BIBLE CHARACTERS

Lesson #1

 

INTRODUCTION

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   It is an understatement to say:  “The Bible is filled with characters.”

1.    Herbert Lockyer says that there are some 3,000 men and 400 women in the Bible.

2.    This means the Bible is “rooted in personalities.”

3.    If we were to remove all of the characters from the Bible, there would be very little Bible left for us to study.

4.      Some books of the Bible revolve around characters.

a.       Genesis:  Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph.

b.      Esther:  Ahasuerus, Vashti, Haman, Mordecai, Esther.

c.       Ruth:  Naomi, Ruth, Boaz.

d.      Philemon:  Paul, Philemon, Onesimus

e.       III John:  Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius.

 

B.   The Bible opens with a character, and it closes with a character.

1.    Genesis 1:1

 

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

2.    Revelation 22:21

 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.   Amen.

 

C.   Over the next several weeks, we are going to be doing a study entitled, “Bible Characters.”

1.    Definition:  Choosing a Bible figure and studying all the passages related to his/her life and making application to our lives.

a.    All for some could be their name in a verse.

b.    All for others could involve several books of the Bible (i.e, Moses, Exodus through Deuteronomy).

2.    Each week, I will announce the character we will be studying the following week.  Too, I will hand out a study sheet to the class.  It will include the verses that are pertinent the study of the Bible character.  Too, it will contain a list of questions that we will be discussing regarding that character.

3.    Right now, I have a list of about six (6) characters that we will be studying.  The entire course will consist of twelve (12) characters and this introductory lesson.

 

I.             WHY CHARACTER STUDIES?

 

A.    Because nine individuals listed the study of Bible characters as number 1 on the list I gave out a few weeks ago.  Nine also wanted a study of 1 John.  So, I had to break the tie.

 

B.     Jesus encouraged this type of a study (See Luke 17:32).

 

Remember Lot’s wife.

 

C.   Because they are very interesting studies most of the time.

1.    All kinds of people are found in the Bible.

a.    Men and women

b.    Kings and paupers

c.    God and bad

d.    Jews and Gentiles

e.    Obedient and rebellious

f.     Educated and uneducated

g.    Well-known and unknown

h.    Heroes and enemies

2.    Sometimes two people seem to go together.

a.    Adam and ______________ Eve

b.    Cain and _____________ Abel

c.    David and ________________ Goliath

d.    David and ________________ Jonathan

e.    David and ________________ Bathsheba

f.     Elijah and ________________Elisha

g.    Mary and ________________ Martha

h.    Peter, James and ________________ John

i.     Aquila and ________________ Priscilla

j.     Paul and _________________Barnabas

k.    Paul and ________________Timothy

l.     Paul and _______________Silas

3.    Some are unnamed

a.    Pharaoh’s daughter

b.    Men of God, that is, prophets who delivered messages to kings and others

c.    A little maid who suggested that Naaman see the prophet

d.    The boy with five loaves and two fishes

e.    A woman with an issue of blood

f.     The Samaritan woman at the well

g.    The poor widow who cast in two mites into the treasury

h.    The rich man that died and went to Tartarus.

i.     The several centurions who came into contact with Jesus

j.     The thief on the cross that repented

k.    Ethiopian eunuch

 

D.   They are Biblical. 

1.    Almost all of the material that we will discuss about a Bible character comes from the Bible. 

2.    Occasionally, there are references to outside sources (Ex., the death of the apostles).

 

E.   At some point, we come face-to-face with self.

 

“Nowhere in all the world have we such an album of human life.  The Bible’s portrait gallery is superb.  What a mixture of characters it presents!  Here you will find kings and knaves, princes and paupers, the tenderhearted and the traitors, saints and sinners, the courageous and the cowardly.  Here we have men of like passions as ourselves.  No wonder the Bible speaks of itself as a mirror.  As we look at the lives of its men, pure and profane, we see ourselves” (All the Men of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer, p. 18).

 

F.    They do many things for us.

1.    Examples to follow (Rom. 4:12)

 

…but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham…

 

2.    Examples not to follow (1 Cor. 10:6)

 

Now these things were our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

 

3.    They rebuke us (i.e., the prophets, Heb. 11:32b-38).

4.    They surprise us (i.e, Peter who walks on the water, Matt. 14:28-29).

5.    They disappoint us (i.e., Peter who denied the Lord three times, Matt. 26:69-75).

6.    They excite us (i.e, David before Goliath, 1 Sam. 17).

7.    They encourage us (i.e., Esther who went in before the king, Est. 4:15-16).

 

II.           HOW TO DO CHARACTER STUIDES

 

A.   Gather all the data possible about the life of the individual which has been

chosen.

 

B.   Develop the material collected into a useable form:

1.    Look at the person’s background:  birth, family, education, job, death, etc.

2.    What is the meaning of the person’s name?

3.    Try to learn something about his personality.

4.    Look at the person’s life chronologically.

5.    Look at the major events in his life.

6.    Look at events that happen at certain places in his life.

7.    Who were the person’s friends and enemies?

8.    Look for the negatives and positives in the person’s life

9.    Look for the successes and failures in the person’s life.

10. Search for all his character traits (courage/fear, belief/unbelief, pride/humility, just/unjust).

11. Look at his relationship with God.

12. Look at his opportunities, how were they used?

 

III.         OUR FIRST CHARACTER STUDY: Cain (Handout)

 

A.   Bible references to Cain are at the top of the page.  Read those several times.

 

B.   Answer the questions and come to class prepared to discuss the answers.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   We live in a world that is dark, sinful, and difficult at times.

 

B.   It is good to see how others have lived, especially men and women of faith.

1.    They are like us in many, many ways.

2.    If they can be faithful and overcome the evil one so can we.

 

C.   In Hebrews 11, the inspired writer set forth numerous examples of faithful individuals before his readers.  Now listen to his words in Hebrews 12:1.

 

Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.