CURSED FOR HIS PRIOR SINS

PROCLAMATION

“And when King David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came forth, and cursed still as he came.  And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.  And thus said Shimei when he cursed, ‘Come out, come out, thou blood man, and thou man of Belial;  The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and The Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a blood man.’ ”  2 Samuel 16:5-8 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  Because his son Absalom had become popular with the people, and had amassed himself a large army, and had declared himself to be king, David and his loyal followers and his family fled Jerusalem.  He went up to the top of the Mount of Olives. (2 Samuel 15:30)  On the other side of the summit he approached the town of Bahurim.  It was here that the man from Saul’s clan came out, cursed him, and threw rocks at him. (2 Samuel 16:5-8)  One of Davis’s men wanted to kill him for cursing the king, but David stopped him.  Even though he had not killed Saul, or his sons, or any members of his household as Shimei accused him of doing, he was a murderer.  David considered Shimei’s cursing to be part of God’s punishment for his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah and he humbly accepted it. (2 Samuel 16:9-13)  Meanwhile Absalom and his men came into Jerusalem and those who had remained there became loyal to him. (2 Samuel 16:15-19)  Then on the advice of Ahithophel, David’s former council, Absalom slept with David’s concubines. (2 Samuel 16:20-23)

 

APPLICATION

As believers in Jesus, The Christ, we do not lose our salvation because we sinned after being saved.  We may lose the joy of our salvation and The Lord God may permit us to suffer as part of our punishment for our sins.  Some of the troubles that we endure and the storms of life that we go through may be things that we brought upon ourselves.  “For whom The Lord loveth He chastened …” (Hebrews 12:6)  The Lord God forgives us of our sin once we confess and repent.  However, the devil continues to bring our past sins to our remembrance in order to make us feel unworthy and to doubt with our relationship with The Lord.

 

PLANNED EVIL REBELLION

PROCLAMATION

“And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.  And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”  2 Samuel 15:5-6 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  After King David told Joab to bring Absalom from Geshur back to Jerusalem, Absalom stayed in his own house and did not come face to face with the king. (2 Samuel 14:23-24)  Absalom was in Jerusalem for two years before King David sent for him. (2 Samuel 14:28-33)  Then Absalom began to plot to take over the throne beginning by standing outside of the gates to the city and greeting all who came to see the king. (2 Samuel 15:1-4)  He greeted them, kissed them, told them what he would do if he were the judge, and he won the hearts of the people. (2 Samuel 15:4-6)  Later he went to Hebron after sending his men ahead of him to proclaim him king of Hebron. (2 Samuel 15:7-10)  Absalom offered religious sacrifices with invited guests to help his conspiracy gain strength.  He even sent for King David’s adviser, Ahithophel, to be with him to give his position more credibility. (2 Samuel 15:12)  He gained so much popularity with the people that King David and his followers had to flee from Jerusalem for their safety. (2 Samuel 15:13-14)

 

APPLICATION

Not all sins are impulsive acts or random acts of bad judgement.  Some sins are carefully planned and well thought out in advance.  People will often engage others to help the pull off their evil schemes.  Some of the people who are with us one day, can be persuaded to help work against or undermine us.  There is at least one Judas in every crowd, and often there are several of them.  As the song says, “Smiling faces sometimes pretend to be your friend; Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within …” (The Undisputed Truth)  Sometimes, unbeknownst to us, people will use us in their evil schemes to help them deceive others.  Not all business propositions, money making plans, or religious organizations are actually what they are presented to be.  We need to pray for God’s help before we decide who to let into our homes or into our inner circle of friends. (2 John 1:10)  People don’t take advantage of us by accident, it is done intentionally.  We need to pray for God’s protection.

 

SOMETIMES WE CAN SEE THROUGH PEOPLE

PROCLAMATION

“Then the king answered and said unto the woman, ‘Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask of thee.’ … And the king said, ‘Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this?’  And the woman answered and said, ‘… thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid …’ ”  2 Samuel 14:18-19 (KJV) 

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  After he had his brother Amnon killed for raping his sister, Absalom fled and went to Geshur, because his mother was the daughter of the king of Geshur, and he stayed there for three years. (2 Samuel 13:37-38)  Then Joab, who was the captain of the army under King David, perceived that David’s heart was soft for Absalom (2 Samuel 14:1) and sent for a wise woman from Tekoah.  Joab told her to pretend that she was in mourning and told her what to say to King David. (2 Samuel 14:2-3)  The woman did as Joab had told her to do.  She faked the whole story in order to make a point to the king.  Near the end of her discourse she told David that she was referring to him and that he had judged and convicted himself by not bringing back his banished son. (2 Samuel 14:13-17)  It was then that David saw through her and knew that Joab was involved in this with her, and he confronted her about his involvement. (2 Samuel 14:18-19)  Then David sent Joab to get Absalom and bring him to Jerusalem, but he was to go and stay in his own house which he did for two years before coming face to face with David. (2 Samuel 14:21-33) 

