Biblical Characters

Example Essay (I wrote it, it's an example type of essay, not a fake)

There are multitudes of narrative topics in the Bible, for instance: palace treachery, prominent wars, and peculiar people. Although the Bible's predominant theme is the redemption of mankind, it also emphasizes the wickedness of man's inherent sin nature. A good number of the most sinful people in the Scriptures were royalty; they were kings or queens. Throughout the Bible, we see king after king reject the Lord and lead his subjects into gross immorality. Let's look at three evil kings in the Bible after which many would hesitate to name their children: Ahab, Rehoboam, and Saul.

Ahab was one of the worst kings described in the Bible, so bad that God gauged the wickedness of future kings by sizing them up against him. Ahab did not seek the counsel of God but chose instead to listen to his despicable wife, Jezebel. Also, as Elijah pointed out, Ahab did not follow God, “I [Elijah] have not troubled Israel, but you [Ahab] have, … because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals.” Because of his great sinfulness, God punished Ahab by telling him that his offspring would be obliterated and by taking Ahab's life during a war. The last straw against Ahab was his false humility; despite what seemed to be true repentance, God left this legacy in Scripture: “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”

Rehoboam was another terrible ruler who did not seek after God with his whole heart. He too obeyed the voice of counselors who were not wise, and, as a result, lost most of the kingdom he ruled. During the early years of his life he was a passing good king, but when he became strong, he turned his back on the God of his fore-father David. In response to Rehoboam's unfaithfulness, God brought Shishak, the current king of Egypt, up to Israel and allowed him to plunder the Jewish temple which Rehoboam was supposed to guard. Rehoboam acknowledged his sin of pride and humbled himself before the Lord, but it was yet another fickle sorrow without repentance because two verses later the author of 2 Chronicles says that he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

Lastly, Israel's first king, Saul, was the grand epitome of a prospectively great king turned ruthless. His final demise grew out of a seed of arrogance which sprouted early in his reign: while at Gilgal preparing to retaliate against the Philistines, he disobeyed God by sacrificing burnt offerings before he was supposed to. As a result, God told Samuel, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments” and then replaced His Spirit which He had put in Saul with an evil spirit. Later on, when Saul was chasing David, God used a raid by the Philistines to hold him back from his intent to kill David. As time went by, Saul continually proved his contrition to be imitation as he went through three full cycles of trying to kill David, repenting, and then trying to kill David again.

In the Bible there are many characters; some are exemplary, but others – like Ahab, Rehoboam, and Saul – were evil in the sight of the Lord. Ahab, for instance, turned away from God and was killed by the king of Egypt in battle as punishment. Rehoboam refused the wisdom that God had provided him with and lost most of his kingdom as a consequence. Also, because Saul disobeyed God and followed his own intentions, God took away His Spirit from Saul. In the Bible, the Lord says that records of kings like these were recorded for our instruction, so let's be diligent to learn from these men how not to live our lives.

Outline:

1. Paragraph 1 – Introduction
   1. Opening sentence – There are multitudes of narrative topics in the Bible, for instance: palace treachery, prominent wars, and peculiar people.
   2. Narrowing 1 - evil
   3. Narrowing 2 - royalty
   4. Narrowing 3 - men
   5. Thesis sentence – Let's look at three evil kings in the Bible after which many would hesitate to name their children: Ahab, Rehoboam, and Saul.
2. Paragraph 2 – Ahab
   1. Other counsel – evil Jezebel
   2. Left God – Elijah “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, ... because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals.”
   3. Greedy – Naboth's vineyard, approved murder,
   4. Plundered – punishment from God, procrastinate, killed in battle
   5. False humility – legacy cursed “Ahab did more to prooke the LORD, th eGod of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”
3. Paragraph 3 – Rehoboam
   1. Other counsel – young men rather than old, treatment of people
   2. Left God – when strong
   3. Greedy – tried to get back kingdom that God had taken
   4. Plundered – by Shishak, Egypt, temple
   5. False humility – humbled himself after Shishak, pround when strong, did not set his heart to seek the Lord
4. Paragraph 4 – Saul
   1. Other counsel – himself, rather than God, burnt offering, Gilgal
   2. Left God – God told Samuel “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.”
   3. Greedy – Pounce, spoil, Gilgal
   4. Plundered – Chasing David, wilderness of Maon, rock of escape
   5. False humility – chasing David, no/yes, no/yes, no/yes
5. Paragraph 5 – Closing
   1. Thesis restatement – In the Bible there are many characters; some are exemplary, but others – like Ahab, Rehoboam, and Saul – were evil in the sight of the Lord.
   2. Paragraph 2 summary – Ahab turned away from the Lord and was killed in battle
   3. Paragraph 3 summary – Rehoboam lost kingdom refuse wisdom
   4. Paragraph 4 summary – Saul disregarded God's command and was left by God
   5. Closing food for thought – Let's not be like these three kings