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Biblical People

Sinners, Saints, and Us

From a basic understanding, this book considers some of the people in the Old Testament who make mistakes (sinners) and who do good (saints). We can look at their errors to avoid their blunders or to correct our missteps. We can also look at their successes to celebrate what they did well and inspire us to do better.

A more correct understanding of sinners and saints, however, is to acknowledge we are all sinners: every one of us. This includes you and me. As such, we all fall short of God’s Old Testament expectations. 

Yet Jesus offers us a better way. 

When we repent and follow him, he makes us right with Father God, wiping away the penalty our sins deserve and giving us a clean slate. In this way we become saints. This sainthood—our right standing with God—is a gift freely available to anyone who wants to receive it. 

All we need to do is accept what Jesus offers. We don’t need to change our behavior to gain God’s attention or earn our salvation—we can’t. It’s impossible. Instead, God has prepared a no-strings-attached present that he graciously offers to us. 

It’s in response to this gift that we seek to change our behavior as a way of saying “thank you” to Jesus for the salvation he has given us. 

May the Old Testament characters of the Bible inspire us to move forward as we become more Christlike in response to our salvation. Here are some questions to consider and to spur us on:

  • What Bible character inspired you the most?
  • Which story surprised you?
  • What are three errors (sins) you need to repent of and move away from?
  • What are three errors (sins) you must guard against, so you don’t repeat those mistakes?
  • What three characteristics from these Old Testament people can you celebrate and imitate?
  • What three characteristics can you aspire to follow so you become more Christlike?

Contemplate your answers, and seek God to help you move forward. May he bless you as you read his Word and apply it to your life each day. May he receive your efforts as an act of worship, and may the world see your life as a powerful witness.

[Discover more in 2 Timothy 3:16–17].


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Haman

Haman is the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, but the Bible doesn’t define what an Agagite is. It could be his race, or it could be a creed he holds. Given Haman’s actions, we can wonder if an Agagite is defined by anti-Semitism. Regardless of what Agagite means, we do know that Haman is, in fact, prejudiced.

As the valued advisor of King Xerxes, the king elevates Haman and commands people to kneel before him. Mordecai refuses. In retribution, Haman decides to slaughter Mordecai’s entire race—all the Jews. 

His plan is thwarted, however, when Esther intervenes for her people. As a result, Haman is executed, along with his ten sons.

Haman should have been pleased when the king elevated him in position and stature. He wasn’t. Haman should have been pleased to have people bow in fear and reverence before him. He wasn’t. 

Haman shouldn’t have let Mordecai’s attitude disturb him, but he did. His irrational anger and lust for revenge so controlled him that it resulted in his death. In the end he lost his life, along with the position and prestige the king granted him.

When have we been unhappy with what we’ve had and strived for more? When have we overreacted—in thought or in deed—to a situation or circumstance?

[Read Haman’s story throughout Esther 3–9.]

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Hegai

Hegai is not a well-known biblical figure. He’s virtually unheard of. His name only shows up four times in Scripture, all in Esther 2. At best, most readers consider him a footnote to Esther’s story. But his role may have been pivotal in her quest to find favor with the king.

Hegai, a eunuch, oversees the king’s harem of virgins as they await their turn to spend the night with him. Afterward, they join the king’s harem of concubines, under the direction of another eunuch.

As she awaits her turn, Esther wins the favor of Hegai. He gives her extra attention and a special place in the harem. When it’s her turn to sleep with the king, she seeks Hegai’s advice. We don’t know what he suggests, but he must have given her wise counsel, for the next day Xerxes proclaims Esther as queen.

Though this outcome is no doubt a result of Esther’s actions, let’s not dismiss Hegai’s role in this. God may have used his sound advice to bring about Esther’s success, putting her in position for what happens next.

When people seek our counsel, do we give them the soundest advice we can? Regardless of our job, do we always do our best?

[Read Hegai’s story in Esther 2:3–15.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Esther

After King Xerxes banishes Queen Vashti from his presence, he regrets his rash decision, his irrevocable edict. His aides suggest that he find a replacement. They round up the most beautiful virgins in the land for the king to try out (yes, it’s as bad as it sounds). The most pleasing one will be crowned queen. 

This isn’t a voluntary beauty pageant. It’s conscripted service that forces the selected women into a harem. Esther, also called Hadassah, is rounded up in the dragnet. She waits at least four years for her assigned time to spend the evening with the king.

After she sleeps with the king, he proclaims her queen. 

