Sin

1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;
1Ch 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.


Died FOR his TRANSGRESSION which he committed against the LORD- even the WORD of the LORD- which he kept NOT.
Also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit to enquire of it and enquired NOT of the LORD.
Therefore HE slew him and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.


Died for his sin!
Died for sinning against the LORD.
Died for sinning against the Word of the LORD.
Died for asking counsel of a witch.
Died for NOT enquiring counsel from the LORD.


Yet today we sin with abandon and if we suspect there might be an eventual punishment for our sins we decide that we won't worry too much about it, but maybe we'll throw out a general God forgive me, I know Jesus died for me, and that will be that.


Why do we think we won't be punished by God for our sins against Him?
Why do we live believing we can do as we please and have to answer to no one?
Seriously.


More and more this is hitting me as society grows worse and worse. People do not believe that God is a God of justice. They have made forgiveness of our Savior the end of it all and choose NOT to believe that their sins really matter at all.


Sinning is nothing major because it's no worse than a dirty spot on a floor - easily wiped away.


Sin? People more and more are choosing not to believe in sin at all whatsoever.


Call something a sin and people look at you oddly, right? Even if it might be a sin, we aren't supposed to tell people they're sinning. We are supposed to politely ignore sin because society has labeled so much of sin acceptable. It's all around us. Everyday we come face to face with sin and people entrenched in sin yet we no longer call sin… sin.


Will people die for sinning against the LORD?


Yes.


Nothing changed from the death causing sins of Saul's day to death causing sins of today.


People still sin against the LORD. People still sin against the word of the LORD. People still enquire after those with familiar spirits rather than seeking the LORD.


Remember during our prophecy studies we learned that there are only sacrifices for the sins people make in ignorance, sins people commit by mistake. If people were going to be forgiven for sins they committed knowingly it wasn't done through a sacrifice. People didn't go out and purposefully steal then take the prerequisite spotless lamb to the priest and have their sin atoned for.


Remember David? He said this--


Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.


This was during the time of daily sacrifices. So how could David say- 'For thou desirest not sacrifice.'


David sinned purposefully- remember?


2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
2Sa 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
2Sa 11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.


Purposeful sin.


2Sa 11:6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
2Sa 11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
2Sa 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
2Sa 11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
2Sa 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
2Sa 11:14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
2Sa 11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
2Sa 11:17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.


Purposeful sin.


Covetousness
Adultery
Deception
Murder


2Sa 11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
2Sa 11:27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.


But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD


David displeased the LORD. As well He should have- HE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD'S COMMANDS!


David couldn't have gone to the priest and offered a sacrifice to rid Himself of the guilt of what he'd done, it wasn't possible. There was purpose in his sinning, not ignorance, not forgetfulness.


2Sa 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2Sa 12:2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
2Sa 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
2Sa 12:4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.


2Sa 12:5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die
2Sa 12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.


2Sa 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.


Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
2Sa 12:8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.


God did not overlook David's sin just because he was David, His beloved. David was guilty of despising the commandment of the LORD. David was guilty of doing evil in the LORD'S sight. David purposefully killed Uriah after committing adultery with Uriah's wife and getting her pregnant. Then David took Uriah's wife as his own and she bore their child conceived out of wedlock, conceived by adultery. Yes, David sinned a great sin and the LORD does not overlook sin, He can't.


2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
2Sa 12:12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.


Evil would be raised up against David.
Evil from his own house.
David's wives would be taken from him and given to his neighbor.
David's wives would lay with his neighbor.
All of Israel would witness this punishment done to David- even though all of Israel did not witness David's sins which David did in secret. Nothing is secret to our God, nothing!


2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.


David admitted to his sinning- he made NO excuses. David didn't try to talk his way out of what happened as people so often try to do when confronted with their sin. They make excuses as to why they did what they did, what provoked them. Some even blame God for allowing temptation to be put in their way, as if they expect God to keep them in a protective bubble, never to have to face the temptation to sin. People want what not even God's Son was given. Jesus had to face great temptation, Jesus was tempted in all points just like all of us are. There is NO protective bubble. We have to decide to do what is right, decide to be God's first and foremost. We must decide to lay at the feet of our Savior and depend upon Him for all things.


And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.


The LORD put away David's sin.


Unless the LORD had put away David's sin- David would have retained the guilt and not been forgiven. The LORD had to put away David's sin, but that didn't keep David from punishment for His sinning, it kept David from dying.


The enemy of David would be given advantage and the child that David fathered with the wife of Uriah would die. Anyone who has ever lost a child knows the pain of that loss. Anyone who has ever inadvertently been the cause of that child's death knows the horrific pain of that tragic happenstance. David's sin was the cause of his child's death, and his son didn't die outright.


2Sa 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
2Sa 12:16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
2Sa 12:17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
2Sa 12:18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
2Sa 12:19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
2Sa 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
2Sa 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.


David suffered knowing what his sin had resulted in. We all suffer as we reap the rewards of our sins. If we are blessed then the LORD will cause our sins to pass- by the grace of our Savior, by the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ we will find forgiveness for our many, many sins- inadvertent and purposeful- only through our Savior do we live and through nothing else.


Let us recognize our sins. Let us recognize sin wherever it exists and NOT accept it, NOT make it something good for us. May God help us to keep the blinders off our eyes, let the Holy Spirit keep our eyes opened to ALL truth in the LORD.


By His love, His mercy, His grace, His righteousness!


Amen.