 

APPLICATION

Some people are very good at lying, and are such good actors, that they can put on an academy award winning performance and really deceive people.  However, if we listen to and observe most people, their spoken words and their behavior will allow themselves to be read like an open book.  The ability to discern the motives of people is a gift from God which all of us have not been blessed to receive. (1 Corinthians 12:10)  There is an old saying, “If you give a person enough rope, they will hang themselves.” (Author Unknown)  We need to learn to listen to people but not necessarily believe everything that they say.  We also need to pray to God for discernment so that we can distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve The Lord God and those who do not, so that we do not fall victim to those who seek to deceive us.

 

DAVID'S SON AMNON IS KILLED FOR RAPING HIS SISTER

PROCLAMATION

“Now Absalom had commended his servants, saying, ‘Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, ‘Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not; have not I commanded you?  Be courageous, and be valiant.’  And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded …”  2 Samuel 13:28-29 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  David’s son Amnon became obsessed with his beautiful half-sister, Tamar. (2 Samuel 13:1-2)  With the help of his advisor, Amnon developed a plan, pretending to be sick, to have King David send Tamar to care for him and feed him. (2 Samuel 13:3-7)  Tamar went to his house and prepared a meal for him.  When she took the food to his bedroom, he grabbed her, and he raped her, and then he sent her away from him. (2 Samuel 13:8-14)  When Absalom found out what had happened to his sister, he hated Amnon, but he kept quiet about it. (2 Samuel 13:20-22)  Two years later he devised a plan to kill Amnon for disgracing his sister.  Absalom held a feast at sheep-shearing time and invited the king and all of his sons to the feast.  Absalom commanded his servants to wait until Amnon was “merry with wine” and then kill him. (2 Samuel 13:23-29)  David was told that Amnon was dead and that Absalom had killed him because he had raped his sister Tamar. (2 Samuel 13:32) After this Absalom fled to Geshur and stayed there for three years. (2 Samuel 13:37-39)

 

APPLICATION

The Bible teaches us to flee fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18) and that no one is to have sexual relations with any close relative. (Leviticus 18:6-18)  Forced sexual relations with an unmarried relative just make a bad situation worse, and the passage of time does not erase the sin.  We are taught not to hold a grudge against one another, (James 5:9) however, some people can hold a grudge for a long time.  Just because time passes by and no rage is shown towards us does not mean that we got away with a sin without getting caught.  Man may not catch us, but we will have to pay for our sin.  Those who live after the flesh will die because of the flesh. (Romans 8:5 and 8:13)  The Lord God sees all (Psalm 33:13) and one day we will have to give an account for our actions. (Luke 16:2 and Revelation 20:12-13)

 

THE SIN AND THE PUNISHMENT

PROCLAMATION

“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.  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house …”  2 Samuel 12:9-10 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  After King David had slept with Bath-Sheba and after he had her husband Uriah killed, The Lord God sent Nathan to David with a message. (2 Samuel 12:1-4)  Nathan told David a parable.  After he heard the parable, David was angry with the man in the parable.  He said that man must pay four times over for doing such a thing and he must die.  Nathan told David that he was that man. (2 Samuel 12:5-7)  By his actions David had shown no regard for the law of God, the Ten Commandments.  The sixth commandment is: “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13)  The seventh commandment is: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)  Nathan told David that someone from his own household would openly sleep with his wives, and that the child of David’s union with Bath-Sheba would die. (2 Samuel 12:7-14)  After Nathan left, the child born to David and Bath-Sheba became ill and died. (2 Samuel 12:15-19)  While the child was ill, David fasted and wept, but when he died David resumed normal activities. (2 Samuel 12:21-23)  Bath-Sheba would later bear David a second son, Solomon whom God loved. (2 Samuel 12:24)  David would soon have to flee his palace for fear of his son Absalom. (2 Samuel 15:13-14)  Afterwards, Absalom would sleep with David’s concubines during the day in the sight of all Israel. (2 Samuel 16:22)

 

APPLICATION

There will be a price to pay for willful disregard and disobedience of God’s Word.  It does not matter who we do wrong to or with, all sin is a sin against The Lord God. (Psalm 51:4)  As a believer we will not lose our salvation because of a sin, but we interrupt the fellowship and lose our joy. (Psalm 51:12)  We need to acknowledge our sins (Psalm 51:3) and ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness. (Psalm 51:1-2)  Only The Lord God can clean us up after we sin, (Psalm 51:7) and only He can create within us a clean heart and a righteous spirit. (Psalm 51:10)

 

