Biblical Insights: Characters in the Bible

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

If you want to know how God works, watch God work on people's lives outside of their involvement with "the church!" That's the presumption of this section. Consider the real-life circumstances of some of these people, and then you might be able to see how God could work in your life as well!

Abraham
Successful animal merchant in the great civilizations of Ur, turned nomad to escape idolatry (?). In the end he avoids neither God nor his business.

Joseph
A leader of people in a country in which he was a foreigner. His daily work, perhaps not always ethical or just, saved an entire civilization — Egypt — from famine and starvation.

Jeremiah
A young man whose prophetic call was not dependent on his station or status, but whose contentious ministry extended for decades.

Nehemiah
A lesser governmental official, a man of faith in Yaweh, whose work results in the rebuilding of a war-torn city and the spirit of its people.

Ruth
Ruth portrays a ministry of presence, of family and love in difficult times.

Hannah
This woman lives a life of service in the face of abuse and adversity. Her song shows a deep sense of justice that lived inside this wife and mother.

Amos
An "ordinary" vinedresser becomes a prophet and announces God's word of judgment from the viewpoint of other "ordinary" people in his day.

David
Here is an example of a man on a mission, but tragically flawed in his capabilities to realize his life goals. Whether a victim of his own impulses or of tragic circumstance, David is the emblem of fallen hero and wounded healer.

Paul
Too often seen as quasi-clergy, Paul is a university- and rabbinically- trained tentmaker-turned-evangelist. His use of first century secular images mark him as a full-time "lay-person" for his day.

Priscilla and Aquilla
Important leaders in the New Testament church, but also "ordinary workers" in the tent-making business. (Add in Lydia, the cloth merchant, and you have an interesting threesome!)

Matthew
A man of (illegal and immoral) commerce and government follows Jesus, providing Jesus with valuable connections to the world of "publicans and sinners."

Peter
An "ordinary" fisherman -- perhaps even just a little bit below "ordinary" -- reveals his weaknesses and incapability over and over again. Yet, with the power of the Holy Spirit he is changed into a powerful figure in the life of the early church.