P) Prominent Men of the Bible

No 1

(Apollos)

This is the first of several studies on the men of the Bible. Just as with the women’s studies, they are not in any specific order. The first man we will look at is Apollos, a very efficient worker for Jesus Christ in the early church. His name means “the eloquent one” and he had a excellent grasp of the Old Testament Scriptures. He was an Egyptian Jew born in Alexandria and he first appears in the book of Acts in chapter 18 verses 24 to 28. What really appeals to me about this bold speaker of the Gospel is that he was teachable. In Acts 18 : 26, we read “Aquilla and Priscilla took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly”. Now, here is what I call a humble servant wanting to be more efficient for the work of God. Apollos had a very successful ministry with the Corinthians; so much so that they had placed him almost on the same level as Jesus Christ. Here is the danger when we remove our eyes off of Jesus; we begin to idolize others and that is sinful. Paul had to reprimand the Corinthians about this in 1 Cor 1 : 12 and in 3 : 4 and set the record straight. Apollos had certainly not wanted this to happen which is why he may not have returned to Corinth right away (1 Cor 16 : 12). The Bible gives us many good people who, in the course of their normal lives, we can use as models for our Christian lives today. What fascinates me the most about the Bible is that when it was written, these people had no idea that we, 2000 years later, would use them as examples to follow. Isn’t God great?

No 2

(Gideon)

Once upon a time there was a little man who was threshing grain behind a structure to avoid being seen. He was approached by someone who asked him to lead his people against a formidable enemy. The messenger, as it turns out, was the Lord who wanted Gideon to deliver His people out of the hands of the Midianites. Gideon, in all humility said to the Lord: “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house.” (Judges 6 : 15). I like Gideon because he is someone with whom I can relate. Further on in the chapter, he makes a request to the Lord, just to make sure. His request was that he place a fleece on the ground and that, in the morning, dew would be only on the fleece and that the ground would be dry. The Lord did what Gideon asked. Gideon, still not satisfied, asked the Lord that he place another fleece on the ground and that, in the morning, the fleece would be dry and the ground wet. The Lord, in His infinite patience, acquiesced to Gideon’s demand. Aren’t we all a little like Gideon? We know what God wants for our lives but we want confirmation, just to make sure. But, in the case of Gideon, he trusted the Lord and the Israelites were delivered by a group of very unlikely warriors using very unlikely instruments of war – torches, trumpets and pitchers. God always honours unalterable faith in His children. “If ye have faith as a mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matt 17 : 20)

No 3

(Caleb)

There was a man who was given a mission to spy and seek out information concerning a portion of land that had been promised to his people. He set off with eleven others into this strange new land and had no idea what was facing him and his colleagues. As it turns out, they saw giants, high walls and a land flowing with milk and honey; they even brought back samples of the fruit that was growing wild in that land. Upon their return, ten of the spies actually convinced the people that the land was impenetrable and said that they were as “grasshoppers” compared to the inhabitants of the land. They basically said to forget the whole idea of going into this land. One of the spies tried to calm the people down and said to Moses “let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it” (Num 13:30). I speak of course of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh of the tribe of Judah. Caleb was courageous in battle (Jos 15:14) because he was consecrated to God “Save Caleb the son Jephunneh, he shall see it and to him I will give the land that he hath trodden upon and to his children because he hath wholly followed the Lord” (Deut 1:36). Caleb’s partner in arms was none other than Joshua, the conquering general who replaced Moses in bringing the Israelites into the land that was promised to them by God, the land of Canaan. By the way, the 10 cowardly spies all died before entering the Promised Land.

