Descending into Sin

We have a picture of the descent into sin in Hos 9.7b: "Because of your great sin and hostility [Israel] you say, "The prophets are crazy, and the inspired men are fools" (NLT). Israel has reached a stage in sin in which, not only do they reject the messages that God sends through the prophets, but they call the prophets themselves "fools" and "crazy." This is a sign of a hard heart indeed, and it is the nature of sin. When the descent into sin goes far enough then not only are we doing what we want without regard to what God says, but we are actively opposing all that he is and does.

Notice, however, that the people would probably answer this charge by saying, "Well, we are not opposing God at all, we are just opposing these prophets who are bringing such a simple message." It's easy to justify what one wants to do, especially when blinded by sin. They were oblivious to the fact that opposing God's messengers was like opposing God himself.

Bathsheba to David: I am pregnant

Thinking through the repercussions of 2 Sam 11.1-5, this morning. The narrative makes it clear that Bathsheba is pregnant and that she is pregnant by David. Neither David nor Bathsheba nor the author of Samuel have the least doubt that David is responsible. Her only recorded words in the narrative "I am pregnant," set forth a string of events that ends in the death of her husband with David being fully responsible for that death (after attempts at coverup). It is a shocking story; one designed to expose us to the reality and wide effect of sin.

Prayer: O Lord, may I understand more fully through David's actions the wide-ranging effects of sin that begin with such minor actions - he saw from the roof a woman bathing, and she was very beautiful.

The Long Reach of Sin

It is to Jonathan's credit that he understands and accepts the fact that David will be the king of Israel and not him: And he (Jonathan) said to him, "Do not fear for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul, my father, also knows this (1 Sam 23.17).

Jonathan's plan is to serve with/under David when he is king. God's plan is different. Jonathan, while innocent of Saul's sin, is killed in battle along with Saul. We see here the long reach of sin. Saul destroys not only himself in his sin, but also his son, along with most of the rest of his household. What a heinous thing is sin, and how far the unforeseen consequences.

A Sobering Thought

Thinking about Gen 15.16 this morning. Apparently there comes a time when the iniquity of a nation is complete. At that point, God moves in judgment against that nation. So it was with the Amorites at the time of Joshua. In Genesis 15, the iniquity of the Amorites is not complete. By the time of the Exodus, it is complete.

Where does that leave my own country? I don't know, but we would certainly seem to be filling up the cup of our iniquity as fast as we possibly can, not that a nation that is filled with sin would even recognize God's judgment when it arrived. There are always alternative explanations. This is the nature of the blindness caused by sin. It is a most sobering thought.

Look, Desire, Act

Three steps to sin laid out in Gen 3.6. We would like to throw brickbats at Eve because she so easily fell into these steps, but the truth be told, we are just like her. We look. We desire. We act. We fall into sin.

Delitzsch: Doubt, unbelief, and pride were the roots of the sin of our first parents, as they have been of all the sins of their posterity.

Saul Fails (in Sin) Where David Succeeds: Mysterious are the Ways of the Lord

I came across 1 Sam 18.17 this morning in my Bible reading. Saul hates David and wants to kill him, but realizes that he can't just murder him. What to do? Send him out to fight against the Philistines so that perhaps the Philistines will do what Saul himself cannot do. Despite Saul's best efforts, David is not killed.

Contrast this story with 2 Samuel 11.14,15, where David does the exact same thing when he gets Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, pregnant. David, in contrast to Saul, is successful. Uriah is killed in the battle (with a little help from Joab, commander of the army).

In one case, God protected David from the designs of Saul. In the other case God did not protect Uriah from the designs of David. Why the difference?

I have no clue. God could certainly have prevented David from being successful in his attempt to have Uriah killed. He chose not to do so. Events like these are why it is so useless (not to mention foolish) to try and put God into a box and say, "in situation a, God will always do b." In fact, in situation a, God does not always do b. Sometimes he prevents us from enduring the consequences of our sin, and sometimes he allows us to endure the consequences of our sin.

What is very clear from both stories is that God is ultimately just in both of them. Saul is eventually punished for his wickedness by losing not only the kingdom, but his life as well (along with the life of the rest of his household). David's child dies after it has lived for a week, and God's punishment on him is very severe.

May we take a lesson from the stories of Saul and David's sin. God will not allow sin to go unpunished, and in his grace he sometimes (but not always) prevents us from succeeding in our sin. He is, however, always a righteous judge.

The Essential Step to the Wealth and Riches (of God)

The essential step to God's wealth, or as the Hebrew more directly puts it in Lamentations 2.14, to having our captivity turned away, to restoring our fortunes, is having our sin exposed. Sin and success are mutually incompatible in God's design. We cannot have both. This is the blessing of having our sin exposed.

Hardened By Sin

The writer of Hebrews warns in Heb 3.13-14, for his readers not to become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. This is such a dangerous trap. I do what I want to, and the more I do it, the less real God becomes. This is something which Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw clearly. He once wrote, "When lust takes control, then God becomes unreal." Just so. Beware, Oh Christ-follower that you do not become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Beware, O my heart, that you do not become hardened by the deceifulness of sin.

On the Nature of Sin

I am pondering Ray Boltz's announcement that he has fully chosen a gay lifestyle. His most painful (to me) words are:

“This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.”

Just so. One wonders if Mr. Boltz would accept this sort of justification in his children for instance. "Dad, I know I'm not supposed to lie and steal, but the fact of the matter is that I have an uncontrollable urge to lie and steal. I can only conclude that God made me this way, and if he made me this way I'm going to live this way. I'm only being who God created me to be ( a liar and thief). I really feel closer to God being a liar and thief."

I know, sounds crazy doesn't it, but it's the natural outworking of Mr. Boltz's theology.

This is the nature of deep and abiding sin. I cannot control it, so I give in to it and call it "the way God made me," despite the clear biblical teaching that it is, well, sin. It's why Psalm 66.18 is so important.

The Christian's badge of belief is that he fights sin to his last breath. He does not give in to it when the struggle becomes too much. He keeps fighting. Fight sin!