Idols Give You False Hope

We as a humans have an innate quality to worship things that give us hope.  This is a good quality but it also is a bad quality. You may be wondering how is it bad, but first let's start with the good.

The good thing about the desire for hope is that it gives us motivation. It drives us to continue in the face of adversity. It allows us to dream even when the dreams seem far fetched. It let us to believe in Yeshua (Jesus) the Christ and understand what Yahweh did so that we could have everlasting life.  God has been trying to have his people love Him,since the beginning of time, but even in the midst of all the miracles the hope we have in Him tends to waiver.

This leads us to the bad quality about worshiping things that give us hope.  In times when it appears that God is silent, we tend to navigate towards things that appear to make us happy. Or, we put things up on pedestals and make them the gods over our lives.  What do I mean by this? Well, I am referring to things such as jobs, money, material things, objects, etc. Anything that takes our focus off the Lord has become our idol and our idols can never save us.

Let's look at Micah in the book of Judges.  In Judges 18:22-24, it says:

(22) When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?” (24) So he said, “You have taken away my [a]gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?’ ”

Now, I could go on with my own explanation here, but I think David Guzik does an excellent job of breaking down these verses and shedding some like on Micah's situation in his Commentary Study Guide on Judges 18. He states:

You have taken away my gods which I made: This is powerful irony. Micah had to rescue his own gods. Obviously, his gods should be able to care for themselves. We wonder if Micah saw the foolishness of this. 

1. We each either worship a god of our own making or we worship the true God who made us. But the gods we make are always less than we are. Idol worship is just another way of worshipping self. 
2. And the priest: Micah was foolish enough to have a priest who could be taken away, and it reminds us of how wonderful it is to have a High Priest who cannot change, and who can never be taken away from us. As F.B. Meyer wrote, “Whatever can be taken from us has the mark and signature of man upon it.” Yet Jesus Christ, our High Priest, can never change; will never leave us out of a concern for someone else; and our sins and failures cannot rob us of Him.

Now what more do I have? This shows how empty Micah’s idolatry was. His false gods didn’t bring him any lasting good.

I think the biggest takeaway here is that your idols cannot save you and that they cannot bring you lasting good. Idol worship is only temporary and if you hope isn't in Christ who can save you, then you will find yourself creating new idols to take the place of the old ones.

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Fear, Even When God's Power is Present

It's funny that people seem to follow the same patterns. In this case, it is with Samson and the Israelites.  It is one of those things where fear has caused them to give up or turn over the thing that they thought would cause them pain. In reality, that very thing is what can save and keep them.

In the previous verses, Samson had burned the Philistines grains in anger of his wife being given to his friend by his father-in-law. Albeit, Samson did give her to the friend and left for a while, but when he came back there was an expectation that he'd be able to "go into her" (or have sex with her).  Once the father-in-law informed him that the friend had already done so, he offered Samson his younger daughter instead. This upset Samson, so he set tails of alive foxes on fire, then sent them running through a field of grains, vineyards and olive groves.

Once the Philistine's found out what happened, they in-turn went up to the wife and father-in-law and killed them by setting them on fire. Yes, you heard that right.  They killed them both by setting them on fire. In return, Samson killed quite a few Philistines because they took the lives of his wife and father-in-law. Afterwards, he went to dwell in the "cleft of the rock of Etam".  It had become an escalated case of tit for tat.

This brings us to where today's verses start. Bare in mind that during this time period, the children of Israel were living under the rule of the Philistines. They had turned their backs on Yahweh (again) and their punishment was servitude to them. So, by this time the Philistines are angry and they go up to the land of Judah to encamp in it which caused the men of Judah to fear being attacked.  When they questioned the reason for their prescence, the Philistines told them they came to arrest Samson.

At this point, the men of Judah are thinking, why should they fight this? So, they go find Samson and explain to him why they have come to arrest him. Now, at this point there are a few things that stand out:

1. They knew exactly where Samson was located,
2. They sent 3,000 men down to Etam to retrieve Samson, and
3. They never seem to bat an eye at the fact that Samson allowed them to bind him only with the promise that he wouldn't be killed.

