GOD’S PEOPLE??
(The Great, the Ordinary and the Really Ugly)
by
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"ABSALOM (Rotten Siblings of the Royal Family)" "According to 1 Chronicles 3, the very famous King David had 19 named sons with several wives. Only 3 of them are remembered-=-the eldest, Amnon, the third eldest, Absalom and one of his last, Solomon. The first two of those 3 are not remembered with any fondness. In fact, the story of those two is as sordid as any of today's Hollywood movies. Was it the PK syndrome at work? Hard to say. Motives are always elusive. But the actions of sex and violence are a matter of the public record. Such behavior is not exactly shocking in today's culture. But it is expected that Scripture will have more elevated themes. But the purpose of such stories in the Bible is entirely different from the purpose of such in the secular world. In present times, such themes are designed simply to titillate and entertain our base natures. In Scriptures, stories of bad examples are not given simply to remind us of what not to do. Nor were they given to show us that biblical persons were just like us--neither better nor worse. Rather, every story is designed to direct our attention to something important about God. If it is blatant sin and sinners, there is always a God of both love and justice who is patiently at work bringing about something positive from our mess-ups. It sometimes takes effort, but the reader must always take the time to look for the reactions of God who is always lurking behind the scenes."
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About the Book
It is a book of people stories, some of which we have heard from childhood. But those stories often came off as all white or beige. A "deeper-dive" reveals how colorful and even unexpectedly flawed some heroes were. But the silver string that ties them all together is the image of the unseen but ever-present, forgiving God whose love is absolutely unremitting. This book highlights, not the flawed humans, but how the God of grace related to such humans--and continues to do so.
About the Author
Dr. Richardson (Retired) is a Professor Emeritus of Andrews University who taught courses in both Old and New Testament for many years. His specialty was New Testament Greek and the Pauline Epistles. His teaching emphasis was to help young people become interested and actually like the study of the Biblical story. His probe into the lives of Biblical personalities has been enthusiastically received by many audiences. Putting the results into print has been his fascinating goal.