Unlike some books which purport to be models of spirituality, the Book of all books, the Holy Bible, and He who inspired the Judeo-Christian text had and continues to have little or no interest in “false pretenses” or “putting up a front.”
For you see, the 66 books of holy scripture tell it like it
is, and, as a result, the characters described therein are all too human, and
their flaws are neither hidden, nor their attributes embellished.
Following are a few very good examples:
Adam was a lawbreaker
Noah was an alcoholic
Joseph was a slave, a suspected
rapist, and inmate
Moses was a murderer
Rahab was a Gentile and a
prostitute
Ruth was a Gentile and a migrant
David was an adulterer
Amnon had an incestuous
relationship with his sister
Solomon was a polygamist
Thomas was a doubter
Peter was a double-minded man and
denied the Holy One
Paul was a persecutor
I am so glad the Word of God described the foregoing characters with all their flaws, and all their deficits, and never attempted to cover up, nor embellish the traits which they exhibited. (And, interestingly enough, a large number of the characters I have described were direct ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ).
Pt. 2
But I think what is most striking, and most relevant about the descriptions of these men and women are the remarkable changes which are revealed to us, as each of their narratives are recounted. And in so doing, God, in essence, says, “Stay tuned. That ain’t all, folks!”
Noah built an ark which
culminated in the salvation of eight souls; men and women who became the
ancestors of every man, woman and child who inhabit the planet Earth.
Joseph was appointed to be the
prime minister of Egypt, and managed to save the lives of not only his family,
but the entire population of that nation.
Moses spoke and the ocean parted,
and several million people walked across the dry sea bed, and, ultimately,
inhabited the promised land we now refer to as “Israel.”
Rahab saved the lives of the two
spies who had been sent to scout out the land of Canaan, and was, like Ruth, an
ancient Grandmother of our Lord Jesus Christ.
David killed Goliath, the pride
of the Philistines, and became the most loved, and best remembered king of
Israel. He wrote much of the Book of Psalms, and was a direct ancestor of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Solomon became king of Israel
after his father David, is credited with writing three of the books of the Old
Testament, was known as the wisest man who ever lived, and was afforded the
impressive task of building the first Temple.
Thomas, one of the original
Twelve, was credited with evangelizing the nation of India, and he, ultimately,
laid down his life for the Gospel there.
Peter, one of the original
Twelve, was the Apostle to the Jewish nation, and he wrote two of the books of
the New Testament. Tradition tells us that he died a martyr’s death in Rome,
requesting that he be hung upside down on a cross; since he felt unworthy to
die the exact same death as his Lord.
Paul was the Apostle to the
Gentiles, suffered greatly on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ, wrote half of
the books of the New Testament, and after a lengthy imprisonment was beheaded
in Rome.
I think if the end was so much
better than the beginning for such a menagerie of lawbreakers, alcoholics,
prisoners, murderers, prostitutes, adulterers, and persecutors, (only a few
which I have mentioned here) well,…
there’s definitely hope for you and me.
by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending
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