Upon them the light has sprung up
Matthew
{4:12} Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee
{4:13} And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
{4:14} That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying
{4:15} The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles
{4:16} The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. {4:17} From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Isaiah
{9:2} The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined.
People walked in darkness
People have seen a great light
Us who dwell in the land of the shadow of death
Upon them the light has sprung up.
Jesus began to preach-
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
When you've walked in darkness and see a great light it's a good thing. People as a rule seek the light, they see the daylight and are more at ease in the day than they are at night. People seek shelter at night, they settle down to sleep away the darkness so they can be awake during the day. Daylight is more productive. Light is equated with goodness, and darkness evil. Light is equated with knowledge, darkness the lack of knowledge. When we walk in the light we have enlightenment, our knowlege is increased and in this case, we who live forever under the shadow of a future death are offered life in the kingdom of Heaven. We are called to repentance. To acknowledge that in and of our own selves we are nothing and we cannot escape the shadow of death that lingers over us. Only through Christ, only through salvation through Christ are we given real life, life everlasting. Only through Christ are we given the hope, the light that springs out of the darkness. Repent, acknowledge we are sinners worthy of that death, sinners worthy of nothing more but darkness, sinners who know that the way to escape lies not within ourselves but through Christ. Repent, feel remorse for our sinful state, a state so far from that of Christ's.
By the grace of God, by the mercy of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ let us cling to Him begging His forgiveness through repentance may we find the kingdom of heaven He offers in Him and Him alone.
Amen.
7/14/10
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
In the days before Christ returns we will be…
Eating
Drinking
Marrying
Giving in marriage
It's safe to say we'll also be…
Watching television
Going to work
Playing golf
Using a computer
Talking on a cellphone
Attending school
Life will be going on as normal.
Now let's catch a picture of all this. Noah was building an ark. The ark wasn't built overnight. The Bible isn't specific on how long it took to build the ark but we know it was after Noah was 500 years old and before 600. Given the tools of the time and the size of the job it's a fair assumption that it took a long time to build the ark, right? So here we are, Noah begins working on the ark and that garners some attention from people. At first they're curious and as time goes on and this ark keeps getting bigger again it's a fair assumption that he became something of a laughing stock. Today if someone were building something on the same scale-- let's say they're building another ark but this one is for time travel-- it's huge, it's being built because this guy thinks that in time the power will come from somewhere that will enable this huge time machine to work. At first we'd see this guy and his work in progress on the news, and on our computers, there would be talk of him on twitter and pictures of him on cellphones. People would visit him out of curiosity and for the fun of it and yes, he'd be made fun of and probably called a lunatic. As time passed we'd keep an eye on Him, the crowds wouldn't be as thick any longer but there would still be visitors and maybe a weekly update on his progress on the Tonight Show. You understand what I'm trying to do here, I'm trying to make a comparison to Noah's day and Our day-- but I'm also trying to create the image of Noah's day and how things might have been. People would go about their day to day business after the novelty of the Noah's building an ark had worn off.
Jesus is going to return-- that's a fact.
People go about their every day lives and will continue to do so until Jesus returns.
So many people are expecting a period of time to get ready. So many people are expecting a warning that they cannot ignore- such as an end of the world scenario. They want there to be such a crisis that it can't be anything but the end of the world and of course Jesus comes before the end of the world sooooo…. I mean during our natural disasters you hear of people talking about thinking the world was coming to an end because that's what it felt like to them. Has the world ended…no. Also, the trouble today is we're being conditioned with every earthquake, every destructive hurricane, every season of raging wild fires, tornados, floods, etc. to think of them more and more as commonplace and less and less as warnings of any sort. Wars, natural disasters, countries in peril, local, state, providence murders, thefts, criminal activity of all kinds, we are becoming desensitized to it all. Is it no wonder at all that when Jesus returns people will be going about their business as usual, that the warnings will not be heeded?
We have to live with the expectation of Jesus returning at any time! We cannot rely on any great flash of a warning sign showing up in our heads driving us crazy until we pay attention. We cannot wait until we're done sowing our oats of sin. We cannot wait to get *things* out of our system before expecting our Savior.
