Don't Give Great Occasion ♡♡♡

"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. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." Then Nathan departed to his house" - 2 Samuel 13-15 NKJV

I have read this portion of scripture many times in the past, but recently something important did grab my attention. Don't you just love the scriptures :) So David had sinned against God, by scheming and taking for himself the wife of his very loyal servant [Uriah]. David had committed the sin of Adultery and what's even more crazy, he schemes and puts Uriah to death. So God sent Prophet Nathan to let David in on the the sin he had committed. Prophet Nathan goes on to tell David a story about a Rich man who had exceedingly many flocks and herds but had gone on to take a poor man's lamb. -----"But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had brought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bossom; and it was like a daughter to him" [2 Samuel 12:2-4]. David is fuming against this rich man----> "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity" 2 Samuel 12:5-6. Dangit! What David failed to recognize was that, he was that rich man in the story! Yikes

Once David realized he was that man, he confessed his sins and the Lord forgave him [Scripture says that Nathan said to David "The Lord has put away your sin, you shall not die" [mercy]. But you know how it goes right? Unfortunately, sometimes there are consequences for some of the terrible choices we make. Sometimes even, it has a lot to do with how others see God. Listen to this:

"However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." - Verse 15 [NKJV]

I paused and thought deeply about this for some minutes. Really, not only does our sin hurt God or hurt others deeply; Infact it creates great occasion for the enemies of God to Blaspheme. Creates great occasion for others to disrespect our God. Call him out to be a liar, or even deny that He his Just or that He is the person He claims Himself out to be, or that it is possible for Him to transform anyone inside out. God was out there in the field fighting for David, helping him through all of his highs & lows. 2 Samuel 7:8-9 "....I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over over My people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name of the great men who are on the earth" God was with David, fighting his every battle. His enemies were God's enemies and as you can Imagine, what David had done to that loyal servant was unjust. That is not who God is, and if God condoned it, that would have put God's integrity on the line [writing that last part felt kinda wrong lol. cause I don't think anyone can put God's integrity on the line lol, but you get what I mean :)]. Whilst it is always God's heart to forgive us and help us make things right with Him, God sets the record straight too. Do you want to know something else though? God refreshes us, even if we get hit hard, especially when we have gone on to make things right. Scripture helps us understand that though David lost the child that was born from his sinful actions, God later blessed him with his son Solomon. Solomon went on to build God's temple and he was recorded in the bible as the wisest man that ever lived :)

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf. Be reconciled to God" - 2 Corinthians 5:20

Perspective. Paul calls us to renew our minds [Romans 12:2]. To Change our way of thinking. Understand God's heart in every matter. Be on His side and not against Him. So I employ you to please take your Spiritual life seriously. Spend time in the word of God and prayerfully/humbly let him help you see Him through the scriptures. I'm sorry to break this news, but there is no other way we can become like Christ. It is the work of the HolySpirit. Unless we ourselves have tasted and continue to taste God's transformative power and work in our ourselves, everything we do can be an exercise in futility :(

"For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see, but they did not see it.  And they longed to hear what you hear, but they did not hear it" - Luke 10:24 [This is a scripture pregnant with a lot of meaning]

"You search the scriptures because you think they give you eternal life, but the scriptures point to me" - John  5:39

David was a man after God's heart, but he was also a man that was quick to repent. He was a man who humbly surrendered to the will and purposes of God. Was he a perfect man? Of course no, but he walked humbly before the Lord. 

My earnest prayer for you & I is that God truly helps us see his heart and mind on every matter. That we truly stand on his side and not against him. That we do not create occasions for God's enemies to blaspheme against Him. Amen

Love

SR