Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel

David built several buildings in the city of David, including a palace to live in. Then he said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant is out there under a tent!” Nathan replied to the king, “Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.” – 2 Samuel 7:2-3

David’s desire was to build a house for the Lord but that was not God’s plan for David. God loved the heart with which David served Him and He told David of His plans to build a house for David — a dynasty of kings. David recognized the magnitude of God’s blessing and was humbled at His words. He did not think too much of himself, but saw that God’s favor was a gift from God — something any man would be unworthy of. The gift was out of the righteousness of God, not David’s own righteousness.

His response could have been — This is exactly what I deserve; look at all I have done for God. Instead his focus was on all God had done for him as he recognized God’s unmerited favor. He could have reacted in disappointment that God’s plan would not grant the desire of David’s heart to build a temple, but instead he reacted in gratitude for what God would choose to bless him with.

David took a break from the battlefield and went up on his roof to walk around. From there he saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, taking a bath. At that moment, David made a choice. God told him to look away but the enemy told him to look closer. God was telling David you can’t have that and the enemy was telling David you need that, you deserve that – after all, you’re the king! This lie is one of Satan’s favorites and he continues to use it against us today.

This was the moment when David made a huge mistake – not an accident but a choice. He gave in to temptation and to his own fleshly desires instead of listening to the Spirit. David’s behavior was self-serving instead of God-serving. David did not fall into sin, he boldly stepped into it. When Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child, David made another choice. Instead of confessing his sins, he tried to cover up his indiscretions through manipulation, lies and murder.

AGAINST YOU, AND YOU ALONE, HAVE I SINNED! REMOVE THE STAIN OF MY GUILT!

David thought he could have Uriah killed and no one would notice; he thought no one would care. But God cared about Uriah and God cared about the choices David was making. David confessed his sin and suffered greatly due to the consequences of his first sin, as well the many sins he committed in an attempt to cover up the first. God forgave David but there were consequences, and David’s baby lived only seven days. This is where the plot might end but David’s story continues. God forgave David; He still had a plan for David’s life.

God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right…
I will thank the Lord because he is just;
I will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high. – Psalm 7:10,17

These are the words of thanksgiving David wrote as he finished his reign as king. Looking back on his life, there were so many difficult struggles. From King Saul’s attempts to kill David to his own son’s rebellion against him, from the violence against his daughter to the violence against his concubines, from the grief and loss of his friends to the grief and loss of his newborn son — David experienced more pain than most of us will ever know. Yet at the end of his life, David did the same thing he had always done — he sang to the Lord who had generously blessed him and saved him from his enemies.

Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. – Psalm 32:1-5

THANK GOD FOR HIS GRACE — HIS UNMERITED FAVOR IN OUR LIVES!

Lord, thank you for hearing the prayers of a sinner, even though we are unworthy of your audience. We praise you for your plan of salvation — that you would give your Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We humbly come before you this morning praying for you to lift away the burden of our guilt and replace it with the joy of restoration. May you be glorified through our repentance and the cleansing of our unrighteousness. Purify me from my sins and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Amen.

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. – 1 John 1:5-9