Caught!

David responded to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Then Nathan replied to David, "The LORD has taken away your sin; you will not die.

~2 Samuel 12:13 HCSB

David has pulled off the perfect crime.  He has committed murder, adultery, lying, deceiving all along the way.  No one knows the full extent of his crime.  All the while God is watching and sends the prophet Nathan.  Nathan shares with David a story about a man with a lamb that is like family and how a rich man took the poor man’s lamb for himself, out of greed.  David is infuriated and says, “The man who did this deserves to die!”  Nathan tells him, “You are that man.”  He then proceeds to tell him how God established him and he has sinned greatly against the Lord.  David responds by saying, “I have sinned against the LORD.” 

My first reaction is what about Uriah! Hasn’t David sinned against the man he murdered!  How about Bathsheba?  Hasn’t David sinned against her?  How about Joab, to put him in a position to kill one of his own men?  Yet David says I have sinned against the Lord, in fact in Psalm 51:4 he says he sinned against God alone.  Why would he say that?  The offense is against the highest offended, which is God.  Let me illustrate this.  If I abuse my son and then apologies to my wife, my son is going to be hurt even more and rightly so.  I must first apologies to my son and then to my wife.  Both have been offended, but my greatest offense is against my son.  

When we sin God is the one most offended.  He provides everything for us.  He gives us life, relationships and everything we have is due to Him.  So when we turn away from him and chose sin over His grace, He is greatly offended.  Sin is very serious and we have an incredible God who wants to forgive us.  He loves us and through His Son Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of sin.  Jesus paid the price, He satisfied God’s righteousness and through Him we have life.  So when we sin we are to confess our sin and turn from it, repent.  We do not escape the consequences of our sin, but the one most offended forgives us.

Lord I confess my sin against you.  I pray you will forgive me and help me to repent.  Lord give me the strength and turn to you and to seek you with all of my heart.  Lord let me glorify you in my life in everything I do, for your namesake and glory!  Amen.   

Pastor Steve