God's Seven Encouragers in the Old Testament

One of the descriptions of the Bible is it's a book of encouragement to all of us. Did you know there's actually a scripture that tells us that the Bible is a book about encouragement? Now remember, the word encouragement means to inspire with courage and hope. To inspire with courage and hope. And the Bible does that. Notice in Romans chapter 15 verse 4. I'm going to read it from the Passion Translation. Similar to the New King James, but it does use a couple more words here that are important. It says, whatever was written beforehand is meant to instruct us in how to live. The Scriptures impart to us encouragement and inspiration so that we can live in hope and endure all things. Quite a scripture to remember, Romans 15.4. And one of the ways that the Scriptures give us encouragement is to provide us with examples of those who encouraged others to be faithful in God's ways. This is something we need to do as well in our own lives and persevere in it. It is so important to be an encourager, to have in the family someone like that. Others can go so far. Parents should be encouragers above all of their children. Yes, they are to guide. Yes, they are to discipline. But mainly, it is to encourage. I'm going to be giving a series of sermons on this. Today, it will be God's seven encouragers in the Old Testament. Then next time I speak, I plan to give it on God's seven encouragers in the New Testament. And then the principles of encouragement throughout the Bible. Here we are going to go over 14 different Bible personages that were encouragers. They were God's encouragers. God inspired them. And they, in turn, encouraged others. So we begin with the first of God's encouragers that I have on this list. And that was Noah. Just think what a tough job he had to encourage his family not to get down, not to feel silly of building this huge ship on the plains, probably far away from any ocean. But if you built a huge ship like that, how in the world were you going to transport it? It didn't have wheels. It didn't have sleds. How could you encourage your family to help out? We don't know how many others helped out, but it appears that it was mostly Noah and his small family. It took him 100 years to do so. But he encouraged them. And notice in Hebrews 11, verse 7, I'll read the description about Noah. In the New Living Translation, it says, It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith, Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith. How did Noah have that type of faith? One scripture sums it all up. Genesis 6, verse 9. Genesis 6, verse 9 says, This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. There's the key phrase. In other words, he had a personal relationship with God, talked with him daily, meditated on his ways, and applied those principles on a daily basis in his life. Do we do the same? Walking with God is something that we do when we pray, when we study the Bible, when we meditate. Because we draw closer to God. We start thinking about his thoughts, his ways, the application of his laws in our lives. And so Noah walked with God. He wasn't once a week. This is a way of having companionship with God. In Genesis 7.1, it adds, So he talks about being perfect and righteous. He was talking about how he had set an example of following God in that whole generation of people. And that he set the example.

So Noah was an encourager. He instructed his children and other people. He was a preacher of righteousness. He was hoping some would repent and would save themselves. There was plenty of room for more people in the ark, and yet no one paid attention. Just like in the days of Noah, so it will be in the coming of Christ. How many will pay attention to God's truths? Very few. And despite the great odds, Noah got the job done. He fulfilled it. And he was a great encourager. How would you like to get to know Noah in the world tomorrow? And I'm sure he's going to have a lot of stories, and he's going to encourage people. He had one of the toughest jobs any human being ever had, and he showed patience and faith in carrying it out. He is an encourager for us. A second encourager, led by God, was Abraham. He was an outstanding family man. He encouraged his family to follow God. It wasn't just him. It was also his children. Notice in Genesis 18, verse 17. It says, Abraham was a diligent encourager in his family to follow God, to not get discouraged, to not get turned off, not to follow the ways of the world. They were exposed to all of that, but it was Abraham's great example that helped so much. His son Isaac, and then his grandson Jacob, to follow God. As a matter of fact, God would later identify himself throughout the Bible as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Three generations. It wasn't just Abraham. It was his son Isaac, and also his grandson Jacob. And God knew this man is going to teach, and he's going to give an example to his children.

