Contrast of Faith and Unbelief in Bible Stories I said that I was reading the OT and (i think) found a bunch

of these beautiful ironies or contrasts. But a short text that summarizes some of them a lot better than I could is by our Lord himself: Luke 4:25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a grea t famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there we re many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. (http://esv.scripturetext.com/luke/4.htm) More matters of faith? Well get another interesting contrast if we attempt the juxtaposition of Lots elde st daughter (the mother of Moab) with Ruth. Lots eldest didnt have faith and (ing eniously and perversely) solved her problems and lost (almost all her seed becau se they were not part of Gods people) but then Ruth came, and she believed God (b y watching the life of Naomi) and so her son got in the lineage of the Messiah. In Ruths case its hard to see where exactly she had faith, its probably easier to p rove that she had loyalty and was ready for self-sacrifice. But I believe these were just the fruits of her faith, which didnt have to be based as much on a dogm a as on the special fragrance of the knowledge of God. And this from a person fr om Gods people like Naomi who, though fallible and sometimes doubtful, had someth ing of Gods presence over her life. Another interesting twist: The youngest getting the blessing both in Jacobs case and Josephs son and also in the case of David vs. his brothers, when Gods Law assured a bigger blessing for t he first-born. Comparing the faith of a father and son: We see Jonathan exhibiting a lot more faith and reliance on God than Saul who se ems to base his decisions on his own whims. http://esv.scripturetext.com/1_samue l/14.htm The influences in ones life as a factor on our faith: This can be seen in comparing Esther with the step-daughter of Salome. Both of t hem were offered a wish up to half the kingdom. One chose to save an entire peop le, and another to destroy the messenger of God. One had the promiscuous wife of Herods brother as an influence, the other the godly Mardochai. Faith and reasoning of a man and woman: Samsons parents after seeing the Angel of the Lord: He: were going to die She: He wouldnt have accepted our offering if He was going to kill us. Guess what? She was right :) Conclusion: Its a lot harder to figure out the ways of the Lord, than one might think. His wa ys and way of thinking may (should) surprise us. But theres still a pattern to Hi

s ways (Psalm 103:7). What we need is a teachable heart, like that of Ezekiel: O Sovereign LORD, you alone know. http://bible.cc/ezekiel/37-3.htm