August 5, 2018 Sunday

“26  When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27  And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. 12:1 ¶  Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2  “The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3  “But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4  “And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5  So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6  “And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” 7  Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8  ‘I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9  ‘Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10  ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11  “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12  ‘For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ” 13  So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” (2Samuel 11:26-12:13 NKJV)

            This passage helps us see what Jesus meant about the plank in our own eye.  David was so ready to put to death the one who had done what he had done and so David rightly judges and sentences himself.

            In so many ways Jesus taught us the danger of condemning and judging those around us.  We have no way of knowing their heart and how God is working in their life.  The Lord ’s Prayer is a reminder we will be forgiven (or not) in the same way we forgive others.  If we are honest it is too easy to take on a God complex and become the judge and if we are not careful a hanging judge!

            A member of a congregation I served named Robert loved John 3:16 but loved even more John 3:17?

““For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17 NKJV)

            If Jesus did not condemn people what right do we have to condemn?  This verse plainly teaches Jesus came into the world to save through himself. God could not just say we were saved or just say we were forgiven but God’s holiness must be appeased by our being made righteous. 

            Jesus did not just die for our sin but became our sin and we are saved through the sacrifice of his life and through the resurrection.  When we were unable and undeserving to be forgiven Jesus became our righteousness and enabled us to come to God.

            Everything Jesus did for us was not to just save us but to save us so we could once again have a relationship with God.  We can understand this if we see God’s response to our fall. “Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”” (Genesis 3:9 NKJV)  God knew where Adam was, God just missed Adam!!!   

            There is an old saying “Who died and made you judge?”  Do you desire forgiveness and blessing for others as much as you want it for yourself?  When you hate someone do you realize they are loved by God and Jesus died for them?

I am unable to go to worship today. I feel like the line from one of J. R. R. Tolkien books “I feel like too little butter spread on too much bread.” We have birdfeeders and I like to watch the birds as they eat and fly around. They have such freedom and I envy them.