Although Saul never stopped pursuing him with the intent to kill him, David never raised a hand against his king and God’s anointed (1 Samuel 19:1-2, 24:5-7). He did, however, raise up a mighty army and with power from God defeated everyone in his path, always asking God first for permission and instructions before going into battle (2 Samuel 5:22-23, 23:8-17). Throughout the life of David, God honored and rewarded this unconditional obedience of His servant and gave him success in everything he did (2 Samuel 8:6).

David mourned King Saul’s death and put to death the one claiming responsibility for Saul’s death (2 Samuel 1:12-16). Only after Saul’s death was David anointed king over the house of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4), and even then he had to fight against the house of Saul before being anointed king over Israel at the age of thirty (2 Samuel 5:3-4). Now king, David conquered Jerusalem and became more and more powerful because the Lord Almighty was with him (2 Samuel 5:7). David was so enthralled with bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem that he omitted some of God’s instructions on how to transport the Ark and who was to carry it. This resulted in the death of Uzzah who, amid all the celebrations, reached out to steady the Ark, and God struck him down and he died there beside it (2 Samuel 6:1-7). In fear of the Lord, David abandoned the moving of the Ark for three months and let it rest in the house of Obed-Edom (2 Samuel 6:11).

After the Ark was in its rightful place, David decided to build a temple of the Lord around it (2 Samuel 6:17). Because of David’s bloody, battle-scarred record as well as his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and the slaying of her husband, God denied his otherwise faithful servant the honor of building the temple, the house of the Lord (2 Samuel 6:5-14). This was surely a blow to David, but God assured him He would continue to make his name the greatest on the earth and forever establish the throne of David through David’s son, Solomon. Instead of being angry with God and having a pity party, David sat before the Lord, praising Him and thanking Him for all the many blessings he had received in his life (2 Samuel 7:18-29).

David’s battles did not end with his kingship but continued with the surrounding nations and within his own household. Throughout the life of David, His sons connived and conspired to take control of the kingdom and they, as did Saul, threatened their own father’s life. And as with the death of Saul, David mourned the death of his beloved son Absalom, showing a passionate and forgiving heart (2 Samuel chapters 15-18). David’s broken heart and contrite spirit are what brought him the forgiveness of God and are what will bring him back to be the prince of Christ during Christ’s millennial reign.
Question: "What should we learn from the account of David and Goliath?"

Answer: The story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) is a factual account from biblical history that demonstrates how the Lord intercedes for His people. David was a shepherd, the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse of Bethlehem. King Saul and his men were battling the Philistines, one of which was a 9-foot giant named Goliath. The men of Saul’s army were afraid of Goliath, and there was no one to stand up to him. But David, filled with faith and a passion for God’s name which was being blasphemed by Goliath, slew Goliath with a stone and a sling. Then he cut off Goliath’s head with the giant’s own sword. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled before the Israelites, who had a great victory over them.

An important point in this story is that Goliath was taunting the sovereign Lord of the universe. He was challenging God's people to stand up to him and demonstrate that their God was more powerful than he was. Until David came into the Israelite camp, there was no one who was willing to step out in faith and face the giant. However, David's faith was so strong that he was willing to believe that the Lord would go with him and enable him to defeat Goliath (1 Samuel 17:36-37). David’s faith was born out of his experience of God’s grace and mercy in his life up to that point. The Lord had delivered him out of dangerous situations in the past, proving His power and trustworthiness, and David relied on Him to deliver him from the Philistine.

From the story of David and Goliath, we can learn that the God we serve is capable of defeating any of the giants in our lives—fear, depression, financial issues, doubts of faith—if we know Him and His nature well enough to step out in faith. When we do not know what the future holds, we have to trust Him. But we can’t trust someone we don’t know, so knowing God through His Word will build our faith in Him.

As Christians who have trusted Christ as the only way to heaven (John 14:6), our battle with the giants in our lives will result in victory if we cling by faith to God and His power. The illustration of David and Goliath is only one of many examples of the supernatural power of our Lord. He cares deeply for His children and wants only our best. Sometimes that involves trials and battles, but these are ultimately for our good and His glory. James tells us to consider it pure joy when we encounter trials because they test our faith and develop patience and perseverance (James 1:2-4). When we are tested by these trials, we can, in the power of the Lord, stand up against any giant, trusting our Savior to win the victory.
Question: "Who was Abigail in the Bible?"

Answer: Abigail was one of David’s wives. Her story is found in 1 Samuel 25. At the beginning of the story, Abigail is the wife of a wealthy man named Nabal who lived in a town called Maon in the wilderness of Paran, an area near the Sinai Peninsula. Abigail was “an intelligent and beautiful woman” (1 Samuel 25:3) who saved her husband and his household, prevented David from doing something rash, and secured an unexpected future for herself.

The story of Abigail in the Bible is an interesting one for many reasons. For one, Nabal is a rather bizarre character. For no apparent reason, Nabal refuses David’s request for food and shelter. Despite knowing of David’s previous benevolence to his shepherds, Nabal churlishly refuses to aid David and his men as they tried to keep one step ahead of King Saul. David’s request was not unreasonable, but Nabal, who is described as “surly and mean” (1 Samuel 25:3), essentially spits in the faces of David’s servants, saying, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” (verses 10–11).

David did not take this rejection well. He swore to kill every male associated with Nabal’s household (1 Samuel 25:22). He had strapped on his sword and was on his way with four hundred armed men (verse 13), when Abigail met him on the road. She offered David gifts of wine, grain, prepared meat, and cakes of figs. Then she fell down in front of David, pleading with him to show mercy to her husband, Nabal (verse 23). In her plea, Abigail shows that she understands Nabal’s character: “Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him” (verse 25).

In taking up Nabal’s cause and asking David to spare his life, Abigail proves herself to be a righteous, caring woman. At great risk to herself, she approaches David, an angry man bent on revenge, and intercedes for her husband, despite his bad behavior. Her request can be seen as a picture of Christ, who offered Himself as a sacrifice to save foolish sinners from the consequences of their own actions and who continues to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Abigail’s propitiation saves the day. David thanks Abigail for staying his hand and repents of his own foolish and rash decision to slaughter Nabal’s household (1 Samuel 25:32–34). In fact, David sees Abigail’s coming to him as a blessing from God, and he send her home in peace (verse 35).

Meanwhile, Nabal, insensitive to his wrongdoing and the danger that he had been in, holds a kingly feast for himself and gets drunk (1 Samuel 25:36). Abigail waits until the next morning for her husband to sober up, and then she tells Nabal everything—how David had been on his way to destroy him and how she herself had saved Nabal. Upon hearing this news, Nabal falls ill: “His heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died” (verses 37–38). David then sends a message to Abigail asking her to become his wife, and Abigail responds affirmatively (verses 40–42).

Scripture says that we should not seek vengeance for ourselves. Rather, we should “leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19; cf. Deuteronomy 32:35). This is exactly what happened in Abigail’s story. David was prevented from taking revenge, and the Lord Himself took care of the matter in due time.

David and Nabal can be seen as representative of the two responses men have to Christ. Nabal does not repent or acknowledge his sin; neither does he thank Abigail for her willingness to risk her own life on his behalf. On the other hand, David’s heart is tender and repentant, and he calls Abigail blessed for her actions. David is spared the consequences of the sin he had planned, but Nabal dies in his sin.

In the end, Nabal’s wealth, his wife, and his very life are taken from him. Abigail—a savior full of beauty, wisdom, and discretion—enters a loving relationship with David. In Abigail, we have a small picture of the ultimate Savior, the Source of beauty and wisdom, who desires a loving relationship with us forever.
Question: "Who was Nathan in the Bible?"

Answer: Nathan was a prophet in the Bible who lived during the reign of King David in Israel. God spoke to David through Nathan on several occasions. Nathan was a member of David’s royal court and one of his closest advisors. Nathan apparently also knew Bathsheba well enough to speak to her about Adonijah’s attempt to usurp David’s throne from her son, Solomon (1 Kings 1:11) and to enlist her help in bringing the matter to the king. There are three or four stories in the Bible featuring Nathan that occurred during some of the darkest and most emotional times in David’s life.

