Complicated people in the Bible

In our everyday lives we meet complicated people. People we hear about but find it hard to know intimately or people who are very different from us. In the bible, there are people whom we don’t know much about but are game changes for circumstances in our story. HCF will look at four complicated biblical characters: Judas (the person who lets us down), Queen Esther (the beautiful famous person), King Nebuchadnezzar (the power figure) and Jonathan (the good friend whose father hates you). Join us as we read the bible together and “gossip” about these people.

Basic principles of how to study people in the bible

1)      Collect all the verses found about the person.

2)      Because all the people we are studying are minor characters in the story, make sure you know what the main point of the story that they are part of (Jesus, Saving Jews, Daniel and David). Look at the type of literature/ genre of the text, the author.

3)      Look up background of the character and narrow down the focus of the study. This takes a fair amount of preparation and I have done this for you. You may find this useful if you would like to do this yourself. Please note that I do not agree with every article on this website. https://bible.org/article/how-study-bible-character

4)      Sometimes the bible refers to the person as being the betrayer, the faithful (Abraham) or wise (Solomon).

Dangers of character studies.

1)      Using biblical characters as models of virtue and forgetting their flaws.

2)      Not acknowledging that what we know about the person is limited information.

3)      Using character studies in Sunday School may make kids feel that to be a good Christian they have to try to behave like these characters, instead of asking God for direction every day.

 

Ideas taken from http://www.christianity.com/bible/bible-study/the-danger-of-character-studies.html

Skill to learn from leading Bible Study this term

How to focus, adapt material so that it is applicable to other students. The focus and application questions in the studies have been written by students from HCF, 2013.

Judas- The Betrayer

One of Jesus' original 12 disciples, Judas Iscariot traveled with Jesus and studied under him for three years. He apparently went with the other 11 when Jesus sent them to preach the gospel, cast out demons and heal the sick. (Mark 3:19, Luke 6:16, Matthew 10:4)

Judas betrayed Christ and sold him over to the Romans for crucifixion, or actually first to the Jewish Temple leaders, for 30 pieces of silver. Get people to read and compare the accounts from the different authors of the gospel.

Matthew 26:14, 16, 25, 47-49, 27:1-5

Mark 14:10, 43-45

Luke 22:1-4, 47-48

John 6:71, 12:4, 13:2, 13:26-30; 14:22, 18:2-6

Acts 1:16-18, 25.

As a group to tell what happened in their own words. What questions do you have about Judas.

If you have time what do you think of this portrayal of Judas in the light of the gospel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaoJlGlH7Uk

Some complications about Judas.

1)      Matt 27 and Acts 1:16-25  What happened to Judas and the naming of the field. 30 pieces of silver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_pieces_of_silver

 

2)      Do the verses need to agree to be true?  http://graceradius.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/on-the-death-of-judas-iscariot-and-why-it-matters-to-me/ The differences show that the compilers did not edit differences.

 

Application

What can we apply from this story?

1)      How do you feel when you are betrayed? What do you think of the betrayer? What makes someone betray another?

2)      Discuss gossip.

3)      What do you think about suicide and the lack of hope?

Queen Esther

The story of Esther in the Old Testament has all the qualities of drama, intrigue and is remembered and celebrated every year even today in the Jewish festival of Purim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim)

 Get the group to read the story of Queen Esther (10 chapters) before they come. They can read it in Bible Gateway which takes about 20 minutes. Or read the story together as a group and make noises at the name of Haman to bolt out his name (This is done yearly at the festival of Purim) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Esther%201&version=WEB

Questions:

1)      The word God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, do you see God in this book?

Where and how?

2)      What do you think of Esther? Is she the heroine in this book? Why/why not?

3)      Why do you think this story is told every year as part of celebrations of the festival of Purim?

What do you celebrate every year and what story is told then?

Answers:

1)      God is never mentioned in the book. Esther is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. Except for explaining the origins of the Jewish feast of Purim, the book seems entirely secular and without any remote reference to God. No one prays, no miracles happen, and God never shows up in any way. But, as we will see, God is throughout the book like a silhouette. He works throughout the book, not through his visible hand of miracle, but rather his invisible hand of providence. For those who wonder if God is in their life because they have not seen or heard him, Esther’s life is like yours and God’s work in her life will reveal to you God’s work in your own. Taken from http://pastormark.tv/2012/09/04/5-reasons-why-esther-may-be-the-toughest-bible-book-ive-ever-preached (Please note I’ve only read one article from the websites quoted and I’m not sure if I agree with the whole article.)

