WITHOUT EQUIVOCATION THE WRITER OF THE DAVID AND BATHSHEBA EPISODE SAYS THAT YAHUAH SAW WHAT DAVID HAD DONE AS EVIL. AND YAHUAH CANNOT ALLOW EVIL TO STAND. SO TODAY WE'LL SEE THAT EVEN YAHUAH’S ANOINTED AND SPECIALLY CROWNED, CHOSEN AND BELOVED IS NOT ABOVE DIVINE JUSTICE. AS CHAPTER 11 CONCLUDED, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH KING DAVID WAS ABOVE THE LAW. ADULTERY, MURDER: WHO, EXACTLY, HAD AUTHORITY TO PUNISH THE KING OF YISHARAL ACCORDING TO THE TORAH LAW FOR THESE CAPITAL OFFENSES? CIVILLY AND PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, THE ONLY WAY THIS TENDED TO HAPPEN TO A KING WAS THROUGH INSURRECTION AND REVOLUTION (FAR TOO DRASTIC TO EVEN CONSIDER, LET ALONE BE SUCCESSFUL). AND NO ONE WAS IN THE MOOD FOR THAT ANYWAY BECAUSE 1) YISHARAL WAS IN A DIFFICULT WAR WITH A NUMBER OF ENEMIES, AND 2) MOST OF YISHARAL PREFERRED DAVID REGARDLESS OF HIS QUESTIONABLE AND EVEN IMMORAL BEHAVIOUR. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT JUSTICE IS AVERTED. YAHUAH IS KING OVER THE KING. SIN WILL BE PAID FOR. SO WHILE WE SEE THAT THE CIVIL CODE OF JUSTICE AS PRESCRIBED IN THE LAW OF MOSES (THE PART THAT IS CARRIED OUT BY HUMAN AUTHORITY) WON’T BE APPLIED TO DAVID, DIVINE JUSTICE WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY YAHUAH HIMSELF.
CONSEQUENCES (2 SAM 12)
David’s behaviour was evil in Yahuah’s eyes (AFTER THE BATHSHEBA/ADULTERY/MURDER INCIDENT), so He sent Nathan the prophet, who said to him, “A rich man and a poor man lived in the same town. The rich man owned a lot of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap, cuddling the little lamb like it was one of his own children. Then one day the the rich man had a visitor who he was required to feed, but the rich man didn’t want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle, so he stole the poor man’s little lamb, killing and and serving it to his guest instead”.
And David was furious with the rich man and said to Nathan,
“I swear by the living Yahuah that the man who did this should be put to death! And because he had no compassion for the poor man, he'll have to pay four times what the lamb was worth.”
Then Nathan told David, "WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU? CAN’T YOU SEE THAT YOU’RE THAT RICH MAN! Now listen to what Yahuah the Alahim Of Yisharal says to you: “I chose you to be the King of Yisharal. I kept you safe from Saul and even gave you his house and his wives. I let you rule Yisharal and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would've given you so much more. So why did you disobey Me and do such a horrible thing? You murdered Uriah the Hittite by having the Ammonites kill him, just so you could steal his wife".
IN NATHAN'S STORY URIYAH IS THE POOR AND POWERLESS MAN AND BATHSHEBA IS THE YOUNG LAMB, FOR BATHSHEBA WAS NOT A FULLY MATURE WOMAN YET BUT RATHER A YOUNGER GIRL (PERHAPS 16 OR 17 YEARS OLD). THERE IS ALSO NO MENTION IN THE SCRIPTURES OF HER HAVING ANY CHILDREN YET, SO SHE AND URIYAH WERE LIKELY NOT MARRIED VERY LONG (A YEAR OR TWO AT MOST).
THE RICH MAN’S LARGE HERDS OF LIVESTOCK IS DAVID’S ENORMOUS HAREM, THE IDEA BEING THAT DAVID HAD SO MANY WIVES AND CONCUBINES THAT IT IS RIDICULOUS TO THINK THAT HE WAS SEXUALLY BORED BY HAVING RELATIONS WITH THE SAME WOMEN BECAUSE THE VARIETY WAS NEARLY UNLIMITED. AND THEREFORE TO BE COVETOUS OF THE POOR MAN WITH HIS ONE SINGLE LAMB (THAT MEANT EVERYTHING TO HIM) IS ALL THE MORE WICKED.
