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Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
A New Method for Bible Classes 
 
 By HENRY T. SELL 
 
 Each, Paper, 30 cts. - Cloth, 33 cts. 
 
 LATEST ISSUES 
 
 Studies of Great Bible Characters. 
 Bible Studies in Vital Questions. 
 Studies in the Four Gospels. 
 
 EIGHT BOOKS 
 In Order of Publication 
 
 Supplemental Bible Studies. 
 
 Bible Studies by Books. 
 
 Bible Studies by Periods. 
 
 Bible Studies by Doctrines. 
 
 Bible Studies in the Life of Christ. 
 Bible Studies in the Life of Paul. 
 Studies in the Life of the Christian. 
 Studies in Early Church History. 
 
Studies of Great Bible 
 Characters 
 
 By 
 
 HENRY T. SELL, D. D. 
 
 Author of The Sell Series of Bible Studies 
 for Adult Classes 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Revell Company 
 
 Edinburgh 
 
 and 
 
Copyright, 1923, by 
 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
 
 New York: 
 Chicago: 17 
 London: 2 
 Edinburgh: 
 
Foreword 
 
 T HIS book is a short course, through the Old 
 and New Testaments, of twenty-one 
 “ Studies of Great Bible Characters.” 
 There is here presented a number of biographies 
 of men who were the outstanding and strategic lead¬ 
 ers of their own times. They not only moulded the 
 thought and directed the action of the ages in which 
 they lived but to-day are even more influential. 
 
 They realized, were profoundly influenced by, and 
 worked enthusiastically for ideals and principles 
 which still lead us on. They had their faults. They 
 were very human. They made mistakes, of which 
 they bitterly repented, but above every other desire 
 was that of bringing in the kingdom of God on earth; 
 this is their glory. 
 
 Their problems, under other guises and in dif¬ 
 ferent circumstances, are our problems. It is of 
 great interest to us to see how they worked them 
 out in order that we may be better able to solve ours. 
 
 These men were hardy adventurers on the sea of 
 life, who, buffeted and beset by violent storms, still 
 came safely to port, with rich cargoes. How they 
 did this will richly repay the most careful study. In 
 their successes they rise above their nationality and 
 become of interest to the people of every nationality 
 and every age. 
 
 An effort is here made not only to get at the 
 
 5 
 
6 
 
 Foreword 
 
 underlying truths and principles which guided these 
 men but also to set forth the practical lessons, in 
 them, for us, to-day. 
 
 Of the importance of this sort of study Dr. W. L. 
 Phelps, Professor of English Literature in Yale 
 University, says in a recent book, “ I thoroughly be¬ 
 lieve in a university education for both men and 
 women; but I believe a knowledge of the Bible, with¬ 
 out a college course, is more valuable than a college 
 course without the Bible.” 
 
 This book is intended to be added to and take the 
 eleventh place in the author’s “Ten Books of Bible 
 Studies.” It is to be used as they have been in the 
 Adult Bible Gass, Schools, Colleges, private study, 
 etc. The author is profoundly grateful for the large 
 favour with which his former books have been re¬ 
 ceived. 
 
 Henry T. Sell. 
 
 New York , N. Y. 
 
Contents 
 
 L 
 
 Abraham . 
 
 The Man Who Dared to Trust God. 
 
 9 
 
 II. 
 
 Isaac. 
 
 The Challenge of Obedience. 
 
 17 
 
 III. 
 
 Jacob ...... 
 
 The Sharp Trader Who Mended 
 His Ways. 
 
 23 
 
 IV. 
 
 Joseph . 
 
 The Dreamer Whose Dreams Came 
 True. 
 
 3i 
 
 V. 
 
 Moses. 
 
 The Leader and Lawgiver of a 
 Nation. 
 
 39 
 
 VI. 
 
 Joshua. 
 
 The Courageous Man With a Hard 
 Task. 
 
 45 
 
 VII. 
 
 Saul. 
 
 The Man Who Abused His Oppor¬ 
 tunities. 
 
 5i 
 
 VIII. 
 
 David. 
 
 The Self-Conqueror Who Became 
 King. 
 
 57 
 
 IX. 
 
 Nehemiah. 
 
 The Man With Many Enemies. 
 
 65 
 
 X. 
 
 Job ...... 
 
 72 
 
 The Man of Undeserved Suffering. 
 
 7 
 
Contents 
 
 8 
 
 XI. Isaiah.78 
 
 The World Prophet and Statesman. 
 
 XII. Jeremiah.85 
 
 The Man Who Kept Faith Under 
 Hard Limitations. 
 
 XIII. Ezekiel.91 
 
 The Man Who Had Great Visions. 
 
 XIV. Daniel.98 
 
 The Man Who Made Advantage 
 Out of Disadvantage. 
 
 XV. Habakkuk.104 
 
 The Man Who Questioned God's 
 World Policies. 
 
 XVI. Matthew .no 
 
 The Man Who Saw World Hopes 
 Realized. 
 
 XVII. Mark .118 
 
 The Man Who Wrote of Christ's 
 Power. 
 
 XVIII. Luke .126 
 
 The Man Who Broadcasted the 
 Gospel Good News. 
 
 XIX. John . . . . . .133 
 
 The Man Who Listened-in Across 
 the Void. 
 
 XX. Peter. 141 
 
 The Ascending Man. 
 
 XXI. Paul . . ... 149 
 
 The Man Who Bettered City Con¬ 
 ditions. 
 
I 
 
 ABRAHAM 
 
 THE MAN WHO DARED TO TRUST GOD 
 
 A New Beginning was made in the history of 
 mankind with Abraham. He stands out as a com¬ 
 manding figure. He was of the same stuff that great 
 leaders of men and explorers are made. He had 
 daring. He had splendid executive ability. He was 
 large-hearted and far-sighted. He would have made 
 an eminent statesman or victorious general had the 
 opportunity presented itself. Yet he is known for 
 none of these qualities which are written large on the 
 face of his career. He is known, however, as “ The 
 Man Who Dared To Trust God ” upon what seemed 
 to be a bare promise. He left kindred and home 
 and country upon the call of God—the God whom 
 his neighbours did not know, and did not care for. 
 He was a pioneer Pilgrim facing a new land with new 
 and difficult things to meet and conquer. He headed 
 a new order of a spiritual kingdom of those who 
 strive to obey the “ Inner Voice ” and to be not only 
 worshippers but friends of the “ Living God.” A 
 Gentile, he was the founder of the Israelitish Nation. 
 The name " Israel ” was first given to his grandson, 
 Jacob. 
 
 The Environment of any man is often looked 
 upon as having much to do in shaping his life. 
 Favourable circumstances make favoured men. 
 
 9 
 
to Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Unfavourable surroundings keep men down. 
 Such is the theory. But this theory did not work 
 with Abraham. He lived in the midst of the basest 
 kind of idolatry yet of an advanced civilization. 
 Chaldea, long before the time of Abraham, was a 
 well-settled country. There were great cities with 
 magnificent temples, splendid palaces, and exten¬ 
 sive libraries. The arts were well known; there 
 were skilled workers in fabrics, metals, stones, im¬ 
 plements, weapons and armaments. Time was di¬ 
 vided then as it is now. There was a post-office 
 system; sealed letters could be sent. The parcel 
 post was in full operation. The city of Ur was 
 one of the most splendid of all the cities. It was 
 the seat of the great temple of the moon-god. 
 Looked at from the outside, nothing seemed fairer 
 than this highly adorned civilization. But inside it 
 was honeycombed with the basest sort of immoral¬ 
 ities. The people's religion exalted the evils that 
 destroyed all virtue, and finally killed the civiliza¬ 
 tion. The recovered, dug-up, monuments of this 
 age show that all the Bible says of this worst side 
 of Chaldean civilization to be literally true. 
 
 Had Abraham been a product of his, this, en¬ 
 vironment we would never have heard of him. He 
 was called to come out. He came out—to head a 
 new movement. 
 
 The Significance of Abraham's life is religious. 
 To miss this is to miss the whole meaning of the 
 narrative. While other men seek for glory, or 
 honour, or simply to live comfortably, Abraham is de¬ 
 sirous only of obeying God. It is a singular fact that 
 
Abraham 
 
 11 
 
 of the many eminent men of his times—mighty kings, 
 merchant princes, eminent scholars—Abraham's 
 name alone has attained universal fame. 
 
 The Account of Abraham's life is found in Gen¬ 
 esis 11 : 26-25 : 10 . The salient features, by chapters, 
 are: First —chapter 11 : 26-32—Birth of Abraham. 
 Removal of Terah with Abraham and his wife, from 
 Ur of the Chaldees to Haran. It seems to have been 
 the intention of Terah to go to Canaan but he only 
 got to Haran and died there. Second —chapter 12 — 
 Abraham receives his call with its promises and bless¬ 
 ings. 
 
 He leaves Haran for Canaan with his wife, Sarah, 
 and his nephew Lot. Shortly, finding a famine, he 
 goes down into Egypt. Third —chapter 13—Abra¬ 
 ham returns out of Egypt to Canaan. He becomes 
 very rich. There is strife between the herdmen of 
 Abraham and Lot. Abraham to settle all disputes 
 offers Lot his choice of land. Lot takes the best 
 and in doing so pitches his tent toward Sodom. 
 Fourth —chapter 14—Battle of the kings. Lot is 
 taken prisoner and is rescued by Abraham. Fifth — 
 chapter 15—Renewal of the great promises of bless¬ 
 ing and prosperity to Abraham. Sixth —chapters 16 
 and 17—The desire of Abraham and Sarah for a 
 child. Seventh —chapters 18 and 19—A child is 
 promised Abraham and Sarah. The destruction of 
 Sodom is foretold to Abraham. He pleads for the 
 city but it is so evil that even Abraham gives up. 
 Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed while Lot is 
 saved. Eighth —chapters 20 and 21—Abraham goes 
 to Gerar. A son is born to Sarah. Ninth —chapters 
 
12 
 
 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 22 to 25: 8—The asked-for sacrifice of Isaac. Get¬ 
 ting a wife for Isaac. Death of Abraham. 
 
 The Call of Abraham (12:1-3).—What was it? 
 How did he become aware of it? Was it an audible 
 voice? No one can answer these questions because 
 Abraham is not here to tell us. We know that what¬ 
 ever it was, and however it was given to him, he 
 acted upon it to the extent of completely severing all 
 his relations with his former associates and going to 
 a far-away land with his wife, his nephew, Lot, and 
 his retainers. He journeyed southward to Canaan. 
 For a man, seventy-five years old, with fixed habits, 
 it was a big change. We do not read that he ever 
 returned to Haran, even to make a visit. He did not 
 go to better his condition in the world, or for 
 honour, or preferment, or for the sake of adventure. 
 It was for conscience’ sake. At the time it seemed 
 to him that he was giving up everything, except his 
 immediate family, and going into certain physical 
 hardships, but he was more than willing if God 
 wanted it so. 
 
 Elements of the call: 
 
 First: It was a call to face difficulties which from 
 their unknown character seemed to assume a terrify¬ 
 ing aspect. 
 
 Second: It was to advocate the cause of God whom 
 no one knew anything about and whom no one cared 
 about. If His cause prevailed it meant the destruc¬ 
 tion of the old religion of the land. It would brook 
 no compromises. In these days we do well to think 
 of what a radical change this meant in all depart¬ 
 ments of life. 
 
Abraham 
 
 *3 
 
 Third: It was to break up the old and valued as¬ 
 sociations of years. 
 
 Fourth: It was a call to stand for that which vio¬ 
 lated all the social and national customs. 
 
 Fifth: It meant the founding of a new spiritual 
 order and the building up of a nation to carry on 
 this new work. Why? What we see now, and that 
 which every schoolboy knows, about the utter de¬ 
 struction of the old and evil civilizations of Babylon 
 and Assyria and all those old nations, God foresaw 
 when He called Abraham. He wanted a man to do 
 this work, which He knew must be done, and He 
 selected Abraham to do it. 
 
 The Promises to Abraham.—Men are always 
 trying to get other men to do things for them with¬ 
 out any compensation. They attempt to drive sharp 
 bargains. They strive to buy in a cheap market and 
 sell in a dear one. Whenever possible they cut 
 wages. Those who work for wages too often strive 
 to do as little work as they can while, at the same 
 time, they endeavour to advance their pay. This 
 makes the hardship of life. There is enough for all 
 but a few try to comer the market—to get all they 
 can and to give back as little as they can. Not so 
 God. Read carefully the promises God made to 
 Abraham and note how much He promises him and 
 ow often the promises are repeated. Note also, as 
 ve can note now, after all these years, that there is 
 ~>t one single promise that has not been more than 
 ’eemed and made good. 
 
 r e count at least six of God’s promises to Abra- 
 First —chapter 12: 2, 3—“ And I will make of 
 
14 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make 
 thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And 
 I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that 
 curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the 
 earth be blessed.” Second —chapter 12 : 7 . Third — 
 chapter 13:14 to 17 —“ And I will make thy seed as 
 the dust of the earth,” etc. Fourth —chapters 15 , 17 
 and 18 contain just one promise after another. 
 Fifth —chapter 21 : 12. Sixth —chapter 22 : 17 , 18 — - 
 “ That in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying 
 I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, 
 or as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy 
 seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in 
 thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” 
 Abraham, giving up all and not knowing how it 
 would come out, has certainly been well repaid. This 
 same thought of a liberal, and a rewarding God, runs 
 all through the New Testament See Matthew 
 25 : 34 - 40 . 
 
 The Lapses of Abraham are recorded with equal 
 fidelity with those of his excellencies. Take the case 
 where he denied his wife because he failed to trust 
 God to the uttermost— 12 : 11-20 —and received a lec¬ 
 ture from the king of Egypt. There is no attempt 
 to gloss over this account. There is this to be said 
 of Abraham that he repents of his lapses and trie 
 to do better. Many a man lapses and continues 
 lapse with no thought of doing better. 
 
 The Magnanimity of this great man is she 
 in his treatment of Lot, his nephew. First —ch? 
 
 13 —Abraham permits Lot to choose all the bes 
 for his share, when there is a dispute. He do 
 
Abraham 
 
 *5 
 
 even ask for arbitration. “You/' he says, “take 
 what you like and T will take what is left.” Here is 
 a man who will give up all rather than quarrel. Sec¬ 
 ond —chapter 14—When Lot is captured and taken 
 away by looters, Abraham does not say —“ It serves 
 him right for choosing the best land and leaving me 
 the worst.” He organizes a force to rescue Lot and 
 rescues him. Third —chapter 18—Again, when 
 Abraham learns that Sodom^ where Lot lives, is 
 about to be destroyed, he pleads for it. 
 
 The Man Who Dared to Trust God, not simply 
 to say he believed Him but to trust Him implicitly, 
 is this same man Abraham. He cast himself out on 
 His promises and went out “ not knowing whither 
 he went.” But he went because God told him to go. 
 That was enough. There is many a man, to-day, 
 who feels that he ought to do certain things. He 
 knows that God has spoken to him but he does not 
 dare to do what he knows he ought to do. Life is a 
 dare. It is a venture for every man. No one can 
 predict the outcome of the venture. Business is a 
 dare. Marriage is a dare. Religion is a dare. How 
 do we know that the God in whom we believe will 
 keep His word with us? We have to trust Him as 
 Abraham did. We have to rely on His promises. 
 
 The Blessing of Abraham’s Life!—Who can 
 measure it? When God called Abraham, out from 
 his country and his people, He is reported as saying, 
 “ I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless 
 thee and make thy name great: and thou shalt be 
 a blessing.” All this has been literally fulfilled. He 
 is the father of a great nation. His name is great— 
 
16 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 it is revered by the adherents of three great religions, 
 The Christian, The Jewish and The Mohammedan. 
 He has made it easier to worship and love God. 
 He showed how a man can live uprightly under the 
 most trying circumstances. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said about the new 
 beginning God made with Abraham? What can be 
 said about the environment of Abraham’s life? 
 What is the significance of his life? Give some ac¬ 
 count of the nine points noted in the account of 
 Abraham’s life. How did Abraham become aware 
 of his call? What can be said of this call? What 
 can be said of the promises ? Are Abraham’s lapses 
 recorded with the same fidelity as his excellencies? 
 What can be said of his magnanimity and of his 
 daring to trust God ? What can be said of the bless¬ 
 ing of Abraham’s life? 
 
II 
 
 ISAAC 
 
 THE CHALLENGE OF OBEDIENCE 
 
 The Story of Isaac is told in Genesis 21:3 to 
 35: 29. He did not have the striking characteristics 
 of Abraham, or of his famous son, Jacob. He suf¬ 
 fers, somewhat, from being placed between two such 
 rugged, outstanding characters. Yet, in his own way, 
 he is equally eminent. 
 
 His Youth was spent under very different sur¬ 
 roundings from that of his father. His home-life 
 was a sheltered one. As the son of a great man, of 
 large influence, rich in gold, silver, land and large 
 herds of cattle, he was treated with great respect 
 and honour. He was subjected to none of the temp¬ 
 tations of a heathen city, where the very temples of 
 the gods invited to a dissolute life. His bringing-up 
 was by a father and mother who believed in the one 
 true God. He was the one through whom the prom¬ 
 ise of “ The Blessing of the Whole World Was To 
 Come. ,, 
 
 The Choice of a Plan of Life. —No matter where 
 one may be born or under what favourable or un¬ 
 favourable circumstances, there must always come a 
 time when the choice has to be made of a plan of 
 life. The sculptor takes a lump of clay in his hands* 
 He kneads it and moulds it. He holds it up and you 
 
 1 1 
 
18 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 see the face of a satyr or a saint. Isaac, being of a 
 meditative turn of mind, must have often pondered 
 upon what he would be and do. How could he make 
 his life count? So far as wealth was concerned— 
 he was heir to that. So far as honour was concerned 
 —every one honoured him. In deciding what to do 
 there is the difficulty of having things, and the diffi¬ 
 culty of not having them. 
 
 The Challenge of Obedience. —It is a singular 
 thing that when a man does not openly choose for 
 himself what he will be, and do, then the choice is 
 thrust upon him and he is compelled to choose. This 
 was the case with Isaac, as we shall see later. He 
 had decision after decision thrust upon him. That 
 he chose so well is greatly to his credit. There is a 
 challenge to disobedience as well as obedience. The 
 temptation to break out into prodigality—to burst 
 the bands that bind us in our places—is inherent in 
 many hearts. Some people call it the desire for 
 liberty. Others give it a truer name in the desire 
 for license. But much more than the challenge to 
 disobedience do we have to meet the challenge to 
 obedience—to keep within and obey the laws of 
 physical, mental and moral health. To Isaac came 
 the challenge to preserve, and build up that heritage 
 that came to him through his father and his father’s 
 God. 
 
 Three Incidents in Isaac’s Life show the temper 
 of the man. We judge every one by the way in which 
 he meets trials that are thrust upon him. 
 
 The First Incident is that of His Ordered 
 Sacrifice.—-The account of this is found in Genesis, 
 
Isaac 
 
 l 9 
 
 chapter 22. The first three verses read as follows: 
 “ And it came to pass after these things that God 
 did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: 
 and he said, Behold here I am. And he said, Take 
 now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, 
 and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him 
 there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains 
 of which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up 
 early in the morning, and saddled his ass and took 
 two of his young men with him, and Isaac, his son, 
 and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose 
 up, and went unto the place of which God had told 
 him.” 
 
 The singular thing about this narrative is that 
 Isaac seemed to understand the part he was to play, 
 as the burnt offering, and yet he made no objection. 
 He did ask his father where the burnt offering was 
 to come from. But Isaac made no objection to be 
 bound and placed upon the pile of wood in readiness 
 for the knife and the fire. Here was a great chal¬ 
 lenge of obedience. Isaac certainly stood the test. 
 In regard to this incident it should be said that in 
 those times human sacrifices were common things 
 in religious rites. It was a big thing for Isaac to 
 submit. We revolt at it because of our long train¬ 
 ing in Christian principles. In regard to this whole 
 matter Professor Phelps says in his book—“ Human 
 Nature in the Bible ”—“ I do not share in the com¬ 
 mon opinion that Abraham did wrong in offering up 
 his son Isaac (and in Isaac’s consent to be offered 
 up). On the contrary it is one of the most splendid 
 of all his recorded deeds. . . . There are to-day. 
 
20 
 
 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 however, many conscientious objectors; they say that 
 Abraham’s obedience to God is fine, but when he 
 was asked to give the life of his own son, he would 
 have shown more nobility and righteousness had he 
 flatly refused. . . . Yet men in our day not only 
 
 consider it right to give the lives of their sons for 
 what they regard as a higher call, but are universally 
 honoured for doing so. What would be the general 
 opinion of a man who, during the years of 1914- 
 1918, had said, ‘No; I love my son too much to 
 sacrifice his life at his country’s command; it can¬ 
 not be right for a father to give up his own son/ 
 Millions of parents followed Abraham’s example in 
 response to what they believed the call of duty. They 
 not only did not feel any shame—they felt exalted. 
 Do you remember President Lincoln’s letter to the 
 mother who had sacrificed five sons for her coun¬ 
 try ? ” All honour to Isaac who stood such a test as 
 the one above. 
 
 It should be kept in mind, in reading this story, 
 that the narrative shows that it was not the inten¬ 
 tion of God that Isaac should be sacrificed. It is 
 related as a test and challenge of obedience. 
 
 The Second Incident is that of His Marriage 
 (Genesis 24:1-67).—This is one of the most beau¬ 
 tifully written chapters in the Bible. It is a love 
 story full of dramatic interest. Abraham is very de* 
 sirous that his son shall be happily and well married 
 —that it shall be a suitable marriage with one of his 
 .own station in life, and suited to him in every way. 
 The narrative seems to imply that Isaac was fully 
 Informed of all the arrangements made whereby 
 
Isaac 
 
 21 
 
 Rebekah finally became his wife. Everything was 
 aboveboard. There was nothing secret or clandes¬ 
 tine in the whole affair whereby Isaac obtained a 
 good wife. Here the challenge of obedience to right 
 things was met once more by Isaac. He found hap¬ 
 piness and great happiness inside the law of marriage 
 in the regular order. 
 
 The Third Incident is that of Giving Up to 
 Others.—The story is told in Genesis 26:17-22. 
 It is the narrative of how Isaac’s herdsmen digged a 
 well to water their flocks and herds and their right 
 to the well was disputed. They digged a second 
 well and again their right was disputed. They left 
 both these wells in possession of those who objected 
 to their having them and went and digged a third 
 well where they had peaceful possession. Here, 
 again, we see Isaac meeting the challenge of obedi¬ 
 ence to a higher law. 
 
 What is the higher lawf How does it work? 
 There are three rules by which people live and have 
 things. First —Get all you can and give back as 
 little as you can for what you get. This is the atti¬ 
 tude of the sponge, if the sponge can have an atti¬ 
 tude. It is the soaking up of everything possible. 
 Observing this rule makes for unhappiness and bit¬ 
 terness. Second —Give an exact equivalent for what 
 you get—no more—no less. For a good word—give 
 a good word. For an evil word—an evil word. For 
 a blow—a blow. The man who observes this rule 
 never gets on very far—he is always watching what 
 the other man is going to do to him and he wants to 
 be first to do the other man. Third —Do a little more 
 
22 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 than is asked of you. Be a little kinder than is ex¬ 
 pected. Give a better bargain than the buyer looked 
 for. Give up when your opponent does not expect 
 it. Isaac seems to have fully understood and acted 
 on this higher, or third law, in the case of the dis¬ 
 puted wells. 
 
 Questions.—Where is the story of Isaac told? 
 How does he differ from his father and son? What 
 can be said about his youth ? What about the choice 
 of a plan of life? The challenge of obedience? 
 What three incidents in Isaac’s life show his temper 
 as a man? What is the first incident and its teach¬ 
 ing? What the second? What the third? 
 
Ill 
 
 JACOB 
 
 THE SHARP TRADER WHO MENDED HIS WAYS 
 
 The World Famous Twins.—Esau and Jacob. 
 Their birth and what they did, when they grew up, 
 we find recorded in Genesis 25 : 21-49 : 33. 
 
 Characteristics (Genesis 25 : 27).—“And the boys 
 grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the 
 field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” 
 It is possible, from this and other descriptive pas¬ 
 sages, to get a very clear picture of what these men 
 were like. 
 
 Esau, “ a man of the field,” a hunter with a quick 
 ear and a keen eye; a hairy body burned black by 
 the sun; no man knew the haunts of game better 
 than he. But he lacked a sense of moral values. A 
 * son of Isaac and Rebekah and presumably—although 
 
 not really—the heir of the promises given to Abra¬ 
 ham—Genesis 25:23—he would have none of the 
 religion of his father and mother. He sought the 
 society and companionship of the roistering Canaan- 
 ites. He participated in their pagan rites and 
 heathen dances. He took to himself two Canaanite 
 wives. From start to finish of his career he is the 
 same. 
 
 Jacob , “ a plain man dwelling in tents.” A shrewd 
 man with a keen mind that can look far into the 
 
 23 
 
24 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 future. He had great tenacity of purpose. He could 
 wait—when he wanted anything—for years to get it. 
 Witness his waiting fourteen years—and serving a 
 hard master—to get his wife Rachel. In the matter 
 of getting the birthright—before this—from Esau he 
 waited for just exactly the right time and then he 
 sprung the trap. He was a sharp trader with an 
 eye, ever open, to further his own interests. He 
 seems to have had two natures struggling within 
 him for the ascendency; that of the man who will 
 get what he wants by fair means or foul and that 
 which desires to be true to all that is right and good 
 and to come into close personal communion with 
 God. It is the struggle of these two natures—and 
 the triumph of the better—that we watch in the rec¬ 
 ord of his career. 
 
 A Birthright Despised and Sold (Genesis 25 : 28- 
 34).—This is not only the story of an age-old 
 transaction. It is right up to the minute. This 
 morning—every morning—all the daily newspapers 
 had it—with a change of names—on their front 
 pages. It is the plot of “ The Best Seller ” and the 
 latest magazine story. Inherited honour, truth, 
 chastity, a good name, wealth—one or two or all— 
 are in the possession of those who are willing to sell 
 them and do sell them for a little sense gratification. 
 The sharp trader, Jacob, is always ready to buy and 
 does buy, as of old for a mess of pottage. The bit¬ 
 ter cry of Esau, the victimized, is ever with us. The 
 original story is that Esau came in faint, from hunt¬ 
 ing, and found Jacob cooking some red pottage. The 
 smell of it was good to a man as hungry as he was. 
 