When Haman plots the Jews’ extermination, Mordecai challenges Esther, his relative and adopted daughter, to intervene with the king on the Jews’ behalf. She balks. It’s been a month since she’s seen the king, and she risks immediate execution by appearing before him without a summons. Mordecai begs Esther to take the risk, saying, “What if God put you in your position to address this exact situation?”

Eventually she agrees. “If I die, then I die,” she says. 

In preparation, Esther fasts for three days and asks others to fast with her.

When she approaches the king, he spares her life. Instead of directly appealing to him, however, she invites him and Haman to a private banquet with her that night. She then requests they come a second evening. At this second dinner, she reveals Haman’s plot, appealing to the king for justice. 

Because of her actions, Haman is executed, and the Jews are granted the right to defend themselves and attack their enemies. 

The festival of Purim celebrates Esther and her heroics in saving her people.

Though she took time to pray and fast, Esther bravely set her own safety aside and risked her life to save others.

Are we willing to work to save the lives of others even if it puts ours in jeopardy? What risks will we endure to do what’s right?

[Read Esther’s story in Esther 2–10.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Mordecai (2)

Mordecai is a descendant of the Jews exiled by Nebuchadnezzar when he conquered Judah. Mordecai takes care of Esther, his orphaned niece. In this we see Mordecai as a man of integrity who cares for his relative. He adopts her and treats her like a daughter.

Esther is beautiful, with an attractive figure.

When King Xerxes seeks a replacement for Queen Vashti, Esther is one of the virgins rounded up in the national initiative to find a new queen. 

Mordecai instructs Esther to keep her nationality and background secret. We don’t know why he does so, but it may be that he fears anti-Semitism from the king’s court. Mordecai does what he can to check on his adoptive daughter as she waits in the king’s harem.

Around this time, the king elevates one of his advisors, Haman, to a position of high authority. Everyone kneels in honor before Haman, as the king commands, but Mordecai refuses to do so. 

Though the Bible doesn’t explicitly say it, we can assume Mordecai sees bowing to Haman as being disrespectful toward God, who is the only one deserving his homage.

Mordecai’s refusal to bow enrages Haman. He embarks on an extreme revenge campaign, but killing just one Jew isn’t enough. To get back at Mordecai, Haman plans to kill all the Jews who live throughout the nation’s provinces. He wants to exterminate the entire race.

Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman could cost him his life—and the lives of all his people.

Are we willing to honor God even if it might result in our death? Will we maintain our integrity even if it puts other people’s lives in jeopardy?

[Read Mordecai’s story throughout Esther 2–10.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Vashti

At this point, some of God’s people have returned home from exile, but not all have. 

Back in Persia (formerly Babylon) the mighty King Xerxes shows off his wealth, splendor, and majesty to his people for a full 180 days, nearly half a year. Then he gives a weeklong banquet for everyone in the citadel, complete with an open bar.

At the same time, Queen Vashti gives her own celebration, a seven-day party for the women of the palace. 

On day seven, an inebriated Xerxes commands the beautiful Vashti to parade herself in front of his drunken guests. The virtuous queen, however, refuses to debase herself before their ogling eyes. 

Embarrassed, the enraged ruler asks his advisors what to do. Their answer is quick. 

They want to keep other women from following Vashti’s example of insubordination and thereby disrespecting their husbands. They fear widespread marital conflict. Therefore, they advise the king to immediately remove Vashti from her position as queen and forever ban her from being in his presence. 

With little thought, the king agrees to their proposal. He issues an irrevocable edict and sends Vashti away. 

Queen Vashti reacted to the king’s degenerate request with chaste virtue. She refused to stoop to his drunken depravity, regardless of the cost. In doing so, she paid a heavy price for her integrity. 

This is the last we hear of Vashti in Scripture.

How much value do we place on maintaining our integrity? How much will we risk to do what’s right?

[Read Vashti’s story in Esther 1:7–20.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Geshem

The final member in the trio of opposition to Nehemiah is Geshem, an Arab.

Once Nehemiah finishes rebuilding the walls, but before he can set the gates, Sanballat and Geshem send Nehemiah a message, imploring him to meet with them.

Nehemiah realizes this is a ploy. He knows they want to hurt him, possibly even kill him, so he declines. Four times they send him this message, and four times he says, “No.”

The fifth time, Sanballat and Geshem send Nehemiah the same message via a courier, along with an unsealed letter. In it, they accuse Nehemiah of inciting a revolution and trying to set himself up as king. Sanballat states that Geshem can confirm these charges are true. 

