PROFILE OF SAUL
... the people's choice.
As a young man, Saul had everything going for him. He
was very handsome in appearance and he stood head and shoulders above
all the people, but he had very little self-confidence. (1 Samuel 9:2)
When the Children of Israel insisted upon having a king
to rule over them, the Lord sent His prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as
their king, but when Samuel called the people together so he could
present their king to them, Saul was afraid to show his face, and he
hid himself among the baggage. (1 Samuel 1 0:20-24)
As king, Saul ruled well during the first two years,
but at the end of those two years, Saul disobeyed the Lord by
intruding into the priest's office and making a sacrifice to the Lord
himself. (1 Samuel 13:1-10) The Lord sent Samuel to tell Saul that
because of his disobedience he would be replaced by a man whom the
Lord had chosen. (1 Samuel 13:14)
Then the Lord sent Samuel to Saul with another command
..... he was to utterly destroy the Amalekites, because of their
mistreatment of the Children of Israel when they came out of Egypt.
(Deuteronomy 25:17-19) Saul was ordered to kill every man, woman,
child and their animals, but Saul failed again by sparing the life of
Agag, king of the Amalekites. When Samuel confronted him about his
failure to carry out the Lord's command, Saul made an excuse for his
own actions and then blamed the people for saving the best of the
enemy's flocks. (1 Samuel 15:20,21) He did this because he was afraid
of the people and listened to them instead of obeying the Lord. (1
Samuel 15:24)
Young David was the Lord's choice to rule His people,
and He sent Samuel to anoint David in the presence of his family and
all those who had come to a yearly sacrifice in Bethlehem. (1 Samuel
16:13) Saul certainly was informed about this, but it was 13 years
before David would sit on the throne as Israel's king, and during
those years, the Holy Spirit was taken from Saul and an evil spirit
troubled him. (1 Samuel 16:14)
The David and Goliath incident is familiar to most
Bible students, and after David killed the giant and delivered the
Israelites from the Philistines, Saul promoted him to be general over
his army. He also gave him his youngest daughter, and David became
Saul's son-in-law. Saul knew that the Lord was with David, and he was
afraid of David ..... so afraid that he became David's constant enemy.
(1 Samuel 18:28,29)
As David became more famous among the people, Saul's
hatred of him became greater and greater. His fear of David gradually
turned to jealousy, hatred, and intent to murder. (1 Samuel 19:1)
After Samuel died, Saul no longer received any word
from the Lord, and he was afraid. So frightened about the future that
he went to see a witch in Endor and asked her to bring Samuel up from
the grave. The Lord brought Samuel up and told Saul he and his sons
would die in battle the following day. (1 Samuel 28:7-25)
Saul died a miserable death the very next day at the
hand of an Amalekite as he was fleeing from the Philistines. He died
because of his failure to obey the Word of God and also for asking
counsel from a witch rather than asking the Lord to help him. (1
Chronicles 10:13) Saul's free-will decision to live in fear rather
than to put his trust in the Lord cost him his life and it also had a
bad effect on the lives of those who were closest to him.
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PROFILE OF
SOLOMON... the son of David:
Solomon is well-known as a king who had 700 wives and
300 concubines, but there is a great deal more we can learn about him
as an individual who loved the Lord.
When his father David desired to build a house for the
Lord, the Lord said 'no', but He told David his son who would rule
after him would build that house. (2 Samuel 7:1-17) David told Solomon
about it in 1 Chronicles 22:6-16.
Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba, and even
though it was common knowledge among the members of the family that
the Lord had chosen him to be Israel's next king, two of David's older
sons, namely Absalom and Adonijah, tried to set themselves up as king
and died in their attempt, because Solomon was the Lord's choice.
Before David died, he had Solomon crowned king and advised him about
his responsibilities as ruler over God's people and stressed the
importance of putting the Lord first in his life. Then David assembled
the people together and officially placed Solomon on the throne and
told them how the Lord had spoken to him about Solomon. (1 Chronicles
28:1-8)
After David died, Solomon removed those men who had
betrayed his father, and he became fully established as Israel's king.
