Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh (why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort)? – Galatians 3:3
At the root of all our problems is our desire to be independent from God, to do things our way. This is at the heart of the struggle that started in the Garden of Eden, triggered by questions suggesting that God is not good, that we can be like Him, and therefore not need Him:
“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:5
The knowledge of good and evil gave us the ability to decide what was good and evil and to navigate through life using this knowledge (to do what is good in our own eyes). The Law of Moses was therefore the best version of good and evil. It’s as if God was giving us the very best of a bad choice and saying, “Try and see if it works, you fools.”
This is the story of the Old Testament and the kings: men who started with God’s Spirit (the tree of life) and ended up in the flesh (doing things in their own strength). This narrative can best be explained using three stories:
Jeroboam son of Nebat
“And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.” – 1 Kings 11:37–38
Through supernatural events triggered by prophecy, God gave Jeroboam the kingdom of Israel and promised to sustain him if he kept the way of the Lord. But because of his insecurities, Jeroboam created golden calves so the Israelites would worship them instead of crossing over to Judah. The golden calves were meant to substitute for the temple they lacked. This sin became rooted in Israel’s culture and lifestyle.
“And Jeroboam said in his heart, ‘Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.’ So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, ‘You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’ And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.” – 1 Kings 12:26–30
Instead of seeking, waiting, and trusting God to resolve the real threat, Jeroboam, out of fear, decided to resolve the problem in his own strength:
- A problem that had not yet unfolded.
- A problem that God, who called him, was responsible for resolving.
Once he started down this path of the flesh, it was all downhill from there. After creating an illegal altar, he had to create an illegal priesthood to serve at that altar. One sin led to another. The consequence was that he led Israel into sin against God for many generations.
Saul
The Bible contrasts David’s life with Saul’s in detail, primarily in how each chose to navigate life. Saul, on two occasions, was presented with the choice to trust God or act in his own strength.
He began hesitantly by accepting God’s anointing to be king. But at his first test—choosing between waiting for Samuel to perform the sacrifice or offering it himself to avoid his soldiers scattering because Samuel was late—he chose to save face by conducting the sacrifice himself. His impatience revealed his belief that he could handle things by himself. The moral is clear: you can’t start doing God’s work His way, then pivot to your own way when God’s way seems slow.
David – The Golden Standard
David was anointed king of Israel at an early age; most scholars estimate between 10–15 years old. At the heart of two major stories in his life is how he handled the struggle to become king in his own strength versus waiting for God’s timing.
David had opportunities to kill Saul and take the throne, but on both occasions he declared that he would not act in his own strength and restrained those with him:
“May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.” – 1 Samuel 24:12
“Abishai said to David, ‘Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t strike him twice.’ But David said to Abishai, ‘Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives,’ he said, ‘the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.’” – 1 Samuel 26:8–10
When the writers of Kings and Chronicles reflected on David’s life, they described him as the man who “did right in the eyes of the Lord.” Even in fearful situations where his life was at risk, he waited for God’s timing. He knew that if he made himself king by his own strength, he would have to maintain it himself — an impossible task.
Another key episode is with Abigail, when David was enraged with Nabal and ready to destroy him, Abigail intervened with wisdom (1 Samuel 25:23–31). She reminded David that shedding blood in vengeance would bring bloodguilt upon him. Abigail urged David not to “save with his own hand,” meaning not to take revenge himself. Instead, she pointed him to trust God to fight his battles and deal with his enemies in His time.
Abigail warned that acting rashly could stain David’s conscience and tarnish his future kingship. If he shed blood out of anger, his reign would be marred by guilt and reproach. By leaving vengeance to the Lord, David would remain blameless and free for God to bless and establish.
Her counsel shows that saving in your own hand may seem satisfying in the moment but can destroy your future; it leaves you carrying the weight of guilt, while God alone can rightly judge and handle your enemies.
“When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, ‘On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.’” – 1 Samuel 25:23–31
Blessings or Curses 