In their desperation to stop Nehemiah, Geshem libels him, stating outright lies as truth.

What should we do when others attack our character? What is a God-honoring way to respond when people lie about us? 

[Read Geshem’s story in Nehemiah 2:19 and 6:1–7.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Tobiah (2)

Tobiah the Ammonite is the second of three people who oppose Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the wall. He takes his lead from Sanballat. At one point we even see Tobiah at Sanballat’s side, agreeing with him and speaking against the wall as Nehemiah works to rebuild it.

Later, the pair hires Shemaiah to oppose Nehemiah and intimidate him by claiming there’s a death threat against him, attempting to distract him from his work.

Tobiah’s main part in the opposition to Nehemiah, however, is that he’s receiving intelligence information from the nobles in Judah about Nehemiah and what he is doing. And he is in communication with them, attempting to influence them. 

Whereas Sanballat heads up the opposition, we see Tobiah working behind the scenes to gather information and influence the people to advance their agenda. 

Like Sanballat, Tobiah is also allied with the Jews through the marriages of both him and his son. Tobiah even has a room improperly assigned to him in the temple courts.

When Nehemiah initiates his final reforms, the people read from the Law of Moses, which says no Ammonites or Moabites can ever enter the temple (Deuteronomy 23:3). As an Ammonite, this includes Tobiah. He’s out.

Have we ever let someone wrongly influence us? Have we ever worked behind the scenes to advance what is right or acted with subversive intent? 

[Read Tobiah’s story in Nehemiah 2:10; 6:10–19; and 13:1–9.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Sanballat

As Nehemiah sets about rebuilding the wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem, he faces obstacles. These come primarily from three men who band together to oppose him and his work. They are Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. Though they share a common goal to stop Nehemiah, each plays a different role in their efforts to halt the rebuilding of the wall.

First is Sanballat. He’s a Horonite, which is likely a race or people group. 

Sanballat heads the opposition to Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall. Tobiah and Geshem take their lead from Sanballat. Without his leadership, the other two men might not have had the boldness to act against Nehemiah’s efforts.

We don’t know Sanballat’s motivation for obstructing Nehemiah’s work, but we do get a hint of it when we later learn that Sanballat’s daughter is married to the high priest’s grandson. This marriage between a priest and a foreign woman is extra distressing because it occurs not long after Ezra’s efforts to eliminate all such unholy marriages.

Perhaps through this alliance, Sanballat enjoys a bit of influence that he fears he might lose under Nehemiah’s leadership. This seems a legitimate concern because Nehemiah later drives away Sanballat’s son-in-law. Implicitly, this removes Sanballat’s connection with the high priest and Jerusalem, lessening his ability to impact what goes on in the temple and in the city.

Have we ever opposed something with selfish motives? Do we use our position to influence God-honoring issues, the matters the Almighty cares about?

[Read Sanballat’s story in Nehemiah 2:10–20; 4:1–7; 6:1–14; and 13:28.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Nehemiah

The events of the book of Nehemiah follow the book of Ezra, with Ezra appearing in the book of Nehemiah and Nehemiah showing up in the book of Ezra. Ezra’s task was rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, whereas Nehemiah focuses on rebuilding the city walls.

Nehemiah’s story begins with him in exile, serving King Artaxerxes as cupbearer. Nehemiah’s brother returns from Judah and tells Nehemiah the deplorable situation in Jerusalem, with its broken walls and burned gates.

Upon hearing this, Nehemiah sits and cries. He mourns and fasts for several days. He prays to God, confessing his sins and those of his family, along with all God’s people, for disobeying the laws of Moses. He ends by asking for favor with the king. Nehemiah is specific, asking God to grant him success that very day.

God, however, delays his response. 

Four months later Nehemiah makes a bold appeal to the king to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city walls. He bravely asks the king to provide resources to make this happen. The king agrees. Nehemiah returns and rebuilds the wall, though not without a bit of drama and severe opposition along the way.

Though Nehemiah led this wall-rebuilding effort with God-honoring wisdom and enjoyed a successful outcome, it all started with prayer and confession.

Do we tend to pray first and then act, or act first and then pray when things don’t work out? Are there any sins we should confess for ourselves, our family, or our community? 

[Read Nehemiah’s story in the book of Nehemiah, especially Nehemiah 2:1–9.]


Learn about more biblical characters in Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.