OceanSide church of Christ

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SOME GREAT PEOPLE AND THINGS

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    In the history of Israel, there were some very great individuals, events, and things that were displayed.

 

B.      Just the mention of them brings many things to our minds.

 

C.     In this lesson, we want to look at “Some Great People and Things.”

 

I.                   ABRAHAM WAS A GREAT MAN

 

A.    God called Abraham out of the land of the Chaldeans.

1.      God made three promises to him (Gen. 12:1-3).

a.      “Get thee…unto a land that I will show thee.”

b.      “And I will make of thee a great nation.”

c.       “…and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

2.      It is Abraham’s response to God that made him great.  He responded in absolute faith (Gen. 12:4a).

 

So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him…

 

B.      There was several other occasions when this man of God proved his faith.

1.      Abraham also trusted God regarding the covenant of circumcision (Gen. 15:23).

 

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

 

2.      Abraham exhibited great faith relative to his having a son through Sarah, even though both of them were past the age of childbearing (Rom. 4:20-21).

 

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

 

3.      In like manner also, he manifested his faith in God when he was told to sacrifice his son Isaac on one of the mountains of Moriah (Heb. 11:17).

 

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:  and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.

 

II.                JACOB WAS A GREAT MAN

 

A.    Jacob, the son of Isaac, is one of the patriarchs of the book of Genesis.

 

B.      The name Jacob means “deceiver.” 

1.      He deceived his father Isaac and received the blessing that belonged to Esau, his brother (Gen. 27:1-29).

2.      Prior to this, he had taken Esau’s birthright as well (Gen. 25:29-34).

 

C.     In time, however, Jacob changed.

1.      When he fled from Esau, he dreamed and saw a ladder that stretched from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12).  There God renewed the seed promise to him.

2.      In the home of Laban, he worked twenty hard years to acquire a family and amass great wealth (Gen. 29-31).

3.      Jacob was the patriarch who bore twelve sons who would ultimately become the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel (Gen. 29:31-30:24).

4.      When Jacob returned to his homeland, he wrestled with an angel and prevailed over God.  That night his name was changed from Jacob to Israel (Gen. 32:22-32).  Israel means:  “he will rule as God.”

 

D.    Jacob is also mentioned in Hebrews 11 as being one of the examples of faith in the Old Testament (Heb. 11:21).

 

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped leaning upon the top of his staff.

 

III.             JONAH WAS A GREAT MAN

 

A.    Jonah’s story was well known in the nation of Israel.

 

B.      Even though the prophet showed both weakness and prejudice, there are at least two things in Jonah’s story that made him great and stand out in the nation.

1.      The first thing was the fact that he was swallowed by a great fish and lived through the experience.

a.      Jonah 1:17

 

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

 

b.      Jonah 2:10

 

And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry ground.

 

2.      The second great thing involved the reaction that Jonah received from Nineveh due to his preaching.

a.      His message was simple:  “…yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). 

b.      The reaction (Jonah. 3:5)

 

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.

 

IV.             SOLOMON WAS A GREAT MAN

 

A.    Solomon was David’s son through Bathsheba.

 

B.      It was he who was to assume the kingdom of Israel upon David’s death.

 

 

 

C.     Solomon was great in several ways.

1.      Solomon’s reign saw the kingdom of Israel expand to greatest extend as far as land was concerned (II Chron. 9:26).

2.      Solomon was one of the wealthiest kings to have ever lived.

3.      Solomon was granted wisdom due to his prayer to God (I Kings 3:9).  Because of his humility, God granted him to be wiser than all of the wise men (I Kings 4:30-31a).

 

And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.  For he was wiser than all men…”

 

4.      Solomon was great in that he produced three books of the Bible:  Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

5.      Solomon was great because it was he who was allowed to build the temple of God in the city of Jerusalem (I Kings 5:5a).

 

And, behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father…

 

V.                THE TEMPLE WAS A GREAT THING

 

A.    The temple that Solomon built was a magnificent structure.

 

B.      It took seven years to build (I Kings 6:38).

 

C.     What made the temple great?

1.      The materials out of which it was composed.

2.      The great porch with its two wonderful pillars holding it up.

3.      The great sea that was constructed in which the priests would wash.

4.      The fact that the ark of the covenant was housed therein.

5.      The fact that God approve of this project and manifest His presence there once the temple was completed (I King 8:10-11).

 

And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud:  for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    In this lesson, we have seen four great people and one great thing that existed within Israel:  Abraham, Jacob, Jonah, Solomon, and the temple.

 

B.      A person would not be around a Jew long and he might hear about one of these men and about the temple of God. 

1.      The Jews loved these characters and boasted of them. 

2.      They also honored the temple and boasted of it (See Matt. 24:1).

 

C.     You, however, may be wondering why have we gone to such lengths to discuss these things in this lesson.  The answer lies in a word.  That word is “greater.”

1.      “That in this place is one greater than the temple” (Matt. 12:6).

2.      “…and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here” (Matt. 12:41).

3.      “…and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Matt. 12:42).

4.      “Art thou greater than our father Jacob…” (John 4:12).

5.      “Art thou greater than our father Abraham…” (John 8:53).

 

D.    As great all of the things we have studied in this lesson were, we serve one who is greater than all of them.  Jesus is greater than the temple, than Jonah, than Solomon, than Jacob, and the father of faith called Abraham.

 

E.      Jesus is a cut above all of those things. 

1.      We need to understand the Lord we serve. 

2.      We need to appreciate the Lord we serve. 

3.      We need to love the Lord we serve.

4.      We need to truly serve the Lord we serve.

 

F.      Philippians 2:9-11

 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, in things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.