OUR LUSTFUL SINFUL HUMAN NATURE

PROCLAMATION

“And it came to pass … 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.  And David sent and enquired after the woman.  And one said, ‘Is not this Bath-Sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’  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.”  2 Samuel 11:2-4 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

It was springtime and time to go to war, but this time King David did not go with the Israelite army, he chose to remain in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1)  While walking around on the rooftop patio of his palace, David saw a beautiful woman bathing, probably on the roof of her home.  After he found out who she was, David sent for her, and she came to him, and he slept with her.  David let his lustful human nature take control and he sinned.  Actually, David had compounded the first sin, lust, with a second sin, adultery, and then later with another sin, murder.  David had her husband killed so that the sin which he had committed with Uriah’s wife, and her subsequent pregnancy, would not be discovered. (2 Samuel 11:14-17)  After a period of mourning for Uriah, Bath-Sheba became David’s wife and she bore him a son.  His actions displeased The Lord God and David would have to pay for his sins. (2 Samuel 11:27)

 

APPLICATION

David was a man after God’s own heart, (1 Samuel 13:14) but he was human, he was a man, and like all men he was a sinner. (Romans 3:23)  Here he let his lust for Bathsheba get the best of him.  David was not where he was supposed to be, he was idle, he had a wandering eye, he did not suppress his sinful thoughts, he acted on them.  We all have weakness for one sin or another, and a sin is a sin.  We are more likely to fall into temptation when we are not where we are supposed to be.  There is an old saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”  We all occasionally have sinful thoughts (Proverbs 23:7 and Matthew 5:28) and at times we act on those thoughts and thereby committing another sin.  That is why we need to pray and ask to be forgiven for our sinful thoughts, words, and actions.  We also need to ask The Lord God to create within us a clean heart and mind, (Psalm 51:10) and for Him to guide and direct us. (Proverbs 3:6)

 

MISUNDERSTOOD AND HUMILIATED

PROCLAMATION

“And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.  Then said David, ‘I will shew kindness unto Hanun son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me.’  And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father … And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, ‘Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father ... hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?’  Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved of the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.”  2 Samuel 10:1-4 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  When Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, died, his son Hanun succeeded him.  King David heard that Nahash had died he wanted to show kindness to his son Hanun because Nahash had been kind to him. (2 Samuel 8:12)   So David sent a delegation to Hanun to express his sympathy regarding his father’s death. (2 Samuel 10:1-2)  But King Hanun listened to the commanders of his army and treated King David’s envoy as if they were spies.  He humiliated them, cut off half of their beards, and then sent them away naked from the waist down.  Then he formed an allegiance with the Syrians, with the Maakahites, and with the Tobites to prepare for war because he felt that he had offended David. (2 Samuel 10:6)  When David heard of this, he sent Joab and the entire army against Hanun.  They killed thousands of them and the rest fled. (2 Samuel 10:7-19)

 

APPLICATION

Our good intentions and our efforts to be kind to someone can be misunderstood.  Sometimes something as simple as a smile, or a kind word, or a random act of kindness can be completely misunderstood.  Even when we clearly state our intentions, our words may not be accepted or believed.  That may be caused by the person’s own suspicions, lack of trust, or paranoia.  The misunderstanding may also be the result of some misinformation or bad advice from others.  Their personal opinions are not a problem for us unless they choose to take actions against us because of them.  Then we need to pray and ask The Lord God for protection, guidance, and directions.  If we are left to our own devices, we will probably make an emotional response and commit a sin. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

DAVID SHOWS KINDNESS TO THE GRANDSON OF SAUL

PROCLAMATION

“… And David said, ‘Mephibosheth.’ … ‘Fear not; for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.’ ”  2 Samuel 9:6-7 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the death of the prophet Samuel by Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  After expanding the borders of Israel, David asked if there was anyone left from the house of Saul that he could show kindness to for Jonathan’s sake. (2 Samuel 9:1)  Ziba, the head servant from the house of Saul, said that Jonathan had a son who was lame in both feet and living in Lo-Debar. (2 Samuel 9:2-5)  King David sent for Mephibosheth and he was brought to him.  David told him not to be afraid, he only wanted to show him kindness for his father’s sake.  David gave him all of the land which had belonged to his grandfather Saul, and he told Ziba to take his sons and servants and farm the land, and then bring the crops to him. (2 Samuel 9:6-12)  From that time on, Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem and ate at the king’s table. (2 Samuel 9:13)

 

APPLICATION

All of our blessings are not due to our own behavior.  Mephibosheth was blessed because of his father Jonathan, the son of Saul.  Some of the blessings that we receive today are because of our family; they are the results of the prayers of our parents and our grandparents.  Children are not always aware of all of the things that their parents do for them, and they are definitely unaware of their parents’ prayers for them.  Regardless of their present behavior, we need to continue to pray for our children.  There is power in prayer, and prayer changes things.  “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)