BIBLE CHARCTERS AND THEIR GOOD DEEDS

Abraham Abraham lived over 3,000 years ago. He was married to Sarah, and is often thought of as the Father of all Jewish people. He was a man of great faith. God asked him to leave his home and travel hundreds of miles away to a new home. When he started the journey he didn't know where he was going but he trusted God to lead him. On another occasion, he was asked to choose between his love for his son and obedience to God. He chose to obey God even though it meant his son could be killed. At the last minute his son was saved! Abraham was happy because he had obeyed God and kept his son safe - his faith was rewarded. It was especially hard because his son was a fantastic gift from God in the first place. Sarah did not think she would be able to have children because she was very old but, amazingly, even though people thought it was impossible, she did have a baby. The thought of having a little baby even though she was a pensioner amused her so much that the boy was called Isaac - which means 'laughter'. Abraham had so much courage and faith that even many years later he had a special place in people's hearts. In James 2:23, which is a book in the New Testament part of the Bible, we read these words, "And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." He was even called the friend of God." (New Living Translation) Joseph Josephs parents were called Jacob and Rachel. They had a very large family but Joseph was their favourite child. Joseph was given a really nice coat by his dad, but it made his brothers jealous! They tried to get rid of him and he ended up in another country. After a few adventures including being thrown into prison for something he didnt do! he got a job working for the King (Pharaoh) because he was able to explain what some very strange dreams the King was having meant. Genesis 41:39 says Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. (New Living Translation) Joseph was wise and brave, he helped the whole country get ready for a time when there was very little food. God had put him in the right place, at the right time. He ended up helping his own brothers even though they had not been very nice to him. His brothers didnt have any food in their own country either; so they came to see if Egypt, where Joseph was, had any food to share with them. Joseph had grown up so much that they didnt recognise him...and they would never have imagined that he would be the Prime Minister! He could have had them thrown out of the country or sent to jail, but instead he invited the whole family to move to Egypt. This meant that they would never have to worry about not having enough food again. Joseph had a strong faith in God. A number of people tried to harm him but God always turned it round and brought good out of it. Joseph trusted God even when nothing seemed to go right. And when he had the chance to hurt people who had hurt him he did the right thing! Moses Moses was born well over a thousand years before Jesus arrived. When he was three months old he was put into a waterproof basket on the River Nile so that he would not be harmed. Moses was a Jew, and the king of Egypt wanted to stop the Jewish nation from growing too large and powerful so he ordered all the Jewish baby boys to be killed! God kept Moses safe, and even arranged for the kings daughter to find Moses on the river and bring him up as her own child. We can read about Moses in Acts 7:20-22. At that time Moses was born a beautiful child in Gods eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months. When they had to abandon him, Pharaohs daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful both in speech and action (New Living Translation). Ruth Ruth was born in Moab, a country just across the Dead Sea from where the Jews lived. Her husband died and she decided to go back to Israel with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who had also lost her husband. It was a brave thing to do leaving the place of your birth going to a place where the customs and people would be very different to what you had grown up with. But Ruth had seen something special in Naomi her belief and trust in God. She did not want to lose this opportunity to find out more about Naomis faith, so went back with her to Israel. Ruth has a whole book in the Old Testament named after her and in Ruth 1:16 we read wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people shall be my people, and your God will be my God. (New Living Translation) King Saul Before Saul came along the Jewish people were led by judges. They came to a point where they thought that they would prefer to be like other countries and have a king of their own. Samuel (the last judge) was told by God to find the right person to be king. Saul was chosen by Samuel. He was a tall, handsome man, who was a natural leader. He was humble enough to ask for advice, and strong enough to attract lots of people to follow his lead. Saul was the first king of Israel. His reign started well but soon things began to go wrong. He was very jealous of a young man called David (who went on to become the next king!) and he forgot to obey God and his commands. His envy of David, his bad decisions, and the growing strength of his enemies, caused Saul to become depressed. His troubled mind made him ill and his ability to rule over Israel started to desert him. In 1 Samuel 15:11 we can read about how unhappy God was with Saul this is what he said to Samuel about him, I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions (New Living Translation). David David started life as a shepherd-boy. He quickly grew into a brave teenager who protected his flock from mountain lions. His great skill with a catapult helped him defeat a giant called Goliath even when all the Kings soldiers were too scared to fight.

