Last week we talked about a man who committed grievous sin, Judas, was remorseful, but not repentant. This week we will look at another man who also committed great sin, David, but in this case he did repent.
As always this is my interpretation of what I have read. I look forward to the thoughts of my CF friends, or anyone else, who has studied the Bible more than I have.
I think we can see the difference between how these two men dealt with their sin in the 4th verses of Psalm 51, King James Version, where David says:
4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
David came to understand that repentance can only come by turning to God. That he needed the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to transform his life away from sin, and to God’s guidance.
In verse 10 he says:
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
It is the goal of the CF to listen to the right spirit (Holy Spirit) within them, and let it guide them in their walk in life.
Psalm 51 – King James Version (When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.)
1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
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November 12, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Indian Lake Papa
I think of all the lists of “sins” made public in the bible this one has a very important lesson. Be sure to know that sin carries heavy consequences. The verse that angers me and scares me the most about the Bathsheba incident is 2 Samuel 11:14. David just dug a hole that he could not get out of – and God really got upset – David never fully recovered after this and even his own family wanted him dead. Sin ALWAYS has consequences. How could a king turn so ugly on a man (Uriah) who literally worshiped his king and even died for him. Uriah was listed as one of David’s 30 mighty men – 2 Samuel 23 (the last verse). 2 Samuel 23 (9 through 17 especially) fascinates me.
November 13, 2009 at 8:59 pm
edfromct
Papa, the story of David does clearly shows that great sin has terrible consequences. That someone with the ability of David could be so corrupted by power, should serve as a warning to all leaders. Unfortunately it’s others, in this case Uriah, who also pay the price of this corruption.
Reading 2 Samuel 23 I see that David did have some mighty warriors at his side, but I have to wonder if the exploits of Josheb-Basshebeth, killing 800 men in one encounter, might be a tad exaggerated.
The story in verses 15 – 17 is a bit strange. David ask’s his men to risk their lives to get him water, then he just spills it on the ground?
15 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD. 17 “Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.
Seeing how far David fell should teach the CF the importance of re-inforceing their connection to their God everyday, for as long as they live. It is far too easy to be lead astray by temptation.
November 13, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Indian Lake Papa
Ed, the exploits of David’s might men – are extra ordinare !! He had thirty of them, when one died, he replaced the one. When David died he had thirty but had a totalcount of thirty-seven – apparently replaces seven, Uriah was one of those probably replaced.
The water incident is fascinating. David could not drink the water knowing his men had risked their lives for the water – to him it was water gotten with their blood. At times David was a very honorable man. His story is fascinating.
November 13, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Michelle
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight…
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
I am so thankful for David’s prayer of repentance. It’s good to read his heartfelt words and understanding of God’s judgment and mercy. And it’s good to know he was a man after God’s own heart, yet was not perfect…not. at. all. He put His trust completely in God. In God alone.
I’m learning to do the same.
It’s a life-long process…this sanctifying work…
I’m so grateful He remains faithful, even when I am unfaithful.
He loves His children just that much.
I had an opportunity to turn my back on my son when he sinned terribly in the eyes of the church and the world and God. But I didn’t. I forgave him his unfaithfulness, knowing God does the same for me. God, the Father, does not turn His back on His children. I stood by my son as he worked through (and is still working through) the restoration process, knowing God sees his heart. Who am I to judge?
A broken and contrite heart He does not despise…so good…
God is so good.
November 13, 2009 at 10:20 pm
edfromct
David abandoned his faith, when he gave into the corrupting temptation of power. Psalm 51 shows his God never abandoned David, and was there for him when he finally repented in his heart.
It does seem to often take a broken, and contrite, heart for a CF to learn to place their trust in their God. As you say, this transformation is a lifelong process.
November 14, 2009 at 12:37 am
Michelle
Hey, Ed. It’s interesting that you say David abandoned his faith. I don’t see that. He did commit terrible sins…sins which deserved “bloodguiltiness”…sins deserving capital punishment. But God heard his cry of repentance and restored him. He would not have called out to God to forgive him if he had no faith. He does want his joy restored…the heaviness of the guilt gone…and his spirit renewed. All of those are signs of great faith. He knows only God can do this for him.
He did lose his first child with Bathsheba as a result of his sin. However, his second became the most wise man the world has ever known, Solomon.
Somehow, in the sovereignty of God and man’s free will running side by side…all of this worked together for good. Bathsheba was to be the mother of Solomon through David’s seed. That does not excuse anything David did. It was evil in God’s eyes but God had ordained Solomon to be born and to reign as king.
Sin in the life of a believer (and David was considered a believer since he was waiting for the coming Messiah) is forgiven. It is a terrible witness…an awful stench in God’s nostrils…but He does forgive when we cry out to Him.
Anyway, that’s what I understand the scripture to teach.
It is only in our brokenness that we see the greatness of His grace. He loves us even when we’re such screwups. I’m so thankful for that kind of loyal love…
November 14, 2009 at 12:48 am
Michelle
I don’t mean that God desired the evil done so Solomon could be born. I do not believe that. I do think Solomon was a part of God’s plan all along. I just wonder if in allowing David’s free-will, God allowed this evil too. Which also makes we wonder, if David had not taken Bathsheba and killed Uriah, would, in time, Bathsheba have been available for him to legitimately marry…? Would Uriah have died in battle without David’s intervention?