Then the Lord spoke to him in a dream and said, "Ask what I shall give
you." Solomon replied, "Oh Lord my God, you have made me king in
a place of my father David to rule Your people. Please give me
wisdom and understanding so I may rule well." (1 Kings 3:7-9)
The Lord was very pleased with Solomon's request for wisdom and
understanding, and He said, "Because you have asked for wisdom and not
for long life or riches or for the life of your enemies, I will give
wisdom and understanding to you such as no one before you or after you
has had. Also, I will give what you have not asked for . . . .
an abundance of riches and honor such as no other king before or after
you. And, if you will walk in My ways as your father David
before you, I will grant you long life." (1 Kings 3:10-14) When
Solomon awoke from his dream, he prepared a great feast in Jerusalem
for his people, and he stood before the Ark of the Covenant and
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.
There was world peace during Solomon's forty years as
Israel's king. Whenever kings of other nations made a peace treaty
with Solomon, they presented him with a princess, so he had a
collection of 700 wives. From what we can surmise from the book
entitled "Song of Solomon" where they were called the "Daughters of
Jerusalem", the 300 concubines who lived in the palace may have been
household servants.
During his first 7 years as king, Solomon built a
temple for the Lord and dedicated it to Him. After Solomon's
prayer of dedication, the glory of the Lord appeared in the temple.
Then the Lord appeared again to Solomon in a dream and said, "I have
heard your prayer on behalf of My people, and I have seen the house
which you built for My name ... my eyes and my heart will be there
continually." (1 Kings 9:3)
The Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and
she traveled hundreds of miles to see him. She brought gifts of
camels, spices, gold and precious stones to give him along with many
questions to ask. Solomon answered all her questions, and when the
Queen heard his wisdom, saw the house he had built, observed the way
his well-dressed servants and officials honored him, and his devotion
to the Lord as he ascended the steps leading to the temple, she was
overwhelmed and said to him, "The half was not told to me regarding
the things you have done and of your great wisdom, but now my eyes
have seen it. Happy are those who serve you, and blessed be the
Lord your God who has placed you on the throne of Israel to rule His
people."
Solomon ruled well for many years, but when he was old,
his wives turned his heart away from the Lord, and he bowed down to
their idols. The Lord was very displeased with Solomon's idolatry, and
harsh discipline followed. When his son Rehoboam became king, he made
some foolish decisions, and the kingdom was divided.
Solomon wrote many of the Proverbs found in the book
that bears that name, and he also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes to
tell us how wrong his thinking was during the years he was out of
fellowship with the Lord. In the last chapter of that book, Solomon
came to his senses and wrote down words of wisdom for young people,
telling them that getting to know and love the Lord is the most
important thing they can do in life.
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PROFILE OF JOSEPH... a life of adversity turned into blessing.
Joseph and his brother Benjamin were the sons of
Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife, and Jacob always showed favoritism
toward the two. Benjamin was the youngest, and he stayed home with his
father while the others took care of the family flocks. Jacob promoted
17 -year old Joseph over his brothers, because he was very dependable
and wise. He also gave him a colorful long coat as a badge of
authority over his older brothers. Joseph's brothers were at least ten
years older than he was, and they resented him being their overseer
and became so jealous that they could not even speak a kind word to
him.
There was no Bible in those days, and the Lord spoke to
individuals through dreams, visions and direct conversation. Joseph
was given the gift of understanding and interpreting dreams, and he
had two dreams in which the Lord showed him that one day he would rule
over his brothers. When he told the family about the dreams, his
brothers hated him even more, but his father understood and seriously
considered them.
One day Jacob sent Joseph out to search for his ten
brothers who were tending the flocks. They saw him in the
distance as he was coming to meet them, and they said, "Here comes
that kid, the preacher . . . let's kill him and throw him into a
pit, and then we'll see what becomes of his dreams! We can tell
our father that a wild animal killed him!" (Genesis 37:20)
Reuben, the eldest, had to leave them, so thinking he would return
later and free Joseph, he said, "Let's not kill him, but throw him
into a pit and leave him there." The others agreed, so they stripped
Joseph of his beautiful coat and threw him into an empty pit and
proceeded to eat their lunch.
In the distance they saw a caravan of Ishmaelite
traders on the road to Egypt, and Judah suggested, "What would it
profit us if we leave our brother in a pit to die? Let's sell
him to the Ishmaelite instead." That seemed like a good idea to the
others, so when the traders came closer, they pulled Joseph out of the
pit and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. Then they killed
a kid and dipped Joseph's coat in its blood, took it to their father,
and he believed that Joseph was dead.
