10/01/2022
We face the greatest lessons of Christ, and our Heavenly Father in the hard, and tempting moments of our lives. We learn the commandments and how to obey them when we come face to face with the temptation to disobey them. A man in the desert alone is not tempted to commit adultery, just as a child who is given his fill of candy isn’t prone to steal it. It is only when David stood on his roof and saw Bathsheba that he was made to face his desire to commit adultery, and it is when a child stands penniless before the candy counter that the thought of stealing crosses his mind. What were, or are, the circumstances that have led each one of us to learn such hard lessons regarding one of God’s commandments?
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.”
Psalm 119:71 ESV
So David was tempted by Bathsheba’s beauty and the thought of her nakedness. He was told that she was married and yet the temptation overcame him. In the end he sent men to bring her to him, he slept with her, she became pregnant, she conceived, he had her husband killed, he loved the child, and then that child was taken from him. We see that one hard lesson regarding God’s commandments lead him to another, and it all started with an innocent walk on his roof…
“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?””
2 Samuel 11:2-3 ESV
Most hard lessons that we learn begin innocently enough, but once set in motion they are difficult to stop. The key is to resist them before they begin. Listen to the story of the penniless boy…
When I was a little boy my mother used to take me shopping with her from time to time. One day we were in a five and dime store, and right at the checkout counter, at the perfect height for a small boy to see, was an assortment of candies. I asked if I could have a piece, but my mother’s response was “Not today, maybe next time.” But I really wanted a piece of that candy so I took one and hid it in my pants pocket.
When we left the store and I was safely in the back seat of our car, I reached into my pocket, quietly unwrapped it, and popped it in my mouth. I hadn’t taken more than a couple of chews than my mother turned around to back out of our parking space, and I was caught. She turned the car off, came around to the back seat, took me by the arm, and marched me right back into the store where I was made to confess my crime, apologize, and be scolded for my transgression.
I am now in my 70s, and that incident has stuck with me all these years; it taught me not to steal, about the consequences one faces for their actions, and then, when back in the car, I was taught about how disappointed Jesus was in me as I asked Him in prayer to forgive me.
As an adult this candy lesson doesn’t seem overly harsh, but as a child I can assure you that it left a mark on me… one I still bear to this day. Learning to obey God’s commandments can come in various forms and flavors but they are all difficult and bitter. Listen to David’s Confession and punishment…
“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.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of 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. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 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. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.””
2 Samuel 12:10-14 ESV
We hope and pray that we will be able to resist temptation when it comes, and learn to obey without a trial, but if we do give in to it, we hope it will be learned like a child might learn with a stolen piece of candy. However, sometimes we succumb to a much larger temptation like David did, and we find ourselves in a very grave situation; quite possibly in the throes of adultery, or worse… murder. Let’s look at our lives today, and ask ourselves if there has ever been a lesson we’ve had to learn, and how hard it was to endure. Are we in the midst of such instruction today? If we are then it is time to take our medicine; to confess as David did, shoulder the responsibility for our actions, take our punishment, receive forgiveness, and return to obeying God. None of this is easy, and we will bear it like an affliction, but it will strengthen us against future temptation, and sin.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
James 1:12 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the difficult lessons in our lives, and for the marks they leave on us so that we will be reminded by them to always obey your commandments. Thank you Father for your Son Jesus who taught us to resist the temptation of Satan by using your Word to fend him off. Help us to resist sin, but if we fall victim to our worldly desires then discipline us, and hear our prayers of contrition as we seek to return to you once more. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who leads us down paths of righteousness for your name’s sake. Praised be your name for every temptation resisted, whether it be the first time we encounter it, or by remembering the painful lesson we once faced by succumbing to it. Merciful are you our Lord who forgives us our trespasses through Christ, and gives us ways of escape from our temptations. Wash us clean of sin Father; use the blood of Christ to heal our wounds, but leave the marks to remind us to sin no more. On our day of judgement see in us the image of Jesus, and the scars we bear as the signs of battles won, and lessons learned. Be pleased with who we have become and call us your children… eternal and beloved.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4 ESV
Rich Forbes