| Consequences of Sin and Forgiveness: Lesson 8: Consequences Fully Realized 1/06/2014 by turtle 2 Samuel 18:33-19:14 KJV (33) And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! (1) And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. (2) And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. (3) And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. (4) But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! (5) And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; (6) In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. (7) Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. (8) Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent. (9) And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom. (10) And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? (11) And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house. (12) Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? (13) And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. (14) And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants. One of the hardest things in life to accept is our own sin causes someone else to fall. It has been that way since the time of Adam and Eve great fall. Yet in the story of David’s life we see the one lust of the flesh affecting his son to the point that he was willing to loose his father’s love to rise up in power. Yet His father grieved upon his son’s death that if only he could of paid for his own sin. That is the point we grieve over our mistakes, understanding we pay an earthly price, for King David sure did with the loss of two sons, but he lost even more he lost the respect of his men. His men were desiring to walk away and not trust the king, for they had willingly gave up their life for their king, and all he could do was grieve over his son. Have you ever grieved over a mistake that you cause another to sin. In the school yard rules one might say to a friend, you should not of followed in my footsteps and thought you could get away with sin. Was David cheering his son on secretively, hoping that his son’s compassion for him would not kill him. Yet he was aware of Absalom seeking his life. However so it was with King Saul who sought his life, but God had always protected him. Maybe Absalom reminded David a little of himself when he began to take power from Saul. The problem was Absalom wanted his father dead. No regard for who God put in power or anointed. Then again maybe David wished for death because of his sin, and desired his son to take power. David in his grief was told by his chief men to pull himself together for the sake of the country. To be king to be a leader you got to be able to rally in the time of grief to deal with pain of sorrow, so not to let your troops down when they fought so valiantly for you. Yet this day would mark a downhill turn in David’s authority as king. It would matter little that he did some repair work on request of his advisors. Yet it would be enough to rally the troops once more in his favor for a time, with a mark against him. In conclusion one should repent for one’s mistakes, but not allow that mistake to hinder you from moving forward in life. God forgives, but his correction comes to bring us to our knees. When God moves in our life are we willing to obey despite our own common sense. When we choose not to obey are we willing to pay the consequences of our sin to the point it is public knowledge for correction of a nation, or community? No one is ever prepared for the lessons of God. Yet God’s hand is their to strengthen in times of these lessons. No doubt David found strength from God in his grief. Only Christ can pay for our sins for eternity, but many will pay for our mistakes on earth. At what price is that suffering, what price is that pain, what price is our grief. What price is the downfall of others. Dear Heavenly Father help us to understand Christ bore our sins on the cross, to save us from hell. To set us free from sin. In Jesus precious name, Amen. http://www.turtle30cshell.com _ |
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