Joseph's brothers heard his cries from the pit, and
later felt guilty about what they had done. (Genesis 45:21) We also
know from Psalm 1 05:18 that the Ishmaelites bound Joseph's ankles in
irons when they took him to Egypt.
Joseph didn't realize until later in life that the
terrible things that happened to him were all a part of God's plan and
purpose for his life, but as he matured he learned to trust the Lord
in every situation in which he found himself.
In Egypt, Joseph became a household servant to Potiphar,
an Egyptian nobleman, and when Potiphar saw how wise and capable the
young man was, he put him in complete charge of all his affairs, and
the Lord prospered Potiphar because of Joseph. During the following
nine years, Potiphar's wife took a fancy to their handsome young
slave, and one day she arranged for them to be alone in the house.
When Joseph spumed her advances, she was furious and lied about him to
her husband. Potiphar believed his wife and threw Joseph into the
prison where the Pharaoh's prisoners were kept. It wasn't long before
the jailor saw how competent Joseph was, and put him in charge. of all
the prisoners. It seemed that wherever Joseph was, he was promoted
over others.
Two of Pharaoh's servants, his chief baker and his cup
bearer, were cast into the prison while he investigated to see which
of them had been planning to assassinate him. Potiphar brought the men
to the prison and ordered Joseph to be their body slave. One night the
two men each had a troubling dream, and they were very sad. When
Joseph questioned why they were sad, they told him about the dreams.
After Joseph interpreted their dreams, the baker was hanged, and the
cup bearer was restored to his office. When Joseph realized that the
cup bearer was going to be released, he took his eyes off the Lord and
asked the man to plead his case before Pharaoh, but the cup bearer
completely forgot about Joseph. Because Joseph trusted in a man rather
than God, the Lord kept him in prison for two more years.
At the end of Joseph's four years in prison, Pharaoh
had two dreams which none of his wise men were able to interpret.
Suddenly, the cup bearer remembered how Joseph had interpreted the
dreams he and the baker had when he was in prison, and when he told
Pharaoh about it, Joseph was brought before him. Joseph told Pharaoh
that the Lord was revealing ahead of time that there would be seven
very prosperous years in Egypt that would be followed by seven years
of famine and suggested that he find a man to take charge of storing
up grain during the seven good years so that the people would have
enough food during the seven bad years. Pharaoh decided that he knew
of no man more capable for the task than Joseph, and appointed Joseph
Prime Minister of Egypt.
During the seven years of plenty,. Joseph filled the
storehouses of Egypt with grain so there would be food during the
seven years of famine that would follow. During the famine when the
Egyptians cried out for food, Joseph sold grain to them and also to
people of other nations who came to Egypt for food. (Genesis 41
:55-57)
Jacob sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buy grain, but
he kept Benjamin at home with him. Even though at least twenty-five
years had gone by, when Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them,
but they did not know him, because he looked like and spoke as an
Egyptian. Apparently, Joseph decided to have a little fun with
his brothers so he spoke to them through an interpreter, asked about
their family and then accused them of being spies. They denied the
charge made against them, but Joseph insisted that they were spies,
and he put Simeon in prison. Then he sent the others home and
instructed them to bring their youngest brother back to Egypt to prove
their innocence before he would release Simeon.
Joseph's brothers told their father what the Egyptian
said about Benjamin, and he was heartbroken and refused to let him go.
However, after they had used up the grain, Jacob reluctantly agreed to
let Benjamin go to Egypt with them to buy more food.
When the ten brothers returned to Egypt, Joseph
released Simeon from prison and prepared a great feast for them. He
seated them all at one table according to their ages, and gave the
best portion of food to Benjamin to see if they would display any
jealousy toward their younger brother. They weren't envious of the
special treatment given to Benjamin, and they were truly amazed at how
the Egyptian could have known in what order to seat them. After the
meal, Joseph sent all his servants out of the room and revealed
himself to his brothers. They were speechless and thought surely
Joseph would kill them, but he said, "'Don't be afraid or angry with
yourselves because you sold me into slavery. It was God's
purpose to bring me here to preserve your lives and the lives of many
people. The Lord has made me a ruler throughout all the land of
Egypt." (Genesis 45:4-8)
Joseph sent his brothers back to Israel with wagons to
carry their families and food for the journey and instructed them to
bring their father and their wives and children back to Egypt so he
could care for them.
