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Biblical Insights: Ten Bible Stories That Affirm
Workers
Contents
Introduction to Biblical
Insights
Three Bible Study Ideas
10 Passages to Comfort
Workers
10 Bible Studies that
Affirm Workers
Characters in the Bible
Passages to Play With
What's the Bible Have to
Say About...?
Five Hard Questions
Other Bible Links
| |
Genesis 30:25-34 |
| 25 |
When
Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send
me away, that I may go to my own home and country. |
| 26 |
Give me my
wives and my children for whom I have served you, and
let me go; for you know the service which I have given
you." |
| 27 |
But Laban
said to him, "If you will allow me to say so, I
have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me
because of you; |
| 28 |
name your
wages, and I will give it." |
| 29 |
Jacob said
to him, "You yourself know how I have served you,
and how your cattle have fared with me. |
| 30 |
For you
had little before I came, and it has increased
abundantly; and the LORD has blessed you wherever I
turned. But now when shall I provide for my own
household also?" |
| 31 |
He said,
"What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You
shall not give me anything; if you will do this for me,
I will again feed your flock and keep it: |
| 32 |
let me
pass through all your flock today, removing from it
every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb,
and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such
shall be my wages. |
| 33 |
So my
honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look
into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled
and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs,
if found with me, shall be counted stolen." |
| 34 |
Laban
said, "Good! Let it be as you have said." |
| |
Judges 4-5 |
| 1 |
And the
people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of
the LORD, after Ehud died. |
| 2 |
And the
LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan,
who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was
Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-ha-goiim. |
| 3 |
Then the
people of Israel cried to the LORD for help; for he had
nine hundred chariots of iron, and oppressed the people
of Israel cruelly for twenty years. |
| 4 |
Now
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapp'doth, was
judging Israel at that time. |
| 5 |
She used
to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and
Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the people of
Israel came up to her for judgment. |
| 6 |
She sent
and summoned Barak the son of Abino-am from Kedesh in
Naphtali, and said to him, "The LORD, the God of
Israel, commands you, 'Go, gather your men at Mount
Tabor, taking ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali
and the tribe of Zebulun. |
| 7 |
And I will
draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet
you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his
troops; and I will give him into your hand.'" |
| 8 |
Barak said
to her, "If you will go with me, I will go; but if
you will not go with me, I will not go." |
| 9 |
And she
said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the
road on which you are going will not lead to your glory,
for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a
woman." Then Deborah arose, and went with Barak to
Kedesh. |
| 10 |
And Barak
summoned Zeb'ulun and Naph'tali to Kedesh; and ten
thousand men went up at his heels; and Deb'orah went up
with him. |
| 11 |
Now Heber
the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the
descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had
pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Za-anan'nim,
which is near Kedesh. |
| 12 |
When
Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abino-am had gone
up to Mount Tabor, |
| 13 |
Sisera
called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of
iron, and all the men who were with him, from
Harosheth-ha-goiim to the river Kishon. |
| 14 |
And
Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in
which the LORD has given Sis'era into your hand. Does
not the LORD go out before you?" So Barak went down
from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. |
| 15 |
And the
LORD routed Sis'era and all his chariots and all his
army before Barak at the edge of the sword; and Sisera
alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. |
| 16 |
And Barak
pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim,
and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the
sword; not a man was left. |
| 17 |
But Sisera
fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber
the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king
of Hazor and the house of Heber the Ken'ite. |
| 18 |
And Ja'el
came out to meet Sis'era, and said to him, "Turn
aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear." So
he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered
him with a rug. |
| 19 |
And he
said to her, "Pray, give me a little water to
drink; for I am thirsty." So she opened a skin of
milk and gave him a drink and covered him. |
| 20 |
And he
said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if
any man comes and asks you, 'Is any one here?' say,
No." |
| 21 |
But Jael
the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in
her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into
his temple, till it went down into the ground, as he was
lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. |
| 22 |
And
behold, as Barak pursued Sis'era, Ja'el went out to meet
him, and said to him, "Come, and I will show you
the man whom you are seeking." So he went in to her
tent; and there lay Sis'era dead, with the tent peg in
his temple. |
| 23 |
So on that
day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the
people of Israel. |
| 24 |
And the
hand of the people of Israel bore harder and harder on
Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin
king of Canaan. |
| |
|
| |
Judges 5 |
| 1 |
Then sang
Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: |
| 2 |
"That
the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people
offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD! |
| 3 |
"Hear,
O kings; give ear, O princes; to the LORD I will sing, I
will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. |
| 4 |
"LORD,
when thou didst go forth from Seir, when thou didst
march from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, and
the heavens dropped, yea, the clouds dropped water. |
| 5 |
The
mountains quaked before the LORD, yon Sinai before the
LORD, the God of Israel. |
| 6 |
"In
the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael,
caravans ceased and travelers kept to the byways. |
| 7 |
The
peasantry ceased in Israel, they ceased until you arose,
Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. |
| 8 |
When new
gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield
or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? |
| 9 |
My heart
goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered
themselves willingly among the people. Bless the LORD. |
| 10 |
"Tell
of it, you who ride on tawny asses, you who sit on rich
carpets and you who walk by the way. |