THE REAL ISSUE HERE IS NOT STEALING AND THE FOCAL POINT IS NOT THE LITTLE LAMB. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE POOR MAN WHO WAS VICTIMISED, AND IT'S A STORY OF THE ABUSE OF POWER FROM THE POWERFUL OVER THE POWERLESS.
"So because you wouldn’t obey me and took Uriah’s wife for yourself, your family will never live in peace. Evil will rise from within your own house to cause you a lot of trouble, and I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes. And he will go to bed with them while everyone looks on in broad daylight. What you did was in secret, but I will do this out in the open for everyone in Yisharal to see.”
And David said, “I have sinned against Yahuah.”
“Yes, you have!” Nathan answered, “You showed you didn’t care what Yahuah wanted. He has forgiven you and put away your sin, so you won’t die. But by your behaviour you've greatly scorned Yahuah, so your newborn son will certainly die.”
Then Nathan went back home.
IT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO TAKE A LOT TO GET THIS POWERFUL KING'S ATTENTION. HE HAD THE WORLD BY A STRING - MANY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN AND SCORES OF CHILDREN. RICH, POWERFUL, LIVING IN A GLORIOUS CAPITAL CITY. HE WAS FEARED AND RESPECTED - THE FIRST KING IN HISTORY TO UNITE THE 12 TRIBES OF JACOB AND REIGN OVER A SOVEREIGN NATION OF YISHARAL. SOMETIMES YAHUAH HAS TO TAKE EXTREME MEASURES TO RESCUE THOSE HE LOVES. AND NATHAN'S CUNNING TALE WAS THE WAY TO `GET UNDER DAVID'S SKIN' AND GET THE MESSAGE THROUGH.
YAHUAH CONSIDERS DAVID BLOOD-GUILTY BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN’T PERSONALLY KILL URIYAH, DAVID ARRANGED IT AND INTENDED IT. IT IS PROBABLY JUST NOW THAT DAVID IS STARTING TO REALISE THAT HIS DESTINY IS ETERNAL DEATH DUE TO HIS ARROGANCE AND CRIMINAL ACTS AND THAT THERE IS NO ESCAPING IT BECAUSE 1) THERE IS NO SACRIFICIAL ATONEMENT FOR MURDER, AND 2) THE CONDITION OF HIS AFTERLIFE IS AT STAKE, AND IT IS NOT DECIDED BY MEN, BUT BY YAHUAH HIMSELF. DAVID KNEW THAT HE WAS AN ETERNALLY DEAD MAN WALKING.
BUT NOW THE OTHER SHOE DROPS. THE FIRST PART OF DAVID’S SENTENCE FOR HIS BLOOD-GUILT IS THAT THE SWORD WILL NEVER LEAVE DAVID’S HOUSE. SINCE URIYAH DIED BY THE SWORD, YAHUAH WILL PUNISH IN KIND. SO THIS PART OF THE SENTENCE IS AS PAYMENT AND CONSEQUENCE FOR DAVID’S MURDER OF URIYAH. THIS IS AN APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE IN TORAH CALLED LEX TALIONIS - AN EYE FOR EYE. PROPORTIONAL PUNISHMENT. AND ONLY YAHUAH CAN TAKE THIS TO A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL (A SPIRITUAL LEVEL) THAN MAN CAN.
LOOK A PATTERN!! LET’S GO BACK TO WHEN DAVID PRONOUNCED THE SENTENCE THAT THE RICH MAN HAD TO COMPENSATE THE POOR MAN BY GIVING HIM 4 SHEEP IN RETURN FOR THE 1 HE STOLE FROM HIM. THIS EXACT PUNISHMENT IS GOING TO BE WROUGHT UPON DAVID, IN TIME, BUT AT A SUPERNATURAL LEVEL THAT DAVID COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED. AS A FOUR-FOLD RETRIBUTION FOR URIYAH’S DEATH, FOUR OF DAVID’S CHILDREN WILL DIE - BATHSHEBA’S BABY AT YAHUAH’S HAND, AND AMNON, ABSALOM, AND ADONIAH IN VIOLENT DEATHS THAT YAHUAH ESSENTIALLY ARRANGED THROUGH THE HANDS OF MEN.