He was very musical, playing a harp, the nearest thing they had in those days to a guitar. He wrote poems and songs and some of them are still read and sung today! You can find them in an Old Testament book of the Bible called Psalms. David was best friends with the Kings son Jonathan, even though the King didnt like him, and was kind and respectful to the King (Saul) even when Saul attacked him! Even though he was young and not very tall, God could see that on the inside he was bold and full of faith. So he was chosen to be the King of Israel. When he became King he worked hard to make the country safe for his people by defeating their enemies. In 2 Samuel 8:15 in the Old Testament part of the Bible it says So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people. (New Living Translation) Elijah Elijah was a prophet with a rugged look and a blunt way of speaking. He was never afraid to tell even kings and queens when he felt they were behaving badly! Sometimes this got him into trouble, but he always wanted to tell the truth. One of the best known stories about Elijah happened when he challenged 450 false prophets to set fire to a bonfire without any matches! They couldn't do it, but God answered Elijah's prayer and his sacrifices (a bonfire with special meaning) burst into flame. The evil King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were angry because their false god had been defeated. You can find the story about Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. I Kings 18:21 says "Then Elijah stood in front of them (the prophets) and said, "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" (New Living Translation) Elisha Elisha lived almost 3,000 years ago and became a prophet through Elijah, who asked him to become part of his prophetic team. A prophet is someone who God has asked to let people know what he is going to do in the future. Elisha was especially blessed by God. No Old Testament character did more miracles, except Moses. Elijah was so impressed with the young Elisha that he thought Elisha would make twice as much impact on Israel as he had done! 2 Kings 2:15 tells us what some other prophets thought about Elisha, the spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha (New Living Translation). Esther Esther was a girl that God used to help His people in a very special way. She was a Jew, living a very long way from home, in a country where the Jews were looked at with suspicion. She lived over 500 years before Jesus was on earth, in Persia (the country we now call Iran.) Esther didnt have the easiest start to her life she was an orphan who was raised by a kind uncle (Mordecai). He would have taught her about her place among Gods chosen people, the Jews, and all that used to happen in the temple, back in Jerusalem, when he was a boy. She grew up to be a beautiful young woman, with a good character and quick mind. Jesus - His life Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a few miles away from Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel. He grew up with Mary and Joseph as his parents, working as a carpenter in Joseph's workshop. When he was about 30 years old he gathered together a team of friends who became known as his disciples and travelled around Israel, telling people about God's love and doing amazing things - like making sick people better! The political and religious leaders didn't really like him, and tried to get rid of him. They made bad things up about him, gave him an unfair trial, and had him executed like a common criminal. He died in his early thirties, less than ten miles from where he was born....but that was not the end of the story! Mary Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. When she was a teenager, just about old enough to be married, she had a visit from an angel. This was Gods messenger, telling her that she was going to have a baby boy and he would be Gods son! Mary was shocked and surprised, but wanted to please God so she agreed to this wonderful plan. In Luke 1:38 we can read what Mary said. Mary responded I am the Lords servant. May everything you have said about me come true. And then the angel left her. (New Living Translation) Mary and Joseph did their best to raise Jesus in a good home, where he learnt all about the faith of his people, the Jews. Mary did not understand everything her son said and did during his life but she always loved him. She was present at his death, as she had been at his birth. Always a faithful mother. Marys love and obedience to God have been an inspiration to millions of people all over the world. Peter Peter was one of the first people to become a friend of Jesus. He was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee when he met Jesus. He was impetuous which means sometimes he rushed into things (and said things) before thinking about them! Peter was introduced to Jesus by his brother, Andrew. He followed Jesus around the country for three years. He saw Jesus do many miracles and heard him say some amazing things about life and God. He was in a little group of friends who were very special to Jesus. They became known as the Apostles. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said these words to Peter, Now I say that you are Peter (which means rock), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. (New Living Translation) Peter was a bold speaker; confident enough to talk to crowds of 3,000 people from all over the world. He made sick men and women better just as he had seen Jesus doing. Not everyone liked what Peter and his friends were doing, but he would not stop even though bad people told him to be quiet, and tried to put him in prison. He wrote down some of what he learnt from Jesus and the two books which bear his name, 1 Peter and 2 Peter, appear towards the end of the Bible in the New Testament. John John was one of the twelve original friends of Jesus (sometimes called the Disciples). He came from a family that owned a fishing business on a lake in the northern part of Israel. Jesus saw him working as a fisherman and invited John and his brother to join him this time catching people not fish! John was one of Jesus closest friends along with Peter and James and he got to share in some of the most important moments of Jesus life. John changed so much that when Jesus was dying he chose John to take care of his mum (Mary) when he was gone. A fiery fisherman became a close friend!

