King Saul
King Saul was humble when God chose him out of all the people of Israel to become a king. As a king, he proved to be a strong and capable leader who led the Israelites to many victories in battle (1Sa 11:1-11). Despite his many accomplishments, Saul was plagued by a sense of pride which induced him to be disobedient. This is because he began to believe that he was above the law and that he could do whatever he wanted.
On one occasion, Samuel told King Saul to wait for him at Gilgal where he would come and offer sacrifices on his behalf (1Sa 10:8). When Saul waited for seven days without seeing Prophet Samuel, he offered the sacrifice himself to the Lord (1Sa 13:1-15). Another time, when God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites and their livestock, he spared their king, Agag, and the best of their livestock under the disguise that his soldiers wanted to sacrifice them to the Lord (1Sa 15:1-15).
During all these occasions of disobedience, when Samuel confronted him, he did not accept his fault but played the blame game. Eventually, his pride denied him God’s favor and stripped him of his kingdom (1Sa 15:11).
King Asa
King Asa was the son and successor of King Abijah. Asa is counted among the good kings of Judah for he was the first reformer among the kings of Judah. The previous kings before Asa had defiled the land with idolatry and all sorts of immorality including homosexuality. During Asa’s regime, he started a campaign to rid the land of all idolatry and homosexuals. Therefore his deeds pleased God so much that He blessed his regime with peace and prosperity. However, Asa had pride as his weakness and this is the evidence:
During the 36th year of the reign of Asa, King Baasha of Israel came against the Kingdom of Judah and built a military post at Ramah so that he might permit no one to go out or come into Jerusalem to trade. When King Asa saw that King Baasha had intent to ruin the economy of his kingdom, he took gold and silver from the Temple of Solomon and his palace and sent them to bribe Ben-hadad king of Syria in Damascus, telling him to wage war against Baasha (2Ch 16:1-6).
Ben-hadad received the gold and silver, started an aggressive war campaign against Israel, and captured some of Israel’s territories. Though this stopped Baasha’s evil plans, God was displeased with what Asa did. So he sent Prophet Hanani to rebuke Asa. Asa did not accept his fault, but took offense at the prophet’s word, got very angry, and imprisoned him (2Ch 16:7-10). Asa had a good heart like David. David admitted his sins when Prophet Nathan rebuked him. However, Asa did not accept his fault but persecuted the prophet. Such sinful behavior stems from pride.
King Jeroboam
Pride is one common characteristic of all the evil kings in the Bible and Jeroboam was no exception. When a humble man sins and he is rebuked or warned, he repents. But a proud-hearted man heeds no warning. King Jeroboam was the first king God chose to rule over the Kingdom of Israel. This man let God down so much because during his regime, he made the entire kingdom defect from God into idolatry (1 Kings 12:25-33). He did not listen to God’s warnings and the words of His prophet.
On one occasion, while King Jeroboam was making an offering at the altar of his gods in Bethel, a prophet from Judah came there and prophesied that one of David’s descendants called Josiah would come and destroy the altar. Immediately, Jeroboam became furious with the man of God and ordered his arrest so that he could deal hard with him, but God intervened, and saved the prophet(1 Kings 13:1-10). Jeroboam’s pride and apostasy led to the extermination of his entire family (1 Kings 14:1-18).
King Joash
Joash of Judah was seven years old when he was crowned a king. Since then, Jehoiada the high priest had been his guide, instructing him to know the Lord and to make good decisions. Since Joash was preceded by two idolatrous kings and one idolatrous queen, the kingdom had slipped into staunch idolatry. By Jehoiada’s influence, there was a major reformation during Joash’s regime to rid the land of idol worship (2Ch 23:16-21).
When Jehoiada the priest died, King Joash was influenced by his officials to adopt idol worship (2Ch 24:15-22). During this time of apostasy, the kingdom lost its peace and prosperity for wars broke out between Judah and its neighbors. God sent Zechariah the son of the deceased Jehoiada to rebuke the king and the people to turn them away from idolatry (2Ch 24:20).
However, Joash’s pride could not let him accept the prophet’s word or tolerate his existence. So they plotted against him, and by the order of King Joash, they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the temple in Jerusalem (2Ch 24:21). King Joash himself was later assassinated for this treachery (2Ch 24:23-27).
King Amaziah
Joash of Judah was the father of Amaziah. When Joash died, Amaziah succeeded. Like his father, he also started humbly and well for he was God-fearing and listened to the word of His prophet. However, he went to war with the Edomites and defeated them, after which he collected the gods of the Edomites and brought them to his homeland Jerusalem to worship them (2Ch 25:14). Nothing sounds so foolish as worshipping the gods whom you have defeated.
God stepped in and attempted to make this foolish king snap out of his folly. So he sent his prophet to rebuke Amaziah. However, the proud-hearted Amaziah only threatened the prophet of God to shut up lest face a death sentence. He neither admitted his wrongdoing nor repented of it. Later, God left him to his enemies and he was assassinated just like his father (2Ch 25:25-28).
King Nebuchadnezzar II
King Nebuchadnezzar was a prominent Babylonian king who ruled from 605 to 562 BC. He accomplished a lot of things during his regime as king such as the building of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Aside from his architectural endeavors, Nebuchadnezzar also proved himself to be a great warrior king. He embarked on an extensive military campaign to extend his Babylonian Empire, conquering territories in the Levant, Egypt, and Anatolia.
However, the success stories puffed up his heart and sense of pride. Pride made Nebuchadnezzar do outrageous things such as making a large golden idol and forcing all his subjects to bow down to it at the sound of a trumpet (Da 3:1-7). His pride made him think that all his accomplishments came by his strength and wisdom. Though, by the mouth of Prophet Daniel, God made Nebuchadnezzar understand that it was not by might or by power but He the Lord chose to subject the nations to him (Da 2:36), still Nebuchadnezzar did not humble himself or give glory to God.
On one occasion, while standing on top of his palace, looking out over the city of Babylon, he boasted that he had built Babylon into a great kingdom (Da 4:30). God dealt with his pride and arrogance by turning him into a beast and made him live like one for seven days in the wild (Da 4:28-33). After this, he became humble and feared the Lord – he and his kingdom (Da 4:34-37).
Herod Agrippa
The end of the king who killed Apostle James, the brother of John, was horrific. He is Herod Agrippa who ruled Palestine. After killing James, he proceeded to arrest Peter and kept him in prison to await his execution. On the eve of his execution, an angel of God appeared to release Peter from prison and he narrowly escaped death. After this failed attempt to kill one more apostle, Herod Agrippa traveled to Caesarea. At that time Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. The people of Tyre and Sidon came to Caesarea to make peace with him.
On an appointed day, Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the throne, and delivered an oration to the people of Tyre and Sidon. As he talked, the people praised him, shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Since Herod Agrippa was a man puffed with pride and vanity and accepted this divine honor without rebuking it as blasphemy, Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down and worms ate him and he died. (Acts 12:20-23)