Twenty-five years ago, the Lord began my call to write, but I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to write. This came at a time when I was engaged in a study of the Gospel of Matthew. From time to time, as I read along, I stopped at the mention of a one or two-verse character. What might be the rest of this person’s story? I wondered. What led to even mentioning this person? What happened later?

When I read on, here came another “lesser” character I had never noticed before. They were inportant enough to mention, so I wondered why. They must have had their own story. They were real characters in biblical life. The Lord urged me to make them come alive in the minds of readers. In so doing, I hoped it would bring life to other Scripture, as well.

What lessons can we learn from all characters of Scripture? Not just the big names—Moses, David, Daniel, Peter, James, John, and the like, but the servants, the passers-by, the mothers, the disciples who only have a name in the Bible. As I pondered their stories in their settings, it led me to consider the culture of their time, the surroundings, the food, the traditions, the mindsets, and most importantly, the workings of our Heavenly Father in their lives.

So in the next few weeks, we will embark on some of these. I will not write a full-length book about each one, only a one to three-blog account. We’ll study the biblical background, the character and his/her story, and ponder how their story affects our stories.

We will begin with an Old Testament character to whom God gave a warning—”Do not look back!”

The setting is the new land where God had led a man named Abram. He had lived in Ur, but God called him to cross the desert to a land that would one day be called Israel. Abram brought with him his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, and wife.

They searched out the new land with its lush green valleys and lakes, its mountains and streams, the rocky places, and the sandy desert areas untiil they found an area where they could dwell. Abram, the elder, graciously gave his nephew Lot the choice of where he would like to live. Lot chose the more fruitful area. Immediately, we see a selfish trait in Lot. They farmed their areas, built their wells, and settled in.

God established a relationship with Abram and declared that his name would be great and this whole land would one day be his. He also told Abram the he would be the father of many offspring, as many as the stars in the sky.

Next time, we will see how things worked out for Abram and Lot.

~ Joyce ~