The tale of three men, two Saul and Solomon, who do not take responsibility for their sins but make excuses and become hardened. Between them is a man, David, who sins egregiously, repents, takes responsibility, and is called a man after God's heart. These lessons make a monumental difference in our lives if we heed them.
First, let's look at Saul. In 1 Samuel 13, Saul offers an unlawful sacrifice. When confronted by Samuel, v. 11, he made excuses, mainly that he was moved out of compulsion. One thing he did not do was take responsibility. James 5:20 says, "whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins." The hope when we sin is that we catch ourselves 2 Corinthians 13:5 and repent. Grace, however, calls others to confront us for our good, Galatians 6:1. Samuel called Saul out, not for his embarrassment, but for repentance. Saul chose excuse after excuse. When we choose not to take responsibility for sin, our hearts only harden, and sin continues, easily trapping us.
In Samuel 15, God anoints Saul to destroy an evil nation. He directs him not to spare them but to destroy all they have. Saul spares the king and the desirable goods for himself and his people out of disobedience to God. This is when God was sorry for making Saul king and took the kingdom from him. Samuel again confronts Saul, only to be offered lies, excuses, and a hardened heart that become less malleable towards God. His hardened heart is seen in his hatred for his successor. He wanted others to hate him as much as he did. Saul threw a javelin at his own son, Jonathan, 1 Samuel 20:32-33, feeling betrayed by him. I believe it was more because his heart was becoming suspicious of everyone. This is what an unrepentant heart can lead to for many. We open ourselves to be filled with all kinds of evil to torment us.
In his hardened state, of his own making, because he refused repentance, Saul would be tormented by evil spirits, 1 Samuel 16:14. He chased a man who only served him with honor, 1 Samuel 18:5. He'd even say that David was more righteous than he. David had the opportunity to kill Saul twice but would not choose this avenue due to Saul being God's anointed, 1 Samuel 24; 26. Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked run when no one is chasing them, but an honest person is as brave as a lion." Saul was so wrought in delusion he chased David because he thought David was after him, though David would have given his life for Saul. The growing hardness of an unrepentant heart is what I believe we see in Saul.
A man or woman whose heart lacks repentance will experience torment, whether through depression, feeling constantly suspicious of others, or even being filled with envy and hatred. God's people repent without excuses and take responsibility. We keep our hearts humble before God, and He is able to continue to make us His salt and light to the world.
Before we look at David's example, let's look at the story of Solomon and his lack of repentance that impacted an entire nation with hardship and division. A Division that created two Kingdoms. David was promised that his son Solomon would be King after him. Once he is established as King, through a vision, God grants Solomon his request for an "understanding heart" 1 Kings 3:9-10. God honors that request and offers him so much more. He does warn Solomon, "let your heart, therefore, be wholly true to the Lord your God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day" 1 Kings 8:61. When Solomon was walking in the wisdom given him by God he blesses the LORD 12-21 and offers a prayer of dedication of the Temple, 22-53. The irony of this blessing and prayer is that it outlines Solomon addressing sins that may occur individually or corporately and how the person on people can repent, take responsibility, and have their sins forgiven, becoming right with God again. Solomon knew of God as a forgiving God.
Think about that! A man who knew how to seek forgiveness and made sure his people knew would later in life refuse to repent. In 1 Kings 11, we see where the hardening begins. This is a critical place in Solomon's life and a lesson to take to heart. Solomon disobeys God and intermarries, leading to him worshiping foreign gods that are no gods at all. This is when Solomon did not guard his heart and turned from the LORD. God did not send a prophet to Solomon. He confronted him, Himself. 1 Kings 11:9-13, God would tear the kingdom from Solomon, yet not the whole kingdom. There will remain one tribe for the sake of David, God's servant.
Now, this is a severe consequence. And I heard a saying that I've used before with my children, but I do not know its origin "you can make your choices, but you cannot choose your consequences." Even with the Kingdom being divided and torn under Solomon's reign and due to his sin, he could have repented and continued before God through this consequence.
I'm living in a situation where someone I love made a choice that I had to bring severe consequences. That person has lived their life angry and full of hatred towards me without taking responsibility for the actions or choices that militated the consequences. Years now of a life filled with bitterness have thwarted grand possibilities. I pray for that person and ask God to help them take responsibility, so they don't waste too much more of their life. Perhaps an Ecclesiastes viewpoint will come to fruition in that person's life as it did with Solomon. The book of Ecclesiastes is perhaps Solomon's testimony of surrender to who he knew God to be as merciful. This gives us hope; while Saul died in his hardened state, Solomon may not have.
