“Come on Man”: Saying it to Bible Characters and Ourselves

For some time, I have been envisioning a series / book that highlights the sort of “come on man” passages in Scripture.

Here is a preliminary list. What am I missing?

1. “The woman – – the one you gave  me (Genesis 3:12)” – Adam blames both Eve and God for his sin. The serpent was an obvious choice if looking to blame-shift, or why not blame a koala or a kangaroo before saying “the woman you gave me” – – best not to blame shift to God? Come on man.
2. “Am I not more to you than ten sons (1 Samuel 1:8 ESV)?” – Elkanah attempts to comfort his childless and heartbroken wife by telling her that he is the ancient equivalent of Elvis Presley. For some reason, this is a personal favorite of my wife’s.  Come on man.
3.  “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman (1 Samuel 20:30)” – Best not to translate Saul’s sentiment in a strictly literal way. But he is furious with Jonathan’s righteous behavior, and given that Saul was Jonathan’s father, he could only blame it on Jonathan’s mother. Sadly the words “perverse” and “rebellious” defined Saul. Come on man.
4. “I am the only one left and they’re trying to kill me too (1 Kings 19:10)” – After one of the greatest spiritual victories in history on Mt. Carmel, Elijah is ready to call it quits. He had witnessed fire came down and consume the altar, but questions if he can continue. Most spiritual leaders, this one included, have pouted under the broom tree but that doesn’t make it okay. Come on man.
5. “I will disguise myself and go into battle (1 Kings 22:30).” – Ahab figures if he puts on a costume God won’t spot him in the battle. In response, God has some random bench-warmer fire off an arrow to take him out (1 Kings 22:34). Sort of hard to hide from God. Come on man.
6. “I am mad enough to die (Jonah 4:9).” – God gives Jonah a chance to quit throwing a temper tantrum. Jonah is mad because Ninevah responded to his preaching – – go figure. In response, Jonah doubles down and says he is mad enough to die. Come on man.

You can probably list a half dozen more. Picking out the “come on man” moments from Scripture is like slamming dunking a nerf ball through a hoop hanging from the door. The harder shot is spotting the “Come on man” in our own lives. Yet it’s just what we need do – –  to prayerfully look in the mirror – – when all our ways seem innocent to us (Proverbs 16:2) – – pray Psalm 139:23-24 – -be convicted by the Holy Spirit – – and say in repentance to ourselves – – “come on man” – – so that we can step forward in being more Christ-like.