Why Do the “Good Guys” in the Bible Behave So Badly?

Posted on Aug 04, 2023 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Matthew Tingblad

Let’s Talk about Morality in the Bible

Moses killed an Egyptian and tried to hide his crime (Exodus 2:11–12). David slept with another man’s wife and tried to cover it up by killing her husband (2 Samuel 11). Abraham and his wife mistreated Hagar after Abraham got her pregnant (Genesis 16:1–6). Aren’t these supposed to be the “good guys” in the Bible?

I suspect a big reason we struggle with these stories is because of the false belief that whoever God uses must have lived a good, moral life for us to follow. This is mostly false, yet preachers use the Bible in this way as if it’s mostly true. They say, “We need to be more like Abraham, Moses, and David!”

Don’t get me wrong: David displayed admirable faith when he stood up against Goliath! But the main character in every story of the Bible is God. God is the one who never fails. God is the one who shows kindness to those who don’t deserve it. God is the one who can draw a straight line with a crooked stick. When we want to learn about morality in the Bible, then let’s start with the parts that teach plainly about morality. Then we can use what we learn to discern whether or not someone like David is morally right with any particular story of his life.

What We Learn from the Most Immoral “Hero” in the Bible

Probably the most striking example of God using an immoral person to accomplish his good purposes would be the story of Samson. Judges 13:24–25a (NIV) says, “The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.” Reading this, we might think that Samson is bound to grow up to be a man of God with spectacular character. But reading on, we learn that is not true at all! He is demanding of his parents (Judges 13:3–4). He disobeys God’s law (Judges 14:9). He is petty and childish (Judges 15:11). But at the same time, Samson experiences episodes where God’s Holy Spirit fills him with supernatural strength, sometimes even enabling his desire for revenge (Judges 15)! Then through a record-breaking display of stupidity, Samson winds up betrayed, captured, and blinded by his enemies. He prays to God for supernatural strength one more time to avenge himself. God grants his less-than-honorable prayer, and Israel is delivered from the Philistines.

The contrast between Samson’s moral issues with God’s faithfulness is not just present; it’s loud and in your face! Through Samson, God is making a point about his ability to work through bad intentions for his good purposes. This echoes the lesson of Genesis 50:20—what people intend for evil, God can use for good! These stories are not here to endorse evil behavior. They are spotlights on God whose goodness is greater than human failure.

Praise God for this! After all, none of us are perfect either. If God can use people like Moses, David, Abraham, or Samson, then God can certainly use us!