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May 11, 2024
- By Ed Powell
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"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, the LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shall not die." 2 Samuel 12:13
One of the astounding demonstrations of the "truth of the Bible" is its unhesitating revelation and denunciation of sin in the lives of God's chosen servants. It conceals nothing. On the contrary, it pulls aside the veil and exposes sin in all its shame and guilt. It condones nothing. Instead, it utters the terrible wrath of God against the guilty one. The Bible is God's standard of truth and does not vary.
Throughout God's Word, the light of truth flashes upon the lives of many of God's servants and reveals the faults, the follies, the sins, and the inexcusable evil that befell them. You might say, "Why did God reveal the sinful failures of these men through whom He did such mighty things?" I think God wants to indelibly inscribe upon our hearts that the sinful nature that dwells in all of us is capable of bringing us down, just as it did these mighty men. His admonition to us is, "Take heed, lest ye also fall."
Look at the progressive steps in David's fearful fall. First, He exercised "fleshly ease" and slothfulness. Instead of leading his men into battle, he remained in Jerusalem. Second, he was drawn away by his lusts and was enticed by the sight of a beautiful woman, Bathsheba. Third, "When lust had conceived, it brought forth sin"...it was premeditated adultery. Fourth, "Sin, when it is finished, brought forth death"...the murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah. Yielding to our sinful nature, being enticed by our lust, and opening our lives to Satan's insidious invasion, is always a disastrous path!
God had a way to reach the heart of David. He unfolded a parable through the prophet Nathan. After hearing the parable, David was greatly angered against the rich man in the parable, who took such selfish advantage of the poor man. And Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man."
Notice the immediate conviction brought upon David. Known as the "Sweet Singer of Israel," who had enjoyed long and close communion with God, he still had the sinful flesh within. Because he failed to overcome his lust, he flung away the joys of divine fellowship, ruined his soul's prosperity, and brought down upon himself a storm of calamities that forever reminded him of his fearful fall. What an awful price sin demands!
How easy it is for us to criticize and condemn those who fall prey to the enemy of our souls, not realizing that the "same awful woes of the inner man" lurk to bring us down, just as they do in those whom we condemn. We are quick to point our finger at David for his sin, as awful as it was. But how many of us find ourselves broken before God, repenting with contrition of heart as David?
Nathan said immediately after David's confession, "The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shall not die." David's confession and repentance were genuine and sincere, and his forgiveness was immediate, but the scars of his fall left their marks upon him for the rest of his life! Many of us bear the scars of sin from our past, but how blessed it is now to bear the fruit of the Spirit that has been made possible by His redeeming grace through Jesus Christ our Lord! Fallen but forgiven by His matchless grace and loving heart!
© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.
This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2024-05-11&print=1
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