Insight for Living with Dr Terry Boyle

In a series about characters in the Bible, it is worth stopping to give attention to the principal character of the Bible. Our scriptures are all about God's personal dealings with His creatures, and He gave us a special, personal name by which to know Him. The indescribable God with the unpronounceable name.

Who has Wonderful for a name? Well according to the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus does. It is part of His title as the righteous king of the realm of God's dominion. His administration is and will be breath-taking.

To lose a life through another man's sin. It's always a tragedy, and this weekend we look at two such victims. Uriah wasn't a native Israelite, but he was fiercely loyal to David his king. His integrity reminds us that duty and valour might not always be rewarded, but they will always be remembered.

Two friends for the road this weekend. Silas accompanied Paul after the bitter argument with Barnabas. Together they travelled through Turkey and Greece, and Silas probably served as both secretary and assistant to the apostle.

Wavering, ducking responsibility, passing the buck. Not the most admiral qualities for a leader of men. Pontius Pilate didn't even have the sense to listen to his wife's advice. The Roman Procurator was caught between truth and politics, and he chose wrongly.

Nicodemus stepped into the pages of scripture under cover of darkness. He was even the brunt of a little teasing from Jesus as they talked the night away. But he stepped into the light when it mattered.

We know about the life and times of Jesus through Luke's Gospel, and we learn about the growth of the early church from his Book of Acts as well. But what can we discern about this man Luke? This much is clear - everyone needs a friend like Luke.

Out of all the biblical names beginning with the letter J, why pick Judas? The man who betrayed Jesus is a particularly puzzling character. We might take many things for granted when we think of his name, but are there lessons for us to learn from his life?

Habakkuk wasn't afraid to speak up. He took God to task over the way the people of Jerusalem were behaving. It was bad for God's reputation to have such wickedness in the land; why wasn't the Lord doing something about it? It's still a good question.

As our alphabetical study of characters in the Bible continues, we are finding all sorts of examples - both good and bad. Both our subjects this weekend had authority. One used his power selfishly, the other sacrificially. Governor Felix recklessly held the Apostle Paul in prison for no cause, while Governor Gedaliah graciously led the prophet Jeremiah to freedom... and it cost him his life.

Demetrius was an enemy of the church, a pagan silversmith whose business plan was threatened by the growth of the Christian church in Ephesus. His strategy was to incite a riot among the tradesmen and his hope was to snuff out the influence of Paul's teaching.

What's in a nickname? Nothing much perhaps. But for a certain Levite named Joseph from Cyprus, his nickname became his only name. The Apostles of the early church dubbed him Barnabas, and that's the name that stuck. His nickname is defined for us by Luke to mean Son of Encouragement. True to his new name, Barnabas had a reputation for being an encourager and an advocate.

Absalom was born in Hebron to David, the newly-crowned king of Israel. The prince was handsome, dynamic and popular, which is a heady combination for someone prone to hubris. When the royal family eventually established itself in Jerusalem, David's own sinful behaviour created an ethical vacuum, and that presented opportunities for Absalom's arrogance to flourish. He murdered his brother, ousted his father and presumed to make himself king. But as Proverbs says: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."