8 Bible Verses about Ambition, Example Of

Then they said, "Come on! Let's build ourselves a city and a tower, with its summit in the heavens, and let's make a name for ourselves so we won't be scattered over the surface of the whole earth."

They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, "You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the LORD is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the LORD's assembly?" When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, "In the morning, may the LORD reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen. read more.
Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers and put fire and incense in them in the LORD's presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the LORD chooses will be holy. You're taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi." Moses also told Korah, "Listen now, you descendants of Levi! Is it such an insignificant thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelis to draw you to himself, appointing you to do the work of the tent of the LORD and to stand before the community to minister to them? He brought you near, along with all of your relatives, the descendants of Levi. Are you also seeking the priesthood? Therefore you and your group have conspired against the LORD and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?" So Moses sent for Eliab's sons Dathan and Abiram, but they responded, "We're not coming. Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you're trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren't you? You still haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way? We won't go up." Moses was very angry, so he told the LORD, "Please don't accept their offering. I haven't taken even one donkey from them nor have I hurt even one of them." Then Moses told Korah, "You and your entire company are to present yourselves in the LORD's presence tomorrow you, they, and Aaron. Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the LORD's presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer." So each man took his censer, put fire coals inside of it, placed incense in it, and then stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, accompanied by Moses and Aaron. When Korah had assembled the entire community in opposition to Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire community. Then the LORD told Moses and Aaron, "Separate yourselves from among this community, and I'll destroy them in a moment." Then they fell on their faces and said, "God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry at the entire congregation on account of one man's sin?" Then the LORD instructed Moses, "Tell the community to move away from where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are living." So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. Then he told the community, "Move away from the camps of these wicked men and don't touch anything that belongs to them. That way you won't be destroyed along with all their sins." So they all moved away from the entire area where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were living. Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. Then Moses said, "This is how you'll know that the LORD has sent me to do all these awesome works they're not coming merely from me. If these people die a death similar to all other human beings, or if they are punished with a punishment common to other men, then the LORD didn't send me. But if the LORD creates something new, so that the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they all descend directly to Sheol while still alive, then you'll know that these men have spurned the LORD." Just as he finished saying all these things, the ground under them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, all their households, everyone who was affiliated with Korah, and all of their property. So they and all that belonged to them descended alive to Sheol. Then the earth closed over them. That's how they were annihilated from the assembly. Then all of the Israelis who were around them ran away when they heard them crying, ""so the ground won't swallow us up, too." After this, fire came from the LORD and incinerated the 250 men who offered the incense.

Then Jerubbaal's son Abimelech went to his mother's relatives in Shechem. He spoke to the entire family of his mother's father, telling them, "Ask all the "lords" of Shechem, "What's better for you? That 70 men, each of them Jerubbaal's sons, rule over you? Or that one man rule over you?' Keep in mind that I'm like your own close relative." So his mother's relatives spoke all of this on his behalf in the presence of all the "lords" of Shechem. Since they were inclined to follow Abimelech, they said, "He's our relative!" read more.
and they gave him 70 silver coins from the temple that they had built to Baal-berith. Abimelech hired some worthless and useless men, who followed him to his father's house in Ophrah. There he murdered his own brothers, Jerubbaal's sons all 70 of them in one place. But Jerubbaal's youngest son Jotham survived by hiding himself. All the men from Shechem and Beth-millo gathered together and set up Abimelech as king near the pillar erected in Shechem.

Sometime later, Absalom acquired a chariot equipped with horses and recruited 50 men to accompany him. Then he would get up early, stand near the passageway to the palace gate, and when anyone arrived to file a legal complaint for a hearing before the king, Absalom would call to him and ask, "You're from what city?" If he replied, "Your servant is from one of Israel's tribes," Absalom would respond, "Look, your claims are valid and defensible, but nobody will listen to you on behalf of the king. read more.
Who will appoint me to be a judge in the land? When anyone arrived to file a legal complaint or other cause, he could approach me for justice and I would settle it!" Furthermore, if a man approached him to bow down in front of him, he would put out his hand, grab him, and embrace him. By doing all of this to anyone who came to the king for a hearing, Absalom stole the loyalty of the men of Israel. And so it was that forty years after Israel had demanded a king, Absalom asked the king, "Please let me go to Hebron so I can pay my vow that I made to the LORD, because when I was living at Geshur in Aram, your servant made this solemn promise: "If the LORD ever brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.'" The king replied to him, "Go in peace!" So Absalom got up and left for Hebron. But Absalom sent agents throughout all of the tribes of Israel, telling them, "When you hear the sound of the battle trumpet, you're to announce that Absalom is king in Hebron." Meanwhile, 200 men left Jerusalem with Absalom. They had been invited to go along, but were innocent, not knowing anything about what was happening. Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom. Then a messenger arrived to inform David, "The loyalties of the men of Israel have shifted to Absalom."

Haman went out that day pleased and happy, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, and that he did not stand up and tremble in his presence, Haman was furious with Mordecai. Haman restrained himself, went to his house, and sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh. Then Haman told them about his splendid wealth, the number of his sons, all the ways the king had honored him, and that he had promoted him above all the other officials and ministers of the king.read more.
Then Haman said, "Even Queen Esther brought no one except me with the king to the banquet that she held. Furthermore, I (along with the king) have also been invited by her tomorrow. But all this does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said, "Have a pole made 50 cubits high, and then in the morning speak to the king and have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet happy." This advice pleased Haman, and he had the pole made.

Some time later, king Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue, making it 60 cubits high and six cubits wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley within the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the regional authorities, governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other administrators of the provinces, ordering them to come to the dedication of the statue that he had erected. So the regional authorities, governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other administrators of the provinces assembled to dedicate the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They took their places in front of the statue that he had erected. read more.
Then a herald proclaimed aloud: "People of all nations, and languages are commanded: Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. Anyone who does not fall down and worship is immediately to be thrown into the blazing fire furnace." Therefore, when all of the people "heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments," all the "people, nations, and languages" began to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, went to Jesus and told him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you." He asked them, "What do you want me to do for you?" They asked him, "Let us sit in your glory, one on your right and one on your left."

Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for it will not come unless the rebellion takes place first and the man of sin, who is destined for destruction, is revealed.