LESSONS FROM THE MEN OF GOD

LESSONS FROM THE MEN OF GOD One of the reasons I love studying the men in the Bible is because God lets us watch them think. We get to see what they did when the pressure was on, when the decision was dangerous, when temptation was standing in front of them, when leadership got heavy and when doing the right thing could cost them something. Some of the best lessons in Scripture aren’t written like Proverbs. They’re buried inside the decisions these men made. SOLOMON KNEW HOW TO EXPOSE THE TRUTH Two women stood before Solomon claiming the same baby. There were no witnesses and no evidence that could settle the case. Solomon ordered the child divided in two. He wasn’t actually trying to kill the baby. He created a situation that forced the truth into the open. The real mother immediately surrendered her claim because she would rather lose her son than watch him die. The other woman was willing to see him killed. Solomon didn’t have DNA. He understood human nature. 1 Kings 3:16-28 JOSEPH PREPARED FOR TROUBLE WHILE THINGS WERE GOOD Joseph knew seven years of famine were coming, so Egypt used seven years of prosperity to prepare for them. They stored grain while the fields were producing. There’s a lesson there that applies far beyond food. Prosperity has a way of convincing people it’s permanent. Joseph knew better. Genesis 41 DANIEL WENT TO GOD BEFORE HE WENT TO THE KING Nebuchadnezzar threatened to kill the wise men of Babylon because nobody could tell him both the dream and its interpretation. Daniel didn’t bluff his way through it or manufacture an answer. He went home, gathered Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, and they sought God for mercy concerning the secret. Only after God revealed it did Daniel stand before the king. Daniel understood something every man needs to learn. There are situations where intelligence won’t save you. You need God. Daniel 2 DAVID WOULDN’T SIN TO HELP GOD KEEP HIS PROMISE David already knew he had been chosen to become king. Then Saul walked directly into the cave where David and his men were hiding. David could have killed him and called it providence. His own men practically did. David refused. God had promised him the throne, and David wasn’t going to murder his way onto it. That takes more faith than people realize. Sometimes trusting God means refusing an opportunity that looks exactly like the answer you’ve been waiting for. 1 Samuel 24 NATHAN KNEW HOW TO CONFRONT A POWERFUL MAN Nathan had to confront King David over Bathsheba and Uriah. That wasn’t some casual counseling session. David was the king. Nathan told him about a rich man who stole a poor man’s only lamb. David became furious and pronounced judgment against the guilty man. Then Nathan dropped the hammer. “Thou art the man.” David had already judged the case before realizing he was the defendant. That was brilliant confrontation. Nathan got past David’s defenses and made him see his own sin clearly. 2 Samuel 12:1-7 NEHEMIAH INSPECTED THE PROBLEM BEFORE ANNOUNCING THE SOLUTION When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he didn’t immediately start making speeches. He went out at night and personally inspected the broken walls. He looked at the damage before telling everybody what needed to be done. That’s leadership. Too many people have an answer before they fully understand the problem. Nehemiah 2:11-18 BOAZ DIDN’T USE CROOKED METHODS TO GET A GOOD THING Boaz wanted Ruth, yet another man had the legal right of redemption before him. Boaz didn’t manipulate the situation or quietly work around the law. He went to the city gate, gathered the elders as witnesses and handled the matter properly. A righteous man shouldn’t need dishonest methods to obtain something good. Ruth 4 MOSES LEARNED THAT DOING EVERYTHING YOURSELF ISN’T LEADERSHIP Moses was sitting from morning until evening personally judging the disputes of Israel. Jethro watched the operation and basically told him he was going to kill himself trying to run everything alone. Moses listened. He appointed capable men over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They handled the ordinary disputes while the difficult matters came to Moses. Delegation wasn’t beneath Moses. It made Moses more effective. Exodus 18:13-26 PAUL PAID ATTENTION TO WHO HE WAS TALKING TO Paul walked into Athens surrounded by philosophers, temples and pagan religion. He paid attention to the city before addressing it. When he found an altar inscribed TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, he used something they already understood as his opening to preach the God they didn’t know. Paul never watered down the truth. He understood his audience well enough to know where to begin. That’s a skill Christians desperately need. Acts 17:22-31 JOSEPH KNEW WHEN THE WISE MOVE WAS TO RUN Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph and tried to pull him into sexual sin. Joseph didn’t stay there proving how strong his self control was. He got out of the house. He left his coat in her hand and ran. There are battles a man needs to stand and fight. Temptation isn’t always one of them. Sometimes the smartest thing a man can do is get the hell out of the room. Genesis 39:7-12 This is one reason I’ll never get tired of studying these men. Their lives weren’t sanitized. Scripture shows their wisdom, failures, courage, bad decisions, repentance and growth. God lets us see enough of their lives to learn from them without having to make every mistake ourselves. The Bible doesn’t just tell me what to believe. It teaches me how to be a man. #MoreJoyMinistries