So that's the second great encourager in the Old Testament. We go to a third who was Joseph, actually Abraham's great grandson, Jacob's son. He was a great encourager. Despite what his brothers had done to him, virtually left him there to die when he was a young man, he forgave them and encouraged them later in life to go forward in faith. That God had great plans for them despite their weaknesses. And out of them would come the 12 tribes of Israel, which are the 12 tribes of Jacob. The 12 sons. And of course, adding there some of the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. In Genesis 10, I mean Genesis 50, verse 15, Genesis 50, verse 15, we see Joseph's brothers are very concerned because their father Jacob had died. They knew what they had done in his early life, tried to kill him. And so here in verse 15, it says, when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, perhaps Joseph will hate us and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him. So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, and they didn't even want to go before him, they sent someone else to do the dirty work here because they were concerned about what the consequences could be. Saying, before your father died, he commanded saying, thus you shall say to Joseph, I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. Now, please forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father and Joseph who wept when they spoke to him. Yes, because he had already forgiven them. They lacked the faith. They lacked trusting in Joseph. And he wasn't there to avenge, to bring back those unpleasant memories of what they had done. And so he said in verse 18, then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, behold, we are your servants. Joseph said to them, do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? God is going to judge all of you. But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones, the children. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Yes, he encouraged them.

And not only did he encourage them that things were going to go well, God was working things out. Joseph recognized that. He did not take vengeance upon them at all. And then he goes on to say, in verse 24, and Joseph said to his brethren later, when he was old in age, he says, I am dying, but God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land, to the land of which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here. So Joseph died, being 110 years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. And one of the things in the next book of Exodus that when Israel came out, they came out with Joseph's remains so that he could be buried in the Promised Land. And so he encouraged them. God was going to carry out his promises, and they would inherit the Promised Land. Let's go to our fourth encourager in the Old Testament. Moses. As we read, so many times Israelites were ready to give up, to surrender, to go back as slaves in Egypt. And it was Moses who gave them encouragement to go on, to trust in God and obey. Notice in Exodus 14, verse 10. Exodus 14, verse 10.

This is when Pharaoh cornered them against the Red Sea, and when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness? And Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians, whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. Now, that was just the beginning, but for forty long years, how many times Israel did not deserve to exist, Israel did not deserve to be God's people, and many times it was Moses entreated God. Please don't destroy them. Give them another opportunity. And He encouraged them all the way. If He would have been a discourager, He would have given up on them. He would have just said, you're not worth it. God said He's going to make a new and more obedient and yielding nation. But that wasn't what Moses was all about. It wasn't about Him. It was about carrying out God's will and keeping the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so, Moses was a great encourager.

We go to the fifth encourager, King David, whose faith filled Israel with encouragement all the way from slaying Goliath to building a stable and prosperous kingdom that obeyed God. Notice in Psalm 78, Psalm 78, starting in verse 70, describes the way David took care of the kingdom of Israel. Psalm 78, verse 70, He also chose David, His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds, from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob, His people, and Israel, His inheritance. So He shepherded them according to the integrity of His heart and guided them by the skillfulness of His hands. He was a man that really served God's people, and people loved Him for it. He was a great encourager, writing those wonderful hymns that were just praising God, encouraging God's people. How many times did David compose hymns to God? Notice another scripture in Ezekiel 34. David made such an impression on God as far as a man that led Israel with humility, with the fear of God. He wasn't perfect by any means, but he certainly was faithful in great part. In Ezekiel 34, verse 20, It says, Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, Behold, I myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep, because you have pushed with the side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad. Talking about Israel's leaders way past David's time. We're talking about here in Ezekiel's day, sometime in the 600s. And yet David was king in the year 1000. So it was a couple hundred years after David had died, that God tells the people that when he sets up his kingdom, he's going to have a real shepherd, that is an encourager, and loves, and cares for his people. And so he goes on to say, Verse 22, Therefore, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be a prey, and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them. My servant David, he shall feed them, and be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David, a prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. So David made such a deep impression on God, that God says in God's kingdom, in that first resurrection, when David comes up, he has qualified to rule over those twelve tribes of Israel. And he left that impact of being loving and encouraging and following God as faithfully as he could throughout his life. So David is another one of those great examples of an encourager in the Old Testament. And then we come to the sixth, which is a personage that you usually don't hear too much about. I'm sure when I mention him, it's not going to be like the other ones, that you will just immediately recall. Because this was a man that God used to encourage David when he was fleeing from his son Absalom, where things looked so dire and dark. David barely got some of his own men to flee from Jerusalem with him. He had to cross over the Jordan. And of course, they had left behind foodstuff and weapons and whatever. They looked like they were going to be completely destroyed by the rebellion of his son Absalom. But here appeared this elderly man named Barcelay. Barcelay, in 2 Samuel 17, is the story the Bible gives of He who came and encouraged David when he was in the depth of despair. Notice 2 Samuel 17, verse 27.