Jacob 
 
 25 
 
 He wanted some at once. Jacob, knowing his nature, 
 that he would give anything to gratify his appetite, 
 saw that the time was ripe to get the birthright. The 
 bargain was struck. Jacob made Esau swear to the 
 bargain. He did so gladly; for at the time he de¬ 
 spised his birthright as a thing afar off. What cared 
 he so long as he could satisfy a present appetite! 
 
 The Stolen Blessing (Genesis 27:1-41).—After 
 the sale of the birthright the days come and go. 
 Things seem much the same as before. A man 
 crosses the line between evil and good, honesty and 
 dishonesty, virtue and no virtue and seems to come 
 back much as he was before. Why should he worry 
 or fret himself about the payment for his indiscre¬ 
 tions? Nothing has happened to him. In fact he 
 counts himself quite superior to the man who does 
 not cross the line between good and evil. So it must 
 have seemed to Esau that after all he had got the 
 better of Jacob, his canny brother. But wait! He 
 has forgotten that the mortgage he gave on his birth¬ 
 right is about to be foreclosed. He cannot watch 
 everything. His mother is looking out for Jacob. 
 When she hears Isaac ask Esau to go and get him 
 some venison, that he may eat and give him the 
 “ Birthright Blessing ” before he dies, she is all at¬ 
 tention. How Esau must have laughed to himself 
 that although he had sold his birthright he would get 
 it after all. Esau goes to get the venison. Mean¬ 
 time Rebekah gets very busy with Jacob and pre¬ 
 paring a savoury meal, she fixes him up to represent 
 Esau; sends him in to Isaac, who is deceived into 
 giving him the “ Birthright Blessing.” No excuse. 
 
26 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 whatever, is given in this narrative for the deception 
 of Rebekah and Jacob, in stealing the blessing. It is 
 stated as a fact. Esau returns to find the “ Birth¬ 
 right Blessing” bestowed on Jacob, “And he cried 
 with an exceeding bitter cry.” 
 
 The day of reckoning had come, as it always 
 comes. Esau begs and pleads and threatens but he 
 has lost the chief blessing. Now he hates Jacob and 
 threatens to kill him—forgetting that he, himself, is 
 the one upon whom the blame should rest. 
 
 Breaking Home Ties (Genesis 27:42-28:22).— 
 It is one thing when a young man voluntarily goes 
 away from home to better himself. It is quite an¬ 
 other when he is forced to leave home, on account 
 of something he has done, that makes it impossible 
 for him to remain. Jacob was forced out because 
 of the threat of Esau to kill him. Jacob is now get¬ 
 ting a little of his punishment-—more later on. Re¬ 
 bekah, ever looking out for Jacob, advises him to go 
 away for a while until Esau’s anger shall cool. A 
 virtue is made of the necessity and it is given out 
 that he is going to Haran to get a wife. There is no 
 enthusiastic send-off for Jacob. He goes out alone 
 and unattended. His deception does not seem as 
 good to him as it seemed a while ago. He has the 
 “ Birthright Blessing 99 but what good is it going to 
 do him? It seems, just now, to be sending him out 
 into a cold and unfriendly world. 
 
 A Wonderful Dream (Genesis 28:10-22).—The 
 first night of a man away from home, who has never 
 been away from home before, is very trying. Jacob 
 ytas led to think of many things. He must have 
 
Jacob 
 
 27 
 
 wondered if, after all, he had been so very sharp 
 and shrewd. He had doubtless prided himself on the 
 way he had got ahead of thick-witted Esau but now 
 he must have asked himself if it really paid—since 
 his grasping nature had sent him out into a desert 
 place. He was not nearly as sure of himself as he 
 had been. Thinking these thoughts he fell asleep, 
 with a stone for a pillow. He had a wonderful 
 dream. There are those who tell us that our real 
 nature comes out in dreams. There we come face 
 to face with our real desires and hopes. It may be 
 that humbled by his failure to get on through his 
 shrewdness Jacob’s better nature was coming to the 
 front. Anyway he had a dream of a great staircase 
 with the angels ascending and descending upon it 
 and God standing at the top and declaring that He 
 renewed for him the promises given to Abraham— 
 Genesis 28:13, 14. Jacob here makes vows and a 
 covenant with God. The better nature of this man 
 is coming to the front. But he has to be sorely tried 
 as we shall see a little farther on. 
 
 Serving Fourteen Years for a Wife (Genesis 
 29:1-31:55).—The shrewd, sharp trader meets 
 sooner or later one who is shrewder and sharper than 
 he is. A man who is always trying to get the better 
 of other people will, in the end, find his match. In 
 due course of time Jacob came to the home of Laban, 
 his uncle, an exceedingly kind, affable man, who 
 would assure you most cordially that everything he 
 had was at your disposal and then he would turn 
 around and fleece you of your last penny. Jacob 
 fell in love with Rachel the daughter of Laban and 
 
28 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 made a bargain with Laban to serve for her for 
 seven years. When the seven years were up, Laban 
 tricked him and he had to serve another seven years, 
 without pay. The narrative as it goes on shows how, 
 in sharp bargaining between Laban and Jacob, it 
 was diamond cut diamond. 
 
 Back Home Again (Genesis 32:1-33: 20).—Rich 
 in flocks and herds, and with his family Jacob starts 
 to return to the land of his birth. He is quite elated 
 by what he possesses. He has done very well and 
 he will exhibit his prosperity. He went forth with 
 only his staff and now he returns laden with goods. 
 Jacob sends messengers before him to inform Esau 
 that he comes. He instructs the messengers to tell 
 his brother of his flocks and herds and what an im¬ 
 portant man he has become. But when the mes¬ 
 sengers come to Esau, they find that he is on the 
 march with four hundred men to meet Jacob. That 
 is the answer to Jacob’s boasting of his prosperity. 
 It does not count at all with Esau. Jacob is afraid 
 and rightly so. He finally arranges matters so that 
 he will try to save his family. He divides his flocks 
 and herds into bands so that one band after another 
 shall meet Esau, as presents, and appease him, if 
 possible. There is no disguising that he is in fear 
 of his life and that of his family. All his arrogance 
 is gone. 
 
 The Sharp Trader Who Mended His Ways 
 
 (Genesis 32:24-32).—“And Jacob was left alone ” 
 after he had made all possible arrangements for the 
 safety of his family. That verse accurately describes 
 the position of Jacob. He was alone. His position, 
 
Jacob 
 
 29 
 
 his flocks and his herds, counted for naught. He 
 felt stripped of all that he had so shrewdly and suc¬ 
 cessfully worked for. He not only was alone but he 
 felt the isolation. He expected nothing now but that 
 Esau would do just as he had said he would do, 
 years ago, kill him. He had no earthly friend to 
 depend upon. He could do nothing himself. There 
 remained only God. Take the narrative, as it is. God 
 wrestled with Jacob. Jacob wrestled with God. 
 What is there out of the way here ? That man should 
 wrestle with God for a blessing—to find, in the end, 
 peace and comfort is an every-day occurrence. 
 Men, who come to the end of their resources, must 
 come to God. There is no other to whom they can 
 come. Anyway, from this time on, Jacob was a 
 changed man. He had mended his ways. His better 
 nature he allowed to come to the front. His feet 
 were on the upward path. God could and did use 
 him, as He had not aforetime. He had prevailed 
 with God and God had prevailed with him. The 
 whole story is that of a man’s giving his soul a 
 chance, in being obedient to God, and in coming into 
 communion with Him. Esau met Jacob in the ut¬ 
 most friendliness and would receive no present of 
 him. If a man is right with God, he is right with 
 the whole world. 
 
 The Success of Jacob was not so much in his 
 wealth of land and herds as it was in what he was 
 able to do with a naturally mean and grasping dis¬ 
 position. And the change in this disposition was 
 not due to any particular resolutions or determina¬ 
 tions on his part but to his being willing to follow, 
 
30 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 whole heartedly, the promptings of his God. Jacob 
 has his place to-day because of his success in his 
 inner life. 
 
 Questions. —Where is the story of the world 
 famous twins found? What are the characteristics 
 of Esau and Jacob? What is meant by a birthright 
 despised and sold? What can be said of the stolen 
 blessing? How did Jacob come to break his home 
 ties? Describe the wonderful dream of Jacob and 
 what it was to him. What about the fourteen years 
 Jacob served for Rachel? In coming back home 
 what did Jacob desire to do first of all? How did 
 the sharp trader mend his ways ? What was the suc¬ 
 cess of Jacob’s life? 
 
>w 3; - ^ 
 
 IV 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 THE DREAMER WHOSE DREAMS CAME TRUE 
 
 The Life of Joseph, from the time he was seven¬ 
 teen years old until his death, is recorded in Genesis 
 37:2 to 50:_26._ He was the son of Jacob and Rachel. 
 Helias^been called—“ The Strongest and Most Lov¬ 
 able Character in Genesis/’ Aside from his own, 
 individual career, he is an episode in the life of 
 Jacob. 
 
 With Joseph closes the patriarchal line —Abraham, 
 Isaac and Jacob—and the tribal and national life of 
 “ The Chosen People ” begins under Moses. We 
 have here related how the way was opened for this 
 chosen race to come down into Egypt and develop 
 and grow strong, under the most favourable circum¬ 
 stances. Pharaoh favoured them in every way. Had 
 they remained in Canaan during this formative pe¬ 
 riod, they would not have been permitted to expand, 
 the way they did, without exciting the jealousy and 
 bitter enmity of their warlike neighbours. As it was, 
 after they had multiplied to a great host and another 
 Pharaoh was on the throne, the Egyptians tried to 
 curb their growth by increasing their tasks and other 
 means. But it was too late. They had become too 
 strong. Strong enough to go through the grueling 
 trial of “ The Forty Years’ Wandering ” and to make 
 
32 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 themselves, in due time, masters of Canaan—“ The 
 Promised Land,” as it had been foretold. 
 
 The Shepherd Boy (Genesis 37:1-4).—His life 
 reads like a romance. From the sheepfold he was 
 raised, in a few short years, to be the chief ruler, 
 under Pharaoh, of one of the mightiest empires the 
 world has ever seen. But he had to take a course 
 in the University of Hard Knocks which few would 
 care to undertake even for so great a prize. 
 
 He is the favoured one of all the sons of Jacob. 
 That favour is shown by a distinctive dress. It was 
 the sort of coat that was the garb of the aristocracy 
 and of the leisure class, while his brethren were 
 clothed in the rough and ready clothes of shepherds. 
 Seen together, he at once stood forth as the superior 
 in station. No wonder that he aroused the jealousy 
 and hatred of his brethren. Jacob ought to have 
 known better. He ought to have looked back to his 
 own boyhood and remembered his experiences with 
 his brother, Esau. 
 
 The Dreamer (Genesis 37:5-11).—It is not at all 
 strange that a bright lad, of seventeen years of age, 
 should begin to think and dream of the future, of 
 what he would be and do. Joseph had been clothed 
 in a garb which showed, at a glance, his station above 
 his brethren. He had been petted and pampered at 
 home. What more natural than he should dream 
 about his brethren coming and bowing down to him, 
 in sheaves bowing down to a sheaf? It is exactly 
 in the line of his bringing up that he should dream 
 again of the sun and moon and eleven stars “ making 
 obeisance to me.” Again we see the attitude of 
 
33 
 
 Jacob in that he seems to acquiesce in the outlook of 
 Joseph. Looked at, however, in the light of sub- 
 sequent events, these dreams were literally fulfilled. 
 
 The whole question of dreams is a puzzling one 
 which no man has been able to solve. Some dreams 
 are the result of indigestion; some of our own hopes 
 and fears; some of the favourable or unfavourable 
 circumstances in which we happen to be at the time. 
 But, after all the possible explanations have been 
 made, there still remain dreams which we cannot 
 explain; in these men are warned, encouraged and 
 even given glimpses of the future. Modern thought 
 does not encourage us to say much about our dreams 
 or to rely upon them. Joseph, when he came to the 
 place where his brethren and his father did obeisance 
 to him, must have harked back to his dreams, when 
 he was a lad seventeen years old. 
 
 Sold into Egypt (Genesis 37:12-36 and 39: 1- 
 23). —If Joseph’s distinctive dress aroused the envy 
 and jealousy of his brethren much more his dreams so 
 infuriated them that—“ They conspired against him 
 to slay him.” An opportunity was given them to 
 wreak their hatred upon him when Jacob sent him to 
 them to see how they were getting along. As he 
 came near Dothan, where they were feeding the 
 flocks, they saw him afar off—‘'And they said one to 
 another, Behold this dreamer cometh. Come now, 
 therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some 
 pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured 
 him: and we shall see what will become of his 
 dreams.” Reuben saves Joseph from death by per¬ 
 suading the rest to put him into the pit. 
 
34 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 The pit was a big jug-shaped cistern with a small 
 mouth over which a stone could be placed. This sort 
 of cistern was dug by the shepherds to store water 
 for their flocks and herds. Escape was impossible 
 for Joseph. Where were now all his bright hopes 
 and anticipations ? What of his dreams and his boy¬ 
 ish boastfulness? He could cry out all he wanted 
 to and no one would hear him. His brethren cared 
 so little that they sat down to eat and drink. Such 
 an experience is not uncommon in life. We are put 
 into a pit of circumstances, by those whom we re¬ 
 garded as friends, from which there seems no escape. 
 But the worst was yet to come. 
 
 Slave traders come that way. Joseph is taken out 
 of the pit to be sold as a slave. The lad, set above 
 the rest of the household, is now to feel the lash of 
 the slave-driver’s whip. Here is the crucial thing— 
 will Joseph sink to the level of the slave? Will he 
 give up his integrity and his dreams? It is not so 
 much what happens to us, outside; it is whether it 
 gets inside? 
 
 That Joseph was not embittered by his experience 
 in the pit and being sold as a slave, is shown by the 
 fact that he so conducted himself in the house of 
 Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the 
 guard, that he speedily rose to be the overseer of all 
 he had. It doubtless seemed good to Joseph to have 
 this recognition. 
 
 This prosperity, alas, was short-lived. Again he is 
 cast down—this time into a loathsome Egyptian 
 prison. For what? For standing out against a 
 great temptation; trying to do the right thing for 
 
Joseph 35 
 
 himself and Potiphar. Falsely accused of attempting 
 to do a wrong—he does not reply to the accusation— 
 he understands the uselessness of it. This is not a 
 rare case. One has sometimes to suffer, in silence, 
 under an unjust charge or make things worse by 
 speaking. 
 
 The Interpreter of Dreams (Genesis 40:1 to 
 41:36).—For two years Joseph remained in prison. 
 There seemed no prospect of anything for him ex¬ 
 cept this life. He had no outside influence. No one 
 to help him except his God; to Him he turned in his 
 distress. This was a critical period with Joseph, 
 when the outlook was anything but encouraging. 
 But pursuing the same policy that had made him 
 overseer of Potiphar’s house, and with the favour 
 of God, he became the master of the prison—Genesis 
 39:21-23. 
 
 Now happened a series of remarkable events which 
 showed that Joseph was not forgotten. 
 
 The chief butler and the chief baker of Pharaoh 
 were put in prison. They speedily dreamed—the 
 chief butler of a vine with three branches and of his 
 pressing the juice of the ripe grapes into Pharaoh’s 
 cup—the chief baker also of three white baskets in 
 which were all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh. 
 They were entirely at a loss to interpret the dreams, 
 and were very sad. They gladly accepted Joseph’s of¬ 
 fer to interpret their dreams. To the chief butler he 
 was able to say that within three days he would be 
 restored to his place but to the chief baker he could 
 only say that within three days he should die. The 
 chief butler was elated. Within three days he was 
 
36 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 restored to his place. Before he went out Joseph 
 intreated him to remember him to Pharaoh and to 
 bring him out of his prison house, but the chief 
 butler forgot him utterly. It is not uncommon for 
 people to forget favours. This narrative runs true 
 to life. 
 
 Pharaoh had a dream of seven lean kine and seven 
 fat kine that came up out of the river Nile, and the 
 lean kine devoured the fat kine; and of seven lean 
 ears and seven rank and full ears. No one could be 
 found who could interpret the dream until the chief 
 butler remembered how Joseph had interpreted his 
 dream and his promise to help him out of prison. 
 We all know how Joseph interpreted the dream to 
 Pharaoh as it was that which God was about to bring 
 to pass in Egypt—seven plentiful to be followed by 
 seven lean or famine years. 
 
 Making Good as Chief Ruler of Egypt (Genesis 
 41:37-57).—Now at last the golden opportunity, 
 for Joseph, had come. He pointed out the desirabil¬ 
 ity of some man being chosen who would gather 
 sufficient grain to tide over the lean years. Pharaoh 
 chose him as that man. Look back and see that 
 Joseph has been prepared and willing to be prepared 
 for this great trust. He is a graduate, with honours, 
 of Faith in God and the University of Hard Knocks. 
 Did Joseph foresee something of this sort and pre¬ 
 pared himself for it? He was a man of vision and 
 an interpreter of visions. Every inventor has seen 
 his invention, in vision, before he has seen it in 
 reality. Edison saw his lamp, Wright his flying 
 machine, Marconi heard his wireless messages before 
 
37 
 
 they became realities. Why is it not possible for a 
 man like Joseph, with infinite faith in God, to believe 
 that God is preparing him for some great trust— 
 some great place—when, after enduring hard trials, 
 he graduates at the head of his class? 
 
 Many men, who in politics and in business have 
 attained to high places, have told afterwards that 
 when they were boys they determined to have these 
 places. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph be¬ 
 lieved in God’s promises unto the uttermost. The 
 early dreams of Joseph are indicative of what he 
 purposed to do and be. 
 
 There are four things which must be observed 
 in making good in any work or profession. First — 
 There must be the determination, the will, to do 
 what one purposes to do. Second —Staying power 
 —to remain in one’s chosen pursuit, no matter what 
 happens. Third —Reserve power; the accumulation 
 of a reserve for unexpected emergencies. Fourth — 
 Vision, the ability to see a thing, as accomplished, 
 before it is done. These qualities coupled with his 
 firm faith in God’s ability to take care of him made 
 Joseph what he was. 
 
 Joseph’s Receptions of His Brethren and His Fa¬ 
 ther (Genesis 42:1 to 50: 26) constitute a separate 
 story. They would take a study in themselves. We 
 have only space to point out the fact that Joseph’s 
 rise to high position had not spoiled him. He was 
 not vindictive against his brethren who had sold him 
 into slavery. He saw everything that had happened, 
 as it had turned out to the advantage of his people 
 and himself. 
 
38 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Eight Strong Points in the Character of Joseph, 
 
 First —Supreme faith in God; his confidence never 
 wavered. Second— Foresight; seeing things before 
 they came to pass. Third —Evenness of temper; we 
 never see him out of sorts. Fourth —Making the 
 best of bad situations; in the pit and in the prison 
 he is the same as in the chief rulership. Fifth — 
 Keenness of mind. He had all the shrewdness of 
 his father, Jacob, but it was turned toward helping 
 others and not used for his own advantage. Sixth 
 —Ability to cope with any and every situation. 
 Seventh —Stability of heart and mind. Eighth — 
 Dependability—Potiphar, the keeper of the prison, 
 and Pharaoh placed all their interests, successively, in 
 his hands, and they were taken care of to their satis¬ 
 faction. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said of the life of 
 Joseph; the way in which he was connected with 
 the chosen people coming down into Egypt? How 
 did Jacob show his favour to this shepherd boy? 
 What can be said of Joseph as “ The Dreamer ” ? 
 What is there to be said of Joseph being sold into 
 Egypt? Describe his first experiences in Egypt. 
 What can be said of him as “ The Interpreter of 
 Dreams ” ? How did he make good as chief ruler 
 of Egypt? What four things must be observed in 
 making good? What can be said of Joseph’s re¬ 
 ception of his father and his brethren? Give the 
 eight strong points in the character of Joseph. 
 
V 
 
 MOSES 
 
 LEADER AND LAWGIVER OF A NATION 
 
 The Need of Moses.—We turn from Genesis, at 
 once, to Exodus and are apt to forget that between 
 the two books there is a long space of time. 
 
 After the death of Joseph there arose a Pharaoh 
 who became alarmed at the rapid increase in num¬ 
 bers and wealth of the Israelites. What Joseph had 
 done in saving the nation, during seven years of 
 famine, was utterly forgotten. This Pharaoh de¬ 
 termined to break the spirit and to check the growth 
 of this people. He burdened them with difficult 
 tasks, gave orders to kill off all the boy babies, and 
 reduced them to abject slavery. To a free people 
 this subjection seemed very hard; and when they 
 remembered the promises given to Abraham, Isaac 
 and Jacob and the favour that was theirs under 
 Joseph it was by no means easy for them to bear 
 the bitterness of their lot. Year after year passed 
 and conditions grew steadily worse. 
 
 The Advent of Moses.—Even after the birth of 
 Moses it is eighty years before he is called to deliver 
 this people from a hard and bitter bondage. But 
 in his birth events of tremendous importance, not 
 only to the Israelites but to the world, are in prepa¬ 
 ration. 
 
 Moses stands out as one of the greatest figures 
 
 39 
 
40 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 in the history of mankind. He was born in slavery; 
 a slave mother concealed his birth that he might not 
 suffer death under the decree of Pharaoh that all 
 Israelitish boy babies should be put to death. 
 
 The Great Task given to Moses was to take a 
 people which had been in Egyptian slavery—the 
 worst that the world has ever known—with its hard 
 work without pay and its cruel whippings—and make 
 it into a great nation with the purest moral and 
 spiritual ideals that the world has ever known. 
 
 He was called to a constructive work of the 
 highest order. He was to be, so to speak, the presi¬ 
 dent of the Sinaitic University with its various de¬ 
 partments ably manned not with a four, but a forty 
 years' course of study. 
 
 The task was threefold. First, Religious, to 
 make a church with the underlying thought of one 
 God, Father and Ruler of all. Second, Political, to 
 make a great state or nation living under wise laws 
 with high spiritual conceptions. A people which 
 could survive internal dissensions and the rude buf- 
 fetings of other nations. Third, Social, to keep the 
 individual and the family pure and clean and in 
 right relations. The principles set forth have never 
 been abrogated. 
 
 With him the primitive and patriarchal period 
 closes and we have the birth of a nation. 
 
 The Career of Moses is divided into three periods 
 of forty years each. 
 
 The First Forty Years in the Court of Pharaoh. 
 
 —It is summed up in just fifteen verses of the second 
 chapter of Exodus. Most historians would have 
 
Moses 
 
 41 
 
 made much of this period. Not so this recorder. 
 He has much more important things on hand. We 
 wish we knew more about Moses’ mother who saved 
 the life of her child and carefully thought out a way 
 to preserve him from death and provide for his fu¬ 
 ture. She was a real genius in planning. 
 
 As the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
 Moses moved in the inner circle of the court life. 
 There were four great temple universities—Memphis, 
 Sais, Thebes and On. They were famous for their 
 scholarship. It is probable that Moses was educated 
 at the University of On, which is about five miles 
 northeast of modern Cairo. 
 
 The allurements of court life, the learning, and 
 the gorgeous ritual of worship in the magnificent 
 temples of the Egyptians do not seem to have had 
 any appeal for this young man. 
 
 We find all his sympathies and all his interest 
 are for the despised race from which he came. Go¬ 
 ing out one day, as he doubtless had done very 
 often, to visit his people, he sees an Egyptian beat¬ 
 ing a Hebrew. It is too much for him. Doubtless 
 hitting harder than he intends he lays low the cruel 
 taskmaster. He thinks no one has seen him, but he 
 learns very quickly that he is mistaken. For trying 
 to help a fellow countryman, in distress, he is com¬ 
 pelled to flee for his life. 
 
 The Second Forty Years on the Backside of the 
 Desert.—What a change! From the active and 
 gay life of the court of the mightiest empire of its 
 times to the silence and monotony of the desert! 
 Now he, who was so honoured and looked up to, 
 
42 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 whose slightest expressed wish was attended to by 
 fawning servants, is reduced to tending sheep. But 
 if Moses ever regretted the change he left no record 
 of his regret. There come times, in every one's life, 
 when there is relegation to the backside of the desert 
 but it is not always taken as well as Moses took it. 
 
 Moses in this period gained a knowledge of the 
 desert which was of great use to him when he, after¬ 
 wards, led the host of Israelites in their wanderings. 
 This period is summed up in one short chapter— 
 Exodus 3. 
 
 This period is brought to a close by the call, by 
 God, out of the burning bush, to Moses to the work 
 which marks the beginning of a great epoch in the 
 history of the world. 
 
 The Third Forty Years as Leader and Lawgiver 
 of a Nation.—A period crowded with important 
 events so that four books—Exodus, Leviticus, Num¬ 
 bers and Deuteronomy—making barest mention of 
 them are not sufficient to tell the whole story. 
 
 After the call of Moses he is, at once, sent to 
 Pharaoh to demand the release of the children of 
 Israel. Think of the surprise and bewilderment of 
 Pharaoh! A fugitive, who has been hunted by his 
 order, coming before him and demanding that he 
 release a despised body of slaves! Moses does not 
 come, as a suppliant, but as the ambassador of a 
 higher power demanding and insisting that Pharaoh 
 yield. Pharaoh is obliged to comply. Then follows 
 the story of the making of a nation in the forty years 
 of desert schooling. 
 
 The Key-note of the Three Periods is Divine 
 
Moses 
 
 43 
 
 Leadership.—God ruling in and over the affairs of 
 men. It is God who calls Moses to his task. It is 
 God who sends Moses to Pharaoh with the demand 
 that he let the Children of Israel go. It is God who 
 directs the exodus out of Egypt. It is God for whom 
 the wilderness tabernacle is erected. It is God who 
 gives the ten commandments. He is fulfilling His 
 promises to make of this people a great nation—- 
 through'whom all the world shall be blessed and 
 come to better things. 
 
 The Record of What was Done in the Third 
 Period is set forth in the books of Exodus, Levit¬ 
 icus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. 
 
 Exodus.—This book is a great turning point in 
 Old Testament history. It marks “ The first stage 
 of the fulfillment of the promises made by God to 
 the patriarchs with reference to the place and growth 
 of the Israelites.” 
 
