David, Bathsheba and Uriah

There are consequences to sin.  This is the first time that it is recorded anywhere that David, a man after God's own heart, displeased God. 

 It happened in the spring of the year, when kings go out to battle.  David, however, decided not to go out to war, but rather stayed home.  One night David had trouble sleeping and woke up.  He walked on the roof of his mansion and saw a beautiful young woman bathing.  A woman so beautiful that he was willing to do whatever it took to see her.  He sent his servants to go and get her and bring her back.  She was so beautiful that he had to have her.  Forget the months of courtship.  David wanted her now and David had sex with her knowing full well that she was a married woman. 
Later on, she informed David she was pregnant.  

Now David has a king size problem.  What are you going to do now?  David decides the only solution is to get rid of Bathsheba's husband.  His name is Uriah and he is one of David's "37 mighty men."  Uriah was a mighty soldier and was currently fighting in the battle that David was supposed to be commanding.  David sent a message to General Joab requesting that Uriah be sent back home.  When Uriah got back, David had dinner with him.  The next morning, David wrote a letter to General Joab.  In the letter, David tells the general to put Uriah in the front line and then pull the troops back so that Uriah will be killed.  David than gives the letter to Uriah to deliver to the general.  Uriah goes to Joab and gives him the letter that will be his death sentence.  General Joab opens the letter and then did as directed and Uriah died.

When Bathsheba heard that her husband died in battle, she mourned him.  Afterwards, she went to King David and they were married shortly afterwards and bore him a son.  However, what David did was evil in the eyes of God.  

Later, the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to visit David.  Nathan told David the story of a rich man who had many sheep and a poor man who only had one.  The rich man took the poor man's little lamb.  David became very angry and asked Nathan to tell him the rich man's name and he would have him killed.  Nathan than said, "You are the man!  Thus saith the Lord, 'I anointed you king over Israel and you have sinned.  The sword will never leave your house for 400 years!"  David immediately recognized his sin and said, "I have sinned against the Lord."  Nathan told David that God was not going to kill him but the child who is born will surely die."  

The Lord struck the child that Bathsheba bore to David and it became ill.  David prayed and fasted for seven days.  The servants were worried that David would kill himself as he was so upset and would not eat.  On the 7th day, the child died.  David then got up and ate.  When the servants asked why he was no longer sad, David said, "While he was alive I fasted and wept.  But now he is dead.  Why should I fast?  I will go to him but he will not return to me."  What David is saying, is that he will meet him again in the after life.  David writes Psalm 51, which is the greatest example of repentance ever written.  

David than comforted Bathsheba and "lay with her."  She bore her second son which they named Solomon.  The story does not end here.  David had a close friend.  When David became king he made this friend counselor to the king.  His name was Ahithophel. David trusted him more than anyone else on earth.  He told him everything about his life and about his military strategy. Ahithophel knew everything about David.  What David didn't know was that Ahithophel's granddaughter was Bathsheba.  Bathsheba's reputation was dragged through the mud because of what David did and Ahithophel hated David for doing that.  Ahithophel bided his time, waiting for the moment he would get even with David.  

The moment came when David's own son, Absalom, wanted to kill his father and become king.  He joined forces with Ahithophel and the conspiracy was on.  Absalom wanted to kill his father because he wanted to be king.  Ahithophel was not interested in ambition.  He wanted revenge.  Ahitihophel stated he would kill David himself if he could have 12,000 troops.  When David became aware of a coup, he fled for his life.  Later, when spies told him that it was his own son, Absalom, and his counselor, his best friend, Ahithophel, who were behind all of this, David fell apart.  He suspected his son would betray him.  However, never in a million years would he suspect that his best friend, his counselor, the man he told all of his secrets to, his ambitions, his military strategy - Ahithophel - could possibly betray him. 

The story ends with the coup being destroyed.  David's son, Absalom, is killed.  Ahithophel knows his days are now numbered.  He cannot face the king because he knows that as soon as David finds out the truth that he will be killed.  Ahithophel knows there is no other way out.  David will track him down wherever he goes.  Ahithophel decides to hang himself and he is successful.

Now David is stuck with incredible anger toward his "friend."  What can he do now?  How do you clear the air with a dead man?   David than writes Psalm 109.  He is angry.  By verse 21 he has calmed down and now is right again.  The question than becomes, "What do you do with your anger?"  The Psalms are full of people who are angry and than it resolves itself. 

One suggestion is to write Psalm 151 (there are only 150 psalms).  Write it to the person who has offended you.  Write it in great detail but don't mail it.  Instead, pray over it and then burn the letter.  (These suggestions are for those who have offended you but are no longer alive or available to talk with.)