| 11 |
To the
sound of musicians at the watering places, there they
repeat the triumphs of the LORD, the triumphs of his
peasantry in Israel. "Then down to the gates
marched the people of the LORD. |
| 12 |
"Awake,
awake, De'orah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak,
lead away your captives, O son of Abin'oam. |
| 13 |
Then down
marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the LORD
marched down for him against the mighty. |
| 14 |
From
Ephraim they set out thither into the valley, following
you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched
down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the
marshal's staff; |
| 15 |
the
princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar
faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed forth at
his heels. Among the clans of Reuben there were great
searchings of heart. |
| 16 |
Why did
you tarry among the sheepfolds, to hear the piping for
the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great
searchings of heart. |
| 17 |
Gilead
stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he abide with
the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
settling down by his landings. |
| 18 |
Zebulun is
a people that jeoparded their lives to the death;
Naphtali too, on the heights of the field. |
| 19 |
"The
kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of
Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got
no spoils of silver. |
| 20 |
From
heaven fought the stars, from their courses they fought
against Sisera. |
| 21 |
The
torrent Kishon swept them away, the onrushing torrent,
the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! |
| 22 |
"Then
loud beat the horses' hoofs with the galloping,
galloping of his steeds. |
| 23 |
"Curse
Meroz, says the angel of the LORD, curse bitterly its
inhabitants, because they came not to the help of the
LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. |
| 24 |
"Most
blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed. |
| 25 |
He asked
water and she gave him milk, she brought him curds in a
lordly bowl. |
| 26 |
She put
her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the
workmen's mallet; she struck Sisera a blow, she crushed
his head, she shattered and pierced his temple. |
| 27 |
He sank,
he fell, he lay still at her feet; at her feet he sank,
he fell; where he sank, there he fell dead. |
| 28 |
"Out
of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera gazed
through the lattice: 'Why is his chariot so long in
coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?' |
| 29 |
Her wisest
ladies make answer, nay, she gives answer to herself, |
| 30 |
'Are they
not finding and dividing the spoil? --A maiden or two
for every man; spoil of dyed stuffs for Sisera, spoil of
dyed stuffs embroidered, two pieces of dyed work
embroidered for my neck as spoil?' |
| 31 |
"So
perish all thine enemies, O LORD! But thy friends be
like the sun as he rises in his might." And the
land had rest for forty years. |
|
The Book of Job
The
Book of Job is about a man who faces adversity with
faith and hope in God. Still, it wasn't easy for
him. It isn't easy for Christians today,
either. Perhaps Chapter 12 helps put Job into
perspective. Maybe it can help with your life,
too. |
| 1 |
Then Job
answered: |
| 2 |
"No
doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. |
| 3 |
But I have
understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these? |
| 4 |
I am a
laughingstock to my friends; I, who called upon God and
he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a
laughingstock. |
| 5 |
In the
thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for
misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. |
| 6 |
The tents
of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are
secure, who bring their god in their hand. |
| 7 |
"But
ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of
the air, and they will tell you; |
| 8 |
or the
plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the
fish of the sea will declare to you. |
| 9 |
Who among
all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has
done this? |
| 10 |
In his
hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of
all mankind. |
| 11 |
Does not
the ear try words as the palate tastes food? |
| 12 |
Wisdom is
with the aged, and understanding in length of days. |
| 13 |
"With
God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and
understanding. |
| 14 |
If he
tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none
can open. |
| 15 |
If he
withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out,
they overwhelm the land. |
| 16 |
With him
are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver
are his. |
| 17 |
He leads
counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. |
| 18 |
He looses
the bonds of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their
loins. |
| 19 |
He leads
priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty. |
| 20 |
He
deprives of speech those who are trusted, and takes away
the discernment of the elders. |
| 21 |
He pours
contempt on princes, and looses the belt of the strong. |
| 22 |
He
uncovers the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep
darkness to light. |
| 23 |
He makes
nations great, and he destroys them: he enlarges
nations, and leads them away. |
| 24 |
He takes
away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the
earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste. |
| 25 |
They grope
in the dark without light; and he makes them stagger
like a drunken man. |
|
The Book of
Amos
Amos knows how to lay it on the line. For his
time and for now. Hard to not find ourselves, our times
in his writing. Read these verses from chapter 5, and
check out the rest of the book for more hopeful words
for your daily living! |
| 10 |
They hate
him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who
speaks the truth. |
| 11 |
Therefore
because you trample upon the poor and take from him
exactions of wheat, you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted
pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. |
| 12 |
For I know
how many are your transgressions, and how great are your
sins--you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
and turn aside the needy in the gate. |
| 13 |
Therefore
he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time; for
it is an evil time. |
| 14 |
Seek good,
and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the
God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. |
| 15 |
Hate evil,
and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may
be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to
the remnant of Joseph. |
| |
Matthew 13:24-30 |
| 24 |
Another
parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in
his field; |
| 25 |
but while
men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among
the wheat, and went away. |
| 26 |
So when
the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds
appeared also. |
| 27 |
And the
servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir,
did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it
weeds?' |
| 28 |
He said to
them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to