We NEED to live every day expecting Jesus to return.
We NEED to live every day with that hope in our hearts.
We NEED to live ready to spend eternity with our loving Savior at every moment.
May God bless us and help us to live in expectation of our Savior's return now and always. As we live our lives in what we deem a normal way let Him forever be before us in our spirit, our thoughts, our hearts. It's too easy to become desensitized to life's tragedies but rather than be desensitized may the Holy Spirit convict our hearts to feel the pain of all the horrors we live with so that we may never be accepting of the sin that caused it all. Let our tears be shed now knowing some day they will be all wiped away.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior now and forever in HIS righteousness through His love.
Amen.
7/14/11
1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression
which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he
kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to
enquire of it;
1Ch 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore
he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died FOR his
TRANSGRESSION which he committed against the LORD- even the WORD of the LORD-
which he kept NOT.
Also for asking
counsel of one that had a familiar spirit to enquire of it and enquired NOT of
the LORD.
Therefore HE slew
him and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died for his
sin!
Died for sinning
against the LORD.
Died for sinning
against the Word of the LORD.
Died for asking
counsel of a witch.
Died for NOT
enquiring counsel from the LORD.
Yet today we sin
with abandon and if we suspect there might be an eventual punishment for our
sins we decide that we won't worry too much about it, but maybe we'll throw out
a general God forgive me, I know Jesus died for me, and that will be that.
Why do we think
we won't be punished by God for our sins against Him?
Why do we live
believing we can do as we please and have to answer to no one?
Seriously.
More and more
this is hitting me as society grows worse and worse. People do not believe that
God is a God of justice. They have made forgiveness of our Savior the end of it
all and choose NOT to believe that
their sins really matter at all.
Sinning is
nothing major because it's no worse than a dirty spot on a floor - easily wiped
away.
Sin?
People more and more are choosing not to believe in sin at all
whatsoever.
Call something a
sin and people look at you oddly, right? Even if it might be a sin, we aren't
supposed to tell people they're sinning. We are supposed to politely ignore sin
because society has labeled so much of sin acceptable. It's all around us.
Everyday we come face to face with sin and people entrenched in sin yet we no
longer call sin… sin.
Will people die
for sinning against the LORD?
Yes.
Nothing changed
from the death causing sins of Saul's day to death causing sins of today.
People still sin
against the LORD. People still sin against the word of the LORD. People still
enquire after those with familiar spirits rather than seeking the LORD.
Remember during
our prophecy studies we learned that there are only sacrifices for the sins
people make in ignorance, sins people commit by mistake. If people were going to
be forgiven for sins they committed knowingly it wasn't done through a
sacrifice. People didn't go out and purposefully steal then take the
prerequisite spotless lamb to the priest and have their sin atoned for.
Remember David?
He said this--
Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else
would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
This was during
the time of daily sacrifices. So how could David say- 'For thou desirest not
sacrifice.'
David sinned
purposefully- remember?
2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide,
that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house:
and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very
beautiful to look upon.
2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the
woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of
Uriah the Hittite?
2Sa 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took
her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from
her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
2Sa 11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and
told David, and said, I am with child.
Purposeful
sin.
2Sa 11:6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me
Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
2Sa 11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David
demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war
prospered.
2Sa 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy
house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there
followed him a mess of meat from the king.
2Sa 11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the
king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:10 And when they had told David, saying,
Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from
thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
2Sa 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and
Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my
lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat
and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth,
I will not do this thing.
2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to
day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that
day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did
eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie
on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:14 And it came to pass in the morning,
that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set
ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he
may be smitten, and die.
2Sa 11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed
the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men
were.
2Sa 11:17 And the men of the city went out, and
fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David;
and Uriah the Hittite died also.
Purposeful
sin.
Covetousness
Adultery
Deception
Murder
2Sa 11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that
Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
2Sa 11:27 And when the mourning was past, David
sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
But the thing
that David had done displeased the LORD
David displeased
the LORD. As well He should have-
HE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD'S COMMANDS!
