Some notes from my quiet time last Wednesday. I actually meant to post this sooner, but you'll get a double dose tonight! I've been reading in 2 Samuel and we're now past the point when David has committed adultery with Bathsheba. As a result of this, he makes a lot of really bad decisions because he's so caught up in his sin...
Verse 31: And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, "Good news for my lord the king! For the LORD has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you."
Ok, so the messenger appears to be bringing good news to King David here. His enemies have been defeated, but one of those enemies was the King's son, Absalom.
Verse 32: The king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" And the Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man."
I get the impression that this poor guy thinks he's giving the King good news. "Everyone who is against you should die like Absalom!" Unfortunately, David's reaction is far from the one the messenger expected...
Verse 33: And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"
First of all, who is this guy? This is the great king, whom God had chosen to lead His people? I don't mean to be disrespectful at all; he did just find out that he had lost his son, but even when the child he had with Bathsheba died, he took it with a lot more grace and dignity than this. Here's what my study notes had to say:
"David is overcome with grief. He has lost another son whom he loved. First he lost Absalom's love and loyalty, and now he has lost Absalom's life and all hope of reconciliation. It is possible that David is beginning to see how God's punishment for his sin with Bathsheba has tragically come to pass..."
One bad decision. One moment of weakness, of heeding to the voice of the flesh and not the voice of God. That was all it took for David's entire life to be turned upside-down. First, he made the decision to commit the act he knew in his heart and soul was wrong. Then, to cover it up, he had one of the best men in his army killed so he could marry that man's wife. So...sad. So depraved. Any yet....
Am I really any better? I sin (ha, like that was some big revelation). Repeatedly. I've struggled with the same sin for years. I see now where that has taken me, and it has left me stagnant in my relationship with God. Who am I to judge? David made one bad decision that lead him down a path away from the Lord. But David was human. Sure, he had the Lord on his side, but even great men, and women, of God make stupid decisions. We all sin. If we didn't, then where is the need for a Savior? Not to say that we should continue sinning just so God can grant us His grace and mercy. Like Paul says in Romans 6: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death. In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:1-4
Paul's point is that yes, we will still sin even after dying to our old ways, but as a new creation in Christ, we are to continue to grow in holiness and sanctification, allowing God to work in us and through us as we become more like him.
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