 It should not be forgotten that God is here re¬ 
 vealed as the God of the whole world and supreme 
 over nature. He commands Pharaoh and the forces 
 of the earth. A special nation is called, constituted 
 and consecrated for a world-wide mission. 
 
 Leviticus.—The contents are legislative. The 
 laws set forth are Moral, Religious, Civil, Ceremonial 
 and Sanitary. The ten commandments are given to 
 Moses. The great value of these laws is fully rec¬ 
 ognized to-day. The design of these laws is to stim¬ 
 ulate the spiritual life and make a Holy Nation. 
 
 Numbers.—The account of the training of the 
 nation. We are here told of what took place from 
 the second year of the exodus to the arrival at the 
 
44 
 
 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 border of the Promised Land—thirty-eight years. 
 The name is from the double numbering of the peo¬ 
 ple—first at Sinai, chapter 1, and then at Moab, 
 chapter 26. 
 
 Deuteronomy.—Review of the law in sight of 
 the Promised Land. Moses gives his parting in¬ 
 structions in three addresses. First—Remembrance 
 of God’s care. Second—Exposition of the law. 
 Third—Renewal of the covenant. Some of the laws 
 given in Leviticus are changed to suit the new mode 
 of living from tent life to the settled life of villages 
 and cities. A new generation has grown up, a new 
 country is to be settled and new duties are before 
 the people. 
 
 Questions.-—What was the need of Moses? 
 What can be said of the advent of Moses? How 
 long after his birth did the deliverance take place? 
 What was the task of Moses; its threefold char¬ 
 acter? Into what periods is Moses’ career divided? 
 Give an account of the first, the second and the 
 third. What is the key-note of the three? What is 
 the record—teaching-—of Exodus, Leviticus, Num¬ 
 bers and Deuteronomy? 
 
VI 
 
 JOSHUA 
 
 THE COURAGEOUS MAN WITH A HARD TASK 
 
 Wanted—A New Leader!—This sign was out. 
 Moses, the statesman, was dead. Great was the 
 mourning! 
 
 When a man has been the successful head of a 
 nation for forty years and dies in the full vigour of 
 his powers, it is not easy to fill his place—Deuteron¬ 
 omy 34: 7, 8. 
 
 Ability to lead , in a great movement, is a rare 
 quality. A man may have wealth, position, favour¬ 
 ing circumstances, but these will all go for naught 
 without this quality; with this quality he can create 
 wealth, position and favouring circumstances and 
 make them serve his purpose. Without good leader¬ 
 ship a nation rapidly degenerates. Hence the anx¬ 
 iety, after the death of Moses, in regard to the new 
 leader must have been intense. The position of the 
 tribes was very critical. They could not go back. 
 They were facing alert, dangerous, and well-armed 
 enemies. 
 
 The Choice of Joshua (Joshua Ch. 1).—As we 
 read the narrative we can realize the relief in the 
 strain when it was announced that Joshua had been 
 called to take the place of Moses. “As Moses was 
 a statesman, Joshua was a soldier”—a general of 
 eminent ability. His predominant qualities were 
 
 45 
 
46 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 strength, courage, far-sightedness, faith in his God 
 and in His cause. 
 
 The call came from God . How? We cannot 
 say. We follow the text. But it is true to-day, as 
 it ever has been, that many a man, engaged in a large 
 and important enterprise, has felt this direct call to 
 his work. With the call to Joshua there came the 
 assurance—1:5—that God would be back of him; 
 and the exhortation—three times repeated—to be 
 strong and of good courage—1: 6, 7, 9. 
 
 Personal Equipment.—We always like to know 
 something about men who have done big things— 
 stepping out of their nationality-—in the history of 
 the world. Joshua was a descendent of Joseph of 
 the tribe of Ephraim—1 Chronicles 7: 20-27. He 
 was born a slave, in the brick fields of Egypt, and 
 he knew the bitterness of slavery. He was with 
 Moses in the forty years’ wandering in the desert. 
 He was selected as the commander to defeat Amalek 
 when he fought against Israel, at Rephidim—Exodus 
 17:8-13. He was also chosen to go with Moses 
 when he went up “into the mount of God” to re¬ 
 ceive the tables of stone on which were written the 
 commandments—-Exodus 24:12, 13. It was the 
 logical and natural thing that the new leadership 
 should come to him. He was well prepared to re¬ 
 spond to the call. 
 
 The Situation.™Let us visualize it, as Joshua 
 saw it. 
 
 On the east side of the Jordan, to the north of 
 the Dead Sea, the host of Israel is encamped. It is 
 orderly. It is well disciplined. The encampment is 
 
Joshua 
 
 47 
 
 by tribes. The streets are well spaced. On the 
 parade grounds—of which there are a number—there 
 is constant drilling of the soldiers. Let us disabuse 
 our minds of the fancy that there was no effort re¬ 
 quired of the Israelites when difficult things had to 
 be done and that all they had to do was to call on 
 the Lord and a miracle would be performed. It is 
 not so set down in the narrative. They had to work 
 hard. It was well known that it would be no easy 
 task to subdue the Canaanites. 
 
 On the west side of the Jordan were the 
 Canaanites dwelling in many scores of walled cities 
 and with a multitude of fierce fighters. 
 
 The Work to Be Done was to dispossess the 
 Canaanites and to possess the land. Could it be 
 done? That was the question that troubled every¬ 
 body from Joshua down to the smallest children who 
 could understand what was up. 
 
 First — To dispossess the Canaanites. Why? 
 For the same reason that Sodom and Gomorrah were 
 destroyed. Read Genesis 18: 20-19: 25. This dis¬ 
 possession is always represented in the Bible as a 
 punishment for wickedness. Nineveh, Babylon and 
 Jerusalem also went down for their sins. The 
 Canaanites worshipped every evil thing. In one word 
 it was a religious cult exalting immorality. Recent 
 excavations and researches show that “ No other na¬ 
 tion has rivaled them in the mixture of blood and 
 debauchery with which they sought to honour the 
 Deity.” We have no sympathy with the disorderly 
 house and the gambling hell when raided by the 
 police—why should we express it for the Canaanites 
 
48 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 who were far worse? Joshua was taking no chances 
 when he prepared his campaign. He knew that the 
 worse the evil the harder it would fight. It is a 
 mistake too often made that all you have to do is 
 expose evil and the cure is effected. Not so—it 
 hits back and uses every mean weapon that it can 
 get hold of. The Canaanites were skilled warriors. 
 They had the arts of civilization, as then known. 
 They inhabited walled towns and cities. They were 
 strategists and fought by fair means and by foul. 
 
 Second—To possess the land . To do this Joshua 
 well knew that he would have to be wise in peace as 
 well as in war. To conserve the fruits of victory is 
 often more difficult than to win them. 
 
 The War Plan, of Joshua, displayed the ability 
 of a great general. There were three military cam¬ 
 paigns. 
 
 First —“ The Central ” against Jericho and Ai— 
 chapter 6. This was a blow right in the center of 
 Canaan. It divided the forces of the enemy into 
 two camps—“ the Southern ” and “ the Northern.” 
 This made it more easy to deal with the situation. 
 
 Second—“The Southern” against the combined 
 kings of the South—chapter 10. 
 
 Third—“The Northern” against the combined 
 kings of the North—chapter 11. 
 
 In chapter 12 we have an account of the kings 
 which the children of Israel smote and possessed 
 their lands. 
 
 The Peace Plan.— Note that the tribes were not 
 left to select their own lands, as it might happen, 
 where they should settle, but everything was care- 
 
Joshua 
 
 49 
 
 fully planned out. The great ability of Joshua never 
 shone out more clearly than it does here. In chap¬ 
 ters 13 to 22 we have the assignment of lands to the 
 twelve tribes. Nine and a half tribes have their ap¬ 
 portionment on the west side of Jordan and two and 
 a half tribes on the east side. The Tabernacle of 
 God is set up at Shiloh—-chapter 18:1. The rest of 
 the eighteenth chapter up to and including the 
 twenty-second, has to do with further tribal appor¬ 
 tionment and the appointing of six cities of refuge 
 and forty-eight cities given to the Levites. Every¬ 
 thing is done in an orderly and systematic way. 
 
 The Real Significance of Joshua’s Work was that 
 he worked under the direction of God—this is al¬ 
 ways made prominent. First, for the purification of 
 the land from the awful parody of its religion in the 
 exaltation of immorality. Second, the exaltation of 
 the worship of the one true God. Third, the begin¬ 
 ning of civil and religious liberty. 
 
 Joshua’s Farewell Address.—Nothing could be 
 finer. Read chapters 23 and 24. Near the close of 
 his life he calls the tribes together and gives them 
 his parting words. He reviews his twenty-five years 
 with them as their leader. He recalls to their minds 
 what has been accomplished. He reminds them of 
 God’s great goodness and care and of how much He 
 has done for them. He earnestly warns against 
 lapses into idolatry. He charges them to be faithful 
 to their God. He renews the covenant with God. 
 
 Characteristics of Joshua.—First—perfect faith 
 in God. Second—masterly courage. Third—great¬ 
 ness of leadership both in war and in peace. Fourth 
 
50 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 —lasting enthusiasm. Fifth—unswerving fidelity 
 in the discharge of all his duties. 
 
 Questions.—Why was a new leader wanted? 
 What can be said about the choice of Joshua? What 
 was his personal equipment? What can be said of 
 the situation, as Joshua saw it, with which he had 
 to deal? What was the work to be done? What 
 was the war plan? What the peace plan? What 
 was the real significance of Joshua’s work? Give 
 the points in Joshua’s farewell address. What were 
 the five characteristics of Joshua? 
 
VII 
 
 SAUL 
 
 THE MAN WHO ABUSED HIS OPPORTUNITIES 
 
 The Opportunities of Saul (1 Samuel 8:19 to 
 31:13).—No man ever had so many chances to 
 make a success of life thrust upon him and no man 
 ever so missed them. No, not missed them; let us 
 rather say that he went out of his way to abuse 
 them. How did he do it? His sun rose, in splen¬ 
 dour, with every prospect of a glorious day. It set 
 in darkness with a tempest raging. Such a career 
 is well worth the closest study in order that we may 
 realize the dangers to be avoided. It is not the op¬ 
 portunities, big or little, that count; it is the use that 
 is made of them. 
 
 The Backward Look to the transition period, be¬ 
 tween Joshua, who succeeded Moses and conquered 
 Canaan, and Saul, the first king of Israel, is well 
 worth while. The story is told, from the first chap¬ 
 ter of Judges, up to and including the eighth chapter 
 of 1 Samuel. It is a stirring history, of hundreds 
 of years, compressed in thirty-three short Bible chap¬ 
 ters. 
 
 The key-note is found in Judges 2:16-19. 
 Things do not run smoothly. Israel falls into sin; 
 becomes a prey to her enemies; repents and calls on 
 God; God hears and raises up a leader (“Judge,” 
 
 5i 
 
52 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 so called) who delivers the nation; then the nation 
 falls into sin again and the round is repeated about 
 thirteen times. No great man arises like Moses or 
 Joshua. This period is very much like the “ Middle 
 Ages of Europe.” While the ark seems to remain 
 at Shiloh there is no central national government, 
 no political unity, and the supremacy passes from 
 tribe to tribe. The original inhabitants of the land 
 are hostile and bitter. 
 
 The problem of the Israelites was to retain their 
 faith in God and to keep hold of the land. The 
 temptation was constant to relapse into the heathen¬ 
 ish ways of the Canaanites. The beautiful story of 
 the book of Ruth shows, however, that there were 
 some very good people even in these dark days. 
 
 The Forward Look.—When things are very bad 
 in a people’s affairs one of two things happens: First 
 —the end is the extinction of that race or. Second 
 —a party arises which demands a radical change for 
 the better. It is to the credit of the Israelites that a 
 radical change for the better was demanded. With 
 Samuel, the last of the judges and the first of the 
 prophets, it was thought that a new era had dawned. 
 He, at first, did great things in bringing order out 
 of chaos and in the heading of a new and better 
 administration of affairs. But he was growing old. 
 He made his sons judges. This was the finishing 
 touch for they were bad through and through. They 
 took bribes and sold judgments—1 Samuel 8:1-22. 
 Then the chief men came to Samuel and demanded 
 a new administration. They could see no better way 
 than to have a new move. Samuel’s sons were im- 
 
Saul 
 
 53 
 
 possible. They asked for a king like the nations 
 round about them. Samuel tried to dissuade them 
 but they would not listen to him. Samuel took the 
 matter to the Lord and he was told to yield to the 
 people's demand. 
 
 In this Backward and Forward Look we see the 
 
 straits to which the people were put and the reason 
 for the desire for a strong hand to guide and control 
 affairs. But in this demand the people set aside 
 God’s immediate government and Samuel. Yet this 
 seemed, at this time, with Samuel’s evil sons coming 
 into power, the thing to do—the appointment of a 
 king. 
 
 The Splendid Advent of Saul, the first king of 
 Israel. No reign of any king was ever begun under 
 fairer prospects—1 Samuel 8:18-22. He was 
 chosen by Samuel under the direct command of God. 
 The people were for him to a man—and not simply 
 the leaders. When Samuel presented him to the 
 people there was great rejoicing. “ And Samuel said 
 to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath 
 chosen, that there is none like him among all the 
 people? And all the people shouted, and said, God 
 save the king ”—1 Samuel 10: 24. 
 
 Personally , he was good to look upon. He was 
 taller, by a head, than most men—1 Samuel 9:1, 2. 
 He was modest—9: 21—in that when it was shown 
 him that he was to be king he declared he was not 
 worthy. When he was to be publicly chosen he 
 hid himself and was not found—10: 20, 23. For the 
 story read 9:1 to 10: 26. 
 
 The Pinnacle of Success.—Without any effort, 
 
54 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 on his part, Saul was elevated to the headship of a 
 people destined to outlast all the nations of antiquity. 
 He seems, at first, to have taken his new duties and 
 responsibilities with great seriousness and earnest¬ 
 ness. From all that we can gather he soon made the 
 name of Israel, by his wise administration, feared 
 and respected. He had statesman-like qualities and 
 was an eminent military leader. He conducted three 
 brilliant military campaigns against the enemies of 
 Israel. First—against the Amorites, on the east side 
 of Jordan—chapter 11. Second—against the Philis¬ 
 tines, on the west—14:1-31. Third—against the 
 Amalekites, on the south—15:1-7. On every side 
 he fought against and vexed the enemies of Israel— 
 14:47. 
 
 The Decline and Downfall of Saul.—Everything 
 seemed to point to a long and successful reign; a 
 renewal of the glory that was Israel’s during the 
 leadership of Joshua and an advance to even greater 
 things. We look—and everything is going up. We 
 look again—and everything is on the down-grade. 
 “ It is the old familiar story of pride, egotism and 
 the abuse of power leading to moral degradation 
 and ruin.” Let us consider the points on the down¬ 
 ward road traveled by Saul. 
 
 First —he forgot that he had been chosen to do a 
 certain piece of good work in helping Israel up out 
 of a hard situation. The people had asked for him; 
 the Lord had acceded to their request—8:4-22. 
 Again and again he makes it manifest that he pro¬ 
 poses to forget both his God and his people and to 
 reign as it seems best to himself—willfully and self- 
 
Saul 
 
 55 
 
 ishly—15:19-22. The story of how this man ruined 
 himself and came near wrecking his country is told 
 in seventeen chapters of 1 Samuel, 15 to 31. 
 
 Second —he allowed envy and jealousy to get the 
 better of him and stifled every generous and noble 
 impulse. Take the case of David who slew the giant 
 Goliath—chapter 17—Saul, instead of rejoicing over 
 this fact, is envious of David and tries to kill him— 
 18: 6-11. He orders him killed—19 :1. 
 
 Third —he lost all sense of loyalty and sought to 
 deal treacherously with David. He laid a trap for 
 him whereby he hoped that he would be killed, indeed 
 expected he would be, in exacting as a dowry for 
 his daughter’s hand a hundred enemies slain— 
 18:20-30. 
 
 Fourth —from the nineteenth to the thirtieth 
 chapters, inclusive, we have the account of how Saul 
 lays aside all idea of reigning except by his own 
 erratic will. He has forsaken God and while he 
 seeks to get into touch with Him now and then it is 
 only that he may foster some selfish scheme of his 
 not with any thought of serving or obeying Him. He 
 hunts David as a wild beast is hunted. 
 
 Fifth —he becomes the subject of attacks of deep 
 melancholy In one of his fits of depression he visits 
 the Witch of Endor. It is here shown to what depths 
 this once noble man has fallen. 
 
 The Tragic Death (Ch. 31).—A life so misspent 
 can have but one ending and it must be tragic. But 
 long before the physical death there was the going 
 out of the man all that was noble and good. Before 
 Saul took his own physical life he had already taken 
 
56 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 his moral life. The case of Saul is not isolated— 
 it is occurring, here and there, every day. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said of the oppor¬ 
 tunities of Saul ? The backward; the forward look ? 
 Give an account of the splendid advent of Saul. 
 What can be said of the pinnacle of his success? 
 Give the five points in his decline and fall. What 
 can be said of his tragic death? 
 
VIII 
 
 DAVID 
 
 THE SEEF-CONQUEROR WHO BECAME KING 
 
 David, the Second King of Israel, at once suc¬ 
 ceeded Saul. There is no interval of time. At first 
 he was king of Judah for about seven years. Then 
 for the remainder of the forty years of his reign 
 he was king of the united kingdom of Judah and 
 Israel. The complete story is told from 1 Samuel 
 16:1, through 2 Samuel, to 1 Kings 2:11. It has 
 been said of him —“ In his own person he represents 
 the athlete, the shepherd, the poet, the musician, the 
 mystic, the man of war, the father, the friend and 
 the statesman.” 
 
 The Self-Conqueror.—Saul had the high office of 
 “ King of All Israel ” handed to him, so to speak, 
 on a silver platter. He served no apprenticeship. 
 He underwent no hardships. David, “ The Self- 
 Conqueror,” on the other hand had some very bitter 
 and trying experiences before he attained his high 
 place. Self-Control is one of David’s chief char¬ 
 acteristics. This is one of the greatest virtues that 
 any man can have and exercise. It is a blessing to 
 the man who has it and to those with whom he comes 
 in contact. Without it a man is a menace to society. 
 Many an able man, splendidly equipped in all other 
 
 57 
 
58 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 respects, has made a disastrous failure of his life 
 and mission because he lacked this virtue. 
 
 It is interesting to read the story of David’s life 
 and exploits, with this matter of “ Self-Control ” in 
 mind, and to mark how he exercised it in face of 
 envy, hatred, revenge, degradation from high to low 
 places and how he stood the hard tests, in all but one 
 instance and of that he repented bitterly. He passed 
 through a number of hard schools. Let us consider 
 them: 
 
 The School of the Open Fields (1 Samuel 
 16:11-13 and 16-23; 17:34-37).—David was a 
 keeper of sheep, as a young man. It was a good 
 easy place. The tendency, in such a place, is to let 
 down and let things drift. Notice that David did 
 nothing of the sort. He overcame the tendency to 
 laziness. He became such a skillful musician that 
 his fame reached even to the king and he was called 
 to play on a harp at court. On the opposite side 
 he became a skilled marksman, with the sling, and an 
 athlete—so that it was an easy thing for him to 
 throw a stone, just one, with such accuracy that it 
 found its mark on the face of the giant Goliath and 
 then when he was stunned he jumped in and finished 
 the job—l Samuel, chapter 17. How did he do this 
 so easily and without fear? Why? He had been 
 educated in “ the School of the Lion and the Bear ” 
 —1 Samuel 17: 34-37. He had confidence because 
 he had exercised self-control over the natural ten¬ 
 dency to let down. He kept himself fit. 
 
 The School of the Court (1 Samuel 18:2 to 
 21 : 9 ). —The call to go to this school came from 
 
David 
 
 59 
 
 king- Saul—18: 2. His introduction is pleasant for 
 here begins that friendship with Jonathan, the son 
 of Saul, which is one of the brightest spots in the 
 life of David. But this is a much harder school 
 than the first because that here David must exercise 
 self-control before the undeserved and uncalled-for 
 envy of his king. After David slew Goliath instead 
 of its bringing him praise from Saul it brought only 
 hatred and a desire to kill. 
 
 Consider the position of David, high-minded, en¬ 
 thusiastic, rejoicing in the fact that he has done a 
 great service and saved the nation from disastrous 
 defeat, when he has a javelin thrown at him with 
 the intent to pin him to the wall. What a tumult 
 there must have been in his feeling! He cannot 
 realize, at first, that he is not wanted and the quicker 
 he takes himself out of the way the better it will be 
 for him. 
 
 This is the “ School of the Court ”—to do some 
 service, it may be a great one, and then find it not 
 only unappreciated but that it brings enmity and 
 hatred. That David refused to hate and envy in 
 return, although he was hunted like a wild beast, 
 shows his marvelous self-control and his trust in his 
 God—that He would care for him. 
 
 The School of the Outlaw Camp (1 Samuel 
 21:10 to 31:13).—Nearly eleven chapters are given 
 to what David learned here. He was now definitely 
 out of court life. There was no possible return. He 
 was an outlaw. The royal command had been given 
 to kill David—1 Samuel 19:1—but at first he did 
 not realize that it was really meant. When he did 
 
60 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 realize it—1 Samuel 21:10-15—he knew what fear 
 could do to him. He had not feared the lion or the 
 bear or a giant or the Philistines but this fear was 
 different. It took hold upon his heart strings. It 
 paralyzed his mind. He fled for fear of Saul. He 
 had never feared man before. He had never feared 
 an enemy before and yet he feigned madness in the 
 presence of the king of Gath. Many a man, under 
 such an experience, would let bitterness enter into 
 his soul and he would determine, within himself, that 
 when his opportunity came, his hand would take the 
 sword and be revenged. But not so David, even 
 when he was compelled to associate with outlaws— 
 1 Samuel 22:1, 2. He shows a self-control here 
 that is marvelous. During this period of his life, 
 when he could have taken the life of Saul a number 
 of times, he spares him. 
 
 King Without a Kingdom.—While David was 
 still in “ the School of the Open Fields ” he was 
 anointed king of Israel by Samuel—16:1-13. Saul 
 was still living and reigning. There was no telling 
 how long he would live and reign. David was king 
 without a kingdom. David must have wondered 
 what it all meant when he was passing through his 
 hard experiences. Was he really the king? The 
 thought must have come to him, “ If Saul is hunt¬ 
 ing me, why not hunt him? Why not kill him and 
 seize the kingdom? I can do it. If it is to be a 
 fight—let me fight as well as Saul.” This is the 
 human of it. When many a man comes into a 
 similar situation—he grasps what he can. Again 
 there comes in the factor of David's life where he 
 
David 
 
 61 
 
 trusted in his God—that He would care for him and 
 straighten things out—and that in the meantime 
 he must control himself. He must conquer his 
 natural desire to take things into his own hands 
 and compel them to do his will against the Divine 
 Will. 
 
 King of Half a Kingdom (2 Samuel 2:4 to 
 5:3).—When Saul and Jonathan were dead— 
 1 Samuel Ch. 31 to 2 Samuel 1:1-16—David 
 showed his fine spirit in the beautiful psalm that he 
 composed in their honour (read 2 Samuel 1:17-27). 
 He might have thought that he would immediately 
 come into the kingship that had been promised him, 
 when he was anointed, but here again a disappoint¬ 
 ment awaits him. He was now to take about a seven 
 years' course in “ the School of Delayed Fulfillment 
 of Promises.” It is not easy to wait for something 
 that is your due and which has been promised you 
 long before. 
 
 There was a long war between the house of 
 Saul and the house of David; but David waxed 
 stronger and stronger and the house of Saul waxed 
 weaker and weaker 2 Samuel 3 :1. Israel's re¬ 
 jection of David may have been due to the fact that 
 the leaders of Israel did not want David, who had 
 been proclaimed an outlaw, to rule over them. Here 
 again David seems to have exercised his wonderful 
 self-control in not pressing matters unduly. The 
 headquarters of David was at Hebron. 
 
 King of all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3 to 1 Kings 
 2:10).—David’s patience and self-control were at 
 last rewarded. He was approached by the elders of 
 
62 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Israel and asked to be their king as well as king of 
 Judah —2 Samuel 5:1-3. Samuel had anointed him 
 to be “ King of all Israel ”—1 Samuel 16:1-13—and 
 he was now king. 
 
 The Home Political Policy of David was central¬ 
 ization of power. He at once besieged Jerusalem, 
 took it and made it his capital. This was where he 
 dwelt and it was to the head offices in this city that 
 all tribal business must come —2 Samuel 5. 
 
 The Religious Policy of David was also central¬ 
 ization of worship. As speedily as possible he 
 brought the ark to Jerusalem where all must come, 
 in due time, for the performance of their religious 
 duties —2 Samuel 6. He wanted to build at once a 
 suitable temple of worship but he was bidden to 
 defer it—2 Samuel 7. 
 
 The Foreign Policy of David was strong. He 
 was vigorous in pushing his conquests over the 
 enemies of Israel. The Ammonites, the Moabites, 
 the Edomites, the Scythians, and the Amalekites 
 were made vassals and the borders of the kingdom 
 extended from the Mediterranean to the River 
 Euphrates. 
 
 A Great Kingdom was built up from the nucleus 
 of a weak tribal life and a royal line was established 
 which was to end in Christ who is “ King over All.” 
 
 David's Army, upon which he could draw, would 
 not be considered small even in modern times 
 (1,300,000 “men that drew the sword ”—2 Samuel 
 24:9) yet his whole effort was for peace and the 
 religious building up of his empire. 
 
 The One Blot on David's Life is his treatment of 
 
David 
 
 63 
 
 Bathsheba and Uriah. And this sin is not glossed 
 over, as it might have been, in the account of his 
 career—2 Samuel 11. He bitterly suffered for this 
 sin in the conduct of his family, and the multiplied 
 troubles that came upon him. He lost self-control 
 and went down into the depths. It is difficult to 
 understand how a man like David could so forget 
 himself after standing up under so many greater 
 trials. 
 
 It is to David’s Great Credit that when the Lord 
 sent Nathan, the prophet, to bring to his attention 
 his sin he at once acknowledged it and repented 
 —2 Samuel 12. 
 
