sin – Page 2 – Old Testament Survey

Psalm 51

Peter and Judas. David and Saul. Which one of the pairs are you? Judas and Saul were upset and saddened by their sin. Peter and David were repentant and saddened. They knew to whom to turn. They had hope. The former were without hope and God in this world (Ephesians 2.11-13).

Psalm 51 (See our study on Psalm 32 and 2 Samuel 12)

David is living in light of Psalm 32.3-4 when Nathan the prophet walks into the palace. He confronts the man and David is released from the stronghold of sin as he works through the concept of this psalm.

Verses1-4-David doesn’t address God as the covenant God of Israel, Jehovah (יְֽהוָה), in this psalm. He addresses Him as the creator God, Elohim (אֱלֹהִים), or Lord (אֲדֹנָי) because of his unworthiness to regard himself as one of God’s own. David basis his forgiveness solely on whom God is not what David had done. This is the first step. David is contrite, remorseful over his sin. The second step is the confession of sin. It is admitting to God what He already knows and agreeing with Him that you are wrong. The third step is to admit you have nothing in yourself to deal with your sin; you need God.

As David stated, our sin is against God and Him alone. However, the consequences go far beyond and reaches to those we love. It hurts us. As describe in Psalm 32 and in this psalm, sin affects our bodies. David’s eyes, mind, ears, heart, spirit, and mouth were affected in the physical realm. David’s fellowship and joy with the Lord were affected in the spiritual realm. Sin hurts those we are to love. Tragedy strikes families (see 2 Samuel 11 and 2 Samuel 12 for our study on this).

Verses 5-12-David confesses that not only does he have a desire for sin but that he was born that was as is all humanity. Once he acknowledges this, David begins a progression in his prayer. He asks God to purge him, remove his defilement. He asks God to wash him, to cleanse him deeply. He asks God to let the bone He broke through discipline dance again. [I will link my sermon series on Dancing with Broken Bones at a later date.] He asks God to make him experience the joys of answered prayer. He asks God to not treat him according to His sins but to hide His face from them. He asks God to create in him a clean heart. This prayer is ultimately answered in Christ. As Christians, we have been given a new heart in Jesus. He asks God not to cast him away from His presence. He asks God not to take His Holy Spirit from him. This is a cry from the Old Testament as is evidenced with the Spirit of God left Saul that should not be on the lips of the saints in the New Testament. [If you desire more on this topic, let me know.] He asks God to restore to him the joy that can only be found in salvation. And lastly, David asks God to keep him from falling again.

13-17-David declares that he will live a life in which others will see and hear of God. Throughout this psalm David proclaims it is not what we can give but our humility before God. God delights in our coming to the Creator of the universe and learning from Him how to live the life for which we were created.

18-19-Praying for self to praying for the nation. Both are important and necessary for us to live the life God created for us to live.

Sin is complicated, but goodness is simple.

As in Psalm 32, there are basically three or four words that comprise the sin committed by David. The three mentioned in this psalm are the first of the four mentioned in Psalm 32. This is why David had to cry out to God for Him to have mercy on him.

Psalm 32

Complete cleansing and forgiveness are found in these verses too. Transgression is removed. Sin is covered, iniquity is not counted against, and deceit is no longer found. In Christ these are ours.

Psalm 32

Tired. Aching. Hurting. Exhausted. Fatigued. Undernourished. Roaring in misery and anguish. Sounds like a third world country. For a Christian it is, it is a place we should not be found. It is in a state of being disciplined by God for sins committed. This is David’s description of himself as he was being disciplined by God for his sin with Bathsheba (see our study of 2 Samuel 11). This psalm was written after Psalm 51 (see our study) more as a reflection of what had happened to him after his sin and before the arrival of Nathan (see our study of 2 Samuel 12). It is a maskil used to relive a teachable moment for many to understand. Amazingly, this private psalm is sung as part of the services of the synagogue during the Day of Atonement services.

Psalm 32 is reflective of what God has done and Psalm 51 appears to be written in the struggle.

Various outlines can be made from this psalm. An example would be to divide it in six equal parts (1-2, 3-4, 5, 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11).

Verses 1-2- the forgiven man
Verses 3-4-the physical and psychological effects of unconfessed sin
Verse 5-confession as the remedy to obtain God’s forgiveness
Verses 6-7-forgiveness brings back prayer
Verses 8-9-forgiveness bring back biblical insight
Verses 10-11-forgiveness provides personal testimony

It could also be divided by the pauses (Selah): 1-4, 5, 6-7, and 8-11.