2)      Esther has been criticised for not being more courageous like Daniel who was also in exile but this misses the point because in her own way because she trusts in God and God saves his people through her.  http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.14.Esther.htm

3)      The story of Esther has been used in many ways, here are some examples http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2004/03/Theres-Something-About-Esther.aspx?p=1 In the bible, Esther’s story is less about her personal life and more about the saving of the Jews while they are in exile

Application

How could you apply this story to yourself and your group?

Follow up 

They may like to compare it to movie, one night with the king (2006, 2 and half hours) based on the story of Esther

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifkWCrEu2gg

An article about the differences between the movie and the book. http://www.bicchurch.org/bicmag/2007/spring07/online_exclusives/onenight.asp

For an Esther quiz

http://www.camphillcofc.org/AboutCampHillCofC/BibleBowl/StudyGuide/Esther.asp

Nebuchadnezzar and/ or Hitler

Watch the Youtube clip on Nebuchadnezzar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3dgarO_G-M

Under the Chaldean dynasty, and, arguably, throughout the rest of history, no king surpassed the glory and absolute power of Nebuchadnezzar II’s reign. He is considered the greatest king of the Babylonian empire and is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. As the crown prince (son of Nabopolassar), he defeated Pharaoh Necho II, who had come to the aid of the Assyrian army, winning for Babylonia the former Assyrian lands, including Israel. After being crowned king, Nebuchadnezzar forced King Jehoiakim of Judah to “become his vassal for three years. But then [Jehoiakim] changed his mind and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar” (2 Kings 24:1). The king of Babylon, who did not take kindly to being rebelled against, captured Jerusalem and took the king and other leaders, military men and artisans as prisoners to Babylon (2 Kings 24:12-16). This deportation marked the beginning of the Babylonian exile of the Jews.

Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah to rule Judah. However, Zedekiah, against the prophet Jeremiah’s counsel, joined the Egyptians in a revolt in 589 B.C. This resulted in Nebuchadnezzar’s return. The remaining Jews were deported, Jerusalem was burned, and the temple was destroyed in August of 587 B.C. (Jeremiah 52:1-30).

Babylon is the setting for the ministry of the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel, who were both deportees from Judah. Daniel became a leader and royal advisor to the Babylonian and Persian Empires. He had been captured after the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. (Jeremiah 46:2-12). The book of Daniel records Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2) and foretells the fall of Babylon to the Medes and the Persians (Daniel 5). Earlier, the prophet Isaiah had also foretold the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 46:1-2). There are 91 verses under the name Nebuchadnezzar  http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Nebuchadnezzar&qs_version=NIV

Let’s focus on Nebuchadnezzar (not Daniel) in Daniel 1-4 (Click audio if you just want us to listen) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%201&version=NIV

1)      Which instances show you that he is a powerful king?

2)      What other good and bad qualities did he have?

3)      What questions do you have about Nebuchadnezzar?

For more background reading: http://www.gotquestions.org/Nebuchadnezzar.html#ixzz2dEyt5Yy2

Youtube video Hitler and Dietrich Bonhoeffer  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-hS_90axHg

1)      Compare and contrast Nebuchadnezzar and Hitler

2)      What does Daniel and Bonhoeffer have in common?

Application

Jonathan the filial son and faithful friend

Jonathan, meaning Jehovah-given, was the eldest son of King Saul, and the best friend of the future King David. Jonathan is first mentioned in Bible History after his father's accession as Israel's first human king (1 Samuel 13:1-2). Jonathan was an intelligent and courageous defender of Israel. He led 1,000 men in defeating the Philistines at Gibeah (1 Samuel 13:2-3), along with his armor bearer killed 20 enemy troops in a single ambush (1 Samuel 14:13-14), and was a marksman in archery and slinging. If Saul hadn't had himself disqualified as king, Jonathan would have been king of Israel instead of David.

Read together (or play on computer) : 1 Samuel 14:27-46, 1 Samuel 20, 1 Samuel 23:15-18

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%2020&version=NIV

Remember to let everyone answer the questions before you summarise the answer.

What kind of person was Jonathan?

Possible answers http://www.calligraphyforgod.com/biblestudy/jonathancharacterstudy.html

Jonathan is King Saul’s son, heir to his throne. King Saul became increasing foolish in his decision making rules that harmed his troops (1 Sam 14:39), jealous of David and emotionally disturbed. How was Jonathan a good son?

How was Jonathan a good friend? How did he manage to be both?

This may give some ideas on how to answer  http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Books,%20Tracts%20&%20Preaching/Printed%20Books/Dr%20Jack%20Hyles/Blue%20Denim%20and%20Lace/blue_denim_and_lace-chap_5.htm (Only read this page...not sure about the rest of the webpage)

Application

How Jonathan dies 1 Samuel 31:1-6, 1 Samuel 31:8-13, 2 Samuel 21:12-14 and 2 Samuel 1:19-27