 Characteristics.—David is many men in one. 
 He is unsurpassed as poet. His short poems— 
 psalms—have outlasted all others and are to-day as 
 fresh as when they were written. For loftiness of 
 thought and beauty of diction they stand alone. 
 They charm and they console. In connection with 
 this lesson David’s “ Psalm of Thanksgiving,” for 
 deliverance from his enemies, should be read aloud 
 before the class—2 Samuel, chapter 22. As a man 
 of war he knew how far to go in pressing his vic¬ 
 tories. As a statesman, in building up a great em¬ 
 pire, he is a model. As a friend—witness the friend¬ 
 ship between him and Jonathan—he is ideal. As a 
 man, he is a man amongst men, he had rare virtues. 
 As a follower of God he knew how to obey Him and 
 worship Him as few men do. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said about David; 
 how long is the interval between him and Saul? 
 What about the length of his reign? How did the 
 
64 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Circumstances differ between him and Saul coming 
 to the kingdom? What about Self-Control? What 
 can be said about “ the School of the Open Fields ” 
 and David? What about “the School of the 
 Court ” ? What about “ the School of the Outlaw 
 Camp”? Give some account of David as “King 
 Without a Kingdom.” “ King of Half a Kingdom.” 
 “ King of All Israel.” What are the characteristics 
 of David? 
 
IX 
 
 NEHEMIAH 
 
 THE MAN WITH MANY ENEMIES 
 
 Foreword.—We consider* here, the story of 
 Nehemiah in the first seven chapters of the book 
 which bears his name. Where and how did this man 
 come to make so many bitter enemies who opposed 
 and tried to stop his work? What means did he take 
 to get the better of them? How did he succeed? 
 
 Before we answer these questions we must first 
 see where he fits into the Bible plan, and the im¬ 
 portance of the place he had in it. 
 
 Between King David, in our last study, and 
 Nehemiah came King Solomon, David’s son, who 
 built a great temple for the worship of God and made 
 Jerusalem one of the great cities of the ancient 
 world. In the latter part of his reign he fell away 
 from the worship of God and his kingdom declined. 
 After his death the kingdom split into two parts— 
 “The Northern” and “The Southern.” The first 
 had nineteen kings and nine dynasties. The second, 
 with its seat in Jerusalem, had twenty kings and one 
 dynasty. In spite of repeated prophetic warnings the 
 people fell away from the worship of God. 
 
 The Northern Kingdom was carried into cap¬ 
 tivity by the Assyrians in 722 b. c. and the Southern 
 Kingdom, by the Babylonians in 586 b. c. The mag- 
 
 65 
 
66 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 nificent temple of Solomon was destroyed, the pal¬ 
 aces burned, and the walls of Jerusalem were broken 
 down. In due time the Babylonians were conquered 
 by the Persians. When this happened, as it had been 
 foretold by the prophets the “ Chosen People ” were 
 given permission to return home. This story is told 
 in the book of Ezra. This happened in 536 b. c 
 Zerubbabel led a large colony back to Jerusalem. 
 Houses were built and also a temple but the walls of 
 the city were not built up. A second colony was 
 led by Ezra about sixty years later. 
 
 The City Walls in Ruins.—Thirteen years after 
 Ezra’s second colony came to Jerusalem or seventy- 
 three years after permission had been given the 
 “ Chosen People ” to return from captivity and re¬ 
 build Jerusalem the walls of the city were still in 
 ruins. Not because the people did not desire to re¬ 
 build them but because of the bitter opposition of the 
 surrounding small nations. In consequence the city 
 was frequently raided and there was little assured 
 safety of one’s person or goods. A city, in constant 
 anxiety and terror, has a small chance of growth. 
 This was as the surrounding peoples intended it 
 should be. But where were all the promises given 
 the “ Chosen People ” ? Why were they not ful¬ 
 filled ? 
 
 A Rebuilding Expedition Organized.—The 
 wretched condition of Jerusalem is brought to the 
 attention of Nehemiah—1:1-3—by some men who 
 had just returned to Susa, the capital of Persia. He 
 is told of the great affliction of the inhabitants, of the 
 city wall, that is broken down, and of the gates 
 
Nehemiah 
 
 67 
 
 burned with fire. Nehemiah, who holds a high office 
 under Artaxerxes, the king, is shocked by what he 
 hears. So much so that he weeps and mourns over 
 the news and fasts certain days. It seems to him 
 that he can do little but he goes to God in most ear¬ 
 nest prayer—1: 5-11. A while after this, being be¬ 
 fore the king, the king notices his anxiety, in his 
 sadness of countenance and inquires the cause. 
 Nehemiah tells him, and after telling him, he makes 
 request that he be allowed to head “An Expedition 
 to Rebuild the Walls of Jerusalem.” The character 
 of Nehemiah shines forth, in this request, that he 
 may help his afflicted people. He was at ease, in a 
 good place, why should he concern himself about the 
 misfortunes of others? He not only thought of his 
 people in sore trouble, wept over them, enlisted the 
 help of others, but he took the leading part in a 
 difficult and dangerous undertaking— 2 :1-8. 
 
 King Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah all due authority 
 to do that which he asks of him. 
 
 NehemialTs Midnight Ride (2:9-17).—Nehe¬ 
 miah led no colony of people as Ezra had done. He 
 came alone to Jerusalem—save that he had a military 
 escort. Arrived in the city he presented his letters 
 of the king’s authority. He was in the city three 
 days and listened attentively to all that was told him 
 about the condition of affairs. Then he determined 
 to see for himself just what needed to be done. Tell¬ 
 ing no one of his intentions, one night he took a few 
 men and went out to see, for himself, just what state 
 the walls were in. He rode on his horse as far as 
 he could and then, when the way became impassable 
 
68 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 for the horse, he got off and made the rest of the 
 way on foot. He realized the necessity of having 
 exact, first hand knowledge of the difficulties of the 
 work he had come to do. 
 
 Rebuilding Begins.—It is carried forward to 
 completion. That which two large colonies of the 
 “ Chosen People ” were unable to accomplish in 
 seventy-three years this man Nehemiah brought to 
 pass in fifty-one days. He had a distinct plan, in 
 his mind, of what he wanted to do. There was no 
 doubt about it. He presented that plan and urged 
 its adoption. He organized the people into groups 
 and gave to each group—2:17-3 : 32—a definite 
 portion of the wall to build and held each group 
 responsible for its work. No one can read the third 
 chapter without being convinced of the masterly 
 qualities of the mind of Nehemiah. We have here 
 one of the really great men at work. His methods 
 are the only methods which will bring results that 
 are worth while to-day. 
 
 Opposition Tactics of NehemialTs Enemies.—It 
 
 is not to be supposed that those who opposed the 
 rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem for seventy- 
 three years would remain inactive when they saw 
 what was going on under the direction of Nehemiah. 
 They were decidedly not inactive. They left no 
 stone unturned to check the rebuilding of the wall. 
 They used fair means and foul. It is in checkmating 
 the efforts to stop this important work and keeping 
 it going, at high speed, that the genius and greatness 
 of Nehemiah shines forth. 
 
 Let us look at some of the hostile methods em- 
 
Nehemiah 
 
 69 
 
 ployed. They are still in use. The way Nehemiah 
 dealt with them is still the best way. In this there 
 has been no advance. Here this study is very, very 
 practical. 
 
 First method — Ridicule —2:19 and 4: 2. The 
 enemies made fun of that which was being done. 
 They said—“ What do these feeble Jews?” Let 
 them go on—the work will amount to nothing. Even 
 if they do build, what they build will amount to 
 nothing. A fox could break it down. People do not 
 like to be ridiculed. Many a person has been laughed 
 out of their religion and from goodness into evil. 
 Nehemiah prayed over the matter and asked God to 
 turn their reproach on their own head—4:4-6. 
 Notice this that he kept right on, ignoring the ridicule, 
 with the work. 
 
 Second method — Fear —4:7-23. The enemies 
 sent word that unless the work was stopped 
 they would have a fight on their hands. This was 
 an ultimatum. It is always the policy of evil to in¬ 
 timidate wherever it can. It is always threatening 
 and blustering of what it will do if its plans are 
 interfered with. Nehemiah told the people to go on 
 with the work. He set a watch. He organized 
 companies to do any fighting that was necessary. He 
 did not propose to be intimidated. No fight came. 
 When evil finds it cannot make a man, engaged in a 
 good work, afraid it lets up on its opposition. 
 
 Third method — Guile —6: 2-4. It is that of a 
 conference. Nehemiah’s enemies said to him— 
 “ Come let us talk this matter over.” There can be 
 no harm in that to you. Nehemiah replied that 
 
70 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 there was nothing to talk over. That he was doing 
 a great work and could not spend the time. Many 
 a man gets entangled in evil alliances when he stops 
 to hold conferences with those whose only purpose is 
 to promote wrong things. There are some things 
 that ought never to be discussed. 
 
 Fourth method—False accusation —6:5-9. Nehe- 
 miah was charged with doing what he did not 
 for the benefit of the inhabitants of Jerusalem but for 
 himself that he might cause the people to rebel and 
 that he might be king. Word is sent back that that 
 charge is a trumped up one and that there is no truth 
 in it. It is simply and solely made to hinder the 
 work. No good and disinterested work was ever 
 done, by any one, but that this accusation was sure 
 to be made—that there was a selfish motive behind it. 
 The only way to treat this is by denial and going on 
 with the work. 
 
 Fifth method—Temptation to tempt God—6:10- 
 14—by shutting himself—Nehemiah—up in the 
 temple and hiding there as if he had done something 
 wrong. He refused to do it. 
 
 Sixth—Corruption of one's friends and associates 
 —6:17-19—by the relation of evil and false stories. 
 This is about the meanest thing an enemy can do. 
 Nehemiah makes no reply save that it was done for 
 the purpose of raising fear. 
 
 How Nehemiah Bested His Enemies.—A man’s 
 real ability comes to the front when he has to cope 
 with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and to de¬ 
 vise ways and means to overcome them. A man’s 
 real character comes to the front when he stands 
 
Nehemiah 
 
 71 
 
 true to his principles in the midst of strong tempta¬ 
 tions and bitter opposition. Nehemiah stands these 
 acid tests. There are certain things which stand out 
 in this book of great deeds of the one who came, 
 single handed, to do a great work in Jerusalem. 
 
 First —He was a man of prayer. He goes again 
 and yet again to God to help him solve his problems. 
 Read the master prayer—1: 5-11. 
 
 Second —He was single hearted in his devotion 
 to his God, his fellow men and his work. 
 
 Third —He took no chances of being defeated in 
 carrying out his plans. He took every proper pre¬ 
 caution against surprise attacks. 
 
 Fourth —He encouraged those with whom he 
 worked and put heart into them. 
 
 Questions.—What is said in “ The Foreword ” of 
 the intervening history between David and Nehe¬ 
 miah? What is said of the city walls of Jerusalem? 
 What is said of the expedition to rebuild the walls? 
 Give an account of the midnight ride of Nehemiah. 
 What can be said of the rebuilding plan? Give an 
 account of the six methods, under “ Opposition 
 Tactics,” used by Nehemiah’s enemies to hinder and 
 prevent his work. How did Nehemiah get the better 
 of his enemies—the four points? 
 
X 
 
 JOB 
 
 THE MAN OF UNDESERVED SUFFERING 
 
 Job is a Prosperous Man of Large Affairs who 
 comes suddenly face to face with the problem 
 of undeserved suffering. The whole matter is set 
 forth in the book of Job. It has no connection with 
 Mosaic Law or Israelitish History and makes no 
 allusion to them. 
 
 Disaster After Disaster Falls Upon Job.—“ Four 
 
 servants come running in turn to Job bringing him 
 news of calamities: the first spoke of robbers who 
 had destroyed property and servants; the second of 
 lightning destroying sheep and shepherds; the third 
 of three bands of marauders who stole all the camels 
 and killed their drivers; the fourth of a cyclone 
 which destroyed the manor house and killed his seven 
 sons.” After a little time has passed he is made to 
 suffer by the affliction of sore boils—1:1-22 to 2: 8. 
 He does not know why. 
 
 The Problem of Human Suffering is one of the 
 
 big mysteries of life. Many attempts have been 
 made to solve it. Religion and philosophy have had 
 endless discussions over it and are still at them. 
 There is no diminution of interest because it is a 
 problem of universal personal concern. The experi¬ 
 ences of Job, in a large or small way, are the experi¬ 
 ences of every one. 
 
 72 
 
Job 
 
 73 
 
 Deserved suffering we can understand. When 
 a man has endeavored to put through an evil thing, 
 and is caught and punished, we say that that man got 
 just what he deserved. 
 
 Undeserved suffering baffles us. We see losses 
 of property, disasters of all sorts, and sickness be¬ 
 falling those so far as we know, and so far as they 
 can see themselves, are undeserved. Once in a while 
 we get a glimpse of “ The Why ” of things but not 
 often. But it should be said that that glimpse is 
 often very illuminating. Hence our great interest 
 in Job and the disasters which befell him. We see 
 here a gleam of light. 
 
 Events Hidden from Job.—In the opening chap¬ 
 ter we are shown the cause of the beginning of Job’s 
 troubles. We see what is going on behind the scenes. 
 A test is proposed of this man’s integrity and faith. 
 If he had been informed, in advance, he would have 
 prepared himself but then there would have been no 
 adequate test. This testing and trying out of men, 
 for their fitness and adaptability for higher positions 
 in the business and professional world, is what is 
 going on every day. Some men in this way are put 
 through grilling experiences—not for the purpose of 
 inflicting undeserved suffering, far from it, but to 
 ascertain whether the man has his heart in the work 
 or does it because of the stipend or reward he gets 
 from it. The direct charge made by Satan was that 
 Job served God, not because he loved Him but from 
 what he got out of it. He asks—“ Doth Job fear 
 God for naught? ” Satan declares that God has put 
 a hedge about Job that makes it to Job’s personal 
 
74 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 interest to serve Him. But take away that hedge 
 and “ he will curse thee to thy face.” Job is then 
 given over for the testing in the loss of his property 
 and severe bodily affliction. 
 
 Events Known to Job. —He knows nothing of 
 what is going on behind the scenes; he only knows 
 that he is being hit and hit hard. He is totally at a 
 loss to know why the blows come and who is giving 
 them. He loses his property. His children are 
 killed. He is afflicted with “ sore boils from the sole 
 of his foot unto his crown.” Three candid friends 
 accuse him of sins of which he is not guilty and 
 which he abhors. It has been remarked that prob¬ 
 ably Job could have withstood his other trials more 
 easily if it had not been for his candid friends who 
 tried to show him the error of his ways. From the 
 replies of Job to his friends’ accusations of a con¬ 
 cealed evil life which causes his troubles—now out 
 in the open—Job can make no adequate reply save 
 that he is not guilty in thought or action. He calls 
 upon God to witness his innocence. He wishes he 
 might find Him to present his cause before Him. 
 
 The Point of the Book, or the Pivot on which it 
 Turns is not so much the solution of the problem 
 of undeserved suffering (for after all the discussions 
 up and down and all around—we do not find much 
 advancement in it) as the question of whether Job 
 stands fast in his principles and his faith in God? 
 
 The first test that Job will denounce his God, 
 when he loses his property, is successfully passed. 
 He does not lose his faith. 
 
 The second test that Job will denounce his God, 
 
Job 
 
 75 
 
 when his body is sore afflicted, is successfully passed. 
 He is proved to be a man who is single-hearted, irre¬ 
 spective of what he gets for it, in his service of God. 
 
 It should be noted that Satan proposes no third 
 test. He has no hold upon a man who withstands 
 his first two tests. These tests were not something 
 peculiar to Job; they are being applied, in one way 
 and another, to every man and every woman, to 
 every boy and girl, every day. If successfully 
 passed—there is a “ Going Up ” in the grade of moral 
 character—if not—there is a “ Going Down ” in 
 grade of moral character. 
 
 The Three Candid Friends—Eliphaz, Bildad and 
 Zophar—of Job appear early upon the scene and re¬ 
 main until the end—Job 2:11 to 42:17. Every pos¬ 
 sible phase of human suffering, and its application to 
 human life, is discussed. There is here brought forth 
 all that the human mind can suggest on the subject 
 of retributive justice apart from revelation. There 
 are three cycles in the discussion, in which each 
 friend speaks and Job answers, except in the last 
 when Zophar remains silent. This discussion is not 
 only interesting but necessary in the showing of the 
 supreme value of the position of Job. 
 
 Before we consider this discussion further let us 
 take a look at Job's “ Three Candid Friends." They 
 had evidently met by appointment, had talked over 
 his case, and determined to go and labour with him 
 on the error of his ways. They knew what they were 
 going to say and how they were going to say it. Job 
 doubtless said, before they got through with him, as 
 many a man has said before and since—“ Good Lord, 
 
Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 deliver me from candid friends ” who delight to tell 
 me my faults while I hesitate to tell them theirs. ,, 
 But when they saw Job—this former, big, hearty, 
 upstanding man—so worn and thin and sick by rea¬ 
 son of his boils they were struck dumb. They said 
 nothing, at all, to him for seven days and seven 
 nights. Then they girded themselves for their self- 
 appointed task of bringing Job to a knowledge of his 
 faults. 
 
 The discussion is in three cycles —First—chapters 
 4 to 14. The purpose is to show that sin is the 
 cause of suffering. If a man is sorely afflicted he 
 must have been a great sinner. Second—Ch. 15 
 to 21. An advanced position is taken. Job is held 
 to be actually guilty of some great sin which has 
 produced his suffering. Third—22 to 31. Job’s 
 friends are shown at their worst. The attempt is 
 made to show that the punishments with which Job 
 is afflicted are the very ones which would be meted 
 out to a man who had yielded to the temptations of a 
 man in his position. They insist that Job has com¬ 
 mitted great sins. 
 
 Job insists that he is innocent and stands fast 
 in his integrity. He asserts that man knows little of 
 the unsearchable wisdom of his Creator. 
 
 The Speech of Elihu (Ch. 32 to 37).—A young 
 man. A relative of Job. He asserts that Job has 
 maintained his righteousness. He has a new theory 
 to advance in regard to unmerited suffering and that 
 is that, by it, God is instructing men in righteousness 
 and saving them from the commission of sin. Job 
 makes no answer. 
 
Job 
 
 77 
 
 The Divine Intervention (38 to 41). —First— 
 God is represented as speaking out of a whirlwind and 
 to call attention to the fact that man ought to know, 
 at least, why such strange instincts are given even to 
 animals before he attempts to argue with their Maker. 
 Second—God is represented as saying that before 
 man brings a charge of injustice against Him he 
 should be able to rule the universe and reduce all 
 things to order. If man is baffled by the simplest 
 problems how can he contend with God ? 
 
 The Restoration of Job (Ch. 42 ).—He and his 
 friends bow themselves before the wisdom, power, 
 justice and glory of God. 
 
 Job has been tested by the most severe trials 
 and stands fast in his integrity. It is shown that a 
 man can and will serve God under what seem to be 
 impossible and grueling conditions and circumstances. 
 
 Questions. —What can be said of Job, the pros¬ 
 perous man ? What about the disasters that fall upon 
 Job? What is the problem of human suffering; 
 deserved and undeserved? What can be said of the 
 events hidden from Job? Of the events known to 
 Job? What is the point of the book of Job? What 
 can be said of the three “ Candid Friends ” of Job? 
 Give their three arguments. How does Job answer? 
 What can be said of the speech of Elihu, the Divine 
 Intervention and Job’s restoration? 
 
XI 
 
 ISAIAH 
 
 THE WORLD PROPHET AND STATESMAN 
 
 The Man—Isaiah. —He lived in the lower part of 
 the city of Jerusalem. His father’s name was Amoz. 
 He had a wife and two sons. He was very active, 
 as a citizen, in all municipal affairs. He took a 
 large interest in national and international politics. 
 In all things that concerned the people, for their 
 good, he could be counted on to take a leading part. 
 He stood out in the open. Every one knew Isaiah. 
 
 The Prophet—Isaiah. —He has been called “ The 
 Greatest of All the Prophets.” We take here the 
 account of his work found in the first thirty-nine 
 chapters of the book which bears his name. The 
 office of prophet was an ancient one. Samuel is 
 looked upon as the founder, but the matter probably 
 goes back beyond him. The Bible represents the 
 prophet as one who speaks for another. He was 
 supposed to communicate the message of God to His 
 people. Read chapters one and six and see how emi¬ 
 nently true this was of Isaiah. He says—“ Hear, O 
 heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath 
 spoken ”—1: 2. He believed that he was called of 
 God to do his work—ch. 6. 
 
 He taught —First, the greatness, unity, holiness, 
 spirituality, goodness and justice of God; Sec- 
 
 78 
 
Isaiah 
 
 79 
 
 ond, Love of country. He was an ardent patriot. 
 For the religion of Jehovah must have a suitable 
 place for its development and that place was “ The 
 Chosen Nation ”; Third, The whole earth belonged 
 to God and hence all nations came within the province 
 of God’s prophet. He had messages for Assyria, 
 Babylon, Egypt, Syria, Moab, Edom, etc. See chs. 
 13,14,15,16, 17,18, 19, etc.; Fourth, The coming of 
 a universal king and kingdom—chs. 2, 9, 11, etc.; 
 Fifth, He called not only his own but all nations to 
 repentance and faith in God. Many of his predic¬ 
 tions in regard to the ancient nations have been ful¬ 
 filled. What he taught is as pertinent to-day as it 
 was when he was on earth; there is a freshness and 
 beauty here that is unsurpassed. 
 
 The Scene of His Labours—Jerusalem.—It was 
 no mean city. It was midway between the great 
 capitals of Assyria and Egypt. It was strongly forti¬ 
 fied with huge walls. It was outwardly splendid in 
 all its appointments. Here were the great palaces of 
 the king, his nobles and the merchant princes. King 
 Solomon’s Temple, probably the most magnificent 
 religious structure ever erected, was still standing. 
 Its business ventures reached to the ends of the earth. 
 
 The Spirit of the Times was commercial; much, 
 very much, like our own. It is remarkable how 
 close the resemblance is. “ The Chosen People ” had 
 passed through two stages of development—First, 
 The nomadic, the desert wandering; Second, The 
 agricultural, dwelling on and cultivating the land 
 which they had conquered in Canaan. Now there 
 had come a third state in which the Jewish nation had 
 
8 o Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 become traders having large dealings with the sur¬ 
 rounding nations; fitting out caravans and ships and 
 sending and receiving embassies. The head offices 
 were all in Jerusalem. Here was no longer “ A Shut 
 in Nation/’ The growth of the commercial spirit is 
 very marked from the times of King Solomon on 
 through the divided kingdom. 
 
 We have now to deal with the city and city 
 life developed at the expense of the country, social 
 wants and sins, the evils of great wealth quickly won, 
 dire poverty—the dark shadow flung by immense 
 wealth—and ostentatious luxury. Foreign vices 
 were brought in with foreign goods. The times 
 changed and the people with them. “ The Chosen 
 Nation ” sought not to be conformed to the religion 
 of Jehovah and His laws but to be like the great and 
 evil nations with which they were surrounded. 
 
 It is quite necessary to keep in mind this back¬ 
 ground in order to understand what Isaiah tried 
 to do. He knows just what will happen—and it hap¬ 
 pened—if the people do not take heed to their ways. 
 He raises a warning voice. He pleads. He entreats. 
 He urges the people to return to God and to obey 
 Him before it is too late. He is no sour and dour 
 prophet but he paints glowing pictures of the people’s 
 future if they will turn to God. These pictures be¬ 
 come reality when they do turn to God; but un¬ 
 fortunately the return is short lived. 
 
 The Political Situation.—From recent dis¬ 
 coveries in ancient Bible lands we are just beginning 
 to realize the great issues with which Isaiah was 
 dealing. Judah, a comparatively small kingdom. 
 
Isaiah 
 
 81 
 
 after Israel was conquered and taken into captivity 
 in 722, was not easy to keep as an independent king¬ 
 dom between the two huge empires,—dividing be¬ 
 tween them the sovereignty of the then known world. 
 The two empires—Assyria on the north and Egypt on 
 the south—were always threatening to gather in this 
 buffer state of Judah. Each hesitated to take it but 
 intrigued to get it to declare itself. 
 
 Let us take one thing that happened which 
 will show what a big task Isaiah had. He 
 prophesied under the kings of Judah—740 to 701 
 b. c.—Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Isaiah 
 managed to keep Uzziah and Jotham from burning 
 their fingers with Assyria and Egypt. Ahaz, how¬ 
 ever, would have none of Isaiah’s advice. He re¬ 
 pudiated the worship of Jehovah, closed the temple. 
 He urged the worship of Baal and offered human 
 sacrifices. A quarrel was picked with Israel and 
 Syria and when Ahaz found that he would be de¬ 
 feated he called upon Assyria to help him. That was 
 just what Assyria had been hoping he would do. The 
 result was, in the end a while afterwards, the cap¬ 
 tivity of Israel and the near wiping out of Judah. 
 
 Isaiah advocated the policy of letting the big 
 evil nations alone , entirely alone. Let them fight 
 their own battles. The little nation that got mixed 
 up with them was sure to get the worst of it. Then 
 their religion was totally and utterly opposite to that 
 of “ The Chosen People/’ It allowed and advocated 
 immoralities which would, in time, wreck the nation 
 —which all came true. 
 
 Warnings Against Entangling Alliances.—Isaiah 
 
82 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 continued to urge, in the strongest language possible, 
 that Judah stand out against political and religious 
 alliances with nations whose purposes and ideals 
 differed fundamentally with those of “ The Chosen 
 People.” No matter how attractive they might seem 
 to be; yet, in the end, they would be disastrous. 
 This is still good advice not only for nations but 
 individuals. 
 
 Take the story of King Hezekiah—told in the 
 thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh chapters. Sennacherib, 
 king of Assyria, when he found he could not gain, by 
 diplomacy, the little kingdom of Judah, came with 
 a huge army and besieged Jerusalem. He demanded 
 its surrender or sack and pillage. Hezekiah went to 
 Isaiah and Isaiah adhered to his policy of making no 
 entangling alliance with Assyria. The result was 
 that Sennacherib retired and the little kingdom of 
 Judah remained independent through its trust in its 
 God. 
 
 The urge of Isaiah—against entangling alli¬ 
 ances and covenants between nations whose sole 
 reliance is on force, as in the case of Assyria, and 
 others who seek to advance by the methods of peace 
 and service—is still the only policy which will win 
 out. Every individual, to really amount to anything, 
 must stand fast, in his integrity, no matter what 
 happens. 
 
