THE WONDER OF WHAT GOD WILL DO WHEN SIN HAS DONE ITS DUE
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall!” A trite but true saying we might have used to assuage our anxiety when we were faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. On paper, for example, it may look as if a weaker opponent in a contested event has no chance. Yet, when push comes to shove, adrenalin - physical, mental, spiritual - kicks in to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat.
In this Bible study series, The Wonder of It All, we look further into the life of David to see what God can do to and through a person totally devoted to Him.
On the one hand, we may attribute David’s courage - going up against Goliath - partly to his youth, but we must not overlook that quality of spiritual adrenaline found mostly among seasoned veterans of Christian warfare.
David was fully aware of Goliath’s superior physical strengths and military skills, but he was much more attuned to Who was with him and Whose Will he was sent into battle to accomplish. David never wavered in his devotion to God.
Thus, in his heart David knew that, with God in charge and a sling shot in his hand, indeed “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”.
With God on our side, how can we lose? His grace is sufficient! The wonder of God’s marvelous grace is greater than any foe we will ever go up against!
Yes, we’ve seen David at his finest . . . but, at our age and stage in life, we have learned that it’s when things are going well we must be on our P’s and Q’s and guard our B’s (behaviors) caused by “modern” views influenced by that which is visceral and temporal, rather than that which is spiritual.
In his humility, David had conquered the mighty Goliath, gone on to greater and mightier accomplishments because of his devotion to God. You name it . . . there was none greater than David – shepherd, giant slayer, true friend, loyal servant, skilled warrior, man after God’s own heart, man of devotion to God, king who served God, spokesman for God, psalmist who praised God. None was greater than David in devotion to God!
Yet, on the other hand, we cannot overlook the fact that David was human and, therefore, subject to assaults upon one’s character wrought by sinful desires that conceivably result in sinful behavior.
We cannot explain away his sins, or even attempt to justify them. He who rose to highest fame, and earned highest acclaim, succumbed to sinful behaviors unbecoming of the Lord’s anointed.
For a short while, then over a longer period, David’s views of morality and legality were wrongly influenced by worldly thinking . . . He got caught up in the notion that he could “get away with it” . . . through lies and deception.
In the story of David’s affair with Bathsheba, and his subsequent efforts to erase the evidence, we see that that which had been said of Goliath must now be said of David: The bigger they are, the harder they fall – 2 Samuel 11:2-5 . . .
David’s first mistake was not going where he should have gone – into battle with his men – then, not staying where he should have stayed – at home minding his own business. Don’t most folks tend to get into trouble when they shirk personal responsibility, become too idle, get bored and, in search of excitement, wander off the premises?
It has been observed in our lifetime repeatedly that, when people in high places resort to lies and deception to conceal misdeeds, the cover-up turns out to be worse than the crime. Mama told me to tell the truth and have nothing to worry about!
David had plenty to worry about. Bathsheba’s husband returned from the battlefield at David’s command but, in an honorable gesture of respect toward his fellow warriors, did not go home to be with his wife as David thought he would to make it appear that he was the father of the baby to be born.
Humiliated, and haunted by the proverb, “your sins will find you out”, David used his position and power to have Uriah placed on the front line so he would be killed – which would silence him and keep him from telling the truth about where he was or was not at the time of his wife’s conception. That way, David could tell Bathsheba what not to say and tell the story in a way that suited his self-interests.
Not so fast, David! God is not through with you yet! God anointed you for a purpose - which cannot be fulfilled if there is hidden sin in your heart that has not been dealt with. Time for divine intervention!
God sent the prophet Nathan - I Samuel 12:1-7 - to tell David a parable about a rich man who had herds of sheep and cattle, and a poor man who had only one little ewe lamb that had become “one of the family”.
A traveler came to the rich man and asked for food to eat but, instead of taking one of his own sheep to prepare a meal for the stranger, the rich guy took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the traveler.
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”
God had to send a preacher to intervene in David’s situation of being under the influence of worldly thinking . . . Nathan had to “draw David a picture” to get him to see the worth of an individual . . . David had to be told he was a sinner!
We have seen clearly the wonder of what sin can do to God’s anointed . . . the wonder of it is that, whereas we would like to think that it cannot happen to any one of us who have committed our way unto the LORD, it can and does!
And if that were the end of the story, how sad it would be! The rest of the story, however, is what we ought to be more interested in than the sordid first of the story. Too much time is spent on the negative, not enough on the positive!
Indeed, God is not through with His “anointed” - whoever or wherever! Aren’t we grateful? God is not through with me yet!
What all of this means is that even we - who are less well known, less well liked, less recognized, less glamorized – can be assured that “the wonder of what sin can do versus what God can do” is as applicable to us as it was to David or any of the other “greats” throughout Jewish and Christian history.
David had lived with his sin for over a year, could have had the messenger killed, or might have used his authority to silence Nathan in some other way, but his lifelong devotion to the LORD would not allow him to live in denial any longer.
Anyone who truly loves the LORD and has sought to serve Him all the days of their lives is going to “look up” when things are looking down, see the wonder of what God can do versus what sin has done, see what God will do right now IF God’s anointed will confess their sin and recommit their way to the LORD, as did David – Psalm 51:1-12 . . .
What did God do in response to what David did? When things were looking down, David looked up. When David looked up and confessed his sins, God looked down and forgave David’s transgression - Psalm 32:5 . . .
No one is ever too “great” in God’s sight to “fail” or “fall” at the suggestion of Satan . . . by kowtowing to ungodly influences. It happens all the time. It’s never too late, though, to do the right thing and make things right with God, and with those who have been wronged.
When we do get things straightened out, we are going to be more useful than ever before as instruments in God’s hands!
Having experienced the wonder of what God will do when sin has done its due and we have done what we need to do, and we are now at peace with God, may our prayer be as it should be: “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace!” Amen.
