God the Son from Genesis to Revelation

 Jesus Christ the Son of God, one of the three members of the Trinity, the triune Godhead.

 The significance of His birth to become the sacrificial lamb for the sins of man may be remembered by those that he died for.  Are those same people aware that the Son of God has been a part of history since the beginning and will be the catalyst of the End? 

He can be followed from the Beginning to the end.  From Genesis in the Old Testament to His Birth in the New Testament

From His Crucifixion to His return and Second Coming at the End Times.

Glimpses of the Son of God radiate throughout the Bible.  The book cannot be opened without following Him through scripture.

He would be given the name of Jesus at His birth in Bethlehem. Until that time, the Son of God was not only in existence as a member of the Trinity but was involved in the affairs of His Father’s kingdom.

GENESIS

God created the world in Genesis 1 and then said “let’s make man in OUR image”.  Who is the “our”?  The trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  God the Son was there in Chapter 2. 

After Satan used the serpent to tempt Eve, God stated that it would be crushed by the “seed of the woman”. 

Jesus was that seed…the virgin birth.

After the garden and the fall of man. Satan thought he had it all in his control until God brought the flood to destroy it all with the exception of the righteous man Noah to begin replenishing the earth.  In time, God choose Abraham to be the avenue for which God would bring redemption for mankind.

Through Abraham the promise was given and Abraham not only accepted it but believed in it. Jesus himself in the book of John (8:56)

Stated that “…Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. …”

Abraham “saw” the day of Jesus and it made Abraham glad.  Did he actually physically see that day? Did he just understand it was coming in the way that no man ever did?  What we do know is what is recorded in Genesis 18-19 when Abraham entertained and hosted the divine being at his home. Other than the recorded conversation regarding the eventual birth to come for Sarah and then the events surrounding Sodom and Gomorrah, what conversation went on amongst them?  We often do not consider anything else other than what we have seen documented and recorded for our eyes. 

Abraham had a meal with his guests and spent time together.  There was no need for social conversation regarding stock prices in town or where the best watering holes were, when you are eating dinner with the power that created you and the universe!

Melchizedek

Genesis 14:13-16 Abraham rescues his nephew Lot and is met by Melchizedek who is listed (18-24) as “the priest of the most high God”.  Tithes are given and the priest brought forth bread and wine.  Much has often been made of this man Melchizedek.  He is not Christ or anything more than a mere human.  He however is a genuine “model” of Christ in many ways beyond the scope of this current topic.  Simply to mention the use of the elements that would be instituted by Christ for the Lords Supper shows the understanding by Abraham and Melchizedek of the need for “atonement”. (Luke 22:14-20)

EXODUS

God makes a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 that his descendants would number as the stars of the sky (vs 5) and the land that will be theirs (vs 18).  He even foretells the captivity and exodus (vs 13-14) from Egypt and the timeframe for its ending.  Which is confirmed in Exodus 12:41!

It would be hoped that most believers would know the Exodus story and its impact on the theme of scripture.  As part of the last plague that initiates the exodus out of Egypt, blood is spread on the doorposts (chapter 12) and will become remembered and celebrated as Passover.  The sacrificial lamb representative of the perfect lamb sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In Exodus 3:14, Moses is told that he is to tell the Israelites that “I AM THAT I AM” is who sent Moses to deliver them.

In John 8:58, Jesus who had come to deliver us, told the Jews that He was THE “I AM”

God speaks to the Israelites through Moses.  A nation of millions that must learn to follow a belief in the Creator. Throughout their tenure in the desert, Moses pens the rules (Leviticus – Deuteronomy) that God has provided for them to live by.  The sacrifice of the lamb continues to be their offering to God. Until they reach the land that God promised Abraham and under the leadership of Joshua head in and are to claim the land.

CANAAN

After the Israelites came into the land of Canaan, they were a group of lose knit tribes trying to coexist with one another. Unfortunately, they also tried to coexist with their neighbors which they had been told to stay away from by God. This mingling of culture and belief led to the loss of any spiritual qualities that identified them as separate and unique.  They not only took on the evil practices of pagan gods they also became enticed with being like them and eventually wanted a king. God had foreseen this and provided rules for the king in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

Samuel was a transition for the Jews from their isolated individual tribes to the point of their unification under a king. God had intended for them to serve Him as the only king but this did not happen.

Samuel “did let none of his words fall to the ground”. (1 Samuel 3:19-20) He only spoke what God told him to say. Giving only advice that was God driven and inspired. He became known as a man in tune with the will of God and not man.

