God Uses Common People

God uses all sorts of people to do his work—like you and me!

Person

Known as

Task

Reference

Jacob

A deceiver

To "father" the Israelite nation

Genesis 27

Joseph

A slave

To save his family

Genesis 39ff

Moses

Shepherd in exile (and murderer)

To lead Israel out of bondage, to the Promised Land

Exodus 3

Gideon

A farmer

To deliver Israel from Midian

Judges 6:11

Jephthah

Son of a prostitute

To deliver Israel from the Ammonites

Judges 11:1

Hannah

A homemaker

To be the mother of Samuel

1 Samuel 1

David

A shepherd boy and last-born of the family

To be Israel's greatest king

1 Samuel 16

Ezra

A scribe

To lead the return to Judah and to write some of the Bible

Ezra, Nehemiah

Esther

A slave girl

To save her people from massacre

Esther

Mary

A peasant girl

To be the mother of Christ

Luke 1:27-38

Matthew

A tax collector

To be an apostle and Gospel writer

Matthew 9:9

Luke

A Greek physician

To be a companion of Paul and a Gospel writer

Colossians 4:14

Peter

A fisherman

To be an apostle, a leader of the early church, and a writer of two New Testament letters

Matthew 4:18-20