THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS MAY AFFECT OTHERS

PROCLAMATION

“And David’s heart smote him after that … And David said unto The Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly … and I beseech Thee’ … Thus saith The Lord, ‘I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.’ … So The Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel … and there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men.” (2 Samuel 24:10-15)

 

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.  These are the last words of David, the son of Jesse, the king of Israel, the psalmist and man after God’s own heart.  David said that The Spirit of The Lord spoke to him. (2 Samuel 23:1-2)  The Lord God said that he that rules over men must be just.  David knew that his house was not perfect in the eyes of The Lord but he had been blessed and that God had made a covenant with him. (2 Samuel 23:3-5)  In the remainder of this chapter David goes on to list the mighty men of valor who were with him and their accomplishments. (2 Samuel 23:8-39)  David ordered that a census be taken of Israel and Judah.  This was a sin of David’s pride and security in his military might instead of trusting in The Lord.  Joab, the captain of the army, saw the census for what it was and questioned David but David overruled him. (2 Samuel 24:1-9)  The Lord was angered by David’s sin.  David confessed his sin and The Lord forgave him but he still had to suffer the consequences for his actions.  The Lord gave David a choice of three punishments to choose from which were spelled out by the prophet Gad. (2 Samuel 24:10-13)  David placed himself on the mercies of God and let Him decide which to do.  So The Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel and seventy thousand men died. (2 Samuel 24:14-15)  David went to Araunah the Jebusite and bought some land as the prophet Gad had directed him.  There he built an alter and offered a sacrifice unto The Lord and the plague on Israel ended. ((2 Samuel 24:17-25)

 

APPLICATION

We will all pay a price for our sins.  However, when we sin, there are consequences which affect not only us but also affect those around us which may not occur immediately.  It is hard for us to understand but some of the bad things which happen to us are the results of the sins of our parents, grandparents, or our great grandparents. (Numbers 14:18 and Deuteronomy 5:9)  The punishment that we receive for our sins may also affect the ones that we love.

 

SING A SONG OF PRAISE UNTO THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“And he said, ‘The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; In Him will I trust; He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; Thou savest me from violence.  I will call on The Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies.”  2 Samuel 22:2-4 (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.  This entire chapter is the song of praise which David spoke or sang unto The Lord after He delivered him from the hand of his enemies, out of the hand of Saul.  The words are almost identical to the words of Psalm 18, and most of the Bible scholars believe that these words were written in his old age.  This was David’s public expression before the congregation of Israel of his gratitude for his deliverance from his enemies.  It was written and sung, to give praise, honor and glory to The Lord God.

 

APPLICATION

We have all been in at least one bad situation which The Lord God delivered us out of, or through.  We may not be able to compose a song of praise to The Lord, and we may not be able to sing the words of a song of praise in the proper key.  However, the Bible teaches us that we should “make a joyful noise” unto The Lord. (Psalm 66:1, Psalm 81:1, Psalm 95:1-2, Psalm 98:4, and Psalm 100:1)  We can read out loud the words of this psalm of praise, or some other psalm of praise, to give God glory.  As believers we should not have to be told to praise The Lord, we should do that spontaneously and frequently every day.

 

BATTLE WEARY AND RESCUED

PROCLAMATION

“Moreover the Philistines had yet war with Israel; And David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines; And David waxed faint.  And Ishbi-Benob, which was of the sons of the giant … thought to have slain David.  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah … smote the Philistine, and killed him.  Then the men of David swore unto him, saying, ‘Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle ...’ ”  2 Samuel 21:15-17 (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.  This was near the end of King David’s reign.  He was old and weak, but he did not flee from battle.  His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak.  David needed help and The Lord God sent someone to help him in his time of need.  David had killed Goliath, (1 Samuel 17:45-51) but he had four sons and one of them, Ishbi-Benob, was about to kill David.  The Lord God sent Abishai to deliver David from his enemy and rescued him from Goliath’s son. (2 Samuel 21:15-17)  From that point on David’s men would not let him go with them into battle.  There were a series of battles to follow, each led be a giant, each of whom was killed by a different one of David’s men. (2 Samuel 21:17-22)