A lack of repentance from Solomon brought adversaries from God upon Israel and put a heavy yoke on the people of Israel by the King himself, 1 Kings 12:4. Chaos sprang forth in the land, with divisions, wars, and hardship. This cannot be overlooked where a lack of repentance from God's people is being lived out. There is no peace where repentance is required. There is no joy in the soul where sin looms, and repentance is rejected. Let me add the consequences may have remained if Solomon repented, we will see that with David, but there would still be the peace of God and his joy. Know this God is Just, and consequences are still a practice of His Grace and Mercy.
Sandwiched between these two men is David. His sins were severe, and his consequences were life-changing each time. David is an example of what we must practice. He repented and took responsibility when confronted. Yes, David had to be confronted for his actions. He did attempt to get away with sin, but Psalm 51 tells us his soul and body paid a major price for that. In 2 Samuel 11, David takes another man's wife and then attempts to cover his sin. The woman informs him she is with child. In this cover-up, he has the husband murdered. 2 Samuel 11:27 says," the thing David had done displeased the LORD." Remember, it was for David's sake that Solomon would keep a tribe.
This David? This David is "a man after God's own heart?"
Sin is no joke to God. It is taken very seriously. Our sins impact our lives, but we may not recognize them. Some impact others without them doing anything wrong. In reality, even our private sin impacts others, especially if we remain unrepentant. Again, unrepentant sin hardens us. When hardened, "we run when no one chases us."
The LORD sends Nathan to confront David, 2 Samuel 12. This part is beautiful because God's grace is all over this story, and we get a picture of what a heart after God looks like in repentance. In one of the most popular Psalms, 51, David asks God for mercy, though he knows this sin will always be before him. This is not because God will beat him over the head with his sin when he steps out of line. Sin has no power in repentance, yet we must remember the severity of it and how much it grieved God and never go that way again. Keeping it always before us is not for the sake of living in it but for keeping away from it. Psalm 19 ends with the request, "also keep your servant back from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; Then I will be innocent, and I will be blameless of great wrongdoing."
David's consequences are severe. The child with Bathsheba becomes sick and dies. The sword will not leave David's home. Adversaries will rise against the kingdom even from his own home. Here is the key, Nathan says, "The LORD has put away your sin; you shall not die." Repentance offers us LIFE. What David did was such a public disgrace God's enemies were given occasion to blaspheme the LORD, 2 Samuel 12:14. The impact on those who don't know The LORD. Yet, repentance was offered, and forgiveness was given. Forgiveness doesn't dismiss consequences, but it does keep our hearts open and usable unto God.
Do you understand why we cannot let our consequences become the focus of our frustrations? The fact that God continues to offer His grace and mercy and wants to use us for His Kingdom is so big. We don't get to tell God what the consequences should be when we sin against Him. We find ourselves hardening before God when we get caught in that thought process.
Look back at Saul and Solomon's example. God has the right to discipline us how He chooses, Hebrews 12:4-11. David was trained by this discipline and remained usable for God's glory and Kingdom. That is a great example of how a heart after God handles His discipline with repentance through humility.
Next, we see David move to take an ungodly census of his nation's military might, 2 Samuel 24:1-17. You can read the story yourself. The point of this devotion is that David is still in a humble relationship with God even after years of God's discipline being played out in his life. Here David recognizes his sin: "his heart struck him after he numbered the people. he said, 'I have sinned greatly in what I have done." David tried to hide in the first incident or sin but was confronted. Here he recognizes his sin and confronts himself. That's the beauty of repentance. We grow more sensitive to our own sins. There was still a consequence because sin is always paid for. If you read the story, you will see David has three options to pick from for his consequence. There is still such tenderness in the relationship David has with God because his heart is not hardened from holding on to sin like a precious thing. David recognizes God's "mercy is great..." The consequences come and impact lives in Israel, and many die. David cries out to God and again takes full responsibility. God relents from the destruction of the consequences brought by sin.
David is instructed to build an altar and does exactly what he is commanded. Again, his heart is open because of the humility of repentance. The man from whom he requests the property offers it to David, the King, for free. David says, "No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." What an amazing example of a man who has sinned and suffered, not becoming cynical toward God. No, instead, he became more passionate and obedient toward God.
We see in these three examples two men who hardened from a lack of repentance. They become vengeful, suspicious, and full of anger poured out on others. A pernicious heart stems from a lack of repentance. While David suffered greatly due to sin, others did too he humbled himself. His heart remained steady after God. We face these same options. Sin brings consequences. Solomon delineated many consequences sin might bring for the people God put him over. Solomon did not take his words seriously because he allowed his heart to turn from God, and a lack of repentance hardened his heart more.
Saul was in the same boat as Solomon. Opportunity after opportunity, he was confronted about his sin; in his pride, he never owned them. David is where we want to land. We each choose the example we will follow and which of these three men to emulate. David's heart after God can be ours too. That kind of heart will sin, then is ready to repent. The goal is to walk away from sin and never do it again. Repentance takes responsibility and remains willing to surrender to God, no matter the consequences. The other side of the coin is to allow our hearts to become calloused and hardened toward God.
댓글