Comparing Moses and Davids Faith in God - Term Paper Example

Comparing Moses and David’s faith in God The term “faith” can generally be defined as one’s belief and trust in something or someone. Religiously, faith is the complete trust and confidence that one attaches to a supreme being. In the Bible, two men, Moses and David, are outstanding characters as regards their faith in God. According to the Bible, Moses and David were both anointed by God to liberate His people from oppression. In this essay, we are going to compare the levels of faith in God of Moses and David. Moses and David were ordinary, insignificant people before they were anointed. When Moses was born, the ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh, had ordered the killing of all male newborns who were Israelites. Moses’ mother was forced to hide her son in the river, and, luckily, Pharaoh’s daughter found him and brought him up. However, Moses had to flee Egypt after he killed an Egyptian whom he saw beating up an Israelite (Sandidge 41). With faith that God will protect him, Moses fled to Midian, and that is where God started using Moses. David, on the other hand, was the eighth son of a poor farmer. As the youngest son, David’s role was to herd his father’s sheep. One day, a prophet came to David’s house and anointed David as the chosen by God. David returned to his shepherding role. At this time, the Philistines and Israelites were still at war, and David’s brothers had joined the army of Israel. The army was trying to find someone to fight the Philistine warrior, a nine-foot tall giant named Goliath. This was the beginning of David’s spiritual journey and walk with God. When Moses was in the desert at Midian, Israelites continued to experience anguish under the Egyptians. God had listened to their cries and chose Moses to be the one to unfetter them. God revealed himself to Moses in the form of a burning bush. God asked Moses to take away his shoes prior to stepping on the bush, as that was a sanctified place. This was a test of faith for Moses. He could have ignored the bush and the voice, but he chose to conform to the order. This demonstrates that Moses had faith in God and was willing to comply with His instructions. Likewise, as mentioned earlier, David had been anointed as the potential king of Israel at a very tender age, but he did not question God’s decision. This shows that David had confidence in the plans that God had for his future. Both Moses and David had complete faith and trust in God. At the burning bush, Moses is commissioned by God to save the Israelites from the Egyptians. Moses is sent to the pharaoh to notify him that he, Moses, has been sent by God to order the pharaoh to free the Israelites. Moses’ faith in God, at this point, seems to waver, as he questions God. Moses asked God what he should do if the pharaoh and the Egyptians were not convinced that it really was God who had sent him. God responded by performing two miracles for Moses. God told Moses that He would perform other miracles in front of the pharaoh to prove that he is God. However, Moses is still not convinced that he is the right person to deliver the Israelites from slavery. He reminds God that he, Moses is not an eloquent speaker, is slow in speech, and that the pharaoh will not listen to him. God assures Moses that He will be with him to guide him in what to say. Moses’ lack of faith in himself and God is further manifested when he begs God to send him with someone else, who is capable of delivering the Lord’s message to Pharaoh. God then agrees to send Moses’ brother, Aaron, to accompany Moses to Egypt. Sometimes Moses had limited faith in himself and God, but David never showed any signs of faith deficiency. One day, David’s father asked him to take food to his brothers, who were in the army, and to report back to his father concerning the well-being of his brothers. When he got there, David heard Goliath shouting to the Israelites to send someone who was brave enough to fight him. Goliath said that if he killed the person sent by the Israelites, the latter would become slaves to the Philistines. Likewise, if the Israelite managed to kill Goliath, then the Philistines would serve the Israelites forever. Immediately, David decided to be the one to fight the sacrilegious giant. Everyone, from his elder brothers to the king, was against the idea. David’s brothers saw him as a mere shepherd, while Saul, the king of the Israelites, was concerned about David’s age. Nevertheless, David had profound faith in God and let everyone know about it. David explained to Saul how the Lord had helped him kill a lion and a bear as he herded his father’s sheep and that he had faith that the same God would give him victory over Goliath. In the end, King Saul was convinced to let David fight Goliath on behalf of the Israelites. When Moses got to Egypt together with Aaron, Moses had regained his trust and faith in God. Moses confronted the pharaoh and asked