 Isaiah’s Work for His Own People.—He was an 
 ardent patriot. He realized that “ The Religion of 
 Jehovah ” must have a suitable environment, in which 
 to live and work. No matter how strongly a nation 
 or man may be grounded in right principles they are 
 
Isaiah 
 
 83 
 
 hindered or helped by wrong or right surroundings. 
 Isaiah understood this thing very thoroughly and 
 hence he was strong in his advocacy of that which 
 bettered his city and his nation. If there had been 
 popular elections in those days he would have been 
 found advocating, openly and enthusiastically, the 
 right things in the campaign, voting himself and 
 urging others to vote. 
 
 World Prophet and Statesman.—No one realized 
 more than Isaiah that not only must good work be 
 done at home but that missionary work must be done 
 abroad. That the field was the world and it was the 
 business of every one having the good of his own 
 people at heart also to have the good of the world at 
 heart. Hence his prophecies cover the nations of 
 the whole earth. This does not contradict Isaiah’s 
 position in regard to keeping out of entangling alli¬ 
 ances with evil. There is no hope that way of better¬ 
 ing anybody or anything. 
 
 Modern Uses of Isaiah’s Prophecies.—First—To 
 strengthen our faith in the certainty of God’s 
 reign and rule upon this earth. We go and read the 
 resurrected monuments of Assyria and Egypt and 
 see that all that Isaiah said of their might is true. 
 We see also that all he said of their total ruin and 
 destruction has come true. It was a most incredu¬ 
 lous thing—when the prophecies were uttered—that 
 they would ever be fulfilled. Again that which he 
 said about the coming of The Messiah was begun, 
 hundreds of years, afterwards and is even now going 
 on unto fulfillment. Second—To give us far-sighted¬ 
 ness. That we may see and believe that however evil 
 
84 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 may seem to triumph that, in the end, it is sure to be 
 defeated. Third—to help us to believe that every¬ 
 thing we do to help advance the Kingdom of God 
 will surely have its reward. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said of Isaiah as a 
 man? As a prophet? Where was the scene of his 
 labours? What was the spirit of the times? What 
 was the political situation ? What were the warnings 
 against entangling alliances ? What was Isaiah’s 
 work for his own people? What can be said of 
 Isaiah as a world prophet and statesman? Give the 
 three modern uses of Isaiah’s prophecies. 
 
XII 
 
 JEREMIAH 
 
 THE MAN WHO KEPT FAITH UNDER HARD 
 
 LIMITATIONS 
 
 Jeremiah, the Prophet, is burdened with oppres¬ 
 sive restraints. Serving God, with all his heart, and 
 obeying Him, in all things, he never gets out from 
 under his restrictions. He never has a respite. 
 Things, with him, grow worse—never better. Abra¬ 
 ham, Joseph, Moses, Nehemiah, all had a great deal 
 of trouble but they overcame it. Even Job, after 
 going down, away down, into the valley of humilia¬ 
 tion, came again to the upland of joy and prosperity, 
 but not so this prophet. 
 
 The Question Presented is—How could Jeremiah 
 keep his faith and do his “ God-Appointed Work ” in 
 the midst of such depressing circumstances? This is 
 a very practical modern question. Why? Because 
 men, to-day, not infrequently get into difficulties, 
 through no fault of their own. They can see no hope 
 of extricating themselves. Friends, relatives, and 
 associates seem utterly indifferent to their plight. 
 Again men and women, stirred by the evils they see 
 about them, and the havoc they are making in tear¬ 
 ing down all good things, start campaigns of ref oral 
 only to be laughed at and ridiculed as Jeremiah was. 
 
 The Book of Jeremiah, where the life, call, and 
 
 3 5 
 
86 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 work of the prophet are set forth, consists of fifty- 
 two chapters of condensed material. It is a com¬ 
 bination of prophecy, history and biography. 
 
 It may be divided into nine sections —First, 
 Ch. 1, The prophet’s call. His mission is not only 
 to his own but all nations; Second, chs. 2-6, The 
 sins of Judah set forth; Third, chs. 7-10, The call to 
 repentance. Calamities are sure to come unless the 
 warning is heeded; Fourth, chs. 11-13, An appeal is 
 made to the covenant between God and His people; 
 Fifth, chs. 14-22, The failure of the people to heed 
 the prophet. Disaster and captivity foretold; Sixth, 
 chs. 23-29, Jeremiah sees no hope of betterment in 
 his time for this “ Chosen People ” and he looks 
 ahead for seventy years and sees a return from 
 captivity; Seventh, chs. 30-33, Consolations that will 
 come after seventy years of captivity; Eighth, chs. 
 34-45, Incidents of the siege and destruction of Jeru¬ 
 salem. (Chs. 35 and 36 are out of place, here, and 
 belong to the reign of King Jehoiakim.) Chs. 37-45, 
 Jeremiah’s personal history during the siege of Jeru¬ 
 salem; Ninth, chs. 46-52, World-wide survey of 
 nations and prophecies concerning them. This book 
 ought to be read through. 
 
 The Call (Ch. 1) came to Jeremiah in the little 
 village of Anathoth, north of Jerusalem, where he 
 had his home. He was of priestly descent. He was 
 commanded to form no domestic or social ties (ch. 
 16:2). He was set apart for such a great work that 
 he must forego all pleasant relations with other peo¬ 
 ple. 
 
 The Treatment which he receives from his own 
 
Jeremiah 
 
 87 
 
 people was hard to hear. His message was ridiculed. 
 The chief governor, Pashur the priest, in the house 
 of the Lord in Jerusalem ordered him to be beaten 
 and placed in the stocks as an object of scorn (ch. 
 20:1, 2). King Jehoiakim was so contemptuous of 
 the message of Jeremiah that he had received of 
 God (ch. 36), that when but a few pages had been 
 read to him (ch. 36:23) he cut it to pieces with 
 a penknife and threw it into the fire and it was 
 burned up. These are but instances of what Jere¬ 
 miah was constantly called upon to bear. He was 
 human and of a sensitive nature and he was cut to 
 the quick. No man likes to be ridiculed and laughed 
 at when he is trying to help his fellow men and do 
 God’s service. 
 
 The Times were sadly out of joint. It is not a 
 pleasant picture which this age presents. Old-time 
 big empires were breaking up. Doubtless many 
 were looking for the end of the world or the death of 
 civilization and the return to barbarism. We are 
 just beginning to realize the extent, in culture, to 
 which these nations had attained. The recent exca¬ 
 vations of buried cities and ancient tombs show this. 
 
 The World War . Jeremiah’s prophecies con¬ 
 cern Egypt and Babylon and Assyria, etc. He saw 
 Egypt, in his time, priding herself on her might and 
 power. He saw Assyria and Babylon contending for 
 the mastery of the world. He saw Assyria, the levi¬ 
 athan of empires, crumble and go to pieces before 
 Babylon. He saw Egypt dispute with Babylon and 
 go down before her. He saw these mighty nations 
 kick Judah about as football players kick the leather 
 
88 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 ball and with no more concern for it save to win a 
 certain goal. To one not having the key, in this 
 mix-up of nations, it must have seemed a hopeless 
 tangle. Shortly Judah was to be taken captive by 
 Babylon, the mighty. But wait! Just wait! God 
 showed to Jeremiah the key to it all. Read what the 
 prophet says about these great nations—especially 
 Babylon (ch. 50) and note how they are all to go—be 
 wiped clean off the slate and this little nation of 
 Judah is to survive them all. This prophecy has 
 literally come to pass. Yet this is the far-sighted 
 great man, Jeremiah, which his people ridiculed. 
 
 The downfall of Jerusalem, the raising of its 
 walls and the destruction of the temple. Everything 
 was to go and did go. Jeremiah predicted it and saw 
 it come to pass. Because he predicted it, he was 
 maligned, ridiculed and persecuted. The people 
 could have prevented it by repentance but they would 
 not repent. Jeremiah prophesied during the reigns 
 of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiachim, Jehoiachin and 
 Zedekiah. Under the last king, in 586 b. c., Jeru¬ 
 salem was taken and her walls torn down. 
 
 The Mission of Jeremiah (that Jerusalem was 
 to be devastated and the people taken into captivity to 
 Babylon) was not an agreeable one. He was like a 
 clergyman deputed to accompany a criminal to the 
 scaffold who has been convicted of a brutal murder. 
 The man has been proved guilty beyond the shadow 
 of a doubt but he has no sense of regret for his crime 
 and no word of repentance. He turns a deaf ear to 
 all the clergyman has to say and resents his attend¬ 
 ance. Judah had sinned and continued to sin fla- 
 
Jeremiah 89 
 
 grantly and openly and when the sin was made plain 
 there was no word of regret. 
 
 The Outlook of the prophet is marvelous. He 
 has seen the map of the future and just what is going 
 to be done. He can find no comfort or hope in the 
 present for God’s purposes cannot be worked out in 
 a year or two. He takes the centuries to bring His 
 plans to pass. The difference between the small man 
 and the big man is the difference in seeing only to-day 
 and beyond to-day into the future—the far distant 
 future. 
 
 How did Jeremiah Keep His Faith Under the 
 Hard Limitations with which He Had to Contend? 
 
 is not so hard to answer when we come to see what 
 that faith was and what it meant to him. He was 
 under the limitations of—to speak humanly—loneli¬ 
 ness, ostracism—no one wanted anything to do with 
 him—contempt and ridicule of his fellow men. He 
 was under the limitations of seeing everything which 
 he had learned to love, respect and reverence go by 
 the board. No longer would there be any Holy City 
 or Temple. 
 
 He kept his faith and prophesied most enthu¬ 
 siastically of the return of his people from captivity 
 and the glorious future in store for them; First, 
 because he believed he had seen God’s map of the 
 future and its brightness so that the darkest immedi¬ 
 ate present did not trouble him at all. What to-day 
 is the poverty and poor condition of a man who is to 
 come, to-morrow, into a great inheritance? Second 
 —He had learned, what every one must learn in this 
 world, to be at all happy, that material things can 
 
90 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 never satisfy an immortal soul. Stripped of all 
 possessions what is a man in his relations to his God ? 
 How does he stand in the riches or poverty of his 
 soul? Third—He had come so in touch with God 
 that he was seeing, through God’s eyes, what evil and 
 sin and righteousness really are. No man ever 
 fought a harder battle or gained a greater victory 
 than Jeremiah. He had the upward way, open to all, 
 of escape. He took it. Fourth—He never gave up 
 his work. 
 
 Practical Applications.—They are many. Mul¬ 
 titudes of people are lamenting over their limi¬ 
 tations, hard, bitter and oppressive. “ We are 
 hemmed in on all sides by relentless limitations.” 
 There are the limitations of time—we never have 
 enough of it; physical strength; mental equipment— 
 we cannot think things out as we want to; money! 
 who has sufficient? So many things to do with a 
 too limited equipment to do them. We expand, as 
 much as we can, and yet cannot get beyond our 
 limitations. We are apt to meet our limitations and 
 chafe under them, we go limp, we fight but there they 
 are just the same. The Jeremiah way was to accept 
 them, to be content and work under them making 
 the way of escape upward to God and endeavouring 
 to carry out His purposes right where he was. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said of the prophet’s 
 burden ? What is the question presented ? Give the 
 nine parts of the book of Jeremiah. What can be 
 said of Jeremiah’s call, treatment, times, mission and 
 outlook? How did Jeremiah keep his faith under 
 hard limitations? What practical applications can 
 be made ? 
 
XIII 
 
 EZEKIEL 
 
 THE MAN WHO HAD GREAT VISIONS 
 
 The Boy, Ezekiel, in the City of Jerusalem was 
 
 of priestly descent. He lived in the time of the good 
 King Josiah. He saw a wonderfully prosperous city. 
 New buildings were going up everywhere of the most 
 solid and ornate construction. The old Temple of 
 Solomon, which had fallen somewhat into disrepair, 
 was being put into fine shape. It was thronged with 
 worshippers. The “ Book of the Law ” was made 
 prominent. The nation was enlarging its borders. 
 Everything seemed to point to a long era of glorious 
 prosperity. The boy was very proud of his city, 
 and of his country, and he had ample cause to be. 
 
 The Man, Ezekiel, in the City of Jerusalem saw 
 all this prosperity come to naught. The people were, 
 as time went on, less and less in earnest about the 
 worship of God and there came a falling away from 
 moral and religious things. Only the shell of religion 
 remained—the old spirituality had departed. King 
 Josiah’s head was turned, by the outward prosper¬ 
 ity, in the latter part of his long reign of thirty-one 
 years. He was infected by the military spirit which 
 animated the big nations that were about him. A 
 small king of a small nation he dared to meddle in 
 the quarrel of big kings of big nations. He sadly 
 
 9i 
 
g2 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 misjudged events. He went up against the King 
 of Egypt, Pharaoh Necho, as he went to battle with 
 the King of Assyria. Josiah was defeated, after 
 being warned to turn back, and slain at the battle 
 of Megiddo. Jerusalem fell to the Egyptians and all 
 things began to go from bad to worse. The won¬ 
 derful glory of city and nation rapidly faded away. 
 Again Egypt, waning in power, fell before Babylon 
 and Jerusalem went with Egypt as a minor prize. 
 
 The Captive, Ezekiel, on His Way to Babylon. 
 —He is now about twenty-five years of age. Jeru¬ 
 salem could not or would not remain quiet. Her 
 continued agitation against Babylon brought upon 
 her renewed punishment. Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
 Babylon, in 597 b. c. came up against the city and 
 carried away all the treasures of the city and the 
 temple, the court, its officers and the craftsmen, leav¬ 
 ing only the poorer people. In all about 10,000 cap¬ 
 tives were taken—Ezekiel was of this number—to 
 Babylon. It was a long and weary journey, on foot, 
 of hundreds of miles. This was the first captivity. 
 The second in 586 was worse in that the walls of the 
 city were razed and the temple torn down. 
 
 The Questions Raised in the Minds of Ezekiel 
 and His Fellow Captives were not easy to answer. 
 As they walked by day, on the way to Babylon, and 
 sat by the camp fires at night talking things over 
 there were many things which sorely puzzled them. 
 The trend of affairs was all too plain. The doom of 
 the city and nation seemed fixed beyond the shadow 
 of a doubt; they were but enacting the events of 
 the first chapter. They reviewed the story of Abra- 
 
Ezekiel 
 
 93 
 
 ham, Isaac and Jacob and of Moses and Joshua. 
 They spoke of the glorious reign of King David. 
 They spoke of all the splendid promises that had been 
 made to them. “ And this; and this is the end; cap¬ 
 tivity to a nation which despises and scorns our 
 God and our religion! ” they said. Their mourning 
 and regret, however, seemed all to be for the ma¬ 
 terial prosperity, which, for them, had passed away. 
 There were some who were openly rebellious and 
 denounced their God and their faith in Him. Others 
 were of sad countenance and kept still. Here and 
 there were men and women who declared that faith 
 in God was an affair of the heart and not of the 
 rise or fall of national life or any temple building— 
 no matter how ornate. 
 
 The Call to Prophesy did not come to Ezekiel 
 until five years after he had been settled, as a captive 
 by the river of Chebar, not so very far from Baby¬ 
 lon. The condition of captivity was not hard. The 
 people were allowed to do business; to acquire land; 
 to marry. They were more like colonists. Still they 
 were in exile—they were far from home and no en¬ 
 forced detention is easy to bear. The same questions 
 debated on the exile journey were still up only in a 
 more intensified form as the years went by. Then 
 suddenly the explanations—the answers of the en¬ 
 forced exile—began to come. This call was very real 
 to Ezekiel—chapter 1. He says —“ As I was among 
 the captives by the river Chebar the heavens were 
 opened and I saw visions of God.” 
 
 The hook in which the prophecies are written 
 and visions set forth, consists of three parts: 
 
94 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 First, chapters 1-24, Predictions of the fall of Jeru¬ 
 salem. It is now made plain to Ezekiel that the 
 downfall of this city is not due to any lack of God’s 
 keeping His promises but through the sins of the 
 people. He has the same message as Jeremiah here. 
 Second, chapters 25-32, Predictions in regard to 
 seven foreign nations—Ammon, Moab, Edom, 
 Philistia, Tyre, Sidon and Egypt. God is not only 
 the God of Israel but of all nations. The same fate, 
 for their sins, will overtake them. Third, chapters 
 33-48, The restoration of Israel. There is no restora¬ 
 tion for other nations. There 4s an ideal return to 
 the land, an ideal temple built, etc. They who try 
 to press too closely these prophecies miss the spir¬ 
 itual significance of them. 
 
 Among the places where Ezekiel made known his 
 prophecies was his own house—where he met the 
 elders—3: 24; 8:1; 12:3; 14:1; 20:1. 
 
 Great and New Ideas and Ideals—First (Ch. 1) 
 —God is holy, pure, righteous and just. That truth 
 had been emphasized before Ezekiel. Here new light 
 is shed upon it, in other chapters than the first, from 
 the fact brought out that the tabernacle, with its 
 priests and sacrifices, is not absolutely essential to its 
 proper appreciation. God can make Himself known 
 to the individual heart, and His glory shown without 
 external aids. His holiness, purity and justice are 
 not austere and hard—here a new note is struck— 
 for He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked— 
 chapter 33:11. How revolutionary these new ideas 
 were we, in our age, can scarcely conceive. Second 
 —Individualism, or individual responsibility for one’s 
 
Ezekiel 
 
 95 
 
 own deeds. “ The soul that sinneth—it, and no other 
 soul, shall die.” Here a man is no longer bound up 
 with a nation or national life but stands or falls upon 
 what he is in his own heart. See chapters 18:4ff. 
 and 33:lOff. Third—The community of God is 
 “ the community of saved and worshipping souls 
 drawn to each other because drawn to their common 
 Lord. This is the real significance of the last nine 
 chapters, with their elaborate description of city and 
 temple. Institutions are not everything but they are 
 something ... if men are to live and worship in 
 concert.” But the life is not in the institution but in 
 the hearts of the individuals who set up and support 
 the institution. Fourth—The terrible power of sin 
 to mar and destroy. This has been shown in the 
 overthrow of Judah. 
 
 Hence we see in “ The Exile ” the rise of the 
 synagogue where there were no sacrifices but free 
 worship of God with free speech in regard to the 
 things of God. 
 
 A New Epoch Came in with Ezekiel.—Old 
 
 things passed away. He, himself, came closely into 
 contact with God. Ritualistic worship, as in the 
 temple, was no good unless the individual soul 
 through it came to see God. This is the truth which 
 he argues over and over again. Some have declared 
 that he puts this truth too bluntly but it was a truth 
 by which he lived and wanted others to live. He 
 saw and believed in God, by the direct method him¬ 
 self, and he wanted others to have the joy he had in 
 doing this. 
 
 He no longer looks back with regret to the things 
 
Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 of the past. He looks forward, with a great and 
 increasing joy. 
 
 Visions.—To attempt to interpret them would 
 take more space than this study affords. No method 
 of interpretation is without its difficulties while the 
 meaning is not far to seek. Between the visions 
 here and the book of Revelation there is a strong 
 resemblance; the throne of God, the rainbow that 
 encircles it and the four living creatures that attend. 
 We have the same figure of wicked Babylon. There 
 is a judgment of the nations. We have here a temple 
 and there a city, both foursquare and measured with 
 a reed; neither has yet been realized. Ezekiel and 
 John were lifted up to see the greatness of God in 
 time to come. Here is a conflict between sin and evil 
 but there is no doubt of the final victory of those 
 who trust in God. Ezekiel looks further than the 
 end of the captivity; he looks to the end, as John 
 does, of all things—-chapters 7 and 26—and it is 
 often difficult to tell which is meant. 
 
 For the Accomplishment of Any Important Task 
 There Must Be a Man of Great Visions.—Other¬ 
 wise there will be very little done. The architect 
 must have quite fully in mind his plan of a sky¬ 
 scraper or cathedral, or the building, which he wishes 
 to erect, before he goes to his drawing-board. The 
 artist visualizes his painting before he takes up his 
 brush; he knows in advance, in vision, what he wants 
 to do. The inventor does not start out to simply in¬ 
 vent something™he does not know what—he knows 
 what he is looking for before he begins to try to 
 find it. The hard-headed business man is a visionary 
 
Ezekiel 
 
 97 
 
 of the largest sort, if he is any good, for he sees 
 ships on shipless seas; he sees tunnels through moun¬ 
 tains where none exist; he sees irrigated farms where 
 no farms are; he sees trade—where now is no trade 
 —coming from far to enrich his bank account. Why, 
 because he must see, in vision, before he can get 
 at the reality. Every great patriot has seen in vision 
 that which he wanted to make real for his country. 
 
 Ezekiel saw in his visions that which he 
 wanted really to come to pass. Some of these things 
 have come to pass; some remain to be fulfilled. 
 
 By his visions he comforted , he instructed, he 
 encouraged, he inspired and led to higher things his 
 people when their spirit was ready to die within 
 them. Ezekiel's visions can do the same for us. No 
 man can have any satisfaction in life unless he is led 
 by the vision of a brighter future which he hopes to 
 make real. 
 
 Questions.—Give the experiences of the boy, the 
 man and the captive, Ezekiel. What were the ques¬ 
 tions raised in the minds of Ezekiel and his fellow 
 captives? Give an account of the call of Ezekiel 
 and the divisions of his book. Give an account of 
 the four new ideas and ideals. What can be said 
 about the new epoch that came in with Ezekiel? 
 What about his visions? Why, for the accomplish¬ 
 ment of any important task, must there be a man 
 with visions? What did Ezekiel do with his visions 
 for his people ? 
 
XIV 
 
 DANIEL 
 
 THE MAN WHO MADE ADVANTAGE OUT 
 OF DISADVANTAGE 
 
 What Advantage Can There Be in Disadvan¬ 
 tage?— Troubles, cares, perplexities and anxieties 
 are continually forcing themselves upon our atten¬ 
 tion. We do not have to look for them; they hunt 
 us. No matter where or how we try to hide; they 
 find us. The practical question, ever before us, is— 
 How shall we deal with them? Run from them? 
 They can run faster than we can. Fight them? 
 They are stronger than we are and can get the better 
 of us. Lie down? Then they delight in tramping 
 upon us; they show us no mercy. We deal in this 
 study with a man who had a new method of dealing 
 with his troubles. He sought and found an ad¬ 
 vantage in every disadvantage and he made it serve 
 to lift him up to higher things. 
 
 The Teaching of the Book of Daniel, taken as a 
 book, shows how God turns what seem to men to 
 be defeats for Him, into His honour and glory. We 
 do not here enter into the questions of the time of 
 writing this book, the interpretations of the visions 
 or the historical difficulties. They are many. They 
 are great. They are important. They are interest¬ 
 ing. But they are aside from our present purpose. 
 
 98 
 
Daniel 
 
 99 
 
 First—The supremacy of God over all men and 
 ail nations. We see here mighty kings and na¬ 
 tions usurping power over the earth and shoul¬ 
 dering aside God’s rule as they do now, only, in the 
 end, to be made to serve His purpose. Take the sec¬ 
 ond chapter—“ The Dream of Great Empires.” 
 Here are earth rulers seemingly governing the world 
 to the disadvantage of “ The Kingdom of God ” yet 
 at the last—2: 34-46—made of advantage in bringing 
 in “ The Universal Messianic Kingdom.” In every 
 chapter we see advantage turned to disadvantage. 
 Take the third chapter. It seemed a great pity that 
 “ The Three Hebrew Children ” should be cast into 
 a fiery furnace, for their faith, yet notice how it 
 turned out in the proclamation of the king for the 
 worship of their God throughout His empire. 
 
 Second—Comfort to the captive “ Chosen People" 
 that their captivity would turn to their glory, as it 
 did. 
 
 The Two Parts.—This book consists of two parts 
 —Part one, chapter 1, Daniel and three youths taken 
 into captivity; chapter 2, The dream of great em¬ 
 pires; chapter 3, The fiery furnace and the faithful 
 three; chapter 4, The great tree and the stricken 
 king; chapter 5, The impious feast of a Babylonian 
 king in which he seeks to set God at a disadvantage 
 —verse 3—only to have his kingdom taken from him; 
 chapter 6, Daniel is thrown to the lions for his faith, 
 only to be rescued and have greater honour. 
 
 Part two, chapter 7, Vision of the four beasts; 
 chapter 8, The ram and the he-goat; chapter 9, The 
 seventy weeks; chapters 10-12, The last vision. “ It 
 
loo Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 is here taught, right out in the open, that this su¬ 
 preme God of the earth removes kings and sets up 
 kings and that no king can have any power, strength 
 or glory unless it is given to him from above.” The 
 coming of a Messianic King who shall set up a 
 world-wide kingdom—to supersede all others—is 
 foretold. 
 
 The Person of Daniel.—Picture him. Read the 
 specifications, up to which he had to measure, given 
 by the king. One of the “ Children in whom was no 
 blemish but well favoured and skilful in all wisdom, 
 and cunning in knowledge, and understanding 
 science, and such as had ability in them to stand in 
 the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the 
 learning and tongue of the Chaldeans.” Such were 
 the instructions given by Nebuchadnezzar to Ash- 
 penaz, the master of his eunuchs, so the story reads, 
 when he gave instructions that certain of the young 
 men of the captives from Jerusalem, about 597 b. c., 
 should be selected—chapter 1: 3, 4—for service in 
 his palace. Daniel must have been a man of fine 
 appearance, grace of manners and splendid ability. 
 
 Outward Advantages.—They seemed many. 
 Life in an oriental palace where every wish could be 
 gratified. An education in all that the Chaldeans 
 could teach and their learning was not small. An 
 opportunity, if rightly taken, to rise to high office. 
 A chance to become rich, beyond the dreams of 
 avarice. A throng of obsequious servants. But, to 
 the human outlook, and Daniel must have thought 
 deeply on this matter, one must bow to the evil cus¬ 
 toms of an oriental court and must worship the gods 
 
Daniel 
 
 101 
 
 that, from his childhood, he had been taught were no 
 gods. He must renounce his religion. Was he pre¬ 
 pared to give up all that had been taught him about 
 the only Great and True God of his fathers? Here 
 was the puzzle. 
 