The first mention of Nathan establishes his relationship with David as a trusted advisor. David decides to build God a house, because the king is living in a beautiful cedar palace and thinks it wrong that the Ark of the Covenant should be housed in a lowly tent (the tabernacle). David tells Nathan about his plans to build a house for God, and Nathan says he should go ahead and do it because the Lord is with him (2 Samuel 7:2–3). Then God visits Nathan in a vision and tells him to return to David and inform him that God doesn’t need the king to build him a house; rather, God would establish David’s dynasty, through his son, forever. His son Solomon would be the one to build God’s house (2 Samuel 7:4–17). Nathan relays this important message to the king, and David utters a grateful and beautiful prayer to God for His grace (2 Samuel 7:18–29).

The next time Nathan is mentioned, it is after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and brought about her husband’s death to hide her pregnancy (2 Samuel 12:1). At that point, David had made Bathsheba his wife and had seemingly gotten away with his sin, but the Lord knew about it and told Nathan to rebuke David. Nathan went to David and wisely told the king a fable about a rich man and a poor man: the rich man was visited by a traveler, so he took the poor man’s only possession, a little ewe lamb that he loved as a pet, to feed his guest—rather than taking a lamb from his own extensive flocks. David was enraged at the story and declared that the rich man had no pity and deserved to die. Nathan then points to David and says, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7). Nathan reveals that David’s sin was like that of the rich man, because David took away Uriah’s wife. Nathan then prophecies to David, in God’s own words: “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (2 Samuel 12:7–10). David confesses to Nathan that he has sinned against the Lord, and Nathan comforts him, saying that the Lord has forgiven his sin and that David’s life will not be required of him. Nonetheless, David’s child by Bathsheba was to die. David, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, pens Psalm 51 after this encounter with Nathan the prophet.

After the death of David’s child, his wife Bathsheba became pregnant again, this time with a son whom they named Solomon. The Lord sent Nathan to David again, this time to say that the Lord loved his son Solomon, and they called Solomon “Jedidiah,” a name that means “beloved of the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:24–25). Solomon later built God’s house, the temple, and became an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ.

First Chronicles 3:5 reveals the fact that King David and Queen Bathsheba named one of their sons born to them in Jerusalem “Nathan.” No doubt, the child’s name is a reflection of the royal couple’s appreciation for the prophet Nathan’s faithfulness, friendship, and tough love through the years.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Solomon?"

Answer: Solomon is the third and last king of the united kingdom of Israel, following King Saul and King David. He was the son of David and Bathsheba, the former wife of Uriah the Hittite whom David had killed to hide his adultery with Bathsheba while her husband was on the battle front. Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes, and much of the book of Proverbs. His authorship of Ecclesiastes is contested by some, but Solomon is the only “son of David” to be “king over Israel” (not just Judah) “in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:1, 12), and many of the descriptions of the author fit Solomon perfectly. Solomon reigned for 40 years (1 Kings 11:42).

What are the highlights of Solomon’s life? When he ascended to the throne, he sought after God and God gave him opportunity to ask for whatever he wanted. Solomon humbly acknowledged his inability to rule well and unselfishly asked God for the wisdom he would need to rule God’s people justly. God gave him wisdom and wealth besides (1 Kings 3:4; 10:27). In fact, his riches and wisdom surpassed all of the kings of the earth (1 Kings 10:23). God also gave him peace on all sides during most of his reign (1 Kings 4:20-25). The favorite illustration of that wisdom is his judging a dispute over the identity of the true mother of an infant child (1 Kings 3:16-28). Solomon was not only wise in his rule but had great general wisdom as well. His wisdom was renowned in his day, and the Queen of Sheba traveled 1,200 miles to verify the rumors of his wisdom and grandeur (1 Kings 10). Solomon wrote many proverbs and songs (1 Kings 4:32) and completed many building projects (1 Kings 7:1-12, 9:15-23). Solomon also built a fleet of ships and acquired tons of gold from Ophir with Hiram, king of Tyre, as a partner (1 Kings 9:26-28; 10:11, 22). Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of them foreigners who led him into public idolatry in his old age, greatly angering God (1 Kings 11:1-13).

There are many lessons we can learn from the life of Solomon. First, when we seek God with all of our heart, He will be found (1 Kings 3:3-7). Second, those who honor God will be honored by Him (1 Kings 3:11-13; 1 Samuel 2:30). Third, God will equip us to accomplish the tasks He calls us to if we will rely on Him (1 Kings 3; Romans 12:3-8; 2 Peter 1:3). Fourth, the spiritual life is a marathon, not a sprint. A good start is not always enough to finish well (1 Kings 3, 11). Fifth, we can sincerely ask God to incline our hearts toward Him (1 Kings 8:57-58), but we will wander off the path of righteousness if we choose to violate His revealed word. Contrary to God’s written word concerning kings, Solomon multiplied to himself gold, horses, and wives (700 wives and 300 concubines) (Deuteronomy 17:14-17). He also married non-Jewish wives (Deuteronomy 7:3, 4; Exodus 34:16). Sixth, those closest to us will affect our spiritual lives (Exodus 34:16; 1 Kings 11:1-8; Daniel 1, 3; 1 Corinthians 15:33), and we must therefore be very careful of the company we keep. Seventh, life lived apart from God will be meaningless, regardless of education, fulfilled goals, the greatest of pleasures, and the greatest abundance of wealth (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
Question: "Who was Jedidiah in the Bible?"

Answer: The only mention of the name Jedidiah in the Bible is found in 2 Samuel 12:25. King Solomon, second son of David and Bathsheba, was given the name Jedidiah by God. After Solomon was born, God sent a message through the prophet Nathan that his name was to be Jedidiah (Hebrew for “Beloved of the Lord”). Scripture says that God named him Jedidiah “because the Lord loved him” (2 Samuel 12:25). The names Jedidiah and David are related in that the name David means “beloved.”

Although Israel’s third king is generally referenced in the Bible as Solomon, it is unknown which name was used during his reign. Some scholars believe that the name Solomon (“Peaceable”) was given by his father David to be a throne name in anticipation of his future reign of peace over Jerusalem; others believe that Jedidiah was the throne name. It is possible that the Lord first gave the name Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:8–10) but then gave him the additional name Jedidiah as a sign of His love.

Solomon (Jedidiah) reigned over Israel after his father David and was on the throne c. 970–930 BC. This was despite the efforts of Solomon’s half-brother Adonijah to take the throne during David’s final days. At the beginning of his reign, Solomon/Jedidiah was asked by the Lord what he desired, and Solomon’s response reveals a soft heart. The king asks not for great honor or wealth but for wisdom to govern God’s people well and for discernment between right and wrong. Because of this response, the Lord not only granted Solomon wisdom far beyond that of other kings, but He also blessed him with wealth, honor, and other pleasures (1 Kings 3:4–15; 4:29–31). Even the Queen of Sheba traveled well over 1,000 miles to see the glory and wisdom of Jedidiah, the Beloved of the Lord (1 Kings 10:1).

Many things in the life of King Jedidiah/Solomon point to the fact that he was indeed beloved of the Lord. Under the rule of Jedidiah/Solomon, Israel enjoyed a time of great peace and prosperity (1 Kings 4:25). Solomon built the temple of the Lord, a task that God had reserved specifically for him (2 Samuel 7:13; 1 Chronicles 17:12; 22:6–11). Under his reign the kingdom was extended to its largest geographical capacity with victories over the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites. Jedidiah/Solomon was by no means a perfect king; in fact, he strayed into idolatry (1 Kings 11:4), which makes God’s blessing and steadfast love even more remarkable.

Students of Scripture have noticed parallels between Jedidiah/Solomon and Jesus Christ. The Father’s words about Jesus, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), correspond to the name Jedidiah. The Lord’s title Prince of Peace evokes thoughts of the name Solomon, the “peaceable” king. The blessing of Psalm 72, written of Solomon, could also be applied to Jesus: “May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed” (verse 17). One day, Jesus Christ will sit on David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7), and the world will see justice, peace, riches, love, and blessing like never before. King Jedidiah in all his glory was but a murky foreshadowing of the reign of the Messiah, the “greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Elijah?"

