“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56).
Heavenly Father, how blessed we are to be able to call you ABBA (Daddy), and know that You will love us much more than any earthy parent could ever love us! Thank You for Your unconditional, undeserved, and undying love. We give You thanks in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
There are so many instances in God’s word to prove that we can trust His promises! Today we are going to consider His promise of forgiveness,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The question is, to what length will God go to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness?
Let us consider the story of David.
In his innocence, listen to the way God described him, “And when He had removed him (Saul), He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will’ ” (Acts 13:22, emphasis supplied).
As we fast forward in the story of David, from the pasture to the palace, what we discover, would lead scoffers to question God’s foreknowledge.
From an innocent shepherd boy who was such an ardent believer in the power and faithfulness of his God, that he fearlessly faced a giant named Goliath, with the words, “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. . . .and, “he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself, five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling,” and went to face the giant (1 Samuel 17:40, 45, emphasis supplied)!
Then David fell to this:
“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. . .David walked on the roof of the king’s house. And he saw a woman bathing. . . .Then David sent messengers, and took her; and and he lay with her. . . And the woman conceived.”
Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. . .And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
‘Then David said to Uriah, “Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
‘In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, ‘ “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die” ‘
‘Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also‘ ” (2 Samuel 11:1-14)
I have purposely ended this half of the devotional without a comment or a conclusion. In our next devotional we will do both. We will contemplate the enormity of David’s sin, as it is compared to the limitless forgiveness of God!