Nathan Condemns David

February 6, 2022 Background Scripture: 2 Samuel 12 Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 12:1 9, 13 - 15 The topic of this lesson is a little misleading. Nathan, as the prophet of God, was the messenger of God. The condemnation was not from Nathan but from God. Also, this was a condemnation of David's actions rather than a condemnation of David. In other words, if David would have been condemned by God, then David would have died because of the condemnation. The fact that God spared David's life is a demonstration of the mercy of God towards His own. David's actions led to adultery and the murder of an innocent man. David devised the plan and had Joab, the commander of the military, execute it. Using another person in such a devious scheme made it even more contemptible. Because of this, Joab became a co-conspirator in the murder. Prior to the murder scheme, David attempted to deceive Uriah, the murder victim, to cover up the adultery. Uriah showed unwavering loyalty to David as his king. Uriah wanted to be in battle defending King David and the kingdom. Since Uriah would not fall for David's deceptive scheme, David sent the murder plan to Joab by the hand of Uriah - yet another act of contempt. Uriah's wife mourned for him after his death. After a period of mourning, David brought her to his house to be his wife. Earlier in David's life, he was described as a man after God's own heart. David loved the Lord and David was loyal to King Saul. David loved the people of God and put his life on the line to defend their honor against the Philistine. This is a total contrast of character between David's earlier life and his latter. There are many questions to consider concerning this. Let's take a brief look at David's life before and after. David grew up in a modest setting. He was the youngest of his father's sons. While his older brothers went to war for the kingdom, David was a keeper of his father's "few sheep", as his brothers referred to them. David was a skilled musician with the harp. David had complete confidence in God's love and protection of Israel. David was spiritually sensitive to the will of God. Later, God elevated David to be king of Israel. God gave David victory against all his enemies. David was loved and highly acclaimed by Israel. The sweet psalmist of Israel was now king of God's people. He was successful and had a very life. During a season of warfare between the nations, it was customary for kings to lead their militaries into battle. However, King David sent the military to do battle, but he stayed at home. It was then that David was tempted. He saw an attractive woman bathing. Beware of worldly success! I have never met anyone who indicated in my presence that they did not desire to be successful. But how many of us are truly prepared to be successful? Success can be intoxicating. If someone with David's pedigree can fall victim, then we should all be cautious. When God saw David as a man after His own heart, it was with the foreknowledge of how David would err later. God knows our frame. God sees the frailties of humanity, but He does not excuse our actions because of it. God commands us to be holy even as He is holy. This is not something we can achieve on our own. We need the strength and resolve that can only come from God. We must seek God in prayer for it. Sometimes we are convinced that we can handle things on our own because of our success. This is part of the delusion the word of God warns us about. A child of God will never be condemned by God, However, our unholy actions are condemned by God, and God will certainly punish us for actions that He condemn. Robert C. Hudson January 8, 2022

Justice and the Marginalized

January 30, 2022 Background Scripture: Deuteronomy 24:10 - 21 Lesson Passage: Deuteronomy 24:10 - 21 "Don't forget where you came from." That's the warning that is repeated along with the instructions given in our Lesson's text. One way to assess the moral decency of a society is to see how the least among them is treated. This should be important to each of us because our circumstances do change throughout our lifetime. Perhaps nothing shows one's character as much as how we treat individuals who we believe we will never need in this life. It is worth noting that any of us could eventually become the least in our society. To be the least is to be marginalized or pushed to the side and ignored. There are many ways to be classified as marginalized by a society: financial wellbeing, family structure, marital status, gender, age, nationality, culture, physical size, physical limitations, mental acuity, and so many more. The longer we live, the more likely we will move from one such group to another. "Equal Rights for All" is a good political rallying point, but it is rarely achieved through the efforts of human beings, God did not overlook the marginalized that would be part of Israel's society. God gave Israel specific instructions on how to take care of the marginalized within their society. They were to make provisions for the marginalized without taking away their right to maintain self-esteem by working for themselves. God did not establish Israel as a welfare state; nor did He suggest that Israel should become a welfare state. God's instructions told Israel how to create opportunities for the marginalized to work for what they needed without them being overburdened because of their social status. God warned Israel to not allow people to increase their status in life by taking advantage of the marginalized. This could plague a society that values wealth over people. God included a warning as to the outcome of mistreating one who was the least in their society. If they cry out to God because of the mistreatment, then the action of the perpetrator would be seen as sin by God. Then the perpetrators would answer to God for their actions and not to those they mistreated nor to the leaders of their society. They might not be punished by the civic leaders for their many harsh actions because of their political status or wealth. However, God sees all things and He holds perpetrators accountable for their actions towards the least among them. God commanded Israel to extend a hand up to the poor, or socially neglected. God did not instruct them to give handouts. This is not to suggest that they didn't need to be charitable towards the poor. Charity is an individual's response to the needy and/or disabled. However, a civilized society should make provisions for every citizen to obtain the necessities of life. Farms, orchards, and vineyards were perfect opportunities for making provisions for others during the time of harvest. If the owners harvested their crops, they would have plenty without having to return later to glean the leftovers. There would be leftovers because everything does not ripen at the same time. The harvest takes place when most of the crop has ripen. The leftovers would ripen later. God's provision for the marginalized was to allow them to harvest the leftovers. Please note: It would not be harvested and given to an able-bodied person. Although they could not afford to own property, they could work to harvest the leftovers for themselves. These opportunities allowed the marginalized to be treated justly in God's eyes, and God would see the benefactor's actions as righteousness. Robert C. Hudson December 20, 2021