PLEASE NOTICE SOMETHING ELSE THAT KIND OF POPS UP OUT OF NOWHERE AND FRANKLY OUGHT TO SHAKE US TO OUR CORE. DAVID WASN’T SATISFIED WITH THE GIFTS AND BLESSINGS THAT YAHUAH HAD PROVIDED ESPECIALLY FOR HIM; HE WANTED WHAT ANOTHER MAN HAD (EVEN A MUCH POORER MAN). THIS PROBLEM MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST PREVALENT AND TROUBLESOME ISSUES THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO FORM THE COMMUNITY OF YAHUSHA DEAL WITH. WHO AMONG US HAS NOT BELITTLED THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED (EVEN IN A KIND OF INSINCERE HUMILITY), AND INSTEAD COVETED THE GIFTS AND SITUATIONS THAT YAHUAH HAD GIVEN TO SOMEONE ELSE. NO MATTER WHAT GIFT WE ARE GIVEN, WE SEEM TO EITHER WANT MORE OR WANT ANOTHER GIFT THAT WE SEE SOMEONE ELSE HAS RECEIVED. AND THAT IS SIN. IN FACT THIS PASSAGE CALLS IT OUTRIGHT CONTEMPT FOR YAHUAH (SCARY). THIS CONTEMPT (PERHAPS EVEN REJECTION) OF THE GIFTS THAT YAHUAH HAS FAVOURABLY PROVIDED TO YOU IS (FROM A SPIRITUAL STANDPOINT) ESSENTIALLY SIN THAT HAS SPRUNG FROM THE SAME WELL AS DAVID’S WICKED DESIRE TO POSSESS ANOTHER MAN’S WIFE (AND WAS WILLING TO DO ANYTHING TO GET HER). SOMETHING TO PONDER EH.
Then Yahuah made David and Bathsheba’s young son very sick. So David went without eating to show his sorrow, and he begged Yahuah to make the boy well. David would not sleep on his bed, but spent each night lying on the floor. His officials stood beside him and tried to talk him into getting up, but he would not get up or eat with them. And after the child had been sick for seven days, he died, but the officials were afraid to tell David, for they said to each other, “Even when the boy was alive, David wouldn’t listen to us. How can we tell him his son is dead? He might do something terrible!” David noticed his servants whispering, and he knew the boy was dead. “Did my son die?” he asked his servants. “Yes, he did,” they answered.
So David got up off the floor, took a bath, combed his hair, and got dressed. Then he went into Yahuah’s tent and worshiped, then he went back home. David asked for something to eat, and when his servants brought him some food, he ate it.
And his officials said, “What are you doing? You went without eating and cried for your son while he was alive! But now that he’s dead, you’re up and eating.”
And David answered, ”While he was still alive, I went without food and cried because there was still hope. I said to myself, “Who knows? Maybe Yahuah will have pity on me and let the child live.” But now that he’s dead, why should I go without eating? I can’t bring him back! Someday I will join him in death, but he can’t return to me now”.
YAHUAH STRUCK THE CHILD THAT URIYAH’S WIFE HAD BORNE TO DAVID…..” WHY DID YAHUAH KILL DAVID’S INNOCENT CHILD? SIN ALWAYS DEMANDS A PAYMENT AND SINCE DAVID’S SIN INCLUDED BLOOD-GUILT (THE SHEDDING OF INNOCENT BLOOD) AND SINCE YAHUAH DECIDED THAT DAVID WOULD NOT LOSE HIS OWN LIFE TO PAY FOR THAT BLOOD-GUILT (AND BY THE WAY DAVID WAS QUITE GLAD FOR THAT) THEN ONLY ANOTHER HUMAN LIFE COULD SATISFY YAHUAH’S PERFECT JUSTICE. FURTHER THE CONDEMNED CHILD WAS A PRODUCT OF DAVID’S ADULTERY. THE CHILD WAS A PHYSICAL RESULT OF HIS CONTEMPT FOR YAHUAH AND SO YAHUAH DECIDED IT COULD NOT REMAIN.