Joseph was 30 years old when he became Prime Minister
of Egypt, and he ruled for 70 years. His life teaches us how important
it is for us to leam to trust the Lord in all situations in life,
because He has a plan and purpose for our lives just as he had for the
life of Joseph.
Joseph is listed among the great men and women of faith
in God's 'Hall of Fame' ... Hebrews chapter 11.. . More details about
the life of Joseph may be found in Acts 7:9-14 and in Psalm 105:10-23.
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PROFILE OF PETER ...
the big fisherman.
Simon Peter was one of the twelve men selected by Jesus
to be with Him during His three-year earthly ministry, and he was the
most outspoken one in the group. Peter listened daily to the words of
Jesus and witnessed hundreds of the miracles Jesus performed. He often
reacted emotionally to a situation, as he did when Jesus took five
loaves of bread and two fish and miraculously multiplied the food to
feed more than 5,000 people who had gathered on the seashore to hear
Him teach the Word of God. After feeding the crowd Jesus sent the
people away, told the twelve to get into a ship that was anchored
close to shore, and He went alone into a mountain to pray. A violent
storm suddenly arose, and the ship was being tossed about on giant
waves! Suddenly, they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. One
of them shouted out in fear, "It's a ghost!" Jesus said to them,
"Don't be afraid, it is I" Peter blurted out, "Lord, if it is really
you, let me come to you on the water." Jesus replied, "Come, Peter."
Peter scrambled out of the ship, but as he was walking toward Jesus,
he took his eyes off the Lord and began to sink, and he cried out,
"Lord, save me!" The Lord took Peter by the hand and said, "Peter your
faith is very weak. Why didn't you trust Me?" Peter was too
embarrassed to answer, and. when he and Jesus got back into the ship,
the wind ceased and the sea became very calm. Peter fell down at
Jesus' feet and said, "Truly, you are the Son of God!
When Jesus was alone with the twelve, He repeatedly
told them that the religious leaders as well as the majority of people
in Israel would reject Him as their Messiah. Several times the Lord
explained to them that He would be killed, and three days later would
rise again, but what He said seemed like idle words to them. On one
occasion, Peter even took the Lord aside and said, "Lord, these things
shall never happen to you!" Jesus rebuked him harshly, "'What you say
is a satanic idea and an offense to me, Peter! God does not
think as people do!"
Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John to the
top of a high mountain, and as they stood there with Him, Jesus'
appearance changed before their eyes ... His face became bright as the
sun, and His clothing became white and glistening like freshly fallen
snow. Then Moses and Elijah appeared, and began talking with Jesus
about His coming death. The three disciples were awestruck! Then Peter
blurted out, "Lord, it is good that we are here! Let us make
three tabernacles . . . one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah!" While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and a voice spoke out of the cloud saying, "This is
My beloved Son! Listen to Him!" They became terrified and
dropped to their knees. Jesus touched them and said, "Get up and stop
being afraid". When they looked up, they saw no one but Jesus,
and He commanded that they tell no one what they had seen that day
until after He had risen from the dead. (Jesus had just given them a
preview of the Millennial kingdom that would come in the future, but
before that could come to pass, He would have to die and be raised
from the dead)
It was after Jesus' death, burial and resurrection and
seeing Him ascend into heaven that Peter remembered celebrating the
Passover Feast with Jesus the night He was betrayed ... Jesus took
bread and said, "This is my body which will be broken for you.
Take and eat it in remembrance of Me." Then Jesus took the cup and
said, "This cup represents the new covenant in my blood which will be
shed for the sins of the world." They were all startled when Jesus
announced, "All things regarding me have been predetermined and will
come to pass, but there is one sitting at this table who will betray
Me." They all looked at Him in disbelief, and began to discuss it
among themselves. John was sitting next to Jesus at the table, so
Peter caught his eye and motioned for him to ask the Lord who the
betrayer would be. John turned to Jesus and said, "Lord, who is the
one who will betray You?" Jesus replied, "The one to whom I will
give the last choice morsel of food that I will dip into the special
sauce." When the feast ended, Peter watched intently as Jesus
dipped the bread in the sauce and gave it to Judas and said to him,
"'What you are about to do, do quickly!" Judas immediately got up from
the table and went out into the night. None of the others understood
why Jesus spoke those words to Judas, but Peter suggested that perhaps
the Lord wanted Judas to buy food for them or give something to the
poor.