 

APPLICATION

We all have our enemies, some of whom are bigger, stronger, and more powerful than we are.  However, The Lord God is bigger, stronger, and more powerful than all of our enemies, and He will protect us from them and fight our battles. (2 Chronicles 32:8 and Psalm 59:9)  He is our help when we are in need, (Psalm 121:2) and He is our strength when we are weary and weak. (2 Corinthians 12:9)  Thanks be to The Lord God who has given us the victory over all of our enemies in this world through Jesus, The Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

 

NOT EVERYONE IS WILLING TO FORGIVE

PROCLAMATION

“And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew a trumpet, and said, ‘We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel.’ ”  2 Samuel 20:1 (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.  As David was trying to convince the people to accept him again as king, not everyone who came to meet him was supportive of him.  There was a troublemaker in the crowd named Sheba who would lead a second rebellion against King David.  When Sheba openly opposed David, the men of Israel followed him and deserted David, but this time the men of Judah stayed loyal to him. (2 Samuel 20:2)  It is not stated whether or not Sheba was a part of the first rebellion against David led by Absalom.  It is also not stated why David felt that Sheba was more of a problem than Absalom or why Sheba was so influential. (2 Samuel 20:6)  However, after he left, David sent his men to pursue after Sheba and they returned with his head. (2 Samuel 20:22)  It is not stated whether or not David forgave the ten concubines he left to care for the palace who slept with Absalom, but he put them under house arrest and never again slept with any of them. (2 Samuel 20:3) 

 

APPLICATION

In every crowd there is always a troublemaker present.  Someone who undermines our position, opposes our plan, and wants to lead our followers in a different direction.  It is not always clear exactly why our haters hate us so.  Some people feel that we have done them wrong and they will not forgive or forget it.  Some people don’t like what we have said, or what we have done, or what we stand for, or for being who we are.  There is nothing that we can do to make some people like us, and we really should not try to.  We just need to be ourselves and to follow The Word of God and accept the fact that we will have some haters.  Jesus, The Christ, said that we would be hated (Matthew 10:22) but that we should remember that the world hated Him before hating us. (John 15:18)  So, we should rejoice and be glad because we will be blessed when people insult us, persecute us, or lie about us because of our beliefs.  We should know that we will receive a heavenly reward because of it when we persevere. (Matthew 5:11-12) 

 

COMING BACK HOME IS NOT ALWAYS EASY

PROCLAMATION

“And King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, ‘Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, “Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house?” seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.’ ”  2 Samuel 19:11 (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 had defeated all of the neighboring enemies of Israel under King Saul, and he defeated them again as the King of Israel after the death of Saul, but he fled the country to escape from his son Absalom.  Now that Absalom had died while leading Israel’s army against him, David was ready to return to Israel and to his throne.  First, he had to get over the death of his son and had to be reminded of who he was. (2 Samuel 18:33-19:8)  Then, he had to win over the hearts of the people.  The people of Israel had anointed Absalom as their king, and they had rebelled against David.  He had defeated the Israelite army, but now he had to deal with the people who had turned on him.  He had to remind some of them that they were his blood relatives (2 Samuel 19:11-14) and he had to forgive some of them for how they had treated him. (2 Samuel 19:19-23)  David honored those who had helped him (2 Samuel 19:31-39) and he had to settle the differences between the men who went with him and those who were against him. (2 Samuel 19:40-43)

 

APPLICATION

Many years ago, I was taught that the way we leave home determines whether or not we can ever come back home.  I also learned that it is possible to be accepted back into the house but that does not mean that we are accepted back into their heart.  Sometimes we can return home only to find out that things are not the same as they were before we left.  People can forgive, but they do not forget.  However, thanks be to God that our Heavenly Father is not like that.  Once we are saved and accepted into the body of Christ as a child of God, we are always accepted. (John 10:28-29)  We may backslide and turn our back on Him and break our fellowship with Him, but we never break our familial relationship.  Once we confess and believe, we are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)  Once saved, always saved.  When we mess up, we can pray and ask to be forgiven for our sins, and The Lord God forgives us, (Acts 8:22) and we are fully restored into the family and the fellowship. (1 John 1:6-7)

