Today you will meet great men of the Bible who left us great teachings, some were faithful to God, others approached Him, but all are protagonists of biblical passages.
The Bible is full of stories of great men who lived for God and accomplished amazing things. These men were not perfect, but they had faith, courage, and wisdom.
They faced challenges, temptations, and trials, but they overcame them by God’s grace and power. They were leaders, prophets, warriors, kings, and apostles, but they were also humble, obedient, and loving. They left a legacy of inspiration and influence for generations to come.
In this post, we will introduce you to 20 great men of the Bible, and share some of the lessons we can learn from their lives.
20 Great Men of the Bible
These are some of the great men of the Bible, perhaps some are better known than others, but they all form an important part of the Holy Scriptures.
1. Jesus Christ
The central character of the story is the most impressive figure in the Bible, his presence is revealed explicitly in the Gospels and in the New Testament, and implicit in the Old Testament. Christ was much more than a man, but we include him in this list because he was also a man and he shared our limitations.
Some impressive facts about Christ:
- In just 3 and a half years of ministry, he did more than all the philosophers and sages of antiquity, he revolutionized the world dividing it into before and after;
- He never wrote anything, but he is the most written about person on earth;
- never graduated from any school, but he is the most respected and qualified teacher known;
- never held public office, but he is the most prominent leader in human history;
- All the great personalities that represent the most varied religions on earth lie in their tombs, but Christ lives and intercedes for his children until today in heaven.
2. Adam
The first man endowed with incomparable consciousness and knowledge, the most perfect and complete being of divine creation.
It is estimated that he was between 3 and 4 meters tall, with extraordinary mental power, capable of naming and remembering the name of an almost infinite number of specimens of animals and breeding plants, using only his brain.
3. Enoch: The Man Who Walked with God
The seventh after Adam, he distinguished himself by maintaining a continuous communion with the Creator, to the point of being taken alive to heaven without passing through death.
Enoch is one of the most intriguing and mysterious figures in the Bible. He is mentioned only briefly in the book of Genesis, but his life has inspired many Jewish and Christian traditions.
Enoch’s example challenges us to examine our own walk with God, and to seek a closer and deeper relationship with him. He also encourages us to live in the light of God’s truth and grace, and to proclaim his message to a dark and dying world. He also reminds us of our hope and destiny, which is to be with God forever in his glory.
4. Noah
Noah was a righteous man who walked with God in a wicked generation. He obeyed God’s command to build an ark and save his family and the animals from the Great Flood that destroyed the earth.
Noah’s faith and obedience to God preserved humanity and the animal kingdom, and earned him God’s favor and blessing. Noah teaches us to trust God’s promises and follow His instructions, even when they seem impossible or unreasonable.
5. Abraham: The Father of Faith
Friend of God and father of faith, he was a nomad called to be the heir and precursor of the Hebrew people who became Israel, the nation that surrounds the entire plot of the Holy Bible.
Abraham was called by God to leave his homeland and family and go to a land that God would show him. He believed God’s promise that he would become the father of a great nation, even though he was old and childless. He was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, the son of promise, when God tested his faith.
Abraham’s willingness to follow God’s call and his role as the father of faith make him one of the most influential men in the Bible. Abraham teaches us to have faith in God’s plan and provision, even when we do not see the outcome.
6. Job: The Man of Patience
A witness to God’s justice and benevolence, Job was one of the most suffering men in the Bible, but he was also one of the most blessed.
He had a total of 20 children, the first 10 of whom died in his ordeal. He remained steadfast in his faith, even being subjected to the most severe tribulations in material, family, social and emotional life.
His experience is a testimony to the justice of God’s law and evidence of the falsehood and baselessness of Lucifer’s rebellion.
It is assumed that Moses was the author of the book of Job and that he wrote it even before Genesis, thus making it the oldest book in the Bible.
7. Joseph
Betrayed by his own brothers, he was wrongfully sold as a slave to Egypt, where he came to play an important role in administration and politics. A man of vision and integrity, responsible for preserving the lives of thousands of people during the 7-year drought in that region.
It was mummified and transferred in a sarcophagus to the land of Canaan, at the time of the Exodus of the people of Israel in the time of Moses.
8. Moses: The Deliverer of Israel
A distinguished statesman, writer, and legislator of the ancient world, he was also a general and possible successor to the Egyptian throne on the occasion of his flight recorded in chapter 3 of Exodus.
