“The Hallow Throne” – Explainer, Lessons, and Questions

Explainer Section: The Fall of King Saul and Ethan Coleman – A Parallel Descent into Spiritual and Moral Decline

In this section, we’ll explore the parallel journeys of King Saul from Scripture and Ethan Coleman, the fictional character developed in the preceding story. Both figures are marked by a rise to prominence, gradual spiritual decline, and ultimate destruction. By drawing on the biblical account of Saul’s life and integrating it with the story of Ethan, we see a vivid example of how unchecked internal defilements can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Combined Outline of King Saul and Ethan Coleman’s Lives

1. The Anointing of Saul and Ethan’s Promotion
   • Saul: Saul’s journey begins in humility. He is anointed as Israel’s first king (1 Samuel 10:1) after being chosen by God, despite his initial reluctance and modesty. He demonstrates great promise and early success, defeating the Ammonites and uniting Israel (1 Samuel 11:11-15). Saul begins with the Spirit of God upon him (1 Samuel 10:6).
   • Ethan: Similarly, Ethan begins his journey with an unexpected promotion to Regional Director at a prestigious company. He is celebrated for his past successes and lauded by his peers. His initial humility and family-centered motivations mirror Saul’s early leadership, as Ethan strives to provide for his wife and children, hoping this new opportunity will benefit them.
2. Early Signs of Decline: Gateway Defilements
   • Saul: Saul’s first critical mistake occurs when he offers an unlawful sacrifice out of fear and impatience, disregarding Samuel’s instructions (1 Samuel 13:8-13). This act reveals a deeper fear of man and a growing anxiety about his position.
   • Ethan: For Ethan, the early signs of trouble manifest in his increasing impatience at work. When he is pressured to deliver unrealistic targets, he starts cutting corners, making promises he can’t keep, and overextending himself. Like Saul, Ethan is gripped by fear—fear of failing, fear of losing his position, and fear of disappointing those around him. His solution is not to confront the root issue but to bury it deeper, hoping he can maintain control.
3. Major Transgression: Rebellion and Partial Obedience
   • Saul: Saul’s major act of rebellion comes when he fails to obey God’s command to destroy the Amalekites entirely. He spares their king, Agag, and keeps the best livestock for sacrifices (1 Samuel 15:2-9). His partial obedience reflects a deeper issue—pride and an unwillingness to fully submit to God’s instructions. Samuel rebukes Saul, stating that “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22), and Saul is rejected as king (1 Samuel 15:28).
   • Ethan: In parallel, Ethan reaches his own point of no return when he refuses to confront the failing deals and the deteriorating structure of his department. Instead of acknowledging the truth, he manipulates the numbers, gives half-truths to the Board, and continues to push impossible targets. His pride and fear of exposure mirror Saul’s, as Ethan believes he can still fix everything, even as the cracks in his leadership grow more visible. Like Saul, he is engaging in “partial obedience” to the truth—doing enough to appear as though he’s managing, but never fully confronting the deeper problems.
4. Further Decline: The Descent into Jealousy and Violence
   • Saul: After David’s success in battle, Saul becomes consumed by jealousy. Hearing the people praise David for his military victories, Saul’s envy turns into murderous intent (1 Samuel 18:7-8). He repeatedly attempts to kill David, unable to bear the thought of someone surpassing him.
   • Ethan: Ethan’s jealousy manifests differently. When Brad, one of his subordinates, begins questioning his decisions, Ethan’s insecurity flares. Rather than work collaboratively to solve the problems, Ethan becomes fixated on making Brad the scapegoat for the failing deals. He humiliates Brad in a public meeting, stripping him of responsibility and firing him, much like Saul’s growing violence against David. Ethan’s downfall here is not physical violence but a moral one, where his desire to protect himself leads him to betray a trusted colleague.
5. The Massacre of the Priests of Nob: Bloodshed and Desperation
   • Saul: In one of his darkest acts, Saul orders the massacre of 85 priests of Nob and their families after learning they aided David (1 Samuel 22:17-19). This is a moment of reckless bloodshed, driven by paranoia and the belief that everyone is conspiring against him.
   • Ethan: Ethan’s version of the massacre is more subtle but equally destructive. After firing Brad, Ethan is informed that Brad plans to speak to the Board about what really happened with the Harris deal. Desperate to protect himself, Ethan begins scrambling to cover his tracks, manipulating more data and further isolating himself. He becomes consumed with paranoia, believing that his colleagues are plotting against him. Like Saul, Ethan’s actions here are born of desperation—a need to maintain power at all costs, even if it means destroying others in the process.
6. Final Decline: Spiritual Despair and Death
   • Saul: In his final days, Saul seeks out the Witch of Endor to summon Samuel’s spirit, violating God’s law against witchcraft (1 Samuel 28:7). Samuel’s ghost foretells Saul’s death, and shortly after, Saul dies in battle. Mortally wounded, he takes his own life (1 Samuel 31:4). Saul’s end is marked by despair, paranoia, and total spiritual collapse.
   • Ethan: In Ethan’s final chapter, he spirals into isolation. After learning that the Board is placing him on leave and investigating his decisions, Ethan’s despair reaches its peak. His marriage is crumbling, his career is in ruins, and the weight of his choices becomes too much to bear. As with Saul, there is no escape from the destruction he has wrought upon himself and others. In a final act of desperation, Ethan makes the tragic decision to take his own life, seeing no way out of the mess he created.