It says, after David had fled with his men, Now it happened when David had come to Mahanaim, This was across the Jordan River, Eshobi the son of Nahash from Rabah of the people of Ammon, Maker the son of Ammiel from Lodibar and Barcelay, The Gilead. This is an Israelite from Gilead. That was one of the areas of Israel from Rojalim. Brought beds and basins, earthen vessels and wheat, barley and flour, Parts grain and beans, lentils and partseeds, honey and curds, Sheep and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him to eat, For they said the people were hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness. Pretty obvious that the person who wrote this down knew what he was talking about. All those details, all those different foodstuffs that are described. And then it goes on, Where Barcelay risked his life, his wealth, by backing David. And Barcelay could have lost all his wealth and even his life if the battle had ended differently. But he loved David. He backed him, risking everything at that time. And notice in 2 Samuel chapter 19, verse 31, After Absalon is defeated, David is ready to come back to rule in Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 19, verse 31, In Barcelay the Gilead came down from Rojalim and went across the Jordan with the king, To escort him across the Jordan. Now Barcelay was a very aged man, eighty years old, And he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, For he was a very rich man. And the king said to Barcelay, Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem. Come, I'm going to be enthroned again. We're going to have a great celebration. You are one of those people that I'm so grateful. You were there when I was down in the dumps. You encouraged me, not only with words, but with supplies.

Verse 32, no, verse 34, But Barcelay said to the king, How long have I to live that I should go up with a king to Jerusalem? I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? One of the things people lose, eventually, is the sense of taste. Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? He also lost a lot of his hearing. Why, then, should your servant be a further burden to my lord, the king? Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king, and why should the king repay me with such a reward?

Please let your servant turn back again, and that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant, Shimon. Let him cross over with the lord, the king, and do for him what seems good to you. So he was a very generous man. He said, well, I'm too old, but here's a faithful servant.

I want him to receive these rewards. And the king answered, Shimon shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you. That was David's appreciation. Then all the people went over the Jordan, and when the king had crossed over, the king kissed Barcelay and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.

Just one personage. Don't hear too much. But look how important he was in the life of King David. King David might not have survived if it had not been for this loyal and faithful man of God. Notice later on in 1 Kings 2, verse 7, to show that David never forgot that encouraging word, an act of loyalty and kindness from Barcelay. It says, David was about to die. He had turned over the kingdom to Solomon, and he says, But show kindness to the sons of Barcelay, the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table.

For so they came to me when I fled from Absalon, your brother. Here's a man that didn't give up, betray David, and David never forgot him. Actually, he had Barcelay's children right there in the throne room. They would eat with him, all because of that noble gesture, that note and action of encouragement that is recorded in the Scriptures. That takes us to the last, but certainly not the least, of God's encouragers in the Old Testament.

One of my favorite personages, Nehemiah, the governor of Judea, came back, built the wall around Jerusalem. What an encouraging leader was he! Notice in Nehemiah chapter 2, Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 17, Nehemiah, who was the king's cup holder. Nowadays, like in the White House, he would have been part of the king's cabinet, and he would have been in charge of everything that had to do with the king's meals, providing all kinds of security for the king. I remember reading about when they discovered one of the palaces there in Assyria, and they actually found a list with the different salaries listed according to the king's personnel.

And of course, the king, the first up in the line, was the commander of the armed forces, and then the commander of what was his transportation, and all that had to do with communications. And basically, the cup bearer was about the third in the kingdom, because he was the king's confidant, he was the one that was with the king. If somebody wanted to poison the king, it had to go through this person. And so he had to be very loyal and dedicated. And Nehemiah mentions that he was the cup bearer.

He had a privileged condition, and yet he decided to go to Jerusalem because there was a great need. And God's people were not safe. They just had a little shrine, but there wasn't any walls around Jerusalem, so the enemies could just come, rampaged through. They didn't have any protection. And it was Nehemiah who decided to do this. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 17, when he shows up, he was the king's representative there.