One could say that the men were trying to preserve their lives and Judah, however I choose to look at what they ignored. Given points 1 & 2 above, this tells me that Samson was a known individual.  They knew exactly where to find him and there wasn't a huge search. In addition, they sent 3,000 men down to get Samson. If they did not know who he was or recognize his strength, they would have only sent a hand full of men to bring him back. They didn't do that. They went as though they were prepared to use as many men as possible to subdue him.

It never dawned on the men that Samson never resisted their demands. He only required that they not kill him. If they knew Samson's history, then they knew his strength. If they knew his strength, why did they not question the lack of resistance? It was as though the only thing they were focused on was how they could preserve their lives by any means. Later, they would take Samson back to the Philistines only to see him break out of the ropes and kill a thousand men with the skull of a donkey.

It is amazing how we miss the presence and power of God when it is around.  Despite the miracles of strength Samson put on display, the men of Judah were frustrated and willing to arrest him because of fearing their captors.  Instead of turning to Samson in support and belief, they seemed to need a little bit more evidence of who he was and from where his power came. 

Can you recognize when the power and presence of Yahweh is around you?

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You Married Your Spouse, Not Everybody Else

When two people make marriage vows under Yahweh God, they are supposed to abide by what He set forth in the beginning.  In Genesis 2:24, the Lord laid it out quite plainly:

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (NKJV)

This means that you two have become one unit. You have each other's backs and you work for the betterment of your marriage. Granted we can talk to friends and family for advice, especially if they are married, BUT that advice should never be anything that would be to the detriment of your marriage.

In Samson's case, he found himself marrying a woman who did not believe what he believed. She did not follow God the way that He followed God, but yet he chose to yoke himself to this woman. In these verses, he gave a riddle to the Philistine's, but the only way they could solve it was to coerce Samson's new wife. They threatened to do harm to her family (not her and Samson) if she could not trick Samson into producing the answer. In the end, the wife chose to pester him so much that he gave up the answer to the riddle, to which she in turn told the men of Philistine.

"Some wives will make themselves a burden to their husbands until they get what they want. This tactic is used because it often works in the short term; but it can poison the relationship and ends up costing more than it gains." --David Guzik

One might say that her family's life was threatened.  However, I would like to point out that she was married to the strongest man on the planet - Samson. She could've told her husband and he could have taken care of those who threatened her and her family. She made the choice to side with her people instead of supporting her husband. Again, David Guzik's study guide of Judges 14, sums up everything quite nicely:

"The willingness of Samson’s Philistine wife to side with her people against Samson shows a fundamental weakness in their marriage. She did not fulfill the idea essential to marriage of leaving one’s father and mother to be joined in a one flesh relationship to their spouse... Yet this also shows why it was wrong for Samson to marry a Philistine. We cannot expect someone who does not love the God of Israel to build a marriage on God’s principles."

People, when you marry, you dedicate your life to each other. You do not dedicate your life to each other and everyone else around you.  If you are to love each other until death do you part, then each needs to know that they have each other's back. Again, it is ok to seek advice of others, but it is up to you to not let that advice violate the tenants of your marriage.

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Clarity in Manoah's Panic

As the head of the household, sometimes men we put a lot of burden on ourselves.  There are so many things that we go through as husbands and leaders that we sometimes have our minds clouded. Sometimes work and home blurs together and then there is the spiritual component in the mix of it all.  We start to ask ourselves all sorts of self-evaluating questions:  Am I serving God the way that I should? Am I raising my children right? Am I being a good husband?  Will it rain this weekend because I need to cut the grass?! 

In this scripture, most would see the beginning of the great Samson, but I want to share something else. In the previous verses, Manoah and his wife sacrificed a young goat and a made burnt and grain offerings to the Lord. As the flames burned, "the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar" up to heaven.  In a panic, Manoah just knew that they would die because no man was to see Yahweh and live.  It was at this moment that the voice of reason spoke.

His wife said in short, if the Lord was going to kill them both, they would already be dead. Yahweh wouldn't have accepted their offerings. On top of that, He would not have sent the angel in the first place with the a divine message from God.  It was God who appointed a time such as this for Samson to be born and they were to be his parent. It wasn't a time for the Father to kill them both.

Brothers, we need our wives to be that voice of reason at times. Sometimes we can get ourselves so worked up and close to the edge, that we need that strong presence to talk us off the ledge.  All we have to do is set pride aside and listen. Manoah could and so can we.

