THE PASSAGE OF TIME DOES NOT ERASE SINS

PROCLAMATION

“Two years later … Absalom went to the king ‘… please let my brother Amnon come with us’ …  Absalom ordered his men, ‘Listen!  When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him.  Don’t be afraid.  Haven’t I given you this order?  Be strong and brave.’  So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered …”  2 Samuel 13:23-28 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

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, then he raped her. (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)  Years later he devised a plan to kill Amnon for disgracing his sister.

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.  While we are taught not to hold a grudge against one another, (James 5:9) some people can hold a grudge for a long time.  Just because time passes by does not mean that we got away with a sin without getting caught.  Man may not catch us, but 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)

They Meant It For Bad But God Meant It For Good

"When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?' ... His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. 'We are your slaves,' they said. But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them." Genesis 50:15-21 (NIV)

Although his brothers had done him wrong years earlier, Joseph did not hold it against them. He told them, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. This was during a seven year lon famon, and Joseph was now in a position to provide for his brothers and their families.

Sometimes when people do us wrong, God can turn the situation around and use it for our benefit. Those who intend to hurt us may actually end up helping us. All things happen to us for a reason, even if we cannot see it or understand it at the time that we are going through it. We just need to trust in God and have faith that He will work things out.