So many questions…
I do love that the Bible doesn’t hide these things from us. We see the servants of God in all their realness. Ugly to the core, yet desiring to serve the living God…and in faith they are able to do great things.
November 17, 2009 at 2:46 am
edfromct
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you guys. I had to do some emergency house/cat sitting for my cousin..
Michelle, I agree David may not have lost his faith so much as he closed his heart to his God’s commandments. He was seduced by power, and gave in to temptation. His sin was great, as where it’s consequences, but he did come to understand his crime, and did turn back to God’s will.
It’s is when we are broken that we turn to the source of our faith. For the CF knowing that their God is always there for them should provide the strong foundation they need to persevere.
My guess is that even if David have not given in to temptation with Bathsheba, he was becoming so seduced by his growing power that his spiritual downfall was inevitable. However he did repent and severed his God’s purpose in the end.
November 14, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Debs
Ed, actually I think a better comparison would be Peter and Judas since both actually denied with way different outcomes… but I wanted to ask before expanding…
November 17, 2009 at 2:48 am
edfromct
I will make Peter the subject of this weeks Bible Study. Any suggestions for verses to discuss?
November 14, 2009 at 11:25 pm
gchyayles
I have relied heavily on David’s “realness” in my faith walk and this is what I’ve learned:
No sin is unredeemable by God; that is the premise behind the very definition of who He is–the epitome of grace. Yes sin does have consequence but I do not believe that any one sin is greater than another; less forgivable than another. I’ve said this before in my comments; we measure not God to make ourselves feel better for not committing “that bigger” sin like murder or adultery vs. “that smaller” sin like stealing or lying. No it’s all the same in God’s eyes and it’s all redeemable. Note I said redeemable not changeable. We do miss out on everything that comes with God’s perfect plan for us when we make that choice to go against it but He is aware of everything we do before we do it and He can turn what the devil intended for bad for our good, praise God! Not to say that sin is a part of His perfect plan or His sovereign will but He is aware that it happens and allows us to go through the process for whatever reason (it’s not the same for everyone) and He works it for our good because ALL things (sin or no sin, good times or bad, joy or sorrow, victory or defeat) work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
I am not discouraged by my sin. I can see someone looking at me critically for saying that but my purpose is to say that I am repentant and it hurts my heart every time I grieve God in that way and I am not proud of it but I am learning to not let it discourage me in my walk because I humbly acknowledge that I am a sinner saved by grace and that in this lifetime I will continue to fall short and all I can do is my best to limit that by staying close to Him, and in the event that I do fall, turn back to Him in repentance and not allow the enemy to steal the victory I have in Him but to continue walking in the authority, love, boldness, forgiveness, grace and mercy of Christ that He died for me to have.
Did I mention I love Psalms? David doesn’t say “Blot out ALL mine inequities” without purpose. He says it because He knows that God is able to do that. “Therefore anyone who is in Christ is a NEW creation. Old things have passed away behold ALL things have become new.” “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” “As far as the east is from the west so far He has removed our transgressions from us.”
Yeah I like Psalms. And I like this post. And I like you my brother! God bless
November 15, 2009 at 12:10 am
Michelle
Beautifully put, Gch! Love you.
November 15, 2009 at 12:10 am
gchyayles
“We do miss out on everything that comes with God’s perfect plan for us when we make that choice to go against it but He is aware of everything we do before we do it and He can turn what the devil intended for bad for our good, praise God!”
I don’t mean we miss out on every single thing God has for us but we are unable to access it all in it’s fullness when we decide to go against His Word/Will. Just to clarify
November 17, 2009 at 2:58 am
edfromct
I agree with you Gchyayles, that for the CF there is no difference to your God between “little sin” or “big sin”, sin is sin.
The great challenge for the CF, which even someone as capable as David had a hard time with, is to live everyday by your God’s guidance, so that you can serve the purpose God created you for.
We should acknowledge our sins, but not let them dictate our future. Accept the consequences, and learn form our mistakes.
All the CF can do is work to live by God’s guidance everyday of their life.
As always I look forward to seeing your comments.
November 18, 2009 at 2:58 pm
gchyayles
“Accept the consequences.”
Phew. That’s always a hard one but necessary in order for us to be purged and delivered.
But that’s the only way we can move forward. My motto for 2010 is “embrace the process don’t fight it.” Whatever it may be. God’s going to take you through it regardless so you can either embrace it and have the peace and strength He’s giving you to get through it or you can fight it and be miserable and frustrated all the time. Either way God says He’s going to bring you to an expected end when you belong to Him.
Have a good day Ed!
November 18, 2009 at 8:02 pm
edfromct
Just as you say gchyayles, life is a process. To move forward we must embrace it. We also need to accept the consequences of our actions, which will make us miserable, to move forward. Faith helps us do that.
We can’t let the mistakes of the past dictate our future. We need to use our faith to help us focus on today, and to keep us moving in the right direction.