Topology of “Gateway Defilements” Leading to Major Sins

The concept of gateway defilements is drawn from the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 15:18-19 and Mark 7:21-23, where He describes how sin begins within a person and manifests outwardly. In both Saul’s and Ethan’s stories, we observe how small, seemingly insignificant choices lead to greater acts of rebellion and, ultimately, their destruction. Here’s how the topology of defilements plays out:

1. Impatience and Fear of Man → Disobedience
   • Saul: His fear of losing the people’s support leads him to offer an unlawful sacrifice.
   • Ethan: Ethan’s fear of failing leads him to cut corners and overpromise. Both men start by ignoring their inner convictions, allowing fear to govern their actions.
2. Rash Decisions → Recklessness
   • Saul: His impulsive decisions, like making a rash oath during battle (1 Samuel 14:24), signal deeper issues of pride and a lack of wisdom.
   • Ethan: His refusal to listen to his team, instead taking matters into his own hands, shows his inability to handle pressure without spiraling into rash, damaging choices.
3. Partial Obedience → Rebellion
   • Saul: Sparing King Agag and the Amalekite livestock when God commanded their total destruction.
   • Ethan: Manipulating reports to present half-truths instead of addressing the root issues in his department.
4. Jealousy and Envy → Violence and Betrayal
   • Saul: His jealousy of David turns into murderous intent, leading him to seek David’s life.
   • Ethan: Ethan’s growing jealousy and insecurity lead him to betray Brad, making him a scapegoat for his own failures.
5. Despair and Hopelessness → Death
   • Saul: After Samuel’s spirit predicts his downfall, Saul descends into hopelessness and takes his own life.
   • Ethan: When the weight of his decisions becomes unbearable, Ethan sees no way out and tragically takes his own life.

Lessons from Saul’s and Ethan’s Stories: Spiritual Decline and Its Consequences

Both Saul and Ethan’s stories illustrate how the road to destruction often begins with small, unchecked decisions. They both started their journeys with promise and favor—Saul as God’s anointed king and Ethan as a highly respected leader in his company. But as soon as they began compromising on small issues—whether out of fear, impatience, or pride—the path toward greater sin became inevitable.

For Saul, his disobedience, jealousy, and paranoia culminated in a violent and tragic death. His story is a stark warning about the dangers of ignoring God’s guidance, allowing pride to overshadow humility, and failing to repent when given the chance. Saul’s unwillingness to take responsibility for his actions led him to the Witch of Endor, a desperate act that marked his total spiritual collapse. In his final battle, wounded and seeing no way out, Saul took his own life (1 Samuel 31:4), overwhelmed by despair.

For Ethan, the pressures of success, fear of failure, and the burden of maintaining an image led him down a similar path. Instead of confronting his shortcomings, he buried them, pushing away the people who cared about him most. His refusal to admit fault or seek help resulted in the collapse of his career, his relationships, and ultimately, his life. Ethan, like Saul, allowed his guilt and fear to fester until it consumed him entirely. In the end, Ethan felt so isolated and hopeless that he believed the only escape was through ending his life.