 It is a modern, perplexing, every-day question to 
 many a young man. What shall he do when asked 
 to do things which are against his principles in order 
 to stay in a certain company or go in society that has 
 no use for his God? See how Daniel answered it. 
 
 The Disadvantages of Daniel's Position soon 
 manifested themselves. To a young man of his 
 bringing up and his faith they were bound to appear 
 very quickly—and they did. The temptations of a 
 luxurious life are often more subtle and stronger 
 than in one of hard work and poverty. Pride, ar¬ 
 rogance, selfishness, jealousy, hatred and meanness 
 wait upon a life lived in luxury, without a noble 
 thought or aim. 
 
 Advantage Out of Disadvantage. —Rich food. 
 Daniel soon saw that the food served from the king's 
 table was a positive detriment to him and his com¬ 
 panions. He knew that to refuse it would bring him 
 into disrepute—1:8-21. Why not conform? Why 
 not do as others did? Why make a fuss? These 
 are the questions which come to those who feel the 
 disadvantage of doing what they ought not to do. 
 Note the way in which Daniel got this food question 
 settled and the good that came out of this trouble. 
 
 The worship of the one true God for Daniel’s com¬ 
 panions. The fact that they did not worship the 
 Babylonian idols could not remain under cover long. 
 
102 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 It redounded to their disadvantage. They were 
 summoned before the king—chapter 3—and thrown 
 into a fiery furnace. Yet the fact that they remained 
 unhurt caused the king to make a decree that lifted 
 them to great honour. Again out of disadvantage 
 came great advantage. 
 
 Daniel’s worship of his God to the neglect of the 
 Persian deities—chapter 6—when he passed to the 
 Persian Court from the Babylonian was soon no¬ 
 ticed. The jealous courtiers, ever eager to find some¬ 
 thing against one so eminent soon noticed this and 
 determined to bring about his downfall through it. 
 Here is a case not uncommon in its likeness to every¬ 
 day life. A man sticking closely to his principles 
 may, for them, be put at a disadvantage. Now’ when 
 Daniel knew of the plot against him to make him 
 renounce his worship of his God under penalty of 
 being thrown to the Hons he paid no attention to it. 
 Surely now this worship was a disadvantage. But 
 Daniel when he went to pray did not even take the 
 trouble to dose his window. He was thrown into 
 the lion’s den but came out of it unharmed. Result 
 —the exaltation of Daniel and great gain to the cause 
 of the God whom he served and loved. We might 
 take every incident in Daniel’s life and find that he 
 ever held a steady course in his belief and deeds and 
 saw in everything the advantage that could come out 
 of disadvantage. 
 
 Characteristics of Daniel.—First—Rock-bed con¬ 
 victions of what he ought and ought not to do. 
 There are those who believe strongly but they have 
 no convictions. Second—Willingness to take the 
 
Daniel 
 
 103 
 
 consequences of his belief. Third—Determination 
 to see the thing through to the end—whatever that 
 end might be. Fourth—Hopefulness of the bright¬ 
 est and most cheerful kind. Fifth—Restfulness 
 upon his God that He would see him through. We 
 note an absence of worry in Daniel that is remark¬ 
 able. 
 
 Daniel was no coddled saint but a stalwart one 
 to whom persecution came only to make him of more 
 use. 
 
 “ This sort of character is the goal to which God 
 will push us, even over rough roads if He must. The 
 goal justifies both His wisdom and the roads.” 
 
 Questions.—What advantage in disadvantage? 
 What is the teaching in the book of Daniel? What 
 can be said of the person of Daniel? What were 
 his outward advantages? What were the disadvan¬ 
 tages? What advantages came out of the disadvan¬ 
 tages of Daniel’s position? Give the characteristics 
 of Daniel. 
 
XV 
 
 HABAKKUK 
 
 THE MAN WHO QUESTIONED GOD’S 
 WORED POEICIES 
 
 Questioning God.—This might stand for the title 
 of the book of Habakkuk. The prophet is very bold. 
 He uses strong language—1:1-4. He says—“ The 
 burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O 
 Lord, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear! 
 even cry unto thee of violence and thou wilt not 
 save? Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause 
 me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence 
 are before me: and there are that raise up strife 
 and contention.” This is not the cry of an irreverent 
 but a reverent man who sees evil and wrong and 
 iniquity flourishing and, in spite of the efforts made 
 to check them, growing and increasing. Men see the 
 best and most ably planned campaigns against giant 
 wrongs and evil men, sitting in the places of power, 
 come to naught. This is a cry that goes up in our 
 age, as it did in that long past time. Where is God 
 that He does not do something? 
 
 The Problem of Habakkuk is the same as that of 
 Job. Read what this “ Man of Undeserved Suffer¬ 
 ing ” says about the evils which have befallen him 
 and for which he can find no human explanation. 
 The difference is, however, that with Job the prob- 
 
 104 
 
Habakkuk 
 
 10 5 
 
 lem is personal; here it widens out into social and 
 national evils, which go on unchecked. 
 
 Jeremiah who had an evil nation to prophesy 
 against, in Judah, sees his nation punished for its 
 sin by the Chaldeans. But Habakkuk is not satisfied 
 with the fact that his nation will get what it deserves 
 at the hands of the Chaldeans. He wants to know 
 why it is that a wicked nation is selected to punish 
 another wicked nation and what is to become of the 
 big evil nation when it has conquered the little one. 
 Will God let the Chaldeans go unpunished for all 
 their wrongs, which are a multitude? It is a world 
 problem. God is questioned in regard to His govern¬ 
 ment of the world. 
 
 The Man and the Prophet. —We know little 
 about Habakkuk save that he was a man of deep 
 religious convictions and statesman-like mind. He 
 lived in Jerusalem and had some connection with 
 the temple—and “ the Temple Choir ”—chapter 
 3 :19. He had the office of prophet—1:1—and was 
 the eighth of the minor prophets. 
 
 His environment was not a happy one. It is 
 generally thought that he prophesied about 600 b. c. 
 In his day he had seen “ A World War.” Great 
 nations were contending for the mastery. Egypt and 
 Assyria; then Babylon and Assyria. He had seen the 
 dreaded Chaldean override both Assyria and Egypt. 
 He saw that soon, as it came to pass, the Chal¬ 
 deans would destroy Judah and Jerusalem. He was 
 in the midst of great world movements. 
 
 At home , in Jerusalem, he saw King Jehoiakim 
 playing the fool. When taxes were high and the 
 
lo6 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 people oppressed, Jehoiakim indulged in selfish and 
 lavish personal expenditures. He built a splendid 
 palace with forced and unpaid labour. Religion was 
 at a low ebb. Iniquities, of the most flagrant kind, 
 flourished unchecked. He saw his beloved city and 
 nation headed straight for destruction. He could 
 see no hope in any of the great nations—they were 
 worse than his own. 
 
 He was puzzled and disheartened at the state of 
 things. His human nature asserted itself and led to 
 the outcry in chapter 1:1-4. 
 
 The Solutions Offered for the Problem.—The 
 book, of three chapters, opens with a dialogue be¬ 
 tween Habakkuk and God on “ The World Policies 
 of God ” and the delayed punishment of evil. God 
 is reverently challenged to show cause why “ the law 
 is slacked and judgment does not go forth ? ” 
 
 First Question—- Ch. 1:1-4. The local question 
 of Judah’s punishment for her sins is considered. 
 Why it delays? The prophet asks. 
 
 First Answer —Ch. 1: 5-11. God replies. The 
 Chaldeans are raised up and will take care of Judah. 
 This is sure to come to pass, as it did. The punish¬ 
 ment will be severe. 
 
 Second Question —Ch. 1:12-17. Jeremiah, in 
 his book, was satisfied with this first answer but not 
 so Habakkuk. He was not at all pleased, tie does 
 not consider that it goes far enough. Notice now 
 that the discussion goes out of personal, social and 
 national and into international and world policies. 
 Habakkuk wants to know how God is going to justify 
 His world policies in raising up and using a wicked 
 
Habakkuk 
 
 107 
 
 nation for punishment of others* What gain is there 
 in this ? He calls attention to the fact that the Chal¬ 
 deans are wanton in their punishment and that they 
 continually gather the nations into their net, empty 
 it, gather again and worship their net. 
 
 Habakkuk now declares that he stands upon his 
 watch-tower to see how God will answer—2:1. 
 
 Second Answer—2:3-20. God, in this answer, 
 enters into the principles of “ Divine Government 
 and Dealing Justly and Righteously with Men and 
 Nations.” The answer is given in the form of a 
 vision which needs to be carefully studied. 
 
 The time element— 2 : 3—enters into all God’s 
 judgments. He cannot be hurried. Habakkuk need 
 not worry for no wrong shall go unpunished. 
 “ Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely 
 come.” 
 
 The underlying principles of God are that the 
 righteous have the seeds of life in themselves—chap¬ 
 ter 2:4—“ The just shall live by faith.” (Notice 
 how this is used in the New Testament—Romans 
 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10: 38.) The evil 
 man and nation have the seeds of death, like deadly 
 germ diseases, in themselves which will destroy 
 them. These diseases, their cause and manifestation 
 are put in the form of five “ Woes.” Because a man 
 and nation trangress these diseases or “ Woes ” shall 
 come upon them—2:6, 9, 12, 15 and 19. This is a 
 most illuminating explanation. We can see now 
 what Habakkuk could not see. The great Chaldean 
 empire had the seeds of death in it and it has utterly 
 vanished from the face of the earth. 
 
io8 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 A prayer of Habakkuk —Ch. 3:1, 2. He bows 
 his head before God’s wisdom in His world policies. 
 
 The vision of God's glory —3: 3-16—which the 
 prophet describes. He sees the might and glory of 
 God and that He is in full control. This is a lyric 
 poem of great beauty. Just one or two extracts— 
 3: 3—“ His glory covered the heavens and the earth 
 was full of his praise/’ Chapter 3:6,“ He stood and 
 measured the earth: he beheld and drove asunder 
 the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scat¬ 
 tered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are ever¬ 
 lasting.” 
 
 The Conclusion of the Whole Matter —Ch. 3:17- 
 19. Habakkuk is so well satisfied with the an¬ 
 swers that have been given to him that he feels 
 that he now can stand and face the evils of his time 
 and age and not be daunted by them. It is this at¬ 
 titude, after all, that counts. Human life is but a 
 half-told tale. We are moved so often by outside 
 forces of which we cannot even guess the origin. 
 We are caught in whirlpools and eddies and cannot 
 make headway. We know so little after all of life 
 that we want to know just as far as we can know 
 that, above all, is “ a Great, a Good and a Righteous 
 God ” who is perfectly capable of taking care of 
 everything and will take care of us. He will see 
 that all wrongs are righted. 
 
 The prophet is so thoroughly convinced of 
 this that he concludes with these words—“ Although 
 the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in 
 the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the 
 fields shall yield no meat; and the flock shall be cut 
 
Habakkuk 
 
 109 
 
 off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the 
 stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the 
 God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, 
 and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he 
 will make me to walk upon mine high places.” 
 
 Questions.—What can be said about questioning 
 God—what was the burden of Habakkuk? What was 
 the problem of Habakkuk—how did it differ from 
 that of Job? What can be said about the man and 
 the prophet—his environment and what he was puz¬ 
 zled about? What solutions were offered for the 
 problem—the first question—the first answer—the 
 second question—the second answer—the prayer of 
 Habakkuk—the vision of God’s glory—the conclusion 
 of the whole matter ? 
 
XVI 
 
 MATTHEW 
 
 THE MAN WHO SAW WORED HOPES 
 
 REALIZED 
 
 From Old Testament to New Testament Char¬ 
 acters.—We have an entire change of scene. The 
 old stage is cleared. A new one is set. The mighty 
 empires which fought for the sovereignty of the 
 world have disappeared or become ghosts of their 
 former selves. Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Persia, 
 and others, whose great armies shook the earth, when 
 they marched, have gone down. Go now and read 
 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the rest of the 
 prophets, and note that this failure of mighty empires 
 is just what they said would take place. Note also 
 that they said that, after the captivity, Jerusalem 
 and the temple would be rebuilt in glory and splen¬ 
 dour and that Judah would be saved out of the wreck. 
 When Christ saw Jerusalem all this had come true. 
 He saw a city of magnificent beauty. There were 
 huge walls and massive lofty towers. There were 
 marble palaces. Nothing has ever equalled the splen¬ 
 did temple which He saw. The streets are full of 
 life and activity. The Jews enjoy the largest sort 
 of freedom under the Roman Empire which now 
 embraces the territory of all the mighty empires of 
 the Old Testament. They come up to Jerusalem 
 
 no 
 
Matthew 
 
 11 ! 
 
 from all parts of the earth, by the scores of thou¬ 
 sands at Passover Time. 
 
 The World Saviour.—The new stage was set 
 for “ the Chosen People ” with their synagogues 
 in every big and many small cities, to accept, make 
 known and urge the acceptance of their own and the 
 u World Saviour in Jesus Christ.” Here was the 
 largest sort of an opportunity to become the dominant 
 race in the propagation of the highest principles and 
 ideals of justice, truth, mercy, love and righteous¬ 
 ness. How they deliberately discarded—chapters 
 8:11, 12 ; 21: 43—this opportunity is a matter of 
 history. The prophets had proclaimed, all of them, 
 “ the World Saviour ” coming through the Jews. 
 But coming anyway even if “ the Chosen People ” 
 rejected Him. This is the common teaching of the 
 prophets. The Jews did reject Him and He still re¬ 
 mained “ the World Saviour.” 
 
 He fully realized His world-wide mission when 
 He said, at the close of His career on earth 
 (and before this)—“ Go ye therefore, and teach all 
 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ”—Matthew 
 28:19; “ And he said unto them, Thus it is written 
 and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise 
 from the dead the third day: and that repentance 
 and remission of sins should be preached in his name 
 among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem”—Luke 
 24:46-48; “ Ye shall be my witnesses unto me both 
 in Jerusalem and in all Judsea, and in Samaria, and 
 unto the uttermost part of the earth ”—Acts 1: 8. 
 He was always talking, not about the kingdom of the 
 
112 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Jews but about the “ Kingdom of God ” and “ the 
 Kingdom of Heaven.” 
 
 The Apostle, Matthew.—Did he realize, at the 
 first, the large mission to which he was called? We 
 do not know. He is not here so that we can question 
 him. Who can tell how much any man hopes for 
 when he enters upon a new and promising field of 
 work. The important position which he occupied, on 
 a main route of large travel, would make him a 
 shrewd judge of men and their values. He is not 
 at all the sort of man—evidently of not a little wealth 
 and much good business sense—who would hastily, 
 giving up all, follow Christ, when He called him. 
 Such a man would not easily be swept off his feet. 
 As a Jew, however, he must have been acquainted 
 with the teachings of the prophets and been con¬ 
 vinced, from seeing Jesus often in and about Caper¬ 
 naum that He was truly “ the Promised Messiah ” 
 of whom they spoke. In the book, the Gospel of 
 Matthew, we have, at first, constant references back 
 to the prophets that this is “the Jewish Messiah,” 
 then the tone changes and references are evidently 
 to “ the World Messiah,” one and the same, but in 
 the second place seen in His larger aspect. 
 
 The First World Center, Capernaum.—This is 
 the city in which Matthew lived, likewise Peter, 
 James and John. It is the best of all the cities on 
 Lake Galilee whose shores are thickly studded with 
 well-known towns and villages, castles, hippodromes, 
 synagogues, amphitheaters and Greek villas. There 
 are pleasure craft, dispatch and fishing boats and 
 ships of war going to and fro on the surface of the 
 
Matthew 
 
 ll 3 
 
 water. Capernaum, on the northeast shore, is a 
 finely built city where people of all nationalities 
 dwell. It is a station on the great caravan trunk 
 routes, east, west, north and south. What is done 
 here is quickly made known in all the large centers 
 of trade. It is thought to have been chosen by Christ 
 to disseminate His Gospel, as “ the First World Cen¬ 
 ter ” to send out the good news from its advanta¬ 
 geous broadcasting facilities. Jerusalem was not on 
 the big trade routes. Beside Jesus and His claims 
 soon met with hostility there from the priestly party. 
 Matthew, knowing his Capernaum like a book, would 
 be invaluable in the work which Christ sought to do. 
 
 The Call of Matthew (Ch. 9: 9) came to him 
 while he was attending to his business as customs 
 officer at the “ Receipt of Custom ” at Capernaum 
 on “ the Great West Trunk Road from Damascus 
 and the Far East to the Mediterranean Sea.” Here 
 Jie would get all the news that was going. 
 
 Circumstances. Jesus had just healed a man 
 sick of the palsy in the city. Crowds followed Him 
 as He went on His way. Seeing Matthew, at his 
 place of business, He called him—“ Follow me.” 
 As quickly as He called Matthew arose and fol¬ 
 lowed Him. The suddenness may appear more on 
 the surface than in reality. Doubtless Jesus had had 
 Matthew under observation for some time and 
 Matthew had been seeing the many wonderful things 
 which Jesus did. 
 
 Qualifications. To all outward appearances 
 Matthew was not a good choice for he was a hated 
 publican—despised by all so-called “ Good Jews.” 
 
114 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 As one hated and despised he would be a hindrance 
 rather than a help but Jesus looked upon the splendid 
 qualities of Matthew and upon his heart and knew 
 that He had, in this tax-gatherer, a rare man for His 
 purpose. 
 
 The Great Feast Given by Matthew (Ch. 9:10; 
 Luke 5:29).—He was not only quick to respond 
 to the invitation of Jesus to follow Him but he 
 wanted every one to know what a signal honour had 
 been bestowed. It was not a feast for a select few 
 and choice friends but “ There was a great company 
 of publicans and others who sat down with them.” 
 Some men are warped and twisted by their business. 
 Their worst side comes out in their dealings with 
 men. Take Matthew and this feast and see how 
 everything shows him as he is and that being “ a 
 Despised Publican ” in business had not touched the 
 nobleness of his soul. Suppose that every one whom 
 Jesus calls, and who accepts this call into His fel¬ 
 lowship and Church, should respond as Matthew did 
 in celebrating the occasion in a way that would make 
 his rejoicing known to all his friends? What 
 splendid progress would be made. What is needed 
 to-day is Christians with the enthusiasm of Mat¬ 
 thew. 
 
 Discordant voices. Then as now when a man 
 really gets enthusiastic in a good cause there are 
 those who find fault. The Pharisees and Scribes, 
 looking only on outward things, murmured against 
 this feast, given by Matthew, that Christ and His 
 disciples should attend and eat with publicans and 
 sinners. It is the same old world. There are those 
 
Matthew 
 
 “5 
 
 who do nothing to help on a good cause and find 
 fault with those who do. 
 
 Matthew in the Training School.—From the time 
 of his call until Jesus ascended—Acts 1:1-8— 
 Matthew was constantly with Jesus. 
 
 He learned the principles of the kingdom from 
 “ the Sermon on the Mount ”—chapters 5-7. 1— 
 
 chapter 5: 2-12, The righteousness of “ the Kingdom 
 of Heaven ” described; its rewards announced. 2— 
 chapter 5:13-16, The righteousness as exhibited in 
 life. 3—chapters 5:17-6:18, Relation of this new 
 righteousness to that of the Old Testament. 4— 
 chapter 6:19-34, Relation of this new righteousness 
 to secular life. 5—chapter 7:1-23, Teaching of the 
 new righteousness; precepts and warnings to disci¬ 
 ples. 6—chapter 7: 24-27, Consequences of the ac¬ 
 ceptance or rejection of the precepts of the new 
 righteousness. 
 
 He was sent out to work out that which he had 
 been taught by Jesus—chapters 10:1-11:1. 
 Matthew was one of “ the Twelve ” sent out to pro¬ 
 claim “ the Good News of the Coming Kingdom.” 
 They were to do as they had seen Christ do. 
 
 Nothing was left to chance. The apostles were 
 men under the tutelage of the Master to carry on 
 His work after He had left the earth. 
 
 Matthew Saw World Hopes Realized in Jesus 
 Christ; that is, he began to see them realized. 
 They are not yet fully realized. The movement is 
 so large that it will take the ages for their com¬ 
 plete fulfillment. 
 
 Take “the Gospel of Matthew” (under the most 
 
116 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 drastic criticism the bulk of its material is still con¬ 
 ceded to Matthew, the apostle). It may be divided 
 into three parts: 1—chapters 1:1-4:16, Early Days 
 of the Messiah. 2—chapters 4:17-16: 20, Signs 
 and Works of the Messiah. 3—chapters 16:21- 
 28:20, Passion of the Messiah. 
 
 We see here the flowering of the Old Testament 
 History. All that the prophets had said of Jesus 
 Christ comes true in Him. Passage after passage is 
 quoted in Matthew of the Old Testament prophecy to 
 prove that in Jesus Christ we have the Promised Mes¬ 
 siah. A Messiah who was to bless the whole world 
 through “ the Chosen People.” But as time goes on 
 and Jesus Christ develops His principles and ideals the 
 nation to which He has come is seen to draw back 
 from Him and finally to reject Him. The Christ 
 that was to make this nation the leading nation of 
 the world is rejected by it, and with this rejection 
 forfeits its great mission—chapter 8:11, 12. 
 
 The mission of Jesus Christ as “ The World 
 Saviour is not thereby thwarted but becomes more 
 emphatically a world affair. 
 
 The religion of Jesus is not merely the Juda¬ 
 ism of the temple plus a belief in Jesus as “ the 
 Messiah” but a world religion, freed from all bounds 
 and restrictions, local and national. The book of 
 Matthew carries the doctrine of the apostle Paul to 
 the conclusion which he saw in it but to which he was 
 not wont himself to press it. Again before this 
 time each nation had its own gods to whom it looked 
 for succour and help. The conception of a World 
 Religion was not thought of. When the nation died 
 
Matthew 
 
 117 
 
 its gods died as they did in Babylonia and Assyria. 
 But here was a World Messiah who survived the 
 nation to which He was accredited, and appealed to 
 all nations and made good in His appeal. 
 
 The World Messiah in Our Own Age.—The 
 message of Matthew comes to us with the same 
 pertinency that it came to men of old. So it will 
 come in the future. Jesus Christ is the Saviour of 
 all mankind—to all who trust in Him. All else may 
 fail but He will not fail. He will not be judged by 
 any age or civilization but will judge every age and 
 every civilization. His last command is still sound¬ 
 ing forth—“ Go ye therefore and teach all nations, 
 baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all 
 things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I 
 am with you alway, even unto the end of the world ” 
 (Matthew 28:18-20). 
 
 Questions.—What can be said for the change 
 from Old to New Testament characters? What can 
 be said of the world Saviour? What of the world 
 apostle, Matthew? What of the first world center, 
 Capernaum? What can be said of the call of Mat¬ 
 thew—circumstances and qualifications? What of 
 the great feast, given by Matthew? What of Mat¬ 
 thew in the training school? How did Matthew see 
 world hopes realized in Jesus Christ? What can be 
 said of the world Messiah in our own age ? 
 
XVII 
 
 MARK 
 
 THE MAN WHO WROTE OF CHRISTS POWER 
 
 A New Way of Looking at Christ.—Mark pre¬ 
 sents a different aspect of Christ from that of Mat¬ 
 thew, Luke, John or Paul. The emphasis is placed 
 upon what He is, in Himself, and upon His authority. 
 The genealogy is omitted. Little is said about the 
 fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. After the 
 announcement-—” The beginning of the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ, the Son of God ” (ch. 1:1), and a few 
 verses about the work of John Baptist, we read of 
 the exercised power of the Christ: “And they were 
 astonished at his doctrine for he taught them as one 
 that had authority and not as the scribes” (dr. 1: 
 22). “And they were all amazed, insomuch that they 
 questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is 
 this? For with authority commandeth he the un¬ 
 dean spirits and they do obey him” (ch. 1:27). 
 This has been called “ The Gospel to the Romans ” 
 because Jesus Christ was presented in this way. The 
 Romans never asked about the ancestry of a man; 
 they wanted to know what he was in himself and 
 what he could do. This is the modern way of look¬ 
 ing at a man. 
 
 The Writer, Mark.—He is not an apostle. He 
 holds no official position. The Gospel, however, has 
 
 nS 
 
Mark 
 
 119 
 
 been ascribed to him from the earliest times. He 
 had ample opportunity to know the truth of the 
 things about which he wrote. He lived in Jeru¬ 
 salem. His mother had a house there. She was a 
 woman of considerable wealth. Her home was the 
 rallying place of the early leaders of the Church. 
 Here Mark met them and heard everything talked 
 over. A large prayer-meeting was in progress there, 
 one night, when Peter, having been released from 
 prison by an angel, came knocking at the door of 
 the gate. Mark could never forget that experience 
 and the rejoicing over Peter’s release. The narrative 
 does not say but Mark may have often seen Jesus and 
 heard His words. His cousin, Barnabas, who went 
 on the first missionary journey with Paul was a 
 wealthy Levite from the island of Cyprus (Acts 12: 
 1-17; 4:36, 37; 13:1-5). Who could know better 
 than Mark of all the things which were making such 
 a wonderful stir in Jerusalem? These things were 
 not done in a corner. 
 
 The Traveler.—He was in many parts of the 
 Roman Empire. We read of him in Jerusalem, in An¬ 
 tioch, in Ephesus, in Rome and in other places. He 
 had a wide experience with men in all classes of life. 
 In his home city, Jerusalem, he had his eyes opened 
 to the wonderful power in Christ. In Antioch he 
 saw how that power could take hold upon men and 
 women who were not of the household of Judaea and 
 had not been trained in its traditions (Acts 11:20- 
 26; 13:1-5). We find Mark with Paul in Rome 
 (Col. 4:10; Phil. 24) and later on with Timothy in 
 Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:11). He is also recorded by 
 
120 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Peter as being with him in Babylon (Rome) (1 Peter 
 d: 13). 
 
 The Close Companion of Peter for ten or twelve 
 years. This is the time that elapsed between the 
 last mention of Mark in the Acts and Paul’s refer¬ 
 ence to his cooperation in Rome. In out-of-the-way 
 places in the country, in villages, and in big cities 
 Mark had noticed, could not help but notice, how the 
 marvelous power of Jesus Christ gripped the hearts 
 and consciences of the people to whom He was pre¬ 
 sented. They accepted Him for what He was in 
 Himself. They did not have to go back and get 
 Him through Judaism. The modern disciple of 
 Christ makes this direct appeal to-day. 
 