Verses 1-4-Man cannot forgive on his own. Sin is always against God and witnessed by others (Psalm 51). Because our sin is against Him, He is the agent of forgiveness and we are the recipients. He forgives, He covers, He washes clean; we accept, we praise, we stand amazed. When we do not accept His forgiveness, we die a little each day. Our soul becomes like a sponge in the desert that has seen no rain for years.
When Paul quotes verses 1-2 in Romans 4.6-8, he reminds us that forgiveness is a free gift of God based on the work of Christ, not an effort of good works on our part.

Selah-Do you believe your sins are forgiven? Why? On what basis are they?

Verse 5-Confessed sin restores the soul not because it places us in right relationship with God, Jesus did that. Our soul is refreshed because our fellowship with God is restored (1 John). We can now access the Water of Life, the Bread of Life, Life Himself. This only comes when we confess our sins (1 John 1.9). Confession is to freely admit that our action was what God calls it. There is no excuse for it and no reason that is acceptable. It is a violation of God’s character.

Selah-Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of your sin and of God’s righteousness (John 16.5-15).

Verses 6-7-Once David repented, he realized that it is always to God that we need to go in order to get things right. In order for us to live the life He created for us to live, we need to be in Him. He is our hiding place (see song below).

Selah-When you do wrong, do you run to God or away from Him? He is your only source of hope.

Verses 8-11-David reminds us that we are indeed responsible for our actions. He ends this psalm of penance with joy.

[more will be discussed on sin/forgiveness/relationship/fellowship in later posts if requested]

Definitions

David uses four words for sin in the first two verses alone: transgression, sin, iniquity, and deceit. These words provide insight into different shades of rebellion against God.

Transgression is a breaking of God’s Law (פֶּשַׁע/ἀνομίαι)
Sin is breaking the laws God placed in motion to rule His creation (חֲטָאָֽה/ἁμαρτίαι)
Iniquity is the staining of the soul through depraved activities (עָוֹן/ἀδικία)
Deceit or guile is misrepresenting the character of God by presenting yourself as something other than you are (רְמִיָּה/δόλος)

Complete cleansing and forgiveness are found in these verses too. Transgression is removed. Sin is covered, iniquity is not counted against, and deceit is no longer found. In Christ these are ours.

Media

You are My Hiding Place by Selah (Psalm 32.7)

2 Samuel 12

Do you notice that when you become angry at a sin in another, there are times your anger is directed toward you because you know that you are committing the same sin?

2 Samuel 12 (1 Chronicles 20.1-3 see our study of 1 Chronicles 20)

Our studies of Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 will be forthcoming. David spent at least six months in misery due to his sin. Bathsheba gets pregnant in 2 Samuel 11 (see our study), the two discover she is pregnant, David has Uriah murdered, they wait a few months for mourning, they marry, the baby may not have yet been born. Then comes Nathan to confront David for his sin. Whatever the amount of time, Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 describe the anguish David was going through during this period of his life.

After Nathan’s parable, wherein David becomes indignant, God brings the discipline upon His child (Hebrews 12.4-11). The consequences of David’s sins were mentioned briefly in our study of 2 Samuel 11. Here, God lays them out through Nathan to David. They are:

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 Thus says the LORD: I will raise up trouble against you from within 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 very sun.
14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.

Notice for each consequence there is a reason given. As parents, we need to take this seriously. The consequence matches the discipline given.

If the rest of David’s life was outlined according to his children, four of David’s male children die. This baby (2 Samuel 12), Ammon (2 Samuel 13), Absalom (2 Samuel 18), and Adonijah (1 Kings 2) all die in relation to the consequences of David’s sin. Some have seen this as fulfilling Exodus 22.1 in lieu of the death penalty for David and Bathsheba (Leviticus 20.10).

Do you notice that when you become angry at a sin in another, there are times your anger is directed toward you because you know that you are committing the same sin?

The mourning of David in this chapter (15-23) gives us insight into his belief of the afterlife and of God’s mercy and grace. David mourned by fasting and praying while the child was alive. When he found the child to have died, he finally ate. He knew that the child might be spared by God. After the baby died, he knew God would not raise him from the dead. David knew that he would be with the baby after David dies. This causes us to ponder the eternal state of babies who have died [email me if you desire further study on this topic].

After the child born to David and Bathsheba dies, she has another child (24-25). They called him Solomon. Interestingly, Nathan called him Jedidiah, which means “loved by the Lord.”

The chapter ends where 2 Samuel 11 should have begun, David went to war as the kings are supposed to do. This passage is found in 1 Chronicles 20.1-3.

2 Samuel 11

In your weakness do you seek Him or do you attempt to be strong? You will fall. What will the consequences be?

2 Samuel 11

There is no parallel passage for this chapter and the next found in 1 Chronicles. The writer of the Chronicles was attempting to paint the kingdom, particularly David, in a good light. This chapter is the watershed event in his life. It is the turning point in David’s illustrious career. It also did not change God’s perspective of him (1 Kings 15.5). He sinned, yes; he was forgiven, yes; he repented, yes. God blessed him and disciplined him and allowed him to suffer the consequences of his sin.