He says in verse 17, talk to the people after surveying everything that was needed. He says, Then I said to them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach. Notice he included them. And he included himself. He didn't say, You are the ones that have this problem. You're the ones that haven't carried out. No. He says, We have this situation. Let us come and we all will build it. In verse 18, And I told them of the hands of my God, which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, Let us rise up and build. Then they set their hands to do this good work. They were encouraged. They were inspired. There was a man of God who said, We can do this. God is with us. Just like God opens these doors. This place here has been a big blessing because we had needed a new place. Things were not working out well where we were. And yet God opened up a place. We should be encouraged that God provides for us. Let's go to a scripture. Keep one finger here in Nehemiah. In Ephesians chapter 3, I mentioned this scripture to someone this week when they were talking about how appropriate this place was, and that we had looked for years and haven't been able to find anything similar. Notice what it says here in chapter 3. In verse 20, it says, Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. So God does things unexpectedly and more than we could imagine. This has been the case here.

And then in chapter 5 of Nehemiah chapter 5 in verse 14. Here, Nehemiah shows the contrast between him and the past leaders that had come, that had governed in that area, but basically were governing for their own interests. They were putting their own interests first, and Nehemiah wasn't that way at all. And so here God reveals this little insight into how Nehemiah operated as a God-fearing leader. He says in verse 14, Nor my brothers ate the governor's provisions, but the former governors, who were before me, laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver. In other words, tax them to be able to, for them to eat, and they would just take certain percentages of everybody's foodstuffs and production and money. Even though the people were pretty poor, the governors could care less. They were going to provide for themselves first. He goes on to say, Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God. Again, the fear of God has to do with deeply respecting God's ways, but also fearing the consequences of doing the wrong things before God, and having God then pay. And punish. He goes on to say, All my servants were gathered there for the work. So he didn't say, well, you guys do that. Oh, I need my servants to take care of me and my governor's palace and all the food. No, he says, I went out there. He worked. He put his servants to work. He didn't charge the people for that.

Going on, he says in verse 17, And at my table were 150 Jews and rulers besides those who came to us from the nations around us. So he was a governor. He represented the Persian Empire, the most powerful empire in those days. And that Persian Empire was fabulously wealthy. And so as one of the governors that was there, he had a lot that he was paid handsomely. But instead of focusing on himself, he had 150 of the people be able to eat with him from his money, from what was his payments from the government. And not only that, he says, Besides those who came to us from the nations around us, he took it out of his own pocket. Verse 18, Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six-choice sheep. In here you got steaks. Most people didn't eat meat unless there was a special occasion like a marriage or a feast. But here you had a whole ox and six-choice sheep. Also, fowl were prepared for meat. Chicken was very popular in those days, too. And once every ten days, an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this, I did not demand the governor's provisions. I did not tax the people. Because the bondage was heavy on this people. And what does he say? Is he boasting? Is he trying to impress others? He's reminding God, Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. In other words, have mercy on me. Take this into account what I have done for others. And so, at the end of the account of Nehemiah, he goes on to succeed.

Notice what it says at the very end in verse 29 of Nehemiah 13. He says, Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. Thus I cleanse them of everything pagan. And so, God's church always has to be cleansing ourselves from everything that is pagan. That's why we don't keep the feasts of this world. That's why we don't keep the pagan ideas about God as this mystery of three and one and all of this. Instead of a family composed of God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son and our elder brother, pagan ideas that have contaminated Christianity. And so, He had to clean things up. Goes on to say in verse 30, I also assign duties to the priests and the Levites, each to His service and to bringing the wood offering and the first fruits at appointed times. Remember me, O my God, for good. So, that was Nehemiah's chief concern. He knew he needed God's mercy, and he acted on what he could to serve God's people faithfully. So, these are examples for us to encourage one another, to encourage our families, friends, those new people at church, and encourage the widow, the orphan, the person in need, as Ray mentioned in that first message.

And let us remember that God is the ultimate and greatest encourager of all as our Father. Both God the Father and Jesus Christ, our elder brothers, are the greatest of encouragers. Notice what it tells us in Hebrews 4. Verse 14, it says, Let us hold fast our confession, our confession, our faith, our commitment. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, that encouragement that comes from God. Just one final scripture in Luke 12. 32. I'll read it here.

God the Father and Jesus Christ and how they're concerned. This little flock of theirs, which they love, that they know is a church that is following them faithfully. Jesus said, Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

God wants that. Everything that we do, every sacrifice, will be multiplied by blessings, in multifold ways. And so, next in the series, remember, we'll go into God's seven encouragers in the New Testament.