Three Kings

Over the last two weeks of Come, Follow Me study we've witnessed the rise and fall of kings that were all faithful enough to be chosen by God but sadly lost favor in the sight of God because of their poor choices. What really caught my attention in these books is that three kings in a row followed this same pattern! Which means these stories can be understood as cautionary tales for each of us. As I read through each of the three kings' stories, I tried to determine what temptations got ahold of each of their hearts. This is what I found...

Saul's downfall was his pride. We first see this in 1 Samuel 13 when he acts in place of Samuel as the priest in offering up a burnt offering. Then in 1 Samuel 15 instead of destroying the Amalekite herds like he's been commanded to do, he keeps the best animals. After David slays Goliath, Saul becomes jealous that the people are honoring David and not him (1 Samuel 18). From that point on, Saul seeks to kill David (1 Samuel 19)

David's downfall was his lust of the flesh. 2 Samuel 11 tells of David committing adultery with Bath-sheba, and instead of confessing and repenting of his sin, he tries to cover his sin by committing another sin, that of premeditated murder when he arranges for the death of Bath-sheba's husband.

Solomon's downfall was his desire for power. 1 Kings 11 talks about how Solomon's many marriages outside of Israel turned his heart from worshipping God to worshipping false idols. The Lord advised against these marriages, but Solomon went against the Lord because he knew that these marriages would provide alliances with others kingdoms.

In the podcast Unshaken Saints, the host talked about how these temptations parallel the same three temptations that Satan used on Jesus Christ, recorded in Matthew 4. Turning stones into bread (appealing to the lusts of the flesh); Cast thyself off the top of the temple (appealing to pride); Worship me and receive kingdoms and glory (appealing to power). 

If these are the top three temptations Satan used on Christ, and we see them playing a role in the downfall of these three great kings, then it's a pretty safe bet that Satan is going to use them on us as well. But the good news is, is that it's not a sin to tempted! We know Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and that was possible because he didn't give in to temptation. In the June 2022 Liahona magazine, one of the articles entitled "How we can Overcome a Lust-Filled World" states "Sin occurs when we choose to entertain, cultivate, or act on the temptation to do something we know we shouldn't. Because of moral agency, we can choose not to act on temptation, even when it's difficult."

The lesson for me is this: We can never reach a point in our lives where we think "I've made it! My testimony is strong enough and I will never fall away." We have to continually work and put forth the effort to strengthen our testimonies and rely on the Lord for his guidance, direction, and help.