Turning to earthly kings

In 1 Samuel 8, the people rejected God for an earthly king and the history of the nation is changed yet again.  The nation would spend most of the next 500 years going down the path of rule by wisdom of man and not God. 

King DAVID

David was the king that was called a man after God’s own heart.  As with Abraham God made a covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:1-17).

He was promised that his House, Throne, and kingdom would last forever.  It is out of his lineage that the Messiah would come.

David himself wrote many more than the 73 Psalms that have his name on them and many have direct references to the coming Messiah.

Including: Psalms 16:10; 22:13-18; 30:3; 34:20; 41:9-10; 55:12-14; 69:21; 118:17

There were a few kings like David that chose to follow God.  However, the number that chose to turn their back on God greatly outnumbered the Godly.  Each time God would speak to them through men of God called Prophets who were called to remind the king and the people of their need to return to the God of their fathers.

The Prophets

The Prophets all saw the coming of the Messiah.  Many of them also saw visions and were given information concerning the future.  They did not always understand what they were seeing, some seeing the first coming of the Messiah and others seeing His Second Coming.  They were seeing “mountain peaks” in the coming history.  Clarence Larkins has a diagram that depicts this well.   Each seeing different events.

Daniel gave them the exact time of the coming Messiah and his death. Daniel 2:44; 9:25-26

Isaiah and Malachi told of his coming being proceeded by a messenger. Isaiah 40:1-5; Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6

Prophets declared His birth of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), the massacre of the children (Jeremiah 31:15).

Zechariah the prophet was even told specifically that there was going to be an end of the old covenant and start of a new covenant.  He not only saw the betrayal of Judas but He saw the return of the Messiah at His Second Coming to build the Temple.

Isaiah 53 is very well known as descriptive of the Messiah.

The fulfilled prophecies in scripture regarding Jesus are numerous. How can anyone doubt the prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

THE ARRIVAL OF MESSIAH

The Gospels record the Birth, Death and Resurrection of the Messiah – Jesus.  His fulfillment of prophecy is documented and lineage confirmed by the writers that were there with Him.

Gospel of Matthew does two things.  It begins by documenting the lineage of Christ but it also recounts the words of Jesus in regards to the End Times and what Jesus states in regards to his Second Coming.

The Second Coming of Christ and the Revelation of God

From the words of Jesus himself to the teachings of Paul in Thessalonians; the teaching of the prophets such as Ezekiel and Daniel are reaffirmed.  The end of the book is only the beginning as the Apostle John shares the vision he received from God in the book of Revelation. John elaborates on the foundations established by Daniel.  Daniel laid out the 70 weeks as given to him by God. Daniel detailed the first 69 and John details week 70 as provided to him by God.

The story of the Messiah transcends the length of scripture and time.  God is not limited by our time structure (2 Peter 3:8).  His plan has been there from the beginning to the end.  Both Daniel and John saw God himself and soon we will as well.  Eternity is His domain (Isaiah 57:15) and it is our choice whether or not to be there.

The Importance of the Shepherd

The most important part of the Christmas story is the Shepherd.  What? That probably surprised you. Let us start with a little foundation first and then see if you don’t agree when finished.  There is a reason that the shepherds were the first to be told of the birth of the Christ Child.  A Shepherd’s sole mission was to safe guard the sheep. If a new lamb was born, everything revolved around that little lamb until it was on its feet. Everything stopped the night the Lamb of God was born.

The Shepherds had taken care of their flocks since the dawn of creation.  Genesis 4:4, Abel brought unto the Lord the “firstlings of his flock” for an offering.  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were nomadic.  They lived off of the animal herds they controlled.  This continued until the children of Jacob went to Egypt.  In Genesis 46, because they were shepherds they lived in the land of Goshen.

The raising and shepherding of livestock continued when they left Egypt and settled in Canaan.  Two tribes (Rueben and Gad) had so much livestock they wanted to remain on the opposite side Jordan for the grazing (Numbers 32). During the forty years in the desert they had been given laws by God.  These laws instituted the priestly line of the Levities and the atonement for sin with the sacrifice of a lamb. These practices continued up and through the establishment of kings in Israel.  David as the youngest had to protect the flocks while his brothers went to war.  His son Solomon dedicated the Temple with 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep being sacrificed. 1 Kings 8:63

Lambs would continue to be the focal point of Temple worship and sacrifice.  The logistics that were in place for daily sacrifice are beyond the scope of this document. Without the quantity and quality of lambs being raised, the daily sacrifice would have come to a stand still. With that many sacrifices the shepherd had a huge responsibility in the daily life of the Jew at the time of the birth of Jesus. 