Another suggestion is to pray that something good will happen to the person who has offended you.  You do this right before you go to sleep at night.  Simply pray that something good will happen to the person who you are angry with.  You will be surprised that you may wake up feeling very good.  The purpose is to release yourself from anger.  This very act, even though you are not really concerned about the person, will actually free you.  Unresolved anger can result in depression.  You may never be the person you were meant to be until you have resolved this internal conflict.  Also, as David did, reveal all of your feelings to God.  May God bless you in your journey.   

Lent

Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the Lenten season.  The lenten season has its origins in the early Christian Church.  Somewhere between the 6th & 8th century.  Originally, the idea was that a Christian, as a sign of repentance, would sprinkle ashes on his or her head.  

Ashes in the Bible are associated with humility and mortality, fasting and remorse.  If you had sinned and felt remorse, you were repenting of that sin by sprinkling ashes on your head as a sign of sorrow and repentance.  Ashes were supposed to remind you that you are mortal, and that eventually you will become ashes when you die.

During the 6th or 7th century, Christian Churches liked the idea.  People, in private, would at times sprinkle ashes on themselves as a sign or repentance.  Eventually, it became a public practice.

Instead of sprinkling the ashes on your head, the ashes were rubbed onto the forehead in the shape of a cross.  It thus became a sign of repentance and reminder of your baptism, when the sign of the cross was placed on you with water and the Word.  Eventually, the ashes would come from palm branches from Palm Sunday burned the year before.  Throughout the centuries, some churches retained this practice while others stopped it.  What is important, is what is going on in your heart.

For every Christian, whether they celebrate the ashes or not, Ash Wednesday marks beginning of the Lenten season.  Lent is a 40 day span of time from then until Easter.  The word comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, "lencten" the time of the year when the days grow longer.  

During the forty day period the focus is on Christ's battle with sin and Satan that He waged in order for us to receive salvation.  The 40 days of lend do not include Sundays, because each Sunday is considered to be a "miniature Easter."

Why 40 days?  Because right after Jesus was baptized, the Bible tells us Jesus went into the desert to fast an to be tempted by the devil for 40 days.  For Jesus, these 40 days were a time of reflection and battle of temptation.  He that was without sin had to go through this.  

During the 40 days, we think about our own temptations and trials we go through and repent.  To evaluate ourselves in light of God's Word.  A time to receive God's forgiveness and receive strength to lead a Christian life.  To renew our own commitments to serve the Lord.

Lent, lastly, is a time when many people decide to give something up, e.g., chocolate.  For me, I am giving up 20 pounds of unwanted weight.  I am totally dedicated to giving this up and I will succeed.  May you also be successful if you decide to eliminate something in your life.  

Why God Was Going To Kill Moses

One of the rather strange episodes of the Bible features God on the verge of killing His great leader Moses, who was to rescue the Israelites and bring them out of slavery and into the promised land of Canaan.  Exodus 4:24 states, "And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him."  Why would God want to do that?  

Some background information will prove to be useful.  In the 17th chapter of Genesis we have the meeting between God and Abraham.  Verse one and two state, "When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless, and I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.'"  

In Genesis 17:10-14:  "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you, and your descendants after you:  Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.  He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.  He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.  And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

As you can see, each male shall be circumcised in order to keep God's covenant.  Any male not circumcised will be cut off from his people.  So we see that in the Old Testament that circumcision is crucial to staying in covenant with God.

Now back to our story.  God had given Moses instructions to go to Pharaoh and warn him that he must let the Israelites go or God will kill his first born son.  God had groomed Moses for eighty years for this mission.  How strange it is after all of this planning that God has decided to kill Moses and abort the mission. 

Let's continue the story in the fourth chapter of Exodus, verse 25:  "Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, 'Surely you are a husband of blood to me!'"

Moses had two sons.  What we now see is that his youngest son, for whatever reason, was not circumcised.  We can speculate that his wife was against circumcision and that somehow she had convinced Moses not to do that.  Moses was the leader and was required to set the highest example; however, it is clear that Moses was breaking the covenant with God, that God had begun with His other leader, Abraham.  God has basically declared Moses as spiritually unfit to lead.  Moses is breaking God's law and the penalty is death.  Zipporah knew what God was about to do and saved Moses by doing the circumcision herself.  Her anger was apparent as she threw her son's foreskin at Moses feet and called him a "husband of blood to me!"  God accepts this action and does not kill Moses.  Verse 26 tells us:  "So He let him go . . ."  

Not much is heard of from Zipporah after this episode.  The implications today, for all Christians, is keeping in covenant with God.  Being and staying in covenant with God involves the new covenant which was ushered in by Jesus Christ.  There is basically only one message in the Bible.  God loves you and Christ died to forgive you of your sins and give you a place in heaven if you will accept it as a free gift.  That is the only real message there is.  We will be in heaven for one reason and one reason only.  Not because we were good, bad, or indifferent but because we put our trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation.  We celebrate this new covenant whenever we take communion as we remember the words of Christ in the Upper Room on the night in which He was betrayed.  "In the same manner He took the cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."