When this chapter is evaluated, the conclusion of the matter begins in verse one.

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

David was neither where he should have been (“when kings go out to battle, . . . But David remained at Jerusalem”) nor was he doing what he should have been doing (“when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab”). David literally and figuratively removed his armor (Ephesians 6.10-12). He was wrong on both counts. Being in the right place and doing the wrong thing can lead to sin. Being in the wrong place doing the right thing can lead to sin. Being in the wrong place doing the wrong things will always lead to sin. This is what James tells us in James 1.14-15.

A quick outline of the chapter present us with the sin of lust growing into adultery (1-5), adultery leading to deception (6-13), fear leading to desperation and murder (14-26a), and the unfaithfulness to God and Uriah leads to David displeasing God (26b). David was middle-aged at this point in his life. He may have thought he didn’t need to care about things about him as carefully as he did when he fought Goliath. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10.12-13 of potential outcomes for those who have attitudes like this. Normally we quote verse 13 stating that God will deliver us from or through temptation. What we do not look at is verse 12. When we think we are able to handle life without God (see our study on Psalm 70), we will fall with no guarantee of deliverance. We need to know that when we are weakest we rely on His strength but when we think we are strong we live like we don’t need Him (2 Corinthians 11.30)

The life of David will never be the same. The chapters after this present many problems for David from the death of the son he had by Bathsheba to the revolt of his son Absalom at the end of the book. Each incident comes back to this one incident in David’s life. An example of this is Bathsheba’s family. Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, was the daughter of Eliam. He was one of David’s closest men (2 Samuel 23.34). He was also the son of Ahithophel. He was a private counselor to David. It was he who aided in Absalom’s rebellion against his father, David (2 Samuel 16.21). His advice was for Absalom to take David’s wives or concubines for his own so that when David dies, Absalom could be king (this plays out to the ultimate end in 1 Kings). Because David messed with Ahithophel’s family, Ahithophel sought revenge. It all comes back to the sin of David and Bathsheba in this chapter.

In your weakness do you seek Him or do you attempt to be strong? You will fall. What will the consequences be?

2 Samuel 6

When we try to do God’s work our way, we may succeed for a moment, but we are destined for failure. When we do things God’s way, despite what some may think, He will bless us. Sometime our closest friends will turn on us when we decide to praise God properly. This should never detract us from rejoicing in Him. When was the last time you sang for God in such a way that it didn’t matter who was there?

2 Samuel 6 (cf. 1 Chronicles 13.1-14 [read our study] and 15.25-16.6 [read our study]; 1 Samuel 7.1, 2 [read our study])

This chapter presents David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. It is a rather strange story though. After the Israelites received the Ark back from the Philistines, they placed it in Kirjath-Jearim (here it is called Baale-Judah) with Abinidab in order to make Jerusalem both the political and religious capital of Israel. The goal is admirable. It seems, however, the means was less than godly. David intended to transport the Ark via a cart and not using Kohathites (Levitical priests) to carry it as prescribe in Numbers 4.15.

As the party of more than 30,000 were celebrating the transport of the Ark, it began to fall. Uzzah, in an attempt to save the Ark from desecration by having it fall to the ground, stopped it from falling. For his attempts, God struck him dead. Why? Was God being too harsh with Uzzah for touching the Ark? If we are unaware of God’s character, we might trivialize this incident with such a response. However, knowing the holiness of God, we need to respond differently. Uzzah was attempting to “save” the Ark from desecration by desecrating the Ark with his hand (he broke the law in order to save the Ark). Now, some would say that his hand was less dirty than the ground, so it was the lesser of the two evils. I posit a query or two: Is God so incapable that He is unable to keep the Ark from falling without causing someone to sin? Do we really think our sinfulness is less dirty than the dirt? Dirt is dirt and sin is what brought Christ out of Heaven to die for us (it is filthy rags-Isaiah 64.5-7). God’s law demands that any who touch it, die; he did, and he did.

David is in fear and anger. I think he was fearful of whom God actually is and in anger over his mishandling of the situation.

He deposits the Ark at the home of a Levitical priest, a Kohathite, in the city of Gath-rimmon in Manasseh. This would be the proper place to leave it. After David sees that God is not mad at him but blesses the household of Obed-edom, David retrieves it properly and takes it to Jerusalem.

Along the way, the entourage continues their celebration. David celebrates with them. His first wife, Michal, becomes embarrassed by David’s dress and dancing and despises him. When he returns home, she blasts him for rejoicing in the manner he did. David defends himself. God judges her.