The prophets and Jesus himself often referred to Israel as “sheep” or “flock”.

Isaiah 40:11 -  He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Jeremiah 31:10 -  Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

Ezekiel 34:5 -  And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

Ezekiel 34:12 -  As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are

scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Matthew 26:31 -  Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Then we come to the Chief Shepherd.  In the larger herds the Chief Shepherd was in charge.  At the time of the sacrificial offerings in the temple; the Chief Shepherd was a man of extreme importance.  In the tenth chapter of John; Jesus called himself the “good shepherd”.

Paul not only calls Jesus the “Shepherd” in 1 Peter 2:25 but he goes on in 1 Peter 5:4 to state:

“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

Jesus is the Chief Shepherd.  Now let’s head back to the scene at the birth of Christ.  When the shepherds were worshipping the baby, they knew they had not only been the first to be told, they knew there was a new King born that was also the CHIEF SHEPHERD and the only spotless lamb on the planet!

That is why THE Shepherd is important.

Spiritual Warfare Illustrated by an OLD MAN

Daniel is at least 80 years old; some have listed him as being between 90-100 at the time his fourth vision takes place in Chapter 10 of his book. He spends 21 days in a fast from bread, flesh and wine while seeking understanding and a spiritual break through. After 21 days he is void of all human strength and cannot physically stand when an answer arrives.

The Archangel Gabriel explains to him that “from the FIRST Day that you set your heart to understand….thy words were heard.”  “….but the prince of the kingdom of Persia (one of Satan’s angels) withstood me 21 days…”

Gabriel had come to respond to Daniel’s immediately upon Daniel’s heart being focused.  BUT, it took Gabriel 21 days to get there because of the battle going on in the spirit realm!

21 days of prayer and fasting + 21 days of spiritual warfare = Hundreds of years of pinpoint prophecy in Daniels Fourth vision 

That story may be familiar sermon material on spiritual warfare.

BUT consider what would have happened if Daniel had not pressed on for 21 days? What if he had decided after 7 days (week) that he had enough and called it quitting time?

How about after two weeks of prayer and fasting? Surely that was plenty of time. No, he kept on and on for 21 days UNTIL there was the BREAK THROUGH!

I am not going to recommend fasting for three weeks, but it sure would put a dent in the enemy’s armor. I am going to state that there are not enough sore knees in God’s army. We need to have concern about the outcome of the battles in the spirit realm if NO ONE is praying!

Today’s battle zone is World wide and fiercer than Gabriel dealt with.

IT IS TIME TO QUIT PRAYING “Mother Goose” TYPE PRAYERS that we have learned and start

PRAYING DANIEL TYPE PRAYERS

Pray until it hurts and then keep on praying……

Be-ATTITUDES

Every preacher has probably preached on the Beatitudes at some point in their time in the pulpit. There are probably a few people who can even quote them.  A lot of people reading the Gospel of Matthew probably skim over these nine verses just to get past them since the passage is so familiar.  The verses can even be found on knick-nacks at a discount store. Nothing here to waste time on.  HOLD ON a minute, turns out Jesus had a lot to say about the ATTITUDES prevalent in our society right now. There are more solutions in this passage than in any other media available.  What? Well, take a better look at it ONE VERSE AT A TIME.

Matthew 5:3-11 are the BE - ATTITUDES…

1) BE POOR IN SPIRIT – Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

How do you think of yourself?  In humility or pride? If in humility, then what form of humility?

There is vanity when one considers how much was sacrificed in giving.  Being proud of how much offering was given or how wonderful it was of us to give those groceries to the needy.  Being proud of how “un-wealthy” we are is just as bad as King Midas counting every one of his gold coins.

Be poor but not proud.  Job was as thankful for the “taking away”; as he was for “the giving”!

Be humble and lowly.  Matthew Henry puts it this way:  “accommodate ourselves to our poverty…not in pride or prejudice….not throwing away what God has given us…be as little children in our opinion of ourselves…”

2) BE MOURNFUL – Receive comfort

Has this verse ever been used for anything other than during the occasion of the death of someone?