No 4

(Melchizedek)

“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God”(Gen 14:18). He is another one of my favourite biblical characters. His appearance in Scripture is very short but has implications into eternity; his name means “king of righteousness”. In the above verse, he comes to meet Abraham who had just fought a battle with some kings and had rescued his nephew, Lot. This is the only time that Melchizedek plays an active role in Scripture. The amazing thing about Melchizedek is that he is just like us; a king and a priest. Nowhere else in Scripture is this combination allowed. Someone could be king and prophet (David) or priest and prophet (Ezekiel) but never priest and king; two kings tried and they were both severely punished – King Saul (1 Sam 13: 9-14) and King Uzziah (2 Chron 26: 16-21). But let’s get back to how Melchizedek resembles us as Christians. There are 2 verses in the New Testament that affirm our kingship and priesthood – 1 Peter 2: 9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” and Revelation 1:6 “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen”. Jesus is compared to Melchizedek in Hebrews 6:20 – “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek”. He has no father, no mother, no descendants, no beginning, no end (Heb 7:2); I am anxious to meet him! He is also mentioned in the Psalm 110:4 – “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek”. David, here, is giving a description of how the Messiah will reign over Israel forever; just like Melchizedek, He is eternal.

No 5

(Jabez)

There is a man in the Bible who was a honourable man and was the head of a family of the tribe of Judah. He appears on the scene in the first book of Chronicles once very briefly and then is never heard from after that. Never, that is, until quite recently when someone (Bruce Wilkinson) wrote a book on this man’s prayer and someone else (Jabez Posters Inc) made several inspirational posters about his prayer. Many evangelism crusades have even used his prayer as a theme to inspire the workers. The prayer is found in 1 Chronicles 4 : 10 “ And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” If you haven’t already guessed, the man’s name is Jabez, meaning “bare with sorrow”. What is so special about this man’s prayer? I’m sure we have all prayed a similar prayer in our lives; why is this one so renowned? The Bible gives us some indication as to why the Lord answered his prayer. Just before the above text the Bible says that “ And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren” (vs 9b). Having said all this and giving all due respect to Jabez, I must also say the following. Some people have made “A Jabez prayer Movement” and have gone overboard as to the “specialness” of this prayer. Another man, Steve Hopkins has also written a book called “The Cult of Jabez and the Falling Away of the Church in America”. The Lord warned us that :“ Take heed that no man lead you astray” (Mark 13 :5). When Jesus’ disciples asked Him how to pray, He said : “ Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Jesus did not say to His Disciples to pray the prayer of Jabez. We must be careful not to venerate a man or his achievements to the detriment of sound Biblical teaching because Jabez was not special neither was his prayer, it was the God who answered his prayer who was so special.

No 6

(Phinehas)

There once lived a man who was zealous for God’s laws and proved it by doing an act of

purification among his people. He found out that one of God’s children had committed a

sin by bringing a Midianitish woman into his tent. He then took a javelin, proceeded to

this sinner’s tent and thrust the javelin through both the Jewish man and the Midianitish

woman; 24,000 Jews died during this period that the book of Numbers calls “a plague of

whoredom with the daughters of Moab”. At first glance, one could say that the penalty was harsh,

but God saw it differently and praised the man who did the purification: Phinehas. The

Bible says in Numbers 25:11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned

my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed

not the children of Israel in my jealousy.” The Psalmist also praised this man in Psalm 106 : 30

“Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto

him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.” Ought we be as zealous as Phineas? Should

we judge people on what they do? Is it our duty to punish someone for disobeying God’s

Word? I believe that if a true Christian delibertely persists in sin, yes we should punish him;

maybe not as harshly as Phinehas, but at least apply the disciplinary measures as outlined in

Matthew 18: 14-18 that say in the end “…let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a Publican.”

Much harm can come to the Body of Christ if sin is tolerated – may we be as Phinehas.

