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Passage: 2 Samuel 11: 14-15
Insight: In 2 Samuel 11:14-15 David has just slept with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. He learns that Bathsheba is with child and becomes distressed Uriah will find out. Instead of confronting the issue and repenting, David devises a plan to act like the child is Uriah’s by sending him home from the war to his wife. When this does not work he decides to have his most faithful soldier murdered out of his fear of the consequences of his sin. What message are these verses sending to the reader? Sin leads to sin. As Brent Kercheville said, “In many instances, if not all instances, our effort to cover up our sins only compound our problems.” In the end Uriah is murdered in battle. This means David has not only committed adultery, but also a murder. “Now David has added premeditated murder to his sin of adultery. Be sure, one sin leads to another,” is what bible-studies.org says about the passage.
Illustration: When I was a child I was very greedy. I always wanted to have more and more, and in this case, it was with cookies. I was only allowed to have one cookie but I decided this day that I would be a rebel and have two. In my mind my mother would never find out and I would get away with having my second cookie. Long story short my mother did find out, but I did not want to face the consequences of obeying her. I lied to her saying I did not have another cookie and that I had only had one. I had then decided to say it was my brother who had eaten the other cookie. She knew it had been me with some motherly instinct and I earned more of a punishment than I would have if I had come clean in the first place. My sin led to more sin and eventually more punishment. HCL
PASSAGE: 2 Samuel 8:9-15
INSIGHT: David won a great many victories over various nations and kingdoms. This conquest was an example of his actions in the others, including his act of turning back to praise God for what He had done. In verse 11: “Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord--Eastern princes have always been accustomed to hoard up vast quantities of gold. This is the first instance of a practice uniformly followed by David of reserving, after defraying expenses and bestowing suitable rewards upon his soldiers, the remainder of the spoil taken in war, to accumulate for the grand project of his life--the erecting of a national temple at Jerusalem. (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown).
ILLUSTRATION: Theo was elated. He sat on the shoulders of his teammates, cheering at the top of his lungs. They had won the championship… again. As they walked triumphantly off the field, the rest of the stadium cheered as well. As soon as the team reached the parking lot, they all broke out into a run, heading for their bus. Theo ran along with them. When they reached the bus, however, they found that it was locked, and they had to wait for their coach and the bus driver to come back. Theo, between their groans and protests of being made to wait, gathered them around. “While we’re waiting, we can all take part in something I do myself after every win—and loss, for that fact,” he declared. The others were curious as to what tradition or practice he could be talking about. They stood, waiting for his answer. After a pause, Theo instructed them to bow their heads and pray with him. They all obeyed, and Theo led them in a prayer of praise, thanking God for their victory and how hard they played. When we turn back to God to appreciate and thank Him for what He has done for us, He takes joy in it.
APPLICATION: It’s often easier to pray when it’s hard or to ask for something from God, but it’s also important to remember to turn back to praise. God is the one who provides for us, and nothing is earned by our own merit.- SGL
Insight: In 2 Samuel 11:14-15 David has just slept with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. He learns that Bathsheba is with child and becomes distressed Uriah will find out. Instead of confronting the issue and repenting, David devises a plan to act like the child is Uriah’s by sending him home from the war to his wife. When this does not work he decides to have his most faithful soldier murdered out of his fear of the consequences of his sin. What message are these verses sending to the reader? Sin leads to sin. As Brent Kercheville said, “In many instances, if not all instances, our effort to cover up our sins only compound our problems.” In the end Uriah is murdered in battle. This means David has not only committed adultery, but also a murder. “Now David has added premeditated murder to his sin of adultery. Be sure, one sin leads to another,” is what bible-studies.org says about the passage.
Illustration: When I was a child I was very greedy. I always wanted to have more and more, and in this case, it was with cookies. I was only allowed to have one cookie but I decided this day that I would be a rebel and have two. In my mind my mother would never find out and I would get away with having my second cookie. Long story short my mother did find out, but I did not want to face the consequences of obeying her. I lied to her saying I did not have another cookie and that I had only had one. I had then decided to say it was my brother who had eaten the other cookie. She knew it had been me with some motherly instinct and I earned more of a punishment than I would have if I had come clean in the first place. My sin led to more sin and eventually more punishment. HCL
PASSAGE: 2 Samuel 8:9-15
INSIGHT: David won a great many victories over various nations and kingdoms. This conquest was an example of his actions in the others, including his act of turning back to praise God for what He had done. In verse 11: “Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord--Eastern princes have always been accustomed to hoard up vast quantities of gold. This is the first instance of a practice uniformly followed by David of reserving, after defraying expenses and bestowing suitable rewards upon his soldiers, the remainder of the spoil taken in war, to accumulate for the grand project of his life--the erecting of a national temple at Jerusalem. (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown).
ILLUSTRATION: Theo was elated. He sat on the shoulders of his teammates, cheering at the top of his lungs. They had won the championship… again. As they walked triumphantly off the field, the rest of the stadium cheered as well. As soon as the team reached the parking lot, they all broke out into a run, heading for their bus. Theo ran along with them. When they reached the bus, however, they found that it was locked, and they had to wait for their coach and the bus driver to come back. Theo, between their groans and protests of being made to wait, gathered them around. “While we’re waiting, we can all take part in something I do myself after every win—and loss, for that fact,” he declared. The others were curious as to what tradition or practice he could be talking about. They stood, waiting for his answer. After a pause, Theo instructed them to bow their heads and pray with him. They all obeyed, and Theo led them in a prayer of praise, thanking God for their victory and how hard they played. When we turn back to God to appreciate and thank Him for what He has done for us, He takes joy in it.
APPLICATION: It’s often easier to pray when it’s hard or to ask for something from God, but it’s also important to remember to turn back to praise. God is the one who provides for us, and nothing is earned by our own merit.- SGL