We are to be mournful.  Not the sorrow of life in this world but mournful over sin.  We must feel the sorrowfulness for our sins.  Sins which were paid for by the high cost of a blood sacrifice.  Mournful enough that we are apologetic for our sinful nature. Life must be lived in repentance.

There is a second reason for being mournful.  We need to have sorrow for the sins of others.  Do you feel the sorrow watching your fellow man wallow in his depravity?  Jesus did.  That is why he blessed those who mourn.  In Luke 19:41, Jesus wept over Jerusalem and its “state/condition”.

3) BE MEEK - and inherit the earth

This word IS NOT even a part of our vocabulary today.  What does it mean?  You have heard the expression: “Google it”.  Well do that and you will find this definition:

 “quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive”

That entire definition is so opposed to what is broadcasted from every angle of culture and society.  Look for an example of a person around that fits this description of being meek.  How many can you list?

For a follower of God, this one should hit them in some sensitive areas of their lifestyle and attitudes. What a directive on how a child of God should live and conduct themselves daily. It is also a VERY SIMPLE answer from God on how we should be reacting to the strange chaos we are finding ourselves living in today.

Then there is submissive.  An entire paper can be written on that.  Submission is expected to both authority here on earth and in heaven.  We are expected to be submissive in our homes, marriages, jobs, and authorities.

This is “Quiet Submission” to God and man. Not boastful about that submission or humility.  Calling attention to the fact that you are being submissive is false humility.  Titus 3:1-2 dictates that we are to be gentle in dealings with the evil of men.  Not allowing ourselves to being provoked.  OUCH, does that mandate what our reaction is to look like?

4) BE HUNGRY AND THIRSTY FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS – and you will be filled

Thriving constantly for purity.  Not for perfection.  When are you hungry?  Have you ever missed more than one meal?  Your stomach starts talking to you.  When you have that kind of desire for God’s Word and for being in the presence of God you are getting closer.  Unlike eating food, you will never reach a full “stomach” until you are standing before the throne of God.  Our goal is to be as much like Jesus as possible without the self-righteousness displayed by the Pharisee in scripture.

5) BE MERCIFUL – and you will obtain mercy

How quick are we to snap a response at the actions of those we see on media today? We are very quick at pronouncing our judgment.  This does not mean or dictate we condone a sinful life style.  A sinful life will send the soul to Hell. Period, end of story!  BUT, there is NO SOUL THAT IS NOT ABLE TO BE SAVED! 

How much do we assume the afflictions, problems or needs of others?  To little time in our seemingly busy schedule to bother with them.  Where is the compassion and care for our fellow man?  Scripture is filled with examples of mercy.  There were those who lowered their friend through the roof just to be healed.  Boaz allowed Ruth to get food from his fields.  It is also filled with those who treated lepers as outcasts and did not show mercy.  Which form of mercy do you display?

6) BE PURE IN HEART – and you will see God

Cleanliness of the heart.  If your heart has never made a commitment to Christ, then none of this will mean anything to you.  The first thing needed is a heart that has been totally surrendered to God and has agreed to Him being the master of everything.  Once that has happened, priorities begin to change and these Be-Attitudes begin to make sense.

7) BE A PEACEMAKER – to be called the children of God

Are we striving to obtain peaceful solutions or are we always an instigator to say or do something to cause dissention or unrest.

8) BE RIGHTEOUS AND PREPARED FOR PERSECUTION

This covers both blatant persecution and the suffering that comes as a result of standing for the righteousness of God. Persecution WILL COME for adherence to righteousness!

Those living in America have not known true persecution. Are they prepared for it?  There are those who have given their lives for the Gospel.  Persecution can come in many forms from simple name calling and false accusations. However, are you prepared for persecution that results in not having food on the table or a home to live?  How about the loss of a job to pay the bills UNLESS you agree to a lifestyle or organization that denies Biblical principles?

Remaining true to convictions and righteousness is the most difficult of all these.  Being rooted in God’s word will be the greatest weapon available to the children of God.

Each of these BE-ATTITUDES builds upon one another. They were not spoken by Jesus to be used as just another common liturgy or as a cute plague on the wall of an office. Better read them slowly again and pay more careful attention to them before quoting them.

Where's The Beef?

Paul states in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3   “….I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able…….:

The Corinthian church was not able to handle anything to complicated regarding spiritual truth because they could not yet handle the simple basics of God’s word.

Hebrews 5:11-12   “….ye are dull of hearing……ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God…..