him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' |
| 29 |
But he
said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the
wheat along with them. |
| 30 |
Let both
grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I
will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind
them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into
my barn.'" |
| |
Matthew 20:1-16 |
| 1 |
"For
the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out
early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. |
| 2 |
After
agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent
them into his vineyard. |
| 3 |
And going
out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in
the market place; |
| 4 |
and to
them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and
whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. |
| 5 |
Going out
again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did
the same. |
| 6 |
And about
the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing;
and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all
day?' |
| 7 |
They said
to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them,
'You go into the vineyard too.' |
| 8 |
And when
evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his
steward, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages,
beginning with the last, up to the first.' |
| 9 |
And when
those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them
received a denarius. |
| 10 |
Now when
the first came, they thought they would receive more;
but each of them also received a denarius. |
| 11 |
And on
receiving it they grumbled at the householder, |
| 12 |
saying,
'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them
equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the
scorching heat.' |
| 13 |
But he
replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no
wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? |
| 14 |
Take what
belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as
I give to you. |
| 15 |
Am I not
allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or
do you begrudge my generosity?' |
| 16 |
So the
last will be first, and the first last." |
| |
Matthew 24:45-51 |
| 45 |
Who then
is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put
in charge of his household, to give the other slaves
their allowance of food at the proper time? |
| 46 |
Blessed is
that slave whom his master will find at work when he
arrives. |
| 47 |
Truly I
tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his
possessions. |
| 48 |
But if
that wicked slave says to himself, "My master is
delayed," |
| 49 |
and he
begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks
with drunkards, |
| 50 |
the master
of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect
him at an hour that he does not know. |
| 51 |
He will
cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. |
| |
Luke 8:1-3 |
| 1 |
Soon
afterward he went on through cities and villages,
preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of
God. And the twelve were with him, |
| 2 |
and also
some women who had been healed of evil spirits and
infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven
demons had gone out, |
| 3 |
and
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna,
and many others, who provided for them out of their
means. |
| |
Luke 16:1-13 |
| 1 |
He also
said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who
had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this
man was wasting his goods. |
| 2 |
And he
called him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear
about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for
you can no longer be steward.' |
| 3 |
And the
steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my
master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not
strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. |
| 4 |
I have
decided what to do, so that people may receive me into
their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.' |
| 5 |
So,
summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to
the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' |
| 6 |
He said,
'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take
your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' |
| 7 |
Then he
said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A
hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your
bill, and write eighty.' |
| 8 |
The master
commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for
the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with
their own generation than the sons of light. |
| 9 |
And I tell
you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous
mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into
the eternal habitations. |
| 10 |
"He
who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in
much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is
dishonest also in much. |
| 11 |
If then
you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon,
who will entrust to you the true riches? |
| 12 |
And if you
have not been faithful in that which is another's, who
will give you that which is your own? |
| 13 |
No servant
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon." |
| |
John 21:1-14 |
| 1 |
After this
Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea
of Tiberi-as; and he revealed himself in this way. |
| 2 |
Simon
Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'a-el of Cana in
Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his
disciples were together. |
| 3 |
Simon
Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They
said to him, "We will go with you." They went
out and got into the boat; but that night they caught
nothing. |
| 4 |
Just as
day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the
disciples did not know that it was Jesus. |
| 5 |
Jesus said
to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They
answered him, "No." |
| 6 |
He said to
them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat,
and you will find some." So they cast it, and now
they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of
fish. |
| 7 |
That
disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the
Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and
sprang into the sea. |
| 8 |
But the
other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full
of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about
a hundred yards off. |
| 9 |
When they
got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with
fish lying on it, and bread. |
| 10 |
Jesus said
to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just
caught." |
| 11 |
So Simon
Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of
large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and
although there were so many, the net was not torn. |
| 12 |
Jesus said
to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none
of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?"
They knew it was the Lord. |
| 13 |
Jesus came
and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the
fish. |
|
This was
now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the
disciples after he was raised from the dead. |
|
|