Key Lessons from Their Declines

1. The Importance of Repentance and Accountability:
   • Both Saul and Ethan had opportunities to change course, to admit their faults and seek redemption. Saul was rebuked multiple times by Samuel (1 Samuel 13:13; 1 Samuel 15:22), but he refused to fully repent, often offering excuses or shifting the blame. Similarly, Ethan had moments where Julie, his wife, reached out to him, giving him opportunities to open up about his struggles. Instead, both men chose to bury their guilt and continue down their paths of destruction.
   • Lesson: The moment someone begins to ignore the inner conviction that they are doing wrong, it sets them on a dangerous path. Accountability, whether to God or loved ones, is critical to avoid spiritual and emotional ruin.
2. Small Defilements Lead to Major Transgressions:
   • For both men, the small compromises—Saul’s impatience and partial obedience, Ethan’s corner-cutting and manipulation—grew into larger acts of rebellion. These initial “gateway defilements” (fear, pride, deceit) led to more severe sins, such as Saul’s massacre of the priests and Ethan’s betrayal of Brad. Each step down this path eroded their integrity until they were barely recognizable to themselves.
   • Lesson: Small sins, when left unconfessed and unresolved, will harden a person’s heart, leading them further into moral and spiritual decay. Regular self-reflection, prayer, and repentance can prevent the growth of these harmful tendencies.
3. The Dangers of Isolation and Pride:
   • Both Saul and Ethan isolated themselves as they descended further into despair. Saul pushed away his son Jonathan and his closest allies as his jealousy consumed him, and in the end, he stood alone, consumed by fear and paranoia. Ethan, similarly, isolated himself emotionally from his family, refusing Julie’s offers of support and pushing his colleagues away in his bid to maintain control.
   • Lesson: Pride often convinces individuals that they must handle everything on their own, that seeking help is a sign of weakness. However, true strength comes from acknowledging limitations and leaning on others for support. The more isolated one becomes, the easier it is for destructive thoughts to take root.
4. The Consequences of Unchecked Despair:
   • Saul’s tragic end came when he could no longer see a way out of his situation. Wounded and in the heat of battle, he saw death as the only option (1 Samuel 31:4). Ethan mirrored this despair when he realized that his career was beyond saving and that his actions had estranged him from the very people he had tried to protect. In his darkest moment, Ethan believed that there was no path to redemption, no way to rebuild.
   • Lesson: Despair unchecked leads to dangerous conclusions. While Saul and Ethan saw death as an escape, the Bible teaches that no situation is beyond redemption through repentance and God’s grace. Seeking help, whether through counseling, prayer, or talking with loved ones, can break the cycle of despair.

Hypothetical Scenario to Illustrate the Lessons

Imagine a business executive, Jason, who has just been promoted to CEO of a large firm. In the beginning, Jason feels on top of the world—his family is proud of him, and his colleagues respect him. But the pressures begin to mount. Jason starts cutting corners to meet deadlines and fudges numbers to impress shareholders. He justifies these actions as “necessary evils” to keep the company afloat, but slowly, those small compromises lead to larger ethical breaches.

One of Jason’s trusted managers warns him that things are slipping out of control, but instead of listening, Jason becomes defensive, even hostile. He begins to see his manager as a threat and undermines him publicly, firing him to cover his own mistakes. Now isolated, Jason continues to make reckless decisions, and when the Board uncovers his actions, they suspend him pending an investigation.

At home, Jason’s wife reaches out, noticing that he’s withdrawn and angry, but Jason shuts her out, retreating deeper into his isolation. He begins drinking heavily, and one night, sitting alone in his office, the weight of his decisions hits him like a tidal wave. In his mind, there’s no coming back from this. He’s failed as a leader, as a husband, and as a father. The thought of facing his family and his colleagues again feels unbearable.

Jason, like Ethan, faces a critical choice in that moment. He can either confront his failures, reach out for help, and begin the long process of healing—or, in his despair, he can choose a path that brings finality but no redemption.

The Tragic End: Saul and Ethan’s Final Acts

For both Saul and Ethan, the final moments of their lives were defined by hopelessness. Saul, once chosen by God, found himself abandoned on the battlefield, mortally wounded and surrounded by enemies. In a moment of absolute despair, he fell on his sword, ending his life (1 Samuel 31:4). His death was the tragic culmination of a life filled with missed opportunities for repentance, and a heart hardened by fear, jealousy, and disobedience.

Ethan’s end mirrored Saul’s in many ways. After losing his position and feeling estranged from his family, Ethan believed that the destruction he had caused was irreversible. He saw no path to redemption, no way to rebuild the shattered pieces of his life. In his isolation and despair, he took his own life, convinced that there was no other way out.