After the meal they sang a Psalm of David and went into
the Garden of Gethsemene. Jesus said to them, "Tonight
you will be offended because of your association with Me. It has
been foretold by the prophets of old that I will be killed, and those
who follow me will run away; but after I have risen from the dead, I
will go before you into Galilee." Peter vehemently denied Jesus' words
and said to him, "Even if all other forsake you, I will NEVER deny
You!" Jesus replied, "Peter... before the cock crows in the
morning, you will deny Me three times." Peter objected
bravely, "Even is I have to die with you, I will NEVER deny You!" and the others echoed Peter's words. Jesus said no more
about it but instructed them, "Stay here and rest while I go aside to
pray." When He returned and found them all fast asleep, he awakened
them and said, "The time for my arrest has come. Look... here comes
the one who has betrayed Me."
As Jesus was speaking, Judas Iscariot approached with a
great number of soldiers from the chief priests, and they were
carrying swords and clubs. Judas said to the soldiers, "Arrest the man
whom I shall greet with a kiss, and hold him fast!"
Then Judas walked directly to Jesus and said, "Hail Master," and
kissed Him. Jesus responded, "!Friend, what is your purpose in coming
here?" Judas did not respond, but the soldiers took hold of Jesus and
bound His hands securely.
Peter had secretly hidden a sword under his
robe and quickly drew it out and cut off the ear of one of the men who
had bound Jesus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put away your sword. Peter,
"Put away your sword, Peter. Don't you know that if I asked My
Father, He would send twelve legions of angels to set Me free?
These things MUST be done so that the scriptures may be fulfilled!"
Jesus was led away to the palace of the High Priest, and Peter
followed some distance behind. He went into the palace courtyard,
walked over to the fire and sat down with those who were seated there.
As he was warming himself, a young maiden who had been watching Peter
said, "This is one of the men who was with the prisoner." Peter
scowled at her and shouted, "Woman, I do not know the man!" Then
another man said to Peter, "I know you were with the prisoner. " Peter
replied angrily, "Man, I WAS NOT!" Half an hour later,
another man said, "Surely, this man was with the prisoner! I can tell
by his speech that he is from Galilee!" Finally, Peter stood up and
shouted, "I don't know what you are talking about! I do not
know the man!" As Peter stood there denying the accusations, Jesus was
being led out of the High Priest's chambers. Just then, a rooster
crowed, and Peter saw Jesus turn to look at him, and he remembered
that the Lord told him before the cock crowed, he would deny Him three
times. Peter left the palace grounds, went into the garden and wept
bitterly.
Peter knew Jesus was being taken away to be crucified, but he couldn't
bear to witness it. John was the only one of their group
who observed the crucifixion, and afterward he went back to tell the
others about it. Three days later, they were gathered together, when
suddenly Mary Magdalene came running to them and said, "early this morning, several of the women who were
with me at the cross went to the tomb with spices for the body of
Jesus, but when we reached the. tomb, we saw that the large stone had
been rolled away! We entered the tomb with our spices, only Jesus'
body
was not there, and we saw His grave clothes lying on the ground!
Then two angels appeared and said, 'Why do you seek the living
among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen from the dead.
Don't you remember how He told you many times that He would be delivered into the
hands of sinful men to be crucified, and after
three days He would rise again? We did remember, but we didn't want
to believe it. We left the tomb and have come to tell you what we saw and heard."
Her words were like a fairy tale to the men, and they
did not believe them. Then, Peter suddenly bolted from the room and
ran to the tomb to see for himself. John followed closely behind and
reached the tomb first, but didn't go inside. Peter brushed by him and
went inside and saw the grave clothes lying on the ground as Mary had
told them. He also saw the cloth that had been wrapped about Jesus'
head folded and lying by itself on the ground. As he stood there
wondering what all this meant, John entered the tomb and stood beside
him and said, "I remember now what the Lord said about rising from the dead.
Let's go back to the others and wait for the Lord to come to us as
He promised."
Jesus did come to them, and during the next forty days, He appeared to
the disciples many times and opened their understanding of the Old
Testament scriptures that foretold His first coming and also about the
Kingdom of God that would come in the future. When the time of His
ascension drew near, Jesus took them to the Mount of Olives and said,
"I'm going to leave you now, but I will send the Comforter to
indwell each one of your so that you may be witnesses for Me, beginning in
Jerusalem, then in all Judea, in Samaria and in the uttermost parts of the
earth. Go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come to
you. He will teach you spiritual truths and He will glorify Me." After
Jesus said that, He began to rise, and a cloud covered Him and carried
Him out of their sight. As Peter and those with him stood staring up
into the heavens, two angels in white clothing appeared and said, "Men
of Galilee ... why do you stand here gazing into heaven?
