The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Chronicles 20, Psalm 51
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Background Information: 2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Chronicles 20, Psalm 51
David, the warrior King, called by God to bring peace through strength and obedience, has now made peace with comfort. This peace will lead to disobedience and ultimately, to the loss of peace. We must learn what it means to rest in Christ; it is right to enjoy times when God grants us legitimate pleasure. But we must never make peace with personal comfort at the cost of obedience. We are ruined by what we love if we love anything more than Christ.
Uriah is brought home from deployment and has the opportunity to sleep with his wife, yet he shows more self-control and more loyalty to his fellow soldiers than the Commander in Chief, David, does. David is acting here as an “anti” Christ. He is taking a life to cover his sin, while Christ gave his life to cover the sins of others. But thanks be to God, David does not harden his heart to God. Instead, he responds with brokenhearted repentance. Unlike King Saul who doubled down, blame shifted, and refused to take responsibility for his sin, David immediately repents.
Being a man (or woman) after God’s own heart is not about sinless perfection, but true repentance. The fact that David is forgiven does not change the fact that sin is costly. The consequences of this terrible act will echo through the ages and cost many lives. God brought good from this evil in that Bathsheba is found in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus; God’s purposes for the Messiah would stand (Matthew 1). This doesn’t change the fact that David’s actions were evil, and David and many others suffered terribly because of them.
If you have considered committing willful sin by entertaining the thought “Yes, but God will forgive me,” you must immediately cry out to God for mercy and call out to your friends to confess the deceitfulness of your heart. God will forgive you, but for this very reason, you must not sin. He is a good and gracious God; don’t you want to please him? Don’t you want to bring joy and not grief to his great heart? Read Psalm 51 not merely as a response to your sin, but as a prevention to sin. God’s grace will cover your sin, but that same grace is available to empower obedience and the avoidance of sin. This will be for your own good and his greater glory.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Thank God for Erin and all the volunteers at our church who teach our kids on Sunday mornings. Pray that God would raise up volunteers from our church to fill summer teaching spots and volunteer positions for Kids Camp.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.