Peter Scazzero - Old Testament Characters

We live in a world that is desperate for heroes. Supermacho film and TV stars, professional athletes, rock stars and the rich and famous are held up to us as role models. Yet deep within the pages of the Old Testament, we meet real, flesh-and-blood people like us, with both weaknesses and strengths, who provide us with genuine models we can imitate.

The problem, however, is that large portions of the Old Testament remain literally a closed book to many. The reason is not hard to find. The Old Testament is not a continuous, easy-to-read account of the history of Israel. In a collection of thirty-nine different books, written over a period of a thousand years, one encounters poetry, law, history, moral advice, prophecy and visions. Add to this the very different customs and cultures of these times and it becomes easy to see why many have become discouraged.

This guide has been written to help you open the Old Testament portion of Gods revelation and to discover the buried treasures that lie within, deep and undiscovered. It is my hope that your understanding of the ways of our God will be significantly expanded as you work through these character studies.

The most surprising discovery made, however, by studying the lives of people such as Esther, Jonah, Elijah and Joshua is their humanness and relevance for today. As Jerry Sittser has written:

We observe that God uses common people... to make history. The powerful of society often form a background in which the little people, the faithful people, honor God and transform the world. God loves to use the unassuming, unimportant people in the world. He only requires us to say with Mary, Let it be to me according to your word. (The Adventure [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1985], p. 78.)

Toward this end, twelve inductive Bible studies have been prepared. Each study deals with a different biblical character, such as Hannah, Daniel or Moses, and a different theme relevant to our following Jesus today (prayer, temptation, lordship and so on). Although the studies are not arranged chronologically, a simple chart is provided on page 4 to help you understand where a particular character fits within the history of Israel. The leaders notes also answer many of the background questions that will inevitably arise. Feel free, of course, to change the order of the studies to meet your own particular needs.

It is my prayer that we might be better participants in the shaping of Gods drama today by our careful reflection on the successes and failures of the men and women who have gone before us.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)