Paul Paul was a really important person among the first friends of Jesus. He wrote many books about being a Christian which are found in the Bible. He travelled all over the ancient world telling people about Jesus. No-one wrote more of the New Testament than Paul, no-one told more people about Jesus, and no-one started more churches! But it wasnt always like this. Paul began life called Saul. He hated the friends of Jesus, and did his best to stop them telling other people about Jesus. He got them thrown in jail and forced many to run away to other cities. One day he went after the Christians who had gone to Damascus, the capital of Syria. On the way he had an amazing experience he was blinded by a bright light and heard a voice which told him that what he was doing was wrong, and where to find help. His life started again in a completely new way, and he gave himself a new name, Paul, to celebrate the fact that he had now become a friend of Jesus! After this there was no stopping Paul. He went on three long trips, by land and sea, to tell anyone who would listen about Jesus. Paul wanted everyone to hear the good news that Jesus loves them old and young, men and women, every race, religion, nationality no-one was left out when Paul was speaking! Finally he was arrested, and sent to the Emperor in Rome for trial. We think he died in Rome, but he never lost his enthusiasm for telling the truth about Jesus. In 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul wrote these words about himself, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful(New Living Translation). Joel Joel too has taken refuge at Isaacs house, and he is also a teenager like Abe, but short, stocky and strong. Joel is a fast runner, always keen on action and glad to be included in any of Mackys exploits against the Romans - another reliable friend in a tight spot. Sarah Sarah is a girl of Mackys age who lives inside the besieged city of Jerusalem. A Jewish rebel, a zealot, through and through, Sarah automatically thinks of fighting back when faced with the very powerful Romans. But when she meets Macky on one of his courier missions, she is intrigued by his peace-loving ways. And he, in turn, is drawn to her idealism something he misses in Portia. Sarah is not a girl to readily accept defeat in any argument, and she and Portia somehow never hit it off! Maybe its because Portia is a Roman and Sarah cant see beyond that, or perhaps theres a bit of rivalry between the two girls when it comes to Mackys attention? Both Sarah and Macky will take something away from their friendship; Macky will see where unyielding zealotry can often lead, while Sarah will learn from Macky that violence isnt the answer. Devorah & Rachel Devorah and Rachel are Isaacs wife and daughter. Like Isaac, Devorah is from Africa, but she, too, is well-versed in the stories, and, also like Isaac, shes an accomplished storyteller. A motherly sort, Devorah extends a warm welcome to the motley crew of teenage rebels and fugitives including Macky who have arrived at her home. Rachel delights in the stories, and, though very young, and occasionally mischievous, she keeps her parents secret well, and sometimes even helps in their work with the rebel underground. Rachel can often be spotted gazing adoringly at her hero, Macky, when he returns from one of his daring missions and tells of his exploits! Felix and Sophia Felix and Sophia are Senator Antoniuss young children. Felix, the younger of the two, is mute, unable or unwilling to speak ever since his mother died. In most other ways, hes a pretty normal kid; he likes sports and dotes on his dog, Dudemus. He even likes Mackys occasionally obnoxious pet, Pontius the parrot. When Felix needs to say something, he uses sign language and relies on his older sister, Sophia, to translate for him. Sophia obliges, but occasionally translates to her own advantage. Despite this tendency, she is a devoted sister who always protects Felix from the taunts of the neighbourhood bullies. Both Sophia and Felix are fascinated by the Bible stories their father tells them, and they also follow Mackys relationship with Portia with great interest. Absolom Absolom is a young man Macky meets in gladiator school. Unlike most of his fellow students, though, Absolom isnt unhappy about being there. A bold, tough warrior, Absolom believes he has a future in the arena. He knows that the most successful charioteers and gladiators are able to retire as wealthy men, and he fully intends to be one of them. Absolom comes from a Jewish background and, like Macky, knows the stories of his peoples heroes well. He often shares them with Macky and the others. Despite the brutal profession hes chosen, Absolom is a good-natured young man, always eager for adventure and always willing to help a friend. Luciana Luciana is Tobiass mother, a once-beautiful patrician (someone of high birth) who still has many influential friends and a substantial amount of money. It was through her influence that Tobias got his job with Tiberius in the first place, and now he is in Rome, Luciana is constantly trying to find her son a new position. Luciana seems to know everybody, but its Marcus who has the warmest feelings for her, and Luciana doesnt hesitate to take advantage of him any way she can, either on her own behalf or on behalf of Tobias.