A BUNCH OF REAL CHARACTERS

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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 Bill McDonald, PhD