Answer: The prophet Elijah is one of the most interesting and colorful people in the Bible, and God used him during an important time in Israel’s history to oppose a wicked king and bring revival to the land. Elijah’s ministry marked the beginning of the end of Baal worship in Israel. Elijah’s life was filled with turmoil. At times he was bold and decisive, and at other times fearful and tentative. He alternately demonstrates victory and defeat, followed by recovery. Elijah knew both the power of God and the depths of depression.

Elijah, a prophet of God whose name means “my God is the Lord,” came from Tishbeh in Gilead, but nothing is known of his family or birth. We first meet Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1 when he suddenly appears to challenge Ahab, an evil king who ruled the Northern Kingdom from 874 to 853 BC. Elijah prophesies a drought to come upon the whole land as consequence for Ahab’s evil (1 Kings 17:1–7). Warned by God, Elijah hides near the brook of Cherith where he is fed by ravens. As the drought and famine in the land deepen, Elijah meets with a widow in a neighboring country, and, through her obedience to Elijah’s request, God provides food enough for Elijah, the woman, and her son. Miraculously, the widow’s barrel of flour and jar of oil never run out (1 Kings 17:8–16). The lesson for the believer is that, if we walk in fellowship with the Lord and obey Him, we will be open to His will. And when we are in God’s will, He fulfills all of our needs, and His mercy to us never runs short.

We next see Elijah as the central character in a face-off with the prophets of the false god Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-40). The prophets of Baal call upon their god all day long to rain fire from heaven to no avail. Then Elijah builds an altar of stones, digs a ditch around it, puts the sacrifice on the top of wood and calls for water to be poured over his sacrifice three times. Elijah calls upon God, and God sends fire down from heaven, burns the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones and licks up the water in the ditch. God proved He was more powerful than false gods. It was then that Elijah and the people kill all of the false prophets of Baal. Such supernatural evidences of God’s power are not seen today. However, we have access to the same power as God’s Word works through us and demonstrates the power of His Spirit in our lives (2 Corinthians 4:7). Elijah is an illustration that it is not the vessel but God in the vessel that demonstrates power.

After the great victory over the false prophets, rain once again falls on the land (1 Kings 18:41-46). However, in spite of victory and provisions from the LORD that he receives, Elijah enters a period of wavering faith and depression (1 Kings 19:1-18). Hearing that Ahab’s wife Jezebel has made a vow to kill him, Elijah feels sorry for himself, hides in a cave, and even comes to believe that he alone was left of the prophets of God. He got his eyes off of God and onto the details. It is then that the LORD instructs Elijah to stand on the mountain as the LORD passed by. There is a great wind, an earthquake, and then fire, but God is not in any of those. Then comes a still, small voice in which Elijah hears God and understands Him. When Elijah stopped focusing on the fear of what men could do and his feelings of being alone, God’s voice was heard, and Elijah went on to be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1-11).

As was true for Elijah, when we focus on the noise and the tumult of life in this world, we can get our eyes off of the LORD. However, if we listen for His still, small voice and walk in obedience to His Word, we find victory and reward. Each person in the Bible has a lesson for us to learn and can aid our walk as believers. Elijah struggled with typical human frailties, yet he was used mightily of God.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Elisha?"

Answer: Elisha, whose name means “God is salvation,” was the successor of Elijah in the office of the prophet in Israel (2 Kings 5:8). He was called to follow Elijah in 1 Kings 19:19, and he spent the next 7 or 8 years as the prophet’s protégé, until Elijah was translated into heaven. At that time, Elisha began his ministry, which lasted 60 years (c. 892-832 B.C.), spanning the reigns of kings Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz and Joash.

Elisha fulfilled the three-fold commission which his mentor had received in 1 Kings 19:15-16, part of which was that he would succeed Elijah as Israel’s prophet. It was during Elisha’s ministry that organized Baal worship was eradicated (2 Kings 10:28). In his ministry Elisha traveled widely and served as an advisor to kings, a companion of the common people, and a friend of both Israelites and foreigners.

The miracles Elisha performed are, for the most part, acts of helpfulness and blessing, such as the healing of Jericho’s waters (2 Kings 2:21), the resurrection of the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 4:18-37), and the curing of Naaman’s leprosy (2 Kings 5). Some of Elisha’s miracles, such as the multiplication of 20 barley loaves to feed 100 men, strongly resemble some of the miracles of Christ (2 Kings 4:42-44; cf. Matthew 16:9-10).

A study of the life of Elisha will reveal the prophet’s humility (2 Kings 2:9), his obvious love for the people of Israel (2 Kings 8:11-12), and his faithfulness in a lifelong ministry.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Isaiah?"

Answer: Isaiah, whose name means “Yahweh is salvation,” is best known for writing the book that bears his name in the Old Testament. His writings are especially significant for the prophecies he made about the coming Messiah, hundreds of years before Jesus was born (Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-7, 11:2-4; 53:4-7, 9, 12). Matthew quotes Isaiah when describing John the Baptist’s ministry (Matthew 3:3; Isaiah 40:3), and when Jesus moved to Galilee to start His ministry, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled (Matthew 4:13-16; Isaiah 9:1-2). Jesus quotes Isaiah’s prophecy when speaking in parables (Isaiah 6:9; Matthew 13:14-15), and the apostle Paul also makes reference to the same prophecy when he is in Rome (Acts 28:26-27). When Jesus reads from Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2) in the synagogue at Nazareth, He amazes many of the Jews by claiming the prophecy is fulfilled in Him (Luke 4:16-21). It is also interesting to note that the Gospels quote more from Isaiah’s writings than from any other of the Old Testament prophets.

Little is written about Isaiah the man. We know that he was the son of Amoz and that he married and had sons of his own (Isaiah 1:1; 7:3; 8:3). Though Isaiah’s recognition as a great prophet is indicated in the books of the Kings and Chronicles, it is also probable that he was a priest, as his calling from God took place in the temple (Isaiah 6:4), an area reserved only for priests. The anointing he receives at his calling is similar to that of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:9; Isaiah 6:7).

Along with his contemporary, the prophet Micah, Isaiah served the southern kingdom of Judah under the reigns of four kings. At the time of Isaiah’s ministry, Judah was a sinful and unjust nation. Nevertheless, Isaiah believed that Judah was God’s chosen nation and they would be vindicated by God. With support from Micah and the godly King Hezekiah, their enemies were held at bay and a revival swept through the nation of Judah (2 Kings 19:32-36; 2 Chronicles 32:20-23). Many commentators describe Isaiah as Judah’s evangelist because he worked tirelessly to turn the people back to God.

There were many highs and lows in Isaiah’s life. His faithfulness to God was rewarded with some amazing miracles. In answer to Isaiah’s prayer, God moved the sun back ten steps as a sign to King Hezekiah that God would add a further 15 years to Hezekiah’s life (2 Kings 20:8-11; 2 Chronicles 32:24). Yet Isaiah spent three years stripped naked and barefoot, in obedience to God, as a “sign and wonder” against the Egyptians (Isaiah 20:2-4). His contemporary, Micah, did likewise (Micah 1:8), though it doesn’t say for how long.

It is in examining a man’s heart that we can learn what kind of a man he is, and Jesus said it is from the overflow of a man’s heart that he speaks (Matthew 12:34). It is from Isaiah’s writings that we learn of his unswerving faithfulness and his complete humility before God. He also had great respect from King Hezekiah’s court and his peers, which was evident in times of crisis. Some of the world’s greatest art works, music and poetry have come from men who walked closely with God, and we can count Isaiah among them. His grasp of the Hebrew language has been likened to that of Shakespeare’s English, as we read in Isaiah some of the most beautiful writings in the Bible. Though the book of Isaiah was written over 2,500 years ago, it is well worth reading through the entire book, because in it we see much wisdom that still applies to our Christian lives today.