And David comforted his wife Bathsheba and slept with her again. Later on, she gave birth to another son and named him Solomon. And Yahuah loved Solomon and sent Nathan the prophet to tell David, “Yahuah will call him Jedidiah" (LOVED BY YAHUAH).
WE ALL KNOW THAT SOLOMON WILL BECOME THE NEXT KING OF YISHARAL. IT WAS APPARENTLY DESTINED THAT BATHSHEBA WAS TO BE THE QUEEN MOTHER. IT’S FASCINATING THAT THE CHILD BORN TO BATHSHEBA DUE TO UNFAITHFULNESS WAS NOT ALLOWED TO BECOME THE SON WHO WOULD BE THE NEXT KING. YET IN YAHUAH’S MERCY, WHEN THAT BABY DIED HER NEXT CHILD WOULD BE DAVID’S SUCCESSOR. WHY COULDN’T THE BABY HAVE LIVED, AND THEN THE NEXT SON (SOLOMON) BORN TO A PROPERLY WED DAVID AND BATHSHEBA BEEN DECLARED THE SUCCESSOR? DESPITE THE CUSTOMARY AND SACRED RIGHTS OF THE FIRSTBORN, YISHARAL’S HISTORY IS RIFE WITH THE FIRSTBORN BEING BYPASSED FOR ANOTHER SON AS HEIR. IT REMINDS US OF ABRAHAM. WHO IMPREGNATED SARAH’S EGYPTIAN HANDMAIDEN HAGAR (AS A RESULT OF UNFAITHFULNESS ON SARAH AND ABRAHAM’S PART) AND THE RESULT WAS ISHMAEL. IT WAS A GIVEN THAT ABRAHAM HAD TO PRODUCE AN HEIR; BUT FOR YAHUAH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HAGAR’S PREGNANCY WERE NOT IN KEEPING WITH HIS PLAN. SO LATER SARAH GETS PREGNANT, GIVES BIRTH TO ISAAC, BUT YAHUAH DETERMINED THAT ISHMAEL HAD TO BE SENT AWAY. SO ABRAHAM’S FIRSTBORN (ISHMAEL) WAS BYPASSED FOR HIS 2ND BORN, ISAAC.
Meanwhile, David's Military General, Joab had been in the country of Ammon, attacking the city of Rabbah, and he captured the royal fortress and sent a messenger to tell David, “I have attacked Rabbah and captured the fortress guarding the city water supply. Call the rest of the army together. Then surround the city, and capture it yourself. For if you don’t, everyone will remember that I captured the city myself”.
And David called the rest of the army together and attacked Rabbah, capturing the city and took the crown from the statue of their deity Milcom (AN ALTERNATE SPELLING FOR THE NAME MOLECH (THE OFFICIAL CHIEF GOD OF AMON) AND MOLECH IS BUT ANOTHER NAME FOR BA’AL). The crown was made of seventy-five pounds of gold, and there was a valuable jewel on it. So David put the jewel on his own crown and carried off everything else of value.
SO DAVID HAS TAKEN THIS FABULOUSLY VALUABLE AND ENORMOUS CROWN OFF OF THE HEAD OF THE MOLECH IDOL AND HE SETS IT UPON HIS OWN HEAD FOR A MOMENT TO SYMBOLISE YAHUAH, THE ALAHIM OF YISHARAL'S VICTORY, OVER THE AMMONITE DEITY. VERY CUSTOMARY FOR THAT ERA.
And David made the people of Rabbah tear down the city walls with iron picks and axes, and then he put them to work making bricks. He did the same thing with all the other Ammonite cities. Then David went back to Yerushalim, and the people of Yisharal returned to their homes.