David couldn't
have gone to the priest and offered a sacrifice to rid Himself of the guilt of
what he'd done, it wasn't possible. There was purpose in his sinning, not
ignorance, not forgetfulness.
2Sa 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David.
And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one
rich, and the other poor.
2Sa 12:2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks
and herds:
2Sa 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one
little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together
with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his
own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
2Sa 12:4 And there came a traveller unto the
rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress
for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and
dressed it for the man that was come to him.
2Sa 12:5 And David's anger was greatly kindled
against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath
done this thing shall surely die
2Sa 12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold,
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
2Sa 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the
man.
Thus saith the
LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out
of the hand of Saul;
2Sa 12:8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and
thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of
Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee
such and such things.
2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the
commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the
Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain
him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
God did not
overlook David's sin just because he was David, His beloved. David was guilty of
despising the commandment of the LORD. David was guilty of doing evil in the
LORD'S sight. David purposefully
killed Uriah after committing adultery with Uriah's wife and getting her
pregnant. Then David took Uriah's
wife as his own and she bore their child conceived out of wedlock, conceived by
adultery. Yes, David sinned a great sin and the LORD does not overlook sin, He
can't.
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never
depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife
of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives
before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy
wives in the sight of this sun.
2Sa 12:12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will
do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
Evil would be
raised up against David.
Evil from his own
house.
David's wives
would be taken from him and given to his neighbor.
David's wives
would lay with his neighbor.
All of Israel
would witness this punishment done to David- even though all of Israel did not
witness David's sins which David did in secret. Nothing is secret to our God,
nothing!
2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have
sinned against the LORD.
David admitted to
his sinning- he made NO excuses. David didn't try to talk his way out of what
happened as people so often try to do when confronted with their sin. They make
excuses as to why they did what they did, what provoked them. Some even blame
God for allowing temptation to be put in their way, as if they expect God to
keep them in a protective bubble, never to have to face the temptation to sin.
People want what not even God's Son was given. Jesus had to face great
temptation, Jesus was tempted in all points just like all of us are. There is
NO protective bubble. We have to decide to do what is right, decide to be God's
first and foremost. We must
decide to lay at the feet of our Savior and depend upon Him for all things.
And
Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast
given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also
that is born unto thee shall surely die.
The LORD put away
David's sin.
Unless the LORD
had put away David's sin- David would have retained the guilt and not been
forgiven. The LORD had to put
away David's sin, but that didn't keep David from punishment for His sinning, it
kept David from dying.
The enemy of
David would be given advantage and the child that David fathered with the wife
of Uriah would die. Anyone who has
ever lost a child knows the pain of that loss. Anyone who has ever inadvertently
been the cause of that child's death knows the horrific pain of that tragic
happenstance. David's sin was the cause of his child's death, and his son
didn't die outright.
2Sa 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And
the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very
sick.
2Sa 12:16 David therefore besought God for the
child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
2Sa 12:17 And the elders of his house arose, and
went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he
eat bread with them.
2Sa 12:18 And it came to pass on the seventh day,
that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child
was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto
him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if
we tell him that the child is dead?
2Sa 12:19 But when David saw that his servants
whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto
his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
2Sa 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and
washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house
of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he
required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
2Sa 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What
thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while
it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet
alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious
to me, that the child may live?
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I
fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to
me.
David suffered
knowing what his sin had resulted in. We all suffer as we reap the rewards of
our sins. If we are blessed then the LORD will cause our sins to pass- by the
grace of our Savior, by the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ we will find
forgiveness for our many, many sins- inadvertent and purposeful- only through
our Savior do we live and through nothing else.
Let us recognize
our sins. Let us recognize sin
wherever it exists and NOT accept it, NOT make it something good for us. May God help us to keep the blinders
off our eyes, let the Holy Spirit keep our eyes opened to ALL truth in the
LORD.
By His love, His
mercy, His grace, His righteousness!