It appears that Isaiah was a very private man. When we meet some of today’s renowned speakers face to face, we may be disappointed to find they appear somewhat aloof. However, as with Isaiah, we can learn that their ministry is all about pointing people to God, not to themselves. And despite his reticence, Isaiah’s prominence is in the effect his ministry had on the people. In these last days, we need to make every word we speak count for the kingdom. And from Isaiah’s lifestyle we learn that, when God accomplishes a part of His plan through us, we must ensure that all the glory goes to Him.

In addition, it appears Isaiah’s ministry was characterized by closeness with other godly men, like Micah and King Hezekiah. Going it alone can often leave us vulnerable, but when we are united by God’s Holy Spirit to other members of the body of Christ through fellowship and prayer, our ministry is more effective by virtue of the protection others provide.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Hezekiah?"

Answer: Hezekiah was one of the few kings of Judah who was constantly aware of God’s acts in the past and His involvement in the events of every day. The Bible describes Hezekiah as a king who had a close relationship with God, one who did “what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God” (2 Chronicles 31:20).

Hezekiah’s story is told in 2 Kings 16:20—20:21; 2 Chronicles 28:27—32:33; and Isaiah 36:1—39:8. He is also mentioned in Proverbs 25:1; Isaiah 1:1; Jeremiah 15:4; 26:18–19; Hosea 1:1; and Micah 1:1.

Hezekiah, a son of the wicked King Ahaz, reigned over the southern kingdom of Judah for twenty-nine years, from c. 726 to 697 BC. He began his reign at age 25 (2 Kings 18:2). He was more zealous for the Lord than any of his predecessors (2 Kings 18:5). During his reign, the prophets Isaiah and Micah ministered in Judah.

After Ahaz’s wicked reign, there was much work to do, and Hezekiah boldly cleaned house. Pagan altars, idols, and temples were destroyed. The bronze serpent that Moses had made in the desert (Numbers 21:9) was also destroyed, because the people had made it an idol (2 Kings 18:4). The temple in Jerusalem, whose doors had been nailed shut by Hezekiah’s own father, was cleaned out and reopened. The Levitical priesthood was reinstated (2 Chronicles 29:5), and the Passover was reinstituted as a national holiday (2 Chronicles 30:1). Under Hezekiah’s reforms, revival came to Judah.

Because King Hezekiah put God first in everything he did, God prospered him. Hezekiah “held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook” (2 Kings 18:6–7).

In 701 BC, Hezekiah and all of Judah faced a crisis. The Assyrians, the dominant world power at the time, invaded Judah and marched against Jerusalem. The Assyrians had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and many other nations, and now they threatened Judah (2 Kings 18:13). In their threats against the city of Jerusalem, the Assyrians openly defied the God of Judah, likening Him to the powerless gods of the nations they had conquered (2 Kings 18:28–35; 19:10–12).

Faced with the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah sent word to the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2). The Lord, through Isaiah, reassured the king that Assyria would never enter Jerusalem. Rather, the invaders would be sent home, and the city of Jerusalem would be spared (2 Kings 19:32–34). In the temple, Hezekiah prays a beautiful prayer for help, asking God to vindicate Himself: “Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God” (2 Kings 19:19).

God, faithful as always, kept His promise to protect Jerusalem. “That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!” (2 Kings 19:35). The remaining Assyrians quickly broke camp and withdrew in abject defeat. “So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. . . . He took care of them on every side” (2 Chronicles 32:22).

Later, Hezekiah became very sick. Isaiah told him to set things in order and prepare to die (2 Kings 20:1). But Hezekiah prayed, beseeching God to be merciful and to remember all the good he had done. Before Isaiah had even left the king’s house, God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah that his prayer had been heard and that his life would be extended fifteen years. Isaiah applied a poultice, and Hezekiah was healed (2 Kings 20:5–7).

However, soon after his healing, Hezekiah made a serious mistake. The Babylonians sent a gift to Hezekiah, for they had heard Hezekiah had been sick. In foolish pride, Hezekiah showed the Babylonians all of his treasures, all the silver and gold, and everything in his arsenal. There was nothing Hezekiah did not parade in front of them. Isaiah rebuked Hezekiah for this act and prophesied that all the king had shown the Babylonians would one day be taken to Babylon—along with Hezekiah’s own descendants.

During the years following his illness, Hezekiah fathered the heir to Judah’s throne, Manasseh, who would turn out to be the evilest king ever to reign in Judah (2 Kings 18—20; 2 Chronicles 29—32; Isaiah 36—39). Tradition has it that Manasseh is the one who murdered Hezekiah’s friend, Isaiah.

Hezekiah’s life is, for the most part, a model of faithfulness and trust in the Lord. His faith was more than superficial, as his bold reforms show. Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord was rewarded with answered prayer, successful endeavors, and miraculous victory over his enemies. When faced with an impossible situation, surrounded by the dreadful and determined Assyrian army, Hezekiah did exactly the right thing—he prayed. And God anQuestion: "What can we learn from the life of Jeremiah?"

Answer: Jeremiah the prophet lived in the final days of the crumbling nation of Israel. He was, appropriately, the last prophet that God sent to preach to the southern kingdom, which comprised the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. God had repeatedly warned Israel to stop their idolatrous behavior, but they would not listen, so He tore the 12 tribes asunder, sending the 10 northern tribes into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians. Then God sent Jeremiah to give Judah the last warning before He cast them out of the land, decimating the nation and sending them into captivity in the pagan kingdom of Babylon. Jeremiah, a faithful, God-fearing man, was called to tell Israel that, because of their unrepentant sin, their God had turned against them and was now prepared to remove them from the land at the hands of a pagan king whom He called “My servant” (Jeremiah 26:7).

No doubt Jeremiah, who was only about 17 when God called him, had great inner turmoil over the fate of his people, and he begged them to listen. He is known as “the weeping prophet,” because he cried tears of sadness, not only because he knew what was about to happen, but because no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen. Furthermore, he found no human comfort. God had forbidden him to marry or have children (Jeremiah 16:2), and his friends had turned their backs on him. So, along with the burden of the knowledge of impending judgment, he also must have felt very lonely. God knew that this was the best course for Jeremiah, because He went on to tell him how horrible conditions would be in a short time, with babies, children, and adults dying “grievous” deaths, their bodies unable to even be buried, and their flesh devoured by the birds (Jeremiah 16:3-4).

Obviously, the people of Israel had become so hardened by the numbing effects of sin that they no longer believed God, nor did they fear Him. Jeremiah preached for 40 years, and not once did he see any real success in changing or softening the hearts and minds of his stubborn, idolatrous people. The other prophets of Israel had witnessed some successes, at least for a little while, but not Jeremiah. He was speaking to a brick wall; however, his words were not wasted. They were pearls being cast before swine, in a sense, and they were convicting every person who heard them and refused to heed the warning.

Jeremiah tried to make the people understand their problem was a lack of belief, trust, and faith in God, along with an absence of fear which caused them to take Him for granted. It is very easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, especially when the focus is not on God. The nation of Israel, just like many nations today, had stopped putting God first, and had replaced Him with false gods, those that would not make them feel guilty or convict them of sin. God had delivered His people from bondage in Egypt, had performed miracles before them, and had even parted the waters of the sea for them. In spite of all these displays of God’s power, they returned to the false practices they had learned in Egypt, even making vows to the false “queen of heaven,” along with performing the other rites and rituals that were part of the Egyptian culture and religion. God finally turned them over to their idolatry, saying, “Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!” (Jeremiah 44:25).

Jeremiah’s constant loneliness and isolation finally got the best of him, and he became discouraged. He sank into a quagmire where many believers seem to get stuck when they think their efforts are not making a difference and time is ticking away. Jeremiah was emotionally spent, even to the point of doubting God (Jeremiah 15:18), but God was not done with him. Jeremiah 15:19 records a lesson for each believer to remember in those times when he feels alone, useless, and discouraged and whose faith is wavering: “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.’” God was saying to Jeremiah, come back to Me, and I will restore to you the joy of your salvation. These are similar to the words penned by David when he repented of his sin with Bathsheba (Psalm 51:12).

