Things I Didn't Learn in Sunday School -- Part 2

Here are 5 more interesting stories or revelations that I learned during my years of personal Bible study, that somehow overlooked my Sunday School teachers...

#6. I Kings 19:19-21 -- Did you know that the prophet Elisha (the one who cursed the kids for calling him a bald head), used to be a rich man before he became a prophet of God? According to I Kings, Elisha was a wealthy farmer, as indicated by the fact that, "He was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair." To be able to plow your fields with that many oxen, required a substantial amount of money. Despite the money, Elisha gave it all up to do the work of the LORD. To show his strong commitment to following God, Elisha, "took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people." With that act, Elisha sacrificed any chance at returning to his old way of life. It would be the equivalent of Donald Trump giving up all his properties and wealth to become a preacher today.

# 7. Genesis 12:13 & 20:2 -- Abraham did what? Yes, he did! Not just once but twice, Abraham lied about being married to his wife in order to protect his own interest. Both times Abraham told someone else that his wife Sarah, was his sister, and he gave her away to someone else because he was afraid that he would not be killed because of her beauty. The first incident was when he was Abram. Abram had gone to Egypt because of a famine. "As he was about to enter Egypt he said to his wife Sarai, 'I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but you will live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for you sake and my life will be spared because of you." He then gave his wife up to become part of Pharaoh's household. Just like Abram predicted, he was given lots of special favors from Pharaoh. Then God brought about serious diseases upon Pharaoh's household, and an angry Pharaoh chastised Abram, gave Sarai back to him and sent him on his way. Later, after God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah, Abraham did it again!! Afraid of King Abimelech of Gerar might do to him, because of his wife's beauty, he once again lied and called Sarah his sister and gave her up to become another wife of King Abimelech. Lucky for Sarah, God informed King Abimelech, in a dream, of Abraham's lies and the situation was rectified. Sarah must have really loved Abraham to let him get away with that kind of behavior. My wife would have left me after the first incident!

#8. Jonah, Chapter 4 -- You mean there's another chapter to Jonah? All the stories I had ever heard about Jonah ended with the citizens of Nineveh hearing the words of Jonah and repenting to follow God. I never knew that Jonah was not OK with all of this. I thought Jonah was just as happy as God that Nineveh repented, but I was wrong. Jonah 4:1 says, "But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry." In verse 3 Jonah says to God, "Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." What kind of ungrateful man he was. After God spared his life for running away from God's mission for him, and getting him out of the belly of a fish for 3 days and nights, Jonah still resented the fact he had to go and speak the good news of God to the people of Nineveh. I never learned that in Sunday School.

#9. Hosea 3:1 -- The prophet Hosea had a cheating wife. Rather than divorce her, as many good Christian men would do with their cheating wives today, Hosea reconciled with her. In Hosea's own words, "The LORD said to me, 'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites..." Hosea was told by God to model the LORD's love for His people by showing forgiveness to his own wife. Hmmm, sounds like a lesson some of us Christians today may need to take head to.

#10. Numbers 11:19-20 -- A fairly gross story...After receiving all the laws of the LORD at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites are finally on their way to the promised land. Not long afterwards they start to whine and complain again. This time about what they God is giving them to eat. They wail that all they eat is manna and "If we only had meat to eat! (v. 4). Angry at their open defiance, God decides to teach them a lesson. He gives them meat (quail to be exact). He also tells them, through Moses, "You will not just eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month -- until it comes out your nostrils and you loathe it." In other words, You want meat, fine! You will eat so much stinkin' meat that you will get so sick of it you will puke it out through your nose.

I hope you enjoy my little tidbits of learning! Please feel free to share any little stories you picked up along the way of your own spiritual journey.