 The Ministry of Mark in Service.—We do not 
 read anywhere of Mark speaking or taking the lead¬ 
 ership, as Barnabas or Paul or Peter, or Timothy 
 did. He is never at the forefront. His is the min¬ 
 istry of service, the observer of what others are do¬ 
 ing, and making things comfortable for them that 
 they may do their more conspicuous work well. He 
 doubtless arranged the travel routes and looked after 
 the details of getting lodgings and places and oppor¬ 
 tunities to deliver the message. The tradition tells 
 us that even the message which he has given us, in 
 what is called his Gospel, is what Peter preached in 
 his ten or twelve years of association with him. 
 
 And yet how marvelously the light of his life 
 shines forth! The man who was willing to serve 
 those who did the more conspicuous things now takes 
 rank alongside them and not one whit behind them. 
 This Gospel of Mark may be what Peter preached, 
 
Mark 
 
 121 
 
 it doubtless is, but it is put in shape by a master 
 hand. In its present shape it is declared to be the 
 first of the Gospels. Could any man—just striving 
 to serve as his Master did—have greater honour? 
 
 The Book of Mark is put together with great 
 skill. The story moves with rapidity. It is pic¬ 
 turesque. It is condensed. It is abrupt. After the 
 introduction 1:1-13 it has three natural divisions; 
 1—The ministry in Galilee, 1:14-9 : 50. 2■—The 
 
 ministry in Judaea, 10:1-52. 3—The ministry in 
 
 Jerusalem, 11:1-16 : 20. This is the shortest Gospel 
 —sixteen chapters. Matthew has twenty-eight. Luke 
 twenty-four. John twenty-one. The narrative is 
 confined to the most active period of Jesus’ life, 
 chiefly to the busy Galilean ministry and the still more 
 crowded Passion Week. 
 
 Characteristics.—1—Vividness. There is a suc¬ 
 cession of pictures of what Christ did which have 
 peculiar lifelike and graphic qualities. We are made 
 to see things, by Mark, as if they were directly under 
 our own eyes. 2—Compactness. Every sentence is 
 fraught with meaning. 3—Directness. There is no 
 attempt at elaboration. It is a businesslike narra¬ 
 tive of things as Mark saw them or heard of them 
 from Peter and others. Christ teaches and heals and 
 immediately His fame spreads through all Galilee 
 (Ch. 1:28). In the first chapter, typical of all the 
 rest, we find condensed the stories of the opening of 
 the ministry of Christ, the coming of John Baptist, 
 the temptation of Christ and the beginning of Christ’s 
 ministry in Galilee. 4—Celerity. Here is move¬ 
 ment ; action; life. Christ speaks and there is instant 
 
122 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 obedience. The words—“ Straightway ” and “ Im¬ 
 mediately ” are used over forty times to show how 
 quickly the results, which are desired, are accom¬ 
 plished. 5—Circumstantiality. Mark tells “ How 
 the multitude who were to be fed sat down in groups 
 like flower beds * upon the green grass ’; how our 
 Lord amid the tempest was sleeping ‘ on the cushion 9 
 in the stern of the boat; how when they brought unto 
 Him ‘ little children/ He took them up in His arms 
 and blessed them. Only in Mark are we told that 
 Jesus was a carpenter and that, during His tempta¬ 
 tion, He was with the wild beasts.” The instances 
 of such touches are legion. 
 
 The Message of Mark is the Working of the 
 Power of Christ for helping men to find themselves 
 and God. That they may be freed from the evils 
 which take them by the throat and choke out their 
 moral and spiritual lives. It is a ministry of redeem¬ 
 ing love and saving grace. It is authority, coupled 
 with unlimited power, used not in selfishness and the 
 upbuilding of the one who has it but for the largest 
 and noblest ends. The trouble, in this world, is that 
 men who get just a little authority too often use it to 
 oppress and crush their fellow men. “ We are re¬ 
 minded of the words of Peter relative to ‘ The Mas¬ 
 ter ’—God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and 
 with power: who went about doing good and healing 
 all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was 
 with Him.” 
 
 Instances of the Manifestation of Christ's Power 
 are given by Mark. 
 
 The manifestation is in two parts. We have 
 
Mark 123 
 
 to consider both—Divine Power and Human 
 Power. 
 
 The Human Power . He had the human side 
 and manifested it in a remarkable way. He was 
 hungry. He was tired. He slept. He ate. He 
 loved the companionship of His fellow men. He had 
 compassion. He sympathized with the woes of the 
 people. 
 
 The Divine Power was equally manifest and 
 used to help. In the short space of sixteen chapters 
 there are nineteen miracles recorded; a number of 
 them with great circumstantiality. Mark expresses 
 no doubt in regard to them. Here are some of the 
 instances which Mark tells us about, in his book—1— 
 “ Jesus taught as one that had authority and not as 
 the scribes” (1:22). He ordained others to teach 
 and to heal (3:13-15). 2—The unclean spirits 
 
 acknowledged His power (1:27). The great trou¬ 
 ble in society, family and state is that of unclean 
 men and women. They refuse to obey and foul the 
 water of the springs of life. 3—Power to heal the 
 sick (1:30, 31, 34). There is moral and mental 
 sickness as well as physical sickness. Heal the first 
 two and the other would largely disappear. Christ 
 did cure all three. 4—Power to forgive sins. Christ 
 did not leave this in doubt (2:5-10). 5—Power 
 
 over nature (4:36-40), Many instances are given. 
 He stilled the storm on Galilee. He multiplied the 
 loaves and fishes. Why should these stand as such 
 impossibilities to some people? What were once 
 miracles—“ The Wireless,” the “ Heavier than Air 
 Flying Machine,” etc., etc., are now commonplaces. 
 
124 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 A miracle may not be contrary to nature while it 
 may be contrary to what we know about nature. We 
 know really so little about the order of nature, even 
 the wisest—Why stumble at the miracles of Christ? 
 Herbert Spencer once said to a friend: “ You cannot 
 take up any problem in physics without being quickly 
 led to some metaphysical problem that you can neither 
 solve nor evade.” Mark verily believed and taught 
 that “ The Lord of Glory ” had come to earth and 
 that nothing was impossible to Him. But here is the 
 astonishing thing that this Lord of Glory laid aside 
 His glory and used His power to help men to better 
 lives. 6—Power to raise the dead (5: 22-24, 35-42), 
 and power to raise Himself from the dead in His 
 resurrection. This was what Mark taught from 
 hearing it preached and seeing the Gospel in its 
 earliest manifestations. 
 
 The Hunt for Power is on.—Man is searching 
 everywhere for it. Coal, oil, gas, water, iron ore, 
 land and sea interest him only as he can wring from 
 them their secrets of power. He will spend time, un- , 
 limited money, and energy if he can see the slightest 
 prospect of making use of any of these agencies for 
 more power. He searches everywhere for this 
 treasure or storehouse of power. He wants to con¬ 
 nect up. But here in Jesus Christ is a storehouse of 
 power that wants to be connected up with man and 
 help him to find himself first in the Kingdom of God 
 and then the rest will be easy. This also is the teach¬ 
 ing of Mark and is one reason why he is so tremen¬ 
 dously in earnest about his message. 
 
 Questions.—What is the new way of looking at 
 
Mark 125 
 
 Christ? What can be said of the writer, Mark? 
 Mark, the traveler? Mark, the close companion of 
 Peter? What can be said of the ministry of Mark 
 in service? The book of Mark? Characteristics of 
 the book? What is the message of Mark? Give 
 instances of the manifestation of Christ’s power. 
 What can be said for the hunt for power ? 
 
XVIII 
 
 LUKE 
 
 THE MAN WHO BROADCASTED THE GOSPEL 
 
 GOOD NEWS 
 
 “ Luke, the Beloved Physician,” is what Paul 
 calls him when he was in prison in Rome and wrote 
 the letter to the Church in the city of Colosse. This 
 shows how dear Luke was to Paul. It is a human 
 touch and shows how strong one man’s affection may 
 be for another (Col. 4:14). 
 
 The author of the messages, in the Gospel of Luke 
 and the Acts of the Apostles, broadcasted over the 
 ancient and modern worlds, as no other messages 
 have been, was a careful, conscientious doctor. He 
 was not only large of heart and of great spiritual 
 vision but he had a literary ability of a high order. 
 
 He was a Gentile; a Greek by birth. He was a 
 man of some wealth or else he would not have been 
 able to attend upon Paul and go with him as he did 
 from place to place. He probably bore not only his 
 own expenses but helped to bear those of Paul. He 
 is an example of how the preaching of Jesus Christ 
 affected all classes, high and low, in those times. 
 
 He was an accurate and painstaking observer, 
 trying always to make sure of his facts before setting 
 them down. This he declares in the preface to his 
 Gospel—Luke 1 : 1 - 4 . He is after “ The Certainties.” 
 
 126 
 
Luke 
 
 127 
 
 In the Acts of the Apostles he is careful to use 
 “ We ” when he is with Paul and “ They” when he 
 it not. 
 
 In regard to his standing as a physician Dr. Ho¬ 
 bart has written a book on “ The Medical Language 
 of St. Luke” in which he gives testimony to Dr. 
 Luke’s accuracy in the use of medical terms as com¬ 
 pared with those used by Galen, Hippocrates and 
 other ancient medical writers of note. 
 
 The esteem in which he is held to-day is not only 
 shown in the multitude of “ St. Luke Churches ” but 
 also in the multitude of “ St. Luke Hospitals ” of 
 which one is in almost every city in the United 
 States and they are scattered over the world. 
 
 Antioch, the City of Luke, where tradition has it 
 that he exercised his profession, was the third city 
 in point of population (500,000) and importance in 
 the Roman Empire. It was the second great center 
 of Christianity. It was from here that Christian 
 influences were broadcasted that have influenced 
 the world for all time. It is this broadcasting in¬ 
 fluence of which Luke tells us in the Acts of the 
 Apostles. 
 
 The title by which Antioch was known, in those 
 times, was “ The Gay City.” A strange place in 
 which to start a great Christian campaign for the 
 conversion of the world. It was about three hun¬ 
 dred miles north of Jerusalem and sixteen miles from 
 the Mediterranean Sea on the Orontes River. It 
 traded with all parts of the world by ships and 
 caravans. There were many fine public buildings. 
 There was great wealth. Art and literature were 
 
128 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 cultivated. But everything was made to promote 
 and foster “ Gilded Vice/' About four miles away 
 was “ The Grove of Daphne ” known throughout the 
 world as the place where all that was most beautiful 
 in art and nature had created the magnificent gardens 
 where there was held a continual festival of vice. 
 Juvenal, a great Roman writer, complains that the 
 iniquities and dissipations of Antioch were corrupt¬ 
 ing Rome. 
 
 Yet Luke tells us how into this “ Gay City ” (Acts 
 11:19-29) the Christian missionaries came with their 
 message and “A great number believed and turned to 
 the Lord.” So many came in that outside help was 
 sent for and Paul came. It shows that the Gospel 
 can work under the most unfavourable conditions 
 and where there is seemingly nothing to work upon. 
 Christianity in those days did not hesitate to go into 
 the worst places in the most corrupt cities. It has 
 the same power to-day if we will use it. 
 
 Luke’s Preparation for Work.—He was many 
 years in getting ready to do what he did. His was 
 no hasty task easily accomplished. 
 
 He was a traveling companion of Paul who had 
 come, on his second missionary journey, as far as 
 Troas, in Mysia in Asia Minor. Here Paul saw the 
 vision which called him to undertake a new work 
 (leaving Asia) on the continent of Europe. It was a 
 bold venture into the region of the highest culture of 
 Greek civilization. If beauty, if art of the highest 
 type, if philosophy could have saved men they would 
 not have needed the Gospel. But with all this culti¬ 
 vation there was the utmost corruption of morals. 
 
Luke 129 
 
 The social evil was made a part of worship in the 
 temples. 
 
 Luke met Paul in Troas —note the change from 
 “ They ” in chapter 16: 6-9 to “ We ” in chapter 
 16:T0fF. We can always tell when Luke is of the 
 party by his use of the “ We.” Luke went to Philippi 
 with Paul where the first church in Europe was or¬ 
 ganized (Ch. 16: 12-40). Luke was left in Philippi. 
 Notice the seventeenth chapter begins the “ They ” 
 again. Luke remained at Philippi for a number of 
 years, or until Paul returned to this city (Ch. 20:6) 
 and “ We ” sailed away from Philippi. 
 
 From this second meeting, until the death of Paul, 
 Luke seems to have been with him. He was with 
 him when Paul went up to Jerusalem for the last 
 time. He was with him when he sailed away from 
 Oesarea after Paul had been imprisoned for two 
 years in that city. Luke was with Paul on his 
 journey to Rome, and in Rome. He was with him in 
 his first imprisonment (Col. 4:14 and Phil. 24). 
 He was with him in his last imprisonment, when it 
 was dangerous (2 Tim. 4:11). 
 
 Luke, certainly, had abundant opportunities to see 
 and know how Christianity worked in big and little 
 places and amongst all classes and conditions of 
 people. 
 
 The Doctor’s Pastorate at Philippi for seven 
 years. It is not an easy thing to step out of one’s 
 chosen profession and into another and make a 
 success. But Luke through his love for Christ did 
 this. The city of Philippi was an important one on 
 the Great Egnatian Road and travelers and traders 
 
130 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 passed over it eastward and westward from all parts 
 of the Roman Empire. It was a center of a large 
 life and activity. One secret of Luke’s influence to¬ 
 day is due to the fact that he not only knew the 
 theory of Christianity but also had applied it and 
 seen it applied under the most difficult and adverse 
 circumstances and it had worked in every case. 
 
 The Messages which Luke had to give to the 
 world are found in two books which it is supposed 
 were begun to be put into shape at the time he was in 
 attendance upon Paul in his two years’ imprisonment 
 in Caesarea. He would have ample time to look up 
 scenes and incidents of Christ’s life in places where 
 they occurred and consult those still living who had 
 seen and heard Christ. He could also go over with 
 Paul the accounts of his journeyings when he was 
 not with him. 
 
 The Gospel of Luke. There is a logical order of 
 events. After the introduction (Ch. 1:1-4) there 
 are six natural divisions. 1—1:5-2:52—Narrative 
 of the birth, childhood and youth of John Baptist 
 and Jesus. 2—3:1-4:13—Preparation for Christ’s 
 public work. 3—4:14-9: 50—Christ’s Galilean Min¬ 
 istry. 4—9: 51-19: 27—Christ’s Journey to Jeru¬ 
 salem. 5—19:28-23:56—Passion Week. 6—24: 
 
 1— 53-—Resurrection and ascension of Christ. 
 
 The Acts of the Apostles. This book may be 
 divided into three parts taking for its text chapter 
 1:8. 1—The work in Jerusalem (Ch. 1:1-7:60). 
 
 2— The work in Judaea and Samaria (8:1-12:25). 
 
 3— The work in the world at large—The Three Mis¬ 
 sionary Journeys of Paul (13:1-28:31). 
 
Luke 
 
 131 
 
 The Appeal is to the Certainties.—Luke does not 
 plead. He does not argue. He wants us to con¬ 
 sider the facts (Luke 1:1-4). The certainty of the 
 reality of Christ; here is no dim and indistinct figure 
 but one standing forth as real; His is the strong per¬ 
 sonality about which events and persons group them¬ 
 selves. The Certainty of Christ’s mission (Luke 4: 
 16-21). He declares that He, Christ, is “The 
 Anointed One.” The certainty of Christ’s power. 
 
 Characteristics. A world-wide ministry. Christ 
 opened His Gospel with this declaration (4:16-21)* 
 He closed it by saying that His name should be 
 proclaimed “Amongst all nations ” (24: 47,48). Glad 
 tidings for all men. The opening chapters of Luke 
 record “ how Christ came into the world heralded by 
 songs of rejoicing; “ The Ave Maria,” “ The Magnif¬ 
 icat,” “ The Benedictus,” “ The Gloria in Excelsis ” 
 and “ The Nunc Dimittis.” Again Luke tells us that 
 Christ departed lifting up His hands in blessing 
 (Luke 28:50). Sympathy with the poor and out¬ 
 cast and suffering.—Note the parables of the “ Lost 
 Sheep,” the “ Lost Coin,” the “ Lost Boy,” the “ Good 
 Samaritan,” etc. Good will and tolerance. Praise 
 and thanksgiving. Prayer. Womanhood, etc. 
 
 What Luke Stood for in Himself.—Thorough¬ 
 ness in what he undertook. He was very careful to 
 try in every way to keep his writings from error. 
 Cheerfulness; there are able, good, righteous men 
 and women who are conscientious in what they do 
 but they are not pleasant of disposition or counte¬ 
 nance but Luke called—“ The Beloved Physician ” by; 
 one who knew him best has a sunny way with him,* 
 
132 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 He believed the Gospel was given—“ To make us of 
 good cheer.” Helpfulness where help was needed 
 most; he was an educated physician yet he saw that 
 he could help the world the most by preaching Christ 
 and working for Him. Courage; notice how Paul 
 wrote to Timothy in his last imprisonment—and not 
 so long before his death—“ Only Luke is with me; ” 
 Luke was not afraid to stand by Paul when he en¬ 
 dangered his own life by doing so. Faith, strong, 
 reliable and unwavering. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said of Luke—what 
 does Paul call him—of what books is he the author— 
 what does Dr. Hobart say of his medical knowledge ? 
 Describe the city of Antioch—what had it to do with 
 early Christianity? What can be said of Luke’s 
 preparation for his work? How long was Dr. Luke 
 pastor of the church at Philippi? What can be said 
 of the messages of Luke ? Into how many parts may 
 Luke’s Gospel be divided? How many parts the 
 Acts? To what does Luke appeal? What certain¬ 
 ties ? What are the characteristics ? What did Luke 
 stand for in himself ? 
 
XIX 
 
 JOHN 
 
 THE MAN WHO LISTENED-IN ACROSS 
 
 THE VOID 
 
 Getting into Touch with the Infinite.—Man lives 
 in a world of mystery. It is permeated with strange 
 forces which he is trying to understand and with 
 which he is trying to connect. Sometimes he is 
 successful and sometimes he is not. When he suc¬ 
 ceeds he seems but to open a door to still more 
 mysterious forces. 
 
 Take an instance of these strange things. A man 
 sits in a quiet room. It is remote from the street. 
 All unknown to him that room is vibrating with 
 sounds. A great orator is making a speech five 
 hundred miles away and every word is repeated in 
 this room. A thousand miles away a concert, of the 
 best musical talent, is being given and it is being 
 reproduced here. The air is crowded with voices. 
 Yet the man sitting, in this room, professes that he 
 hears nothing. It is to him as if these sounds did 
 not exist. Now let him take a certain apparatus, 
 made in a certain way, to interpret these sounds and, 
 strange to say, the room leaps into life. He is in 
 tune with the great orator and hears every word. 
 He shuts off the oratory and now he “ Listens-in ” 
 at the concert, hearing all. What the “ Radio-Man ” 
 has done for the man in the quiet room John pro- 
 
 *33 
 
134 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 posed, long before this new thing had come to life, 
 to do for the material man who did not realize the 
 spiritual things about him. 
 
 John was a pioneer worker. For many men he is 
 still a pioneer. Men do not use “ The Spiritual 
 Radio ” even when its use is explained but to those 
 who do there is a new and wonderful world opened. 
 
 John carries over “ The revelation of Christ from 
 the world of outward fact to that of inward religious 
 experience.” He gives this out as his definite pur¬ 
 pose. He is not writing at random, just to make a 
 history of what he saw, but “ These are written that 
 ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
 God; and that believing ye might have life through 
 his name” (John 20:31). The great work of 
 Christ is to impart life. Man in the silent room of a 
 material world, through Christ, has that room leap 
 into life with voices which put him into tune with 
 “ The Infinite.” 
 
 Preparation of John in Contact With John Bap¬ 
 tist.—In order to do any work which is worth 
 while, and lasting, a man must have a certain ade¬ 
 quate preparation. Nothing worth while can be done 
 offhand. He must know all angles of that which 
 he wishes to do if he is to be highly effective. 
 
 John began the preparation for his ministry , for all 
 ages and all nations, as a disciple of John Baptist. 
 How long he was with him we do not know. We do 
 know that in John Baptist he came in contact with a 
 wonderful personality who had “ Listened-in ” to a 
 message that was given to him from “ On High ” 
 and who was giving this message to the people of 
 
John 
 
 *35 
 
 Palestine. So effective was he in doing this that 
 
 » 
 
 multitudes of people came to hear him in a desolate 
 place by the river Jordan. Still more wonderful they 
 did that which it is not easy to get men to do— 
 “ They came confessing their sins.” John Baptist 
 was counted “A Prophet.” He had gotten into tune 
 with “ The Infinite One.” All this John, who was 
 to become an apostle of Christ, saw and heard. 
 
 Jesus Invites John to Find the Way.— The 
 second stage in the preparation of John was when he 
 came in contact with Jesus Christ for the first time. 
 When all Palestine was flaming into praise with the 
 name and exploits of John Baptist. It was bruited 
 abroad that he was the long expected Messiah. What 
 was John’s astonishment to see him bow his head 
 before Jesus of Nazareth (Ch. 1:28-36). He 
 doubtless was very much puzzled to hear John Bap¬ 
 tist say (Ch. 1:29): “Behold the Lamb of God, 
 which taketh away the sin of the World ” and just 
 before this (Ch. 1:27): “ He it is who coming after 
 me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I 
 am not worthy to unloose.” It was as if he had 
 said: “ The Master to whose voice I have been 
 listening has come.” 
 
 Two disciples, one of whom was John, just won¬ 
 dered, wondered, what it could mean! What more 
 natural than that they should follow Jesus to find out 
 (Ch. 1:37, 38). 
 
 Jesus* invitation to “ Come and see ” resulted in 
 their “ Listening-in ” to “ The Voice ” which led John 
 to do his great work for all people. Such was the 
 impression made by this first interview that the exact 
 
136 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 hour of the day is put down—“ The Tenth ”—which 
 is four o’clock. 
 
 The School of Discipleship or “ the Try Out.”— 
 
 Note how gradually things proceed. Every event 
 comes in order. There is no hurry. Jesus had quite 
 a following of disciples before He chose — “the 
 Twelve Apostles” (Luke 6:13-16). He seems to 
 have been trying out the disciples, of whom John 
 was one, to finally select those whom He could trust 
 with “ The Great Mission.” This crowd of disciples 
 went with Him and saw the mighty works which He 
 did. It was “ The Try Out ” the same as men are 
 under observation and trial for important places to¬ 
 day. 
 
 The Home Life of John was a happy one. He 
 came from a “ Well-to-Do ” family. They had boats 
 and hired servants. The occupation of fishing was 
 lucrative (Mark 1:19, 20). Zebedee, the father, 
 made not the slightest objection to his sons, James 
 and John, going with Jesus. The mother, Salome, 
 was a follower of Jesus, going even to the cross 
 (Matt. 27: 66; Mark 15:40, 41). It is a great thing 
 when home influences are in favour of spiritual think¬ 
 ing and living. 
 
 Called to Be an Apostle.—John was one of 
 
 twelve whom Jesus chose to be with Him and to be 
 trained for “A World-Wide Campaign for the Con¬ 
 version of the World.” The two sons of Zebedee 
 and Salome were named second and third in the list 
 of the chosen ones. How important this choice was 
 we are just beginning to see. These are the names 
 ;which the world cherishes and perpetuates above 
 
John 
 
 *37 
 
 those of great rulers, generals, poets, artists, mer¬ 
 chant princes and the so-called “ Mighty Ones ” of 
 this earth. It is not to be supposed that “ The 
 Twelve ” realized to what an undying fame they were 
 called. 
 
 We have to remember that these men had been 
 with Jesus, as disciples, and had listened to His teach¬ 
 ing and seen the miracles which He did (Mark 3:13- 
 19; Luke 6:13-16). Matthew tells us in the tenth 
 chapter that as soon as “ The Twelve” were chosen 
 they were sent out, “ Having been given power 
 against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal 
 all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” 
 
 John was very close to his “Master.” He was 
 present at “ the Transfiguration.” He, with Peter, 
 was sent to make ready for “ the Lord's Supper.” 
 He was in the “ Garden of Gethsemane ” with Christ. 
 John was the first to recover himself after the arrest 
 of Christ. He was present at His trial. He was the 
 only apostle who dared follow Christ to the cross. 
 He received the charge of Christ to care for His 
 mother. 
 
 After the resurrection he saw and talked with 
 Christ and knew Him without doubt. He, with 
 Peter, went boldly into the temple and proclaimed 
 the Christ—Acts, chapter 3. Peter and John were 
 sent for to go into Samaria to help in the great work 
 there—Acts 8:14. When Paul went to Jerusalem 
 about 50 A. D. John was there and met him—Gala¬ 
 tians 2:1-9. 
 
 Pastor of the Church in Ephesus.—John, the 
 apostle, settled in Ephesus late in the sixties accord- 
 
138 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 ing to the testimony of such well-known men in the 
 Church as Irenseus, Papias, Poly crates of Ephesus 
 and Clement of Alexandria. Here also Andrew and 
 Philip are said to have lived in their later years. 
 This church was founded by Paul—Acts 19, Here, 
 in all probability, John wrote his Gospel. 
 
 This city was the third great center of Chris¬ 
 tianity. Here was held a “ Perpetual Vanity Fair.” 
 Its theater, seating 50,000 spectators, was a wonder. 
 Its stadium was dedicated to “ Reality ”; men fought 
 with wild beasts to the death; men fought with men 
 to the death; all scenes were acted out in reality. Its 
 temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the world 
 (324 feet long and 164 feet wide), was filled with the 
 most exquisite works of art, yet its worship was of 
 a shapeless image and grossly immoral. A queer 
 place in which to preach the Gospel of Christ, yet 
 Paul won many people here and from this city the 
 influence of the Gospel which John preached has 
 been world wide. 
 
 The Book Message of John.—We take here only 
 the Gospel. We have seen what a splendid prepa¬ 
 ration John had for the message he finally gave to 
 the world. Without this ample preparation he could 
 not have given it. The great questions which John 
 considered were hotly debated in his day: they have 
 lost none of their heat after the many centuries that 
 have elapsed since he was on earth. They are the 
 burning issues of to-day. This Gospel would not 
 stand as it does unless John had brought up these 
 questions. Every possible means has been employed 
 to bring it into discredit but the great thing at issue 
 
John 
 
 *39 
 
 is not the box or the “ Radio Apparatus ” in any of 
 its parts but does it connect up with that which with¬ 
 out it would be unheard? That John’s Gospel does 
 connect up and bring us into tune with “ the Infinite 
 One ” has been shown over and over again. It works 
 for those who will let it work. 
 
