Consider some Bible personalities that would like to meet when you get to heaven. Since in our culture we often like lists of a top 5, make out said list, but don’t feel constrained to put them in some kind of order. Who did you choose and why do you find them fascinating?
There are a few things which I noted were important to me on my list of personages.
I noted that when I made my list, I included some names because they have answers to questions I ask, and I know they can take care of them. I am not one of those who believe that God will make us “omniscient” as He is when we get to heaven. I do believe that our minds and eyes will be opened to make it easier for us to discover truth, and our capacity to remember and learn will be greatly increased. But I do believe that part of life with God will also include an endless journey of discovery of his greatness and goodness that will last forever.
Joshua
Joshua is one of the few Biblical Heroes that we don’t see had massive glaring weaknesses. Samson, Saul, David all had big weaknesses of character. Samuel was a poor father, as were Isaac and Jacob. Abraham, not the best father himself, could be rather deceptive, as was his grandson. The list goes on, with the scriptures being very honest about the failure of its characters. That’s good. If they were all Joshuas and did not fail, we would feel that that there would be no hope for us, right? I don’t admire Joshua because he’s like me. I have more of David, Abraham, Hezekiah and Jacob in myself than I do of Joshua.
But that’s one reason why I really like reading about this man. He’s so humble, with a heart for serving the people of Israel. He’s a lot like our own George Washington who turned down an opportunity to be King after the revolution. Joshua was only concerned fulfilling his commission to bring Israel into the promised land. He was not after being a king. He was not after self aggrandizement. When it was all over, the only thing he wanted to do was retire to the country and lead his family in serving God. Like Cincinnatus of the Romans, he was simply one of the citizens of the (heavenly) kingdom, and took up his call without desire to hold it after it was completed.
Such figures are compelling to us today most of us feel like we entitled to certain benefits and honors if we have success. “To the victor goes the spoils” is the rally cry of businessmen, generals and politicians. We have deeply imbibed these sentiments in our culture.
Washington, Cincinnatus and Joshua all understood that there is such a thing as duty, humbly performed and closed when completed. Washington would not be king, and only kept accepted presidency for two terms in a day when he could have had three terms. He returned home to retirement. Cincinnatus was the “Anti-Caesar,” holding the office of Dictator through a war crisis, and resigning it when it was over. Joshua held a status as a respected elder of the community, but he did not crown himself king of God’s people. What a model!
I also would like to hear from Joshua about his experiences in Egypt and about the historical circumstances of his life. I am a diehard and lifelong fan of ancient history. I would like to question him as a Western style thinker about the details of what he had seen. Simple questions about things like “who was the pharaoh of your day,” to details about how he wrote and what he wrote, and how he learned to write. What was his childhood like? What about his faith experience? How did he develop such a conviction about what God was going to do, when so many people who saw the same things he had did not? What was the road of the Exodus? Jebel Musa or Jebel El Lawz? And it goes on..
Being that his writings are not intended to be a historical work, but rather a diary of how God revealed himself in bringing his people into the land, it does not have these details which so fascinate and concern the western mind.
There is also the whole “manly” warrior archetype thing that I would like to hear from him.
You know what I mean… Warrior’s tales.
I would like to hear from him his views on Pharaoh’s army and fighting him. How he trained his warriors and how they fought (Skirmishers, shock troopers, order of battle, communications, etc.). What were the great individual combats he saw, and who were his heroes, and why. Did he have a fitness routine, and what did it look like (yes, seriously). What about the whole giant thing, and how big they really were? Were they skinny skeezicks or were they tall and broad like an old oak tree? Did he like a sword best over spear? What battle was he most honored to have participated in? Did he ever deal with PTSD? If in heaven there is wargaming would he like to play one with me, and his views on how the game reflects reality or does not?
You may be scratching your head over such questions. Yet they are important, as the scriptures deal with real human beings in circumstances that may differ in detail but remain analogous to things we face today. They are prominent by their absence in many ways, and in others provide important color that bring the sacred texts to life.
There is also the manner of his “clean living.” The only real error we see him complicit in was the matter of the city of Gibeon. He just did not take time to consult God about these people who had come to make peace with Israel. I think that if he had taken time, he would have found out, but God’s intent was to spare them any way. God was just teaching them a lesson that they needed to ask Him about every step, and nothing was too trivial that they could not take time to “bother God” about it. Otherwise we see character traits that speak of a bright faith, consuming passion for God and for Holiness, deep humility, and powerful confident bravery that stood firmly on that cornerstone of conviction- a conviction that knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Israeli’s were going to take that land and that he was God’s man to do it. I wonder if many Pastors even have the strong of a conviction about their calling. I know many, including myself, that have struggled at times with that.
In the end, yes, I do like to read about the man. But I also really want to find out about the man himself and what made him tick. I look forward in hope that I will be able to have that opportunity. Its not like we will be rushed for time or anything.
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