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Lessons from Manoah, Samson's Father

Manoah had a wife who had been barren and out of the blue an Angel of the Lord appeared to her. The message? She would have a son who would deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. Now think for a moment.  Here is a women who have not been able to conceive a child and three miraculous things happened to her all at once.

1. She was visited by an Angel of the Lord,
2. She was told that she would have a son,
3. The son that she would have would deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.

After hearing this, the first thing she did was run to her husband, Manoah, to tell him of the incident. He did not doubt her or think she was crazy, but rather his thoughts were, Lord please send this man to teach us what to do with the child. 

First of all most men would wonder who is this strange man talking to my wife! Second, most men's first thought would not be to pray to have the man come back for instruction (probably more so for confrontation). It really tells us a lot about a man who would be the father of one to save a nation.

What lessons can we glean from Manoah?

1. Men, have your wife's back. You married her for a reason and sometimes she just needs you to hear her and believe/support her, no matter how crazy things may sound, and
2. Men, seek the Lord first. Manoah wanted this man to come back to know exactly how to raise his future son. Yahweh was blessing them and he wanted His instructions on how to care for that blessing.  Brothers are we like Manoah in how we treat the things God blesses us with?

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Dreams About My Father: On the Front Porch

It was all so clear; the sound of your voice; the belting out of your laughter,
It was as if you were still here.
We were in Grandma Eula's house and I was the age I am now.
You and I walked on the front porch and the sun was setting
And that's when I realized you were not really here.
You were there, but not here.
As I realized this, my eyes welled up and I wiped away the tears
And you and I stood on the porch never saying another word.
It was as if we were going separate ways and we both understood it.
Then I woke up.

~Antoine E. Hall, 2019

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Now That I Have Your Attention

It has been a while since I have blogged (over a year), but I had something to happen that gave me some motivation. Yesterday, I went to my normal fish market and had the opportunity to talk to the owner.  Nothing special about that (you would think) except this man had been gone for a long time.  He had a heart attack last year and had died.  Yes, dead. No pulse.  The paramedics would eventually bring him back to life, but needless to say he spent a while in the hospital and at home resting.

So, yesterday when I talked to him it was a pleasant surprise.  We talked for a while after he rung-me-up and his overall message to me was, “God is Good”.  I just shook my head yes and said, “Yes, He is.”  He went on to tell me that God definitely got his attention and he had made some serious lifestyle changes.  Things that use to be important to him have been replaced by areas where Yahweh wants him to focus.  Yep, Yahweh got his attention.

We often plow through life with our heads down working, raising kids, making life work to the best of our abilities.  In the midst of all of this, we tend to forget that Yahweh is in the mix and that He has plans for our lives.  When we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit and His many attempts to get us submit to obedience, we eventually stir up God’s wrath.  Sometimes, He has to grab our attention; you know, shake us to the core before we realize what He wants from us.

The funny thing is that Yahweh has been consistent throughout the existence of man.  Throughout the Old Testament, you can see how the Israelites waffle on the Lord.  For one period of time, they follow Him to a “T”.  For another period of time, they do all the things that would invoke God’s wrath, but yet He responds, corrects them and get them back on track. 

Let’s look at Jeremiah 29:10-14:

(10) For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. (11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (12) Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. (13) And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (14) I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Yahweh sent the Prophet Jeremiah to warn His people of the coming wrath.  There had come a time when He needed to jolt the Israelites for them to realize their wrong.  However, through all of this, He still had plans for them to prosper after they would spend 70 years in Babylon.

The same with us today. He loves us. In fact He loves us so much that He sent His son to die for our sins, so that we may have everlasting life.  But yet, even in a time where the Comforter (Holy Spirit) keeps us, we still find ways to ignore His will for our lives. Unfortunately, sometimes Yahweh has to do something radical to gain our attentions. If only we could just slow down and realize what He desires for us rather than putting our own plans before His. It has to just make you wonder, how different would our lives be?

Antoine

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King David - A Blueprint for Salvation

In studying the book of 2 Samuel, I have found myself stuck in chapters 11 and specifically 12. However, I do not see this as being a bad thing because I am convinced that there was something that the Lord wanted me to see and today I get to share that with you as well.  Rather than do a normal blog entry, I am going to provide some notes in the form of commentary.  I hope that it all still makes sense as I attempt to lay out some logical flow. 

