Many Christians have favourite characters in the Bible. Mostly, these figures are famous, including the Lord Jesus (of course), the apostles Paul, Peter and John, as well as the Old Testament heroes King David, Joshua, Moses, Joseph and Abraham.
We surely can learn a lot of things from these figures, gaining insights that will help us live the godly life we are supposed to live.
On the other hand, the Bible also includes a cast of characters who are lesser-known. Despite their short cameo appearance, or the seemingly insignificant story or plot that they play in, they are still included in the interwoven tapestry of God's plan for all, and we can still learn great lessons from them.
Here are three of the lesser-known Bible figures who we can learn something from.
1. Gehazi
Gehazi is the servant of the prophet Elisha, the successor to Elijah. He had good experiences, but one that is important in particular is the time when he became a greedy man, chasing after Naaman, the Syrian who Elisha had healed from leprosy in 2 Kings 5.
Elisha didn't accept any gift from Naaman despite his offerings for the healing given to him. Gehazi, wanting to get something from it, chased after Naaman without Elisha's permission. He surely received a lot of items, but he also contracted leprosy as a result of his greed.
Lesson? We should not peddle God's goodness in exchange for some material gain. If you will pray for someone, or preach the gospel to them, be careful that you will not be greedy and ask them for anything in return.
2. Jethro
Jethro (also called Reuel) is the father of Zipporah, who is Moses' wife. He was the priest of Midian who took care of Moses after he killed an Egyptian in Exodus 2. Jethro has some lessons to give to Christian servants and leaders in particular.
First, we read in Exodus 18:1-9 that Moses was so focused on his ministry that he sent his wife and two kids home. Jethro, for his part, brought Zipporah and children back to Moses. Lesson? Don't ever leave your family to focus on your ministry. It's a father's (or mother's) responsibility to take care of their family before they take care of someone else.
Second, we read in Exodus 18:13-27 that he gave Moses some wise advice regarding leading a huge group of people. The idea was to share responsibilities with others. Lesson? Don't think that you can take on the responsibility of leading God's people and feeding them alone – you'll need the help of others!
3. Enoch
Enoch had a very powerful cameo appearance in the Old Testament, which states that he lived for 365 years, "walking in close fellowship with God" (see Genesis 5:21-24).
Enoch's life tells us that we can actually cultivate a powerful relationship with the Lord and not get tired of Him for the rest of our life, no matter what we face!
Aside from that, we can also see that a close fellowship with God gives benefits. First, the opportunity to know the secret things of God. Jude 14 tells us that he was able to prophesy from the Old Testament times regarding people in the last days. This is something that only God knows!
Second, deliverance. God took Enoch away because "he was known as a person who pleased God" (see Hebrews 11:5). Because of this, Enoch was able to skip death long before Christ defeated it in Calvary. What privilege!
Enoch is a great reminder that we should prioritise our relationship with God, to walk with Him in close fellowship all the days of our lives.