This same Jesus who has been taken from you will return again at a
future time to this very spot from which He ascended!"
Then the
disciples returned to Jerusalem and remained together until the Day of
Pentecost, when the Comforter came to empower them to witness about
the Lord Jesus Christ. Many pilgrims from various places allover the
known world were in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast days, and when
they heard the Gospel proclaimed in their own language, about 5,000
were born again.
Peter became a great evangelist on that Day of Pentecost and was the
human author of two New Testament epistles that bear his name. His
ministry was primarily to the Jews, while the apostle Paul, who would
join them later, was given a ministry to the Gentiles and was the
human author of many of the other New Testament epistles.
We learn from history that although Peter was never in Rome, he lived
during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, and that he was put to
death by crucifixion ... hanging upside down on a Roman cross, as he
requested.
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PROFILE
OF LAZARUS ..... brother of Mary and Martha
Lazarus lived in Bethany, a small suburb about two miles from
Jerusalem, with his sisters Mary and Martha. The three of them had
very close fellow fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ during His
three-year ministry on earth. Very little is said about this man in
the scriptures, and there is no mention of him ever saying a word, so
it is possible that Lazarus was a deaf mute.
One day Lazarus' sisters sent word to Jesus
that Lazarus was very ill and asked that He come to Bethany right away
to heal him. Jesus didn't make plans to leave right away, but stayed
two more days in the place where He was teaching and then announced to
the twelve disciples, "Let's go to Bethany. Our friend Lazarus
is asleep, and I will go awaken him." They argued, "Lord, if
Lazarus is asleep, he will soon be well again. Remember how the
religious leaders in Jerusalem recently tried to stone You!' Then Jesus told them
plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I'm glad I wasn't there when he died,
because you would not believe what I am about to do. Let's go now to Bethany."
As soon as Martha received word that Jesus was near Bethany, she went
to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house with friends who had come to
comfort her. When Martha saw Jesus, she said, "Lord, if You had been
here, my brother would not have died!" Jesus responded and said,
"Martha ... your brother will rise again." Martha answered,
"Yes, Lord, I know he will rise agin in the resurrection at the last
day." Then Jesus continued, "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.
HE WHO LIVES AND BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE. DO YOU BELIEVE
THAT MARTHA?" She replied, Yes, Lord. I believe taht
Your are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world.
Then Martha went home and said privately to Mary, "The
Master is here and wants to see you." Mary left her friends and went
to the tomb where they had placed Lazarus' body. Mary's friends
thought she was going to the grave to weep, so they followed her. When
Mary saw Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if You had been
here, my brother would not have died!" Jesus groaned inwardly, because
neither Martha nor Mary really understood that He had the power to
raise the dead! They failed to remember that He is OMNIPOTENT (all
powerful).
Then Jesus asked the others, "Where have you laid Lazarus' body?"
and they replied "Lord come and see." They led Him to the grave,
which was a cave that had a large stone covering the opening, and
Jesus said, "roll the stone away!" Martha gasped and said, "That's
not a good idea, Lord, because he's been dead four days now." But
Jesus replied to her, "Martha, I have told you before that if you
believe My words you will see the glory of God." Then He walked to the
open tomb and shouted, "Lazarus! Here! Outside!" Lazarus struggled to get up, because the grave clothes were wrapped
tightly around his body. Then, hopping like a rabbit, he managed to
get out and he stood before Jesus. Jesus ordered, "Unwrap the
grave clothes and set him free!" The crowd was amazed to see that Lazarus
was alive and that his body was perfectly whole.
Because of what Jesus did that day, many who stood at the scene
believed Jesus was their Messiah and were eternally saved. However,
there were some who refused to believe what they had seen and went to
their religious leaders, the Pharisees, to report what Jesus had done,
and their envy and hatred for Him increased even more.
Shortly after that, Lazarus became one of the guests at the dinner
table where Jesus was the guest of honor, in the house of a well-known
Pharisee, Simon the Leper. Some of the guests were curious to see
Jesus and Lazarus as well. Martha was helping in the kitchen, and then
Mary made a sudden appearance that made everyone stare. She came in
with a box of very expensive ointment, opened the box, put some of the
ointment on Jesus head and on His feet and wiped His feet with her
hair. (Matthew 26:7; John 12:3)
There were a number of objections to
what Mary was doing, but Jesus quieted them all when He said, "Let
this woman alone! She is anointing My body for the day of My burial.