 

GET ALL OF THE INFO BEFORE DELIVERING A MESSAGE

PROCLAMATION

“And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, ‘All is well.’  And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, ‘Bless be The Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.  And the king said, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’  And Ahimaaz answered, ‘… I know not …’  And the king said unto him, ‘Turn aside, and stand here.  And he turned aside, and stood still.”  2 Samuel 18:28-30 (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.  In the battle with his son Absalom and the army of Israel, King David instructed each of his three commanders to be gentle with his son.  David’s men routed the Israelite army.  They were not prepared to fight in the forest.  As he fled, Absalom’s long hair got caught in the branches of a large oak tree and his mule kept going leaving him hanging in the tree.  Absalom was proud of his very long hair (2 Samuel 14:25-26) and that vanity played a part in his demise.  Joab’s soldiers found him there and, remembering King David’s words, they would not harm him.  When Joab arrived, after confronting the first soldier to find him, Joab thrusted three spears into his body and then ten of his armor-bearers attacked Absalom and killed him.  Ahimaaz the son of Zadok asked to carry the news of the victory to the king but Joab initially told him no and sent the Cushite runner instead. (2 Samuel 18:19-21)  A little while later Ahimaaz asked again if he could run to the king with the news even though there was no need for him to do so. (2 Samuel 18:22-23)  This time he was allowed to go, and he outran the Cushite and got to the king first, but he could not give a full report.  It was the Cushite who arrived later that told the king his son was dead.

 

APPLICATION

Sometimes in our haste, we go off “half-cocked” without all of the information that we need in order to present the whole story.  The first report of “breaking news” is not always the most accurate and it is usually lacking in specific details.  All too often we give out misinformation because we do not have, or intentionally do not present, all of the facts.  Sometimes we accept what we have heard as the truth and share that with others without bothering to verify the information for ourselves.   We are to also read and study The Bible and verify that which heard is in fact the truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)  Without personally reading and studying The Bible we are relying on the words of others whose message may be missing significant information. 

 

WHEN WE RECEIVE CONFLICTING ADVICE PRAY

 

WHEN WE RECEIVE CONFLICTING ADVICE PRAY

PROCLAMATION

“And Hushai said unto Absalom, ‘The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time.  For,’ said Hushai, ‘thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men … and thy father is a man of war …’ ”  2 Samuel 17:7-8 (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.  After King David fled from Jerusalem and Absalom had occupied the city, Absalom first sought the advice of Ahithophel, who had been David’s advisor.  He advised Absalom to take two thousand men and attack David now while he is weary. (2 Samuel 17:1-3) Then he sought the advice of Hushai, who had been David’s friend.  He advised Absalom to gather all the men of Israel and then lead the attack on David from a position of superior numbers because David and his men were mighty men of war. (2 Samuel 17:4-13)  Absalom liked the plan proposed by Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:4) until he heard the plan offered by Hushai. (2 Samuel 17:14)  From a military perspective, the advice of Hushai was better than the advice from Ahithophel, but it was also better for David because it gave him more time to prepare for the battle.  David was warned of Absalom’s plan and he left the field and crossed over the Jordan river. (2 Samuel 17:15-22) 

 

APPLICATION

We should be very careful regarding who we listen to or seek advice from.  Almost everyone has an opinion, and advice is readily available everywhere from multiple sources, some of it  is good and some not so good.  However, when the well-respected experts disagree on a matter and offer us different advice, we need to give the matter prayerful consideration.  The “good advice” which we receive may very well benefit someone else.  More importantly, good advice is only “good” if we have asked the right question when we seek it.  That is why we need to take everything to The Lord in prayer. (Ephesians 6:18)