Workers in the Bible

"Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was." -Acts 18:1-3

Often we might think that the first disciples lived as missionaries like missionaries do in the modern day. We might think that all of the disciples were supported completely by the early church to go and preach the gospel.

But, Paul was a tentmaker. His friends Priscilla and Aquila were also tentmakers. He said, "We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living." (1 Corinthians 4:12) And, "Don't you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God's Good News to you." (1 Thessalonians 2:9)

Some of the most well-known people in the Bible were businesspeople. Abraham was a herdsman, a wealthy businessman in that day. Moses was a manager in Egypt, then a herdsman. David was a shepherd, then a king. Job was a wealthy businessman. So was Boaz.

We should not put how God works in a box. Many of the "regular" workers in the Bible were mightily used by Him to spread the gospel of God's kingdom and the message of salvation throughout the earth.

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others." -1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12

Related resource: The 9 to 5 Window by Os Hillman

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