Bible is a beautiful book. We have a lot to learn from the Bible and the characters mentioned. It has many heroes. Bible transparently portrays their strength and weakness. Some of the greatest men of God failed miserably in their personal life. David, Samson, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses were all heroes. But their life was never clean. It has traces of adultery, cheating, disobedience, and lies. God chose imperfect men to achieve his perfect will. Every one of us commits mistakes. But the one who corrects himself quickly and reconciles with God is the who will be used by God. Bible intentionally exposed the weakness of heros not to shame them, but it was written so we can learn the lesson from them.
What we can learn about the foolishness of the Biblical characters. If you want to know what is foolishness in God’s sight and how to avoid it, you can read here => How Not to be foolish before God?
David’s Foolishness out of his pride
After winning many battles, David one day got an idea. He wants to see how great is his army. He wanted to count the able men in his country and estimate the strength of his army. David for a moment forgot how he won great battles. God went before him all the time. Every time before he went to battle, David carefully asked God whether he can go forward. God went before him and won the battle for him. David himself said, “God did it!” David exclaimed. “He used me to burst through my enemies like a raging flood!”
But David made a foolish decision to count his troops. He knew he did not win the battle with his might. His victories came from God. God punished the nation of Israel for the foolishness of God. David did reconcile with God by asking for forgiveness.
The Bible says, David had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.
It’s a great lesson for us. We know God has done great things in our life. We have seen it with our own eyes. We are expected to be humble and avoid pride in our life.
The foolish criticism of Aaron and Miriam
Aaron and Miriam criticized their brother Moses because of his wife. The Bible does not give background and the reason for this criticism. But their criticism unnecessarily turned towards Moses’s relationship with God and Moses’s leadership. God himself came down to settle the quarrel. God said, “I speak to him (Moses) face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”. God punished Miriam with leprosy. Aaron cried out to Moses, “Please don’t punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed.“
Dear friend, many a time we speak foolishly against God’s chosen people. We criticize them. Bible says it is foolish behavior. We ought to avoid criticizing God’s servants. It is foolish behavior.
Saul’s Foolishness in a hurry
Saul was a newly appointed King. He was facing his biggest enemy, the philistines. Samuel, who anointed Saul, asked him to wait in the Gilgal till he comes. Before starting the battle, they should make a sacrifice to God so that God will fight the battle for Saul. Samuel asked Saul to wait for seven days. Saul waited for seven days. But when Samuel did not turn up, Saul wanted to take the matter in his hands. His patience runs out. He decided to do the sacrifice himself. By the time he finished the sacrifice, Samuel appeared. Saul could have waited for Samuel for a few more minutes. Impatience made him do what he was not supposed to do. Only the Levites were supposed to offer sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel called Saul as a foolish man.
It was a difficult situation for Saul. The enemies were closing in on the battlefield. The Samuel did not turn up as expected. The soldiers started leaving Saul. Amid pressure, Saul took things in his hand and disobeyed God. But the situation does not give a reason for any one of us to disobey God. Saul through his disobedience lost his kingdom.
Dear friend, the characters, situation, and incidents mentioned above were written in the Bible so that we can learn from it and follow God carefully. Shall we pray to Jesus to fill us with wisdom so we will not to be foolish in our life?
Dear Jesus, we have learned how to be cautious and be obedient to you. Please take away all the pride in our life. Hold our tongue from criticism. Help us to obey you, even though the situation is difficult. Help us to be patient and wait for your time. Hold our hand and lead us. Help us to be wise. Take away the foolishness from life. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.