Saul should have been an example of a priesthood man but he abandoned his humility at the first sign of status and success. Once the Lord chose him he then chose himself instead of choosing the Lord.
David was a great example of a priesthood man in his youth but after prolonged worldly success he succumbed to temptation and threw away his virtue. To this day he is generally celebrated among those who study his life even as they condemn his taking of Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. I have a hard time deciding to what degree we should hold up his life after that episode as a model. He was obviously sorry for his sin but I wonder how much he was truly forgiven in the eyes of the Lord.
What we know about Uriah suggests that he was a model of a priesthood man. He was fastidious in doing his duty.
We knew more about Jonathan than we do about Uriah and he proves to be a model of a priesthood man. He chose to do what was right even to the point of acting against the wishes of his father, the king, and even despite the fact that following his father’s wishes would advance his opportunity to rule. I wonder if David would have fallen if his friend had been there to counsel him instead of dying the same day as Saul.
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