What are the “first principles of the oracles of God”?  Without getting into a doctrinal discussion regarding what was the “first oracles” established by scripture; let me submit this idea for consideration. It may simply have been Paul’s way of stating that they needed someone to teach them the “basics”.  How simple is that thought?

Now, let’s look at 2Timothy 2:14-16.  We sometimes enjoy quoting verse 15 at the expense of the verses before and after it.  “….strive not about words to no profit……rightly dividing the word of truth……shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness”

How can an individual; regardless of age, have spiritual growth without training in the Bible?  Yes, people are indeed responsible for reading the Bible and making it an object of personal study. However, that does not remove the responsibility of the church from doing EVERYTHING possible to provide that “basic” training. 

When an individual enlists in the military, they go through Basic Training.  Why is it different in God’s Army?  The educational system has continually changed the methods they use for teaching in our public schools.  Have they been successful?  The church system has spent decades following the example of the schools.  Instead of being a role model and sticking to basics, the church has attempted for decades to keep up with public education by employing the latest and greatest teaching tools.  Why does God’s church emulate the world?

What happened to the basics? God provided all the lessons and teaching aids we needed in the Bible. Somewhere along the line the object lessons from Abraham and Jacob were not good enough.  The church felt it needed to “enhance” the experience with video and study guides from the latest popular author. The body of Christ went from using these things as enhancement tools to using them as total replacement for the stories in the Bible.

The Christian church has a belief that if it does not offer a Bible Study/Class using the latest number one bestseller; then it will suffer a drop in attendance numbers. What a shame to the Gospel, Jesus and his disciples shared the Gospel message with thousands at a time, but they also shared it when there was only one in attendance.  Did they worry about how many attended their “presentation” of the message?  I have this image of Paul walking into the church of Corinth and telling the congregation that he can’t preach his message on the salvation of the Cross because the guest musician had not performed his concert yet.  He could not share God’s message until the required twenty minutes of game time had occurred to quiet the hyper-active children.  How absurd!  The presentation of God’s Word does not require any condition of tranquility or comfort of its speakers or listeners.

The Gospel has been shared on a sinking ship in the midst of a turbulent storm, during the noise of a rock concert, to a dying man on the upheaval of a battlefield.  Why do we think we need any less in church?

Attend any Sunday or Weekly children’s program and watch as they play the latest game craze or watch the latest music or Internet video sensation!  I wonder how many paper cups the Israelite children could stack in a minute.  I can just see the 12 tribes practicing their flash mob performance for 40 years, so that they were ready for their huge performance in front of the walls of Jericho!

This is sounding harsh and it is intended to.  I cannot state how many hours of “programs” I have witnessed taking place in churches during a typical week from Sunday to Saturday.  There are programs for practicing holiday performances, guns safety, doll making, game time on the X-Box and PlayStation.

Programs ARE FINE!  Yes, they are excellent TOOLS.   But they are only tools.  They are the “MILK” that Paul referred to.   A famous television commercial once asked: “Where’s the Beef?”  Where is the MEAT in our churches?  How many decades and centuries do we need to go before we start providing meat and not milk to the children of God?  How many hours are used for tools in comparison to actually reading a lesson DIRECTLY from the Bible?

I can hear Sunday Teachers, Children and Youth Ministers screaming right now that they DO share the message while using these tools.   I am not debating that point.   If that is all these ministers can take away from these scripture passages that Paul writes; then I am afraid that this message falls on deaf ears.

Need a real world example to illustrate this point?  Do an old time “Bible Quiz”.  Give the enclosed Quiz to an entire church congregation.  A congregation being defined as everyone regardless of their age.  All they need is the ability to read.  Once it has been taken and returned check the percentage of correct answers per age groups (12 and under) (13-18) (19-30) (31-50) (51-over).  Watch how fast the percentage of correct answers goes down as the age group nears the 12 and under age!

Once upon a time we use to have Sunday School classes for ALL ages, Sunday night and Wednesday night church times. All of which used the Bible as the MAIN study source.  We had Easter and Christmas Pageants each year WITHOUT having to cancel all the other weekly Bible times.

I have heard the following statement made repeatedly: “We do not want to offend those that may visit our church.”

I have news for all the churches out there.  You had better read Revelations and especially chapters 2-3 and determine what kind of church you are!

THE WORD OF GOD IS OFFENSIVE!

It offends me each and every time I open it.  This offending use to be called by another name. That name was: conviction.  The church lost its ability to convict the sinner when it began being afraid that it may offend the sinner!