He was responsible for ordering the departure of the Hebrew people from Egypt, being the main leader of the emerging nation, he was also known as the meekest man on earth according to the book of Numbers, chapter 12.
Your life has been subdivided into 3 phases:
- From 1 to 40 years: in Egypt;
- Ages 40-80: In the desert of Midian, herding sheep;
- Ages 80-120: Leading people on the journey to the promised land.
The book of Jude records the episode in which the Archangel Michael came to resurrect Moses and take him to Heaven.
9. David: The Man After God’s Own Heart
He was the second and most famous King of Israel, before having been a shepherd, soldier, and singer/musician.
In the historical record, he is known as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), who was promised that he would always have a descendant on the throne of his dynasty.
Christ in the Bible is called the son of David, a rather striking and significant fact, considering that King David also committed serious sins, such as adultery and murder, but he was incomparable in his conduct of repentance and contrition, for which he was accepted. for God and became an exemplary figure for those in need of mercy.
Despite being forgiven, David suffered until the end of his life the consequences of his mistake, through the disputes that arose against him among his own children.
10. Solomon: The Wisest Man Who Ever Lived
The wisest and richest man in the Bible (but Christ was wiser than him) built one of the most beautiful temples of antiquity.
Solomon was the son of David and the third king of Israel. He asked God for wisdom and discernment, and God granted him not only wisdom, but also wealth and fame. He built the temple of God in Jerusalem and wrote many of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, sharing his insights and observations on life. He also married many foreign women and worshiped their idols, turning away from God. Solomon’s wisdom and discernment, as well as his folly and idolatry, reveal his strengths and weaknesses. Solomon teaches us to seek God’s wisdom and avoid worldly temptations, even when we have abundance or power.
He composed many proverbs and songs, most of which are found in the books of Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Songs, in the Old Testament.
11. Elijah: The Prophet of Fire
He was a prophet who prayed that it would not rain, and for 3 years and 6 months, it did not rain on the earth in the days of King Ahab in Israel, a period of great apostasy promoted by Queen Jezebel, instigator of the cult of the god Baal.
Elijah during this drought was miraculously fed by ravens and a widow when a bowl of oil and a handful of flour was enough to feed 3 people for many days.
Notable scenes from Elijah’s life:
- He prayed and brought down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel to consume an offering, while the prophets of Baal got nothing;
- He walked 40 days with the strength of bread baked on coals and prepared by an angel;
- He made fire come down from heaven twice in a row that consumed a total of 100 soldiers and 2 captains of the army of Israel at the time of the wicked King Ahaziah;
- He opened the Jordan River, passing dry through the middle next to Elisha;
- He ascended to heaven in a whirlwind with chariots and horses of fire, going through the same experience as Enoch, going to heaven without seeing death, with Elisha as a witness.
12. Jeremiah
He was a prophet who warned the people of Judah before captivity in Babylon, his book is one of the largest in the Bible and records the events that marked the deportation.
Jeremiah was called by God to recommend to the King and the people that they accept being slaves in Babylon because this was a divine judgment to punish Israel for their sins and idolatry.
God forbade him to marry and have children, in his ministry he was imprisoned, thrown into a well, accused of being a traitor, and came to die after his predictions came true, he left a powerful message to the world with his life and testimony.
13. Daniel: The Man of Integrity
He was one of the captives taken by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon at the time of the deportation of the nation of Judah and was noted for his intelligence, leadership, and ability to interpret dreams.
He deciphered the monarch’s dream about the statue with the head of another that was destroyed by a stone cut without the help of hands. His visions and dreams demarcated the exact period of Christ’s birth and the beginning of the end time with the prophecy of the 2300 evenings and mornings (Dan. 8:14).
He was also an eminent ruler in the kingdom of Persia, having survived a night in a pit full of lions, coming out unscathed.
His book is one of the most profound in the Bible and reveals events that will still take place in future days.
14. Ezra
As a priest and scribe responsible for editing and compiling most of the Old Testament, he played an important role alongside Nehemiah in organizing the nation after the Babylonian captivity.
Having achieved remarkable influence in the kingdom of Persia, he won favor with those kings to promote the rebuilding of the new temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of the religious structure of its service.