Final Reflection

Both Saul and Ethan serve as sobering reminders of the dangers of unchecked sin, pride, and despair. Their stories highlight the importance of repentance, accountability, and humility. While the Bible is clear that God’s grace is available to all who seek it, Saul and Ethan show us what can happen when a person refuses to turn back from the path of destruction. Their tragic ends are not just stories of individual failure, but warnings to all of us about the power of unchecked internal defilements—how fear, pride, and deceit can spiral into something far worse if left unaddressed.

Yet, their stories also contain a message of hope: the importance of reaching out for help before it’s too late. Whether through prayer, counseling, or confiding in loved ones, the path to redemption is always available—if we are willing to take it.

Q&A

Here is a list of 20 thought-provoking questions that a Bible study leader could use to help students deeply engage with the parallels between King Saul’s story and the fictional story of Ethan, along with the broader biblical themes of spiritual decline, accountability, and repentance:

Section 1: Early Success and Humility

1. What role did humility play in Saul’s and Ethan’s early leadership, and how did it shape their initial success? What can we learn from this?
2. How does fear of failure manifest differently in Saul’s decision to offer the unlawful sacrifice and Ethan’s early compromises at work? In what ways does fear challenge our faith today?

Section 2: Small Compromises and Gateway Defilements

3. Saul and Ethan both made small compromises that escalated into larger issues. How do “gateway defilements” such as impatience and pride open the door for greater sin in our own lives?
4. In both stories, fear of man—worrying about what others think—seemed to drive major decisions. Why is fear of man so dangerous, and how can Christians combat this fear?
5. How does partial obedience, as demonstrated by Saul sparing Agag and Ethan fudging numbers, ultimately equate to full disobedience in God’s eyes?

Section 3: Major Transgressions and Turning Points

6. Why did Saul fail to fully accept responsibility after disobeying God’s command with the Amalekites, and how did that lead to his rejection as king? How does personal responsibility—or the lack thereof—impact leadership today?
7. In what ways did Ethan’s refusal to acknowledge his mistakes parallel Saul’s rebellion against God’s instructions? What spiritual dangers are present when we rely on self-justification rather than repentance?
8. Why do you think both Saul and Ethan doubled down on their mistakes rather than choosing to repent? What does this say about human nature and the struggle between pride and humility?

Section 4: The Role of Jealousy and Isolation

9. How did jealousy and envy play a role in Saul’s actions against David, and how did it contribute to Ethan’s betrayal of Brad? Why is jealousy so destructive to relationships, both personally and spiritually?
10. Both men isolated themselves emotionally and spiritually. How does isolation deepen sin’s hold on us, and what are practical ways to avoid this in our own lives?
11. How did Saul’s and Ethan’s fear of losing control contribute to their growing paranoia? What role does faith in God’s sovereignty play in releasing control over our lives?

Section 5: Desperation and Betrayal

12. Saul ordered the massacre of the priests at Nob, and Ethan turned Brad into a scapegoat to protect himself. What do these acts reveal about the lengths people will go to in order to preserve their image? How does desperation warp our moral compass?
13. How does unrepentant sin, over time, lead to increasingly severe and reckless actions? Can you identify moments in your own life when unchecked sin started affecting your decisions?

Section 6: Final Despair and Spiritual Death

14. Saul sought out the Witch of Endor in a desperate attempt for guidance, violating God’s law. How does spiritual desperation lead people to seek answers outside of God, and what modern examples might we see today?
15. What was the significance of Saul and Ethan both taking their own lives? How does the Bible address hopelessness, and what could have been done differently if they had sought help earlier?
16. In both stories, failure to repent led to despair. How does genuine repentance offer a way out of despair, and why do some people still choose not to take that path?

Section 7: Reflection on Spiritual Decline

17. Why is it easier to recognize the downfall of others (like Saul or Ethan) but harder to see the warning signs in our own lives? What practical steps can we take to remain vigilant against spiritual decline?
18. Both Saul and Ethan were given multiple opportunities to turn back but refused. What does this teach us about God’s patience and the consequences of hardening our hearts?
19. What role does pride play in blocking the path to repentance? How can we develop humility in leadership roles, both at home and in the workplace?
20. Saul and Ethan believed there was no escape from their failures, leading them to take drastic actions. What biblical truths can help someone who feels like they have no hope or way out of their struggles?

These questions aim to spark deep reflection on the themes of spiritual decline, unchecked sin, and the importance of repentance, drawing connections between the story of King Saul, Ethan’s fictional narrative, and the students’ personal lives.

The story:  Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7