Instead of chasing sin out of the holy sanctuary, we have invited it in.  Preaching Love has replaced Preaching Conviction.  There are plenty of sermons out there on moral sin.  Are there any sermons about the sin of disrespect to the Holy Tabernacle (God’s House)?  When was the last time anyone felt convicted of what they wore or carried into the House of God?  If you were invited as a guest to the U.S. White House in Washington or the Palace of the Queen; what would you do?  What would you wear?  What would you have on your person (cell phone, coffee)?

How much more important is the House of the Lord?  I still shiver at the thought of standing before my God in his house wearing my NFL Jersey and holding a Cappuccino in my hand! Do we come before God with our best face forward?  Two sons of Aaron are struck dead for offering strange fire before the Lord (Leviticus 10).  Cain’s offering was not the best he could have given and God did not respect it (Genesis 4).   Someone will say that this kind of God is too strict and to demanding.  The church cannot preach this kind of God.

WHY NOT?

We have too many weaklings in the church!  I for one DO NOT and WILL NOT serve a God who is not strict like this.  If he is not, then what kind of a flaky God is he?  If I am going to commit my life to follow a SUPREME, MAJESTIC, OMMI-EVERYTHING God; then he better act like one.

Otherwise, why not find a statue somewhere to follow and serve!

WDK

 

BIBLE QUIZ – Who Am I?

OLD TESTAMENT

1. A man came and worked for my father for seven years to be allowed to marry me.  My father tricked him and gave him my sister for his wife. The man then worked seven more years before marrying me.

2. God told me that I would be the father of many nations. He also told me to sacrifice my son on an altar.

3. I was the first High Priest of Israel who also built a calf out of gold for the Israelites to worship

4. I hid two spies in my house and then helped the spies escape over the city wall with a scarlet cord

5. I had this testimony, that I pleased God and I was taken to heaven without seeing death

6. I was a King who was taller than any of my people. Samuel anointed me the first King of Israel

7. I interpreted a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar and was made ruler over Babylon

8. God gave me great strength to kill the Philistines and I also loved to play at riddles

9. I won a beauty contest and became Queen. God used me to save my people, the Jews

10. I asked God for wisdom and because of my wisdom my fame grew throughout the world. I also built a great temple for the Lord

11. I once killed a lion and a bear as I tended the sheep and also wrote many Psalms

12. I was one of 12 spies who went into Canaan. During a battle, I asked God to make the sun stand still, and he did.

13. I lived in Moab. When my husband died, I went with my mother-in-law to Israel, where I met and married Boaz

14. I was sold by my brothers for 20 pieces of silver. Once a slave in Egypt, I was able to help my family during a terrible famine.

NEW TESTAMENT

15. I was a priest in Israel who did not believe the angel when he said I was to have a son and I was stricken mute.

16.  I was a woman who lived in Joppa. I was known for my good works and helping the widows. After I died, Peter prayed and told me to open my eyes and I did

17. I was a brother of James, a son of Zebedee. I became a disciple and was known as “The Beloved Disciple”

18. I did great wonders and miracles among the people and was brought before the council where I preached to them from Abraham down through the death of Jesus. Because of my witness, I was stoned to death. Before dying, I asked the Lord to “not lay this sin to their charge”
19. As a young man my mother Eunice taught me from the Bible.  I became Paul’s helper and later as Pastor of a church, Paul would write to me “Study to show thyself approved unto God …”

20. I was a ruler in the synagogue who asked Jesus to heal my little daughter. However, my daughter died before Jesus reached my house, but he raised her from the dead.

21. I was governor of Judea when Jesus was brought for judgment. I told the Jews that I found no fault in the man and washed my hands in front of them.

22. I was a secret follower of Jesus from the city of Arimathaea. After Jesus died, I asked for his body and put it into my own tomb.

23. I was a preacher in Judea, thrown into prison and beheaded by King Herod. I baptized many people in the river Jordan

24. I was one of the 12 disciples’. I took care of the money for Jesus and the disciples.  When a woman anointed Jesus feet, I asked why the ointment was not sold and money given to the poor.

25. My two sisters and I lived in Bethany and were great friends of Jesus.  When I got sick, my sisters sent for Jesus but I died before he came. Jesus called my name and I got up and walked out of my tomb.

26. I was a blind beggar that lived near Jericho who cried out when Jesus came near. Jesus told me that my faith had made be whole and I was healed