15. Samson.
Samson was a Nazirite and grew up receiving proper spiritual training. As he grew older, the Spirit of the Lord descended on Samson and enabled him to perform great deeds that demonstrated superhuman physical strength (eg, Judges 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14).
Samson got involved with Delilah. This woman lived near her house, and her nationality is not known with certainty, that is, if she belonged to the people of Israel, to the Philistines, or to another people.
Delilah was persuaded by the Philistines and accepted a bribe to discover the source of Samson’s strength and tell the Philistines about it; After Delilah accused him of a lack of love, Samson told her about his Nazirite status and the importance of his hair in relation to the supernatural strength that God had given him.
Delilah quickly called someone to cut Samson’s hair while he slept.
16. John the Baptist
The voice of the one who cries in the desert, according to Christ John was ‘the greatest among those born of women’ (Mt 11,11), his mission was among the noblest entrusted to mortals: to prepare the way for the Messiah.
He lived in the Judean desert preaching and baptizing in the Jordan River, calling everyone to repentance, until Christ began his ministry in Galilee.
He was arrested by Herod and beheaded on the occasion of the impious king’s birthday, at the request of Salome, instigated by Herodias, his mother, who hated John for having publicly denounced his impure relationship with Herod.
17. Paul
Teacher and assiduous writer, he was converted on the way to Damascus when he had the mission of arresting Christians in that city.
He became a herald of the gospel of Christ or, preached to Jews and Gentiles, standing out with this second group.
He wrote 13 epistles of the New Testament, and possibly also that of Hebrews, whose authorship has not yet been confirmed.
He was also one of the apostles who suffered the most, having been flogged, stoned and beaten several times in his missionary campaigns, most often at the hands of the Jewish people themselves.
He also suffered from shipwrecks and was eventually beheaded on the orders of Emperor Nero in Rome.
18. John, the beloved disciple
The role of John in the New Testament was very similar to that of the prophet Daniel in ancient times, through the gospel he wrote and especially the book of Revelation, he shed light until the last days of history, when Jesus will return to restore all things. . .
Previously known as ‘Son of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17) he became a ‘Disciple of love’ when contemplating Christ, he wrote in addition to the gospel that bears his name, the book of Revelation, and 3 epistles where he often calls his listeners of ‘little children.
According to some ancient traditions, John would have been thrown into a boiling cauldron by order of a Roman ruler, but it did not harm him, after which he was deported to the island of Patmos in Greece, where he had the vision of the Apocalypse.
19. Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful king of the Babylonian empire. He conquered the kingdom of Judah and destroyed Jerusalem. The prophet Daniel served in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar.
The Bible tells how Nebuchadnezzar conquered the kingdom of Judah. In his first campaign against Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and forced King Jehoiakim to become his vassal (2 Kings 24:1). He took some noblemen from Judah, including Daniel and his friends, to Babylon.
20. Cain.
Cain was the first person to show how wicked man could be after sin entered the world. The Bible says that Cain brought an offering to the Lord, which was “the fruit of the ground.” His brother Abel, who was a shepherd, offered an offering “of the firstborn of his sheep” (Genesis 4:3, 4), which represented Christ’s sacrifice for man.
God paid attention to Abel’s offering but did not accept Cain’s offering. So he got very angry and God warned him that if he did good he would be accepted, but if he didn’t, sin was already at the door (Genesis 4:5,7). Cain could not control his fallen nature. He invited his brother Abel to go to the field, and there he attacked and killed him.
These are just some of the great men of the Bible who have left a lasting legacy and a powerful testimony for us to learn from and follow. Their lives are not perfect, but they are examples of faith, courage, wisdom, and leadership that we can emulate and aspire to. We invite you to further explore the lives of these men through personal study and reflection, and encourage you to seek inspiration from their examples. May God bless you and guide you as you discover more of His great men in His Word.
Final Thoughts
We have come to the end of this article, where we have learned about 20 great men of the Bible. We have seen how God used them to accomplish his will, and how they demonstrated faith, courage, and wisdom. We have also seen how they pointed to Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived, and the one who died and rose again for our salvation.
I hope you have enjoyed this post, and that you have been inspired and challenged by the lives of these great men of the Bible. I encourage you to read more about them in the Bible, and to apply the lessons they teach us to your own life.
Thank you for reading, and may God bless you!