Amen.
{4:12} Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee
{4:13} And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
{4:14} That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying
{4:15} The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles
{4:16} The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. {4:17} From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Isaiah
{9:2} The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined.
People walked in darkness
People have seen a great light
Us who dwell in the land of the shadow of death
Upon them the light has sprung up.
Jesus began to preach-
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
When you've walked in darkness and see a great light it's a good thing. People as a rule seek the light, they see the daylight and are more at ease in the day than they are at night. People seek shelter at night, they settle down to sleep away the darkness so they can be awake during the day. Daylight is more productive. Light is equated with goodness, and darkness evil. Light is equated with knowledge, darkness the lack of knowledge. When we walk in the light we have enlightenment, our knowlege is increased and in this case, we who live forever under the shadow of a future death are offered life in the kingdom of Heaven. We are called to repentance. To acknowledge that in and of our own selves we are nothing and we cannot escape the shadow of death that lingers over us. Only through Christ, only through salvation through Christ are we given real life, life everlasting. Only through Christ are we given the hope, the light that springs out of the darkness. Repent, acknowledge we are sinners worthy of that death, sinners worthy of nothing more but darkness, sinners who know that the way to escape lies not within ourselves but through Christ. Repent, feel remorse for our sinful state, a state so far from that of Christ's.
By the grace of God, by the mercy of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ let us cling to Him begging His forgiveness through repentance may we find the kingdom of heaven He offers in Him and Him alone.
Amen.
7/14/10
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
In the days before Christ returns we will be…
Eating
Drinking
Marrying
Giving in marriage
It's safe to say we'll also be…
Watching television
Going to work
Playing golf
Using a computer
Talking on a cellphone
Attending school
Life will be going on as normal.
Now let's catch a picture of all this. Noah was building an ark. The ark wasn't built overnight. The Bible isn't specific on how long it took to build the ark but we know it was after Noah was 500 years old and before 600. Given the tools of the time and the size of the job it's a fair assumption that it took a long time to build the ark, right? So here we are, Noah begins working on the ark and that garners some attention from people. At first they're curious and as time goes on and this ark keeps getting bigger again it's a fair assumption that he became something of a laughing stock. Today if someone were building something on the same scale-- let's say they're building another ark but this one is for time travel-- it's huge, it's being built because this guy thinks that in time the power will come from somewhere that will enable this huge time machine to work. At first we'd see this guy and his work in progress on the news, and on our computers, there would be talk of him on twitter and pictures of him on cellphones. People would visit him out of curiosity and for the fun of it and yes, he'd be made fun of and probably called a lunatic. As time passed we'd keep an eye on Him, the crowds wouldn't be as thick any longer but there would still be visitors and maybe a weekly update on his progress on the Tonight Show. You understand what I'm trying to do here, I'm trying to make a comparison to Noah's day and Our day-- but I'm also trying to create the image of Noah's day and how things might have been. People would go about their day to day business after the novelty of the Noah's building an ark had worn off.
Jesus is going to return-- that's a fact.
People go about their every day lives and will continue to do so until Jesus returns.
So many people are expecting a period of time to get ready. So many people are expecting a warning that they cannot ignore- such as an end of the world scenario. They want there to be such a crisis that it can't be anything but the end of the world and of course Jesus comes before the end of the world sooooo…. I mean during our natural disasters you hear of people talking about thinking the world was coming to an end because that's what it felt like to them. Has the world ended…no. Also, the trouble today is we're being conditioned with every earthquake, every destructive hurricane, every season of raging wild fires, tornados, floods, etc. to think of them more and more as commonplace and less and less as warnings of any sort. Wars, natural disasters, countries in peril, local, state, providence murders, thefts, criminal activity of all kinds, we are becoming desensitized to it all. Is it no wonder at all that when Jesus returns people will be going about their business as usual, that the warnings will not be heeded?
We have to live with the expectation of Jesus returning at any time! We cannot rely on any great flash of a warning sign showing up in our heads driving us crazy until we pay attention. We cannot wait until we're done sowing our oats of sin. We cannot wait to get *things* out of our system before expecting our Savior.