So, to give some background the main focus of this study will be on 2 Samuel 11-12 and Psalm 51 along with other supporting scriptures. In the first part, we will look at the account of King David and how he laid with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, and plotted to have her husband killed.  The second part will focus on the displeasure of Yahweh and the punishment. Lastly, we’ll take a look at David’s prayer and how the Lord responds to his prayer.

The Sins

1. He took a wife that wasn’t his to take; one from another man.
   
   2 Sam 11:1-5,26-27 - (1) It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. (2) Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. (3) So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (4) Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. (5) And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child”...(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.
   
   Commentary:  It is ok to for a widow woman to remarry, but in the manner that Uriah’s death occurred, this was not approved via the law.  In Romans 7:1-3 it says: “(1) Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? (2) For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. (3) So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.”
2. David broke the law making him an adulterer as well as causing Bathsheba to become an adulteress.
   
   Exodus 20:14 - You shall not commit adultery.
   
   Leviticus 20:10 - ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
   
   Deuteronomy 22:22-24 -  (22) “If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. (23) “If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, (24) then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
   
3. David committed premeditated murder
   
   2 Samuel 11:14-17  - (14) In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. (15) And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.” (16) So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. (17) Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
   
   Commentary: The law that forbid premeditated murder can be found in Exodus 21:14 where it states, “But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.”

The Conviction and Punishment

Commentary:  One thing to note in this section, we specifically talk about Yahweh’s conviction which is odd under the old Mosaic Law.  Breaking the law while under the law was a cause for condemnation instead of conviction (see Romans 8:1-4 for no condemnation).

Condemnation (noun) - the act of expressing strong disapproval of; the act of pronouncing judgement against; the act of sentencing

Conviction (noun) - the state of being found or proven guilty

1. David, through his own judgement, found himself guilty.
   
   Commentary: Yahweh sent Nathan the prophet after he broke the law.  In this, Nathan had a direct order to tell a parable that would not only arouse David’s anger, but also made him want to fulfill the punishment for the law that was broken.
   
   2 Samuel 12:1-6  - (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.”
   
2. David is convicted by the Lord.
   
   2 Samuel 12:7-15  - (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. (14) 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.” (15) Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.
   
   Commentary:  Notice in verse 13, after David verbally admits to sinning against the Lord, Nathan immediately says to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”  Remember, the punishment for adultery and premeditated murder was death.  This is very important because we see an instance of conviction instead of condemnation.  The sentence was death, instead David was given grace and mercy to live.  However, his sin was not without consequence.
   
3. The death of David’s first son by Bathsheba
   
   2 Samuel 12:16-19 - (16) David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. (17) So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. (18) Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”  (19) When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
   
   Commentary:  David saw Yahweh’s punishment come to fruition. Despite being told his son would die, he continued to pray that the Lord would not harm his child,  He fasted and laid on the ground all night in hopes that the Lord would reverse his punishment, but it would not be so.  
   
4. The maturity to know when to move on.
   
   Commentary:  This is slightly off topic, but in the next few verses we find another life lesson which we all can learn.  Many can attest that prayer is a powerful thing and we all should be doing it, but sometimes we continue praying for an answer or solution where one has already been provided. David was well aware of the Lord's decision, and he recognized it was time to move on. We too need to recognize the same things and know when to move on.
   
   2 Samuel 12:20-23 - (20) So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. (21) Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” (22) And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord[a] will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ (23) But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
   
   

Repentance & Forgiveness

1. David Repents
   
   Commentary: One thing that we as believers have been blessed to have is the book of Psalms.  The majority of the psalms within it have been accredited to King David and as such we have the pleasure of knowing how David responded to his convictions.  In Psalm 51, we are blessed to observe just how he went before the Lord.  This Psalm was written when Nathan the prophet came to David to give him a message from Yahweh. Although, I am talking about repentance and forgiveness now, Psalm 51 actually occurs during the time around Nathan’s visit and before the birth and death of his first son by Bathsheba.
   
