As Johann Kaspar once put it, “Stubbornness is the strength of the weak.” All believers wrestle with the temptation of pride in their life, state leaders especially struggle with pride when they are put on display as the face of a nation. In literature, leaders who respond wisely to pride are called “comic heroes”, while leaders who respond foolishly to pride are called “tragic heroes”. The Old Testament story of 1 Samuel tell about the stories of Saul and David and how they struggle with pride and faith in the eyes of God and the nation of Israel. In the book of 1 Samuel, Saul a tragic hero, suffered consequences such as death from the blindness of pride while David, a diminutive shepherd boy with an extraordinary amount of faith in …show more content…
Saul, because blinded by his pride, “spared Agag and the best sheep,” going against God’s judgement, for which God replied, “I regret I have made Saul king” (15:9, 11). Saul’s tragic quality of pride blinds Saul from seeing the truth behind God. He becomes ignorant and stubborn after God informs him on what to do, but because of his pride, Saul goes against God’s will and receives harsh discipline for his disobedient actions. Another example occurs when the prideful King Saul overhears people talking about how great David is, Saul understanding a threat to his kingdom becomes “very angry”, and plots to take out David, because of this, “The Lord departed from Saul” (18:8, 12). Saul lets his pride get the best of him after hearing others talk about how great David is. Unable to control his pride Saul lashes out at David. God, seeing the erratic behavior of this tragic hero punishes Saul by departing from his soul. These two scenarios prove how Saul’s pride grew to overcome his once “living for God lifestyle” of him when he disobeys God and lashes out at David. In conclusion, Saul’s pride blinds his ability to see God, which portrays why he receives punishment and is considered a tragic
David was a young boy who got beaten everyday. He was very skinny, bony, and was beaten everyday. David wore threadbare clothing, he looked as if he hadn't changed or washed his clothes in months. This was the truth, his mother starved him and abused him. She never washed his clothes to embarrass him. This worked at first when people started making fun of him, but David got used to it. Bullies started beating the scrawny boy up everyday, it became a routine, but he was so frail and weak from being starved he couldn?t fight back. David looked muddled, he had a very terrible physical journey that made him mentally stronger.
David was the youngest of seven brothers and was in charge of tending to his father’s sheep while his father and three of his brothers went to war. The Israelites were at a standstill with the Philistines, but were too scared to fight because the Philistine army had a huge giant, named Goliath. David was a scrawny, young boy, but he told Saul that he wished to kill Goliath. He had never killed another human before, but his strength was in his faith that God would protect him. Even though he was offered armor and a sword, he took only what he was used to: a staff, a sling, and five smooth stones. In the end, David hit Goliath with a rock and then cut his head off with Goliath’s own sword. The rest of the Philistine army ran away in fear, leaving the Israelites
The story of the shewbread shows the importance of making wise decisions. David came to the city of Nob seeking help from its inhabitants, and yet when they asked why he was there he lied to them. He told them he was on a mission for the king, when in reality he was running from the king. This caused the people of Nob to commit treason against the king by helping Saul’s enemies and because of David’s lie the people of Nob were executed for treason.
Many people take much pride in numerous things some being: their job, family, political views, even as much as in their favorite sport. People make mistakes big and small, but it is how one deals with the situation and the mistake, that shows the morality in a person, and shows who he or she may be. “The only crime is pride,” Sophocles, is still held to be true; for instance, pride itself can cloud a persons’ mind and caused him or her to commit the crimes he or she did. Pride is thought to be a good thing but in many cases it is proven otherwise. Even though there is some truth in “the only crime is pride” the crimes/mistakes caused by pride are not forgivable, and “yielding” does not help at all; pride is not just to prove oneself right, but also not to look “weak” in the eyes of others.
The book of 1 Samuel, a part of the Old Testament, sparks the dawn of the United Kingdom of Israel by telling of its first king, Saul. Samuel is one of the first talked about pre-literary prophets in the bible perhaps because he anointed the first king of the United Kingdom. He is a prophet by definition because he possessed the ability to converse with the almighty Yahweh. Samuel and Saul are key players to the rise of the kingdom but Saul runs into trouble and disobeys God, which leads him to his own inevitable demise.