We NEED to live every day expecting Jesus to return.
We NEED to live every day with that hope in our hearts.
We NEED to live ready to spend eternity with our loving Savior at every moment.
May God bless us and help us to live in expectation of our Savior's return now and always. As we live our lives in what we deem a normal way let Him forever be before us in our spirit, our thoughts, our hearts. It's too easy to become desensitized to life's tragedies but rather than be desensitized may the Holy Spirit convict our hearts to feel the pain of all the horrors we live with so that we may never be accepting of the sin that caused it all. Let our tears be shed now knowing some day they will be all wiped away.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior now and forever in HIS righteousness through His love.
Amen.
7/14/11
1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression
which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he
kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to
enquire of it;
1Ch 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore
he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died FOR his
TRANSGRESSION which he committed against the LORD- even the WORD of the LORD-
which he kept NOT.
Also for asking
counsel of one that had a familiar spirit to enquire of it and enquired NOT of
the LORD.
Therefore HE slew
him and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Died for his
sin!
Died for sinning
against the LORD.
Died for sinning
against the Word of the LORD.
Died for asking
counsel of a witch.
Died for NOT
enquiring counsel from the LORD.
Yet today we sin
with abandon and if we suspect there might be an eventual punishment for our
sins we decide that we won't worry too much about it, but maybe we'll throw out
a general God forgive me, I know Jesus died for me, and that will be that.
Why do we think
we won't be punished by God for our sins against Him?
Why do we live
believing we can do as we please and have to answer to no one?
Seriously.
More and more
this is hitting me as society grows worse and worse. People do not believe that
God is a God of justice. They have made forgiveness of our Savior the end of it
all and choose NOT to believe that
their sins really matter at all.
Sinning is
nothing major because it's no worse than a dirty spot on a floor - easily wiped
away.
Sin?
People more and more are choosing not to believe in sin at all
whatsoever.
Call something a
sin and people look at you oddly, right? Even if it might be a sin, we aren't
supposed to tell people they're sinning. We are supposed to politely ignore sin
because society has labeled so much of sin acceptable. It's all around us.
Everyday we come face to face with sin and people entrenched in sin yet we no
longer call sin… sin.
Will people die
for sinning against the LORD?
Yes.
Nothing changed
from the death causing sins of Saul's day to death causing sins of today.
People still sin
against the LORD. People still sin against the word of the LORD. People still
enquire after those with familiar spirits rather than seeking the LORD.
Remember during
our prophecy studies we learned that there are only sacrifices for the sins
people make in ignorance, sins people commit by mistake. If people were going to
be forgiven for sins they committed knowingly it wasn't done through a
sacrifice. People didn't go out and purposefully steal then take the
prerequisite spotless lamb to the priest and have their sin atoned for.
Remember David?
He said this--
Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else
would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
This was during
the time of daily sacrifices. So how could David say- 'For thou desirest not
sacrifice.'
David sinned
purposefully- remember?
2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide,
that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house:
and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very
beautiful to look upon.
2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the
woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of
Uriah the Hittite?
2Sa 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took
her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from
her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
2Sa 11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and
told David, and said, I am with child.
Purposeful
sin.
2Sa 11:6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me
Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
2Sa 11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David
demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war
prospered.
2Sa 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy
house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there
followed him a mess of meat from the king.
2Sa 11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the
king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:10 And when they had told David, saying,
Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from
thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
2Sa 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and
Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my
lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat
and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth,
I will not do this thing.
2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to
day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that
day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did
eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie
on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:14 And it came to pass in the morning,
that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set
ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he
may be smitten, and die.
2Sa 11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed
the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men
were.
2Sa 11:17 And the men of the city went out, and
fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David;
and Uriah the Hittite died also.
Purposeful
sin.
Covetousness
Adultery
Deception
Murder
2Sa 11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that
Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
2Sa 11:27 And when the mourning was past, David
sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
But the thing
that David had done displeased the LORD
David displeased
the LORD. As well He should have-
HE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD'S COMMANDS!
