The rich man then realized that his five brothers were in danger of suffering his fate, and he asks Abraham to send Lazarus to them to warn his brothers. Abraham notes however that he never had compassion for Lazarus when they were still alive and that the tables had turned on him and now he was the one suffering in death, whereas Lazarus was finding happiness in the afterlife.

He makes a request to Abraham to allow Lazarus to dip his finger in water, and let him cool his tongue with it. His suffering was so great, that he looked up and saw Lazarus, the man that he ignored in life, in luxury in Abraham's bosom. It was then that the wealthy man woke up in Hell. Around the same time, the rich man died as well. The only comfort Lazarus received was from a group of dogs who took pity on him and licked his sores.Īfter a while, Lazarus died, and he was taken into Abraham's bosom. The rich man knew about Lazarus' condition, yet he never bothered to make Lazarus' situation better and was disgusted by his appearance. He was very famished, and he would even eat whatever the rich man threw in the garbage. However, at his gate, there lived a beggar named Lazarus who was very ill-ridden and had sores all over his body. Slaght and his wife, Joan, live on a 20-acre hobby farm in Statesboro, Georgia.In life, the rich man was extremely wealthy, and nearly had all the comforts of the world at his disposal. Slaght decided to write his own historical fictional account of this fascinating Biblical character.ĭr. Since the Bible reports virtually nothing about Lazarus after his resurrection, Dr. He became interested in Lazarus as a result of a Bible study discussion concerning Lazarus’ resurrection.

He is a Christian, an active member of The Gideons International, former President of the International Church Ministries group, a former deacon in two churches and father of three fine sons. He retired in 2004 with the rank of Career Minister, the highest rank in the Service below ambassador. Foreign Service Officer with 32 years of service in mainly U.S. Reuben and Josiah’s wife, Miriam, have innumerable questions for Josiah, which allow for discussions about a wide range of issues such as: Why did Jesus’ family initially reject his ministry? Should we always do what we can to stop evil from happening? Why did Jesus weep loudly at Lazarus’ tomb? What did Lazarus experience when he died or was he just asleep?įirst century Jewish laws, the importance of the Temple, the history of important Jewish festivals, the interplay between the Sanhedrin and Roman authorities, and what was Jewish life really like in the Roman world, provide interesting context to the entire “rest of the story” about Lazarus.ĭr. Josiah relates the account of Lazarus’ life and deaths to his inquisitive great nephew, Reuben. Many of these joint activities involve Jesus, while others involve Martha and Mary, Philip, James, Zacchaeus, Bartimaeus, Paul of Tarsus and others. They become close friends and, through a wide range of activities, Lazarus brings Josiah to faith. The story is narrated by Josiah, a fictional character, who meets Lazarus in Capernaum.

Lazarus bible story character