What we learn from the life of Jeremiah is the comfort of knowing that, just like every believer, even great prophets of God can experience rejection, depression, and discouragement in their walk with the Lord. This is a normal part of growing spiritually, because our sinful nature fights against our new nature, that which is born of the Spirit of God, according to Galatians 5:17: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” But just as Jeremiah found, we can know that the faithfulness of our God is infinite; even when we are unfaithful to Him, He remains steadfast (2 Timothy 2:13).

Jeremiah was given the task of delivering an unpopular, convicting message to Israel, one that caused him great mental anguish, as well as making him despised in the eyes of his people. God says that His truth sounds like “foolishness” to those who are lost, but to believers it is the very words of life (1 Corinthians 1:18). He also says that the time will come when people will not tolerate the truth (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Those in Israel in Jeremiah’s day did not want to hear what he had to say, and his constant warning of judgment annoyed them. This is true of the world today, as believers who are following God’s instructions are warning the lost and dying world of impending judgment (Revelation 3:10). Even though most are not listening, we must persevere in proclaiming truth in order to rescue some from the terrible judgment that will inevitably come.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Ezekiel?"

Answer: For the first-time reader of the Bible, the book of Ezekiel is mostly a perplexing maze of incoherent visions, a kaleidoscope of whirling wheels (chapter 1) and dry bones (chapter 37) that defy interpretation. This impression often causes readers to shy away from studying the book and miss one of the great literary and spiritual portions of the Old Testament. The book is named after the author, Ezekiel, whose name means “strengthened by God.” As you read and study this amazing book, draw strength as Ezekiel did from the One who is Himself strength.

Ezekiel grew up in Jerusalem, served as a priest in the temple and was among the second group of captives taken to Babylon along with King Jehoiachin. While in Babylon he became a prophet of God, and his ministry began with condemnation and judgment of the nation Judah. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel’s perspective changed to a glimmer of hope shining through for the future. Ezekiel wanted to help the people learn from their failures and announced impending judgment upon the nations that surrounded Judah and reestablished hope for the restoration of Israel. His vision of the valley of dry bones pictures new life being breathed into the nation which will occur in the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth.

Ezekiel continues to have detailed visions of the New Temple (chapters 40-43), the New Jerusalem (Ezekiel 48:30-35), the Millennium (chapter 44) and the new land in which the people will reside (Ezekiel 47:13-23). Israel and Judah will once again be restored to unity from the ends of the earth as God’s glory also returns and God dwells among His people. These beautiful and unusual visions of Ezekiel concern both the immediate and the long-term plans of God. They help to establish Ezekiel as watchman (chapter 33), not only to warn the people but to be an encouragement. He minces no words and he delivers God’s messages with straightforward language that everyone could understand, whether they listened or not (Ezekiel 2:7). Ezekiel himself received a warning from God that if he did not tell everyone he was sent to warn them about the punishment for not following God, he would be held accountable for the blood of those who died in their sins (Ezekiel 33:8-9). He did not hesitate in his mission and is the one man in the Bible in whom we can find no fault as he steadfastly followed God’s instructions. He had a passionate view of judgment and hope and displayed his closeness to God’s own sorrow over the people’s sins.

The prophet experienced considerable opposition during his own lifetime, yet he doggedly expressed God’s desire that the wicked not die but turn from their wicked ways and live. His periodic speechlessness during his early years was broken when God empowered him to speak, and his tongue was loosened to speak the longest passage of sustained hope in the Bible. The burning, chopping and scattering of his hair represented the fall of Jerusalem and the bringing back of God’s remnant (chapter 5). The hopeful words climax in the promise of everlasting possession of the land, an everlasting Davidic prince, an everlasting covenant, and an everlasting sanctuary in Israel (Ezekiel 11:16-21). He leaps ahead to a time after Israel has been restored to the mysterious invasion from the north which will be brought by Yahweh against Israel, but then will be utterly defeated. This demonstrates that no enemy nation will ever invade the Holy Land again with success, and the glory of the God of Israel returns, entering through the east gate of the temple Ezekiel envisions.

Ezekiel has shown all Christians that we are to be watchmen on this earth, speaking the truth of the gospel to everyone we meet. We cannot possibly turn our backs on the perishing and go our own righteous way without being held accountable for those who die in sin that we could have reached. God told Ezekiel to groan with a broken heart and bitter grief for the coming judgment, and through his dramatic book, Ezekiel is telling us the very same thing. This judgment is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord!
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Daniel?"

Answer: The life of Daniel can be read in his own writings in the book of Daniel and in Ezekiel 14:14, 20; 28:3; and Mark 13:14. There are some striking similarities between the life of Daniel and that of Jacob’s son Joseph. Both of them prospered in foreign lands after interpreting dreams for their rulers, and both were elevated to high office as a result of their faithfulness to God.

After Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, he chose of Israel’s royal household noble men who were handsome and showed an aptitude for learning, to be trained in the ways of the Babylonians. After their three years’ training, they would be put into the king’s service (Daniel 1:1-6). Daniel, whose name means “God is my judge,” and his three countrymen from Judea were chosen and given new names. Daniel became “Belteshazzar,” while Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah became “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” The Babylonians believed that, by giving them new names that were completely disassociated with their Hebrew roots, Daniel and his friends would become subservient to their new rulers and the culture they now lived in.

Daniel and his compatriots proved to be the wisest of all the trainees, and at the end of their training, they entered the service of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel’s first sign of faithfulness to God was when he and his countrymen rejected the rich food and wine from the king’s table, because they deemed it a defilement, and became vegetarians. As their health improved, they were permitted to continue with their chosen diet. In their education, the four men from Judah became knowledgeable in all Babylonian matters, and Daniel was given by God the ability to understand dreams and visions of all kinds (Daniel 1:17).

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar was troubled with a dream that he could neither remember nor interpret. His magicians and astrologers were unable to interpret a dream, much less to know what the dream was. The king decreed that all the wise men, including Daniel and his companions, must be put to death. However, after Daniel sought God in prayer, the mystery of the king’s dream was revealed to Daniel, and he was taken to the king to interpret it. Daniel immediately attributed his ability to interpret dreams to the one true God (Daniel 2:28). The key feature of the dream, as Daniel told it to the king, was that one day there will be a kingdom set up by God that will last forever, and that it will destroy all previous kingdoms known to man (Daniel 2:44-45). With this, Daniel was honored by King Nebuchadnezzar and placed in authority over all the wise men of Babylon. At Daniel’s request, his three countrymen were also placed in positions of authority as administrators of Babylon.

In time, King Nebuchadnezzar built a huge golden statue and decreed that all his people bow down and worship it at the given signal. His decree went on to say that whoever refused to bow down to it would be thrown into a blazing furnace (Daniel 3:6). Word reached the king that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not worshipping his gods or the statue, and so they were summoned to Nebuchadnezzar’s court. Faced with being thrown into a blazing furnace, the three faithfully announced that their God could rescue them from the fire, but even if He did not, they would not bow down to the image (vss. 16-18). The furnace was so hot, seven times its normal heat, that the king’s soldiers were killed while putting the three into it. Then Nebuchadnezzar saw that there were four men in the furnace, completely unbound and walking about and that the fourth figure looked like he was a son of a god (vs.25). When the king called them out of the furnace, he and his governors were amazed to find that not a single hair of their heads had been scorched, nor was there even the merest smell of fire about them.

King Nebuchadnezzar had a second dream, and, not for the first time, he acknowledged that Daniel had the spirit of his holy God within him and was able to interpret his dream (Daniel 4:9). Daniel’s interpretation of the dream was fulfilled, and, after a period of insanity, Nebuchadnezzar was restored to his kingdom, and he praised and honored Daniel’s God as the most High (Daniel 4:34-37).

Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Belshazzar, became the new king, and during a banquet he ordered the gold and silver goblets that had been stolen from the holy temple in Jerusalem to be brought out for use. In response to the defilement of such holy items, Belshazzar sees a hand writing on the wall. Once again, his astrologers are unable to assist him in its translation, and so Daniel is called upon to interpret the writing (Daniel 5:13-16). As a reward for interpreting the writing, Daniel is promoted by King Belshazzar to the third highest position in the Babylonian kingdom (vs. 29). That night, as Daniel had prophesied, the king was slain in battle, and his kingdom was taken over by Cyrus the Great, and Darius the Mede was made king.

Under the new ruler, Daniel excelled in his duties as one of the administrators to such a degree that King Darius was contemplating making him head over all the kingdom (Daniel 6:1-3). This infuriated the other administrators so much that they looked for a way to bring Daniel down. They encouraged Darius to issue a decree forbidding his subjects from praying to any of their gods for the next thirty days. The penalty for disobeying was to be thrown into a den of lions. Daniel, however, continued to pray so openly to God that he could be seen at his bedroom window doing so. With much regret the king gave the order for Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den, but not without a prayer that Daniel’s God would rescue him (Daniel 6:16). The next day when Daniel was found alive and well, he told the king that God had sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths and so he remained unharmed. This resulted in King Darius sending out a decree that all his subjects were to worship the God of Daniel. And Daniel continued to prosper throughout King Darius’ reign.

The lesson from the life of Daniel is that he exercised great integrity and, in doing so, received the respect and affection of the powerful rulers he served. However, his honesty and loyalty to his masters never led him to compromise his faith in the one true God. Rather than it being an obstacle to his success, Daniel’s continual devotion to God brought him the admiration of the unbelievers in his circle. When delivering his interpretations, he was quick to give God the credit for his ability to do so (Daniel 2:28).

Daniel’s integrity as a man of God gained him favor with the secular world, yet he refused to compromise his faith in God. Even under the intimidation of kings and rulers, Daniel remained steadfast in his commitment to God. Daniel also teaches us that, no matter who we are dealing with, no matter what their status is, we are to treat them with compassion. See how concerned he is when delivering the interpretation to Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream (Daniel 4:19). As Christians, we are called to obey the rulers and authorities that God has put in place, treating them with respect and compassion; however, as we see from Daniel’s example, obeying God’s law must always take precedence over obeying men.

As a result of his devotion, Daniel not only found favor with those around him, but above all he found favor with God and was held in high esteem by Him (Daniel 9:20-23). Notice also in those verses what the angel Gabriel told Daniel about how swiftly the answer to his prayer was dispatched. This shows us how ready the Lord is to hear the prayers of His people. Daniel’s strength lay in his devotion to prayer and is a lesson for us all. It is not just in the bad times but on a daily basis that we must come to God in prayer.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Jonah?"

Answer: Proud, stubborn, disobedient, unfaithful, a grumbler, and altogether a bad-tempered, cantankerous old curmudgeon—this was Jonah, whose name means “dove”! Jonah was the son of Amittai, who came from Gath-hepher in Zebulun (called Gittah-hepher in Joshua 19:10-13). He was the earliest of the prophets and close behind Elisha in his place in the Old Testament. Jonah’s story is told in the short (just 48 verses) but powerful book of Jonah.

When God called Jonah to go and warn the violent and godless Ninevites of their impending doom, all his pride in being a Hebrew—and therefore uniquely favored by the Almighty (so he thought, no doubt along with many others of his nation)—rose up in rebellion. Pagans, to him, were the worst kind of human garbage, not even fit to pollute the good earth by living on it. They were the “untouchables,” and that God should take an interest in them was unthinkable. Therefore, not being one to put up with that which was not to his mind, he fled to Joppa and got himself a passage on a ship bound for Tarshish, which was in the opposite direction from Nineveh.

A human father would probably have shrugged Jonah off in disgust and found someone else more willing to take his message to Nineveh, but not so our Heavenly Father. If God has a purpose for someone, then, the gifts and calling of God being irrevocable, he will either fulfill His purpose, or He will simply roll over him to accomplish what He has foreordained (Isaiah 46:9-10). God rolled over Jonah with a vengeance, causing a violent storm to threaten the safety of his ship and its crew, so that their indignation at his contented snoring through their danger soon put an end to his satisfaction. This unceremonious awakening also awakened Jonah to the fact that, far from being an “artful dodger,” he was being followed by the Almighty. There was nothing for it but to confess what he had been up to and tell the sailors that only by dumping him overboard could they be saved. This they did, and the huge fish sent by God (not a whale as commonly supposed, but some sea creature common to that time) promptly swallowed him up (Jonah 1:17). This, and the immediate stilling of the storm, brought the ship’s crew to faith and salvation as a result (Jonah 1:16). The Lord is not one to miss out on His opportunities!

At this point Jonah has now found himself in a situation worse than anything he could have imagined, but like Jacob, he has by now awakened to the fact that God is with him wherever he ends up, in obedience or disobedience. The result is a beautiful prayer of faith rising up from the belly of the great fish, but still with a hint of spiritual pride: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD” (Jonah 2:8-9).

In response to this prayer of contrition and faith, on his Creator’s orders, the fish then vomits up Jonah on what was probably the shores of Israel. Researchers tell us that it must in all probability have been there because it was a three-day journey on foot from that point to the great city of Nineveh, which is in line with the statement in Jonah 3:3. Ancient cave drawings from this time indicate that Ninevite fishermen lived on the shores of the Mediterranean. This fact is important in illustrating the wonderful way in which God paves the way for His servants to fulfill His commands. The principal goddess worshipped by the Ninevites at that time was Ashtoreth, but they also deferred to the god Dagon who had a man’s upper body and a fish’s tail. Jonah, so the researchers say, would have been bleached completely white from his head to his toes by the acids present in the belly of the fish, and on the sudden appearance of this ghostly figure from the waves the fishermen may have been convinced that this was Dagon’s messenger and fallen flat in worship. These men would have fed and housed Jonah until he was recovered enough from his experience and then, as he was a stranger in those parts, given him directions on how to find their city. Of course, the biblical narrative doesn’t give us these details, but it is fascinating to theorize.

In any case, the biblical text is a masterful expression of understatement: “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you’" (Jonah 3:1-2). This time, there is no arguing from Jonah, who, although he may be complying on the outside, is still stubbornly disobeying on the inside. He finally arrives at Nineveh and strides vengefully through the city announcing doom and destruction on the people in forty days because of their wickedness and their ignorance of the Lord and His ways. He then retires to a flimsy shelter he builds for himself, probably on a hill overlooking the city, and waits for the fireworks to start (Jonah 4:5). Result? Utterly and absolutely nothing! To his utter chagrin, he finds not just the people from the king down, but their animals as well, clothed in sackcloth and sprinkled with ashes as an indication of their absolute acceptance of the prophetic word sent to them by God, their deep repentance, and their fervent anxiety to get right with the Lord (Jonah 3:5-10). This does not suit our friend Jonah at all and he flies into a fury at God and lets Him have no small piece of his mind (Jonah 4:1-3). God’s answer is to cause a leafy gourd to grow up to help protect Jonah from the blazing sun, for which Jonah is somewhat sullenly grateful, and then to promptly remove it the next day! His reply to Jonah’s bitter complaints about this is that if Jonah can have so much compassion on himself for his loss of comfort in spite of being aware of what a faulty child of God he is, then how much more compassion will Almighty God have on a people who are utterly ignorant of right from wrong (Jonah 4:9-11).

So that is Jonah—a very great comfort to all who fall flat at times when it comes to obedience and who run away from what they know God wants them to do. Jonah’s story is also an object lesson to those who are possessed of a short fuse and those who are at times guilty of a superior attitude to the spiritually ignorant or immature. Like the Ninevites, many around us are in darkness, and but for the grace of God, so would we be. May we all by that grace read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word!
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Ezra?"