David couldn't
have gone to the priest and offered a sacrifice to rid Himself of the guilt of
what he'd done, it wasn't possible. There was purpose in his sinning, not
ignorance, not forgetfulness.
2Sa 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David.
And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one
rich, and the other poor.
2Sa 12:2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks
and herds:
2Sa 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one
little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together
with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his
own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
2Sa 12:4 And there came a traveller unto the
rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress
for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and
dressed it for the man that was come to him.
2Sa 12:5 And David's anger was greatly kindled
against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath
done this thing shall surely die
2Sa 12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold,
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
2Sa 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the
man.
Thus saith the
LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out
of the hand of Saul;
2Sa 12:8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and
thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of
Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee
such and such things.
2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the
commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the
Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain
him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
God did not
overlook David's sin just because he was David, His beloved. David was guilty of
despising the commandment of the LORD. David was guilty of doing evil in the
LORD'S sight. David purposefully
killed Uriah after committing adultery with Uriah's wife and getting her
pregnant. Then David took Uriah's
wife as his own and she bore their child conceived out of wedlock, conceived by
adultery. Yes, David sinned a great sin and the LORD does not overlook sin, He
can't.
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never
depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife
of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives
before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy
wives in the sight of this sun.
2Sa 12:12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will
do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
Evil would be
raised up against David.
Evil from his own
house.
David's wives
would be taken from him and given to his neighbor.
David's wives
would lay with his neighbor.
All of Israel
would witness this punishment done to David- even though all of Israel did not
witness David's sins which David did in secret. Nothing is secret to our God,
nothing!
2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have
sinned against the LORD.
David admitted to
his sinning- he made NO excuses. David didn't try to talk his way out of what
happened as people so often try to do when confronted with their sin. They make
excuses as to why they did what they did, what provoked them. Some even blame
God for allowing temptation to be put in their way, as if they expect God to
keep them in a protective bubble, never to have to face the temptation to sin.
People want what not even God's Son was given. Jesus had to face great
temptation, Jesus was tempted in all points just like all of us are. There is
NO protective bubble. We have to decide to do what is right, decide to be God's
first and foremost. We must
decide to lay at the feet of our Savior and depend upon Him for all things.
And
Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast
given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also
that is born unto thee shall surely die.
The LORD put away
David's sin.
Unless the LORD
had put away David's sin- David would have retained the guilt and not been
forgiven. The LORD had to put
away David's sin, but that didn't keep David from punishment for His sinning, it
kept David from dying.
The enemy of
David would be given advantage and the child that David fathered with the wife
of Uriah would die. Anyone who has
ever lost a child knows the pain of that loss. Anyone who has ever inadvertently
been the cause of that child's death knows the horrific pain of that tragic
happenstance. David's sin was the cause of his child's death, and his son
didn't die outright.
2Sa 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And
the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very
sick.
2Sa 12:16 David therefore besought God for the
child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
2Sa 12:17 And the elders of his house arose, and
went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he
eat bread with them.
2Sa 12:18 And it came to pass on the seventh day,
that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child
was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto
him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if
we tell him that the child is dead?
2Sa 12:19 But when David saw that his servants
whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto
his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
2Sa 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and
washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house
of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he
required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
2Sa 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What
thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while
it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet
alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious
to me, that the child may live?
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I
fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to
me.
David suffered
knowing what his sin had resulted in. We all suffer as we reap the rewards of
our sins. If we are blessed then the LORD will cause our sins to pass- by the
grace of our Savior, by the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ we will find
forgiveness for our many, many sins- inadvertent and purposeful- only through
our Savior do we live and through nothing else.
Let us recognize
our sins. Let us recognize sin
wherever it exists and NOT accept it, NOT make it something good for us. May God help us to keep the blinders
off our eyes, let the Holy Spirit keep our eyes opened to ALL truth in the
LORD.
By His love, His
mercy, His grace, His righteousness!
Amen.