 Great Questions Asked and Answered.—These 
 are timeless and ageless. These questions are the 
 vital ones of the Christian faith. The answers are 
 equally vital. Over fifty years had passed since 
 Christ had left the earth in bodily form when John’s 
 Gospel was issued. Questions of His relations to the 
 Jewish World had ceased to be of interest. 
 
 Christianity was claiming to be “ the Universal Re¬ 
 ligion.” Where Matthew and Luke left off and 
 Mark began—there John began. “ In the beginning 
 was the Word, and the Word was with God and the 
 Word was God.” Here is what Christianity has to 
 say in regard to God, life and destiny. 
 
 First —Who is Jesus Christ? How is He related 
 to God? In the first eighteen verses of the first chap¬ 
 ter we have the clear-cut answer—see the first verse 
 quoted above—“ In him was life and the life was 
 the light of men ”—John 1:1-18; see 1:4. 
 
 Second —How can man know God? See the third 
 chapter—Christ’s talk with Nicodemus. Religion is 
 not merely a matter of form and ceremony; it is a 
 thing of a new heart and a new life—“ Listening- 
 in ” to get into tune with “ the Infinite.” 
 
 Third —Who is God ? Can anything be more plain 
 than Christ’s answer—“ God is a spirit and they that 
 worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”* 
 
140 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Are you “ Listening-in ” to hear “ the Spirit of 
 God ” ? 
 
 Fourth —Where and how worship God?—chapter 
 4:19-26. Everywhere and always there is free ac¬ 
 cess to God. 
 
 Fifth —Does God really care for man? Chapter 
 3:16-—“ For God so loved the world that he gave 
 his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in 
 him should not perish but have everlasting life." 
 See also “ the Good Shepherd parable ”—chapter 
 10:1-18. 
 
 Sixth —Is man personally immortal? The 
 eleventh chapter is taken to help answer this question 
 —“ I am the resurrection and the life ”—chapter 
 11: 25. See also fourteen—one where Christ de¬ 
 clares “ In my Father’s house are many mansions. 
 . . . I go to prepare a place for you.” See also 
 
 Christ’s resurrection. “ Listen-in ” for yourself. 
 
 Characteristics. Ruggedness—he was called a 
 “ Son of Thunder.” Lovableness—he leaned on 
 Jesus’ breast at the supper table. He is the loved 
 disciple. His courage—he was the only apostle that 
 dared to go to the cross with his Master. His spir¬ 
 itual insight; that was marvelous. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said of getting into 
 touch with “ the Infinite ” ? What of the prepara¬ 
 tion of John with John Baptist ? How did Jesus in¬ 
 vite John to find the way? Give an account of the 
 school of discipleship—Home life of John—How 
 John was called to be an apostle. Of what church 
 was John the pastor? What about the book mes¬ 
 sage of John? What are some of the great questions 
 and answers in the book? Characteristics of John? 
 
XX 
 
 PETER 
 
 THE ASCENDING MAN 
 
 The Way of a Man—Up or Down?—When a 
 man is being considered for any position the ques¬ 
 tion is always asked—Which way is he going—up 
 or down? It is not so much where he is now as 
 where he is headed for. There is no standing still 
 in life. Hence the search, when any place worth 
 while is open, for a man, to fill it, who has not 
 reached the limit of his power and capability and 
 who has ambition to walk in the upward way. This 
 ascending ambition is not considered solely in regard 
 to its intellectual, commercial, political or other as¬ 
 pects, but other things are looked at which pertain 
 to the heart purposes and the moral and spiritual 
 outlook. A man may go up in things that have to do 
 only with material prosperity and meet his own soul 
 
 0 
 
 coming down—which he soon must follow. 
 
 It is evident, in Peter, that Jesus saw, what others 
 might not have seen, a man of large ascending am¬ 
 bition with a moral and spiritual outlook, which 
 if given proper objectives would carry him far. He 
 did not look upon what Peter was or his occupation 
 but what Peter, under proper influences and train¬ 
 ing, might become. That Jesus was justified in His 
 estimate of Peter as “ the Ascending Man ” is evi- 
 
 141 
 
142 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 dent from the story of Peter which we find in the 
 New Testament. He had his excellencies which were 
 diligently cultivated to make them stepping-stones 
 to things higher up. He had his faults, he was in¬ 
 tensely human, in which he did not continue but 
 bitterly repented as he went on up. 
 
 It is not what a man is, the circumstances under 
 which he is bom, his occupation or the place where 
 he lives that count so much as what he desires to 
 become and his determination to walk in the way 
 of the man going up in spite of all the difficulties 
 jvhich he may encounter. 
 
 From all points of view the story of Peter is well 
 worth careful study for our encouragement to keep 
 on the upward way. 
 
 Peter—the Fisherman.—If you had been a visi¬ 
 tor in Capernaum, in New Testament times, and 
 gone out, early in the morning, to the shore of Lake 
 Galilee and seen Peter, with the other men, coming 
 ashore from his boat and been told that he would 
 have a name and fame that would be world-wide, 
 you would doubtless have said—“ Nonsense, such a 
 thing is impossible.” But the impossible has come 
 to pass. 
 
 Consider this man not as crude and uncouth, as 
 some have tried to make him out. His occupation 
 of fishing required courage, vigour of body and a 
 resourceful mind. The shore of Galilee was almost 
 like one continuous city and Peter would con¬ 
 stantly come in contact with the best life of his 
 day. He owned his own boat and might have had 
 helpers. 
 
Peter 
 
 H3 
 
 He was a religious man; a member of the Caper¬ 
 naum Synagogue. He attended the big revival held 
 by John Baptist by the River Jordan. 
 
 His home was in Capernaum where he owned a 
 house. He was married and his wife's mother lived 
 with him—Matthew 8:14; Mark 1:28, 30 . His wife 
 evidently loved the work of Christ as he did, and 
 accompanied him on his missionary tours, while Paul 
 was on his, for Paul speaks of her—1 Corinthians 
 9: 5—as being with him. 
 
 Peter and his brother, Andrew, were partners with 
 James and John working out from Bethsaida, the 
 fishing quarter of Capernaum—Luke 5: 7-11; John 
 1:44. 
 
 Disciple of John Baptist and of Jesus.—The 
 
 quartet of fishermen—Peter, Andrew, James and 
 John—were attracted by John Baptist when he gave 
 his great message of repentance by the River Jor¬ 
 dan. How long they were with him we do not know 
 —John 1:29-51. 
 
 When Jesus came to John Baptist He found there 
 these fishermen intent upon knowing the way of the 
 upward life. They were not satisfied simply with 
 the material side of things but they wanted to know 
 the way of the spiritual life—John 1: 35-42. Eager 
 as they were—these men in their prime—for gain 
 they were more eager to know the way of life. Jesus 
 seems, at once, to have seen what Peter might become 
 in his work for Him—John 1:40-42. 
 
 In this matter of discipleship many were attracted 
 both to John Baptist and Jesus and seem to have 
 been more or less closely attached to them, not how- 
 
144 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 ever giving up their whole time to them, to the ex¬ 
 clusion of their occupations. 
 
 The Apostle of the First Place.—Peter was 
 chosen as the first apostle and retained this primacy 
 until the last—Matthew 10:1-5; Mark 3:13-19; 
 Luke 6:12-17. We do not know all the reasons why 
 Peter was chosen to head the list of apostles but we 
 do know that he had a very warm heart. He loved 
 Jesus with all the strength of his nature. He had 
 a keen mind—it almost flew to a conclusion. 
 
 Take the discourse of Jesus at Capernaum on “ the 
 Bread of Life ”—John 6: 22-65—full of hard say¬ 
 ings and where He shattered the hopes of the Jews 
 that He was come as “their Worldly Messiah.” 
 Many turned away from Him—John 6: 66. Seeing 
 many turn away—-and maybe the apostles wavering 
 —Jesus said—“ Unto the twelve, will ye also go 
 away ? ” It was a critical moment. Peter at once 
 saw the gravity of the occasion and the tremendous 
 issue at stake and replied—“ Lord, to whom shall we 
 go? thou alone hast the words of eternal life. And 
 we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the 
 Son of the living God ”—John 6: 68, 69. 
 
 Jesus takes Peter with Him on His journeys. He 
 sees and hears all that is done. He is a man whom 
 He can trust—there is never any doubt about the 
 fidelity of Peter under any and all situations. He 
 was never afraid that he would betray his trust. He 
 is with Jesus at Plis Transfiguration, in the Garden 
 of Gethsemane and at the Resurrection. 
 
 The Great Confession.—This is the crowning 
 point in Peter’s career when he states clearly and 
 
Peter 
 
 HS 
 
 plainly—perceiving clearly—who Jesus is and what 
 His mission is. Here again is shown the keenness 
 of his mind and the warmness of his heart. 
 
 Jesus asks of His disciples near Caesarea Philippi 
 —“ Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am ? ” 
 Certainly this is a question right to the point and 
 it newels a plain and convincing answer. It is a 
 question that Jesus is ever asking in every age and of 
 all men. It is hotly debated. Some are not sure. 
 Some are very sure. But when it was first asked it 
 was answered by Peter who had every opportunity 
 to know how to answer it. He had heard and had 
 seen all the wonderful things that Jesus said and did. 
 He said—“ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the liv¬ 
 ing God.” It is equally interesting to know what 
 Christ said in reply. Did He waver? Did He hesi¬ 
 tate? No—now was the time to come out with a 
 straight answer—right to the point. Christ said— 
 “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and 
 blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father 
 which is in heaven ”—Matthew 16:13-17; Mark 
 8:27-38; Luke 9:18-27. 
 
 In commenting on His own reply Jesus goes 
 farther and claims that He will come—“ In the glory 
 of his Father with his angels; and then he shall re¬ 
 ward every man according to his works ”—Matthew 
 16: 27. Surely Peter understood his Lord. 
 
 The Loss and Recovery of Peter's Faith.—The 
 Scriptures would not be what they are if they did 
 not record faithfully all that took place. Peter is 
 human and has all the failings of humanity. Christ 
 had told him with the other apostles that He must 
 
146 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 go up to Jerusalem and be crucified and raised the 
 third day. Again and again had He said this. But 
 when the time drew near and Jesus did go up to 
 Jerusalem and stood trial for His physical life Peter 
 no doubt was in a daze. Everything that He had 
 stood for was tumbling. It did not seem possible— 
 it could not be possible—that Jesus would allow Him¬ 
 self to be placed on trial for His life. And yet He 
 did—just as He had told His apostles. But Peter 
 was crushed and denied his Master—forgetting that 
 Christ said he would deny Him—Matthew 26: 62- 
 75. 
 
 But here Peter differs from many who, when they 
 deny, do nothing. Peter went out and wept bitterly. 
 It was a sad time for Peter until after the resurrec¬ 
 tion of Christ. 
 
 Peter is Very Prominent in the resurrection 
 scenes of Jesus Christ—Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20 
 and 21. In this prominence it is shown how fully 
 Peter is forgiven and how fully he is reinstated in 
 the love of his Master. 
 
 In the Acts of the Apostles, while Jesus is the 
 object of all that is said and done, Peter takes the 
 lead for the first twelve chapters. In the eighth 
 verse of the first chapter Christ sets forth Chris¬ 
 tianity’s program and progress—“Ye shall be wit¬ 
 nesses unto me in Jerusalem, in Judaea and Samaria, 
 and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” 
 
 It is Peter who directs in the choice of an apostle 
 to take the place of Judas the traitor—Acts 1:15-26. 
 
 It is Peter who preaches the first sermon after 
 Christ’s ascension—Acts 2:1-40. 
 
Pctci 
 
 *47 
 
 It is Peter who organizes the first Christian 
 Church with about three thousand members—Acts 
 2:41. 
 
 It is Peter who dares to go into the Temple and 
 tell the people and the priests how they had wrong¬ 
 fully killed “ the Prince of Life and Glory ” and 
 that salvation is only through Him. This is a very, 
 very different Peter from the one who denied his 
 Master only a short time ago—Acts 3 and 4. 
 
 It is in this period that the Christian Church is 
 set up, upon its feet, the ordinances instituted and 
 the first deacons chosen. 
 
 It is in this period that the Church has its first 
 martyr in Stephen and its first persecution under 
 Saul—Acts 7 and 8. 
 
 It is now that the first missionary enterprises go 
 out into Judaea and Samaria—Acts 8 to 12. 
 
 It is right here, in these first twelve chapters, un¬ 
 der Peter's guiding hand, that we have the begin¬ 
 nings of the “ Great Christian Enterprises ” that have 
 filled the world. 
 
 Peter has surely come a long way on “ the Upward 
 Way." 
 
 He is “ the Ascending Man ” not for himself only 
 but to help others to ascend out of the valley of sin, 
 humiliation, trouble and despair to the sunny high¬ 
 lands of God’s love and care. 
 
 Read the First Epistle of Peter and note how he 
 tries to cheer and comfort all who are depressed 
 and downhearted. How he tries to make every one 
 feel, as he feels, about the Christ. 
 
 Back of all Peter is, what he is, because he believes 
 
148 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 in his Master, Jesus Christ, and in striving to make 
 Him known to others. 
 
 Characteristics- He was a splendid judge of 
 values, of his Lord, of his fellow men, of things 
 worth while. He was courageous in preaching Christ 
 right where he had made his slip in his denial. He 
 was exceedingly bold in talking to men who had 
 crucified the Christ—he did not go away off some¬ 
 where to say what he had to say. He did not wait 
 for others but he took the lead, in doing good, be¬ 
 cause some one had to take it and it seemed to fall 
 to him. His motto seemed to be —“ Forget your mis¬ 
 takes. Get on with your doing good.” 
 
 Questions.—What can be said of the way of a 
 man—up or down? What can be said of Peter— 
 the fisherman? What of Peter—the disciple? Peter 
 —the apostle of the first place—give some reasons 
 for his appointment. What can be said of Peter's 
 loss and recovery of his faith? Give instances of 
 Peter's leadership in the Acts of the Apostles. State 
 some of his characteristics. 
 
XXI 
 
 PAUL 
 
 THE MAN WHO BETTERED CITY CONDITIONS 
 
 Seeking New Fields of Work.—With the open¬ 
 ing of the thirteenth chapter of the Acts a new 
 and important era in the story of Christianity begins. 
 Barnabas and Saul (afterwards known as Paul) are 
 called to new fields of work by the Holy Ghost— 
 Acts 13:1 -4. Barnabas drops out, after a while, and 
 Paul is left to carry on the greatest and most strenu¬ 
 ous missionary enterprise the world has ever seen. 
 
 Why this insistent call to advance and conquer 
 new territory f There were doubtless those who said, 
 in those days, “ We have done well. Why trouble 
 ourselves? See how much has been accomplished 
 in the revival on the day of Pentecost and in the 
 preaching of the Gospel in Judaea and Samaria, in 
 Antioch and other cities. We may now, since so 
 much has been done in such a short time, rest from 
 our labours.” But this was not evidently the mind 
 of the Holy Ghost. The pressing and stressing of 
 the cause of the Christ was wanted even in places 
 where there seemed little prospect of success. 
 
 This is not. only a call of the past. It is the Divine 
 Call to-day. Any enterprise to live—much more to 
 succeed—must be constantly seeking new ways for 
 expansion. It cannot depend upon past successes— 
 
 M9 
 
150 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 no matter how great—or upon an acquired momen¬ 
 tum. Men, of all sorts and kinds, and institutions, 
 of all sorts and kinds, go down because the advance 
 work is not pressed. We sometimes wonder what is 
 the matter with our churches that they do not grow. 
 Is not this the trouble that no advance work is 
 pressed? The Spirit of the Lord has not departed 
 but the urgency to new and difficult work is un¬ 
 heeded. If Paul had said—“ Surely there is enough 
 work to be done here in Antioch and we have had a 
 great success; let us be satisfied/' then he would 
 never have been heard of by us in this far-off age. 
 It was his willingness to go ahead, in spite of diffi¬ 
 culties, that made him. With the Church of the past, 
 so to-day, it is “ Grow or Go.” 
 
 The Drive for the Betterment of the Big Cities. 
 —The big city has been the problem of all times— 
 politically, industrially, socially, morally, religiously 
 and in countless other ways. Its very bigness makes 
 it difficult to handle. Its poverty grows more dire, 
 and the insolence of riches more insolent, as the city 
 enlarges. Its evils multiply and fester and breed 
 corruption as the population increases. One great 
 difference between the cities of the first century— 
 which Paul visited and worked with—and the cities 
 of Christian countries of to-day is the way in which 
 they handled the vice problem. Antioch, Ephesus, 
 Corinth, and the others, put no check whatever upon 
 moral viciousness. On the other hand they encour¬ 
 aged it. They sought to make it attractive. They 
 gilded it, enshrining it in their temples. Read 
 Romans—1:21-33—as a sample of this sort of thing 
 
Paul 
 
 151 
 
 which is depicted in all of Paurs letters. As appro¬ 
 priations were made for streets and public buildings 
 so also public moneys were set aside for the support 
 and encouragement of immoral institutions. Such a 
 course was thought to make the city attractive. 
 
 Paul preaching Christ and purity of heart and 
 life was up against a tremendous problem. All his 
 letters show this. He taught that the betterment of 
 the city must begin in cleansing it of moral vicious¬ 
 ness. He saw a beauty of art and a perfection in 
 architecture in Ephesus, Corinth and Athens which 
 is unequalled to-day, but he saw that it had been 
 made possible by unpaid slave labour and was used 
 to debase men’s souls. He had no eyes for this 
 beauty of art or architecture, not because he did not 
 see it but because he saw the debasement of the 
 moral image in man. He was intent upon restoring, 
 in man, the image of God in Jesus Christ. If a 
 plague is devastating a city a doctor has no time to 
 observe the beauty of adornment of the houses to 
 which he is called. Paul had no controversy with 
 beautiful things, as things, but he was more con¬ 
 cerned with the adornment of the soul in the beauty 
 of purity and righteousness. 
 
 We are still struggling with this primary problem . 
 It is the greatest of them all. Get this settled right 
 and all the others are settled. 
 
 We can credit to Paul and his heed, of the call of 
 the Holy Ghost, that cities in Christian countries at 
 least do not strive to foster, or appropriate public 
 funds to make moral vice attractive. They repress 
 it. They put it under cover. As the city becomes 
 
152 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 more Christian it roots it out. But the best way 
 is the way of Paul to have men so much interested 
 in Christ that vicious things cease to attract. The 
 more we see of Paul the more we admire his cour¬ 
 age in attacking the big city strongholds of vice. 
 The great thing is that the attack was success¬ 
 ful. The Church needs to heed the Divine Call to¬ 
 day. 
 
 Paul—the Leader.—Paul is the principal char¬ 
 acter in the Acts from the thirteenth chapter to the 
 close as Peter is in the first twelve chapters. The 
 Holy Spirit who is mentioned over fifty times in this 
 book is the director of activities. See Acts 1:8; 
 2 :1-4; 13:1-4; 16: 6-10, etc. The splendid growth 
 of the Church was made possible by heeding the Di¬ 
 vine Calls. 
 
 Qualifications of Paul.—Judged, as a man, by his 
 record he is one of the very great characters, not 
 only in the Bible but in all history. As a thinker he 
 has few if any equals. As a writer his works stand 
 preeminent. As a man of action, he, with small 
 equipment, accomplished the largest results. He 
 stirred cities as no man has ever stirred them. He 
 had a strong and pleasing personality. He believed 
 that his Master was the great regenerating force in 
 the world. When he got to Corinth and saw there, 
 what he had not seen before, the worst vices of the 
 east meeting the worst of the west and mingling 
 to make a perpetual festival of moral viciousness he 
 declared his helplessness, himself, to handle the situ¬ 
 ation and determined, as he afterwards wrote the 
 Corinthians—-1 Corinthians 2: 2 —“ Not to know 
 
Paul 153 
 
 anything among you save Jesus Christ and him cru¬ 
 cified.” 
 
 He was a native of Tarsus in Cilicia—Acts 22 : 3ff. 
 and 21:39. This city had a large commerce. It 
 was one of the three big university centers ranking 
 with Athens and Alexandria. It was morally cor¬ 
 rupt having a “ Special Baal worship of an imposing 
 but unspeakably degrading character.” 
 
 He was a Pharisee Jew , as his father was—Acts 
 23:6; Philippians 3: 5—and a free-born Roman citi¬ 
 zen—Acts 22 : 25, 28. 
 
 He had a good education upon which the finish¬ 
 ing touches were put in Jerusalem under the great 
 teacher Gamaliel—Acts 22:3. 
 
 He seems to have been well acquainted with Greek 
 philosophy and literature. He quotes from the Greek 
 poets—Aratus, Epimenides and Menander. 
 
 He was a tent maker by trade, as every Jew boy 
 had to learn a trade—Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1 Corin¬ 
 thians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 2: 9; 2 Thessalonians 
 3:8. 
 
 The Persecutor.—Paul first appears—in Acts 
 7: 58-60 and 8:1-4—at the martyrdom of Stephen 
 and as the arch persecutor of the Christians for 
 whom he had no mercy, hunting them out in their 
 homes. He seems to have been absent from Jeru¬ 
 salem, after completing his studies, all through the 
 time of the preaching of John Baptist and Jesus. 
 
 Conversion.—We open the book of Acts to 
 8 : 1-4 and 9:1, 2 and we find “ Saul . . . breath¬ 
 ing out threatenings and slaughter against the disci¬ 
 ples of the Lord.” 
 
154 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 Again we open this book to 9:19, 20 and we read 
 —“ Then was Saul certain days with the disciples 
 which were at Damascus. And straightway he 
 preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son 
 of God.” 
 
 What has happened? There is only one answer 
 and that is that he has had a remarkable conversion, 
 which is described in Acts 9:3-18. This is the 
 story as Luke tells it. Paul delighted to tell the 
 story over and over again of his conversion. Various 
 attempts have been made to explain away this con¬ 
 version but they are more difficult to believe than the 
 narrative itself. Read what Paul said about it— 
 Galatians 1:11-17; Acts 22 : 6-16; 26:12-18. Paul 
 believed that his Master had spoken to him. And 
 he delighted to serve Him ever afterwards. 
 
 The Ten Years* Preparation for his work. The 
 narrative in Acts runs so smoothly that we some¬ 
 times fail to take note of the lapse of time between 
 important events. As a result of Paul’s conversion 
 the Jews tried to kill him and the Christians were 
 afraid of him. After doing some work he seems to 
 have spent much time, about ten years, in getting 
 ready for what was afterwards his great missionary 
 task. We are told by Paul what took place during 
 some of this period of preparation—Galatians 1:15- 
 24—and that he was in Arabia, in Damascus, in 
 Jerusalem, Syria and Cilicia. The study of the 
 Scriptures, the prayer and meditation of this ten 
 year period helped Paul greatly afterwards. 
 
 The Three Great Missionary Journeys (Acts 
 13:1-21:16).—When the period of preparation is 
 
Paul 
 
 *55 
 
 ended we find Paul at Antioch where he has been 
 brought, from Tarsus, by Barnabas—Acts 11:25, 26. 
 Here he remained a year before the call came to his 
 world-wide task—Acts 13:1-4. 
 
 The influence that the great missionary tours have 
 had upon the history of mankind cannot be over¬ 
 estimated. 
 
 The time that it took to make the tours was about 
 ten years and the distance covered, in miles, was 
 about 8,100. The record of Luke does not pretend 
 to be complete. We are given only the main inci¬ 
 dents of the journeys. 
 
 From Jerusalem to Rome (Acts 21:17-28:31). 
 —This record comprises more than one-quarter of the 
 Acts’ chapters—seven and a half. We are here told 
 what took place from the time Paul went up to 
 Jerusalem and testified for his faith—through two 
 years* imprisonment in Gesarea—until he arrived in 
 Rome. 
 
 Letters of Paul.—Of the twenty-seven books of 
 the New Testament twenty-one are in the form of 
 letters from which we can get a clearer idea of what 
 took place than in any other way. Thirteen are from 
 Paul (if Hebrews be counted in—fourteen). They 
 are not haphazard productions. They follow a 
 clearly defined plan. There are four groups—1— 
 The Future of Christ’s Kingdom—First and Second 
 Thessalonians. 2—Old faiths and the new. Rela¬ 
 tion of the Christ faith to the Jewish and Heathen 
 faiths—Galatians, First and Second Corinthians, 
 Romans. 3—The Supremacy of Christ—Colossians, 
 Philemon, Ephesians, Philippians. 4—Pastoral 
 
i 5 6 Studies of Great Bible Characters 
 
 and Personal—First Timothy, Titus, Second Tim¬ 
 othy. 
 
 To Sum Up.—In about thirty years the Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ has been preached all over the 
 Roman Empire. It has separated itself from Juda¬ 
 ism and become the Great World Religion, just as 
 Christ desired—Matthew 28:19, 20; Luke 24:46- 
 48. It has proved its power to overcome sin and 
 evil in the greatest cities of its time. 
 
 The Seen Forces are the men—Peter, Paul, John, 
 James, Timothy, Titus and others. 
 
 The Unseen Forces —the Holy Spirit and the 
 Power of the Christ which were behind the men. 
 They are behind those who will heed them to-day for 
 the same splendid results. 
 
 Questions.—What can be said about the Gospel 
 seeking new fields of work—why this insistent call 
 to advance? What may be said about the drive for 
 the betterment of cities—in what does this better¬ 
 ment consist? What can be said of Paul as a leader? 
 What about his qualifications? The persecutor? 
 What can be said of Paul’s conversion? The ten 
 years’ preparation? What can be said of the three 
 missionary journeys—From Jerusalem to Rome— 
 Letters of Paul—The sum up? 
 
 Printed in the United States of Ameriea 
 
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 6 PERIODS, 24 CHAPTERS 
 
 PERIOD* 
 
 1C. 
 
 m me 
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 IV. 
 
 THE 
 
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 ON EARTH 
 
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 THE FIRST 
 CHURCHES 
 
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 Creation. 
 
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 Prophets of the Exile and Return, 
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