DAVID USED THE PEOPLE OF AMON AS FORCED LABOR, AND IT ACCOUNTS FOR WHY HE WAS ABLE TO GROW AND EXPAND HIS KINGDOM SO RAPIDLY IN THE 2ND HALF OF HIS REIGN.
CONSEQUENCES (Psalm 32)
D A V I D W R O T E A P S A L M D U R I N G T H I S T I M E
PSALM 32 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom Yahuah imparts no crookedness, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones became old through my groaning all the day. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me, my sap was turned into the droughts of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my crookedness I did not hide. I have said, “I confess my sins to Yahuah,” And You forgave the crookedness of my sin. Therefore, let every kind one pray to You while You might be found. Even in a flood of great waters they would not reach him. You are my hiding place, You preserve me from distress, You surround me with songs of deliverance. Let Me instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. Let Me counsel, my eye be on you. Do not be like the horse, like the mule, with no understanding, with bit and bridle, else they do not come near you. Many are the sorrows of the wrong, but as for the one trusting in Yahuah, kindness surrounds him. Be glad in Yahuah and exult, you righteous and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"
DAVID THOUGHT HE’D GOTTEN AWAY WITH HIS CRIMES, BUT SIN ALWAYS DEMANDS A PAYMENT. YAHUAH’S JUSTICE IS NOT SET ASIDE, FOR ANYONE, EVER. BUT BEYOND THAT, PSALM 32 SHOWS HOW DAVID LEARNED AN INVALUABLE LESSON: CONFESSION IS ESSENTIALLY THE POINT AT WHICH WE SHOVE OUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND MAKE A U-TURN. CONFESSION IS THE KEY TO RESTORING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YAHUAH. IN PSALM 32 DAVID SAYS IT THIS WAY: “WHEN I KEPT SILENT, MY BONES WASTED AWAY…..” SILENCE AND LACK OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF OUR SIN CAUSES US TO WASTE AWAY TO OUR DEATH. DAVID HAD TO OUTWARDLY ADMIT HIS SIN. HE HAD TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TERRIBLENESS OF WHAT HE HAD DONE AND THAT IT WAS A VIOLATION AGAINST YAHUAH AND MAN. HE HAD TO TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT. AND UNTIL HE DID, NOTHING WOULD CHANGE IN HIS LIFE. IT’S NOT THAT HE HAD TO DRAW A CROWD AND CONFESS TO THEM. WE DON’T HAVE TO POUR OUR HEART OUT TO STRANGERS TO BE COUNTED AS HAVING CONFESSED. VERSE 5 SAYS, “WHEN I ACKNOWLEDGED MY SIN TO YOU………YOU FORGAVE THE GUILT OF MY SIN”. IT IS NOT TO PEOPLE BUT TO YAHUAH THAT WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE OUR SIN. VERSE 10: “MANY ARE THE TORMENTS OF THE WICKED, BUT FAVOUR SURROUNDS THOSE WHO TRUST IN YAHUAH. BE GLAD IN YAHUAH; REJOICE, YOU RIGHTEOUS! SHOUT FOR JOY, ALL YOU UPRIGHT IN HEART!”
