People in the Bible who rebelled against God often paid dearly. Jonah was swallowed up by a whale; Saul lost his kingship; Shemaiah and Ananias were removed from church leadership; Lucifer himself was cast out from heaven altogether.
Rebellion is defined as refusing to submit to authority, and can be an inherent part of human experience.
Saul
Saul was an accomplished military leader who could amass and organize large armies effectively for battle, yet due to pride and arrogance disobeyed God’s orders to destroy Amalekites utterly. Additionally, Saul committed idolatry by worshipping himself while forcing his army members to consume meat from sacrificed animals even though they refused.
Samuel confronted him about this behavior and he acknowledged having disobeyed God, yet did not take responsibility for what had transpired; rather blaming others who had scattered before himself and accusing Samuel of accusing him. These actions revealed his lack of faith or trust in Him.
Saul began rebelling against God by disobeying God’s order to completely eradicate the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15. Saul attacked these Amalekites but failed to capture Agag, their King of Amalekites alive or completely destroy their population.
God had asked Saul to destroy Amalekites as enemies of Israel, both people and animals alike. Failing to comply was tantamount to disobeying and rebelling against Him. Saul’s failure was further proof of this fact.
Saul was filled with pride, jealousy, and fear during his reign as King. His trust in God had gradually given way to self-interested ambition; he began viewing himself as greater than God himself and as someone capable of accomplishing anything he set his mind upon.
As a result, he lost sight of what God wanted from him and his kingdom. Pride, jealousy, and fear took control over his life; thus leading him down a path to destruction and rebellion.
One of the key lessons from Saul’s story is that a rebellious leader can bring disgrace upon both their nation and God. Unfaithfulness will cause suffering among his people while faithfulness can restore hope and honor to their nation.
David
David was the youngest son of Jesse, a Bethlehem shepherd. At first he served as Saul, Israel’s first king. During their conflict with Philistine forces led by Goliath, Saul searched for an individual willing to face Goliath alone; finally calling upon David who offered himself up as the one willing to face Goliath by himself and win against him (I Samuel 16). David defeated Goliath and was eventually anointed king over all Israel (1 Samuel 16).
David was appointed by God to the throne, yet refused to force his way onto it. Instead, he sought to please Him by living according to His will – this can be seen through his psalms that show his intimate relationship with Him; David always remembered who was in control and trusted Him with everything in life.
David was close to God, yet not perfect. He engaged in numerous wars and killed many enemies of both his own as well as punishments for crimes; one such killing especially offended Him; when Bathsheba refused to sleep with David after her adultery, David killed Uriah in battle to cover up for it. This action brought swift judgement from Him.
Bathsheba was devastated to learn of this development, mourning her husband for an extended period. Later, David married Bathsheba off to another man despite any laws against jealousy or adultery that might prohibit it; nonetheless, David made pleas to God for mercy but none was offered in response; God would not forgive his transgressions according to biblical texts.
David was ever popular during his reign; Jerusalem became the center of his kingdom and his many wives and concubines led to an alienation from Israelite society that ultimately allowed Adonijah, David’s rival for power, to emerge victorious.
Adonijah was Saul’s grandson and the son of one of David’s generals. Although Adonijah was an experienced soldier, his ambitions outshone his abilities; moreover, his pride and arrogance caused him to alienate many members of Israel, including Joab and Abiathar the priest. Adonijah claimed the throne for himself without widespread support from institutional agents like Joab or Abiathar the priest.
Lucifer
Lucifer was one of the most powerful angels in existence, possessing immense beauty, wisdom, and wits. God sent Lucifer into Eden’s Garden of Eden as an “anointed cherub” (Genesis 3:15) to bring light and reveal God’s glory. Unfortunately for Lucifer though – pride led him astray from being an “anointed cherub”, leading him to rebel against Him and overthrow His kingdom – thus being cast out from Heaven and becoming the devil – reminding all people and angel alike that pride can ruin one’s own lives as well as those around them.
After Lucifer was expelled from heaven, he attempted to overthrow God by corrupting and manipulating people on Earth. Using his vast wisdom and clever wits to draw them away from God’s love and grace. Lucifer is considered a master deceiver and manipulator who has led millions into evil for centuries upon centuries.
The Bible speaks of Lucifer as having fallen from grace and becoming Satan; 1 Peter 5:8 describes Satan as “a roaring lion seeking out someone to devour”. We generally associate his deeds with him today, yet this passage hints at much older events before the Flood.
The Bible states that God created all things, including angels. However, some rebelled against His authority and were expelled from Paradise where they had resided since Creation. Lucifer was among them: his arrogance caused him to no longer submit himself under His authority and began corrupting other angels with false prideful ideas of himself as being more important than Him – leading him to try overthrowing Him using an army of fallen angels until they too were cast out of heaven with him; now ruling as an archdemon Lord over realms of darkness!
Moses
Moses is one of the best-known Biblical heroes. A strong leader who never deviated from God’s path, Moses nevertheless struggled with rebellious tendencies despite possessing all of the traits that make up an effective hero – showing that even great heroes may fall if their pride becomes too great.
God initially chose Moses to represent Him to Pharoah, but he refused and raised four objections. God always responded in kind; even appearing before him as a burning bush and telling him to remove his sandals because they were standing on holy ground.
At first, Moses found himself an outsider in Egypt due to its oppressive laws which made life very difficult for the Hebrews living there.
Civilization extended life for Moses’ people, yet was insufficient to protect them from war and famine. Many were killed, while others entered bondage in order to survive; killing all male babies at birth and applying the death penalty to firstborn sons were examples of oppressive practices during Moses’ time.
Moses became frustrated upon witnessing an Egyptian beating an enslaved Hebrew person and lost his temper, killing and hiding the Egyptian man in the sand before leaving his own nation for fear of facing charges for murder and fleeing prosecution.
While in Midian, Moses met Zipporah and married her. Together they had two children. After returning to Egypt, God asked Moses to be His messenger to Pharoah; although willing, Moses asked God for someone else as His representative for this role.
Rebellion against God can have severe repercussions; one example being Satan rebelling against Him in Heaven. Rebellion often results in severe and fatal punishment – as seen when Saul was removed as King or Ananias and Sapphira received leprosy; also, Jonah being swallowed up by a whale or Judas Iscariot hanging himself are testament to that fact.