him to free the Israelites, but the pharaoh refused. Through Moses, God performed a series of miracles that finally saw the pharaoh agree to release the Israelites. After the pharaoh had released the Israelites, he changed his mind and decided to have his army pursue the Israelites and bring them back to Egypt. The Israelites faced a dilemma; they were at the Red Sea wanting to cross and the pharaoh’s men were right behind them. They either had to drown in the Red Sea or to let the Egyptian army catch them. Moses saw that the Israelites were complaining and, through faith, he told them not to worry, as God will surely find a way. This is a great show of faith in God. Moses did not know how, but he knew God would deliver them. Then God caused the Red Sea to part ways and create a dry path for the Israelites to cross over. When the Israelites had traversed the Red Sea in safety, God told Moses to stretch out his rod, and the waters went back as usual. The Egyptian defense force that was behind the Israelites sunk in the process. In the wilderness, the Israelites continuously desecrated God’s law and questioned God’s power to direct them into Canaan, the Promised Land. God caused the Israelites to roam in the wilderness for four decades. No one who left Egypt aged above 20 years ever got to Canaan, except Joshua and Caleb, who had shown their faith in God. Moses himself never got to Canaan, since he too died in the desert. The reason for this was that God had once asked Moses to speak to a rock for it to produce water. Instead, Moses struck the rock twice, and this angered God. Once again, Moses had lacked faith in God’s word. However, he had accomplished what God had intended for him in his life. At the battle field, David, after convincing Saul to let him fight Goliath, was preparing for war. Saul lent out his armor to David so that David would be well equipped for war. However, David refused to wear the armor saying he would not fight comfortably in it and preferred his normal clothing. David also refused to use the weapons given to him to fight Goliath and preferred the sling that he was used to. This was a display of incredible faith in God on David’s side. Equipped with just a sling and five smooth stones, he faced a well armored nine-foot tall giant. Still, David believed that God would give him victory over the giant. David then stepped into the battlefield to fight Goliath. When Goliath saw the boy who had been selected to fight him, he became really furious. Goliath hurled insults at the Israelites for sending a boy and a slingshot to fight him. These insults were meant to scare David, but David’s faith in God was far much greater. David said to Goliath that the God of Israel was going to deliver him, Goliath, into David’s hands and that David would feed the birds of the air with the carcasses of the Philistine army. As Goliath advanced towards David, David withdrew a stone from his bag and slung a shot that caught Goliath right on the forehead, killing him instantly (Sandidge 367). David then took Goliath’s sword and killed him with it. David then cut off Goliath’s head. The Philistines became very scared and started running away, but the Israelites pursued them and killed them. David’s faith and trust in God had helped deliver the Israelites form the Philistines. From the preceding, it is evident that David and Moses had differing extent of faith in God. Whilst Moses trusted in God and His word, he faltered and doubted God’s decisions at times. God had to attest himself to Moses, so that Moses could be entirely certain of what God wanted him to do. Moses doubted whether God had selected the right person to set free his people from slavery. This was for the reason that Moses was not an excellent speaker and did not have faith that God would use him. On the other hand, David never doubted God and always obeyed his word. David could have doubted his being anointed by the prophet Samuel, since he was still youthful. Nevertheless, David believed in God and his prospective plans. David was not demoralized by the giant, as he had confidence that the same God who had helped him fight off a lion and a bear would help him handle Goliath. This is not meant to dishonor the faith Moses had in God, as Moses also heeded to God’s instructions. The essential thing is that at the end both men followed God’s word and attained what God had set them out to accomplish. Thus, Moses and David are among the greatest men in the Old Testament used by God to save His people. The stories of these two men show us that, despite our circumstances or status in life, God can use us to do great things never experienced on earth. Our only role is to have faith, trust, and confidence in God and let his will be done in our lives. Moses and David are our role models in this spiritual journey. Works cited Sandidge, Sue. Forty Years in the Wilderness: Moses Leads the Bible's Lost Generation. New York: Xlibris Corporation, 2005. Print. Read More