Answer: Ezra was the second of three key leaders to leave Babylon for the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Zerubbabel reconstructed the temple (Ezra 3:8), Nehemiah rebuilt the walls (Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2) and Ezra restored the worship. Ezra was a scribe and priest sent with religious and political powers by the Persian King Artaxerxes to lead a group of Jewish exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:8, 12). Ezra condemned mixed marriages and encouraged Jews to divorce and banish their foreign wives. The most dramatic part of the book is the crisis over marriages between Jewish leaders and women from the peoples of the lands (Ezra 9:2). Ezra renewed the celebration of festivals and supported the rededication of the temple and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall. Ezra 7:10 describes a shaping of the community in accordance with the Torah. Ezra’s goal was to implement the Torah, and his impeccable priestly and scribal credentials allowed him to remain the model leader.

The book of Ezra continues from where 2 Chronicles ends, with Cyrus, king of Persia, issuing a decree which permits the Jews of his kingdom to return to Jerusalem after seventy years of captivity. God is universally sovereign and can use a polytheistic king of Persia to make possible His people’s release. He used Artaxerxes, another Persian king, to authorize and finance the trip and Ezra to teach God’s people His Law. This same king also helped Nehemiah restore some measure of respectability to God’s holy city.

Ezra’s effective ministry included teaching the Word of God, initiating reforms, restoring worship and leading spiritual revival in Jerusalem. These reforms magnified the need for a genuine concern for reputation and for public image. What must the world think of God’s people with dilapidated city walls? What would distinguish God’s people who were guilty of intermarriage with those not in proper covenant relationship with the one true God? Nehemiah and Ezra were then, and are now, an encouragement to God’s people to magnify worship as their top priority, to emphasize the need for and use of God’s Word as the only authoritative rule for living, and to be concerned about the image God’s people show to the world.

Ezra came back from captivity in Babylon expecting to find the people serving the Lord with gladness, but upon his return to Jerusalem, he found the opposite. He was frustrated and sorrowful. His heart ached, but he still trusted the Lord. He wanted the Lord to change the situation and blamed himself for not being able to change the people’s hearts. He wanted the people to know how important and essential the Word of God was. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were written to fulfill the Word of God. Nothing must supersede worship of God, and obedience is not optional. The Sovereign God looks over and protects His children, always keeping His promises and providing encouragement through those He sends (Ezra 5:1). Even when His plan seems to be interrupted, as with the rebuilding of Jerusalem, God steps in at the appropriate time to continue His plan.

God is as intimately involved in our lives as He was with Ezra’s life, and like Ezra we are sometimes enabled to do the impossible. Ezra did the impossible, for the hand the Lord his God was on him (Ezra 7:8). Every believer is a living temple (1 Corinthians 6:19) in which the Holy Spirit dwells. The opposing forces in Ezra’s day were people with evil in their hearts. The opposing force in our Christian lives today is evil himself, Satan, who has come to destroy us and in turn destroy God’s temple (John 10:10). Our goals should be worthy in God’s eyes as well as our own. Yesterday’s sorrows can be today’s successes if the hand of the Lord is upon us. Ezra’s goal was worthy in God’s eyes, and he effectively used the returning Jews’ sorrows for the success of rebuilding God’s city and restoring worship.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Nehemiah?"

Answer: Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries, and they both wrote about the rebuilding of Jerusalem, which occurred many years after its destruction by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. Ezra wrote about the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel, while Nehemiah wrote concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. From ancient times, the cities located in the Middle East were surrounded by stone walls with gates that were guarded for the protection of the citizens. The important men of each city would gather at the gate where they would conduct the business of the city, share important information, or just pass the time of day.

Nehemiah’s account begins in 445 B.C., and this date is important because the prophet Daniel, a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, wrote the “70 weeks of years” prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) based on a very specific date—March 15, 445 B.C. This date is crucial to the beginning of the prophecy; it kicks off the start of the timeframe, which ends with the second coming of Jesus Christ. This prophecy was written long before Jesus came the first time, but it continues through those years leading up to His being “cut off.” It gives details about the antichrist, how he will come onto the world scene, and how he will move against Israel in his final assault on God and His people.

Daniel’s prophecy is found in Daniel 9:25: "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.” Little did Nehemiah know that he was fulfilling the prophecy written by Daniel, but this faithful servant, who was also captive in Babylon at the time, begins his writings with intercessory prayer for his people, Israel, just as Daniel constantly prayed on their behalf, beseeching God to have mercy on them and return them to their homeland. Nehemiah listed specific dates, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in order that there might be a written record as to the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

Before he asked the king’s permission to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, Nehemiah prayed, and God granted his request. As he was leaving Babylon, he met some Arab men who mocked him for what he was about to do. Nehemiah 2:20 records his statement, which stands even today as a testament to who has the right to the city known as Jerusalem: “I answered them by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’"

Nehemiah continued in his quest to rebuild Jerusalem. God provided all the necessary workers, and the building began. However, they were not without enemies, those who desired to stop the rebuilding. But God intervened as He had done with Moses (Exodus 14:14). Nehemiah 4:20 records, "Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!" This was God’s pre-ordained plan to bring His people out of bondage and back into their land to worship in the temple once again.

We can learn from the life of Nehemiah valuable lessons in restoring and maintaining a relationship with God. As the people returned to the rebuilt city, the first order of business was to make certain that they understood the Law of Moses. So Ezra, a priest, spent many hours reading the Law before the assembly, making sure they understood what God desired. Nehemiah 8:18 records what should be part of every believer’s life, the daily reading of God’s Word: “Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.”

Nehemiah stands as a testament to faithfulness and perseverance. He lived far away from his home, yet he never gave up hope that someday he would return to it. He spent most of his life in exile in a pagan land, yet he never wavered in his faith and trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was a prayer warrior, putting everything before the Lord in prayer, interceding on behalf of his people, and he was rewarded for his diligence and perseverance. Nehemiah cared so much for his people that he never gave up the hope of their restoration, not only to their homeland, but to the God that first called their forefather, Abraham, out of the same area and made a covenant with him, one which Nehemiah believed would stand forever.
Question: "Who was the prophet Zechariah in the Bible?"

Answer: The prophet Zechariah is just one of over thirty men named Zechariah in the Old Testament. His name means “Yahweh has remembered,” which might also be a good summary of the prophetic work that bears his name. We know little about Zechariah personally except that he was a priest as well as a prophet and was a contemporary of Zerubbabel and the prophet Haggai.

Zechariah 1:1 introduces him as the son of Berekiah, the grandson of Iddo. However, Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 identify him as the son of Iddo. This is not a contradiction, as son can simply mean “descendant.” According to Nehemiah 12:4, Zechariah’s grandfather Iddo returned with Zerubbabel from exile in Babylon. Nehemiah 12:16 lists Zechariah as the head of the priestly family of Iddo. His ministry was among those who returned from the exile and their descendants as they resettled the land. Zechariah calls them to repentance and spiritual renewal in a time when they seemed to be despairing, spiritually apathetic, and tempted to continue some of the sins of their forefathers before the exile. The prophecies in the book of Zechariah cover about two years’ time, but it appears that Zechariah continued to have a ministry among the people until the temple was rebuilt, even though no prophecies were recorded from that time period (Ezra 5:1–2).

The Old Testament gives us no indication about how Zechariah might have died. However, in Matthew 23:34–36, Jesus mentions Zechariah in His condemnation of the Jewish leadership of His time: “I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.” This seems to be an obvious reference to the prophet Zechariah.

Some scholars assume that Jesus was referencing another Zechariah, who, 50 years prior to the prophet Zechariah, was also killed in the temple environs. This other Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, denounced the rulers for their sin, so “they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple” (2 Chronicles 24:21). Since this Zechariah is the last martyr mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (as the book we know as 2 Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew arrangement), many think that Jesus must be referring to this Zechariah (they explain Jesus’ mention of “the son of Berekiah” as a reference to a grandfather). But it is much more natural to assume that Jesus did indeed refer to Zechariah the prophet, since Jesus specifies that he is the “son of Berekiah.” The two martyrs Jesus mentions in Matthew 23, Abel and Zechariah, are the first and last martyrs, chronologically, in the Old Testament period.