FAVOUR SURROUNDS THOSE WHO TRUST IN YAHUAH. "REJOICE YOU RIGHTEOUS, BECAUSE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE RESULT OF THE FAVOUR THAT COMES BY YOUR TRUST IN THE ALAHIM OF YISHARAL. SHOUT FOR JOY ALL YOU UPRIGHT IN HEART". HAVING A CIRCUMCISED HEART IS THE ISSUE, NOT A CIRCUMCISED FLESH. DAVID WASN’T PRONOUNCING PROPHECY; HE WAS PRONOUNCING A PRESENT AND EXISTING TRUTH THAT STOOD BEFORE THE PILLARS OF THE WORLD. YOU SEE, PART OF THE REASON THAT DAVID IS SO KEEN TO SPEAK ABOUT FAVOUR AND CONFESSION IN THIS PSALM IS BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD-GUILT OF MURDER THAT WAS HEAPED UPON HIS HEAD. THE LAW PROVIDES NO MEANS OF ANIMAL SACRIFICIAL ATONEMENT FOR MURDER (OR ADULTERY FOR THAT MATTER). THERE IS NO RITUAL PROTOCOL TO PAY FOR MURDER; THERE IS BUT THE LIFE OF THE MURDERER THAT IS FORFEIT AS PAYMENT. SO IF DAVID IS INDEED FORGIVEN (AS YAHUAH SAYS HE IS), AND THERE IS NO ANIMAL SACRIFICE AVAILABLE TO FACILITATE FORGIVENESS FOR THIS SIN, WHAT DOES DAVID ACTUALLY VIEW AS THE DIVINE DYNAMIC THAT PRODUCED FORGIVENESS FOR HIM? FAVOUR. AND THE REALITY IS THAT DESPITE THE DIVINE CALL FOR ANIMAL SACRIFICES, IN THE END IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN FAVOUR THAT DELIVERS US FROM THE DEATH PENALTY FOR OUR SINS, NOT THE BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS.
BOTH SAUL AND DAVID WERE CONFRONTED BY A PROPHET, AND SAUL BELIEVED IN YAHUAH’S EXISTENCE (AS DEMONS DO) BUT DAVID ACTUALLY TRUSTED YAHUAH. TRUST IS WHEN WE ALLOW BELIEF TO TURN TO YAHUAH-CENTERED INNER TRANSFORMATION OF OUR HEARTS WHICH THEN PRODUCES OBEDIENCE, AND OBEDIENCE OPENS THE DOOR TO FAVOUR, WHICH IS YAHUAH’S MEANS OF FORGIVENESS.
IT IS THE SAME IDEA IN DRAWING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE FOR THOSE SINS. FORGIVENESS OF SINS TAKES PLACE IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM, HOWEVER SIN ITSELF (ESPECIALLY WHEN WE THINK OF IT AS WRONGFUL BEHAVIOUR) OCCURS ON TWO LEVELS SIMULTANEOUSLY; THE PHYSICAL LEVEL (THE ACTUAL BEHAVIOUR AND ITS EFFECT UPON OTHERS OR OURSELVES) AND THE SPIRITUAL LEVEL (SIN, EVEN WRONGFUL BEHAVIOUR, IS FIRST AND FOREMOST A TRESPASS AGAINST YAHUAH AND HIS SET-APARTNESS).
YAHUAH GENERATING EVIL AGAINST YOU IN CONSEQUENCE FOR YOUR SINS IS DIVINE PUNISHMENT.
SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN YAHUAH TELLS DAVID THAT HE WILL NOT DIE? CERTAINLY IT IS NOT A PROMISE THAT HE IS GOING TO BECOME PHYSICALLY IMMORTAL AND NEVER GO TO THE GRAVE. AND EQUALLY AS CERTAIN IS THAT THIS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT DAVID BEING EXECUTED FOR HIS CRIME BY MEANS OF CIVIL PROCEDURE ACCORDING THE LAW. THE HEBREW WORD FOR DIE IS MUTH, AND IT ABSOLUTELY MEANS TO DIE PHYSICALLY. IT IS THAT DAVID WILL NOT DIE AS A WICKED SINNER IN YAHUAH’S EYES AND SO HIS ETERNAL ESSENCE WILL NOT COME TO AN END UPON HIS PHYSICAL DEATH (AN END TO ONES’ ETERNAL ESSENCE IS WHAT HEBREWS THOUGHT HAPPENED TO THE WICKED DEAD).
