Friday, December
22, 2017
I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the
heavens. The Lord said, “I
have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him: ‘I will establish your descendants as kings
forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’” Interlude
Long ago you spoke
in a vision to your faithful people. You
said, “I have raised up a warrior. I
have selected him from the common people to be king. I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil. I will steady him with my hand; with my
powerful arm I will make him strong. His
enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him. I will beat down his adversaries before him and
destroy those who hate him. My
faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will
grow in power. I will extend his rule
over the sea, his dominion over the rivers.
And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of
my salvation.’
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26(NLT)
Scripture tells us that David’s life was a life of struggling with bears
and lions when he was a shepherd. Then,
in King Saul’s palace, it was a struggle to survive the mercurial mood swings
of the demented king who was jealous of David’s popularity with people. When David became king he struggled to unite
the kingdom under his throne. But when
his struggles all turned to victory and the spoils of conquest made him wealthy
and powerful beyond measure, it was the selfishness of his free human will that
crumbled the very promises and power of God that had given him everything.
In the spring
of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the
Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They
destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However,
David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late
one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on
the roof of the palace. As he looked out
over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He
sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the
daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then
David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept
with her…. Later…she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”
2 Samuel 11:1-5(NLT)
The story is as mystifying as it is common. The one thing David demonstrated throughout
his lifetime was integrity – keeping a pure heart before God, and acting with
righteousness towards everyone. When he
chose against that integrity he chose to unravel everything worthwhile God had
given: the trust of the people of
Israel, his family unity, and his own peace of mind.
But this is the legacy of sin; we choose it, and it owns us.
But, as Paul wrote: Thank God for this gift too wonderful for
words! 2 Corinthians 9:15(NLT)
Like David, all of us have chosen selfishly; and like David we can all be
forgiven. It is the will of God to
forgive those who confess and repent of sin.
No exceptions!
I guess I love the Bible because it’s such an open book; it presents even
the most revered heroes as human in every way – good and bad, warts and all…it’s
all there for our instruction.
For You
Today
David
was a hero, and he was as human as they come.
He was forgiven, and that means there’s hope for you too!
No comments:
Post a Comment