2 SAMUEL 12:9-14 – Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of 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 sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ”David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.”

THEME OF THE DAY. SEEING SIN IN THE RIGHT LIGHT. Let’s take a two question quiz on the topic of sin. Question # 1 – Name a verse describing who is under the curse of sin. The textbook answer is found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This one verse makes it clear no human being is free from the curse of sin, the judgment of sin, the guilt of sin, the penalty of sin, and the power of sin. Okay, question # 2 – Define sin. The classic answers mean “to fall short, miss the mark, offend, be guilty” and all point to God being the One sinned against. It is His mark we fall short of; His perfect mark of perfect obedience to His law that we have violated. As Bible readers, we are familiar with the terms defining sin, but that familiarity presents a danger. Familiarity may cause us to lose the “wow” factor. Or with sin, we lose the “awful” factor of sin. And when the “awful” factor goes, so does the fear of God and our passion for holiness. Our Christianity becomes stale and mechanical. But if we are to prevent “stale bread” Christianity, we must learn to see sin far more than just being able to give a good “textbook” definition of it. And no better place to go than in David’s sin with Bathsheba. In today’s scripture, sin is defined in two ways we may not be familiar with but if the Spirit of God shows us these truths about sin, our walk with the Lord will be radically changed.

First, sin is a “despising of the Lord’s Word and Person.” Wow. Think about that. In the opening of today’s scripture, through the prophet Nathan, the Lord says, “Your sin, David, was not just an evil act, but by doing so, you show contempt for My Word, and despise My Person.” Go back and read the exact words in the opening few sentences. God goes beyond the act of sin and takes deep offense to what sin really is – a total disregard and disrespect for His Word and Person. Do we see sin, all sin, in those lights? Unkind speech, coveting stare, lustful thoughts, impatience, worldliness . . . and every other sin is not just an act, but a despising of the Word of the Lord and the Lord of the Word. Think about that the next time temptation comes knocking at the door of our hearts.

Next, sin is a scorning of the Lord. Here are Nathan’s exact words –“And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD’”. What does it mean to “scorn” someone? One definition of scorning is “the feeling or belief that someone or something is worthless or despicable.” Now think about that as a Christian. It is unthinkable that we would consider the Lord “worthless” or “despicable”. It makes one tremble to even consider such thoughts. Yet, sin, any sin in the eyes of the Lord is just that – a scorning of Him. Yes, David, the man after God’s own heart was guilty of scorning the Lord. And so, shall we if we take light views of sin, tolerate sin, and fail to see it as God sees it. But if we do, oh how precious will the Lord Jesus and His salvation be as we see His death took care of all our sin; even the ones despising and scorning His Word and Person!

PRAYER: “Father, please open my eyes to see sin in the light of Your holiness. Only then, will I see it right.”

QUOTE: “If we don’t see sin through God’s eyes, we will fail to see it for what it is – a despising of the Lord Himself.”