Although the Old Testament does not tell us how Zechariah, son of Berekiah, died, nothing in the Old Testament record contradicts what Jesus says in Matthew 23. In fact, there is a Jewish tradition known in Jesus’ time that Zechariah, son of Berekiah, was indeed murdered in the temple. The fact that two prophets were killed in the same place is not surprising, and that they were both named Zechariah should not be surprising, either, given the commonness of the name. Would we find it surprising today if two pastors, separated by 50 years, were both named John and both died under similar circumstances?

Apparently, Zechariah the prophet continued to minister to the Jewish people, support their task of rebuilding the temple, and challenge their spiritual condition until the temple was completed. At some time after Zerubbabel’s temple was finished, Zechariah continued to ruffle feathers until some of his hearers could take it no longer and killed him in the very temple that he had urged the people to complete.
Question: "Who was Mordecai in the Bible?"

Answer: Mordecai is first introduced in Esther 2:5–7: “Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.”

These verses note the following facts about Mordecai: 1) he was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, 2) he lived in Susa, the capital of Persia, 3) he had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, and 4) he acted as a father to Esther. When Esther was selected as one of the virgins to possibly be the next queen of King Xerxes (or Ahasuerus), Mordecai advised her not to reveal her Jewish background (Esther 2:10). Esther was crowned queen (verse 17).

In Esther 2:21–23, Mordecai, who worked at the palace gate, hears of an assassination plot against the king. Mordecai reports the plot to Esther, and the queen passes the intelligence on to Xerxes. The would-be assassins are stopped, and Mordecai’s name is recorded in the king’s chronicles as the one who took action to preserve the king’s life.

Mordecai was hated by Haman, an Agagite who held a prominent office in the kingdom. Haman’s hatred was due to Mordecai’s refusal to bow in honor to him (Esther 3:5). As a Jew, Mordecai would only bow to the Lord God of Israel. Haman was not content with simply doing away with Mordecai, however: “Having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes” (verse 6). Haman spoke to the king and secured the king’s permission to annihilate the Jewish people on select date in the future. When Mordecai heard of the decree, he tore his clothing, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes (Esther 4:1).

Mordecai had been checking on Esther each day. When she discovered he was mourning, she inquired of the cause. Mordecai informed Esther of Haman’s plot against the Jews, telling her to go before the king and plead for the Jews’ lives (Esther 4:8). At this, Esther balked—she did not have freedom to enter the king’s presence without a summons; to approach the king uninvited was punishable by death (verses 9–10). Mordecai responded with logic: if she did not go before the king, she was dead anyway, for she herself was endangered by the king’s edict (verse 13). Mordecai ends his message to the queen with this famous statement: “Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (verse 14).

Esther agreed that she must break the Persian law that forbade access to the king, saying, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). She fasted for three days and then entered the king’s presence uninvited. Xerxes received her graciously, however, and Esther took the opportunity to invite the king and Haman to a banquet (Esther 5:1–4). At the meal, the king asked Esther if she had a request, and Esther asked for their presence at another banquet the next night.

Haman, who was ignorant of the queen’s ethnicity, was pleased to be honored with not one banquet but two. On the way home, he was “happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai” (verse 9). Once he arrived home, he issued an order to build a 75-foot-high gallows upon which to hang Mordecai (Esther 5:14).

That night after Esther’s first meal, King Xerxes couldn’t sleep. As a sleep-aid, he had his chronicles read to him. It just so happened that the account of Mordecai’s thwarting the assassination was read. The king then discovered that nothing had been done to repay Mordecai for his good deed. At that moment, Haman entered the palace in order to obtain the king’s permission to hang Mordecai—he never got the chance to ask, though, because the king ordered Haman to immediately take Mordecai through the streets of Susa to pay him homage (Esther 6:10–11). Haman was thus humbled before his enemy, and Mordecai received due honor.

After his humiliating experience of honoring Mordecai, Haman returned to the palace for Esther’s second banquet. During the meal, the king again asked Esther if she had a request. This time, she pleaded for the king to rescue her and her people from destruction (Esther 6:3–4), and she pointed out Haman as the one wanting to kill her (verse 6).

Haman was summarily put to death on the very gallows he had erected for Mordecai, and the Jews were given permission to defend themselves. The Jews successfully overcame Haman’s evil plot, and Mordecai was rewarded with a promotion. The final verse of Esther notes, “Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews” (Esther 10:3).

The story of Mordecai illustrates the truth of Psalm 75:7, “It is God who judges: / He brings one down, he exalts another,” and Psalm 147:6, “The LORD sustains the humble / but casts the wicked to the ground.” Mordecai’s faithfulness and integrity put him in good stead with the king of Persia, and his concern for his Jewish compatriots brought the blessing of God.
Question: "What can we learn from the life of Esther?"

Answer: Esther, the Jewish maiden, was taken from her familiar surroundings and the care of her beloved uncle, Mordecai, and placed in the palace to become one of the women who would be used to satisfy the sexual desires of the king. King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) was the son of the famed king, Darius I, who is mentioned in Ezra 4:24; 5:5-7; 6:1-15; Daniel 6:1, 25; Haggai 1:15; and 2:10. The year of the incident between Esther and King Ahasuerus was about 483 B.C. The empire of King Ahasuerus was enormous; in fact, it was the largest the world had ever seen. It covered the area now known as Turkey, as well as Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel; it also encompassed sections of modern-day Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Saudi Arabia.

As with most of the pagan Gentile kings of that day, King Ahasuerus enjoyed putting on public displays of his wealth and power, which included feasts that sometimes lasted for as much as 180 days. Evidently, during the feast that is mentioned in Esther 1:10-11, the king requested that his wife, Queen Vashti, come before the entire gathering of important men and officials to show them her great beauty wearing her crown. The speculation is that King Ahasuerus wanted Vashti to appear wearing only the crown. Queen Vashti refused to put her nude body on public display, and so the king—who was not used to being denied anything—became enraged, dethroned her as queen, and banished her from the kingdom. Afterwards, he made a decision to replace his wife with another woman. Josephus, the Jewish historian, records that King Ahasuerus had a total of 400 women selected to fill the harem, from which he would eventually choose his wife and queen.

The time came, after a full year of preparation, for each of the women to spend a night with the king. Until that time, they were kept in the harem, by Hegai, but afterwards, because they were no longer virgins, they were moved to the area set aside to house the concubines – or mistresses – where they were put under the watchful eye of another eunuch, named Shaashgaz. Eventually, Esther’s time came, and because of her humility and acceptance of her position as servant, she went into the king’s chamber. She was so extraordinarily beautiful, both inside and out, that the king was immediately smitten with her and made the decision to name her as the replacement for Queen Vashti, so he placed the crown upon her head.

Almost as soon as Esther was confirmed as queen, the king appointed an evil man over his affairs. His name was Haman, and he despised the Israelite people. Haman was a descendant of Agag, who was the king of the Amalekites, a people who were Israel’s sworn enemy for generations (Exodus 17:14-16), and bigotry and prejudice against Israel were deeply rooted within his darkened heart. Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, knew the heart of this wicked man and knew he hated the Israelite people. Haman manipulated and maneuvered until he was able to get into a position of authority from which he would be able to destroy them, so Mordecai enlisted Esther’s aid in correcting the situation.

Esther took her life in her hands and decided to intercede with the king on behalf of her beloved people, Israel, no matter the consequences to herself. Anyone approaching the king without being summoned was immediately put to death (Esther 4:11). She enlists Mordecai to gather the Israelites together and fast for three days, and by implication pray for her. Esther’s fast could have no other object but to obtain God’s favor and protection in the dangerous course on which she was about to enter: “When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Her bravery and faith in God are a testament to the trust this young woman had in the living God. She is a lesson in God’s sovereignty over His creation. He maneuvers every aspect of life to position people, governments, and situations for His plan and purpose. We may never know what God is doing, but a time might come when we realize why we have gone through certain experiences, or met certain people, or lived in certain areas, or shopped in certain stores, or taken certain trips. The time may come when everything comes together, and we look back and see that we, too, were put in that moment of time, just as Esther. She was put into a harem “for such a time as this.” She was given to a king “for such a time as this.” She was strengthened and prepared to intercede for her people “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). Esther is truly a reminder of God’s promise, as written in Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”