No 7

(Joseph of Arimathea)

Not much is known of this man other than he was rich and he came from Arimathea; oh

yes and more importantly, he was also a follower of Christ. After the death of Jesus, the

Bible says that “57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea,

named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged

the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph

had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth”, Matt 27:57-59. The town of

Arimathea is approximately 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem and its name means “A city

for the Jews”. Joseph was a prominent council member of the Sanhedrin according to

Mark 15:43 and was a good and just man according to Luke 23:50, 51; he and

Nicodemus (John 3) took Jesus’ body and placed it in Joseph’s new tomb. Joseph had

come to realize that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God and redeemer of the world; he

felt obliged to give Jesus a proper burial, according to Jewish tradition. In performing

this act of reverence and respect, he fulfilled a prophecy that was spoken several hundred

years before these events; I am referring to Isaiah 53:9 “And he made his grave with the

wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any

deceit in his mouth.” Joseph was just one part of God’s plan of redemption for all of

humanity and is a good example of someone who was of the religious elite who

undoubtedly sought God with all his heart and God revealed himself to him. The Bible

states that only a handful of these Jewish leaders became believers; how hard it is for

someone who is prominent and rich to come to the Lord for salvation. Even today, very

few of the supposed religious leaders are true believers; their pride gets in the way and

they don’t feel the need to be redeemed. What a mistake it is to refuse God’s

forgiveness.

No 8

(Nicodemus)

A prominent Jew in the time of Christ, he is mentioned only in the gospel of John. The

name is of Greek origin but according to Josephus, the Jews occasionally borrowed names

from the Greek; the name means: “the people are victor”. A Hebrew form of the name can also

be found in the Jewish Talmud. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and in his position of sanhedrist (John 7), was a leader of the Jews. Christ, in Nicodemus’ nocturnal visit, called him a master in Israel (John 3:10). He appears in this interview as a learned and intelligent believer but timid and not easily initiated into a new faith. Being born again was so foreign to Nicodemus’ thinking that he actually thought that a person had to go back into the mother’s womb. Whether or not this was like a metaphor to Nicodemus we do not know but Jesus had to use strong words to help him understand true spiritual rebirth. He next appears as a member of the Sanhedrin in John 7:50, 51 and offers a word of defence for the accused Galilean “Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” In his last appearance in the Bible, he is found helping Joseph of Arimathea with the embalming of the body of Jesus in John 19:39. He may not have played a very important role in the Bible but he was present when Jesus said the most famous and widely quoted verse in the Bible – John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

No 9

(Simon)

“And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus..” Luke 23:26

Simon’s carrying the cross is often used as a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; the Church is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Jesus did not suffer so as to exclude our suffering; He bore a cross, not that we may escape it, but that we may endure it. Christ exempts us from sin, but not from sorrow; we ought to remember that and expect to suffer.

But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in Simon’s, it is not our cross, but Christ’s cross which we carry. When we are laughed at by our friends or family when our beliefs bring cruel mocking upon us, may we remember it is not our cross, it is Christ’s cross. How delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus; the mark of his blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy burden. “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark 8:34b.

May we take up our cross daily and follow him not forgetting that we bear this cross in partnership. Some commentators have said that Simon only carried one end of the cross and not the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part and Simon may have carried the lighter end. Certainly it is so with us; we do carry the light end of the cross and Christ bore the heavier end.

Though Simon had to bear the cross only for a little while, it gave him lasting honour. The same applies to the cross we carry; it is only for a little while at most and then we shall receive a crown. We should love the cross and instead of backing away from it, we should count it very dear when it works out for us “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

No 10

(Job)

“Have you considered my servant, Job?” When the Lord spoke these boastful words of Job to the devil, He knew about Job and what he was capable of enduring. e knewh I think everyone has heard of Job…the patience of Job, the integrity of Job, the righteousness of Job; all these expletives are his so when the Lord put him to the test, He knew that he was able to withstand all the “fiery darts of the devil.” His friends….if we can call them his friends were not helpful to Job; mind you, they sat with him 7 days without saying a word “for they saw that his grief was very great” (Job 2:13). His wife wasn’t any better; she told him to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). No, humanly speaking, Job was completely alone in all his trials. Apart from losing all his children and all his herds, he had many painful diseases in his body to cope with; here are some: boils from head to toe – 2:7; insomnia – 7:4; worm infested flesh – 7:5; hallucinations – 7:14; decaying skin – 13:28; raging fever – 30:30; there are many others So how was he able to withstand all these horrible tests of his faith? I believe there are two things of which Job was certain – he was certain of his God and he was certain of his own heart. “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25,26). “My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.” (Job 27:6). God blesses those who are righteous and who trust in Him for all things, good or bad.