1. David first pleads for Mercy
   
   Psalm 51:1-2  - (1) Have mercy upon me, O God,
   According to Your lovingkindness;
   According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
   Blot out my transgressions.
   (2) Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
   And cleanse me from my sin.
   
2. David acknowledges his Transgressions
   
   Psalm 51:3-4 - (3) For I acknowledge my transgressions,
   And my sin is always before me.
   (4) Against You, You only, have I sinned,
   And done this evil in Your sight—
   That You may be found just when You speak,
   And blameless when You judge.
   
   Commentary:  This also coincides with 2 Samuel 12:13 where David says to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
   
3. David wishes to be cleansed of his sins
   
   Psalm 51:7-12 - (7) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
   Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
   (8) Make me hear joy and gladness,
   That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
   (9) Hide Your face from my sins,
   And blot out all my iniquities.
   (10) Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
   (11) Do not cast me away from Your presence,
   And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
   (12) Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
   And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
   
4. David asks Yahweh for forgiveness
   
   Psalm 51:14 - Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
   The God of my salvation,
   
5. David acknowledges what the Lord desires from us.
   
   Psalm 51:16-17 - (16) For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
   You do not delight in burnt offering.
   (17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
   A broken and a contrite heart—
   These, O God, You will not despise.
   
   Commentary:  The recognition by David to understand what Yahweh desires from us is really important.  It is a foreshadowing of what He desires from us after Christ fulfills the law.  David understands that the Lord does not desire sacrifice, but what He really wants is a changed heart.  In Hebrews 10, we see that sacrifices under the law could not cleanse us from our sins.  We needed Yeshua to do this for us.
   
   Hebrews 10:1-4 - (1) For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. (2) For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. (3) But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. (4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
   
   
2. The Lord Forgives David
   
   Commentary:  We have seen David sin, be convicted of his sins, and repent.  Everything that David did should have resulted in death, but this surprisingly does not happen.  Recall, that in 2 Samuel 12:13, Nathan informs him that “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die…”  Again, one could wonder why this happened, but if you study David, you’ll understand that he really had a relationship with Yahweh. He went to Him in prayer for everything.  He was truly a man after God’s own heart.  We see again a foreshadowing of things to come with the gift of Christ.
   
   Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
   
   
3. Solomon is Born
   
   Commentary:  At this point we have to realize a couple of things:
   
1. David has been forgiven.
2. Bathsheba has also been forgiven because she was not put to death either.
3. Since both have been forgiven and Bathsheba has been widowed, the normal laws for marriage would apply.
4. Therefore he could “legally” have Bathsheba.
   

This makes the birth of Solomon, the second son of David and Bathsheba, very special.  The first son was born out of sinful actions, which is ironic because after the fall of Adam, all men are born into sin.  However, Solomon was not born due to sinful actions, but rather from the fruit of David’s repentance, the turning away from his sins, and the grace and mercy of Yahweh.

2 Samuel 12:24-25 - (24) Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, (25) and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

Commentary: One last thing to note, is the name that the Lord gave to Solomon.  The name Jedidiah is only mentioned once throughout the entire bible in reference to Solomon. Although it is not mentioned any more, it is worth noting that the Lord sent a message by giving him this name.  That message was that He loved Solomon and approved of David’s prayer and repentance.

Conclusion

Through David’s sin, Yahweh gives us a glimpse of how Christ would redeem us. We see sin, the repentance of sin, and we see the forgiveness of sin. It almost seems out of place because the true wages of some sins at David’s time was death.  Remember, burnt offerings did not cleanse the people under the Mosaic Law.  It was only a temporary solution until the coming of Yeshua because one can only be cleansed through the blood of Christ!

Salvation is the deliverance from sin and the only way for us to do that today is to confess Christ. We must repent of our sins and believe in our heart that Christ is Lord and Savior.  In Peter’s sermon on the Mount, he tells us this:

Acts 2:36-39 - (36) “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”  (37) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”  (38) Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

David deserved death under the law, but he did not receive it. We deserve death for our sins, but those in Christ will not receive it either. You see, the Old and New Testaments tie together, much more than most imagine. The Old Testament isn’t just a book to be shelved because we live under a new covenant. It too should be used for instruction, teaching, and to gain a better understanding of Yahweh, our Father. We have all 66 books for a reason, so we might as well put them all to the use for which He intended.

Be blessed everyone.

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