Pride puts us in opposition to God, and humility allows us to depend on God and receive His grace. The Apostle Peter teaches this when He says in 1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” He also goes on to say in verse 6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”
Excessive pride also materializes itself as arrogance. It interferes with the individual's acceptance of the grace of God, or the worth which God sees in others. As Mr. Troy asks Hagar, “Don’t you believe, in God’s infinite Mercy?” (120), she replys “What’s so merciful about Him, I’d like to know?” (120). Hagar had developed such pride in herself that she had even let go of God, or the fact that she needed God.
The Old Testament law is seen as irrelevant by most modern Christians today. Christians are now under the blood of Jesus Christ which is said to abrogate the Law. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” The law of Christ is to love God and your neighbor as yourself. This does not mean, however, that the Old Testament Law does not apply to Christians today. Author J. Daniel Hays expounds on this topic in his article, “Applying the Old Testament Law Today,” and focuses on the hermeneutical approach of Principlism. This approach allows the Old Testament Law to be viewed in light of the New Testament.
In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver expresses the theme of cultural arrogance many times throughout the book. Cultural arrogance is when you think your cultural background is better than others, and that everyone should follow your ways. You think that your lifestyle is the correct way to live and that you are better and superior than others. So, you don't feel the need to listen or do anything they say. In The Poisonwood Bible, the theme, cultural arrogance makes you controlling and self-absorbed. This is displayed when Nathan, the Reverend, scolds the Congolese that nakedness is the wrong way to go out in public, and then when Nathan doesn't listen to Mama Tataba when she was trying to teach him the right way to plant the Poisonwood tree, and
Jonathan looked out the palace room window as he recognized the spot that he had left his friend behind just a couple of weeks ago. It was not fair, Jonathan reasoned, that David would be the knew king of Israel. Jonathan had heard that Samuel had anointed David the new king of Israel, but what could be done? Jonathan knew he was the rightful heir of the kingdom of Israel, but he also knew that God would do His will as was right. Jonathan did not want to pout about it, so he decided to serve David in certain ways that he could find. He had already done many things so serve God's chosen heir, but why was he having these doubts that God would not come through. Jonathan reminisced of times before the tragic event of his father's rejection
When reading and studying the Bible we realize that there are many characters with good traits and some with traits that aren’t so favorable. Throughout life, children of God undergo various situations, some in which we prevail, but in others we fail. The story of Simon Peter should serve as a guide to how we shouldn’t let our failures in life define us. As humans should learn from our failures and turn them into lessons.
David’s initial zeal for God and for ethical integrity paved the way for his early fame and fortune, although being a man of warfare and blood (according to the Scriptures), God decided that David was not suitable to rebuild the Temple of God (this responsibility would be in the hands of his son, Solomon). Moreover, David’s illicit affair, the rape of Tamar, and the murder of Ammon, as well as other devious actions, complicated David’s reign even
David did not do everything right just as Saul did not do everything wrong. David is a study in the human condition. As Peterson points out, King David is a “character consisting of humility and adoration, sacrifice and courage, repentance and obedience, loyalty in the community, and love of God.” The story of David shows people that when they use the things that God places in your life He is preparing people for their service to Him. He prayed to God, consulted God in prayer, and unified the northern and southern kingdoms in obedience to
The writing style of an author plays a giant role in expressing certain details and letting the reader become more drawn into the piece of literature. In the story summary David and Goliath, which we get from the first book of Samuel chapter seventeen verses one through fifty eight. This popular bible story expresses how a young and weak teenage boy named David can take down a giant with name of Goliath with faith in God. The use of different elements used throughout the summary such as diction, imagery, and language gives off hopeful feel because the main point of the story is for the reader to understand that anything is possible with God.
The story of David and Goliath illustrates God’s power and the strength and trust that we must convey in him. This story opens up as Israel and the Philistines face off in a brutal war. David’s father, Jesse, sent him to where they were beginning to fight to deliver some food to his brothers that are fighting and to find out any news about the war. The lessons that are present are: The Lord calls whom He will call, Right is better than might, The Lord prepares his servants, and be yourself.