Great men in the Bible
abound throughout its pages. The Bible has stories of military heroes,
prophets, preachers and kings who have followed God and given us good examples
to follow. While there are many minor characters mentioned in the Bible who are
good role models, here is a list of seven men who were major influences in the
history of the Bible.
The Bible has stories of
military heroes, prophets, preachers and kings who have followed God and given
us good examples to follow.
Moses
In Moses’ life we remember
events showing a godly man and other stories that show a man who struggled with
failure in certain areas. Even though he sometimes failed, Moses was a man
consistently in tune with God’s plan. He loved the people of Israel who God
called him to lead.
As a child Moses grew up in
the Egyptian Pharaoh’s house even though he was born to a Jewish family. Moses
learned from the best Egyptian teachers and scholars. He probably did not learn
much about the God of Israel through his tutors, yet he grew up sensitive to
God’s leading.
Moses claimed to not be a
great speaker yet he was able to lead the Israelites for 40 years out of Egypt
and to the edge of the Promised Land. Moses disappointed God with some of his
actions but repented of his lack of trust and was used by God to accomplish His
purposes.
Joshua
When Moses led Israel out
of Egypt one of the young men who quickly rose to recognition was Joshua.
Joshua was chosen as one of the 12 spies to enter the land that God had
promised to Israel. Though the vast majority of the spies returned with a
discouraging report of the land God said He would give them, Joshua and Caleb
reported all the wonderful things God could provide in
Canaan.
The people of Israel
refused to enter the land God had given. Patiently Joshua trusted God. He
recognized the authority Moses and his position of leadership that God gave
him. Joshua never tried to usurp the authority of Moses. He waited until it was
his time to lead Israel into the Promised Land.
Joshua was an obedient
follower. He was also known as a strong leader of Israel as they conquered the
land that God had given.
David
Multiple times in the Bible
David is recognized as a man who followed God and was sensitive to the
leadership of God in his life. We first learn about who David would become when
God rejected Saul’s reign and said that He would give the kingdom to a neighbor
of Saul’s who was a better man (I Samuel 15). At the time God said this to Saul
through Samuel, David was only a boy of 8 to 12 years old. God knew that though
David was young, he would grow up to be a man in tune with God’s heart and plan
for Israel.
David wrote many of the
Psalms that we cherish. This was not because David never had problems. David
wrote many of those precious poems in the midst of trouble. Yet, David knew
that his strength came from God. We enjoy his writings today because he was a
man who knew how to lean on the Lord during times of adversity. What he wrote
in Psalms about trusting the Lord is applicable to us today.
Job
Satan was talking with God
one day when he said that no one completely obeyed God and worshiped Him. God
said that He knew a man who was just and upright in his life. This man was Job.
God gave Satan rule over
Job’s circumstances causing him to lose all of his wealth. Job still would not
speak evil against God. He even acknowledged that God was the one who was
testing him and he would continue to worship the Lord.
Job’s friends accused him
of sin and said he was being punished by God for his secret sins. Job
maintained his innocence. Even his wife told him he should curse God and die.
But Job patiently waited on God to reveal Himself and publicly justify Job to
the world.
Daniel
Though he grew up a slave
in Babylon, Daniel was eventually promoted to a position of authority under the
reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. It was through the influence of Daniel that the
kingdom was able to see some godliness brought to that godless time.
Later, King Darius
befriended Daniel. However, there were men who were jealous of Daniel’s
influence and position. They convinced the king to make a law that the people
could only worship the king and no other person or god. Daniel continued to
pray as he always had to the God of Israel. The punishment for disobedience of
the law not to worship was to be thrown into a pit of lions. These wicked men
had Daniel arrested.
Daniel accepted the
punishment that was given to him without complaint. King Darius fought the law
on Daniel’s behalf, but was powerless to change the consequences. While Daniel
slept peacefully in the den of lions, Darius was up all night worrying about
God’s man. The next morning the king was relieved to have Daniel brought out of
the pit and the men who plotted against Daniel were then fed to the lions. The
Bible says that their bodies never even reached the ground before the lions had
devoured them (Daniel 6).
Paul
Paul was a great man of the
New Testament. We first see this man when his name was Saul of Tarsus. Before
his salvation he was convinced that Jesus and Christianity were plots to
destroy the Hebrew God of the Old Testament. However Jesus revealed himself to
Saul and he accepted the Lord as his personal savior. Instead of persecuting
the church, Saul changed his name to Paul and he began to preach and establish
new churches throughout the known world.
Paul is most well-known for
his three missionary journeys spanning from the middle east as far west as
Italy. He established many churches, trained young pastors and wrote much of
the New Testament.
The Apostle Paul is truly
one of the great men of the Bible.
Barnabas
Though not as well-known as
Paul, Barnabas played a large role in the establishment of new churches in the
Greek and Hebrew world of his day. Barnabas was the man who took Paul under his
wings when no one else wanted to trust Paul. This was because Paul was most
known as the great persecutor of the Christian church when Barnabas met him.
Barnabas trained Paul in
the ministry and accompanied him on his early missionary travels. Later the two
men split up and formed two new teams of church planters. Paul took Silas with
him and Barnabas took John Mark.
After Paul and Barnabas
separated, the Bible does not say much more about Barnabas. However, Paul
acknowledged later in his life that Barnabas had done a good job in training
John Mark for the ministry.
