"Neither Do I Condemn You!!" - Jesus
Psalm 119 Daleth
25 I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word.
26 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;
teach me your decrees.
27 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
29 Keep me from deceitful ways;
be gracious to me and teach me your law.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set my heart on your laws.
31 I hold fast to your statutes, Lord;
do not let me be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of your commands,
for you have broadened my understanding.
Reflection:
We see in this acrostic psalm which now moves to the third Hebrew letter “Daleth” some of the low points in David’s life. But we see in this psalm his resolution to rely on God’s word for the answers to life’s toughest problems. In short, He trusted that God’s Word would keep him on the right path and by relying on it, it would broaden his understand of what needed to happen. When you are wearied by life’s toughest circumstances where do you go for remedy? Do you go to God and His Word? Do rely on God to show you the way and broaden your understanding of what you need to do even if it is not a quick fix??
2 Samuel 12
New International Version (NIV)
Nathan Rebukes David
12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” 15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” 19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” 20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
Reflection: Up to this point we have seen David acting valiantly and being a man after God’s own heart and taking the high road, especially in regard to King Saul. But we see that lust and pride get the best of him, and after seeing beautiful Bathsheba bathing, she sends her husband Uriah to the front of the conflict and plans his death. It sounds so out of character for him, but we see that any human leader, spiritual or otherwise is never above falling.
Today we see the prophet Nathan who is sent to rebuke David by telling him a story and then when David bites he rebukes him saying, “You are the man!” When David looks outside the situation he sees it with his normal discernment and judgment as a good leader, but in reality all this was lost as he surrendered his leadership with the Bathsheba incident.
We see three more things in relationship to this story. David repents of his sin and God forgives him (i.e. the Lord has taken away your sin v.13), and yet there are severe consequences. He loses his son. Seems very harsh to us, but what David did to Uriah was pretty harsh. It will be interesting to juxtapose this story with the story below and Jesus’ treatment of the woman caught in adultery!
John 8:1-11
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Reflection: This is one of the most poignant stories in the bible and as we have said, John’s gospel is the most relational gospel and alone includes this story. The Pharisees bring the woman caught in adultery so as to trap Jesus. If he forgives her they will say he is not following the Law, and if stones her they will accuse him of not being compassionate. So what does Jesus do?
First of all it is good to note that in the law, the man also should be stoned so they are not following the letter of the Law. Second of all Jesus’ uses this moment to ask a penetrating question, “Let any of you who are without sin, cast the first stone!” Then he curiously starts writing on the ground. He could be either tallying their sins by writing on the ground, or he could be reminding of the very Law that accused them. When God wrote the Commandments on the tablets He inscribed them with His very fingers. The same Law that condemned this woman for her adultery, condemned every person there for their sin. There is no better or worse sin, because all sin is an offense to God.
Interestingly they all left, starting with the elders (who would have known how far they fell short of the God’s perfection). And when Jesus was left with the woman, he asks her if there were any who were left to condemn her. Then he says the life giving words that I am sure were the greatest words this woman had ever heard, “Then neither do I” Jesus in this moment is affirming that He has the right as God to condemn her, yet chooses mercy! In the same way while we were sinners God sent His Son to die for us.
As Paul says in Romans 8, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! Notice to the power to leave a life of sin all starts with a realization that we are free in Christ! It is only as we receive God’s grace through faith that we can become the type of person who will live a life of obedience in response to the statement, “Who condemns you…than neither do I!”
Maybe you need to hear these words today. If you are caught in a sinful behavior or activity there is a good chance you need to remember God’s grace to you in Christ! As we receive Jesus words may this give the power to live a life of grace to others in our lives!
25 I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word.
26 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;
teach me your decrees.
27 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
29 Keep me from deceitful ways;
be gracious to me and teach me your law.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set my heart on your laws.
31 I hold fast to your statutes, Lord;
do not let me be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of your commands,
for you have broadened my understanding.
Reflection:
We see in this acrostic psalm which now moves to the third Hebrew letter “Daleth” some of the low points in David’s life. But we see in this psalm his resolution to rely on God’s word for the answers to life’s toughest problems. In short, He trusted that God’s Word would keep him on the right path and by relying on it, it would broaden his understand of what needed to happen. When you are wearied by life’s toughest circumstances where do you go for remedy? Do you go to God and His Word? Do rely on God to show you the way and broaden your understanding of what you need to do even if it is not a quick fix??
2 Samuel 12
New International Version (NIV)
Nathan Rebukes David
12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” 15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” 19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” 20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
Reflection: Up to this point we have seen David acting valiantly and being a man after God’s own heart and taking the high road, especially in regard to King Saul. But we see that lust and pride get the best of him, and after seeing beautiful Bathsheba bathing, she sends her husband Uriah to the front of the conflict and plans his death. It sounds so out of character for him, but we see that any human leader, spiritual or otherwise is never above falling.
Today we see the prophet Nathan who is sent to rebuke David by telling him a story and then when David bites he rebukes him saying, “You are the man!” When David looks outside the situation he sees it with his normal discernment and judgment as a good leader, but in reality all this was lost as he surrendered his leadership with the Bathsheba incident.
We see three more things in relationship to this story. David repents of his sin and God forgives him (i.e. the Lord has taken away your sin v.13), and yet there are severe consequences. He loses his son. Seems very harsh to us, but what David did to Uriah was pretty harsh. It will be interesting to juxtapose this story with the story below and Jesus’ treatment of the woman caught in adultery!
John 8:1-11
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Reflection: This is one of the most poignant stories in the bible and as we have said, John’s gospel is the most relational gospel and alone includes this story. The Pharisees bring the woman caught in adultery so as to trap Jesus. If he forgives her they will say he is not following the Law, and if stones her they will accuse him of not being compassionate. So what does Jesus do?
First of all it is good to note that in the law, the man also should be stoned so they are not following the letter of the Law. Second of all Jesus’ uses this moment to ask a penetrating question, “Let any of you who are without sin, cast the first stone!” Then he curiously starts writing on the ground. He could be either tallying their sins by writing on the ground, or he could be reminding of the very Law that accused them. When God wrote the Commandments on the tablets He inscribed them with His very fingers. The same Law that condemned this woman for her adultery, condemned every person there for their sin. There is no better or worse sin, because all sin is an offense to God.
Interestingly they all left, starting with the elders (who would have known how far they fell short of the God’s perfection). And when Jesus was left with the woman, he asks her if there were any who were left to condemn her. Then he says the life giving words that I am sure were the greatest words this woman had ever heard, “Then neither do I” Jesus in this moment is affirming that He has the right as God to condemn her, yet chooses mercy! In the same way while we were sinners God sent His Son to die for us.
As Paul says in Romans 8, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! Notice to the power to leave a life of sin all starts with a realization that we are free in Christ! It is only as we receive God’s grace through faith that we can become the type of person who will live a life of obedience in response to the statement, “Who condemns you…than neither do I!”
Maybe you need to hear these words today. If you are caught in a sinful behavior or activity there is a good chance you need to remember God’s grace to you in Christ! As we receive Jesus words may this give the power to live a life of grace to others in our lives!
Comments
Post a Comment