J. Stephen Lang - Know the Most Fascinating People of the Bible in 30 Days

KNOW

THE MOST FASCINATING

PEOPLE

O F T H E B I B L E I N

30 DAYS

KNOW

THE MOST FASCINATING

PEOPLE

O F T H E B I B L E I N

30 DAYS

J. STEPHEN LANG

Guideposts

New York, New York

Know the Most Fascinating People of the Bible in 30 Days

ISBN-10: 0-8249-4886-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-8249-4886-3

Published by Guideposts
16 East 34th Street
New York, New York 10016
Guideposts.org

Copyright 2011 by J. Stephen Lang. All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Distributed by Ideals Publications, a Guideposts company
2630 Elm Hill Pike, Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37214

Guideposts and Ideals are registered trademarks of Guideposts.

Acknowledgments

Every attempt has been made to credit the sources of copyrighted material used in this book. If any such acknowledgment has been inadvertently omitted or miscredited, receipt of such information would be appreciated.

All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from The King James Version of the Bible.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lang, J. Stephen.

Know the most fascinating people of the Bible in 30 days / J. Stephen Lang.

p. cm.

Includes index.

1. BibleBiography. I. Title.

BS571.L28 2011

220.0922dc23

2011018850

Cover and interior design and typesetting by Cindy LaBreacht
Cover art left to right: David Quits Jerusalem by James Tissot, courtesy Jewish Museum, New York, NY; Pilate Washing His Hands by Matthias Stom, courtesy Musee du Louvre, Paris, France.
Indexing by Frances S. Lennie/Indexing Research

Printed and bound in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

We take a close look at the colorful, event-filled, emotion-charged life of David, who danced before the Lord.

Though sometimes fickle and fainthearted, Peter proved in time to be the rockJesus had spoken of.

The saga of Jacobs large and dysfunctional family teaches us how adversity can lead to maturity.

Through his parables and his miracles of healing, Jesus taught and modeled deep compassion for the lost and suffering.

The stories of Solomon and Job emphasize the importance of wisdomand of recognizing wisdoms limitations.

We look at Pilate and other Roman officials and their key roles in the lives of Jesus and the apostles.

The theme here is boldness, manifested in the lives of Deborah, Rahab, Tamar and other amazing women.

The focus here is Johndisciple, son of thunder, teacher of love, persecuted author of Revelation.

Abraham, Noah and Enoch from the Book of Genesis teach us the nature of deep faith.

The great apostle was sometimes stern, always loving toward his numerous spiritual children.

Perhaps the key figure of the Old Testament, Moses in his long life was the true prototype of the man of God.

We look not only at Judas but the priests Caiaphas and Annas, and the late-blooming disciples Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

Exiled in faraway lands, Daniel, Esther and Nehemiah made the most of their situations while remaining true to God.

Here we look at the deeper meanings of Jesus as Lord, Son of God and Savior.

Sparks fly in the saga of the confrontation between the great prophets Elijah and Elisha and the villainous royal couple Ahab and Jezebel.

Matthew, Mark and Luke told the same story of Jesus, but each had his own distinctive style and emphases.

The key theme here is disappointment as we look at the tragic life of King Saul and the scapegrace sons of Eli and Samuel.

The corrupt Herod family and its role in the New Testament teach us lessons about the abuse of power and wealth.

Israels rulers were mostly a sorry lot, but here we look at the gems, including Asa, Jehoshaphat and the saintly reformer Josiah.

The amazing man who fought the good fight, suffered for his faith and learned how to be content in a troubled and hostile world.

The Old Testament figures Nimrod, Abimelech, Absalom and Adonijah show us how ambition and the desire for domination can lead gifted men astray.

The focus here is on important but often overlooked men from the Book of Acts, including Stephen, Philip, Barnabas and James.

This chapter on Israels priesthood gives us a look at some saints Aaron, Phinehas, and Asaphand some notorious sinnersPashhur and Ananias.

The emphasis here is on Jesus humanity as we look at the meaning of Servant of God and Son of Man.

Here we have a rogues galleryrebels against Godincluding Adam, Cain and Lamech, and the original rebel himself, Satan.

We look at the saints who were part of Jesus early lifeMary, Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariahand at his great predecessor and kinsman, John the Baptist.

Steadfast and faithful women are the focus here as we look at Mary Magdalene, Priscilla, Eunice, Lois, Lydia and Phoebe.

In the books of Joshua and Judges, we encounter men who were both faithful and stoutheartedJoshua, Gideon, Jephthah and the mighty Samson.

The awareness of the awesome God motivated the great prophets Isaiah and Amosand the reluctant prophet, Jonah.

Our closing chapter answers the question: What was it about Jesus that made the first believers see him as the Word of God?

PREFACE

From Aaron to Zimri

K now the most fascinating people of the Bible in a mere thirty days? Impossible, you say?

Well, we will not make the rash promise that you will be an all-wise Bible scholar within one month. Some people study the Bible their entire lives and, late in life, stumble across things in it that they never noticed before. These people include not only the prosprofessors, ministers, etc.but also the many laypeople who immerse themselves in the book day after day, year after year. In a sense, no person ever knows the Bible completely. There is always more to discover, more to stimulate the mind, more words to hang our hearts upon, more to apply to ones life in this world.

But, though you may not be an MB (Master of the Bible) upon finishing this book, you will be familiar with its most intriguing charactersand, through them, the Bibles key themes and its most valuable life lessons. You will know it well enough that when you hear it quoted, and misquoted, and misconstrued in pop culture, you will have a sense of what the Bible really says, not what its critics (and sometimes even its friends) say that it says. You will also have a sense of how to apply its teachings to your own life day by day, hour by hour.

Most of all, you will have a sense of the Bible as a living thing, not some dry, dead document from centuries ago. You will know it not as dull ancient history, but as Gods manual for life, for all people, in all times, in all situations. It is my hope that you will not find the Bible boring or intimidating, but a supremely riveting book.

I trust you will enjoy this thirty-day journey, on which you will get a closer look at some familiar namessuch as Moses, Abraham, David and Pauland be introduced to some new onessuch as the hero Zerubbabel, and Zimri, the traitor who murdered his king, took his place, reigned seven days, and then committed suicide by burning himself up inside his palace. What an utterly fascinating collection of peopleand life lessonsthe Bible is!