Well this morning we take a dive into the Old Testament and hear about some more heroes and heroines – Jonah, Esther and the minor prophets. The prophets were people who stood up for God, challenged God’s people and called them back to God. They gave messages of hope as well as messages of doom. Now a prophet is defined as a person who speaks for God or by divine inspiration. This is the way the Israelites would hear from God, but the prophets would not just speak to the Israelites. We hear this with Jonah, who is tasked to speak to the people of Nineveh. Now Nineveh wasn’t part of the Israel, but they seem to know of the Lord God and worship him. I think the challenge with Jonah is that he didn’t want to do what God was calling him to do and ran away. But let’s hear why Belinda has chosen Jonah as a Biblical hero. Laura shares her connections with some of the minor prophets, those who are less well-known. Laura particularly mentions Micah who gives us some great insights as to the sort of lives God wants us to live. The other person Laura mentions is Esther, one of the two women who have books named after them in the bible. Esther is a great book, one we’ve looked at before, and one that actually doesn’t mention God, but has the presence and faith in God all through it. Esther certainly meets all the criteria we might lay out as a heroine, she is a stranger in a strange land, a person without great power, but she does have access to great power. She risks her life for her people and succeeds in saving them from genocide. We’ll hear more from Laura about Esther and the prophets. We continue to hear insights into biblical characters and their impacts on our lives. They inspire us, they challenge us and at times remind us just how much God loves us. The questions that seem to be asked as we share in this time of learning from each other are what I posed that first week:
Why do you think these people were chosen as heroes or heroines?
What characteristics did you hear that connect with you?
How could these people influence your life? I love that we are hearing different points of view, information and understandings of these important biblical people. Thank you for all who are sharing.
Jay Robinson