Furthermore, I'm telling you that in the world . . . whenever the
Gospel is preached, she will be she will be remembered for what she
has done today." (Matthew 26:12,13; Mark 14:8,9)
Even though the
scriptures do not record any audible words of Lazarus, we certainly
may be sure he was very happy to have his sister Mary honored by the
Lord Jesus Christ for what she did that day.
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PROFILE OF ABRAHAM .....faith rewarded after 25 years of testing
After the Lord destroyed the Tower of Babel and scattered the people
allover the world to make separate nations of them, He spoke to Abram,
a 75-year old Chaldean and told him to leave his family and go to a
place where he would become a great nation that would be a blessing to
the whole world.
Abram partially obeyed the Lord by leaving his homeland, but failed to
separate from his family, because he took his father Terah and his
nephew Lot with him. They traveled to Haran, a city which was famous
for the worship of the moon god whom Terah worshipped. After awhile,
Terah died, so Abram journeyed to the land of Canaan and pitched his
tent in Shechem.
There the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "'Unto your see will I
give this land." (Genesis 12:7) Abram believed God's Word, and he built an
altar and worshipped the Lord.
Then Abram's faith was tested by a famine in the land of Canaan. Would
Abram stay in that land and trust the Lord to provide their needs? His
faith was weak, so he took his wife Sarai and his nephew and his
family to Egypt to find food. By leaving Canaan, Abram was out of the
geographical will of God, and he became afraid that the Egyptians
would capture his beautiful wife and kill him, so he asked Sarai to
say she was his sister. Sarai agreed to lie to protect Abram, and she
was taken by force and placed in Pharaoh's house, but Abram's life was
spared. In fact, he was rewarded with many gifts of slaves and flocks
of sheep and camels. That night the Lord protected Sarai by sending
great plagues throughout Pharaoh's household. Pharaoh sent for Abram
and scolded him severely saying, "What have you done to us?
Why did you tell me the woman was your sister? I might have
taken her to be my wife! now ... take your wife and leave us alone!" (Genesis
12:10-20)
Abram left Egypt with Sarai, Lot and all the flocks and
slaves that had been given to him.
He admitted his sins of fear and lying to the Lord and was back in
fellowship with Him again.
They journeyed south, and Abram pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai
where he had built an altar to the Lord before they went to Egypt.
Abram and Lot were forced to separate when their shepherds had a sharp
disagreement over pasture land. Lot was given his choice of land, so
he chose the beautiful fertile plain of Jordan for himself and pitched
his tent outside the city of Sodom. Then the Lord said to Abram, "Lift
up your eyes, Abram, and look in every direction as far as you can see
... all this land will I give to you and to your seed forever.
Your seed will be as the dust of the earth that no man can number.
Walk through the land and know that I will give it to you." Abram believed
the promise and moved his tent to Hebron and built an altar to the
Lord. (Genesis 13:14-18)
Twelve years went by and Sarai had not given
Abram any children, so Sarai suggested to Abram that he have a son by
her Egyptian handmaid Hagar. Abram foolishly agreed to the plan, and
Ishmael was born, but he was not the promised seed. Thirteen years
later, when Abram was ninety-nine, the Lord appeared to him and again
confirmed His promise of a son by Sarai. This time Abram believed
God's promise, and the Lord established circumcision as a covenant
between Himself and Abram, and changed their names to Abraham and
Sarah.
(Genesis 17:1-27)
When Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, God
restored their ability to have a child, and the promised son, Isaac,
was born. Two years later Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, and
there was peace in the family at last.
About twenty years went by and then came the greatest test Abraham
would ever have to face. The Lord told him to offer Isaac as a burnt
offering! (Genesis 22:1-18) With unwavering faith, Abraham passed that
test beautifully, and God intervened by substituting a ram for the
offering in place of Isaac.
Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, because he knew and believed
that Isaac was the son God had promised to give him, and if the Lord
required Isaac to be a burnt offering, He was able to raise him from
the dead and fulfill His plan for Abraham to be the father of many
nations and that his seed would be a blessing to the whole world..
(Hebrews 11 :17-19)
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