No 11

(Enoch)

We see the name of Enoch for the first time in Genesis 4:17 where he is shown as the son of Cain. But this Enoch is not the only one in Scripture; there is another one. In Genesis 5:18, Jared also had a son named Enoch; this is the one we will be concentrating on in our study. The Bible talks about many things regarding this Enoch. In the Old Testament, we read “he walked with God” (Gen 5:22); and after 364 years of his life, “God took him” (Gen 5:24); he did not see death. Some scholars say that he will be one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11 who will prophesy during the Great Tribulation; the other witness will be Elijah because neither of these two men experienced death.

In the New Testament, we see Enoch given prominent place:

First, as a descendant of Jesus Christ through the posterity of Mary in Luke 3:37 “Which was the son of Methuselah, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared”.

Next, we see his name in Hebrews 11:5 “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Enoch was a man of faith and this earned him a place alongside all the other great men of faith in Scripture.

Lastly, his name shows up in the book of Jude vs 14,15 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” To avoid any confusion about which Enoch Jude speaks about, we see the words “…the seventh from Adam.” This is precisely where Enoch is situated. In Jude 14 & 15, we also read the words “…prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints…..” Where did Jude get this prophesy from? It’s not in the Bible. It comes from the book of Enoch which is a non-canonical, non-inspired book that contains 105 chapters. In chapter 1 verse 9, these very words are there. This book is not in the Bible; it’s not even in the Apocryphal books of the Roman Catholic Bible but because part of it was used by Jude in Scripture, it has been historically authenticated but is not divinely inspired; however Enoch was a man of God.

No 11

(Noah)

Everyone knows who Noah was. If you ask someone – “Who was Noah?” They will say, without hesitating, “he’s the one who built an ark”. The Patriarch, Noah is one the most familiar persons in the Bible; his name means “rest”. He was not only an ark-builder; he was many other things also. First and most importantly, he was a man who “…found grace in the eyes of the LORD” Genesis 6:8. Noah and his family were the only group of persons who feared the Lord during that period of time. His was also a “preacher of righteousness” 2 Peter 2:5. As the Bible tells us, the world was totally ungodly and sinful; God undoubtedly used Noah to preach righteousness to the masses of people but, as we know, they did not heed his preaching; not even one. Noah was also a man of faith – we read in Hebrews 11 “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (v7). Because of his faith, God made an everlasting covenant with him (Genesis 9: 1 to 19).

In a more practical sense, Noah also had to be a husband (to his wife); a father (to his children); a carpenter (to build the ark); a farmer (to tend to the animals); a husbandman (to plant a vineyard); a priest (to sacrifice animals) and, as we have seen in other studies, he was also a prophet (Prof Zebulon Vol 1 No 61).

Finally and lest we forget, we are all descendants of Noah!!

No 13

(Abraham)

This man is the most familiar person in the Old Testament. When we hear his name mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is that he was a man of faith. “…Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23. Imagine being called the “friend of God”? What an honour!! Of all the other Biblical dignitaries, Abraham is probably the one who we can most imitate. Not many of us can be a Moses, a leader of thousands of people or a Joshua, a general who commanded immense armies into battle or a David, a king who ruled “after God’s heart” or even a Daniel, a highly respected statesman. We can relate to Abraham because he was a man who trusted God in all things and that afforded him a place of honour in the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews.

True Christianity is based on faith. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Simple faith in the Almighty God affords us a place in heaven for “…unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28b