Why is it important to study Bible characters?
Heroes. Villains. Overcomers. Strugglers. Whether from media or real life, humanity is deeply invested in the stories of others. Some love to see a hero rise from humble beginnings to power and strength. Some enjoy the downfall (or redemption) of a villain. The stories of historical figures help us to learn more about others' perspectives, about ourselves, and about how the world works. We can glean wisdom from the stories of others' victories and mistakes.
In the Bible, we find stories of all kinds of people—from "heroes of faith" to those who went against God and suffered. We can witness followers of God demonstrating their faithfulness to Him and their courage to stand up for others. We see men and women of God with a willingness to repent when they stray from Him. We cheer for those who choose love and obedience to their Creator and find redemption. We weep for those who stubbornly refuse to listen to God's wisdom.
Bible Characters are Real
The Bible is not a fairy tale. The stories in the Bible are not merely characters in a fable or myth to present a moral lesson. The Bible is true and shares a very real history about very real people with real lives, problems, joys, sorrows, victories, and failures. Because these are actual human beings, their stories are both relatable to us in a practical way and in an educational sense as we learn from their lives.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." So we can be assured that stories of people in the Bible are not random—every story serves a purpose. God ordained that they would be recorded to teach, warn, train, and equip us for our everyday walk of faith and our service to Him. The stories in the Bible teach us about God, His character, and how He interacts with humanity.
Old Testament Lessons
The Old Testament consists of the first 39 books of the Bible and is a record of God's interactions with humankind from creation until just before the time of Jesus. Hebrews 11 could be considered the A-List of "heroes of faith" from the Old Testament. In this chapter, many people are mentioned with a brief description of their faith in God as an encouragement for us today.
Here are just a few examples of Old Testament stories we can learn from:
The First People
Adam and Eve were the first people God created (Genesis 1:27). Through their creation story, we learn about God's perfect design of male, female, and marriage (Genesis 2:24-25). We also learn about how sin entered the world when they doubted what God said and disobeyed Him.
The Patriarchs
The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) were the founding fathers of the nation of Israel, which became the ancestors of the coming Savior. Abraham's story shows us what it looks like to believe in God's promises even when it seems impossible (Genesis 11:26 to Genesis 25:8). He and his only son Isaac are a picture of a father willing to give up his only son (Genesis 22)—just like God sent His only Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for the sin of the world (John 3:16-17). In Jacob, we see that God is faithful to keep His promises for His glory despite man's schemes and faithlessness (Genesis 25-50).
The Kings
The kings we read about in the Bible have many lessons for us. From the first king of Israel, Saul, we see the consequences of disobedience and jealousy and how it can destroy one's relationship with others, as well as with God (1 Samuel 15:11; 1 Samuel 31:4).
In David, we learn about a young man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). But he was far from perfect or sinless. Through his life, we witness God's forgiveness and mercy for those who repent before Him.
From other kings, we see how a ruler can impact a nation for righteousness or wickedness, and how God is patient in calling people to repentance. We learn that the consequences of sin and of rejecting God will eventually be carried out if people do not choose to follow God's will.
New Testament Lessons
In the New Testament, there are many characters who provide us a wide variety of lessons and cautionary tales. It begins with the four gospels. These books tell the story of Jesus' life and ministry from four points of view (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Matthew tells Jesus' genealogy and how He fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.
Jesus
Jesus was the perfect man. Through His life and ministry, we see God in the flesh and learn how God cares for people (John 14:9). We also see a perfect example of walking in righteousness; Jesus was tempted in every way that we are but never chose to sin (Hebrews 4:15). His life is a perfect example for us to follow (1 Peter 2:21).
Simon Peter
Simon Peter was a disciple of Jesus who denied he knew Him once Jesus had been arrested and strung up on a cross (Luke 22:54-62). Even after such a betrayal, Jesus forgave him. Peter was reconciled back to Jesus and was even promised that he would be instrumental in establishing Jesus' Church (Matthew 16:18-19; John 21:15-17).
The Apostle Paul
Paul is an example of how much a heart can change. Paul (then called Saul) was a religious extremist who hated Jesus and Christians so much that he went searching for Christians to imprison them. Though deeply, zealously faithful to God, his faith allowed for zero grace. He could not have hated Christians more.
One day, Jesus appeared to the hateful, murderous Saul and showed him that He (Jesus) was God the Savior. This experience changed the man's life, and he went from persecuting Christians to being persecuted for the name of Christ.
Through Paul's redemption, we see that no one is beyond God's forgiveness—not an atheist, not a bigot or racist, not a religious extremist. And not you or me.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." —Hebrews 12:1-2
The figurative image of our faith as a race reinforces the idea that we should be inspired by the godly example of past saints and learn from them. Their successes and failures are guiding lights for our own spiritual journey. We are not to worship human stories, for they are equal to us, but we can follow their examples as they followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Stories of the past can be an encouragement for the story we are living today.
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TL;DR
God included the real life stories of various people in the Bible as a way to teach, warn, train, and equip us in our life, faith, and service to God (2 Timothy 3:16). Through the stories of their successes and failures, we can learn both practical and educational lessons for our own faith stories. Narratives from both the Old and New Testament provide teaching and encouragement for all of us today.
Writer: Hanna S.
Hanna loves spending time with kids and teens. She enjoys being detectives with them to investigate God's Word to discover truths to answer any questions. She is the co-author of a newly published apologetics curriculum for children and teaches one online for highschoolers-adults. To learn more about her ministry you can visit networkerstec.com. For fun, she likes to play Ultimate Frisbee, read historical fiction, and paint.