AT THE SAME TIME, DURING DAVID’S LIFE AND THEN EVEN AFTER HIS DEATH, DAVID’S FAMILY HAS BEEN CHOSEN, AS A DIRECT DIVINE PUNISHMENT UPON DAVID, TO SUFFER CALAMITIES. AND OF COURSE HIS FAMILY’S CALAMITIES GRIEVE DAVID PERHAPS MORE THAN ANY OTHER FAMILY MEMBER BECAUSE HE IS ACUTELY AWARE THAT THE DISASTERS THAT WILL BE BEFALL HIS WIVES, CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, AUNTS, UNCLES, AND OTHERS ARE THE RESULT OF HIS SIN. AND ALL OF THIS IS IN THE NAME OF YAHUAH’S JUSTICE, WHICH CAN NEVER BE AVERTED. ALL SIN DEMANDS A PAYMENT ON TWO LEVELS; THE PHYSICAL AND THE SPIRITUAL.
YAHUSHA DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO END PHYSICAL DEATH NOR DID MESSIAH’S SACRIFICE END THE PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES UPON US FOR BEHAVIOURAL SIN ON THIS EARTH. RATHER HIS DEATH PAID THE PRICE FOR OUR TRESPASSES AGAINST YAHUAH, NOT AGAINST MAN. HIS DEATH PAID THE PRICE FOR OUR SIN ON ONLY ONE OF THE TWO LEVELS, THE PART THAT SETTLES OUR DIVINE DEBT WITH YAHUAH FOR SINNING AGAINST HIM. HOWEVER THE PART WHEREBY OUR SIN INCLUDES WRONGFUL BEHAVIOUR TO OUR FELLOW MAN IS NOT PARDONED BUT RATHER DEMANDS AN EARTHLY PAYMENT. PUNISHMENT IS DUE US - OH, WE MAY WELL RECEIVE MERCY FROM YAHUAH AND THE CONSEQUENCES (PUNISHMENT) MAY NEVER EQUAL THE DAMAGE WE DID TO ANOTHER OR THAT WE DESERVE; BUT THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES AND THEY MAY COME AT A TIME AND IN A WAY WE MIGHT NEVER EXPECT. AT OTHER TIMES THE PUNISHMENT MIGHT BE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT IT SEEMS THAT OUR CRIME MERITED (AT LEAST IN OUR EYES).
ACTS 4-5 ANNANIAS AND SAPPHIRA LOST THEIR LIVES OVER AN ISSUE OF DECEIT AND MATERIAL POSSESSIONS (IT REALLY HAD MORE TO DO WITH STEALING YAHUAH’S SET-APART PROPERTY FOR THE MONEY HAD BEEN GIVEN TO HIM). THIS SCARED THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THEY MAY HAVE HAD SOME THOUGHT THAT YAHUAH’S FAVOUR BROUGHT WITH IT NOT ONLY ETERNAL FORGIVENESS FOR SINS BUT IT ABOLISHED ALL EARTHLY CONSEQUENCES AS WELL.
ROMANS 6 "SO THEN ARE WE TO SAY, 'LET'S KEEP ON SINNING, SO THAT THERE CAN BE MORE FAVOUR'? HEAVEN FORBID!"
LUKE 23 HOW ABOUT THE 2 CRIMINALS THAT DIED WITH MESSIAH THAT DREADFUL DAY AT GOLGOTHA? ONE OF THE CRIMINALS ADMITTED THAT HE DESERVED TO DIE FOR HIS CRIMINAL ACT, BUT HE RECOGNISED THAT YAHUSHA WAS EXACTLY WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE, AND HE WAS FORGIVEN BY YAHUSHA. BUT HE STILL DIED FOR HIS CRIME. THE SPIRITUAL COMPONENT OF HIS CRIMINAL ACT WAS PARDONED, BUT NOT THE EARTHLY PART. AND NOWHERE DO WE SEE YAHUSHA SAYING THAT THE CRIMINAL NO LONGER DESERVED TO DIE, NOR DID SOMETHING HAPPEN TO SAVE HIM PHYSICALLY, NOR DO WE EVER FIND A RECORD OF THIS STORY THAT EXPLAINS THAT YAHUAH’S FORGIVENESS THEREBY ERASED THE EARTHLY JUSTICE DUE THAT FORGIVEN CRIMINAL.
THE BEST WAY TO NOT HAVE TO CONFESS AND NOT HAVE ANY CONSEQUENCES IS SIMPLE ....... DON'T SIN !!