O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You. Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Psalm 69: 5, 6, NKJV.
Gracious God, as we enter the study of Your Word, please make it plain to us, that “no [one] is an island.” In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
A few days ago we visited this psalm. At that time we meditated upon verses 1-3 – the psalmist’s plea for help. Could it be, that in the verses for today he is admitting that the possible cause of his suffering was due to his “foolishness?” Another thought that struck me when I took a second look at this psalm was the similitude between David’s words and the words of Saul, the king who preceded him. After Saul saw the futility of his behavior he concluded, “Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly” (1 Samuel 26: 21). Emphasis provided.
Sin, no matter what form it takes, will sooner or later, make fools out of us. Yesterday we saw how the behavior of Nabal, whose name meant “Fool,” almost caused his own death, and that of his entire household. Perhaps a look at the biblical definition of “a fool” will give us an idea of the reason for this, “The fool has said in his heart, ” ‘ “There is no God.” ‘ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good” (Psalm 14: 1).
At some point in our lives we tend to believe that we can do whatever we want to do, because “there is no God” or consequences to stop us. This brings to my mind a good piece of advice I once heard that could protect us from this error. A preacher once said, “You cannot sin while you are praying, nor pray while you are sinning.” I agree. Prayer not only keeps us conscious of the fact that there is a God, but also of our dependence upon Him.
When we observe the lives of these two kings, it is obvious that somewhere along the way they lost sight of God. The day came when Saul was fighting his battles, not the LORD’s. As a result, the people suffered, “And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, ‘ “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” ‘ So none of the people tasted food” ‘ ” (1 Samuel 14: 24). Emphasis provided. One bad move led to another, until he had completely departed from God (see chapters 14-16). This cost him his life, as well as the lives of his sons (1 Samuel 31: 6).
David came to the conclusion that he was so well established in his kingdom (for a moment he lost sight of the One who had placed him on the throne), that he no longer needed to go out with his troops to battle, as was the custom of kings. The results were disastrous, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle,that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel . . . But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. . . Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her” (2 Samuel 11: 1, 2, 4). Emphasis provided. His family, and the nation, as a whole, suffered as a consequence of David’s “foolishness” (see chapters 12-21).
It is a foolish idea to lose sight of God. Note the words of this Michtam of David when he kept his eyes on the LORD, “I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16: 8). How different life must have been at that time! May God help us never to allow anything or anyone to separate us from God! The results can be far reaching and very destructive!